Description: Aranha has been busy handling matters in preparation for the King of Fighters tournament. The thing is, that it hasn't left him with time to talk with one of his team mates. He has found out that his team is going to Metro City for their first match and time has run out for one of the objectives he wanted to achieve before they depart.
Aranha wanted to talk to Wing about some things before the King of Fighters tournament came up however something seemed to always come up. First there was the whole managing travel thing for the duration of the tournament, accomodations, the whole nine yards. Then Aranha had to take care of that situation at Stonehenge with Naerose. Then when Aranha finally had some peace and quiet to take care of things with his team the fight cards are announced and time runs out for him to talk with Wing before they have to head off to Metro City, to fight.
Of course, what this means is Aranha is going to change his approach to this particular conversation. He sends a text to Wing to give her an address to a small cafe in Southtown Village to meet to discuss some things both about the upcoming fight and other matters.
Wing's still not quite sure what to think.
After her confrontation with Annie, she's been uneasy, looking over the past weeks of her life; how little time she's actually spent with her prospective team, how little she seems to have changed in the wake of Jinchuu. Needless to say, the Littlest Gangster isn't by nature given to a great deal of reflection. But that strange energy the psychic blonde wielded stirred up some of the dark sediment in the back of Wing's beast-like brain. She's come a long way, she's sure of it. Her loyalty to Aranha, she doesn't doubt it for a minute, and more importantly, she's not ashamed of admitting that to herself. But--
She's still afraid.
It's not a conscious thought, really, and not something she's articulated. But after that encounter, even though she was victorious -- perhaps that's why she was willing to do more than just forget it -- she's been experiencing this odd, itching, sinking sense that still, after all that, her main motivator is fear. Fear of being weak, fear of being exposed as a fraud, fear of not being recognized by the people that... well... she wants to be recognized by. Her grandpa, still probably scowling back in Hong Kong. Her parents, up in heaven. And--
Well, you know.
So, hands stuffed in the pockets of her new hoodie, Wing enters the cafe with an uncharacteristically subdued expression. She's not wearing anything fancy, though her clothes are new, replacements. She doesn't seem to be brooding, particularly, or pissed about anything. But her brow is furrowed, and when she sees Aranha seated she just smiles, raising a hand in salute, before approaching him and sitting down.
"Hey," she says simply, still smiling slightly. She doesn't know anything about Aranha's interaction with Karin, or that Annie encountered him. She has no idea what he's going to say. She assumes it's just business, which is fine. If anything, she's grateful she's still a part of the process, and that he clearly works to bring her in. With unusual awareness of her own emotions, to say nothing of social protocol, she then says, "Thanks for checking in with me."
Abruptly, it seems to occur to her she might be acting a little weird, so she then flashes a grin and leans back in her seat, even though her tone of voice does not change to its usual boisterous style. "What's up, man?"
While Aranha has been hearing that Wing has been a little hellion, he has no details as far as who Wing has been tomenting other than Karin. He knows that she flipped out on somebody in a jealous rage, he knows that he's a person Wing has a crush on if not the only one. And while he's not sure, he suspects that it was because of her crush on him. He doesn't know that it was Annie that Wing flipped out on nor the fact that he was the one who tipped Annie off on the fact that it was all a misunderstanding.
Karin, that was another matter all together. He knew about her causing a ruckus at a fancy restaurant, he knew about Karin being defeated by Wing, and the most important part is that he knew Karin wanted to avenge her wounded pride.
That's what brings him to this moment right now. "Wing, I hear you've been making friends." Yes, there's a little sarcasm there. "I was hoping to address this before the King of Fighters came up but we travel for Metro City soon. A Karin Kanzuki told me that she was looking for you. She was even going to give me money to give up your location. I refused."
He lets a pause hang there for a moment to give her time to process that information. "I refused because first of all, I knew I've done horrible things because of pride, things I regret to this very day. Things that drew the wrong type of attention to my sister and put her in danger. I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to let pride control her to that point where it would put you in danger and she didn't do anything that she would probably end up regretting later. The second reason was that she kept trying to treat me as if I was less than human."
"But she eventually addressed my concern about whether or not her pride would make her do something she regretted. And after our fight she showed that it was indeed possible for her to treat me as if I was a human being. As a result, I wanted to arrange a fight between you two myself, one to be kept civil. Things kept coming up and I wasn't able to do so."
Wing listens in silence.
As Aranha likely knows all too well, it's not too easy to strike Wing speechless. Admittedly, she seems a little tamer today, less in the sort of steal-all-your-shrimp mood that is her more usual idiom. But while her lips part instinctively to protest as soon as Karin's name comes up, all sorts of excuses and defiant comments tumbling naturally up her throat, something about his tone -- and her own mood -- contains her. She doesn't end up saying anything. And then, when he begins to explain himself fully, she has nothing more to say.
Though her gaze flickers down and away several times over the course of his words, by the end of it, she is still looking him in the eyes, though her chin is slightly lowered. Her lips are pursed, as though tense, but her eyes are soft.
She's flushing slightly.
"Um..."
She swallows once.
"...thanks, Keith."
She raises a hand as though about to perform some nervous gesture, grows self-conscious about it, uncertainly scratches the side of her head, and then lowers it to the table.
"You really... stuck up for me, huh."
She believes him, of course, but-- well, even though she trusts him, it surprises her. Surprises her that he wouldn't scold her at least a little. She believes that fundamentally he understands her, which is why she even listens to his advice ever in the first place, that fundamentally he has come from a similar place of general frustration and defiance and a casual opposition to anyone who thinks they can tell her what to do. He's just learned more, has more experience at it, understands what works and what doesn't. She would've listened to a lecture, even if she wouldn't have liked it. But this isn't a lecture.
"...I, uh..."
Sure, whatever, she'd have fought Karin if Karin had found her. She'd even do it with both hands tied behind her back. Fundamentally, she doesn't care. The rich bitch can win or lose; far as Wing's concerned, it's already decided. She clearly got under Karin's skin, and that gives her some serious satisfaction. That satisfaction is deferred for the moment, however. Moved by Aranha's concern, her own desires are, in this rare moment, far from her mind.
"...if you're setting the terms, I'll accept a match."
Her flush deepens slightly, but instead of seeming shy, she grins.
"Fair and square."
Yeah. Even if she's weak, even if she's afraid, even if everything else gets thrown for a loop, and the inadequacies that plague her can't be resolved...
Aranha's her friend.
She can really count on him.
She... doesn't have to worry.
Wing probably should keep her guard up. The lecture is coming. Soon. He just wanted to make sure she knew some things before that lecture came.
"That's the thing though. Because things have been so hectic, I haven't been able to set the match. Like I said, we leave for Metro City soon and I won't be able to arrange it before we do. It's a shame to because I was hoping to use it as a warm up for before our first match."
He leans back in his chair as he puts a bottle of vitamin water to his lips while he takes a moment to think about what he's going to say to the chibi thug. "One of the things, I wanted to make sure of was that everyone was to treat each other civily if we were to have that fight. I would've given you instructions to walk away from the moment Karin started throwing insults in either of our directions." That's when Aranha's lips curl into a devious grin. "If she doesn't finish the fight, she can't avenge her pride. But otherwise, I would've wanted you to finish the fight so you gain more experience and I could gain more information about her."
Now here it comes... "Anyway, what were you doing over at that restaurant? Why did things get busted up over there?"
Wing spoke too soon, perhaps.
"Don't worry," she assures him, some of her usual brash confidence returning as she leans back in her chair, the uncertainty that had been plaguing her the last few days fading away with this reassurance of her bond with Aranha. Tilting her head almost playfully, the petite thugette crosses her arms behind her head, a gesture that might thrust her chest forward if she-- well, you know. "I've been practicing hard. Some of them were even able to fight back. I haven't been beaten in ages." She's half-joking, but her confidence in her own readiness for battle is genuine.
Her smile fades slightly, though her posture doesn't change, speaking as he takes a drink. "Seriously, don't worry about me. I'm good to go whenever..."
Buuuuut then the questions start.
"Oh, you know," she mumbles, her gaze drifting all of a sudden as the sudden query takes her by surprise. "I was hungry." Brow furrowing, she abruptly pounds her little fists on the table, rounding on him. "Can't a girl eat wherever she wants to!? Why shouldn't I be able to eat in a nice restaurant!? I'm more than just the Queen of the Streets now! I'm a Queen of Fighters!" She's just rattling off her usual phrases, her indignance more of a show than anything. Eventually, it starts to feel a little too hollow, even to her. Looking a little miffed, but not very, she eventually just shrugs, pursing her lips like a petulant child and crossing her arms.
"They all just pissed me off, sitting around and thinking they're better than me. I just wanted to give them a little scare. Didn't think that blonde brat would get in the way -- though I didn't mind it."
Realizing she has an opportunity to change the subject, she then quirks an eyebrow at him, starting to grin a little again. "Man, your friend Naerose sure is a weird one, though," she teases, conveniently forgetting inviting Naerose was /mostly/ her effort. "I had to drag her out of that place before we both got arrested."
When Wing starts rattling off those same phrases, Aranha lets her. First of all he knows he's probably not going to get word in edgewise. Second, from what he can read of her body language is that she doesn't to buy into her own excuses. Eventually the real reason comes out.
He seems ready to speak up but Wing attempts to change the subject to Naerose being there. He suddenly feels a head ache coming on and a hand moves to his forehead as he cringes. Had he have known, probably would've said something to Naerose who probably wouldn't have remembered it.
Aranha rejects this attempt to steer the conversation to another path and then guides right back to where he was going with it. "Heavy-handed shit like that only gives them all the more reason to believe that they're better than you. You want to know why? Because in their perception, doing that type of thing only makes you look like a mindless brute. I know you're not a mindless brute. You go to Justice. A school I probably would've never even hoped to be able to go to." Apparently Aranha had been doing his homework on his team mate. "You even proved that when we were in Taizhou! You may scare them but you won't have their respect. One question." He pauses for a moment to think about his words. "Aside from winning that fight against Kanzuki and pissing her off to the point that she sought out each of your team mates for your whereabouts, what did you achieve?"
If Wing weren't embarrassed, irritated, and confused, she'd be impressed. Perhaps someday, when she has the presence of mind and a little more empathy, she'll look back and realize what an effort Aranha put into reaching out to her, understanding her, persuading her. She never thought of him as a man who wasted words, but the thought he seems to have put into his speech is-- well, though she's not aware of it, it stirs her. More even than her inherent respect for him, which makes it difficult for her to be as angry as she would be normally, the force of his words hit home.
He's making good points.
"That's... I mean, let them think what they want, right? It's not like I'm trying to /impress/ them, man..." But what is she trying to prove? The comment about her education actually takes Wing aback. She doesn't talk about it, but yeah, she does her homework. She's not, like, a great student, but she gets by. But that's--
"Look, I..."
Wing trembles slightly, but with unprecedented maturity, she maintains her composure. She's not fully aware, even, that she's behaving with remarkable self-possession, for her. Part of it is what Annie hit her with; part of it is what Aranha's said. But during that fight, she remembered, she remembered that--
"...I'm only here because my grandpa sent me away."
Why doesn't it seem shameful, anymore? She thought it'd be impossible to tell him. But he's not just challenging her. He's trusting her. She doesn't realize that consciously, but it's clear to her, and it makes it possible to speak.
"When my parents died, he took me in, but he never let me-- go out, or do anything. He made me learn kung-fu, and made me feel like a piece of shit, too." She doesn't sound angry, talking about it now, but that's only because it's Aranha listening. "Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I almost beat him, but... I couldn't. He got me. Then he sent me away. Boarding school. Said I couldn't come back until I reformed, but it was like paradise. Hell if I'm going back. I've got to at least get passing grades, you know?" she adds plaintively, as though making an excuse for /not/ failing at school. But she doesn't try to impress Aranha with her OG bullshit anymore.
"I'm... going to go back and kick his ass someday."
She says that, but her brow is furrowed, voicing aloud at last a thought she's taken for granted for a long, long time, and hasn't thought about in just as long. Is that what she's going to do? Now that she's a Queen of Fighters, is that her goal?
"Or at least... I'm going to show him, you know? But not because I care what he thinks. I just want that moment. That moment, when I /know/ I'm stronger than him. He only has to know it too for a moment. Then I can... walk away."
Wing's body is tense, her eyes are narrowed -- but her gaze is lowered, confused.
"...They're all like him," she finally murmurs, almost too quiet to be heard. "They'll never recognize me unless I force them. And how's that going to happen if I just... do what makes them happy? It's... it's fuckin' impossible, man."
Her little fists are clenched, white-knuckled, on the table.
"He'll /never/ be happy."
To understand the way Aranha does things you have to go back to why people like Rugal Bernstein, Vega, and hell even Karin Kanzuki had trouble getting him to do what they wanted him to do even to the point of him pushing against them. They didn't take time to understand the motivations of the person they were dealing with.
In the cases of Vega and Rugal they utilized intimidation to try to scare him into what they wanted him to do. In Karin's case, she used brute force methods of both ordering him around and throwing money at him and failed even in spite of him practically telling her how to succeed in getting what she wanted. She wouldn't have if not for a final act of courtesy which had tipped the scales. Mr. Big on the other hand had a bit more success with him because, he took the time to understand Aranha's motivations.
Aranha takes this approach when dealing with others be it in a social situation and even in his fights. Take the time to understand who you're dealing with and you'll have more success. It was a conclusion he first came to when he was playing games of poker to bring home more money for his sister, and found that it applied to almost every situation from capoeira roda, to dealing with people in general.
Because of this, Aranha is quiet when Wing speaks appreciating the effort it must take to talk about this with him. It reminds him of the confessions he had made to his team mates.
"You know, that's the good thing about them not recogizing you though. They'll never see you coming until it's too late. That's one of the reasons I put forth the name Dark Horses as a possible name of our team. As for your gramps, he sounds like he got some..." He pauses when he realizes he talking to someone who is a minor in his place of birth and clears his throat. "... issues he needs to work out."
"Ha! Yeah..."
Wing chuckles to herself, relieved that Aranha hasn't pressed her too closely after her confession, glad that it wasn't as hard as she always imagined it would be. Glad, too, in a weird way, that her words actually don't seem frivolous or stupid after she's said them. Maybe what she was afraid of wasn't that she'd be mocked, or pitied, or treated like a child, but that her own problems would seem insignificant as soon as they escaped her head, that only if she jealously cultivated her own secret sense of victimization would she continue to seem important.
But Keith clearly thinks she's important. So...
"Yeah."
That's a start.
"You know," she continues, able to meet Aranha's gaze again now, smiling slightly, "I don't think gramps is as important to me as he used to be, anymore. I mean, s'not like I'm eager to see him, or anything; not like I plan on talking to him, or letting him know I'm in KoF. I kinda just... fell into the habit. Of, you know-- treating stuck-up people like they were him." Wing fails to grasp the depth of how ingrained her instinctive resistance against authority is, but at least she has a general sense of it all. "That girl... she pisses me off, but she doesn't have anything to do with him."
Wing pauses for a moment, and then grins again.
"Even if it has to wait until after the tournament," she says, "I think I'll be looking forward to another one-on-one with that girl."
She squints for a moment, reflecting, as her grin turns lopsided.
"Seems like she's... taking me seriously."
She hadn't thought about it like /that/ before.
Aranha nods as his lips curl into a smile at a much calmer Wing Xiaoping. He has issues of his own he would like to talk to Wing about. After all, she shared hers. The problem is that his is the type he doesn't want to air out in a public location like this.
Instead, he resolved to at the very least tell her at a later time of his relationship with his own teacher, how in his case he was the only one to blame for his ties being cut, about his own family issues, and his own regrets.
"I can't believe our first fight will be in Metro City. I want to have Welcome to Metro City playing before I fight." A wistful look appears on his face. "I might even get a chance to visit my sister."
Wing blinks. Having been put into that rare mood -- one that will hopefully be becoming less rare -- in which she pays more than superficial attention to the emotions of others, she is briefly flustered to realize that, for all that she's been pouring her heart out, she's never tried to ask anything about Aranha himself. Of course, they both value their privacy, which is fair. But again, intuitively, she understands that he went out of his way to find a path to communicate with her, to draw her out. And he succeeded.
"Umm..."
She ought to reciprocate. And besides--
"That's right... you're from Metro, huh?"
She's genuinely curious.
"What's your sister like?"
A fist that was only moments ago furiously clenched is relaxed into a palm, upon which she gently rests her chin, the delinquent smiling almost cherubically at him as she tilts her head. It's a dreamy expression, quite unlike her, making her appear much more a young woman than a little devil.
"I'd like to meet her."
She has just enough social awareness to make that sound like an idle comment, and not a hopeful one, lest that be awkward.
"Yeah... I was born in Metro City." He smiles at the mention of the city. Although he had it hard there, there were some bright moments. The times he played in the capoeira roda during the classes, that one time he used parkour to get himself into a position to see the ball drop in Metro Square on New Years' Eve.
He's broken out of his reverie by Wing's next question. He brings a finger to his lips in a thoughtful expression. "Well..."
Log created on 20:20:16 02/06/2011 by Aranha, and last modified on 12:08:27 02/07/2011.