Description: Denji does some stupid shit and Wang calls him on it. Is their only recourse to continue their bitter rivalry!? Takuma arrives on the scene to show them the truth path to harmony and friendship and teamwork: getting naked.
If he felt the cold, he'd know.
"Come one, come all!"
It's too cold for ice cream.
"Who dares challenge the-- whoops--"
Standing in his robes with his arms crossed, attempting what he imagines to be a noble pose, Denji Akiyama fumbles briefly as a droplet of ice cream begins to fall off the end of his cone; he juggles it momentarily, threatening to drop it entirely upon the ground, before catching it again and proudly stuffing it in his mouth. Those warmly-clad Boardwalk-goers enjoying the winter holidays with their dates, gorged on Christmas cake (a proud Japanese tradition (?)), who have been observing him with amusement chuckle. The strange monk seems to enjoy it, more or less.
Alas, no one has answered his call.
He did his best. He cleaned himself up. His robe is laundered. He shaved. His sandals are new. And he's even, yes, he's even tied his hair back. It actually looks quite good, with his long bangs falling down to frame his face. Said face is a little too round, though; he looks more like a Japanese Buddhist Ren-faire attendee than a bishonen. All that, and the sign he stands before -- "CHALLENGE A KING OF FIGHTERS!" -- has elicited nothing. Still, Denji has high hopes. He'll wait here all day.
He doesn't know how to help Farah. He doesn't know where she is. But--
Above his silly smile, his eyes are focused and alert, as in combat.
When she returns, she'll be proud of her friends, and know that they're serious.
Wang 'Long Wang' Long had a feeling this morning (well, afternoon, but who cares about what time it technically was when he woke up) that under no circumstances should he get out of bed. Every fiber of his diminuitive body screamed for him to just stay put. Not one to discard omens lightly, the boy naturally just pulled his blanket over his head and resolved to never move again.
This lasted approximately forever (five minutes) before he leapt out of bed, slammed back an entire can of Little Bastard Energy Drink (tm), and went out into the wide world to /train his ass off/.
When he spots Denji (who he recognizes instantly, hygeine or no), Wang has three different kinds of cake in two hands.
Truly, the Chinese boy doesn't know where to begin. Recovering from the pure /shock/ might be a good first step, as Wang proceeds to close his jaw (around some cake) and restraighten his slumped shoulders. A glint of indignation, surely as righteous as can be, enters his eyes.
"Hey, hey, cut that out! What the hell is wrong with you, man? Challenge a--" Wang cuts off disgustedly as he looks at the sign, nudging it with a foot to bump it over. "This is humiliating! Selling yourself on the street for quick thrills? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but come on." He shoves the last bit of one of his cake slices into his mouth, talking around it.
"Hafb sawhm 'iggity, mawn."
Call Denji what you will -- and you should -- but...
"Aha! Here he is, ladies and gentlemen!"
He is adaptable, and surprisingly opportunistic.
"A new challenger!"
Denji wipes the ice cream from his mouth with the back of his hand as he regards Wang, his goofy smile widening into a grin as he then proceeds to rub the back of his hand on his sleeve (so much for the perfunctory effort to keep his clothes clean). "Wang! Great training can be found anywhere, anytime, all the time! That's what Sakura-chan-sensei said to me." Somehow, Denji himself manages to say all this with a straight face. "She gave me and Makari-san lots of really good advice." He pauses for a moment, glancing sidelong in a brief thoughtful interlude. "She gave us some bad advice, too," he adds judiciously. "I decided to put a sign up as a compromise between not doing anything and running around hitting people who look strong."
* * *
"No, no, I mean, like, CHALLENGE THEM! But not with words! True fighters don't need words!"
"So... how?"
"Like, power up in front of them!"
"P... power...?"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"W-Whoa, that's--"
"HADOUKEN!!"
* * *
Denji winces reflexively.
"A-Anyway," he adds hastily, "come on, Wang. Let's give the folks a demonstration of the power of Team Somebody Buy Denji Lunch." Are we still calling it that? "By the way, are you gonna eat all that cake?"
It's true -- there are a fair number of people watching now.
Admittedly, many are still chuckling.
Gulp. For a moment, as he swallows his cake, Wang is almost fooled. Then he remembers himself, and what a brilliantly devious mastermind Denji actually is, despite outward appearances which are so obviously false to the young boy but could easily fool the average shmuck. After all, it's not like Wang could have ever lost a fight to some guy who really is that oblivious. That would just be inconcievable.
So caught up in his Denji-based conspiracy theories and general disdain is Wang that it takes him a moment to catch up with the actual conversation, as it were. S-sensei? A fight, right now? /Cake envy!?/
Glance skitting indecisively back and forth between his teammate, his cake, and a nearby garbage can, Wang does the only thing he can do, and shoves two entire slices of cake into his mouth at once. "Igg 'oo 'eelgy wamf 'oo ee 'oomilaphad," GULP, cough hack cough. Wang finishes, slightly teary-eyed, "Let's go."
It's really not like Takuma has a seventh sense for this sort of thing (his sixth sense: schoolboy divination), really. It's more that he happens to be laid out on a towel on the beach, in the middle of winter, in the afternoon. For the last hour, his only companions have been the cold wind, the stunted slosh of chilly waters on clammy sands, and the occasional startled glance from passerby. Takuma Sakazaki is wearing nothing his chesthair and a pair of bright orange, knee-length swim trunks, emblazoned with a variety of monkeys in various positions and the occasional, bright-yellow "CRAZY COCONUTS" here and there.
It is a secret Sakazaki training style. This is a man's lifestyle, right here.
"What a weird day. Kids begging for fights on the boardwalk, and now fat old men sunbathing in December. Why do we live in Southtown, honey?"
"If I knew the answer to that, dear, I'd probably know why I was married to you, too."
The *slap* that follows has Sakazaki jolting awake, hair sandblasted, expression groggy. He'd *heard* their entire conversation - he was really only half-asleep - and has no problem zeroing in on the enormous white sign over yonder, the kid shoving cake in his mouth.
Takuma's eyes narrow.
Seconds later, he is striding barefoot down the boardwalk, towel slung over one shoulder, hair still sandmatted. "Hah! Young fighters desperate for a challenge, eh?" Takuma passes a sign with his face on it - ALERT AUTHORITIES IF YOU SEE THIS MAN. He does not seem to notice.
Denji and Wang both receive a broad, tired smile.
"I love cake."
Denji feels a presence. A mighty presence, one that cannot be denied.
*GROWL*
Wincing slightly, he reaches down to clutch at his stomach.
While he watches Wang stuff cake down his cakehole, a strange old man is approaching in a strange outfit, and when at last Denji notices him -- that is to say, when he speaks -- the mountain monk blinks and regards Takuma with an appropriate level of surprise. "Hey," he says conversationally, not thinking much about it, "you don't get cold either, huh?" People keep talking about it. Of course, he's at least wearing robes. This guy--
"Umm..."
Actually, this guy kind of sets him on edge.
"I'm sure Wang here would be happy to give you cake under /normal/ circumstances," Denji says helpfully, suddenly looking a bit nervous, "but he's got to eat it to get big and strong for--" He pauses, his eyes suddenly narrowing, glancing off into the distance. "/King of Fighters./" He is silent a moment longer before blinking, faintly startled, and looking back to the two. "We're competing, you know."
No, he should be more dramatic about that.
"Because we are... Kings of Fighters!"
He pauses for effect, and then considers that.
"Actually," he murmurs to himself, suddenly troubled, "are we only Kings of Fighters if we win, or just for being invited? I figured that since there are multiple Kings, obviously, because teams compete, we could all consider ourselves Kings. But maybe my sign was false advertising." This monologue is not helping people look elsewhere than the trio. "Okay, then, fair enough. We are--"
He pats his chest, the newly-cleaned up chi sage in training grinning proudly, and a little lopsidedly, at the strange man.
"Princes of Fighters!"
Wiping the last vestiges of frosting his fingers off on his coat, Wang gets his game face on, staring Denji down as their showdown draws ever closer to actually starting. Except...Denji isn't even paying attention. Typical. He's talking to this surfer douche hobo who can't even afford his own goddamn cake. With a long-suffering sigh, Wang turns to Takuma.
"Look, I'm not giving handouts here, get your own cake." Like he's running a cake charity. /Pshaw/. Although there is something familiar about this particular filthy vagrant. Maybe...maybe Wang's seen him on Fighterpedia? No, no, there's only one beach hobo listed, and this guy definitely isn't it.
Concluding that it pales in importance to making Denji shut up and stop embarassing him by association, Wang shoots his teammate a dirty look.
"That is the gayest shit I have ever heard and I have had to listen to you talk for weeks now. Just shut your mouthhole and maybe this beggar will wander off and get wasted in a dank alley somewhere."
Takuma's expression is an unusual mixture of genuine amusement and predatory viciousness; he's very proud of it. This pride is appropriately blown to hell by the sign-holding youth's first question.
'You don't get cold either, h-' Denji wouldn't even have time to finish his question - Takuma's barking out his answer, bewildered, confused.
"Of COURSE I'm cold, it's winter and I'm standing here in my bathing suit!! A man isn't truly at his peak unless his nipples can cut diamonds, spurred on by passion and the unforgiving elements! It is a sign of resilience! Grit! Hot blood! Famous fighters all boast strong passion, passion that pushes them past the bite of Mother Nature, pushes them past the bite of their opponents' fists! Who are you pups to call yourself Fighters if you cannot even take a day in the frigid winter!" Sakazaki's forgotten what he's talking about; it's really quite amazing he can keep talking without breathing.
He snaps back to reality in the form of a two-pronged strike; one broad, beefy hand comes to sit before Wang's face. Whatever he says, Sakazaki's not listening.
"Quitter talk. You're going nowhere with that dandelion's attitude."
The SECOND prong comes in the form of a vicious, left-handed towel whip; it CRACKS against Denji's sign, splitting the thing in two! Sakazaki leers at the youth, nostrils flared, shoulders squared. The ocean's waters lap at a somehow less forgiving shore.
"You don't need to beg for fights anymore, son. I'll give you one, but I'll only fight you if you accept this man's rule; we fight at the mercy of the elements! Undergarments only!"
Denji's eyes widen in terror.
Takuma's monologue is as an unrelenting storm, an unstoppable juggernaut of words and spittle. The mountain boy swallows once, noisily, as somehow manages to remain entirely frozen, like a deer in a spotlight, and slooooowly lean back at the same time, as though the very earth beneath him is tilting away from the old master. "N-Nipples," he stammers, "cutting diamonds?"
That's the strangest fighting style he's ever heard of.
"Oh... man..."
But there's only two real questions here.
What would Sakura-chan-sensei say? And--
"...Hmph!"
What would Farah-chan do?
"I'll accept any challenge--"
She would appreciate his spirit, wouldn't she? She'd be tolerant of this poor, crazy old man. And she'd be disappointed if Denji looked down on him, or dismissed him.
"--as a Prince of Fighters, and as a man!"
Denji also likes to imagine she would take off her clothes.
The pseudo-sage swallows again, though this time because he seems vaguely distracted. After a quick moment he shakes himself and seems alert again, his eyes abruptly narrowing. "You've insulted the both of us, and our resolve, old man. Wang!" he says sharply, gaze intent on Takuma. "/Let's do this./"
One loosened sash and a shrug, and the whole robe falls off. Of course, he is wearing a plain white Japanese-style loincloth. He stands there proudly, in what he imagines to be a manly posture. Several moments pass in silence.
Then he starts shivering.
"Oh, c-crap, it /is/ cold...."
"I-- wh--quitter!?" Wang sputters in the face of the multi-pronged assault of Takuma, that being insane, nonsensical rambling and also jamming his surprisingly large hand in the boy's face.
"What the hell are you even-- I'm not going to--" And then Denji's basically naked. He, at least, is a target that remains assailable, and so assail Wang shall. Or at least, he starts to.
"Are you ret--" For once in his life, Wang thinks better of it, as a question enters his mind. Just what is Denji's angle? There has to be one. Nobody sane would go that far, even while pretending to be an idiot. There has to be some advantage that Wang himself overlooked, some reason to strip in the cold and fight a hobo.
"...I see." He doesn't, but no force on earth will make him admit it. "Fine. I'll make you regret this, hobo." That will, possibly, make three of them.
In a short time, tragically not as swiftly as Denji because Wang wears real clothes like a real person, the rumpled Gedo uniform comes off piece by piece, eventually reduced to nothing more than a pair of tighty whiteys.
Uncharacteristically, Wang doesn't even utter a word of complaint. This may be attributed more to his furiously chattering teeth than any actual unwillingness, however.
Clothing flung to the wind, caution soon to follow! Sakazaki laughs, a bellowing thing - it is a sound rich with amusement and respect, yet also able to draw onlookers from as far away as the distant Southtown Fisherman's District, off of the Market.
Some hundreds of people are watching, now; cars have stopped, bikers paused in their exercise.
"Excellent!! I... didn't think you'd do it." Sakazaki muses, thoughtful once he's finished laughing. The master's brown eyes settle on Wang, and a new measure of respect touches to his features.
"I especially didn't think you'd do it, Dandelion. I guess there's really only one thing to do, huh?" Warm eyes suddenly turn wild; Takuma levels that overenthused attention on Denji. "Huh??! I guess so, then! You've earned your fight!"
The old man - the hobo, as Wang puts it - steps into a practiced, perhaps frighteningly NATURAL stance; knees bent, one hand before his face, the other down by a hip. Nothing about his expression changes, but Denji might see the sudden distortion of the Earth's energies around him.
The beach's resolve against the crashing waves.
The biting, howling winds, the way they stir the ocean into its frenzied rush.
That latent heat from a distant Sun, barely present, but nonetheless critical for life.
Wang and the onlookers might suddenly notice the way the ocean itself DIMPLES beneath Takuma, as though depressed by a giant, invisible sphere.
All of it coalesces into Sakazaki's form, specifically, his *hand*. Rapidly, it expands like a supernova...
"KO'OU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Takuma has started a fight here as a boss!
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|---------------
COMBATSYS: Denji has joined the fight here.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|---------------
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Denji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Wang has joined the fight here.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|---------------
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Denji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Denji blocks Takuma's Weakened Ko'ou Ken.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|-------========
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Denji 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Wang
Wait a minute.
Denji has nodded in fraternal acknowledge to Wang's affirmation, though he himself isn't quite sure what Wang is talking about -- but he'll be damned if he'll admit that in the middle of looking manly for Farah-chan, who surely is sensing this display of courage and prowess from afar. He has swept himself into a strange and jerky stance, only the intensity of his gaze legitimizing his bizarre movements; his body seems to react even to eddies in the air, and spasms instinctively as Takuma's power begins to grow. Only after his body reacts does Denji become mentally aware of what is occurring before him. This is--
"Uh oh," he murmurs to himself.
This is no good.
"Grrghh!"
The slight disparity between the force that impacts against him and the force that Takuma had been generating a moment earlier would be obvious to the chi-sensitive mountain monk if only he were slightly more experienced at such encounters. As it is, he hardly has time to contemplate whether or not Takuma is taking it easy on him. He brings up his bare arms as the fireball impacts against it, sliding back in his sandals but maintaining his stance. Some of the transfixed crowd applaud, though most are still just staring.
"Huuahhh!"
Whereupon Denji is leaping, heedlessly plunging the now-advanced distance between the two of them. "Let's get him, Wang!" he announces, utterly shameless in his desire to gang up on this guy as heinously as possible. Ironically, in this, he and his erstwhile ally will likely be in the most accord they ever have been. Denji gives it all he's got: verdant green chi, appearing almost the unfiltered power of the earth, fountains from his hands all at once and trails as he lunges, aiming to slam three palm strikes at Takuma's torso before flipping into a cartwheel kick and, if he can, tackling the man to the ground with the force of his own body. It's a wild attack, but Denji is a wild guy.
More or less.
As it turns out, it's difficult to ignore this sort of growing crowd. Takuma, surprisingly enough, makes it easier. "What do you mean, you didn't think we'd do it!?" Wang is outraged enough to forget how cold he is, then shuts up again. Is this why Denji stripped? To call his bluff? /Clever./ And with so many people around, the legend of Wang is sure to grow.
The Gedo schoolboy is about to give the wildish mountain monk a begruding nod of respect when their hobo foe (hoboe?) begins his pathetically homeless assault. Kou'ken? Kou'ken.
"KOU'KEN!?" Wang echoes as realization finally comes hitting home. "Oh, oh god, oh god, oh god, we're...oh god, he's...I..."
In what is more or less a full panic, Wang charges forward (because there is nowhere else to go), leaps into the air (in the vain hope that his latent powers of flight will awaken) and lashes out with one foot (in the equally vain hope that he will be able to 'accidentally' use Denji as a platform to launch himself over the crowd and safely escape).
COMBATSYS: Takuma blocks Denji's Shizen no Chikara.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|------=========
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Denji 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Takuma counters Light Kick from Wang with Weakened Mouko Burai Gan.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|-==============
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Denji 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Wang
Well, it didn't KILL him. That's pretty good, right? Sakazaki settles back, surrounded by a smoldering atmosphere and behind it, a wavy, increasingly-growing crowd. His expression is stony, his eyebrows knitted into some sort of angry, arched caterpillar perched over his eyes.
That angry caterpillar becomes even MORE arched, MORE angry as Sakazaki has a foreboding feeling that his dojo's signboard is once again in peril. But that isn't important! Palms and feet are flying towards his face! Ordinarily, this would be a big fucking problem, the sort of thing that only Saishu Kusanagi, blindfolded, might be able to deal with appropriately.
Saishu Kusanagi, who had last tweeted that he was invited to the United Nations as Japan's ambassador.
It's all Takuma can do to sweep *both* limbs aside with one brawny arm; Denji has the benefit of slamming those other two palm strikes into Sakazaki's stony abdominals - his flip kick impacts Takuma's shoulder, and... well, stays there. Hopefully, Denji is flexible enough to land on one foot.
Wang just gets punched in the damn stomach, by a hand that's about the size of his entire midsection.
"STOP PLAYING GAMES!! Are you Princes, or Kings, or Queens, or what?? My little girl hits harder than this!"
Gracefully, Denji lands in a heap on the ground.
"We can d-do this, Wang!" he shouts unconvincingly as he emerges from a tumble into a standing position, one way or another, and certainly shuddering from cold and not fear. "If we strike as one!!"
His open palm is practically vibrating with tension as he surges to his feet, the chi prodigy gritting his teeth -- which promptly begin to chatter -- as he thrusts it out in a burst of glowing energy, energy that begins to grow and coalesce as he moves, taking the shape of a solid orb about two feet in diameter. It's wobbling a little bit, but it maintains that shining shape, emitting a high-pitched keen as Denji aims to implact it directly into Sakazaki's back, powering through with all possible force.
"Eeeeeee!"
Oh, no, wait, that's Denji making that noise.
Wang, for his part, doesn't exactly double over. It's difficult to curve around a fist that is as large as your torso; the effect is more like a side of beef slapping wetly into a brick wall. The air completely knocked out of him, the young Prince of Fightening crumples to the ground, trying to suck in air with all his power and, for the most part, failing.
And yet Denji's cry reaches through to him, somehow. HE'S still standing. Still fighting. /Unacceptable/. Also, the ground is really cold.
Struggling to his feet despite how he feels like he just got run over by a car (a comparable experience), Wang does nothing so much as lurch forward, both hands forward, lunge-thrusting at Takuma with both palms turned upward, a blast of golden-yellow energy flashing as he strikes like some kind of human landmissile.
COMBATSYS: Takuma blocks Wang's Very Poorly Concealed Secret Attack.
TAKUMA
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Denji 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Ranki Rengeki from Denji with Weakened Oosotogari.
TAKUMA
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1|------------===|===============
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Denji 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Wang
The wind shrieks, whipping the waves into a frenzy, and more importantly, spraying the gathered fighters with frigid seafoam and biting... winds. Sakazaki himself is set to grimacing against the onslaught; which is saying something, considering that he regards his Mouko Burai Gan as something like a golf stroke. Hit a kid, watch them fly backwards. NOT TODAY - too cold.
Denji's attack is something that Wang might detect in the form of a broad smile pulling at his opponent's features - Takuma FEELS it, and can't help the chuckles. "Ah, I remember those days..." It's something that smacks of an incoming flashb-
*FORTY FIVE YEARS AGO*
*UNIMPORTANT*
Sakazaki FEELS Denji accumulating that chi, much like one might feel a bomb going off behind them. Without looking, Takuma drops to a knee, lancing a foot out behind him, and lances a hand straight THROUGH the sage's accumulated chi. Smoking, it'd grab Denji by the col- neck, he's naked, right, and begin a series of events that result in Takuma throwing the youth over his shoulder, back slamming into the Boardwalk hard enough to crack wood.
He arises in time to meet Wang's assault with arched eyebrows, taken by surprise. "--Speed??" Instinctively, an elbow contracts; Wang's attack meets Sakazaki's forearm, and fizzles appropriately. It leaves the elder standing before both kids, arms smoking, shoulders quaking in suppressed mirth.
"What do you two hope to accomplish fighting like this? Fighting to PROVE something? That's not the point; We fight to establish our will on others! We use the environment, and our allies, to our advantage! Work together and see what happens!"
"Uh... ughh..."
Slowly, Denji stirs from his heap on the boardwalk.
"...shoot..."
This is no good. This old guy is out of control. But this is the kind of adversary they'll be fighting at King of Fighters, right? These are the kind of men in this word. Wang seems to have a better idea of who this guy is -- even Denji can detect Wang's sentiments -- but the mountain monk can only assume this man is a notable fighter, if only because he is having difficulty now moving his legs.
It's an open question.
"...W... Wang..."
Is it even worth fighting? If the people in this world--
"Get him... now!!"
No. Denji, though not a brave man by nature, will not abandon this fight. He won't abandon King of Fighters. No matter how strong his adversaries, no matter how impossible the battle, he won't give up. This conviction is not conscious; Denji is not aware of his own resolve, and could not explain it. But fundamentally, this is the first time since leaving the mountain -- no, maybe the first time /ever/, actually, and only before he had not cared for not knowing such a feeling existed --
"Hrraahh!"
Denji is united with others, under common cause.
A simple cause, but--
With strength he did not know he had, though he still is immobile and prone upon the ground, Denji brings his fist down upon a plank on which Takuma stands. If the old man does not move swiftly, the plank will burst free under his foot, causing him to slip. And, more importantly, either way, that plank will flip up as though on a hinge, to smack Takuma right in the face-- and blind him to any possible follow-up.
As usual, it sort of takes Wang a minute to really come to terms with what's going on. There's just so much happening all at once and he is compelled to thoroughly go over every little bit of it before he can move on. His first thought is that he's glad Denji is getting hucked about like a rag doll. Next: indignancy, as though he would work together with the man. Then, a thought; does Denji getting beat up instead of him count? Wang is not sure whether he wants it to or not.
"Hmph!" Eventually, he settles for just being vaguely disdainful, of Denji and Takuma's 'friendly' advice, both. "Like I'd ever need to work with him." After all, bother working with a team when you can just become your own?
A yellow silhouette forms around Wang, mirroring him precisely before seeming to gain a mind of its own and splitting off, rushing ahead to strike Takuma low before the real deal follows up to hit him...well, not high, but certainly medium. "Stop telling me what to do!" It is not certain who he is talking to.
COMBATSYS: Takuma endures Denji's Random Weapon.
TAKUMA
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Denji 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Spoiler Alert from Wang with Weakened Light Kick.
TAKUMA
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Denji 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Wang
Denji is united. Takuma sees this. It isn't so much in the youngster's words as it is his poise; the way he looks to Wang, the way his stance and attack incorporate and invite Wang's own. It is pretty much the fighting equivalent of Queer Eye, except it's more Takuma Eye for the Wang Guy--- and, well, this isn't making sense. The point remains: Takuma appreciates what Denji's doing.
It is, perhaps, why Takuma does *nothing* to avert his falling through a suddenly vacant plank. One of the old man's bare legs SHOOTS through the Boardwalk, suddenly mere feet from thrashing, spraying, freezing ocean - it's a wakeup call, to be certain. Enough to alert Takuma to Wang's sudden, independent onrush, something that flies in the face of whatever Denji had been trying to accomplish!
"...!" Indignation rolls over Sakazaki's form, straight into his right foot, which lifts and promptly *SLAMS* through the wood it's standing upon. A plank suddenly shoots in two directions; on Takuma's end, downwards, and on Real Wang's end, straight upwards, into his surely bruised midsection. While Takuma is absolutely hit in the face by Prosthetic Wang, Real Wang is absolutely not going anywhere near him.
It leaves the two youth with their opponent moored in the boardwalk, both legs exposed to the frigid waters beneath.
"GOD DAMN IT! IF YOU'RE ON A TEAM, STOP PRETENDING YOU'RE NOT! DANDELION, I WILL *WRECK YOU* IF YOU DON'T PLAY FAIR!" Sakazaki may be moored, but Denji can tell you. That water's starting to dimple against overwhelming chi. Again.
"Pl-Play fair...?"
As Denji pushes himself to his feet, honestly not really having witnessed what Wang actually did, and of course ignoring Wang's shout as he unreflectively and unintentionally ignores almost everything that comes out of Wang's mouth, he sounds a note of confusion.
"By... ganging up on you?"
If that's fair, Wang and Denji are justice. Either way, Denji is too blind to the emotions of others to be able to tell that Wang hardly shares his sentiments. Though Denji's own feelings are sincere, effective teamwork may be still impossible for him -- maybe. But in the name of truth, and strength, and being able to put his clothes back on because he is so cold right now, Denji continues to perservere, both in word and in action. "Y-You can do it, Wang!" he shouts encouragingly (?), as he leaps high. Takuma's feet are trapped, at least for the moment, and his power is growing. Denji must act now.
"Huuoooh!"
It's a brave effort, or at least it would be if Denji were thinking twice about it, and if he thought twice about it -- no, even once about it -- he wouldn't be doing it. He tackles Takuma, who is trapped in place, and surging with green chi, seeks with the impact and some relative amount of crushing force to keep the old master's arms trapped, at least for a moment, thereby fully immobilizing him.
He's trying. Trying so hard!
Wang sort of hops upward and back involuntarily, having found himself on the receiving end of a plank to the gut. He gently arcs, staggers a step and then finally rights himself. Why, that wasn't too bad; he barely even feels like he's going to break in half! Emboldened by how he has not been broken into pieces yet, he sneers.
"Not that I'm responding to Dandelion because that is NOT MY NAME," Wang makes sure to emphasize this for the onlookers, "Shut up! You're not even making any sense, you brain-dead old fart! Go crawl under a tombstone already!"
Despite how Denji is literally throwing himself at Takuma, who appears mildly incapacitated by his position halfway through the dock, Wang holds back, in part to prove a point (he will decide which later) and in part because you would have to be some kind of idiot to attack while Takuma Sakazaki is chargin' his laser. Again, see Denji, who will no doubt receive the brunt of Takuma's wrath.
Even though it's perfectly logical and clearly a brilliant tactical decision, Wang can't help but feel like he has just made a terrible mistake that he will regret for the rest of his pain-filled days. Vaguely.
COMBATSYS: Wang gains composure.
TAKUMA
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1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Takuma endures Denji's Medium Throw.
TAKUMA
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1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
Holy SHIT, it is cold. Takuma shows this in his sudden grimace; a sudden clash of wave against wave sends a particularly unfriendly jet of water up his right trunkleg. It's all the old master can do to retain his cool - he KNOWS what he's doing is stupid, but let's be fair. Half of the benefit of being an old master is making your students do stupid shit.
"Yes, fair!! That blockhead next to you can't get past an idea of being better than you! You're not going to win so long as you can't work together; fighting is about EFFECT." Sakazaki, for the first time today, begins to wax philosophic. "Pride is one thing, but it has no place in the battlefield! We use our bodies to enact our will upon others; if we stand beside those who share our will, why would we get in their way? Dandelion's too busy comparing himself to you to do you any justice!!"
Denji throws himself into Sakazaki; the youth encounters nothing but bunched muscles, blazing brown eyes, and a dominant smile. Takuma stares at him, not even a full three inches from the sage's face, and perhaps fully insane. His neck pulls back in a practiced, time-honed motion, something that can really only be explained through a prolonged flashb-
*FLASHBACK*
COMBATSYS: Saishu interrupts Ryuuko Ranbu from Takuma with Headbutt.
COMBATSYS: Saishu interrupts Kishin Geki from Takuma with Headbutt.
COMBATSYS: Saishu interrupts Zanretsu Ken from Takuma with Headbutt.
COMBATSYS: Saishu interrupts Triple Haohshokoken from Takuma with Headbutt.
*NOW*
Takuma -delights- in Denji's embrace. Whatever kindness had been present in his form leaves upon Sakazaki's witness of Wang's self-concern; he thrusts his head forward, brutally, into Denji's own.
"HAH!"
TAKUMA
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1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
COMBATSYS: Denji interrupts Medium Punch from Takuma with Shinrou.
TAKUMA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
There's no way.
There's just no way.
Or there wouldn't be.
But Denji is close. Too close. He can feel it, feel it deep within his bones. A force he does not comprehend compels him. He does not understand Takuma's words, accurate though they may be. He does not recognize Wang's selfishness when he sees it, just as he does not recognize his own selfishness when he steals Wang's lunch. Well, okay, that's a different sort of lack of recognition. There's a lack of empathy and then there's a lack of self-awareness, and then there's a cowardly fleeing from guilt.
But we were talking about Denji's good qualities.
It seizes hold of him.
Dynamic, a prodigy, free of all constraints--
Denji knows instinctively what he must do.
And adapting his technique spontaneously to a whole new environment, his arms still locked around Takuma's body, he rears his head back only a split-second after Takuma, moving with incredible speed, fueled by the green chi that erupts about him, and slams with a wide ink-brush plume his forehead against the old master's own. The impact is tremendous. Planks explode about them.
"Grrrragghh!"
And Denji is flung from his perch, sent plowing into the boardwalk.
But--
"I..."
He did it.
"...g... got you..."
He's twitching on the wood now, but.
Somehow, he did it.
Clearly, CLEARLY, it is Wang's brilliant tactical analysis of staying behind and letting Denji attack that directly led to any successes said monk might have and think are entirely due to his own martial prowess. But nope. It's all Wang up in here. He's Wangin' it up. Wangin' around town. Pointedly ignoring Takuma's words no matter how close to home they may or may not strike because obviously he is talking about somebody else because
"What are you, some kind of clown? I told you that's not my name!" It's even worse than his real one. Judging it safe to close in and strike (false, it's never safe), he dashes forward across the sea-licked wood as best he can, which is to say not very because it's cold and slippery and his feet are bare. Thankfully, this plays into his attack, as it lets him easily slide about in a tight spin as he approaches the karate master, foot lashing out at what is roughly head-level.
COMBATSYS: Takuma blocks Wang's Heavy Kick.
TAKUMA
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|================|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Denji 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Wang
It's always a crowning moment when one's pupil overcomes his master. Be it in a fleeting moment, a lingering hour, or a lifetime - it's all any tutor could wish. Denji's show of abrasive force sends Takuma streaking backwards, lifted over the Boardwalk by dint of sheer headbutting power. The elder bounces upon the platform once, twice...
And stops. Wang's fervent denial is THAT intense - it brings Sakazaki from a realm of jubilation to one of intense irritation.
"You're worried about names? Now? Son, you're naked on a boardwalk and can't get over the bare essenti-" Pun. Takuma interrupts himself laughing, briefly clutching a hand to his stomach, bowing his soon-to-be bruised head. It's the sudden fluctuation in Wang's momentum that has him snapping back to attention.
Catching that outstretched foot against one stress-battered forearm.
"ACT YOUR AGE! PAY ATTENTION AND STOP BEING SO DAMNED STUBBORN! WISDOM HAS ITS BENEFITS, BUT YOU'VE GOT NO-" Takuma's words, and irritation, are drowned out. For all he appears, he's offering sage advice, elderly wisdom - the hand at his side, the slow, wracking sound of accumulating chi and whelming power simply drown his hastily-thrown words out.
Portions of obliterated Boardwalk begin gravitating towards the ball of energy in his hands. Ultimately, everything is obscured before a bright, yellow light... ...
And the Earth shouts.
Wang has a whole lot of shit to deal with.
Bare-chested, old man shit.
Denji shudders, twitches, and groans. His vision is a field of bright light; his head rings like a gong; his body is as limp as a noodle. He can hardly move, let alone understand what is happening around him. But he hears the old man shout; he hears Wang shout something else. And he knows, knows deep within his young bones, that Wang needs him, needs him now, so hard right now.
"...Sakura... chan... sensei..."
Coughing, he weakly places a palm on the wood.
"...Farah... chan..."
Neither of them would give up now. Neither of them.
It's a kind of determination Denji doesn't have and doesn't understand. Yet his yearning to be amongst them, to be a part of what they have created, seems almost to imbue him with that resolve. And if Denji is good at anything, for all that he seems to be unobservant of the feelings of others or social mores--
"I... won't lose!"
He can draw upon that strength, and mimic it.
Body quivering, Denji suddenly rises as though not of his own accord, and begins furiously to chant. His words go unheard over the roar that is Takuma's own building of energy and, in not too long, its release. But even in the midst of the storm of power here, tearing up the boardwalk every which way, even as he can barely see where his teammate is -- where /is/ his teammate, anyway -- Denji prepares to project a great wave of power all his own.
"WANG!" he screams, the only word audible over the cacophony.
And galloping across the wood, from afar -- as far as Denji was blasted by Takuma's headbutt -- comes nothing but a giant /boar/ forged of glowing green chi, its vast jaw opening like something out of Princess Mononoke, as though it might consume Takuma whole.
"NOW!!!"
COMBATSYS: Takuma successfully hits Wang with Haoh Sho Ko Ken.
TAKUMA
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1|--------------=|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Denji 0/-------/-------|=======\======-\1 Wang
His foot is effectively stopped cold, and Wang is given yet another opportunity to listen to the sage words of wizened old Takuma, doling out gift-wrapped drops of wisdom as though he were some kind of Santa Claus guru on a mountain-top. Obviously, Wang can't stand it.
However, much as he wants to just tell the old man to shut it (again) and stomp him into dirt, Wang has a problem. He's inaudible. Also, terrified, both thanks to the same thing; that huge, very much intimidating ball of energy that's building just a couple of feet in front of him.
A mere fraction of a second before it hits, as it soars through the air, Wang's very thoughts, his soul, have coalesced into a single, overpowering concept.
He dearly hopes he has not wet himself.
And then he's gone. Erased by the massive wave of power, seemingly eradicated in its overpowering wake. AND YET
Almost immediately, there he is, riding on top of Denji's boar. Or...is he? A cursory examination reveals that he is both yellow and transparent, and trying to speak but failing to do anything other than soundlessly move his mouth and look constipated.
That aside, he sightlessly looks ahead at Takuma, sets his features, and leaps out of himself, another clone dropping behind and following in the boar's wake, except that clone is suddenly nearly one hundred clones, a stampede that's all the more unnerving for its almost complete silence. They swarm, biting and kicking and punching, each lasting only a moment before fading away into nothingness once more.
COMBATSYS: Denji and Wang successfully hit Takuma with Somebody Help Denji Attack.
COMBATSYS: Takuma refuses to stay down!
TAKUMA
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
1|---------======|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Denji 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Wang
While Wang is completely-the-fuck obliterated by his Haoh Sho Ko Ken, Takuma remains unhappy, eyes narrowed, expression... suspicious. He feels the groan of the planet, the changing of the winds. The way the world's latent energy churns to manifest itself FULLY in both Wang and Denji. Objectively, it is a thing he could force into his favor...
But for now, something he embraces. It's GOOD to see his opponents overcoming their mutual antipathies; whatever the result may be, even if it involves Takuma taking multiple, chi-influenced blows to the torso, arms, and head. He stares down that onrushing boar, those hundreds of Wang clones, with an expression that might frighten even the hardiest of warriors -- surely, to touch Sakazaki at this moment means naught but death for the attacker!!
Only those watching from behind or the truly experienced might catch Takuma's sudden actions once he's sure he's obscured behind that wall of chi - his guard drops, his expression relaxes. Whatever happened; he had made his point: Denji and Wang would accomplish nothing if both fell back upon their petty rivalries. Earthen force, the manifestation of pride and will - these overcome him, and leave the Boardwalk shattered, leave a man in his fifties to topple into the fervent waters below.
Above him, two teenagers doubtlessly shiver in their underwear, while from afar, photographers take multiple dozens of pictures. Nobody captures Sakazaki, vanishing, carried from the scene with one hand gripped to the dorsal fin of a plucky dolphin, body carried behind that hard-bodied horse of the sea.
"Heh heh! Teamwork! Faith in your friends! Faith in yourself! That's what makes a fighter! I'll look forward to seeing you in the tournament, youngsters! Practice ha-" *PFOOSH*, goes the dolphin's blowhole. It leaves Sakazaki sputtering, but by now, he's out of earshot.
COMBATSYS: Takuma has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Denji 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Wang
Denji stares blankly at the gaping hole in the boardwalk.
He is kneeling. The loose end of his loincloth flaps in the frigid wind. His arms are slumped at his sides, limp and unmoving. The old man is nowhere to be seen, vaporized entirely by all appearances.
"...Wang."
The mountain boy's jaw is slack.
"...Wang."
His eyes are dim.
"...Are you dead."
ONE HOUR LATER
Wang rolls out of a sewer pipe in a ditch near Gedo High, soaking wet, basically naked, and covered in crap. He is warmed only by the memory of how he was so right this morning.
Log created on 18:24:53 12/26/2010 by Wang, and last modified on 02:50:50 12/27/2010.