3785/Seriously, She's Fighting A Hobo!
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
Seriously, She's Fighting A Hobo! | |
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Date of Scene: | 09 February 2016 |
Location: | Kawakami City |
Synopsis: | Shin visits Momoyo to spar with her. Momoyo gets increasingly frustrated at the fact that she feels like Shin is holding back... and then finally relents because of her past experiences with Fate. Calling the match, she invites him to be trained periodically in the Kawakami Style, in order to unlock the rest of his potential. For Shin's part, he showed up mainly to learn and observe rather than win. |
Cast of Characters: | 481, 756, 928, 942 |
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Momoyo had been feeling listless since her last public match teamed with her sister. She'd done a good job of avoiding Wanko for this reason until today, but kept tabs on her from afar as usual, with texts and whatnot. Surprisingly doting for how absolutely insane most of those not in the Union had observed of her.
So while the look on her face was sort of bored and restless, she didn't feel like /doing/ anything... until this match. It seemed to perk up her mood considerably looking forward to any sort of match.
She continued to practice forms, tapping on a dummy in the middle of the large arena which had already been prepared for a match beforehand. While not announced to the public at large, random spectators were still allowed to attend... and it seems Momoyo actually had laid out, while not exactly a buffet table, a decent amount of food from the Kawakami Temple cooks. Stuff she might have been bored eating, but that her opponent might want to chew on before the match start.
- Kirika (481) has posed:
Kirika has no real knowledge of this Momoyo Kawakami beyond what she skimmed of the reports, regarding that incident with Sanary. The tournament was something of vague interest to the kitsune, though she had no real urge to join in herself. One might feel she's been out of the loop for a while now, being home for the holidays, dealing with affairs there when not catching up with family.
The kitsune removes her cloak and her boots, leaving them with footwear before she enters the dojo proper, finding her way towards where the match is to be held. Perking her eyebrow, Kirika observes Momoyo's form while snagging some noodles to slurp, quiet enough to avoid disturbing the martial artist as she trains.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"Okay, so the phone says it's twenty-five hundred yen. Where's the option to tip?"
Shin is looking at his phone as another man does as well, standing next to an idling car, "Oh, you don't tip Uber drivers. That's Lyft."
"Whaaaaat? That makes no sense."
"Well we make more per fare, so it balances out." The driver explains as Shin closes his phone.
"Oh, alright. Well, later, man."
With a slightly tired yawn, Shin waves to the driver, who gets in his car and heads off. The wandering martial artist rubs the back of his head and then adjusts his tie and sunglasses. He easily jogs the distance between his dropoff point and the location he's actually going to be fighting.
When he does arive, he lazily waves a hand to Momoyo, "Yooooo. I've seen you fight and you're probably way outside of my weight class, but here I am. As requested."
- Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Just because Momoyo has been avoiding Kazuko doesn't mean she can hide forever! Kazuko's a stubborn one, and with her wounds from her last match healed enough, she's diligently keeping an eye on the observers from within their numbers rather than joining the temple staff. It's still a little uncomfortable going near them more than necessary, but at least this will have to do.
Tellingly, though, she almost seems to be trying to hide her presence today with a hoodie obscuring her head partially. Not that it really helps to hide her face or her aura from anyone who's paying attention, but... Maybe it'll help her blend in a little more.
Probably not.
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Momoyo tosses her hair a bit, setting her hand on her hip. "There's some more crepes on the table, if you want." she yells to her opponent. Seems she remembered quite a bit about Shin from the various times he was in the stands. Her sharp, red eyes though... she continued to watch him carefully. Her characteristic mild smirk returns as she folds her arms, already standing in the middle of the large arena.
"Take as much time as you want to eat. I invited you, so we're a hospitable dojo. And don't be dumb, I've been looking forward to fighting you for months now, Shin. But, I've got a question before we begin." she asks, tilting her head a little.
"Since Kenji won't tell me, is there any particular reason you know of that he'd consider it a personal favor if I beat your face in?" It was a challenging, confrontational question, but she was still more curious than hostile toward the Karate Master.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"Oh, I don't eat before fights. Makes you pukey and can give you cramps," Shin lifts a hand up and waves it a couple times before he sighs faintly when her red eyes watch him carefully. He carefully pulls off his sunglasses, revealing that heterochromatic red-yellow gaze of his as he puts them in his jacket pocket.
"Oh that guy?" Shin considers it, even as he then takes off the suit jacket and neatly folds it, setting it down on one of the tables. His tie is removed next, folded, and put on top of the jacket, "Normally, I'm all about keeping peoples dramatic secrets, but he kinda acts like a douche to me, so sure. I'll spill."
Shin unbuttons the cuffs of his dress shirt and starts rolling up his sleeves, "Allenby Beardsley. He has a crush on her. I kinda dig her too, so I marked her down in my little book as a potential love interest for later, but we generally just bum around and have fun," Shin rubs the back of his head as he finishes rolling up one sleeve and starts on the other, "I guess he doesn't like that, so one day he declared himself my rival and started acting, well. Typical teenage drama, I guess," He waves his free hand vaguely.
"It's not really a mutual thing. He gets all riled up at me, I mostly just let it happen since I guess he's desperate for someone to benchmark against. I'm his rival, but he's not mine. THAT person is probably Madeline Vance or Shizune Nakamura."
"SO. All told, you're probably gonna actually beat my face in pretty hard, not gonna lie," He muses, flexing his hands a bit as he walks over to her, "Most girls I fight do. Dames are crazy strong around the Multiverse. BUT. I've seen you fight a couple times now, so I'm at least going to try to make it interesting by using a tactic I hope you haven't seen before."
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Putting her fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose lightly, her shoulders shake a bit. "Hmhmhm~" she chuckled. The explanation couldn't really make it more hilarious. "Don't sell yourself short, Shin. I can tell you're a bit of a smooth talker... you were definitely going to get that girl at least once before Kenji ever got her completely. But I think you can tell I'm not exactly a stranger to 'the world of men' that most girls talk way too much about behind your backs. You don't need to flatter me."
"I'll have to tease Kenji when he's done looking for whatever it is he's looking for right now. I'm a little disappointed that's all it was, but even other girls are interesting when the men are boring..." she claps her hands together, clad in the Kawakami Dojo's characteristic white gi. Giving the customary signal it was alright to begin the match, her form tensed even more now... and if there were any openings in her defense earlier, they were gone now as her hand comes up in the air in front of her. Any depression and introspection she had been suffering from the past week instantly vanished.
"I respect guys who can keep up with me in one form or another, Shin. Don't try to flatter me by selling yourself short, come at me like you mean it. I'm betting you'll be pretty interesting after all... and maybe even see why Kenji's being an idiot over a little smooching." she grins, standing about thirty feet away from Shin on the hard-packed massive dirt field. For whatever reason, she didn't approach first like the other matches, as the way she was reading Shin's body language seemed to imply he had more pent-up energy than he let on...
- Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko keeps her movements strategic even as she loiters around the food table, snagging this and that while trying not to stray too close to where Shin is. It'd be weird if that conversation between the two fighters led Momoyo's sight to her, after all, and it's not like she /needs/ those crepes right now.
Even if they look really good. And smell really good. And she hasn't had crepes in a while. She'd have her chance soon enough, though.
For now... Kazuko's intent on just observing and listening. She does look a little confused at the reasoning behind the match, though. "Romantic stuff's too weird..." She mutters to herself before finally finding an opportunity to snag a crepe before retreating to where Kirika is watching.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
The first comment gets a laugh out of Shin, "Hah. I'm not that kind of guy, really. As a protagonist, I tend to hold myself to a higher standard. I'm not in it to just 'get with' girls. That's scumlord behavior. Allenby's actually my best friend, so if Kenji makes her happy," Shin shrugs a bit, "So don't get the wrong impression there."
Still, she claps her hands together and takes a stance. That signals to Shin that it's time to fight, or at least get ready to start. He takes a slow breath and restrains his own natural urge to charge into combat headlong. His strategy for Momoyo is different from how he normally fights, so it takes a lot of his focus to stay in the mindset.
His stance isn't an aggressive one, though. Instead, when he finally takes a martial arts form fully, it's almost passive in its nature. That heterochromatic gaze watches her like a hawk as his left foot slides backwards, resting behind him and letting him put more weight on the right one. His hands are kept at waist level and forward, open and relaxed as if challenging her to come in against him.
He grins, "I try to give everyone a good fight, even when I lose. So let's see what you've got." He challenges, not wanting to be the one to make the first move.
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
For the first fifteen minutes of the match, the tension is thick. Both were ready to fight and the monks made the relevant preparations in the background to minimize the amount of collateral damage. Even the food table was moved, but plenty of it was given to Kazuko. It would have to be kept warm for after the match.
"I've had best friends unexpectedly ask me to be their girlfriend before, Shin. I can see why he's worried... that just makes your reply even funnier. I wonder what that girl is like." she teases. It wasn't /meant/ as a taunt or psychological banter, she was a bit too straightforward for that. She also filed away the other names Shin mentioned... she'd have to hunt them down as well if they didn't challenge her first.
In spite of that comment in the middle of the fifteen minute gap, she stared down Shin's eyes. Shin had the pleasure of watching her first, but Momoyo hadn't learned a thing about her opponent prior. So for a long while other than the last few comments, she stood stock-still, looking over Shin's eyes slowly. Each fighter could tell plenty about the other from where they looked, after all.
Right when Shin would be about to get tired and make a comment or make an impatient first move... Momoyo steps forward first. It was a slow stroll, but given her previous matches, it may as well have been like she was still standing a distance away. She gradually closed the distance, her eye's on Shin's... but the first exchange that would set the tone for the match was about to begin. Eventually, she would get within arms' length, her arms barely twitching as if she were going to attack... and then stopped.
Once the tension broke, the brawl would be an unstoppable spectacle, at this rate.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
For the kind of guy he is in casual conversation, Shin proves to be a remarkably patient martial artist. He doesn't show much sign of impatience or over-aggression as he faces off against Momoyo, watching her carefully. It's not a bad sight to have to stare at for fifteen minutes anyway.
"The potential's there, but that's down the road," Shin comments simply, keeping his eyes set upon her. He keeps his breathing slow and steady, "Point is, I'm just not as competitive over the topic as he is, I suppose," Shin adds mildly, occasionally flexing his fingers to keep his hands loose in his stance.
When she starts to move towards him, he carefully steps in towards her as well, making sure to never take a step so large as to prevent him from immediately retaking that balanced stance he was in at the start of the match. The tension is there, and thick in the air, but he mentally refuses to flinch and act rashly.
Momoyo wasn't the average goon he went up against in Syndicate missions, and he was treating this a bit more like a tournament match than he treats his average fights. When she arrives at arms length, Shin moves no further. He's waiting for the moment she opens up and tries to take a swing at him.
He still manages to crack a grin at her, "I dig the gi. I used to wear one, but I switched to leisure suits because they're cheaper, have about as much movement, and never go out of style."
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Her arm winds back, the movement that Shin likely expected for her usual test of her opponent. In the blink of an eye, she goes through the wind-up and into the movement.
"Kawakami-ryu Musou Seikenzuki..."
Her fist comes forward, but halfway through the movement, her other arm moves as well rather than remaining clenched at her waist! "...Midareuchi!!!"
She started with her singular straight punch, but Shin deserved a better test than the usual. So she followed up with the other twenty-three near-simultaneous blows, in order to test his defense viciously unless he could stop her fist during one of the punches. Naturally, given the force of each punch, they all nearly sounded like artillery mortar-fire.
"Neither do pleated skirts. You should try them sometime!" she replies between attacks, right before the returned action. Already she was having fun!
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
And that's when Shin reveals the secret of his stance. While he's normally a hybridized fighter by nature, today he's opted to use a single style against Momoyo after seeing her overwhelming offensive capabilities in two separate fighters. So as the fist slides in towards him, he focuses in and shifts his weight, moving it from his front foot to his backfoot without actually leaning away from her.
Those relaxed hands come up and his body weaves to the side a bit. There's almost no word from him due to the focus it takes to track her hand in motion. At least one strike glances his ribs, doing some decent damage even with the partial hit. But eventually, both hands dart upwards in a flash. He's trying to grab her by the wrist and by the middle of her arm.
If he can get ahold, he steps in and hooks a foot under hers, twisting his hips and trying to use the remaining momentum of her combo to transfer into his maneuver and throw her hard against the floor of the arena. Whether she actually goes sprawling or manages to recover from his powerful reversal of her momentum, he hops back a couple steps and brings his hands up, once more taking his stance.
The cat's out of the bag, so to speak. Shin is going to try to counter Momoyo's raw power with Aikido rather than try to match it, because he can't equally match that power.
He does, after a couple moments to catch his breath, say, "Nah. Though I wouldn't complain if you put on a skirt."
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Letting out a grunt as her arm is caught, she only manages to get off maybe a half-dozen of her technique before being thrown. "!!!"
She's been thrown before, and what's more, had actually been knocked around by someone focused on countering her attacks recently. As she's in the middle of her technique, she didn't get to react with any fancy tricks. It was all she could do to smash her elbows into the ground after being thrown on her back, and use the momentum to bounce back on her feet in a ready stance.
"Tch! Alright, /now/ I'm interested!" she grins gleefully. She wasn't used to being countered with her opening manuever, most people simply took a defensive stance and prayed they could take it. Those that did were usually knocked back several feet.
She had misread Shin completely. What was coming natural to him wasn't what he was doing now. This suddenly turned less into a show of unstoppable force against an immovable object and more of a chess match. "You wouldn't get to see much even if I did... unless I like you."
"Kawakami Style: Diversion!"
There was a blinding blast of light as she fired a technique toward Shin, which wasn't entirely obvious what it was... but then she stepped /through/ her own technique to try and grab his wrists in return! "Snowman!!" and thusly, tried to freeze his arms next to make it harder to block or grasp her. He'd be able to quickly counter the hold of the attack of course, but if she could make contact with his body when he thought a short range projectile was coming...
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"Told you I'd try to be interesting," He shoots back, smiling widely as she recovers and hops back onto her feet, "I made sure to brush up on it, just for you~," His footing shifts again and he hops up and down gently, trying to keep himself loose and limber, "It's not all I've got, but hey."
The pithy comment about him not seeing much unless she liked him does get him to grin a bit wider, "See, I like your moxie. Makes this fun," He muses, stepping back a bit to try to avoid the projectile maneuver that she sends flying towards him, thinking it's an energy blast meant to hit him at long range.
This means he's wide open when she grabs his wrists and starts trying to freeze his arms. He lets out a hiss of pain as she makes contact and begins freezing him. With his arms grabbed, he does try a wild and slightly unpredictable counter, switching up his style once more.
The technique is a headbutt, seeing him lunge in towards her while she grips him and slam his head squarely towards the bridge of her nose in an attempt to drive her back and away from him so his arms can get some time to defrost.
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
She grunts a bit from the hit, shaking her head. A concussion was a split-second of course, but still troublesome to deal with blocks of ice frozen on one's forearms up to the wrists and elbows.
"I don't think you're even here to win... you're having fun and learning too." she quips, rather than complaining about the blow to her nose. Still, she kept up her barrage... while his arms were frozen, she didn't need to attack with anything fancy. Blocking with hands going numb was going to be a problem, let alone performing any holds reliably. So she continues a flurry of blows until his arms warm up again, punching just to pummel his chest and wear him down, and aiming hard tae kwon do kicks at his midsection and sides.
"...What's the matter? Use your ki and deal with it!" That really did start to bother her, he was brimming with as much or more energy than she was... and he hadn't yet used an ounce. He was too preoccupied with watching her and not enough with attacking back and it was starting to annoy her as she noticed it more.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"Fine, fine!" Shin says as she goads him about his Ki, "Sheesh, so demanding!" He sing-songs. He hops back a couple steps and tries to keep evading her punches as best he can. She does manage to land some good hits, cracking a rib and knocking the wind out of him as he tries to focus.
But then there's a flash of red under his feet and he hops back farther than usual. The ice on his arms also begins to crack and fall off in sheets as he starts to focus his internal energy and pushes it into his arms to free them up again. As he lands from his backwards hop, his feet skid against the ground.
Anticipating that Momoyo will keep coming after him, Shin coils his hand back as he lands and then slams his palm into the ground, "Power! GEYSER!" He cries, causing an eruption of energy right in front of him to try to intercept where he estimate Momoyo will come at him from.
"It just tires me out of I use this stuff too much! I thought a girl like you would appreciate a stamina-oriented approach more."
- Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko's watching the match earnestly, no longer eating anything with her gaze so focused on the two in the middle of the ring. She's still careful to keep herself partially obscured behind some of the larger observers, although she does cross her arms as it becomes more obvious that Shin is holding something back. She can easily tell that Momoyo's getting irritated, but...
Any fears of her sister going berserk are relieved once Shin finally lets loose with that burst of energy. Now things are really starting to get moving, and she can finally relax! Sort of. She's still keeping an eye out for any debris coming towards the audience, at least.
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
"Guh!" she crosses her arms, having to block a chunk of the ki blast herself rather than continue to follow him. "Hah... you can try to flirt all you want, Shin. But we both know if you stand around all day observing me I'll grind you into the dust. I'm just going to outlast you if you keep this up. You have to be able to use your ki like an extension of your own body." she mutters, noting the bruise and cracked rib she's caused. Still, now his arms aren't going to be numb so other than the inflammation the monks would have to take care of after the match, he was ready again.
"Kawakami Style: Killer Fireflies!!!"
She started spewing small balls of energy at Shin, an interesting technique in and of itself in that each ball was dangerous enough to force the opponent to block or dodge, but otherwise it just created a bunch of smoke, making it harder to see where she would choose to go next. Her fingers continued in a blur, barraging him at a range to force him to react. It started to dawn on her that he wasn't kidding... she might actually have to hold back. It didn't bother her, but she still had an uneasy feeling he was just observing her.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"I really think you're overestimating my fighting potential here," Shin remarks, bringing his arms up again and focus on the fight once again, "I mean, the vote of confidence is appreciated and all, but I'm giving you all I've got right now," He replies honestly, seeming pretty honest about his potential.
Rather than block or dodge, he chooses to graze. He charges in towards her at full bore, diving right into the incoming barrage of energy pellets as he tries to close the distance between them. It's dangerous, especially since the ones he can't narrowly weave through strike him and leave clear bruises and abrasions from their contact.
Planting a foot firmly on the ground when he closes in, he lunges in towards her with a shoulder, "Tetsuzankou!" He shouts, trying to collide with that shoulder. At the moment of impact, if it hits, it releases a burst of ki to increase its striking power and try to send her driving backwards.
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Leaning into the strike, she grunts as she's hit... because she let it happen. She wanted to test and see what he was doing. She's knocked back a few steps, but.
"Tch. I heard you were stronger. /I can see you're stronger than this!/" She's visibly frustrated, waiting for his next attack... but.
She finally hops backward. "Stop the match. I said, stop!" She said that as much to the monks around the arena as Shin himself. Her hand holds up, as she looks the other fighter down. "You can't go on. You're right, you're not ready yet. You've got a ton of potential, and no one on the radio lied about your skill. You have the potential to be stronger than me. But..." she folds her arms, muttering under her breath. "If I get serious, you'll be too wounded to work. You're always dirt poor like I am, right?" she looks at Shin, seriously. Visibly frustrated, but... it seems her recent conversation with Fate had a certain effect on her even.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
Shin stops as soon as the fight ends, his stance switching to a more relaxed one as he watches her. His eyes switch to a more half-lidded sort of look as he keeps his gaze upon her. He lets his hands fall to the pockets of his dress pants and he answers her honestly, "People say I'm strong because I do strong things. People don't say I'm powerful, because I'm not yet. There's a difference."
He rolls his shoulders a bit, working out some stiffness before calmly taking his hands out of his pockets and beginning to roll down his sleeves. He doesn't seem upset or disappointed that the match has been called, nor in relation to the reason. Rather, he smiles at her, "I lose a lot. The reason people will tell you I'm strong is that I fight even when I know I'm going to lose. That Lezard guy gave me the Hero of Fists title not because I beat him, but because despite losing I refused to stay on the ground. And because I waded into an army I couldn't defeat to hold him off."
As he finishes unrolling and re-buttoning his sleeve, he looks over at Momoyo, "I'm homeless, yeah. Or well, I crash in hotel rooms and stuff and do odd jobs for money for the Syndicate. I'm not homeless any more, but it's not a nine to five."
"It was fun, though. I was way out of my league here, but I still had fun with this tussle. I hope you're right and I'm some day strong enough to really challenge you."
- Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko's not sure what to think of this development. On one hand, she really was hoping for a bigger fight. On the other hand, after what happened to Momoyo the last time she went overboard? She'd much rather have the fight end disappointingly than go through that again. With the immediate threat of audience injuries ended, however, Kazuko relaxes again and munches on some more food. It's still there, after all!
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Momoyo studies Shin for a moment. But rather than let him turn and go to the buffet table or go straight to the monks to have his rib addressed, she holds up her hand. "Wait."
"Shin... you've got a ton of natural talent. You don't have to stay here for a super long time, but I'd be happy to see you come back... as a student. Instead of just an opponent." She walks in close, swatting his shoulder and rubbing it lightly... on the side opposite the one she hit.
"You can mouth off to me all you want, but. What I'm saying is... don't just show up as a tourist. Study in this dojo for a while. You're the opposite of my little sister, you both could learn from each other a ton." she tilts her head. "She's all hard work and doesn't have the talent you do... and you're just like Kenji. You two don't have any discipline. You could be really strong contenders... and even protect yourselves and others better in the Multiverse. But you guys would have to train here and probably even join my group of friends, the Kazama Family." she continues to speak from her heart, honestly, looking the young guy in the eyes. "Seriously... you're not the only one I need to ask this of. But you're one of the people who could benefit from hanging around Kawakami City a while. Besides, we can even let you board here for a short while, free food and drink... and I know you were here to learn today, not prove yourself."
"So... what do you say?"
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
Shin tilts his head a bit and watches Momoyo, "My talent isn't all-natural. I've spent ninteen years training, fifteen of them under a Master of a single style. I AM on a quest to learn as many different martial arts as I can, that's why I do... this." He waves around as if to indicate that he's telling her why he travels and lives as a vagrant.
"So don't think I'm not refined. Or mistake my casual demeanor for a lack of discipline. I chose a very specific life because it's who I am and it shapes who I want to be in the future," He doesn't seem insulted by her words, just more like he's clarifying who he is and why he lives how he does, "You know, just so you don't get the wrong impression here."
He shuts his eyes briefly and seems to think, "You make a tempting offer, though. Partially since I like you so much. I'm not against studying here, or stopping by regularly to learn stuff. But I doubt I'd board here, even if we wound up good friends, you and I." He admits to her, "Because you're right, I was here to learn. But that's because I try to learn from every fight."
"So I guess my answer is 'sorta-yes'. I'll study here part-time, hang around and all, but I doubt I'll ever stay around TOO long, since the whole Multiverse has things I need to learn from if I ever wanna go back to my original Master."
He pauses, "Muuuuh..." He grumbles and then taps the toe of his shoe on the ground behind him, "I hate when people make me be all serious and heartfelt. I like it more when I can act how I usually do."
- Momoyo Kawakami (928) has posed:
Momoyo chuckles softly herself with a wry smile. "I think you'll learn plenty from my grandpa. And even if I tried to stop you... you'd watch me enough times to pick up bits and pieces of the Kawakami Style." she replies. "I can work on your overall stamina a bit... but I already have a friend like you named Shouichi Kazama. Naieve adventurer sorta. He never runs out of energy and can even keep up with me."
"Wanko, come out of the stands and say hello to our new part-time student. I'm gonna train him like I'm training Yang and you're helping Mairead." she calls out, having noticed her little sister the whole time. The monks come in of course with ointments and splints, performing first aid on Shin beneath his shirt while they chat. "You don't have to think about it long... and I need to start wandering like you do anyway myself. I wanna find stronger opponents to fight... and since you're a martial artist you know how it is. Seeing other strong people fight makes us wanna fight too."
She tilts her head wryly. "Besides, if Kenji shows up while you're here it'll piss him off and I know you'll enjoy that. I need to train you two side by side... you could really use it." she rubs the back of her neck. "But seriously... you've seen enough of my style by now that I think you'd have fun working odd jobs in this city with me while we spar. I won't go all-out on you until you tell me to."
- Kazuko Kawakami (942) has posed:
Kazuko flinches when Momoyo calls out to her. Was her disguise seen through that easily?! Defeated, the younger Kawakami hurries over to where her sister and Shin are waiting, keeping her hood up the whole time as she lowers her voice to a raspier tone.
"Misterrr Tokuyama. It's been a long time, hassssn't it?" She waits until she's close enough to them before holding the edges of her head, then performing a DRAMATIC UNHOODING. Sure, it'd probably be a lot more dramatic if it obscured any part of her face, but then it'd just get in the way and not be practical at all. "You shall know me assss..."
And as quickly as she put on... Whatever type of act that was supposed to be, she drops it almost immediately. "Hi! I'm Kazuko Kawakami. You're gonna be joining us for training, then? You'd better be ready, 'cause I'll work you to the bone!" The raspy tone from earlier is still infecting her voice a bit, but she does have a friendly (if somewhat distracted) grin on.
- Shin Tokuyama (756) has posed:
"Hah, you're an interesting lady," Shin says, slipping back into his more aloof persona that's a bit less honest and open, "You may not read me half as well as you think you do, but that's okay. Any good protagonist is supposed to keep surprises for the people in his life," Shin replies to Momoyo with a bit of amusement to his voice as he adjusts the sleeves of his shirt and tidies himself up a bit, "Means I can surprise you later when you learn a bit more about me."
Shin watches the approach of Kazuko. He'd met her once on radio, so he's curious to see her in person. When she approaches him and introduces herself, he is fully back into his aloof attitude, "Oh okay, cool. So we're gonna be doing the training buddies dynamic. I'll put that in my book later next to your name." He gives her a double thumbs up and a grin in return for her greeting.
"Your sister will probably be marked as like..." He considers it, "Optional Boss-slash-Hidden-Romance-Option or something," He notes, looking longingly towards his suit coat where he keeps the book with all these names and roles for people, "But yeah, sure. This all sounds pretty alright with me."