[center]
[img][/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/kzRPhBS.png[/img]

[h3][sub][color=1E90FF][b]“You copy my banner, and I’m gonna copy your quote section. Sounds fair?”[/b][/color]
[color=gray]— Terry Bogard[/color][/sub][/h3]


[h3]Chinatown, South Town
[sub]1:28 PM[/sub][/h3]

[img]https://www.fightersgeneration.com/nf9/game/stage/realbout-fatalfury2-china-stage.gif[/img]

▶︎• ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌၊|• 3:33
[sub][url=https://youtu.be/f7N1cOHOEGM?si=DEEkVa_Nw6wdny7O]Osaka Jo Koen ~Kyobashi~ – Real Bout Fatal Fury 2[/url][/sub]

[/center]

[color=1E90FF]“Ha! Well, then. You came just to the right place because I’m ready to throw down with you.”[/color]

South Town was—in and of itself—the city of champions. Like wild wolves, its residents breathed and devoted their lives to fighting. Whether authorized or unauthorized, fisticuffs weren’t just allowed. They were encouraged. Fights were held at every corner of the city, and it wasn’t limited to this one. Instead of shying away from the violent nature of them, the people of South Town embraced them. Glorified them, even, as every bout was celebrated and every battle-hungry seeker actively roamed the city to quench their maniacal needs for competitions. And if anything, Terry was one of those people embodying the spirit of South Town—both grounded and larger-than-life. He was their unofficial mascot, after all—the man whom the youngsters looked up to.

When Terry approached Mika, he failed to recognize whether or not she was actually impressed by his compliment. Her voice was flat, almost a matter-of-fact. Her facial expression was pretty much the same, bored yet fascinated at the same time. It was as if she’d been to this part of the city prior, yet at the same time, it was apparent that she was doubting herself—doubting the [i]memories[/i] she had just formed around South Town’s renowned East Asian corner. There was more than one Chinatown across the States, after all, so it was more likely that she’d visited a different variant somewhere in the past.

[color=1E90FF]“Oh, so you’re looking for somebody else, okay…”[/color] Terry chimed with a nod, his voice wry yet quippy as he halted his strides. While giving ear to Mika’s description of the man she was eager to fight, he couldn’t help but put a quizzical front, faintly furrowing and scratching his golden temple. [color=1E90FF]“Huh? Weird… I’ve never seen anybody like that around the neighborhood. ‘Lifestyle influencer,’ you said? Is he, like, a TV person or something? Or is he just one of those fake gurus I found on the net?”[/color]

The name was Bookman. Half-man, half-sheep. Tall figure, dark complexion, jaggy teeth, cyan pupils, and an unusually long facial structure. If only Mika could ditch the ‘head of a sheep’ bit, he might’ve known a handful of residents around the city with a similarly gentle voice, but somebody with the exact descriptions? He had no idea that such a thing would’ve even existed in South Town. The closest he would’ve been to meeting creatures with horns was when he entered the Smash Bros. tournament, but even then, they were [url=https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Ridley]space dragons[/url] and [url=https://mario.fandom.com/wiki/Bowser]antropomorphic turtles[/url] originating from some places but here. The chances of encountering such an entity should be slim in his hometown, shouldn’t they? Or perhaps, there was something more to this than meets the eye…

Eyes darting elsewhere, Terry caressed the back of his neck, placing a free hand over his hip. [color=1E90FF]“Ah, sorry, my bad… I wish I knew who you were talking about, but…”[/color] Then, as he glanced back at Mika, his sky-blue gaze spontaneously fell upon her sheathed blades. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind—a mischievous one, to be precise. [color=1E90FF]“Wait a minute, are those real knives?”[/color] he asked, his finger gesturing at the stowed weapons. If Mika answered ‘yes,’ he’d gradually crouch, a knee pressing against the ground beneath as he raised and extended both hands in defeat. [color=1E90FF]“Oh, Gosh, that’s my weakness. It’s small knives!”[/color]

The unexpected gesture managed to fill the mock-up stage with laughs from the audiences. Little did they realize, this was more than just a nod to a certain movie scene. Despite the fierce exterior, Terry was, in fact, afraid of anything resembling needles—or in his words: [url=https://youtu.be/6qrdh65RNak?si=fIoR_j75ntht_lc7]‘syringes.’[/url] It was unsure whether this was a result of unresolved childhood trauma or his surrogate father’s death, but one thing for certain, he was partly playing a ruse to trick the esper into fighting him. After all, these people were begging to see his performance again.

A fist was dropped, and a flare of energy flashed. [url=https://e1.pxfuel.com/desktop-wallpaper/703/598/desktop-wallpaper-%E5%BE%B7%E5%9E%A3-%E6%A2%81-on-character-terry-bogard-king-of-fighters-99.jpg]A shockwave[/url] was channeled, crawling in Mika’s direction across the ground. [color=1E90FF]“Anything but [b]POWER WAVE!![/b]”[/color] he yelled abruptly, then stood upright, managing a giggle when and if the shockwave managed to connect. [color=1E90FF]“Oh, it’s so predictable! Fell for that, didn’t you?”[/color]

One could say that he was doing a little [i]trolling[/i] as we speak. Feigning inferiority and coming up with an ambush had always been part of the strategy. Terry tightened each of his gloves, then rode his hands overhead, ears absorbing the roar of the crowd like a sponge.

[color=1E90FF]“You heard those peeps? They’re dying to see us fight! How about some good ol’ fashioned beat down before we go ahead and find the guy, huh?”[/color] he asked, then clenched his fists, swinging them over his temples. A ready stance assumed. [color=1E90FF]“I mean, if you don’t mind. How many rounds you got? One? Two?”[/color]

[b]FIN.[/b]