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Pao Pao Café, Esaka’s Low Tier
Word Count: 4,454
Level 6 Captain Falcon: 76/60 -> 81/60
Level 10 Terry Bogard: 29/100 -> 34/100
Level 8 Amaterasu: 35/90 -> 40/90
As agreed, after visiting a currency exchange service establishment named ‘Conversion,’ the trio headed towards the northern end of Esaka’s low tier to eat out at Pao Pao Café. Thankfully, the break between matches for the KOF tournament was relatively longer than most major tournaments, so they still had plenty of time to grab some lunch and plan out the strategy for their next bout. As he pushed the front door open, Terry and his partners were—once again—greeted by the owner of Pao Pao Café himself, Richard, who’d been busy serving customers left and right. He went back behind the counter just in time to welcome the trio’s arrival.
“Ah, Terry! Welcome back!” Richard greeted with a pant and a smile on his face. “How’s your first match?”
“Ain’t so bad… I guess?” Terry reciprocated with the barest hints of snicker, a bit hesitant, as he took a seat just across from Richard at the counter. When he looked around, it seemed that the café was packed from corner to corner to the point where even the second floor was completely occupied. It was quite a stark contrast to when he visited the place two days ago, but it was to be expected since this was a tournament week.
“Whew… Told you, right? Business is gonna do extremely well in no time…”“Damn right about that!” Richard agreed with a hearty grin, all while multitasking with practiced ease. He’d been running this exact business for so many years, after all, just not in Esaka, initially. “Actually, I saw the highlights of your team’s match a while back, and suffice to say, I still have no idea why they mocked you the way they did.”
Terry snorted in a wry snicker, the sight of several fellow KOF participants screaming
‘this is ass!’ and trashing the makeshift arena with all kinds of rubbish solely directed to him during the bout’s aftermath still vivid in his mind.
“Welp… me neither,” he claimed and shrugged, both hesitant and embarrassed.
“But hey, don’t worry about me! If they didn’t like my performance, ’least they did enjoy my teammates’ performances, right, guys?” He patted both Falcon’s and Amaterasu’s shoulders, still managing a smile at Richard.
The divine wolf, who had spent half of her fight running away from her ridiculous opponent, supposed that anyone watching might have gotten a good laugh at the antics. She, for one, had not enjoyed the experience, and was dearly hoping she’d be up against a more sane and sensible opponent in her next round. Meanwhile Falcon’s experience had been quite the opposite. He rather enjoyed his bout against Kung Fu Girl. Not many fighters were brave enough to try going head-to-head against his Falcon Punch.
Richard nodded. “And all three of you survived it! That’s all that matters. God knows how awful the match could get with that Akuma imposter being involved,” he told the trio, “and I couldn’t be prouder of you all.”
That made the divine wolf feel a little better at least, while Terry just… smiled—more of a gesture of gratitude than anything else. In hindsight, his team’s first match did feel like a wrecking ship considering Rare Akuma’s involvement, but it was still entertaining, regardless of what the spectators wanted everyone to believe. While they chattered, his sky-blue eyes eventually fell upon the wall-mounted TV perching between a kitchen set and a liquor cabinet right behind Richard. What the TV displayed piqued the blonde’s immediate interest, as it showed News Combo 7’s coverage of some of the major tournaments’ second matches. One of them was a bout between a fellow Seeker named Harry and Richard’s protege Bob Wilson.
“I see, ya homeboy’s back, ain’t he, Richard?” Terry asked, then pointed a finger at the TV screen ahead depicting Bob executing a series of dance-like kicks onto the struggling Harry.
“Man… Now, I dunno who to root for. I mean, Harry’s my friend, too.”Richard was quick to follow where Terry was pointing at, perking up at the sight of his protege’s high-energy performance. He nodded. “Oh, that’s my boy, alright? I’m pretty sure they’re equal,” he remarked, grinned, then shifted his gaze back at his loyal customer. “But I’m pretty damn grateful that my boy’s okay. Turns out, he was just training and running a different Pao Pao outlet outside of Esaka this whole time.
Thank God, Rugal didn’t find and take him, too…”
“Say what??” Terry asked, his eyes wide and his eyebrows arching at Richard’s latter quiet statement. He seemed to know something that the blonde didn’t know, especially in regards to his missing former teammates.
Richard quickly shrugged it off, shaking his head. “Oh, nothing!” he reciprocated, then snickered, though the small fidgets he’d been making betrayed the beam on his face. “I was just digressing, really. Say, uh… can I get you and your team something to eat, Terry boy?”
Terry, too, shrugged his suspicion away, cackling and restoring that friendly smile on his face. He didn’t seem too alarmed. After all, he’d known Richard for a long, long time, so why’d he hide anything from him? Upon being asked, the blonde caressed his mandible, pensively cocking his head to a side. Being one of the café’s devoted customers, he didn’t need to bother himself to check what was in the menu book provided since he’d memorized every single one of the menu from the back of his head.
“Hmm… Let’s see, uh… Oh! Can I have a small Americano and a Bauru with extra beef, please?” Terry reciprocated with one of his fingers pointing up, raising just next to his golden temple. At the same time, the monkey on his back just played with the leathery fabric of his jacket, as if urging his bestie to get him something to eat, too.
“Oh, and also, it looks like my lil’ friend’s hungry over here. Can you get him some banana fritters, too?”“Not a problem, Terry!” Richard nodded and grabbed a pen and a small note stowed under the counter to start writing down Terry’s and Ukee’s orders. He then glanced over both Falcon and Amaterasu, his darker eyes darting between the two Seekers. “And, uh…”
“Captain Falcon and Ammy.”“Oh, right,” Richard chimed in, pointing at Terry affirmatively with his pen. “So, Captain,
Ammy, is there anything I could get you for lunch?”
The divine wolf stared at him pointedly for a few moments, before turning, grabbing a lunch menu in her jaws and putting it on the counter. Then she retrieved one of the forks and placed it on the counter, finally she poked at it with her paw a few times till it pointed at ‘Cachorro-quente’ on the menu (which was a hotdog which also sported tomato-based vegetable broth, corn, and potato sticks). Finally she placed a paw on the counter and, upon pulling it away, left behind the exact change for her chosen lunch.
All in all, a convoluted procedure, and the divine wolf briefly wondered if she could get a striker whose entire purpose was to do things like this for her. Then she dismissed the idea because, even if it was possible to get one, she could not think of a way she’d be able to ethically acquire the spirit of a hand maiden.
With his eyes, Richard quickly followed the direction Amaterasu was gesturing at with the fork, nodding at the mouth-watery Cachorro-quente pictured on one of the menu book’s pages. In confirmation, he also pointed at the picture with his pen to ask “this one?” before writing her order down on the small note in his other hand.
“Noted!” the café owner notified before gesturing at Falcon with his pen. “And yours, Captain?”
Captain Falcon perked up with a grin,
”Plate of beef tripe, if you don’t mind.” He said, wishing for another opportunity to indulge in his favorite dish before quickly adding,
”A nice, cool sparkling water to wash it down.” Most people would have ordered a hard drink like whiskey or bourbon, but Cap wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker but for very specific occasions. And besides, tournament competitors were mostly better off staying sober for the sake of their upcoming matches. Like Amaterasu, he too left some notes on the counter to pay for his order.
“Ah, a beef tripe again, I see,” Richard reciprocated with a small nod and a grin, also writing down Cap’s all-time favorite dish. “You know I don’t mind it, Captain. Terry’s friends are also my friends, after all.” And the slightest hints of snicker, his teeth partially bare. “Anything else?”
“I guess that’s all. For me,” Terry reciprocated, which was followed by his pet monkey’s squeaking confirmation.
“Alright, then. If that’s so, then let me repeat them to you one last time…” And Richard did as he told the trio, reading out every single menu he’d written on the small note from top to bottom. At the same time, his pen-wielding hand reached out to the change left on Amaterasu’s side of the counter, intending to count it later on. “Cacchoro-quente and… beef tripe. Is there anything I left out?”
“I don’t think so,” Terry confirmed, then gave Falcon then Amaterasu a sidelong glance each.
“Ain’t that right, guys?”“Ah, I see… Well, then!” Richard nodded again, calculated every order written on the notebook, then tore the paper out of its place to hand it to the trio and said “here’s your bill.” Terry was the one receiving the bill once handed, his gauging eyes scanning up and down to check every price listed.
“I assume you’ll only pay for your own meals after lunch, yes?” Richard asked Terry, while calculating the notes given to him by the furred deity, as if already used to his regular customer’s habit.
“Nah…” Terry denied with a grin, then settled the bill down on his side of the counter to reach out to the pocket of his jeans. He took his wallet, spread it wide open to reveal dozens of notes gifted to him by Ken earlier, then snatched and held out a couple of zennies to pay for his orders and Ukee’s.
“Told you, I’m a changed man. Just keep the change, alright?”Then, Richard took the notes provided in front of him. It wasn’t every day that Terry paid in advance. “And I don’t doubt that just one bit,” he said, smirking, then counted the notes in his hands before folding and stowing them all beneath his pocket. “As usual, I hope you all enjoy your stay and… I’ll be right back with your orders in about a minute.”
As Richard went to prepare their lunches, Terry shifted his attention back towards his partners, stowing his wallet back beneath his pocket with a subsequent small pat. When he peered over Ukee on his back, he realized just then that he hadn’t properly introduced the monkey to neither Cap nor Amaterasu (even though, unbeknownst to him, the latter had encountered him beforehand). And so, the hat-wearing blonde went on to initiate the conversation with an introduction, slightly gesturing at Ukee with his eyes.
“Oh, right, I’m sure I haven’t introduced my bestest friend to any of y’all earlier,” he told both of his partners before turning to look at them again. Oftentimes, he also glanced at the monkey on his back, running his hand over the latter’s head.
“Cap, Ammy, this is Ukee. And Ukee, say ‘hi’ to Cap and Ammy!”Ukee quickly perked up at the introduction. He squeaked happily and waved his hands at both of his human friend’s partners before immediately hopping towards Amaterasu, giving her a warm hug and a nuzzle from behind. The blonde couldn’t help but cackle at the affectionate sight, giving the little monkey an almost slap-like pat to the back of his head which he ignored almost instantly.
The divine wolf ignored any amusement the humans were getting, and craned her neck around to nuzzle the monkey on the forehead, wondering how in the world he had gotten all the way from the baths to the city on his lonesome. Perhaps, she theorised, he’d hitched a ride with some friendly fighter who was staying at the spa?
“Aww… Would ya look at that! I told you my boy would’ve gotten along with Ammy pretty well,” he joked, shaking his head.
“But anyway, is there anything you guys wanna talk about while we wait? Maybe our next match or some other stuff?”Cap then bumped Terry’s shoulder with his elbow,
”By the way, I caught a peak at the brackets on our way from the Pools. Looks like we’re up against the Breakers next. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll go ahead and take on Lee. Seems like he entered the tournament wanting a full match against me, and who am I to deny him that?”Ironically, despite being the one recommending Cap to sign up for the Breakers Dojo, Terry seldom faced their fighters in any of the KOF tournaments. Usually, the Breakers either didn’t make it that far in the prior tournaments or that they were facing any other teams but his own in the Top 24.
As it was this year, either Lee or Tia was usually present to represent the dojo. Sho, on the other hand, tended to enter the World Warrior tournament, instead of KOF. This year, however, would be one of the rarest times he signed up for a KOF tournament. The last time the reigning FIST champion accompanied Lee and Tia in a KOF tournament, he carried the entire team and helped them advance to the Top 16, but that was about it. With this in mind, Terry might actually still be able to form a somewhat decent strategy with his team, albeit with a limited knowledge drawn from his handful of encounters with the Breakers.
“Hmm… Actually, you damn right about that! I can picture you putting up a great performance against somebody as fast as Lee, Cap,” Terry agreed before adding:
“Now to be honest, I rarely fought any of these guys in the past, but since their dojo’s, like, a subsidiary of my dojo, I often heard stories about how they did in the tournaments from time to time, which means I could still tell you guys what we can expect in the second round.” Then, Terry went into fuller detail about the team, breaking down each Breaker’s capabilities, weaknesses, and fighting styles in front of his partners. He didn’t forget to elaborate the team’s usual formations and history within the competitive scene (including their collective victory against a malevolent figure known as Bai-Hu in the FIST tournament), informing that Sho once acted as the closer of the team while Lee and Tia tended to switch between the opener and the middle fighter sparingly from match to match.
“Y’see, for a team who came from a demoted mid-tier dojo, these guys aren’t just some push-overs. Lee and Tia, like I said, are quite agile and reflexive and can cancel their attacks into each other fairly quickly. Well, I’d like to say that Tia’s a bit faster than the other guy is. As for Sho, though, he’s quite like your typical Shoto. He can hit as hard as a brick, shoot some kinda ‘Hadoukens,’ has every right tool to answer to most attacks, but ain’t exactly the fanciest nor the flashiest of them all,” Terry added before stating:
“That being said, I think you guys know who my choice is gonna be. Yeah, that’s right, I’m comin’ right after the team’s anchor himself. Though I ain’t exactly a Shoto, I think Sho and I have a lot in common when it comes to our—let’s just say—playstyles. And I’d like to believe we could just make for a slightly better matchup than, say, me against Tia.” Then, the brawny blonde glanced sidelong at the deity, nearly distracted by the sight of Ukee resting on her furred back as if she was a pillow.
“And that brings us to you, Ammy. I guess dealin’ with a kickboxin’ baddie would be a piece of cake for ya, wouldn’t it?”Given that the previous debriefing had involved Terry overestimating her ability to handle the absolute monster that had been Rare, the divine wolf was a fair bit less confident in this assessment than she would have been otherwise, but she was going to do her best, that was for sure. Her pride was on the line here, on top of the obvious actual stakes, and so this Tia had better watch out, because she wasn’t going to hold anything back.
Well, to be truthful she would be holding back a bit. No sharp end of the sword and all. Plus the heavenly principles were holding her a fair amount more. Still, beyond that, she was going to give it her all.
“Guess I take that as a ‘yes,’ then?” Terry asked with arching eyebrows, noticing the glimmers of hesitation in Amaterasu’s eyes. It was palpable that her prior encounter with the mentally unstable ‘Akuma’ was still weighing her down, even though the bout’s chaotic conclusion was none of her fault. Moreover, he inwardly blamed the catastrophic showdown to the very King responsible for deciding the tournament’s bracket, believing Rugal might’ve just undersold his team’s collective capabilities. The blonde bruiser then shifted his attention back towards the captain, giving ear to his remark.
”Spot on about Lee.” Cap said, gesturing his thumb toward himself.
”Had a taste of what he can do when I signed up for the Breakers Dojo. Sawamura Sensei had me spar against him as a test. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do when there’s a longer time limit than just 20 seconds.”“20 seconds? Damn, buddy…” Terry reciprocated with his eyes slightly widening, though he refused to be surprised, knowing Cap’s impressive agility.
“But that just goes to show that my assessment was right. Heard that Lee once scarred Sho in the face in their first ever match. Pretty sick, right? And Sho’s the dojo’s reignin’ champ, by the way, so I guess that was something…”As they chattered, Richard approached the trio again from across the counter—exactly a minute later as he promised them. Though, he only came to deliver a glass of water Cap ordered earlier, then told Terry that “your Americano’s next,” which elicited a smile and a simple
“okay!” from his steadfast customer.
He took a sip of sparkling water and then his expression grew more serious.
”There’s one other thing, Terry. You mind telling us a little more about Geese and Rugal? Clearly there seems to be some kinda story there.”Terry’s expression, too, quickly went wry, not quite as bright as it was just a moment ago at the mention of two of the nastiest figures in KOF’s history.
“Well, you’re not wrong about that.” After all, Terry’s entire existence revolved around Geese and his stooges, as the erstwhile South Town crime lord was directly involved in the death of his surrogate father. Not only that, even Geese was the driving factor that led him to joining his first KOF tournament. As for Rugal, though, we already knew the story a bit.
“Guess my explanation yesterday was a bit all over the place, wasn’t it? Wish I wasn’t so gloomy back then, but… alright. The thing is there used to be a lotta bad blood between Geese and I going back to when I was 10. Y’know, he, uh…” He clenched his lips, then sighed, a wave of unpleasant memories flooding his mind again.
“He killed my dad. Right in front of me. It was a traumatic experience. Part of it was jealousy, part of it was also because dad had the secret Hakkyokuseiken scroll that he was after. And because Geese was such an influential figure in South Town where I used to live, nobody had ever dared to touch that case, even if they knew. So my brother and I took matters into our own hands and spent the next ten years of our lives training and fighting, waiting for the day when we could avenge dad for good. And that day did come, thankfully, when we came back to South Town and entered one of Geese’s KOF tourneys—back when Rugal hadn’t taken over the rights. We beat everybody in our paths, but it was me who ended up reaching out to Geese in the finals. I gotta admit, since he kept countering my attacks, I was kinda struggling at first till I found the right opening to punish him and boot him outta his tower. Dad was avenged that night, though I couldn’t help but feel a little hollow after almost killing the guy. So over time, I tried to learn to forgive him, even taking his son under my wing when he abandoned the kid. I thought I would’ve been able to bury the hatchet, but after learning that he was partly involved in the destruction of our world? I don’t even know if that guy still deserves forgiveness. Guess it was all for nothin’.”Terry shrugged, jerked his eyebrows up, and pursed his lips, more pessimistic than usual. His mind immediately took him back to the revelation that he received at the Teahouse, as well as the heated argument between himself and Geese last evening. It was clear that those moments still left a sour taste in the erstwhile KOF champion’s mouth even until this afternoon. Around the same time, Richard re-entered the scene to serve Amaterasu’s Cacchoro-quente and Terry’s Americano, saying “here you go, lighten up!” as if trying to cheer them up. Instead of replying back, the blonde only smiled and raised the small cup handed to him in front of Richard, subsequently sipping the thick, dark coffee. He let out a relieved exhale.
“Okay, so where were we? Oh, right, Rugal!” Terry chimed mostly to himself, his face only perking up at the realization before turning grim. Ironic because, apparently, the King was more relevant to his current situation than even his eternal nemesis was. He settled the cup down, then cleared his throat, his voice lowering slightly.
“I think I’ve been yappin’ about that scum all day long, haven’t I? But in case there’s something you guys haven’t known yet, I can explain. So, Rugal… I’d say that he’s ten times the bad guy that Geese ever wishes he was. While Geese is just your regular local kingpin, Rugal deals with even shadier stuff. He’s a cartel leader and an arms dealer, which kinda makes me think now that either he or Geese might be involved in the recent explosion incident. Not only that, but I suspect he might be after myself and everybody around me. I might’ve probably told you guys multiple times that most of my close ones—and even my brother—have been goin’ missing for a while now, and all it took was just me saying what I believed had to be said about the current state of the KOF tourney and even Esaka as a whole. Can’t help when Rugal legitimately finds pleasure in killing his foes and turning them into statues. Like I said, he even has an entire gallery dedicated to preserving those human statues at the top of his tower, and if what Geese told me last evening was to be believed…” His eyes went wide at the appalling notion of Rugal doing the unthinkable to his close ones, chills running down his spine.
“No… No! That can’t be right! He couldn’t just turn them into statues, could he?”As far as Amatarasu was concerned, it was entirely possible. Regions of her world had been cursed, and in those cursed lands, the people were turned to stone. At least until the curse was cleaned, at which point they were returned to life. Perhaps, she hoped, the missing people could be saved from the fate inflicted upon them.
Sadly, a lack of words meant she couldn’t relay this silverlining to Terry, and so she could only look on sympathetically as he went around in his own head about the truth or fiction of the rumor.
Hopefully, Terry thought, it wasn’t the case. Or so, it was? He couldn’t be sure until the top of Rugal’s Black Noah was reached where formerly human trophies were displayed for the winning team to see. And hopefully, the appalling notion didn’t just ruin his appetite because, by then, Richard had already come to serve their remaining orders, including his own. The Bauru looked tempting, he had to admit. A Brazilian-styled sandwich, it was a sliced bread roll stuffed with melted mozzarella and slices of thick roast beef, tomato, and pickled cucumber. After taking another sip of his coffee, he decided to give the Bauru a bite, a wild drop of melted mozzarella immediately glued to a corner of his lips. He hummed.
“Mmm… Y’know what, guys? Never mind. I just hope that y’all enjoy the meals here,” the brawny blonde said to his partners, his voice greatly muffled by the food in his mouth. Although he was still haunted by the possibility of his closed ones being encased in metal fluid, the delicacy did make him feel better, albeit faintly.
“So, I hope that answers your questions, Cap. I can give y’all a bit more details if you wanna. Either now or after the second round, that is.” Since the Seekers might be close to running out of break time already.
”Hmm.” Cap had been quietly listening to Terry’s story. It wasn’t too dissimilar to some of the bitter rivalries he had firsthand experience with in the Grand Prix. So because of that, he could certainly relate to his teammate.
”Yeah, I think I’ve heard all I need to.” Falcon said somberly before clasping the bruiser’s shoulder with a reassuring grin on his face.
”No matter what waits for us at the top of Esaka, you’re not facing it alone, Terry. We’ll be right there with you.””And besides,” Cap said as he began to dig into his plate of beef tripe,
”bitter rivalries and bad blood? I’m no stranger to any of that. Let’s just say I’ve got some of my own experiences with it in the F-Zero Grand Prix I race in. We’re not that different, really.” His words weren’t intended to minimize Terry’s history, far from it. They were only meant to reassure him that Cap could relate and did indeed understand the bruiser and where he was coming from. And naturally, it was a promise to see this KOF tournament through to the end, no matter how messy things got.
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