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[color=1E90FF][b]Level :[/b][/color] 9
[color=1E90FF][b]EXP :[/b][/color] 12/90 (+3 pts.)
[color=1E90FF][b]Location :[/b][/color] Esaka, the Tiered City
[color=1E90FF][b]Word Count :[/b][/color] 1,886

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[color=1E90FF]“Oh, hi! Nice to meet you, new visitor!”[/color] Nadia was the first to greet Terry upon encounter, and he returned her greetings with a bright expression. His smile continued to spread from ear to ear, as he closed the distance between himself and the arriving guests even further. Sadly for him, once he stood right in front of the guests, some of them happened to wander off, distracted by the bustling sight of the lower tier side of Esaka. [color=1E90FF]“Well, that’s rude…”[/color] Snickering, Terry jokingly scratched his blonde temple with his finger, taking the sight of some of the guests who left earlier to wander the city. Eventually, that left him with Azuma, Harry, Pit, Therion, and Primrose, among other remaining guests yet to [i]unfreeze[/i]. When Harry introduced Kim to the fellow guests, Terry offered a hand, smiling at both detectives.

[color=1E90FF]“Nice knowin’ you, Kim. Actually, you remind me of a good pal of mine. A good pal I haven’t met in a while…”[/color] he said, a hint of longing in his voice. Before his smile faltered further, he quickly curled his lips back up, parting them widely. A bright, jovial visage was still managed. [color=1E90FF]“But anyway, I got a feeling that I’ve seen you guys somewhere before. Well, ’least some of y’all,”[/color] he admitted. [color=1E90FF]“But… if we’ve never met, the name’s Terry. Terry Bogard. You can call me Terry, you can call me ‘wolf,’ you can call me ‘legendary.’ Just don’t call me late to dinner.”[/color] He chuckled, then winked, offering a hand for each and every guest present. He also did the same for Azuma, even though he was a fellow local.  [color=1E90FF]“And you guys are?”[/color]

Just as he shifted in Pit’s direction to offer a hand, Terry was taken aback. It seemed that the winged fellow recognized him instantly, as though they’d met in previous life. The way he talked, it made the hat-wearing bruiser seem like he’d died and reincarnated just now or something. Terry did recognize him just the same, but couldn’t point out where or when they’d encountered each other. There was just this odd feeling that he knew some of the guests present, but struggled to remember their names, except for Sakura, probably.

And so, Terry instead offered Pit a fistbump, clenching his gloved hand excitedly. [color=1E90FF]“Hah! Okay! So y’know me,”[/color] he shouted, almost snickering. He nodded and gave ear, as the winged fellow answered his prior question. [color=1E90FF]“Heh. I see… ‘Starting over,’ you said?”[/color] he asked back, arching an eyebrow. [color=1E90FF]“Sounds like I got a lot to ask now that you told me that. Because, honestly—”[/color]

Before Terry could go ahead and tell Pit that he seemed to know him, Pit had already shifted around, approaching Primrose. He quipped quietly. [color=1E90FF]“Ah, okay…”[/color] The hat-wearing bruiser gave him another gentle nod, placing a hand over his hip as he watched the winged angel give each and every fellow guest on sight a linkpearl, including Roland who’d just arrived way later to the scene to drop a brief information, only to leave again shortly after. His sharp, blue eyes observed each and every person Pit approached, starting to take what the latter was telling him more seriously. Maybe it wasn’t just Captain Falcon, Pit, and Sakura that he’d ever come across in the distant past. What if he’d encountered [b]almost[/b] every single person in the roster?

As Pit returned to him, Terry received the linkpearl that he gave him, not quite expecting that he’d also been given the jewelry/communication device, despite being something of a [i]stranger[/i] they just came across this morning. 

[color=1E90FF]“Oh, what’s this?”[/color] he asked the angel, then gestured at said sophisticated golden jewelry, carefully clasping it between his thumb and index. He did receive a brief answer to his question, but before he could ask further or thank Pit, the latter had already hopped and soared away to find other guests. It seemed that Therion and Primrose followed suit not long after. [color=1E90FF]“Oh, wait! Why’s everybody leaving? We haven’t even talked that much yet.”[/color]

Sighing, Terry gave the linkpearl another pensive glance, his fingers reeling it back and forth. Even though he’d never worn the same kind of earpiece nor decked his ears with glimmering jewelry, he had to admit whoever made it did a flawless job in crafting such an eye-catching gem. Maybe it’d look decent on him, too, who knows? Still, he wished he knew why he was given the said piece of jewelry/communication device while he wasn’t even part of the team. 

[color=1E90FF][i]‘To talk with us’?[/i][/color] he mused, repeating what Pit told him moments before he flew away. [color=1E90FF][i]What is this, some kinda an invitation? Looks like the kid meant it when he said that we used to know each other. Only one way to find out…[/i][/color]

Then, Terry lifted the linkpearl in his fingers close to his temple, plugging and pressing it into one of his ears. He swung his head left and right, still keeping his fingers around the plugged jewelry as if trying to find a signal. Frankly, technology had never been his strongest suit. He often struggled with the most basic tasks revolving around operating cutting-edge gadgets, unless it had anything to do with video games, that is.

[color=1E90FF][i]Damn… I can’t seem to hear anything,[/i][/color] he mused, awkwardly tapping his linkpearl over and over. Oftentimes, he even plugged and unplugged the device, yet not a single voice was heard. [color=1E90FF][i]Oh, well… Looks like nobody’s talked to this thing just yet, huh? Silly me…[/i][/color]

Snorting, Terry shook his head, then plugged the linkpearl back into his ear, now shifting his attention towards Azuma and the remaining guests. While trying out said golden earpiece and hilariously failing, he overheard the nearby guests talking with the InvestiGator regarding the tournaments in Esaka, with some taking an especially cautious fixation on the Mortal Kombat tournament sponsored by Shao Kahn. While he’d never participated in the tournament, Terry had heard a few stories surrounding it, as well as watching several matches directly. He knew damn well just how much of a bloodfest the tournament was.

From what Terry knew, in Esaka, Mortal Kombat had the reputation of being the deathmatch of fighting tournaments—where fatalities and brutalities were encouraged and glorified. The tournament also featured some of the world’s most ruthless and merciless [i]kombatants[/i], which explained the low participation number. However, despite the lack of participants and the not-so-family-friendly environment, Mortal Kombat was still considered part of the big three of fighting tournaments, often attracting the most mainstream appeal over World Warrior and The King of Iron Fist due to the specially invited guests they tended to bring from outside of Esaka. At the very least, it still fared better than the steadily declining KOF tournament that Terry had faithfully entered since its prime years.

[color=1E90FF]“Jeez, I dunno, you guys, but if I were you, I wouldn’t risk myself entering that one. If anybody’s ever told you that it’s hardcore, it [b]is[/b] as hardcore as it gets. The last time I watched it, some unlucky rookies got their hearts and heads literally drawn outta their bodies,”[/color] Terry advised, then grimaced, shivering when he recalled the graphic sight he saw live at the time. Just watching a couple of matches was enough to make him sick to the stomach, let alone participating as one of their [i]kombatants[/i]. At the same time, he always regretted not being able to save the fallen, as he could never find a way to breach through the arena without getting yeeted back to the sidelines by a [url=https://imgur.com/a/FQR97aS]sledgehammer[/url] every single time. [color=1E90FF]“Say, I heard from a buddy of mine that you guys were fighting yokais at the neighboring town. It sounds like it’d be fun ganging up with you guys, so I wonder, can I join you guys in your adventures? Frankly, I haven’t found my teammates for the new KOF tournament just yet, so who knows? Maybe either one of you would be interested to join the tournament with me. KOF needs more participants these days, y’know, and I can guarantee you that it’s not as brutal. Unless you make it to the finals and lose to the sponsor, that is...”[/color]

In actuality, it wasn’t just about finding potential teammates for his all-new, all-different Team Fatal Fury. Just hearing what Pit said about his [i]former self[/i] was enough to make Terry intrigued. Who knows if these strangely familiar guys knew something that he didn’t know? Unless he joined them, of course, he wouldn’t have known. At least, now that Azuma had given plenty of useful information, he didn’t have to do further investigation regarding the new KOF tournament anymore, seeing that all his questions had been answered. 

Readjusting the strap of his duffle bag, Terry strolled along, his steps falling closely behind Azuma and the guests. His blue eyes wandered his vicinity, scanning each and every building he came across. Aside from places like Homie Stock and Clear Hits, the majority of them were—to nobody’s surprise—low-tier dojos blatantly mimicking the likes of the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat dojo to trick the oblivious newcomers into believing they were enrolling for either. 

On Terry’s right was a row of Street Fighter knock-offs, consisting of dojos such as ‘Breakers,’ ‘Martial Champion,’ ‘Fight Fever,’ ‘Kaiser Knuckle,’ ‘The Masters Fighter,’ and of course, ‘Power Moves.’ Out of all of them, only one from the right row stood out, and that was ‘Brutal: Paws of Fury,’ which featured fabled animals such as [url=https://imgur.com/a/GWtzJ3O]a rabbit in a kung-fu trouser[/url], [url=https://imgur.com/a/uDUdbYQ]a crocodile in a karate gi[/url], and [url=https://imgur.com/a/lsfxraY]a strangely appealing fox[/url]. While flawed, they looked significantly tidier and more polished compared to the uglier dojos right across them. 

On Terry’s left sprawled a row of Mortal Kombat knock-offs, consisting of dojos such as ‘Way of the Warrior,’ ‘Kasumi Ninja,’ ‘Bloodstorm,’ ‘Survival Arts,’ and ‘Shadow: War of Succession.’ Compared to the prior dojos, they were significantly dirtier, smellier, and more unpolished, while some looked straight-up questionable. Surely, they weren’t as hardcore as the dojo that [i]inspired[/i] them, but more questionable in the most awkward way. The most notable examples of this were ‘Catfight’ and ‘Brief Karate Foolish’—the latter being the dojo Nadia was talking about. Out of all the dojos from the left row, only ‘Tattoo Assassins’ stood out from the rest since it operated as both a martial arts dojo and a tattoo shop.

[color=1E90FF]“Jesus Christ, these dojos stink!”[/color] Terry remarked, then scrunched his face, referring to every Mortal Kombat knock-off on sight. [color=1E90FF]“No wonder I barely like walking past this side of the street. If I were you guys, it’s best you enroll for any other dojo right across those Mortal Kombat wannabes.”[/color] With his thumb, he gestured at the dojos on his right, quickly shifting against the Mortal Kombat knock-offs just to avoid their noisome scents and unpleasant exterior. [color=1E90FF]“Say, I heard somebody was asking for a bar not long ago. I can recommend a bunch of hangout spots. We have Deadly Rave, Wakeup Timing, and there’s a new Pao Pao outlet not too far from here. Bet you guys have come a long way to get here, so maybe y’all just wanna, y’know, relax, eat-out, and think of your next move? Kinda just clear your mind, so you can choose the right dojo?”[/color]

[b]FIN.[/b]