"PH33R 7H3 W3453L 5TUD105" proudly presents:
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"THE SAKURA DIARIES"
A Street Fighter/Rival Schools/Megatokyo.com crossover
"Street Fighter" and "Rival Schools" are trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd., Japan.
"Megatokyo.com" () is a trademark of Piro (Fred Gallagher) and Largo (Rodney Caston). (Characters used without permission.)
All rights reserved.
This fanfiction owned and authored by PH33R 7H3 W3453L 5TUD105, a.k.a. "Kei and Asuka". Any attempt to steal this fic (i.e. putting your name in the credits) shall be met with the appropriate legal actions. Anyway, enjoy the show. :)
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Chapter 4: Of Gaijin and Broomheads
And so another day's gone by without any real "challenge" coming my way. Ho-hum...well, at least Largo-sensei made quite a fool of himself in front of the whole class this day--to my amusement, of course. My goth classmate Miho Tohya didn't seem all amused about it, though; she looked like she was about to sleep during that "surprise test" that our humble old gaijin english teacher had given us.
The test itself, however, was quite...weird, to say the least. I mean, where else in Japan do you get an English language high school teacher who gives out tests about--get this--video games? This'll be a snap, I thought as I cheerily answered every question, utilizing what meager knowledge I had of the English language.
After Largo-sensei had dismissed us all for the day, I went straight out of the school premises (English was the last class on my daily schedule), and walked home as I usually did everyday, still thinking about what I can do to get myself into the upcoming Street fighter tournament...so I can finally ask Ryu-sama to teach me everything he knows about shotokan karate, and being a true warrior.
Hey, don't look at me like that. That *is* the only reason I'm looking forward to meet him. I don't have any hidden agenda or whatever to gain Ryu-sama's attenti--
I just paused from walking as I thought of that.
.....is it the only reason?
Anyway, that litle incident earlier with the redhead salaryman...heh, my life doesn't get any weirder than THAT, I'd say. I mean, what's someone whom I don't even know personally *and* who was possibly a fellow competitor in the last Street Fighter tournament have to do with *me* anyway? Why, I'm just an innocent young high school girl who simply wants to be the best fighter that Japan could ever produce, and now I've got old people STALKING me! Oh, for crying out loud, I feel so...so...
"You're blushing, Sakura-chan."
"I am *not* blushing, Hina!" I then attempted to whack her with my backpack, but missed as she just dodged it. "And you have got to stop sneaking up on people like that, it's annoying! Why, if it were me a few weeks ago I'd have jumped for the moon with those sneaky antics of yours!"
"Bah, excuses, excuses," Hinata-chan boringly replied as she put an arm around my shoulder. "Looks like all that training with Honda-san really made you buff and tough, huh?" She then giggled as I glared at her angrily.
"Shut up, Hina. Hmph!"
"Hey, I got an idea, why don't we go to that new video arcade thingy a few blocks from here? I hear they've got the arcade version of Guilty Gear XX and some other neat goodies like UFO ctachers that give away Mega Man and Power Stone plushies, what do you say?"
"Oh...I dunno, mum always told me to go straight home after school..."
"Come on, it'll be fun! I mean, it's the most fun we can have without Natsu-chan following us around like some truant officer! We'll stay there for about, umm..." Hinata-chan's voice trailed off a little bit as she looked at her watch. "We'll both go home after 15 minutes."
Hmm, seems fair enough... "All right, then!" I eagerly grinned at my little friend from Justice High School. "*Now* you'll see your friend Sakura-chan kick everyone's ass in GGXX! Err...well, within 15 minutes, that is. Heh heh heh heh." I just scratched my head like an idiot again and grinned.
"That's the spirit, Sakura-chan! I really want you to make up for that...ugly 5 - 0 thing that happened last time in that other arcade last year, tee-hee-hee!" What the?!
"Five-zero NOTHING! I was missing a damned button that time! The joystick wasn't even WORKING! It was a total rip-off, I tell ya!"
And so, Hinata-chan and I rushed to that arcade she was talking about. I wasn't really that surprised to see a lot of kids my age and older packed into this place. Looking around, the arcade seems like a large, roomy place--they even have tables and chairs on the side so you could order a drink or two from the bar nearby, and there's even a billiard rom and a LAN room! Gee, if Largo-sensei knew about this I'm sure he'd be gloating in arrogance how he's so l33t that he can actually beat each and every kid in this room. Oh well.
Anyway, we both buy some tokens and move to the nearest Guilty Gear XX machine which, as expected, was indeed full of spectators on the sides, as if it were a gladiators' arena of old. In my mind I told myself, now, there must be some sort of "prodigy" here.
"This...is interesting. Hmm..."
"Yeah, I wonder who it could be?"
"I'll be up next, then," I grinned evilly at Hinata-chan.
"Are you kidding?" She asked me with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I haven't seen you play GGXX before, and the closest you've ever gotten is the predecessor, Guilty Gear X! We're not even sure if the combos and moves are the same!"
"Oh come on, Hina," I just winked at her while nudging her shoulder with my elbow. "Everyone in the gaming community knows I'm last year's champion with Sol Badguy as my ace."
Hinata-chan just squinted at me as if it was me squinting at Largo-sensei's self-proclaimed All-Father of games and everything pertaining to "l33tn3ss". "What the heck are you looking at me like that for?"
She just let out a cold chuckle and shrugged. "Oh, nothing, Sakura-chan...I mean, look at that. '20 Wins'. Think you can 0\/\/|\| that?"
"Hell yeah! But this'll be quick, after this we'll go on straight home even if we have to leave 'my' game to other people, okay?"
I then inched my way through the crowd. If I hadn't known any better I'd say they were all lined up to challenge this guy. Better not waste my time, I have to challenge this 20-win guy *now* or else mum will scold me for being late...as if I wasn't late already. I just whimpered as I checked my wristwatch what time it was.
The guy I was about to challenge looked like an American guy just like Largo-sensei but he seems like no pushover like the latter guy. I mean, this guy sure must work out a lot. His hair's even zanier-looking than Largo-sensei's...even wears specs, too. And from the looks of things I'd say Mr. Four-Eyes Gaijin's racking up his 21st win in a few seconds...this guy's gameplay is *good*.
At last, it was my turn. Time for me to decide who to use...Cranberry Jam? Nah, too risky. Millia Rage? Not even close! I just started learning to use Millia! Hmm...
As soon as I entered the character selection screen, there was no other choice for me but to choose none other than my personal "champion", Sol Badguy himself. Mr. Four-Eyes Gaijin here's using Ky Kiske anyway, just thought we'd even things out a little bit, eh?
"Ooh, a high school girl challenging *me*? Well, good luck, little girl," the guy told me in near-fluent Japanese. Wow, I thought, *now* I'm all fired up.
And so, the match starts. Th crowd behind me was probably staring in awed silence as Mr. Gaijin and I fought on, stirring each other up with fighting game techniques each have never seen before. He felled me on this first round; now I know what to do on the next. It'll be hard though, as he seems to be concentrating on defense tactics too much.
For a brief moment there I thought I've seen this guy before. Oh, yeah, that's right! He was one of the SF tourney rookies last year! I remember this guy even wearing full military gear--the fight announcer even said he's from the US military installation in Okinawa.
But then, I thought as the second round started, what the hell is a military man and an SF competitor doing in a damned video arcade? In *my* town, no less? Oh, but then again, what am *I* doing in a video arcade on a SCHOOL DAY? Heh. Anyway...
I finally showed my aggressive side of being a Sol Badguy player by ruthlessly eating away at Mr. Gaijin's Ky Kiske, not letting any room for defense. I'm gonna kick this guy's ass no matter what, and luckily, in spite of the fact that my life bar has nearly gone to zero, I won Round 2. I then looked briefly at my opponent's face; his expression didn't seem any different so i can't tell whether he thinks he's in trouble or he's confident enough to pull off a hidden trick somewhere along the way. Heh, hidden trick or not, I don't intend to lose.
Round three started after a bloody round two where I finished my opponent off with a super finishing move; I was at a disadvantage sonce my power bar was back to zero while my opponent's was still halfway full. A moment of truth, it seemed, as at the same time I tried to dig up my memories what this white guy's name was. Thirty seconds already passed as this video game battle raged on, both of our life bars being halfway empty and me being only slightly pissed because my chain-combos were broken with almost no difficulty at all, as if my opponent can read my moves very well.
Soon everyone was awed when my Sol Badguy totally obliterated this gaijin's Ky Kiske; everyone around us cheered (probably for my l33t gaming sk1llz in GGXX, but that's just me I guess) while I whispered into my opponent's left ear, "I have to go home now, I'll give this game to you. Thanks for your time, sir--"
"W-w-w-wait!" He yelled as Hinata-chan and I started to leave the arcade. "I want to talk to you, Miss!"
Oh, great. What *is* this? He then followed us outside as I just briefly stopped near the entrance of the arcade and waited to hear what he wanted to say.
"You were in the Street Fighter tournament last year, right?"
"Well, yeah..." I blinked at him with a slightly bewildered look on my face. "I recall you were there too, Mister...uhh, what was your name again?"
The guy just offered me a friendly handshake. "Just call me Charlie. I remember your name's...Sakura Kasugano, am I right?"
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata-chan gasped. "How come this white guy knows your name?"
"Yeah, how *do* you know my name? I remember I never really got through the semi-finals back then to begin with, so I'm not really..."
"Oh, come on now, Kasugano-san, don't be so hard on yourself, even if that weirdo with the red beret and tonfa whupped your ass so bad back then..."
Argh! He just *had* to remind me! I'll never forget that day...that *very* humiliating day somewhere in the tourney where I was defeated by a mere kook who thinks he's some bad-ass military guy. If I ever see that fuckhead Rolento again, I'm goingto shove his grenades *and* tonfa up his--
What the hell? You're asking for details?! Are you asking for a m4d b347d0\/\/|\| as well? Grr!
Anyway, I just breathed in and out calmly as Charlie-san started to make friends with Hinata-chan, complete with handshake and cheesy grin. "I assume that little hint ofmy past in the SF tourney was inentional just to make friends with Hina-chan here."
"Oh, not at all! Heh heh," he grinned at me sheepishly and chuckled. "Hey listen...this isn't going to take much time, but...I'd just like to have a little word with you, Kasugano-san."
"Hmm," Hinata-chan was eyeing me carefully, I noticed. "Who was that guy with the tonfa and red beret who beat you last time, hmmmm? I'm just curious because, well, normally you'd beat people up like that..."
"Umm, I don't think now's the time to talk about that, Hina...eh heh heh heh..." I just sweatdropped and grinned stupidly myself. "Charlie-san, what was it you wanted to tell me about?"
"Ahem. Anyway, I noticed you were good at that little video game battle we played a little earlier, a few minutes ago, even. I'm honored to meet and fight someone as skilled as you are. But..." He shifted his eyeglasses a bit, then continued, "But I hope you'll be just as good when you do get to be qualified for the SF tournament in a few months. Hell, I do hope you'll be better by then."
Silently, I looked at him for a few seconds as the thought sank into my mind. He was right, I might be good at video games but here I am, still training for one other aspect of my life--martial arts. The key phrase was "*still* training". I admit, I'm not such an expert in shotokan karate as I'm an expert in fighting games, but at least I'm trying, right?
"Sakura-chan..." Hinata-chan just kept a simple gaze towards me.
"well, Charlie-san," I just smiled at the gaijin, bearing much confidence, "all I have to do is train hard for the tournament, right? Just to let you know, I just finished training with--"
"Hold on for a sec, Kasugano-san. I don't think you get my point...training to be the best in martial arts doesn't quite stop when the lessons in the classroom, dojo, whatever have you, end. As with everything else in this world, to be the best means you have to 'breathe' and 'eat' martial arts, even if it takes up a few tidbits of your free time. You do want to be this year's champ, right?"
"W-well..." I paused to think about what he just said. "It's not about being the champ that matters, I think...but I guess it's fair enough to aim for the top..." And besides, I'm not there for the prize money anyway! I just want Ryu-sama to be my sensei in the martial arts, and I want him to show me the true way of the warrior...
"It's just not 'fair enough', Kasugano-san. It should be your motivation," he then blinked as he looked at his wristwatch, then patted Hinata-chan's and my back as he turned to leave the both of us. "Think about what you're getting yourself into--no, what you're *already* into, Kasugano-san. I hope to meet and fight you for real in the tournament!"
At this point I should have been calling this gaijin some sort of a hypocrite for not following his own advice; why was he playing around in this arcade in the first place? But then, as I saw him walk away, I kinda felt his "aura" getting weaker by the distance. i couldn't quite explain it, but...I feel Charlie-san's definitely not a pushover.
"Sakura-chan, umm...I think we should go home now," Hinata-chan pointed to my watch with a worried look. "It's almost up, the 15 minutes I told you about..."
"Huh?" Looking at my wristwatch, I almost jumped in surprise. "Oh, crap! Let's get the hell out of here!"
And so, Hinata-chan and I rushed out; our respective destinations, our own homes. This just wasn't fair, I whimpered, we have seven minutes left to get home!
As the both ofus rounded the corner a few blocks away from thea rcade, we bumped into some people. It wasn't just any kind of bump, mind you, it was the type where I accidentally knocked the other person a few meters away from us. As if by reflex, I, of course, said sorry to the familiar broom-headed guy (who looked about my age) I just bumped.
"S-sorry! We have to go now!" Something seems familiar about that broom-headed guy with the big gorilla-faced and gorilla-sized oaf with him...
Hinata-chan caught up with me a little as she tried to get my attention. "Uh, I don't think that guy would ever accept just a 'sorry' from you, Sakura-chan..."
"That guy I just bumped? Well, I did say sorry, right?" It was then when something small and hard hit me at the back of my head...looks like someone just threw a rock at me! Argh, how embarrassing!
"No one pushes me around me like that, little girlie," I heard the broom-headed kid taunt me as I turned around to face him and his giant ape-like friend, curling up his finger as if inviting me to a fight. Man, I don't have time for this! "Now c'mere and lick my boots and say yer sor--"
"Hey, I know you!" I pointed at him, "You're Eiji Yamada, student of Justice High just like Hinata here, only that you're in the Gedo section of the school--hmm, from what I hear, Gedo's got all those nasty gangster-type thug wannabe's who bully students around and--"
"You shuddup! That's *Edge*, not Eiji! Argh! How I *hate* that name!" complained Eiji-kun as he shook his hands in anger at me. "Heh...I happen to know you too, girly...you're that Tamagawa High School bitch I've been hearing about ever since the troubles started thanks to that idiot student council leader Hyo Imawano went and did stuff--what the hell?!"
"Oh, cool! Tee-hee!" I kinda skipped as I held his hands and did a happy face at him. "This is just like a big reunion! Heh heh heh, I'll never forget that day when Natsu-chan and her buddies Shoma and Roberto whupped up your ass real good back then!" Looks like my little plan's working; Eiji-kun's face just crumpled up in pissed-offness. "Well, I think we should be going now, *Eiji*-kun! Nice to meet you again! Say hi to Akira-chan for me, okay!" Hinata-chan and I just turned around and...
To my surprise, Eiji-kun grabbed my collar. Oookay, this was getting a bit too touchy.
"I think he told you not to call him that, Sakura-chan..."
"Yeah! I think I told you that, girlie. It's *Edge*, mind you," and from out of nowhere, he poked one of his trademark knives at me and cringed in anger. "*Edge*, like the edge of this knife's gonna slit yer little girly throat, eh?"
My eyes rolled over to Hinata's position and I gave her a wink, then I raised an eyebrow and gave this idiotic bastard's beade little eyes a cold, piercing gaze. "Whatever, *Eiji* Yamada," I calmly uttered as I punched his face full-force and Hinata-chan, speedy girl as she is, landed a flying kick to Eiji-kun's other cheek. "Hah! You should be lucky I'm not using my patented hadouken technique on you, Eiji-kun," I told him as I kicked his gut as he lay on the cement withered. "Or else you'll be sooooooo 0\/\/|\|3d, you hear that?"
At that point I expected his ape-like partner...Gan Isurugi, was it?...to come to his aid, but he was just looking at Hinata-chan and me beating up "Edge" to a pulp. After a minute, we finished up. "Never, *ever* touch me again, loser!"
"Wow, these two chicks really beat you up now, eh Edge?" Gan just rubbed his chin as he examined his partner's withered, distorted form. "Heh, the boss isn't going to like this." Uh, oh. Here it comes. "Sakura-chan *did* say sorry, you know?" The big fat Gedo "kid" just walked over to us and towered over us like a boulder to a little rock. "You girls beter get out of here before he wakes up. I'll tell the boss...Akira-chan beat him up once again for perving on her."
"Hah! Okay, Gan-kun! Seeya!" Hinata and I waved at him as we scooted away from the scene. Normally, Gan would have helped Eiji-kun, but since the big guy's been hanging around their gang boss lately (who, in fact, I hear, is a likely strong charismatic contender for Justice High's leadership of the student council--pretty interesting twist for a high school gang leader), Gan-kun seemed a bit different from when I last saw him. Hmmmmm, but then, it's as if I care! He's not from *my* school anyway!
Hey, don't look at me like that, I was kidding, all right? Geez.
"Well, I panted as we ran as fast as we could, "This has been quite an interesting day, eh Hina?"
"Interesting for *you*, maybe! I don't get any excitement with experiments with icky bugs and getting my lunch eaten by two idiots from my class named Batsu and Kyosuke and...and--"
"Ugh, spare me the details! Hey, we're almost at my home!" I pointed at the area a couple of blocks away from where we were right now while we both maintained our running speed. "hey, thanks for the little trip to the arcade...I've never had to run this fast after spending a day there! Tee-hee!"
"Oh, shut up, you big meanie! Mmmmmph!" Hinata-chan squinted, "What's running have to do with arcades anyway?! I've had to go through the trouble of running with you just to take you to your home!"
"Well, *you* started it! Who invited me to go to the arcades in the first place anyway? Hina, I should tell your mother about this--"
"Aaack, noooo! Don't tell mommy! Heh heh heh! Oh, well." We both stopped at the point where I have to separate paths with Hinata-chan. "Well, Sakura-chan," she exhaustedly panted to take a few breaths and wipe the sweat off her brow, "I guess we'll see each other tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah!" I grinned at her. "Seeya then!" I waved at her as she walked away, to pause for a few seconds, then caught up with me as I started to walk a little distance ahead to home sweet home.
"Hey!" I shrieked in surprise as I felt Hinata-chan pinch my poor aching butt. "What did you do THAT for?!"
"Now, now, Sakura-chan...don't go perving on pictures of nekkid guys over the internet tonight, okay?" I just blushed a little as Hinata-chan grinned at me.
"You were looking through my files?! Damn you, Hina!"
"Whoa, I didn't know you had it in you, Sakura-chan! Tee-hee, my little friend Sakura Kasugano is perving on guys! And all along I thought she was more of a tomboy than our tall friend Natsu Ayuhara! Ooh, this be juicy stuff I'll tell Natsu-chan..."
"aww, shut up and go home already, Hina!" Yet again, I attempted to whack her head with my schoolbag, but this time, she didn't dodge. She blocked my schoolbag attack with her forearm, though. Heh heh.
"Hee hee! Seeya.....*ecchi* Sakura-chan!"
Grrr. *Very* interesting day indeed. Oh well, I did manage to get home in time. i was almost shocked when I found mum "waiting for me" at the door and asked me, "Where have you been? Do you even know what time it is?" and later sensed it wasn't because I was late, but because by some unknown twist of fate, mum lost her watch and all the clocks in the house were mysteriously outof batteries. Well, that was a relief, I thought, if she knew I was going to the arcades on a school day she'd go ballistic on me.
I just paused for a moment as I did my homework late that night, after a hearty meal that my mum cooked for me and my little brother Tsukushi. Indeed, this was quite an interesting day; I've had to meet a weird-looking redhead salaryman this morning, Largo-sensei gave all of us a kick-ass easy test about video games, I kicked "Edge's" ass, all in time for dinner. Hee hee, I guess I'm on a roll today.
But somehow, that encounter with the salaryman known to me as merely "Tanaka", I feel it didn't really end there, that morning. It was like I can feel his aura looming over me like some dark cloud about to pour its rain.
Ah well, I guess that's all for today. I yawn as I tuck muself to sleep, ready and waiting for the next day to come, ever inching closer to the day of the next Street Fighter tournament, where I'll definitely shine as a martial artist, hopefully.
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PH33R 7H3 W3453L 5TUD105 is Kei (Lloyd Barrieses) and Asuka (Rachel Grey). All rights reserved.
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"THE SAKURA DIARIES"
A Street Fighter/Rival Schools/Megatokyo.com crossover
"Street Fighter" and "Rival Schools" are trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd., Japan.
"Megatokyo.com" () is a trademark of Piro (Fred Gallagher) and Largo (Rodney Caston). (Characters used without permission.)
All rights reserved.
This fanfiction owned and authored by PH33R 7H3 W3453L 5TUD105, a.k.a. "Kei and Asuka". Any attempt to steal this fic (i.e. putting your name in the credits) shall be met with the appropriate legal actions. Anyway, enjoy the show. :)
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Chapter 4: Of Gaijin and Broomheads
And so another day's gone by without any real "challenge" coming my way. Ho-hum...well, at least Largo-sensei made quite a fool of himself in front of the whole class this day--to my amusement, of course. My goth classmate Miho Tohya didn't seem all amused about it, though; she looked like she was about to sleep during that "surprise test" that our humble old gaijin english teacher had given us.
The test itself, however, was quite...weird, to say the least. I mean, where else in Japan do you get an English language high school teacher who gives out tests about--get this--video games? This'll be a snap, I thought as I cheerily answered every question, utilizing what meager knowledge I had of the English language.
After Largo-sensei had dismissed us all for the day, I went straight out of the school premises (English was the last class on my daily schedule), and walked home as I usually did everyday, still thinking about what I can do to get myself into the upcoming Street fighter tournament...so I can finally ask Ryu-sama to teach me everything he knows about shotokan karate, and being a true warrior.
Hey, don't look at me like that. That *is* the only reason I'm looking forward to meet him. I don't have any hidden agenda or whatever to gain Ryu-sama's attenti--
I just paused from walking as I thought of that.
.....is it the only reason?
Anyway, that litle incident earlier with the redhead salaryman...heh, my life doesn't get any weirder than THAT, I'd say. I mean, what's someone whom I don't even know personally *and* who was possibly a fellow competitor in the last Street Fighter tournament have to do with *me* anyway? Why, I'm just an innocent young high school girl who simply wants to be the best fighter that Japan could ever produce, and now I've got old people STALKING me! Oh, for crying out loud, I feel so...so...
"You're blushing, Sakura-chan."
"I am *not* blushing, Hina!" I then attempted to whack her with my backpack, but missed as she just dodged it. "And you have got to stop sneaking up on people like that, it's annoying! Why, if it were me a few weeks ago I'd have jumped for the moon with those sneaky antics of yours!"
"Bah, excuses, excuses," Hinata-chan boringly replied as she put an arm around my shoulder. "Looks like all that training with Honda-san really made you buff and tough, huh?" She then giggled as I glared at her angrily.
"Shut up, Hina. Hmph!"
"Hey, I got an idea, why don't we go to that new video arcade thingy a few blocks from here? I hear they've got the arcade version of Guilty Gear XX and some other neat goodies like UFO ctachers that give away Mega Man and Power Stone plushies, what do you say?"
"Oh...I dunno, mum always told me to go straight home after school..."
"Come on, it'll be fun! I mean, it's the most fun we can have without Natsu-chan following us around like some truant officer! We'll stay there for about, umm..." Hinata-chan's voice trailed off a little bit as she looked at her watch. "We'll both go home after 15 minutes."
Hmm, seems fair enough... "All right, then!" I eagerly grinned at my little friend from Justice High School. "*Now* you'll see your friend Sakura-chan kick everyone's ass in GGXX! Err...well, within 15 minutes, that is. Heh heh heh heh." I just scratched my head like an idiot again and grinned.
"That's the spirit, Sakura-chan! I really want you to make up for that...ugly 5 - 0 thing that happened last time in that other arcade last year, tee-hee-hee!" What the?!
"Five-zero NOTHING! I was missing a damned button that time! The joystick wasn't even WORKING! It was a total rip-off, I tell ya!"
And so, Hinata-chan and I rushed to that arcade she was talking about. I wasn't really that surprised to see a lot of kids my age and older packed into this place. Looking around, the arcade seems like a large, roomy place--they even have tables and chairs on the side so you could order a drink or two from the bar nearby, and there's even a billiard rom and a LAN room! Gee, if Largo-sensei knew about this I'm sure he'd be gloating in arrogance how he's so l33t that he can actually beat each and every kid in this room. Oh well.
Anyway, we both buy some tokens and move to the nearest Guilty Gear XX machine which, as expected, was indeed full of spectators on the sides, as if it were a gladiators' arena of old. In my mind I told myself, now, there must be some sort of "prodigy" here.
"This...is interesting. Hmm..."
"Yeah, I wonder who it could be?"
"I'll be up next, then," I grinned evilly at Hinata-chan.
"Are you kidding?" She asked me with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I haven't seen you play GGXX before, and the closest you've ever gotten is the predecessor, Guilty Gear X! We're not even sure if the combos and moves are the same!"
"Oh come on, Hina," I just winked at her while nudging her shoulder with my elbow. "Everyone in the gaming community knows I'm last year's champion with Sol Badguy as my ace."
Hinata-chan just squinted at me as if it was me squinting at Largo-sensei's self-proclaimed All-Father of games and everything pertaining to "l33tn3ss". "What the heck are you looking at me like that for?"
She just let out a cold chuckle and shrugged. "Oh, nothing, Sakura-chan...I mean, look at that. '20 Wins'. Think you can 0\/\/|\| that?"
"Hell yeah! But this'll be quick, after this we'll go on straight home even if we have to leave 'my' game to other people, okay?"
I then inched my way through the crowd. If I hadn't known any better I'd say they were all lined up to challenge this guy. Better not waste my time, I have to challenge this 20-win guy *now* or else mum will scold me for being late...as if I wasn't late already. I just whimpered as I checked my wristwatch what time it was.
The guy I was about to challenge looked like an American guy just like Largo-sensei but he seems like no pushover like the latter guy. I mean, this guy sure must work out a lot. His hair's even zanier-looking than Largo-sensei's...even wears specs, too. And from the looks of things I'd say Mr. Four-Eyes Gaijin's racking up his 21st win in a few seconds...this guy's gameplay is *good*.
At last, it was my turn. Time for me to decide who to use...Cranberry Jam? Nah, too risky. Millia Rage? Not even close! I just started learning to use Millia! Hmm...
As soon as I entered the character selection screen, there was no other choice for me but to choose none other than my personal "champion", Sol Badguy himself. Mr. Four-Eyes Gaijin here's using Ky Kiske anyway, just thought we'd even things out a little bit, eh?
"Ooh, a high school girl challenging *me*? Well, good luck, little girl," the guy told me in near-fluent Japanese. Wow, I thought, *now* I'm all fired up.
And so, the match starts. Th crowd behind me was probably staring in awed silence as Mr. Gaijin and I fought on, stirring each other up with fighting game techniques each have never seen before. He felled me on this first round; now I know what to do on the next. It'll be hard though, as he seems to be concentrating on defense tactics too much.
For a brief moment there I thought I've seen this guy before. Oh, yeah, that's right! He was one of the SF tourney rookies last year! I remember this guy even wearing full military gear--the fight announcer even said he's from the US military installation in Okinawa.
But then, I thought as the second round started, what the hell is a military man and an SF competitor doing in a damned video arcade? In *my* town, no less? Oh, but then again, what am *I* doing in a video arcade on a SCHOOL DAY? Heh. Anyway...
I finally showed my aggressive side of being a Sol Badguy player by ruthlessly eating away at Mr. Gaijin's Ky Kiske, not letting any room for defense. I'm gonna kick this guy's ass no matter what, and luckily, in spite of the fact that my life bar has nearly gone to zero, I won Round 2. I then looked briefly at my opponent's face; his expression didn't seem any different so i can't tell whether he thinks he's in trouble or he's confident enough to pull off a hidden trick somewhere along the way. Heh, hidden trick or not, I don't intend to lose.
Round three started after a bloody round two where I finished my opponent off with a super finishing move; I was at a disadvantage sonce my power bar was back to zero while my opponent's was still halfway full. A moment of truth, it seemed, as at the same time I tried to dig up my memories what this white guy's name was. Thirty seconds already passed as this video game battle raged on, both of our life bars being halfway empty and me being only slightly pissed because my chain-combos were broken with almost no difficulty at all, as if my opponent can read my moves very well.
Soon everyone was awed when my Sol Badguy totally obliterated this gaijin's Ky Kiske; everyone around us cheered (probably for my l33t gaming sk1llz in GGXX, but that's just me I guess) while I whispered into my opponent's left ear, "I have to go home now, I'll give this game to you. Thanks for your time, sir--"
"W-w-w-wait!" He yelled as Hinata-chan and I started to leave the arcade. "I want to talk to you, Miss!"
Oh, great. What *is* this? He then followed us outside as I just briefly stopped near the entrance of the arcade and waited to hear what he wanted to say.
"You were in the Street Fighter tournament last year, right?"
"Well, yeah..." I blinked at him with a slightly bewildered look on my face. "I recall you were there too, Mister...uhh, what was your name again?"
The guy just offered me a friendly handshake. "Just call me Charlie. I remember your name's...Sakura Kasugano, am I right?"
"Sakura-chan!" Hinata-chan gasped. "How come this white guy knows your name?"
"Yeah, how *do* you know my name? I remember I never really got through the semi-finals back then to begin with, so I'm not really..."
"Oh, come on now, Kasugano-san, don't be so hard on yourself, even if that weirdo with the red beret and tonfa whupped your ass so bad back then..."
Argh! He just *had* to remind me! I'll never forget that day...that *very* humiliating day somewhere in the tourney where I was defeated by a mere kook who thinks he's some bad-ass military guy. If I ever see that fuckhead Rolento again, I'm goingto shove his grenades *and* tonfa up his--
What the hell? You're asking for details?! Are you asking for a m4d b347d0\/\/|\| as well? Grr!
Anyway, I just breathed in and out calmly as Charlie-san started to make friends with Hinata-chan, complete with handshake and cheesy grin. "I assume that little hint ofmy past in the SF tourney was inentional just to make friends with Hina-chan here."
"Oh, not at all! Heh heh," he grinned at me sheepishly and chuckled. "Hey listen...this isn't going to take much time, but...I'd just like to have a little word with you, Kasugano-san."
"Hmm," Hinata-chan was eyeing me carefully, I noticed. "Who was that guy with the tonfa and red beret who beat you last time, hmmmm? I'm just curious because, well, normally you'd beat people up like that..."
"Umm, I don't think now's the time to talk about that, Hina...eh heh heh heh..." I just sweatdropped and grinned stupidly myself. "Charlie-san, what was it you wanted to tell me about?"
"Ahem. Anyway, I noticed you were good at that little video game battle we played a little earlier, a few minutes ago, even. I'm honored to meet and fight someone as skilled as you are. But..." He shifted his eyeglasses a bit, then continued, "But I hope you'll be just as good when you do get to be qualified for the SF tournament in a few months. Hell, I do hope you'll be better by then."
Silently, I looked at him for a few seconds as the thought sank into my mind. He was right, I might be good at video games but here I am, still training for one other aspect of my life--martial arts. The key phrase was "*still* training". I admit, I'm not such an expert in shotokan karate as I'm an expert in fighting games, but at least I'm trying, right?
"Sakura-chan..." Hinata-chan just kept a simple gaze towards me.
"well, Charlie-san," I just smiled at the gaijin, bearing much confidence, "all I have to do is train hard for the tournament, right? Just to let you know, I just finished training with--"
"Hold on for a sec, Kasugano-san. I don't think you get my point...training to be the best in martial arts doesn't quite stop when the lessons in the classroom, dojo, whatever have you, end. As with everything else in this world, to be the best means you have to 'breathe' and 'eat' martial arts, even if it takes up a few tidbits of your free time. You do want to be this year's champ, right?"
"W-well..." I paused to think about what he just said. "It's not about being the champ that matters, I think...but I guess it's fair enough to aim for the top..." And besides, I'm not there for the prize money anyway! I just want Ryu-sama to be my sensei in the martial arts, and I want him to show me the true way of the warrior...
"It's just not 'fair enough', Kasugano-san. It should be your motivation," he then blinked as he looked at his wristwatch, then patted Hinata-chan's and my back as he turned to leave the both of us. "Think about what you're getting yourself into--no, what you're *already* into, Kasugano-san. I hope to meet and fight you for real in the tournament!"
At this point I should have been calling this gaijin some sort of a hypocrite for not following his own advice; why was he playing around in this arcade in the first place? But then, as I saw him walk away, I kinda felt his "aura" getting weaker by the distance. i couldn't quite explain it, but...I feel Charlie-san's definitely not a pushover.
"Sakura-chan, umm...I think we should go home now," Hinata-chan pointed to my watch with a worried look. "It's almost up, the 15 minutes I told you about..."
"Huh?" Looking at my wristwatch, I almost jumped in surprise. "Oh, crap! Let's get the hell out of here!"
And so, Hinata-chan and I rushed out; our respective destinations, our own homes. This just wasn't fair, I whimpered, we have seven minutes left to get home!
As the both ofus rounded the corner a few blocks away from thea rcade, we bumped into some people. It wasn't just any kind of bump, mind you, it was the type where I accidentally knocked the other person a few meters away from us. As if by reflex, I, of course, said sorry to the familiar broom-headed guy (who looked about my age) I just bumped.
"S-sorry! We have to go now!" Something seems familiar about that broom-headed guy with the big gorilla-faced and gorilla-sized oaf with him...
Hinata-chan caught up with me a little as she tried to get my attention. "Uh, I don't think that guy would ever accept just a 'sorry' from you, Sakura-chan..."
"That guy I just bumped? Well, I did say sorry, right?" It was then when something small and hard hit me at the back of my head...looks like someone just threw a rock at me! Argh, how embarrassing!
"No one pushes me around me like that, little girlie," I heard the broom-headed kid taunt me as I turned around to face him and his giant ape-like friend, curling up his finger as if inviting me to a fight. Man, I don't have time for this! "Now c'mere and lick my boots and say yer sor--"
"Hey, I know you!" I pointed at him, "You're Eiji Yamada, student of Justice High just like Hinata here, only that you're in the Gedo section of the school--hmm, from what I hear, Gedo's got all those nasty gangster-type thug wannabe's who bully students around and--"
"You shuddup! That's *Edge*, not Eiji! Argh! How I *hate* that name!" complained Eiji-kun as he shook his hands in anger at me. "Heh...I happen to know you too, girly...you're that Tamagawa High School bitch I've been hearing about ever since the troubles started thanks to that idiot student council leader Hyo Imawano went and did stuff--what the hell?!"
"Oh, cool! Tee-hee!" I kinda skipped as I held his hands and did a happy face at him. "This is just like a big reunion! Heh heh heh, I'll never forget that day when Natsu-chan and her buddies Shoma and Roberto whupped up your ass real good back then!" Looks like my little plan's working; Eiji-kun's face just crumpled up in pissed-offness. "Well, I think we should be going now, *Eiji*-kun! Nice to meet you again! Say hi to Akira-chan for me, okay!" Hinata-chan and I just turned around and...
To my surprise, Eiji-kun grabbed my collar. Oookay, this was getting a bit too touchy.
"I think he told you not to call him that, Sakura-chan..."
"Yeah! I think I told you that, girlie. It's *Edge*, mind you," and from out of nowhere, he poked one of his trademark knives at me and cringed in anger. "*Edge*, like the edge of this knife's gonna slit yer little girly throat, eh?"
My eyes rolled over to Hinata's position and I gave her a wink, then I raised an eyebrow and gave this idiotic bastard's beade little eyes a cold, piercing gaze. "Whatever, *Eiji* Yamada," I calmly uttered as I punched his face full-force and Hinata-chan, speedy girl as she is, landed a flying kick to Eiji-kun's other cheek. "Hah! You should be lucky I'm not using my patented hadouken technique on you, Eiji-kun," I told him as I kicked his gut as he lay on the cement withered. "Or else you'll be sooooooo 0\/\/|\|3d, you hear that?"
At that point I expected his ape-like partner...Gan Isurugi, was it?...to come to his aid, but he was just looking at Hinata-chan and me beating up "Edge" to a pulp. After a minute, we finished up. "Never, *ever* touch me again, loser!"
"Wow, these two chicks really beat you up now, eh Edge?" Gan just rubbed his chin as he examined his partner's withered, distorted form. "Heh, the boss isn't going to like this." Uh, oh. Here it comes. "Sakura-chan *did* say sorry, you know?" The big fat Gedo "kid" just walked over to us and towered over us like a boulder to a little rock. "You girls beter get out of here before he wakes up. I'll tell the boss...Akira-chan beat him up once again for perving on her."
"Hah! Okay, Gan-kun! Seeya!" Hinata and I waved at him as we scooted away from the scene. Normally, Gan would have helped Eiji-kun, but since the big guy's been hanging around their gang boss lately (who, in fact, I hear, is a likely strong charismatic contender for Justice High's leadership of the student council--pretty interesting twist for a high school gang leader), Gan-kun seemed a bit different from when I last saw him. Hmmmmm, but then, it's as if I care! He's not from *my* school anyway!
Hey, don't look at me like that, I was kidding, all right? Geez.
"Well, I panted as we ran as fast as we could, "This has been quite an interesting day, eh Hina?"
"Interesting for *you*, maybe! I don't get any excitement with experiments with icky bugs and getting my lunch eaten by two idiots from my class named Batsu and Kyosuke and...and--"
"Ugh, spare me the details! Hey, we're almost at my home!" I pointed at the area a couple of blocks away from where we were right now while we both maintained our running speed. "hey, thanks for the little trip to the arcade...I've never had to run this fast after spending a day there! Tee-hee!"
"Oh, shut up, you big meanie! Mmmmmph!" Hinata-chan squinted, "What's running have to do with arcades anyway?! I've had to go through the trouble of running with you just to take you to your home!"
"Well, *you* started it! Who invited me to go to the arcades in the first place anyway? Hina, I should tell your mother about this--"
"Aaack, noooo! Don't tell mommy! Heh heh heh! Oh, well." We both stopped at the point where I have to separate paths with Hinata-chan. "Well, Sakura-chan," she exhaustedly panted to take a few breaths and wipe the sweat off her brow, "I guess we'll see each other tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah!" I grinned at her. "Seeya then!" I waved at her as she walked away, to pause for a few seconds, then caught up with me as I started to walk a little distance ahead to home sweet home.
"Hey!" I shrieked in surprise as I felt Hinata-chan pinch my poor aching butt. "What did you do THAT for?!"
"Now, now, Sakura-chan...don't go perving on pictures of nekkid guys over the internet tonight, okay?" I just blushed a little as Hinata-chan grinned at me.
"You were looking through my files?! Damn you, Hina!"
"Whoa, I didn't know you had it in you, Sakura-chan! Tee-hee, my little friend Sakura Kasugano is perving on guys! And all along I thought she was more of a tomboy than our tall friend Natsu Ayuhara! Ooh, this be juicy stuff I'll tell Natsu-chan..."
"aww, shut up and go home already, Hina!" Yet again, I attempted to whack her head with my schoolbag, but this time, she didn't dodge. She blocked my schoolbag attack with her forearm, though. Heh heh.
"Hee hee! Seeya.....*ecchi* Sakura-chan!"
Grrr. *Very* interesting day indeed. Oh well, I did manage to get home in time. i was almost shocked when I found mum "waiting for me" at the door and asked me, "Where have you been? Do you even know what time it is?" and later sensed it wasn't because I was late, but because by some unknown twist of fate, mum lost her watch and all the clocks in the house were mysteriously outof batteries. Well, that was a relief, I thought, if she knew I was going to the arcades on a school day she'd go ballistic on me.
I just paused for a moment as I did my homework late that night, after a hearty meal that my mum cooked for me and my little brother Tsukushi. Indeed, this was quite an interesting day; I've had to meet a weird-looking redhead salaryman this morning, Largo-sensei gave all of us a kick-ass easy test about video games, I kicked "Edge's" ass, all in time for dinner. Hee hee, I guess I'm on a roll today.
But somehow, that encounter with the salaryman known to me as merely "Tanaka", I feel it didn't really end there, that morning. It was like I can feel his aura looming over me like some dark cloud about to pour its rain.
Ah well, I guess that's all for today. I yawn as I tuck muself to sleep, ready and waiting for the next day to come, ever inching closer to the day of the next Street Fighter tournament, where I'll definitely shine as a martial artist, hopefully.
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PH33R 7H3 W3453L 5TUD105 is Kei (Lloyd Barrieses) and Asuka (Rachel Grey). All rights reserved.