Description: After a hard afternoon's worth of training on the Kyokugen grounds, Yuri Sakazaki and esteemed student Howard Rust come in for something to eat. Of course, there's always going to be that one little seemingly innocent question that spoils a prospective dinner.
SAKAZAKI HOUSEHOLD, 8 PM.
Takuma Sakazaki feels kind of bad about eating a sub sandwich earlier. In his defense, he didn't have much of a choice. Free sub, hangin' out in the fridge. What would you do? Suffice it to say that Takuma's stomach is full. There's no reason he should be in the kitchen making soba.
Nonetheless, here he is, in his kitchen gi, kneading that dough, adding water bit by bit. It's become a sort of zen thing - soba-making has always been a hobby of Sakazaki's.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man is pissed and hungry after a hectic first day back in class, unable to find any sort of time to have something of a meal. The food he brought, eaten by someone. He really should've put a label somewhere.
Most of his frustration was taken out on the perfection of the roof of the new toolshed. With the possibility that this roof is to be used for - or should at least be able to withstand - bodies being slammed into it, he asked gingerly for volunteers. Which is to say he asked people to be slammed into it.
Then it struck him he's heavier than most of the students and instead the logic was put, rather enthusiastically by some other students, that /he/ should be slammed into the roof a couple times instead. Needless to say, almost everyone has incredibly sore backs out of the entire experience.
Especially himself.
The Pacific teacher stumbles into the Sakazaki household with another one of his trademark indecipherable low groans of consonants while he rubs his sore back, thinking maybe he should just have a glass of milk or something before driving back home for the night like he should've maybe an hour or so ago.
As for Yuri Sakazaki, she's heading into the kitchen as well, adjusting her headband a little as she just finished an intense workout in the dojo. She looks to her father and tries not to laugh as she sees him cooking while remembering that he'd had a sub earlier in the day. Don't ask why Yuri thinks it's funny, she just does.
Yuri might realize what has happened. It's in the way Takuma's entire attitude as people enter the kitchen. Yuri herself receives a perked eyebrow, unspoken question as it may be, while Rust... well now, Rust. Rust gets a too-broad grin, a face lit up in glee. Impeccable acting plays across the old master's face, all while his hands work at slicing a thinly-folded lump of dough into thousands of tiny noodles.
"RUST! Yuri! I haven't seen either of you all day. I saw you out there training, both of you." The smile deepens, while noodles begin to form a small pile between Takuma's hands. "Yuri, excellent work on your throws, but you're kicking your leg out too early. It's the reason your partners are hitting the ground too lightly. Rust..." Nervously, Takuma sweeps brown eyes to the fridge.
Turkey sub. Swiss cheese. Mustard, mayonnaise, bean sprouts. Incredible.
"...I was so impressed with the roof for that shed that I'm making you soba noodles, a Takuma Sakazaki specialty. You should feel honored!"
The man with the really bad hair of those gathered continues to gingerly rub his back as he happens upon the kitchen, arrival announced through a popping knee moments before any other part of him is distinctly there. He's just like that.
He wonders what Yuri's giggling about now, given she's always in a really giggly mood about anything and everything, even after the especially tense and dangerous workouts. Where she's giggling and his master are both smiling, his face is blank. Tired. Hungry. Sor-- well okay his face isn't that sore. Mostly his back. Still tired and hungry.
"Wha... really? Well... thanks," he does not suspect a thing with the nervous look towards the fridge, "I'll, uh, I'll look forward to 'em." He clears his throat as he stretches out a little.
"My throws?" Yuri asks, looking confused and a little insulted? "Well, isn't the purpose of sparring for practicing but not actually hurting them?" She hmmphs and folds her arms. "And all this time, I thought I had it down pat!" She looks to Rust and gives him a slight nod, but then turns back to face her father. "Seriously, I sometimes wonder if YOU know what you're doing!"
Sakazaki finishes with the noodles. There's a pile of them, and Takuma's already set a pot of water to boiling. He tosses the soba into said pot, lids it, and leans forward, weight settled onto the counter courtesy of a hand. "You've been coming far in your work, Rust. Even with the knee, the back..." A nod is given, here, to the obviously-in-pain Howard Rust. "Good progress, and most of the intermediate students are already spreading rumors about you. Didn't you beat the pants off of some uppity po-"
Yuri's first words have Takuma laughing. She's joking, maybe? Her next have his eyebrows furrowing, dangerously fast. "Martial arts, little lady, are self-defense. The point is to protect yourself through harming somebody else! It's as much about control as it is learning to take hits! If you've been throwing like that on PURPOSE, I'll show you what a throw's supposed to go like, first hand! Do NOT make me get out the videos*!"
*The videos are sparring matches between a younger Takuma and either Robert or Ryo, after one of the latter two has presumably done something poorly enough to need a remediation. The videos never end without Robert or Ryo breaking a bone.*
It's at this point the guy who - in a rare twist - is not the oldest man in the room who almost wishes it was /Yuri/ who was tossing him onto the roof and not the guy who used to practice judo before taking up Kyokugen instead. Especially not eight times in a row. Oh my God, he used to think he knew how to handle being thrown.
"Y'mean, uh... Santa?" The older man looks up as he works out some kinks in his neck, his body is just ready to lie down and quit right about now. "He just... he just kind of, turned around, gave up after I, I tried to Haoh... uh," god damn it how do you pronounce it again? He's too tired to remember despite it being shouted no less than five times today by Ryo with one of the advanced students, "to do that to him, yeah."
He comes up to the fridge so that he can indulge in that glass of milk, or something.
"Hmmmph, I already knew that!" Yuri says with a big scowl on her face. "I just don't appreciate people making comments like that without actually proving it. Besides, if it's practice, why are we gonna injure them? We don't need students getting hurt here or we'd be out of business!" Yuri then heads to the refrigerator, looking for something to drink apparently. She leaves the milk for Rust.
In fact, as soon as she sees Rust, her demeanor changes. "And how are you doing? Still getting in your training regimens here? Because in all honesty, I sometimes feel like I'm a little too lenient with you!" A sly grin forms on her face as she contradicts what she just told her father. But then again, she could easily just be taunting Rust.
Rust will find the milk in the fridge, next to a pizza box and case of beer. Behind him, Takuma's eyes widen, and his expression is simply impressed - this doesn't change while he investigates his boiling noodles, lifting the lid to his pot to peer inside. After being blasted in the face with scalding steam, prompting a brief stutter/stumble, he replaces the pot lid, and returns to the conversation. "Must have been a damn good Haoh," he mutters, thoughtfully.
"How is that hand coming along, anyway? What have you noticed from your training?" Yuri gets narrowed eyes. It's likely a combination of confusion and frustration - she vexes Takuma. "We'd be out of business if they DIDN'T get hurt here! What do you think makes Kyokugen one of the best martial arts in the world? Pussyfooting?"
It's good Yuri understands this man's basic need for something to drink! He nods briefly in thanks as he has a quick glass - that pizza box and booze is awful tempting but his doctor's been trying to get him to cut down on those foods.
That, and the promise of soba noodles. His stomach rumbles quietly as he drinks it up - though notably, he's still holding the glass with his left hand.
"My hand?" He asks after he swallows some of that disgusting skim milk, it's seriously watered down garbage. That may very well explain why American beers manage to get away with this sort of texture, though. "Ahh... well, it, uh, it bleeds more," which is putting it pretty bluntly, "still can't... still can't clutch it as, as tightly as I used to... kind of itchy."
Yuri grabs a soda and gulps it down before looking to her dad. "I never said anything about pussyfooting! I'm just saying that we should show a little consideration for our students. I mean, how are we going to train them if they've got casts on? Last time I checked, we don't condone whacking other people with their plaster to be part of our style!"
"We don't? Has somebody changed the tenets since I set them when I -CREATED KYOKUGEN-?" He's getting a bit of that questioning, beefy bass in his voice. It's definitely a Look Out tone. Luckily for Yuri, Rust proves an able distraction. "Bleeds more, huh? I'm no doctor, but I think that means..." It means he is hurting his hand, and that your training methods should have more depth to them than sounding like something Mr. Miyagi might do.
Sakazaki beams. "I think that means it's getting better. Itching is a sign of healing, yes?" Maybe. "I want you to show me that Haoh Sho Ko Ken sometime when you're not bone-tired from training, and I'm not thinking of going to bed in a few."
Back to Yuri. "Miss, if I had a cast on and my life was in danger, you can damn well bet I'd use it to brain my attacker. Practice is important. We don't make exceptions. LIFE doesn't make exceptions." Takuma read that in a fortune cookie.
Of course it's going to bleed more if he's basically stabbing it against the blunt end of nails as often as he has been! Granted, this is the kind of guy who - in his youth - worked very long hours and by nature had to not care about an ache or a disease here and there to make ends meet. It might be one of the few reasons he persists in that particular training program.
That, and how badly he wants to make his shot in the world fighting stage at last - especially when someone out there thinks he has what it takes to be the King of Fighters. Wait, something about that, wasn't he supposed to leave a note about...
"Yeah... some point soon," the man clears his throat again as he puts the glass fully down and gets the milk put back properly into the fridge. That beer and pizza, though. Oh man, that beer and pizza.
Then he remembers!
"Hey, Yuri," he turns his head as he closes the fridge door with another pop in his stiff shoulder, "did you," he coughs once, "'scuse me, did ya tell him the news?"
"Miss? MISS?!" Yuri scowls deeply and stomps a bare foot on the ground. "You're calling your own daughter 'Miss?!" She grits her teeth and begins breathing heavily. "I don't believe that! And sure life doesn't make exceptions, but that doesn't mean martial artists should!" She hmmmphs and folds her arms.
When Rust speaks up, Yuri turns towards him, still scowling. But when he mentions the news, her eyes light up and she turns to Takuma again. "Oh, that reminds me! I got an invitation to the King of Fighters tournament! I can't believe it's starting up again!" Her scowl is replaced with a big grin. "Isn't that wonderful?"
Takuma, for what it's worth, maintains a very neutral expression while Rust prompts Yuri to ruin his entire year. He looks from the older student to his daughter, back to his older student, then back to his daughter. He knows what time of year it is. He knows what words are more than likely to come out of Yuri's mouth.
"Well... you know, I've been thinking about that, too. I think I've got a decision made -- but go on, please."
Yuri goes on. Takuma's face remains stonily neutral, a considerable show of maturity and control in the older man -- and just as one might think things are going to blow over...
Well, first, the pot just explodes. It's what happens when somebody with a 7* chi gets that angry. Boiling water spatters onto Sakazaki's arm and robe, surely causing some untold amount of pain, and for a prolonged instant, the Sakazaki kitchen is *COVERED* with steam, scalding water, shrapnel, and delicious soba noodles.
Outside, sparring has stopped. The designated Emergency Dialer has his cellphone out, 9-1-1 input. The world freezes.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY YOU WANTED TO MARRY HIM!!! THIS IS HORRIBLE!"
The master already knows, huh? The shop teacher nods his head as Yuri brings up the King of Fighters invitation. "Yeah, actually, I wanted to ta--"
The pot suddenly explodes. The explosion of steam and scalding water is met with a surprising amount of calm from the older of the two pupils present. As the steam clears up, there's a bit of shrapnel lodged in his jaw that he seems to not notice, his combover has been somehow replaced with the horrible equivalent of soba noodles upon his scalp like a delectable and completely unrealistic toupee, and a blank, dumb-founded stare at what just happened.
Then, screaming.
"Wait," he goes, the tone of his voice indicating a universal desire to add italics to the next thing he utters as he scratches idly at the bit of shrapnel in his chin, "what?"
As soon as all hell breaks loose, Yuri scrambles away as best as she can, trying to take cover behind the nearest thing she can find. It's almost like all hell has, indeed, broken loose. Or like the worst day of Takuma's life has just hit it's ultimate spot. When all is said and done, though, Yuri peeks out with her eyes wide and her lip trembles for a moment.
"Dad, what's gotten into you?!" She asks after a moment, putting her hands on her hips and scowling again. "I just said that the King of Fighters tournament is starting up soon. I never mentioned anything about a wedding... and to HIM?!" Yuri turns her nose up. "He's a good student, but he's WAY too old for me I'm afraid!" She then looks down at the floor as she re-enters, not wanting to step on any of the hot stuff in her bare feet. "Seriously, dad, you need to relax!"
"Absolutely not. You weren't even supposed to get that invitation."
Somewhere, a Southtown Postal Service clerk has just barely gotten the courage to report that he has been stalked and threatened by one Takuma Sakazaki for weeks now.
"You don't even know how to fight! Practicing with reservation, throwing like you're tossing a sack of potatoes into a shopping cart..." Takuma leans against his countertop, for now, unconcerned about the clutter in his kitchen, the steam ruining his paint, the noodles everywhere. One hangs over his ear like a limp olive branch.
"People die in those tournaments, Yuri. You're absolutely not going. I refuse to allow it."
'Absolutely not,' comes the words of the master of the school as the guest of the household continues scratching at his chin with a nearly inaudible grunt... you know what, forget it, he thinks, he'll pull it out later.
The thought goes back to the conversation he had with Yuri prior, the dicussion about how he was never willing to give her a chance to represent the school. The way Takuma insists with absolution that Yuri doesn't even know how to fight, which says some very strong things given Yuri's more or less slapped him around in demonstrations and practice spars alike.
"She... doesn't know how to fight?" He asks, as if in surprise, the low tone of his voice gradually louder as the sentence continues on.
"Now just wait a minute there!" Yuri says, stomping her bare foot on the floor almost like she's a spoiled brat not getting her own way. (OK, sometimes she can be like that, but still.)
"I've been in the King of Fighters tournaments before, and those who die in them are those shady wannabe jerks who think they can pull strings of others because they're the founders." She turns away with her arms folded once again and her nose up in the air. For a moment, there is nothing, but then she turns to face Rust and shakes her head.
"My dad is one of the most stubborn people in the world when it comes to what I'm allowed to do. He treats me like a little baby, when I'm sixteen years old!" Granted, the way she acts like a child at times may be more than enough to justify what Takuma does, but that's not going to stop Yuri it seems. After that, she turns back to face her dad. "And just WHY wasn't I supposed to receive that invitation? Don't tell me that you've been doing crazy stuff behind my back, have you?" A pause as Yuri realizes what she just said, then she narrows her eyes at her father and says, "OK, just WHAT did you try to do now?!"
Sane men would realize Yuri's making some fantastic points. People don't really DIE in King of Fighters, unless they've meddled so much that it becomes a point of plot completion that they must die. Sane men would acquiesce, or show signs of it. Takuma pointedly, blatantly ignores Yuri - it is what you do when there is sense being made. Instead, he locks eyes with Rust. There's a certain desperation there. Something it'd really take a parent to spot.
"She gets very convincing sometimes, Rust, but Yuri's still in her first classes. Refuses to step beyond beginner-level work. We only taught her martial arts to keep her..." And here, in classic Family Argument style, Sakazaki's voice becomes increasingly loud, his attention flitters increasingly back to Yuri.
"...From GETTING KIDNAPPED WHILE HER BROTHER AND FATHER ARE BUSY SAVING THE CITY! Besides, if you die, who's going to give me a grandchild?? Ryo's hopeless."
Ah, family drama. Thanks to certain events at home, this man has yet to really tie the knot - let alone have a kid, and it's looking further unlikely given his advancing age by the day. He can't, at his core, truly know what's going through Takuma in regards to desiring the safety of his daughter against the dangers of these tournaments.
"Wait, what's this 'bout... what? Shady jerks?" See, he's almost hopelessly out of the entire loop in regards to the bizarre facts and constants of big name tournaments these days.
It's when Takuma starts giving sharp looks in his direction that he goes from 'looking lost' to 'at attention' as though he were ready to make good on that threat to use his head to hammer in nails, standing up a little straighter with a pop in one of his knees.
One of the great mysteries of the way of Kyokugen - well, not so much great mystery as it is a curiosity - how Yuri seemed to be the only female student on campus at all is made plain right there, the shouting loud enough to make him wince at the flash of family history that leads up to where they are now.
It also makes his confidence sink just a little, to be so handily beaten a couple times over by someone in their 'first classes.' Then again, that is the power of Kyokugen for you, they would say.
He's quiet through the family drama, as if at a loss to really think of where to start. He scratches at his chin again.
"Busy saving the city?!" Yuri says, now obviously boiling mad with clenched fists and a scowl that shows she's really angry now. "You were the one who got us into this mess! You had me kidnapped to keep the things that you started from getting worse! And you didn't rescue me, either. It was my brother and Robert." A moment as Yuri catches her breath, before continuing. "And who cares how good Ryo is in bed? Or if you're going to be a grandfather? You should be worried more about the school of Kyokugen, not about me getting laid! I mean, most likely you'd want me to sleep with some gross guy who smells like a cheapass dojo where they don't bother cleaning up after they practice!"
Yuri then turns to Rust, still scowling. "If you must know, awhile back my father was involved in some shady stuff, and it got so out of hand that he had to wear a demon mask and cause problems, all while kidnapping me at the same time! That was then and this is now. Honestly, he just doesn't have a clue anymore!" Yuri folds her arms and turns away from the two men.
Arguing with Yuri is rapidly becoming the sport of the hour. Takuma's already getting bull-necked, eyes practically glowing with his irritation, while Yuri goes on about being laid and having kids and holy shit it's like she's being a sixteen year old girl. He's about to snap back with something, the voice of Reason, when Yuri mentions, to Rust, that Takuma has once upon a time worn a mask and done some bad things.
Behind Rust, the fridge muffles what sounds like twenty two cans of beer suddenly exploding. The room smells like a combination of warm beer and delicious pizza. In front of Rust, Sakazaki's gripping his countertop, white-knuckled.
"I've told you a THOUSAND TIMES, that was NOT ME!" Surprisingly spry for his age, Takuma leaps atop his counter, unconcerned about shrapnel on his countertop, or the way it bites into his feet. Instead, he's spinning low, lancing out one foot to aim it towards Yuri's shoulder.
"GO TO YOUR ROOM!"
Outside, a student correctly surmises that this is the third time this has happened this week."
COMBATSYS: Takuma has joined the fight here.
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Takuma 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Yashiro
COMBATSYS: Takuma has joined the fight here as a boss!
TAKUMA
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Yashiro 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Yuri has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
TAKUMA
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Yashiro 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Yuri
The forty year-old man winces at the accusations Yuri makes, starting to make motions to edge away. His right hand is raised, as if to start mouthing to say 'y'know, it's late, maybe I should be on my way--'
As much as he really wanted those noodles.
He blinks once and lets his mouth go agape at what Yuri's trying to discuss with him, but he can see Takuma growing ever-more livid. He hasn't truly seen this man angry, he knows that even his casual strength could lay him flat a good three or four times over. He's not sure he wants any of that over family business that really isn't his!
Something pops in the fridge. There's already something leaking out the bottom. Even /he/ can feel that palpable rage of Takuma in the air, for being someone not terribly attuned to chi. It feels like bad weather coming in, and when bad weather comes in, his joints all start to ache on him. Especially his right hand.
He outright flinches when Takuma screams and just leaps off the counter after Yuri. He just shakes his head once. His stomach grumbles. They are so not going to be having any of those noodles tonight.
"I'll, ah, I'll... I'll see you tomorrow," he says to the both of them, hard as he is to hear above the sheer rage of Takuma.
He knows better.
He's slowly backing away out of the kitchen, the bits of shrapnel that poke the bottom of his feet be damned.
COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Takuma's Weakened Light Kick.
TAKUMA
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|
"Now wait just a minute, father!" Yuri says, watching as her father literally goes ballistic. "You're taking out your frustrations on your own daughter, how could you?!" She barely notices Rust running away, and she doesn't blame him either. "You just can't accept responsibility for your past mistakes, you know! That's not right!" Takuma can try to be as intimidating as he wants to be, but he's not going to make Yuri go to her room that easily.
"Besides, you know that I've got plenty to do in my room if you send me there!" She yells as she brings her arm up to deflect her father's foot away. "But I'm not going there! I'm going to prove my point to you!" While her father is off-balance, Yuri attempts to deliver a swift punch to his chest. Most likely he'll try to defend himself, but you can't fault Yuri for trying.
COMBATSYS: Takuma blocks Yuri's Jab Punch.
TAKUMA
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|
It's a karate household, Yuri. Take it for what it is! Prove your old man wrong. "Past mistakes?? Should I blame you for all of this recent feminist garbage, then?? No point in putting blame on people that had nothing to do with it!" Takuma's shouting, but his focus falls into what he's doing - it's a mistake you're allowed to make when you're exercising your life's work, AGAINST your life's work. Yuri's punch is almost effortlessly slapped away, and Takuma follows up with a quickly-assumed wide-footed stance.
"TO YOUR *ROOM*!" Sakazaki's fist *explodes* into Yuri's stomach. She's his daughter. She can take it. If she can't, he'll just have made his point that much clearer.
COMBATSYS: Yuri endures Takuma's Weakened Medium Punch.
TAKUMA
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Yuri 0/-------/---====|
"NO! I won't go!" Yuri snaps back angrily, her teeth gritted and her scowl still there. Her face only contorts deeper as her fist is knocked away. "Dad, you need to stop and think about what you're doing!" A pause as Yuri sees her dad rearing back to throw a punch. "What am I saying?! You won't do that!" She stands defiantly as her father punches her, and hits her straight in the stomach, causing her to double over and stagger backwards...
And then come right back up and send forth a blast of chi from both of her fists with a loud yell. Almost like she was a rubber dummy bouncing back and then forth.
COMBATSYS: Takuma fails to slow Haoh Sho Ko Ken from Yuri with Weakened Large Thrown Object.
TAKUMA
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Yuri 0/-------/--=====|
With father and daughter sparring with their fists and feet as much as their words - and the kind of unnerving likeness in which Yuri's retorts sound an awful lot like Marisol's when she occasionally talks down to the shop teacher like she's had significantly more life experience than he has - the older man has largely chosen it's time to call it a day.
To the later night students out there doing their thing, most of them seem to be content to just continue doing their thing. It /is/ a common occurrence here, huh. Some try to point out there's shrapnel in his chin, to which he responds with just a handwave and the shake of his head before getting into his car and just going home.
He hopes there's still something left he can actually /eat/ for dinner. He hasn't had a chance to eat at all today.
Well, it hits. In part, this is surely something owing to Yuri's own burgeoning talent, but even if it is, this is a Thing that Sakazaki refuses - absolutely refuses - to acknowledge. The Haoh slaps into his side even as he's reaching for the nearby fridge in an attempt to topple it into the fireball's path, and sends Takuma staggering back several paces. His backside hits the far kitchen counter, while his cooking gi smokes from the impact of his daughter's attack.
"...! Yuri, what have I told you about throwing fireballs in the house! YOU ARE OFFICIALLY GROUNDED UNTIL I'VE DECIDED YOU'RE BACK TO BEING THE LITTLE GIRL I RAISED!" There is something to that. Takuma doesn't see it yet, that much is definite. Instead, he's lunging for his daughter, grabbing at her gi with a free hand, and FLIPPING her over a shoulder, presumably to land on her back, roughly, laid-out on the kitchen's middle island.
-Is what goes on in Sakazaki's head. It's certainly his *plan*... but then he spies Rust leaving out of the corner of his eye. Manners dictate:
Sakazaki gives his houseguest and student a cheery smile. "Rust! Drive safe. Soba next time. Promise." Back to Yuri. A frown.
"You just can't take a dose of your own medicine is the problem," Yuri snaps back. "You're going to ground me for that, when you clearly brought it on yourself?" Another barefooted stomp on the ground. "Dad, you're crazier than I thought!" She grits her teeth even more for a moment, breathing heavily as she regains her stamina from the fireball that just drew a little more out of her than she anticipated.
"Maybe THIS will teach you to think more carefully!" Yuri shouts as she takes two running steps, then leaps up and attempts to smack her foot against her father's face.
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Medium Kick from Yuri with Zanretsu Ken.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
TAKUMA
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Yuri 1/--=====/=======|
It's with a distinct amount of love that Takuma's reaching for his daughter's leg, brutally PULLING her into him like he does. Something about the girl's tone, and even more specifically about her FLIPPANT ATTITUDE and RULE-BREAKING has Sakazaki at the end of his rope. Whatever restraint he'd exercised earlier is simply gone, battered away with the impact of a surprisingly strong kick against his surprisingly not-as-iron-as-he-dhoped midsection.
The kids are, slowly but surely, catching up to this old be-
"I SAID, --==NO FIREBALLS IN THE HOUSEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH==--!!"
Takuma lances a fist out to catch Yuri in the shoulder, and then... well, really, it's just a *collage* of punches, the same fist lancing out hundreds of times a second, to hit collar, face, and shoulder over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and then there's the uppercut.
She's a Sakazaki. She can take it.
"And you're not going to that tournament! That is =FINAL=!"
Yuri goes flying across the kitchen and lands in a crumpled heap. In fact, from the way she's lying, it looks like she's trying to get her legs on the floor to put her feet behind her head. Of course, that's a crazy way to land, but when you've just been hit like that, you tend to land in funny looking positions. Could it be that Takuma Sakazaki has knocked his own daughter out?
Nope. A few whimpers and then Yuri starts to stir once again. She somehow gets herself onto her stomach, then slowly works herself up onto her feet again. When she turns to face her father, she's got a black eye now and her nose is bleeding a little as well. Yet, even with that and the fact she's hunched over slightly instead of in her usual fighting stance, Yuri still remains defiant. "You can say what you want..." Yuri weakly sputters, "You can hurt me all you want... but you will NEVER stop me!" Tears start to stream from Yuri's eyes as she narrows them and clenches her fists. "Do you hear me? You can't stop me at all!" The more she breathes, the more the tears stream as she stares angrily at her father.
COMBATSYS: Yuri gains composure.
TAKUMA
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Yuri 1/---====/=======|
Takuma takes a moment to straighten his gi. His resolve is, if anything, bolstered by the sight of his baby girl broken on the floor before him; it hurts. There's the flicker of a frown across his face, but it's rapidly replaced with stony dispassion, set eyes. Already, Takuma's moving to the exploded pots and pans, to the leaking fridge. He finds a rag, blown off of the counter by prior events, and drops to a knee to begin cleaning.
"On the floor, crying like a five-year old, going on like words are going to change my mind. You don't even practice like you're ready to fight for real. Throwing students the wrong way to keep them from being hurt? Teaching restraint in the classroom?? This is why you're still in the beginning classes! This is why you can't proceed!! Fighting hurts everybody involved, and the people in this tournament WILL kill you if they have to! Until you can grow up - until you're done acting like a spoiled little princess, I'm not letting you make adult decisions! You are NOT going to that tournament, and that is FINAL."
COMBATSYS: Takuma takes no action.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|-----==========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Yuri 1/---====/=======|
"I'm not just crying like a five-year-old," Yuri snaps, blinking a few times before rubbing her eyes. "I'm simply showing my shame at how you treat someone who's sixteen years old! You just obviously don't understand, do you?!" Yuri starts to get back into a normal fighting stance again. "You'll never understand! You never will!" A step foward. "I was hoping that you wouldn't find out about this, since I knew you'd be trying to interfere with me. But Mr. Rust had to bring it up, and I felt obliged to tell you."
Another step forward. "And naturally, you wrecked the whole kitchen! You say I'm throwing a tantrum? Look at you, look at the mess YOU made!" Yuri points a finger at her father accusingly. "Dad, I can't understand you at all! You don't get my points ever, but maybe THIS will!" Another step, and this one is followed by a running dash as Yuri attempts to deliver a leaping uppercut into her father with a cry of, "Yuri Chou Upper!"
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Yuri Chou Upper from Yuri with Kishin Geki.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|-------------==
[ \\\\\ <
Yuri 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Doors open, measured steps cutting through, approaching the kitchen. He must be someone who belongs here, because there's very few people that don't already live in the Kyokugen Dojo that could come through unchallenged. Nothing unexpected is about to happen at all.
Then every glass in the kitchen shakes, a gigantic hand shoving aside the traditional screen door. "TAKUMA SAKAZAKI!" The force of one of the mightiest voices in the world of fighting - if not the world itself - sets the glasses to shaking again, rumbling in the chest.
Mike Haggar, Mayor of Metro City, erupts across the threshold, strapped up and shirtless. His gloves curl around a length of pipe he picked up along the way, and his face is stony as he breathes deep, preparing to issue some kind of challenge.
His eyes sweep the room. Busted fridge. Huge mess. A girl - Takuma's daughter, he's seen a picture once - screaming and swinging. His mustache wilts - Jessica is far more proper, the worst she ever did in an argument was break a plate on the ground, like a proper lady! It looks like Haggar has caught Takuma at a... bad time.
Smoothly, he steps back across the threshold, bowing deeply at the waste, muttering "cheese pastry" in Japanese because he's bad at the language. Without looking up, he slides the door back closed.
The kitchen is always wrecked whenever family members begin arguing. It's sort of a running gag, and definitely the reason the Sakazaki household has two kitchens. Nonetheless, Takuma is not really listening to what Yuri is saying. She'd mentioned something about "Ashamed that you would treat a sixteen year old like this", at which point, really, Takuma once again fell into his own disbelief. This is not really an argument about Takuma ignoring that his daughter is young and coming into her own and being an adult. It's not even really an argument about Takuma being a misogynistic jerk, which is also completely true.
This is an argument about Yuri having zero idea about the world's Yamazakis and Ioris, who are almost certainly going to be in that tournament.
It's why Takuma feels zero remorse for grabbing hold of his beautiful baby girl's gi, pulling her into a lighting-fast punch to the hip, and following it with a spinning elbow to the thigh, and finally an uppercut to her now horizontal midsection.
"HYEAH! This is fighting! This is what you're trying to get involved in! The world doesn't care that you're sixteen years old and my baby girl, and I'll be damned if my daughter grows up believing that pedantic horsesh-"
Haggar explodes onto the scene. He disappears.
He will hear silence in his departure, followed by a weak chuckle, a distant, "...H-Haggar! It's bee- ah. Later. Yuri, you aren't going."
Yuri is sent sailing across the kitchen, slamming into a wall and landing in a crumpled heap once again, right close to Haggar. If she weren't out cold before, she is now. But damned if she doesn't have a strong will, as she pushes herself back up one last time. "That's what you think... father..." She takes a few breaths, albeit rather shaky ones. "No fireballs in the house... right... like you'll stop me..." Yuri brings her hands back behind her and focuses them one last time. "If this is how you wanna be, then tell it to THIS!" And sends forth one hell of a fireball this time, before falling flat on her face afterward.
COMBATSYS: Yuri can no longer fight.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|-------------==
COMBATSYS: Takuma endures Yuri's Denjin Haoh Sho Ko Ken.
TAKUMA
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0|---------------|---------======
Yuri Sakazaki has unwittingly gotten all of her cellphone privileges removed for at least a month or something.
It's the second fireball that does it. Takuma wants to say something about the point of the fight, but there's not much to say - she's passed out, and more importantly, he's noticing that the fireball is streaking straight for the door leading to the beer cooler. In a show of presumably herculean determination, Takuma throws himself before the thing, to catch it full in the chest and slam back-first against his own wall -- he slumps to the ground, undaunted, chest smoking.
Yuri is unconscious.
"Hmm," mutters the old man. "If only that Mr. Karate fellow were around to teach her a bit about how serious fighting can be."
COMBATSYS: Takuma has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:56:42 01/03/2011 by Rust, and last modified on 00:07:23 01/04/2011.