Description: Loss after loss after loss after loss... Lynn finds herself trapped in the overcast of despair after a string of losses. Pierces the clouds of darkness, however, is a world famous Psycho Soldier. What? No, not Athena. The other one. Dammit it isn't Bao either. What? How does Momoko get more popular than- It is Kensou! Sie Kensou goes over to cheer up Lynn. Are you happy now?
Her wounds from the attack a couple weeks ago were finally healed up enough that she didn't need to wear bandages underneath her shirt anymore...but Lynn was possibly more damaged than ever now. It wasn't a murderous attempt on her life, no, but meeting the man who named himself as 'Gato' and fighting him for the honor of the Ryu Zui Ken dojo ended rather...disastrously. And whatever private thoughts he or the ninja who had vowed to watch over the dojo for various private reasons may have had toward her, all she heard was scathing contempt for her weakness. Perhaps it was colored by her own emotions at that point, but she took away a horrible lesson from that fight:
She was weak. Too weak to to do anything. She knew there was something wrong in the city, and that she wanted to help stop whatever darkness was encroaching....but what could she do if she couldn't protect her own home? The lawn was destroyed, the sign still tossed aside like so much trash....the house and style her grandfather built and entrusted in Lynn laid in shambles, and it was all her fault. Kneeling in the middle of the dojo, Lynn sat, trying to calm herself. Something in her knew this was the wrong mindset, and that there is always going to be someone stronger...but it wasn't just about losing. It was losing as bad as she did, in her own home, as a representative of the style she was supposed to embody. This thought kept creeping up into her mind, no matter hard she tried to meditate, her latest attempt, at least the 8th since that day, ended up in failure as the thought rose up again like a virus. Her head fell, slumping as her hands came up to cup her face. "....grandfather....I'm sorry.....I've failed you...."
But the news of Ryu Zui Ken's loss did not reach all ears.
Sie Kensou was here for the same goal of countless others before him. To fight the Ryu Zui Ken dojo's mistress. No, mistress was the wrong word. Master was more appropiate. But if it was a female leader, as Kensou heard, it would be rude to call her a master. Except calling her a mistress, while genderly correct, might imply some unfortunate things. Maybe sensei would work. Unless she wasn't teaching.
Man, dojo jumping was a lot harder than it looked.
Kensou's goals were the same as many, but as he wanted to make clear, his motivations were not. The chinese teenager was garbed in his jean jacket and shorts, carrying a massive wicker basket in his arms. Held near his knees, the great basket was filled with only Kensou's most prized possessions.
Meatbuns.
Loaded with meatbuns, it was tied with a bow on top. The steaming mass of stuffed dumplings were loaded almost taller than the Psycho Soldier himself, pulled together as a great goodwill gift to the woman. A look of utter lust and desire for the meatbuns consumed Kensou's face, the delicious aroma of the buns filling all his senses. Walking through the peaceful lawn that made the dojo's exterior, he carefully, ever carefully approached the padoga. Closing in, he finally calls out to the padoga, the heap of meatbuns swaying from the grips of the massive basket.
"Yo! Is Sensei Lynn here!"
The loud shout outside wasn't easy to miss. But considering the state of the Dojo, and of Lynn's own state of mind, she wasn't exactly up to take visitors or students. Even if she would've realized that she didn't recognize the voice of the 'student' shouting for her in a more lucid state, the result probably would've been the same even if she wasn't totally listless. Rising up, still with her face in her hands, the young instructor slowly shambled toward the door out into the yard.
Pushing the doors open, Lynn peeked her head out, looking rather...disheveled, hair frizzed all over the place. "I'm sorry, we're closed to students, still..." she says tiredly, looking straight at the visitor...and yet her far away gaze tells it all, not really looking at the man bearing meatbuns at all.
The massive mound of meatbuns, clutched by the teenager, remains silent for but a moment. Suddenly, a great groan is heard. Peeking around the basket, the very heap shudders as Kensou peers out, a massive meatbun fixed in his maw. "Mmmm-mmm?" The wide-eyed lad questions, before in a single slurp, consumes the whole of the meatbun in a single swallow.
"Uuuuurp!"
Kensou inspects the young lady, quizzingly. While not in the same league as Athena in more ways than one, he could sense something wrong with the sensei. "Eya! I mean! I'm not here to be a student! Look here!" He insists, struggling to lift up the basket JUST a bit higher, to empahsize them. "A gift of goodwill, for the sensei of this dojo! I have heard that good people are here, and I wish to test him! Well, her. Him-her?" Kensou puzzles, before shrugging. "In any case, let me make this clear. I am Sie Kensou, Psycho Soldier and fighter for justice! And I wish to challenge the leader of this dojo, to not only test their might, but test their dedication to justice! And to prove my goodwill..." Kensou looks towards the meatbuns.
And wiggles his eyebrows, suggestively.
It takes a while for Lynn to actually focus her eyes, finally actually looking at the visitor rather than looking past him in her dour. As she glances him up and down, she takes note of the offering of meatbuns. Looking back up, she steps out, still in casual clothes, easily mistakable for pajamas or night wear.
"I'm sorry...but I'm not taking any challenges, today or in the near future," she says, almost mechanically, eyes downcast as she raises her arms up and gives a weak bow in return before trying to step back through the threshold. "I apologize. If you want a challenge, you might be better off looking for another dojo."
Of course, Kensou was already in mid-bite, snagging another meatbun with his teeth.
"MMMph-A MMMPH!?" Kensou exclaims as his eyes Lynn, eyes wide. The fact she was turning down the challenge was a surprise to the teenager. The WAS something off with Lynn's aura. Her expression, her distant look... this was a girl whose spirit was truly being tested, and a bleakness taking hold of her heart. Kensou had seen it too many times before. But Kensou did not come to simply fight just any dojo.
He came for companionship!
With another great slurp, he swallows a second meat bun, grunting in pain. "Huuuurk! What? You aren't taking any challenges? It isn't because of the gangs, is it?" Kensou asks more firmly. "I have come here to fight the gangs! And to promote a safer Sunshine City, alongside my partner in justice, Athena! Did one of the gangsters come by here and attack the place? Or maybe..." Kensou casts a gaze at the meatbuns. A look of pain masks a lustful leer of utter hunger. "... Maybe you don't like meatbuns?" The chinese teenager blinks again, looking at the heap, mouth watering.
Before taking another meatbun from the heap with his mouth.
The girl did feel sorely tested sadly....but even she, in all her current moroseness, can't help but give Kensou a glance of worry as he tries to swallow a meatbun whole and end up with some...serious strain trying to choke it down. "...are you ok?" she asks, watching him, and glancing back down to his basket of meatbuns. Whoever this guy is really has some issues if he's bringing a basket of meatbuns around everywhere just for him to snack on.
Of course, that moment of worry for the strange boy ends up faltering back into her dour, a deep sigh coming from the dojo heir. "No....yes...not really, but..." She sighs, rubbing her face. She really felt at a loss for words right now, and not just because of that almsot manic upbeatness he had.
Or maybe because he just couldn't let the meatbuns thing go. "No, it's not about meatbuns, either." She sighed again, hand at the door, just about ready to close it. "Good luck trying to clean up the city. I don't think I'll be help to you or anybody though..."
Taking the meatbun in his maw, Kensou just shakes his head.
"Mmmph! Mmm mmm mmmmmph!" He responds, his salivia running over the meatbun bigger than his own head. Truly, these Meatbuns WERE a gift. But is was obvious that she wasn't interested in them. But at least Kensou could tell in her voice that she was sincere: It wasn't the meatbuns. With the loudest slurp, he inhales the third meatbun.
And promptly Kensou's face turns blue.
Kensou opens his mouth, making a loud, choking sound. "GGGGAAAAAA-" Dropping the whole of the basket, the meatbuns tumble to the ground. Kensou falls to his knees, mourning the falling of the buns.... before clutching his throat and chest. "GAAAAAAA-" He continues to gag, looking up at Lynn with pleading, begging eyes. It seems that Kensou will die, just as he have lived.
Without Athena paying attention to him.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why you chew your food properly before swallowing.
Lynn is just about ready to close the door on the stranger bearing food and good will. That is, until he tries to swallow another meatbun whole again, one bigger than he had any right to be eating period, forget in one bite. The door is barely is almost closed before it flings wide open again soon as she hears him choking.
Eyes widening, Lynn's actions are surprisingly quick. Stepping behind him, her arms wrap around his stomach, hand in fist. She's apparently done this before, judging by her swiftness. "Hold on!" she shouts, before both hands are swiftly thrust up into his diaphragm in order to get him to cough it up. "Come on!" she says hissed through her breath before she does it again, hoping the Heimlich Maneuver doesn't fail her this time.
Kensou's life flashes before his eyes.
It is the back of Athena's head.
She never turns around throughout the entire vision.
Finally, the hallucenation ends when, with a great retch, the meatbun bursts from his mouth, the pieces pouring upon the ground in a foul vomit. "Uuuuuuuaaaagh. Uuuuuuaaaaaaaaagh. UUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAGH...."
"Uuuagh."
Kensou continues to lean over, dry heaving. "You... you saved my life! Th-thank you. But...." The teenager looks forlornly to the broken meatbuns laying across the ground, the basket upturned. Kensou stares at them, struggling back the tears. Looking back at Lynn, he just grins sheepishly. "S-s-sorry." He apologizes, sniffling hard. Looking down at his body, he suddenly turns bright red. "What... are you doing to me-" And suddenly his eyes goes wide.
"I think you just broke a rib."
A gasp of relief comes from Lynn as she's able to force the meat bun out of the unknown boy's throat, even if it results in him basically retching all over her door. Better a door ruined than a life lost. Once he's breathing again, the girl unwraps her arms from around him. "Thank god." She then gives him a quizzical look as he asks what she's even doing. "...I'm doing the Heimlich Maneuver! You were choking on those meatbuns you kept trying to swallow whole!" she snaps chidingly. "What were you even thinking?"
Kensou looks HELPLESS.
"What do you mean, what I was doing!?" He shouts, clutching the bottom of his chest as he rises up. "I was trying to share with you a gift from the Psycho Soldiers! Delicious Bao! You know, meatbuns!" He exclaims, before wincing again. "Ayaaaaa...." He groans, rubbing his chest, doing what he can to not look at the remains of those delicious gifts.
"So much wasted food.... ayaaaaa."
Bringing an arm before his eyes, he leans his head back, hanging his jaw loose in grief. "Such is life. BUt hey!" He jerks his head up, breaking from his morose grieving. "What's the matter with me? If anything, I should be asking what is the matter with you!" He finally states, pointing an accusing finger at Lynn. "You are the master... mistress.... masteress of this dojo, are you not?" He questions, growing more intense.
"Why are you so much down in the dumps!?"
Rubbing her forehead, Lynn sighs. "I know what Baozi are. I mean...nevermind," she says. Apparently, self-awareness is not something Kensou is high on. Stepping back...and just now fretting over the fact that she's basically got puke all over her dor now, the young instructor takes a deep breath, releasing a low, slow exhale to try and settle herself back down after that minor crisis.
"Yes....yes I am," she says with a deep resigned tone. "And for why I'm in the dumps..." She gestures out toward the current state of the dojo. Lawn scortched, sign dented and left strewn across said-same lawn, puke on her door, and a rather....ghostly empty atmosphere suddenly. "I'm not exactly doing a good job of being head of a dojo."
Kensou was high off life!
And not because he learned how to freebase the cereal.
Kensou does look (which admittingly is his fault), and the rest of the place. It WAS empty, which was bizarre. Eyeing it warily, he swallows a bit. Where were all her students? Where was everyone. And why did it look like a warzone. And then, it hits him. It WAS a warzone
And to that, he just laughs!
"You are being too hard on yourself!" The Psycho Soldier pipes up. "I mean... the lawn might be burnt up; the sign might be broken, and I might have vomitted on your door. And nobody might be here. But you know what?" Sie Kensou just smiles, raising a fist up. "You still have your fighting spirit. I mean, you've clearly fought off all the bad guys that tried to beat you up, right?" Kensou's burning, intense grin does not yield.
"Riiiight?"
Kensou's obvious intent was to try and boost Lynn's ego, and try to make her feel good about herself. After all, judging from the area, there was a great fight, and the fact that she doesn't look overtly injured would lead to such a conclusion. Unfortunately, from where Lynn stood, it was also the totally wrong conclusion. Another sigh rolled over her body, causing her to slump over looking even more defeated than before.
"You should go home," she says, not even bothering to explain it all. After all, it's her problem to swallow, not his...
It really wasn't Kensou's problem.
Kensou was only here as a goodwill trip. Certainly, Athena could have come. But after Kensou's early elimination, Stuck in Sunshine City, he had a LOT of free time. And while he could be roaming around stomping gangs... he didn't want to risk getting himself in danger, forcing Athena out of the tournament to rescue him. Surely, as Kensou lowers his head, he begins to walk. He lets out his own sigh, and pivots to turn to Lynn.
Gently, Kensou places a hand on Lynn's shoulder.
"I am not going home." It hurt Kensou to see someone like Lynn to have a broken heart, to have a broken spirit. It was as if he saw Athena with her hopes and dreams shattered. Kensou had to cheer Lynn up. He just had to. "I don't know what happened here, and I guess you really don't have to tell me. But no matter how bad it is, you always got to believe. When things look down, you gotta look up! If you are not a good master now, then you must strive to become not good, but great!" Kensou holds a fist high, shaking it energetically. "I came here because I heard that the Ryu Zui Ken Dojo was a beacon of hope in this troubled city. And you know what I see? Admist all this chaos, all this destruction?"
"I see hope.
Kensou points at Lynn's chest, hoping she interpets it as aiming for her heart. "There is still hope here. Nobody really loses their dreams. Master Chin had an ancient chinese saying: If there are no clouds, there will be no rain. There is a cloud over the dojo, not an endless shadow. The shadows will pass. Even when things get so bad, that you can't see any way in sight?" Kensou flashes a goofy grin.
"You just got to never stop believing in yourself."
Lynn is stopped by the hand on her shoulder before she can turn around to head back through her door as she hears Kensou sympathize with...whatever he imagines is her problem. Whatever the difference between her actual issues and the ones he believes her to be suffering from, she listens. Her head rises up, listening to him try to be inspiring. She eyes the finger pointing and prodding at her chest toward her heart. Normally, that's the kind of thing that would get someone's hand slapped away and likely worse, but not today.
The saying brings her head up a little more. "<If there are no clouds, there is no rain>," she repeats, in proper Mandarin instead of English. "Grandfather used to say something similar,"
"... Your grandfather?"
Kensou's presence remains cheerful, while his expression grows more grim. He understood the Mandarin, the language of his homeland. Nodding solemnly, he focuses on the girl. "Elders usually are wise, Lynn. Do you think he would be disappointed in you know because of where the dojo is...."
"Because I wouldn't."
Kensou really didn't know how Lynn got here. But he couldn't leave her sad. Down in the dumps. All messy haired. "I bet he would be having trouble with the times right now too. But he wouldn't give up. I want to help you out, so..." Kensou looks out on the lawn. Swallowing, he decides to make the most foolish offer he could ever pull.
"... Who did this to your lawn? I can talk with them, bring them here, and make them apologize!"
The mumbled words of Mandarin roll off Lynn's tongue as Kensou tries to appeal to the memory of her grandfather. A shudder crosses her body as she exhales. "...it's my fault the Dojo is like this though. He trusted me to carry it on...and I failed. I can't even help the city if I can't even defend what grandfather entrusted me with..." she says, slumping back against the non-vomit covered part of the door as she covers her face with one hand.
"Th-the lawn....charity fight. It was burnt in a charity fight they held while I was gone..." she tries to explain. "The rest...someone else challenged the dojo...and I embarrased myself as my grandfather's heir."
Someone else challenged the dojo?
Kensou winces. Man, he DID feel like a jerk now. But he shakes off the embarassment with a resurgence of resolve. "So what if you failed? You don't think I fail all the time? Well, I mean, not all the time." Kensou pauses a bit, and then sighs. "Well, yes, I do fail quite often. But I don't let it bother me! If you are embarassed? Then that means you feel strongly about it! As a master of a dojo, you should take those feelings, and use it to drive your further to personal greatness! Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a dojo master who was defeated by the son of one of his rivals. When he lost, he was so ashamed, he ran away from his dojo, and wandered the entire world. By the time his daughter brought him home, he had completely lost his mind. You know what this man's name was?
"Ryuhaku Todoh.
"And you don't want to be like Ryuhaku Todoh, do you?"
Kensou shakes his head. Master Chin had told Kensou the story of Ryuhaku Todoh a few times as an example of how to properly treat loss. "Lost honor can always be regained. And I can help! We can get you your spunk right back, make you feel strong again! And then, we can have a true fight! And eat Bao! Lots and lots of Bao! And if I choke on bao again, you can pump it right out of me again!" Kensou gives a thumbs up. "Now, you said a charity fight did this?
"Do you know who were the two fire-crazy loonies who did this?"
The story doesn't quite sink in with Lynn. In fact, she just ends up sort of...staring blankly at Kensou as he tries to give her some sort of anecdote about her situation. Apparently, the name of 'Todoh' doesn't exactly resonate within Sunshine City as much as it might back in Southtown. "...wait, what?" she asks, just sort of dumbfounded at his attempt to raise her spirits.
"...I don't know who burnt my lawn. They didn't even ask me about the fight so we could sign off on using the dojo as a staging area," she insists, sighing and running her hands over her hair again. "I was planning on trying to get ahold of Mr. Gallo or someone else on the tournament board, but...then everything else happened and...."
And painfully, Kensou sighs.
Eyes shut, he shakes his head. "Just... the moral is that you don't lose hope!" He hastily adds to the end. Man. How did Athena manage to get attuned to the downtrodden. Maybe it was part of her unique charm. That warm smile. That ever-present joy. Kensou idly thinks back on the times where she is there for Kensou, to inspire him.
Kensou blinks.
"So, uh, Mr. Gallo is responsible?"
Lynn rubs her nose. Obviously, whatever happened during that challenge has made it...hard to break through whatever funk she was in. But at least she seems forthcoming with information about everything else currently. "No....yes...I don't know. Whoever made the tournament scheduling and picked the locations at least," she answers.
Sighing, she looks more frustrated than depressed at this point. "If you want to talk to him too, go ahead..." she says, trying to turn herself back toward the door. "I'm sorry about the meatbuns, and please...if you're going to eat them, chew, alright?" she says. It may be a small change, but better annoyed than wanting to curl up in a fetal position. That's one step so far.
Kensou clutches his heart, agony sweeping over him.
"I am sorry that I couldn't help you." He states flattly. "I have failed you, and have failed the Psycho Soldiers. BUt I will not let that stop me, or crush my enduring spirit!" Vowing to the heavens themselves, he rattles his fist. "But I will find this Mr. Gallo, and I vow on behalf of your dojo, that I will not only get him to apologize to you in person, but the ruffians who did this to you, your dojo, and your family honor!"
"But only on one condition!"
Kensou flashes another goofy grin. Waggling his eyebrows, he leans over towards Lynn. "I need you to do something for me..." He begins, looking Lynn right in the eyes. "You need to flash me..."
"A sincere smile!"
The young instructor sighs, turning back toward the door and just about ready to walk back through. It isn't until Kensou starts his spiel that she pauses, hand at the non-puke covered part of it, sighing deeply again. Turning back toward him, she glances just in time for him to give that goofy grin, prompting her to...quickly facepalm again. He really is persistant about this, isn't he?
"...look. I don't need you to do all this for me. This is my problem to deal with. If you want to do something...look out for this city and find out what's wrong with it," she says. The smile doesn't come...but she does give a firm look back toward the Chinese boy, both firm and pleading. This may not have been the way he intended, but it does seem like some of her usual fire is coming back to Lynn.
And that fire is what Kensou needed to see.
Grinning, he approaches the remains of the meatbuns. Picking up the basket, he balances it on his head. "I will look out for this city. ANd I will find what's wrong with it. But, well, don't be so lonely, you know? There is such thing as too much independence. And as for needing to do this for you..." The chinese teenager turns around.
"You don't need a reason to help people."
And with that, Kensou begins to walk away.
Lynn watches from the door as Kensou turns away, making sure to remember to bring his strewn basket of meatbuns back with him. She can't help but shake her head as she watches him walk back out toward the plaza. "There's something wrong with him," she notes to herself, turning back around....and scowling at the puke on her door. Easy to forget earlier, what with the relief that he didn't choke to death, but now...
"...just how is this all going to be cleaned up..." she mutters, hand to her forehead as she pushes her way back into the dojo. Arrange talks with people later. For now, she needs to make sure at the very least the dojo won't be smelling like heated vomit for the next few days.
Log created on 19:57:19 06/26/2012 by Kensou, and last modified on 20:48:53 06/27/2012.