Description: Just after Takako's Neo League with Rick Strowd, boxer extraordinaire, none other than the Legendary Wolf shows up! Terry and Takako exchange some words and then some blows. Poor sheep. (Winner: Terry)
Takako's awakening had not been heralded with a thunderous cry, by the crashing of lightning or the shifting of the earth. It had, in fact, only been heralded by a light groan, and a whimper, as the girl shifts on the grassy plain, and is butted repeatedly by a good-natured sheep. Recovering from unconsciousness has become an easy thing, and she rolls herself up to her feet, doing a quick check of her teeth with her tongue, and her bones by stretching lightly.
Okay, good, she's good.
Her camera crew are as loyal as ever, and they have set up a small fenced off area where the sheep swarm outside like good-natured hornets bleating around their nest. As she gets up, Takako wades through them, to shuffle inside, onto a laid out picnic blanket. Tea is provided, and her habitual meal - a small bowl of steamed white rice.
"Do you think there's many people left to challenge?" Asks the female League official. "I'm sure nobody is going to think you're cowardly if you stop now to take a rest, you know."
Takako just looks at her for a long moment, sipping her tea, before she answers. Remarkably restrained given how she often appears on the camera. "It isn't about challenging them, or about winning." She explains, "I'm still learning so much. Rick, taught me that you can't let yourself be distracted by your surroundings. Aranha taught me that there's always a way to strike from an unexpected angle. I'm not afraid of gettig beat up, Mary. How can I stop when I'm still learning?"
"Well said," comes the voice of one of the -first- people Takako challenged in the League. Honestly, where did the vagabond hobo Terry Bogard even -come- from? It's a mystery, as if he were a phantom, showing up just about anywhere he isn't expected.
Okay, in truth, he'd been hiking around, his bike left in storage, because, well, why not? He might be a biker and a drinker but he communes with the Earth, too--the land is a source of power and he was taught, long ago, how to tap that power. It wouldn't be right to do so without giving back, in some way.
There's a thump, the sound of a hefty, leather-bottomed duffel bag hitting the earth, and from a point farther south, the gentle sounds of sheep being playfully swatted out of the way... and the sounds of shoes on grass.
"Yo. Takako, isn't it? Fought you in... Osaka? I can't remember now," he says, with a grin, dropping to his haunches, almost taking up the 'gangster squat', except that there's a long blade of grass in his mouth, not a cigarette.
"But, you know, the learning'll always be there, if you want it..."
Takako is surprised, not just by Terry's arrival... but that he remembers her name! It is a pretty big compliment to her, and she straightens up attentively as he pushes his way through. She can't help but smile, bright and true. She raises her cup to him, in recognition. "Ah, Korea, actually..." She says, thinking all the way back to that fight. Whilst he might not remember where it was, she, couldn't forget it! She'd taken some powerful hits in the League so far, but those had been truly staggering!
"Its amazing to hear a man like you saying that." She says, "Please, would you like some tea? I'd be honored to share some time with the Legendary Wolf..." She casts a look to the League officials who, for their part, look utterly stunned. Yes, they'd been there when Takako fought Terry, but, how could they have imagined he'd just, turn up out of the blue?!
"I'm afraid my performance hasn't improved much since then." She admits, with a laugh. "At least, if you look at my ranking. *I* think my performance is getting better, though!"
The blonde adopts a thoughtful look. "Oh, Korea, that's right..." Apparently unconcerned for the fate of the seat of his pants, he shifts to a sitting position, leaning back on his left hand, uprooting some grass and enticing a sheep near by waving it at the animal, which bleats softly before beginning to eat. He seems unaware, or at least, uncaring, of the effect his presence has had on the officials and the like.
"Tea? Hmm, why not? G'wan with you," he says, to the sheep, as it eats the last of the grass, and, obediently, it wanders off. "It takes... a long time to get better. Trust me. When I first started at this... well, I went a long time before I ever won a match that wasn't a spar. You're off to a good start, though. Challenging above your skill level is a great way to improve... if you survive." He grins, wryly, at that.
"Gotta have some patience in there, too. It's a hard lesson to learn--I know I was pretty terrible at it myself, when I started out. Fine line between honing your skills and burning them out, sometimes..."
"To fear death is to give it power over you."
Takako repeats the words, but it sounds more like rote than anything else. She'd spent days and nights sitting on the shore of Japan, through freezing rain and biting wind, trying to figure out if she could believe those words. She'd faced death, too! Looking it in the eye in Iran, where Shadaloo's minion had done its best to rip out her throat... and in the ring against Gato, where that man's terrible killing intent had shaken her to the core.
She knew that it was supposed to be the primary lesson of her school...
But the more she confronts it, the more elusive that meaning seems.
She passes the tea over easily, and shifts, placing her hands on her knees. "I have learned a great deal. It has been a painful journey! But, I am tough!" To demonstrate the point, she knocks on her own head with her knuckles. "But, what do you mean by patience? I always make sure I am not too injured to carry on before I resume training... but if I don't train and fight, how will I improve?"
Taking the tea, the Wolf sips it, letting the hot liquid, slightly astringent, sit in his mouth for a few moments, before swallowing. "Mm," he repeats, non-commitally. "I suppose that's true. You shouldn't fear death. But there's a limit to how much you can learn from just challenging your betters, too." He holds up a hand. "I know what I just said, and it -is- true, but there's a difference between... throwing yourself at a challenge and throwing yourself at an impossible task. This is something I didn't learn for quite some time. I was fearless; I took on anyone and anything. And it was educational, I do believe. But I didn't learn quite as fast as I could have, because those guys who were so much better than I was didn't teach me anything. I didn't always have the -opportunity- to learn. Another drink of the tea and he grins.
"Maybe that was just me, though. As long as you're happy with your results, that's all that ought to matter, win or lose. And it isn't -all- about being physically fit. I had to learn some other lessons too, before I could really start to unlock my true potential. Things that didn't have anything to do with fighting at all."
Takako shakes her head slowly. "I do fear death, though." She says, honestly. There's a moment of silence from the girl as she glares at the picnic blanket underneath her, before she continues. "I don't want to die, and I know there are plenty of people out there who could force the issue. It disturbs me to think in those terms. If I die now, what happens to my Father's legacy? To finding my potential? The world would not care."
Which is true enough, but depressing, and she does not want Terry to think that she's a depressing sort. So she forces herself to laugh, as insincere as it sounds. One hand runs through her hair, the other takes the chopsticks, and spears a tiny amount of rice, to chew on.
"What lessons did you have to learn?" She asks, and, her grin isn't entirely fake as she continues. "I'm, not the best student in the world. Ah. As my letter probably shows! I hope they didn't need a lot of... mathematics." A shudder at the very thought. The path to power hidden behind... long division?!
"A little fear is healthy. It's letting that fear control you that isn't... whether it turns you 'fearless' or into a 'coward'. Like so many things, it's about balance. Your body, your mind, will tell you what you need to know--some call it instinct, some intuition, but it means the same thing--it's the self-knowledge that we all have. It's just, some of us don't listen to it... and some listen too hard."
He tosses the last of the tea off in a quick gulp, then mmms. "I don't know that I have the time to tell you all the lessons I had to learn. There were a lot of them, and I didn't learn them all well or immediately. I doubt I could even say 'em all.. I'm no teacher, not like my old master." The blond Wolf leans back on both hands, setting the teacup in a patch of grass.
"There are a lot of lessons that -can't- be taught except by experience," he says, after a few moments, sounding as if he were quoting someone--that master of his, perhaps. "But you'll recognize them after you've learned them... if you're smart enough to."
Takako genuinely does listen to Terry. There are precious few people in her own generation that she'd care to listen blather on. But she *wants* to hear what Terry has to say. Even if Terry hadn't proven in their match that his strength far exceeds her own, his reputation speaks for itself. She nods her head slowly, accepting that, well, she's /not/ going to be Terry's student. Their styles are completely different, anyway; he probably couldn't tell her much about how to wield a sword!
"When I fought Gato." She says, "At first, I thought it was fun. He had this... aura, about him. Like he wasn't going to mess around. And I did have fun with it! But, at the end..." Her smile falters, "I don't mind /losing/, but, I felt like he really would punch my ribs into my heart if I didn't stop him, and it was all I could do to get off with him just breaking my bokken!"
She chews at her bottom lip, remembering those last, frantic moments. "I don't know if I'm that smart. If I was, I'd probably be trying to be a doctor or something. But, I guess that's part of the journey. Trying to figure out how smart you can be?" She's grasping at straws, really. Its a tough concept to get. She'd wanted to go tearing off and fighting Vega when he threatened the world, more than anything else! But it is starting to dawn on her now that if she had, there is a very good chance she wouldn't have made it out of that alive. Perhaps part of experience, is learning where to search for more? Could that be what he meant by burning out?
The girl's brow is deeply furrowed as she ponders this, and the cameraman nudges Mary the League Official. "... I think he broke Fujiwa." He whispers. "I've never seen her look like she's thinking before."
"Well, hell, I'm not that smart either, or I would never've taken on Geese Howard. Or Wolfgang Krauser," he says, somewhat reflectively, then he shrugs. "But sometimes things got to be done, and there's just no use in thinking otherwise." He sits up, left leg folded flat against the earth, right bent at the knee and used to lean on, as he gives the sword-user a serious look.
"Gato, huh? I've heard of him. Scary fella, they say. Not sure *I'd* want to fight him for real." Of course, he would, because, he's Terry Fucking Bogard, but, y'know. "See, right there, that's an instinct to listen to. You'll know when someone is really gonna kill you. You're trained enough to recognize that. Some call it 'the killing intent'... that's about as good a name for it as any. And I'm not talkin' 'bout book smarts, Takako."
Finding his piece of grass to be just about done with, he pulls another long leaf. "Talkin' 'bout other kinds of smarts. You'll see. If you stay on the path, you'll understand what I'm talking about."
Takako's smile returns. It is a little more subdued, but, no less genuine than when Terry had demonstrated he remembered her. There's a lot of compliments being heaped upon Takako's shoulders, there, and it means a lot! There aren't many people who matter who are making fun of her commitment these days, but she'd been called stupid when she first started out, and weak when her loses racked up. Takako's confidence doesn't need much bolstering, but Terry gives it anyway, and it feels good!
"He hits." She says, gauging it in her head. "/Almost/ as hard as you. But not quite. I think you could take him." She grins, picking up her tea again, and sipping it. "I don't think there's many people who'd call you stupid given how things've turned out, though."
She nods her head firmly. "I'm not going to be abandoning this journey any time soon!" She declares, "My father once said, 'Takako! If there is an obstacle, put your head to it! And if that doesn't work, do it again! And again! Eventually your head will crack through the stone!'" She beams, as though this is ancient wisdom which should be passed down to every generation from the one before. "I won't win this Neo League, but nobody will be able to say that I did not try my very best, or that I ever turned down a challenge!"
Terry laughs, but not derisively. "That's definitely one way to look at it. Your dad might not be far off from the truth there." He might, in his own way, be calling Takako hardheaded. But he doubts she would disagree. "Yes, he's trained his strength up quite formidably. But it's an open question as to whether he has the wisdom that should go along with it." There are many men, and women, who have trained their bodies to that peak--but not their discipline.
"That is very true, Takako. You have been quite busy, since the last time I fought you. The League has benefited from your activity quite a bit." At that, he seems to come to a decision, and gets up, dusting off his knees and the seat of his pants. "Would you care to show me how much you've improved? It doesn't have to be a formal challenge," he adds, his gaze sliding over to the cameraman and the League advisor.
Takako beams with pride when Terry compliments her father - and by extension, the teachings of Fujiwa-style Kendo. No doubt the old man is looking down now, sternly trying to keep manly tears at bay as his daughter continues to make strides for the forgotten art. As well as... however many family members were actually insane enough to try the art back in the day.
Standing up herself, there's no hesitation in her at all. "I would be delighted!" She says, patting the hilt of her bokken. She's definitely not in a rush, though. "I don't mind making this a formal challenge, if you would like to do that. Or we can spar for fun. Be careful of the sheep, though."
Given how her challenge against Rick had gone, she shoots a suspicious look to the bleating creatures. "I suspect there is more to their dim-witted nature than meets the eye!"
A chuckle. "They're smarter than they look. And if they learn to dodge, well, that might extend their lifespans. Alright then, a formal challenge it is," he says. He'll give the cameraman and the advisor a few moments to get ready--and for the sheep to understand what's going on, mostly clearing an area, but not entirely, before he puts his hands up, tightening his gloves a little.
"Well then, whenever you're ready. Show me what you've learned!" Something similar was said to him, ages ago--although in that context, it was derisive, dismissive, and this is encouraging. It's almost certain he'll win, but that isn't the point, is it? If Terry cared about winning the League, or winning all his fights, he'd not even think about this... and he would've fought in a lot more league battles.
COMBATSYS: Terry has wandered into a fight here.
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Terry 0/-------/-------|
Takako nods her head. She's growing more focused now that the time is on her to fight, and again, to do so in the public eye! She shuffles out of the little private space, and back into the hussle and bustle of the nudging sheep, who get a disapproving glare. When he says to show him what she has learned, it doesn't occur to Takako to take it in anything less than the best spirit. She will do that!
Her brow furrows, and she eases into her stance. Bokken raising high, she struggles to remember how she had opened last time. It had been... yes, that, the feinting strike. Takako is far from a genius, but she does have a good memory for her fights. She will demonstrate that she has advanced!
"KIYAH!"
Lunging forwards, it seems almost like a mirror to the first fight, her bokken aiming to drive into Terry's chest...
But where last time she had veered upwards, this time, she puts her shoulder down, and throws herself forwards into the strike, aiming to smash the bokken into Terry, and then carry on through! Until either Terry gives, or... she bounces off. One or the other!
COMBATSYS: Takako has joined the fight here.
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Terry 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Takako
COMBATSYS: Terry dodges Takako's Power Strike. Takako does, however, successfully hit a sheep!
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Terry 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Takako
It's obvious by Terry's face that he isn't taking this lightly--just as he didn't take the last fight lightly... though now he knows even more about Takako's relative inexperience. That lunging strike is slipped, the Wolf planting his feet and then throwing himself to the right--a hopping dodge, one that keeps him balanced as he lands.
... but he can't say that Takako's strike wasn't ineffective. The bokken slams into a sheep, amidships, an with a startled, pained bleat the sheep goes bouncing away, tumbling ass over teakettle. Terry glances over, then laughs--and drives himself forward, cranking his body to his right, planting his left foot...
...and then swinging out with a head-height roundhouse kick, a full extension of his powerful legs. It's a good thing he isn't wearing a full-on set of combat boots, or he could really ring some bells--and he probably will -anyways-...
COMBATSYS: Takako endures Terry's Strong Kick.
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Terry 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Takako
Terry's foot crashes down into Takako's skull at around the same time she finds herself wondering if these creatures deliberately seek to get themselves hit. Admittedly, last time, she had been deliberately trying to frighten them off... but that time she hadn't even been trying!
"GHNK!" She grunts, gritting her teeth as the foot hammers home, and blood wells up from her abused temple. It shakes her from her teeth to her feet! She does not, however, fall backwards. The crashing blow had really stung, but standing firm against it, she pauses for only a split second before she pushes herself back into the offensive. Her bokken swings around, aiming to batter into Terry's shins.
She rather doubts that will be enough to topple the Legendary Wolf, though, and she follows up with a diagonal slash, having to leap into the air following it, with her weapon raised high over her head.
At which point she brings the hilt down hard, hoping that she can smash it down on the top of Terry's skull, and justify her decision to just... TANK that initial, bone-shaking blow.
COMBATSYS: Terry dodges Takako's Killing Flurry. Takako does, however, successfully hit a sheep!
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Terry 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Takako
Fearlessness? Check. Terry can feel that kick hit home, and aside from that sound of powerful, inevitable pain, she doesn't rock at all. The strike, when it comes, is fast, and from close range, harder to evade--but Terry is not just the Wolf, he is the _Legendary_ Wolf, and while the strike is not necessarily in vain--it's a good tactic, if risky--it isn't going to catch him. He hops backwards, avoiding that low slash, and leans away from the diagonal slash--showing some moves in that moment.
"Close," he says, and meaning it, as he touches the ground to maintain his balance, and then leaps backwards about five yards. That poor sheep that wandered over just in time to get crowned; it bounces away with another bleat of indignance, as Terry lands low, on his feet and his left hand, and he doesn't rise immediately--power gathering into his right hand, clenched almost into a fist, that he slams into the ground, unleashing a flaring wave of yellow-white energy. "POWER... WAVE!!!"
COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Takako with Power Wave.
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Terry 0/-------/---====|=======\======-\1 Takako
Takako is ... surprised. Perhaps she had just gotten lucky last time, or perhaps she's still distracted by these blasted sheep, but whatever the case is, she feels like she's doing ... much worse. 'Close' doesn't mean a damn thing to her; fail by a lot or fail by a little, the fact is you still fail. Which means that she could have done better. Which just pisses her off!
She attempts to bring her bokken around to meet the blast of energy and disperse it, but instead she finds herself blasted backwards by it, hitting the ground some distance away in a small crater, which throws sheep up all around. She does not stay down for very long, though.
Tearing back into the fight, her bokken leads the way as she roars her defiance. Unwilling to let herself go down without a fight, her bokken is brought around and down, once, twice, three times. Rapid succession, the powerful blows are all aimed upwards, intended to smash through any guard... though of course, first, she needs to actually make a physical connection with Terry to begin with!
COMBATSYS: Terry endures Takako's Violent Hurricane.
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Terry 0/-------/--=====|=======\=======\1 Takako
Those smashing strikes do hit true, Terry seemingly forced back by the first two blows--but he's grinning the whole way, the impacts slamming across his chest... and the third slams in harder, but this time--this time... he isn't rocked backwards. "Yeah! That's the spirit!!" he shouts, joyously, as he meets that charging attack and takes it--and still surges forward, just as Takako would. He'll give her everything he can, because that is, he suspects, what she wants--if that's how she learns, well, that's how she learns.
His lunge turns into a crushing shoulder blow, from his left shoulder, followed by a crushing hook combination, right then left, the third intended to knock her down, if not quite -out-... he's moderating his blows somewhat, as he doesn't want to cause actual physical injury. He knows that light in her eyes, knows she won't give up, has seen it before. It's quite the interesting thing. He knows it's been in his eyes before as well...
COMBATSYS: Terry successfully hits Takako with Power Charge.
- Power hit! -
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Terry 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Takako
Unfortunately, Takako has completely misjudged her guard.
It happens to everyone, really, but as Terry delivers his crushing combination, the girl is finally moved. Not able to stand firm against it, and not able to guard herself either, the smashing blows rock her one way, then the other, and finally bounce her off the ground.
Last time she had managed to bloody him with her Raijin's Strike technique, she remembered that. Wobbling as she gets to her feet, she knows that she's not going to be able to keep going for long - too many blows to the head too quickly have rattled her too much! But she will show him her finest technique.
"Hngh. I've made this... too easy on you, Bogard!" She huffs, wobbling a little as she takes up a firmer handle on her bokken. "But I'll show you everything I have!"
Wind energy tears up around the girl suddenly - quicker than she used to be able to gather it, for sure. She doesn't /care/ that it is ripping into her, she only needs to stay conscious for a few seconds more! Long enough to close on Terry...
And where last time she had delivered one striking blow, this time she slashes the bokken around in a swift series of four lashing strikes. Aiming to draw it horizontally up his body, then form an X across his body, and finish with a horizontal slash.
Whether or not she draws her star... the energy dies away completely soon after, and Takako... will slump to her knees, and then down to the floor. Down and out.
COMBATSYS: Takako can no longer fight.
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Terry 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Terry blocks Takako's Kusanagi of Dreams.
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Terry 0/-------/=======|
This time, Terry weathers the blows, arms up, taking each one in turn. Tribute to the spirit of the fallen young woman before him. He does feel guilty, a little, for the manhandling--but he dares not express it. That would be an insult to her and thus, even worse. But he can do this, at least--he does not move from those four strikes, slamming into his guard. When it's over, she's down--the expected result, if you asked the oddsmakers. There are few who would bet -against- Terry Bogard, at least in this fight.
But he ignores the camera, dropping to one knee. Talking to her unconscious form. "You lost today. But you don't have to like it. Keep fighting. Keep learning." And then... then he doffs his hat. Dusts it off... and leaves it next to her. A souvenir.
He rises to his feet and turns to walk for his duffel bag. It's time to resume his wanderings--he reaches out and absently ruffles another sheep as he walks, knowing that the Neo League folks will be going to help the downed kendoka soon enough.
COMBATSYS: Terry wanders on to find the next challenge.
Log created on 10:37:34 07/01/2012 by Terry, and last modified on 09:07:42 07/02/2012.