South Town Blues

Terri walked into the locker room and went to a locker. She opened her bag and pulled out a combination lock. She sighed as she put her gear bag into locker and pulled out her fighting gloves. She didn't think there would be a challenge here but she needed to pay rent. Slipping on her gloves and locking the metal locker she let out another sigh.

Terri walked over to the fighters bench and waited. She couldn't help but to compare the similarities between Street Fighting and the Gladiators of ancient Rome. She would knock out this fight as fast as she could and go home. here in South Town she was too well known so decent fights were few and far between. She would like a bout against the Legendary Fighter Bad Rad. However finding him was no easy task. She may as well set about looking for the Holy Grail while she was at it.

Finally a man with a clipboard came over. "Terri, you're up. You're going against Barry the Celt." He said. She smiled. "Thanks Mac." She said. He wasn't Caucasian he was actually Japanese. His real name was Hidioshi Makanichi. But people just called him Mac for short. Terri stood and walked into the cage. There a large man in a kilt and face pain stood. He was shouting in a thick Scottish accent. Terri brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Let's Go!" she said and the bell dinged.

The Scott rushed her and meant to grapple. "AAAHHHH!!!!" he shouted. Terri ducked low and built up her KI. At the last moment she pushed up with one hand and thrust her body in the air legs first. "Rising Tackle!" She yelled and her now extended fist was glowing with KI energy. It collided with Barry's jaw and sent the man flying backwards.

The man landed in a pile of himself. Face down and ass in the air. His kilt over his head. Terri landed lightly on her feet and turned to the reff. "Winner!!! Terri Bogard!!!" he shouted. Terri walked over and collected her winnings. Walking have to the locker room she wondered why she even rented one in the first place. She shrugged. "Oh well." She said as she gathered her things and walked out of the arena.

Terri decided to splurge and get herself something to eat so she stopped by a diner and ordered a pizza. She was hungry. She also ordered a root beer. Time to indulge. As she waited for her food she thought about her life and things that have happened. When she saved enough money she would have to take a trip to Japan. She heard there were some good tournaments there. But first she would have to go to Fury City. Bad Rad's home town.

"..That could of went better.." Kyo said dryly. He and Lian Yuan had been traveling together for what seemed at least six months together. The Rayzoku student wasn't sure how the strange friendship started and while he didn't regret it, he had to admit their personalities were a bit at odds at times. He preferred to keep to himself and quietly study, while Lian was decidingly a bubbly people person that liked to talk and get to know new people.

Some times, it was contagious and he found himself despite his inner protest participating and interacting when he normally wouldn't have. Still, she was good company if not a bit impulsive at times.

"Maybe, but they were pushing it." Lian answered back. "C'mon, I'm hungry and serious need something before my stomach eats my insides."

Kyo didn't say anything, but he agreed and followed after Lian into the diner Terri was in. They had two main goals on their journey. For Kyo it was to reach the level of his master and discover exactly how far he could push his Rayzoku powers. Lian's was similar. She mostly wanted to fight strong opponents, the last place they visited, an temple of some sorts had people quite proficient in Ki. They however, had floored them both once they fought the more seasoned members but they had put on a good show. They were said to be pretty strong for their age, so it was a sign.

The second for Lian was to not to surpass her teacher, but Ranma Saotome. But he had become rather elusive as of late so he was hard to find.

Both of them sat down and then ordered something; it was likely going to be another slow day.

Terri looked over as the two men entered the diner. They carried themselves well. She assumed they were fighters. Maybe not street fighters but definitely fighters of high caliber. Terri called the waitress over. "Hey get them a pie on me. Standard roni and cheese. Root beer and some of that amazing cobbler." She said. Fighters had healthy appetites had to maintain their energy.

(OCC:

Lian: Imma girl!

Kyo: In fairness, your general attitude you could be mistaken as a guy-*gets drop kicked in the face*

Just giving you a hard time about the slight over sight about two men entering, pay me no mind)
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Kyo and Lian were going about their business when a waitress came over and gave them what was in effect a free meal.

"Uh, what's this for?" Lian wasn't complaining, but usually you didn't get free meals like this. At most you may get a free appetizer or something small.

"Young lady over there paid for you two sweetie." The waitress said, they were already skating away to the next hungry customer. "It's on the house."

"That doesn't happen everyday for us." Kyo said to no one in particular.

"Yeah." Lian got up from her seat to where Terri was. "Hi. Was that you that paid that meal for us? If so, I just wanted to thank you."

Now that she got a better look at her, wasn't she that famous street fighter Terri Bogard? Lian and Kyo weren't street fighters by any means, but they knew about various other type of fighters so it was a given really.

((OOC; My bad I should have read it better. :p))

Terri nodded. "No problem." She said and turned to face her fully. "Forgive me, I kinda sized you two up when you entered. Force of habit." She chuckled. "I'm Terri." She said and held out a hand. "I know what it's like for a fighter to have a healthy appetite." She finished with a smile.

Lian shook the other girls hand. "Yeah, a healthy gal got to eat. And this is my friend and partner in crime, Kyo."

"Kyo Midori to be more accurate." The young man introduced. "It's nice to meet you Terri. You wouldn't happen to be the same Terri Bogard related to the street fighter Terry would you?"

Terri nodded, "Yeah that's my dad. Taught me every thing he knows." She said. Terri then grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the table. "Mind if I join ya?" She asked. As she waited for a reply she looked at the two, "So what brings your two to my hometown?" She asked.

Kyo shrugged. "Go ahead, I don't mind."

"Yeah sure, I don't mind. And don't mind Kyo he's not the most sociable at times but he's a softy deep down." Lian said as she took a seat again. "As for us, we're travelers, vagabonds or whatever you like to call it. The road is our home and we're just traveling through. I guess if you wanna be a bit more technical, we're on a very long extended training trip."

Terri nodded. "Ah, yeah I've been on one of those. I'm just visiting here myself. Gotta check on pops." She said leaned back in her chair. I'll be on my way soon too. I'm headed to the man made island of Shad." She finished.

"Shad?" Here, Lian's interest notably perked up. "You know, that's one of the places we're heading to as well. Heard there's suppose to be a lot of good fighters. I figure, it might bump our game a bit more y'know? Plus get to meet some people, so no matter what happens it'll be interesting for sure."

Kyo nodded a bit. "I may see my master there as well, though I can't be sure. They're..a hard person to get a hold of at times. Is that what you're going for? To train?"

Terri smiled. "Yeah I guess you could say that. I go mostly just to fight. Also the World Warrior Tournament is coming up. So it'll be interesting to say the least." She said. "I'm leaving at the end of the week." She finished.

"Huh. I had no idea that tournament was coming up." Lian said more to herself. "Anyway, I haven't actually been to Shad. But from what I hear, someone named Makemba runs the whole place. She's related to..what's his face? Bason?"

"..Bison." Kyo supplied, not looking up from his meal.

"Right, Bison." Lian corrected herself. "I know he died, but the details are a bit murky."

Terri nodded and leaned back on her chair. She laced her fingers behind her head. "Yeah Makemba Bison. She's the self proclaimed Queen of The Island of Shad. Her father the Dictator Bison and head of the Shadoloo empire was killed when she took over power. Since then she's kept pretty much to herself. I don't know what happened to Shadoloo though. Haven't heard from them in a while." She leaned back in her chair propping it up on two legs. "I believe they have two division. I can't remember what they're called." She clomped forward in her chair and propped her head up on the heels of her hands. "You guys are more than welcome to join. Could be a good training experience for ya." She finished.

"If they were under Bison, its probably possible they're still around." Kyo reasoned, thinking. "In fact, it makes sense. They're under new leadership so they're going to play the game a bit differently then before. And if she keeps to herself as you say, then it makes sense. But that's my over analysis side talking."

"Hey, nothing wrong with that." Lian nudged him. "Y'know, if this gig doesn't work out you could always try your hand at being a lawyer. You'd be good at it."

"I can't. I actually have a soul." Kyo said with a straight face, then glanced at Terri. "And thanks for the offer, we're both heading the same way sooner or later, so why not?"

Terri barked a laugh at the lawyer joke and smiled. "Great, I'll arrange transport. I hope you guys like boats because that's the only way to get there. The Island doesn't have an airport." she said and looked to the waitress, "Yo, can I get a loaded 'Za to go!?" She shouted. Terri got up and walked over to the bar and set down a fifty dollar bill. "Should cover it. Keep the change." She then looked to the others, "I'm staying at my dads place over on Blake Street, apartment 121B. Can't miss it,it's the only apartment complex by the train station." She said, and with a nod she picked up her pizza and dufflel bag. "Give a few hours to make arrangements and we'll be on our way." She finished. With a nod she walked to and out the door.

Terri made her way back to her dad's place and dropped off her stuff. "Dad i'm back!" She called. she had a feeling he wasn't there. She plopped down on the couch and picked up the phone and a slice of pizza. Punching in some numbers and taking a bite Terri put the phone to her ear and waited.

A voice on the other end picked up, "Cristos, Import, export, John Cristos speaking."

Terri smiled and wallowed, "Johnny, It's me Terri, how ya been?" She asked.

The man on the other end sounded like he was smiling as he spoke, "Terri?! Holy shit girl it's been a while. How've ya been?" He asked.

Terri took another bite of pizza and talked around it. "I've been around. You know how it is. Hey listen I would love to play catch up but this is a business call man." She said

Cristos spoke again, "Oh yeah no problem. Where ya gotta go?" He asked.

Terri set the pizza down and moved the phone to the other side of her head taking off her ball cap. "I gotta go to Shad. It's not just me either I got two other fighters with me. You got anything going that way?" She asked.

"One moment." He said and a few minutes passed. "Yeah, yeah. I got a ship full of live stock headed that way, I can get you on for a grand a pop, That'll get you shared quarters with your pals." He said.

Terri nodded, She didn't know how much she could trust those two however she could take care of her self. "Done, I'll pay cash when I get there. When's it leaving?" She asked

Again Cristos paused, "Three a.m. I'll get it set up, you just bring the cash."

Terri smiled again "No problem. See you in..." She checked her watch "Six hours." She finished and hung up the phone. They had to go all the way to southern Thailand. Shad was an island about a hundred miles off the coast. It was about a three day ride.

Terri stood took another bite of her pizza and walked to the bathroom. After relieving herself she stripped the rest of her clothes. Vest, t-shirt, shoes, socks, pants and thong. She didn't wear much. Not like other girls her age. She never liked the girly type. She thought they were too soft.

Terri stepped into the shower. having turned it on while she was on the toilet helped to speed up the process of waiting for the water to warm up. She let the water hit her and for a moment she just stood there. Thinking about nothing in particular. Then she grabbed a lufa and her body wash. It was gonna be a couple of days until she would be able to shower again so she was going to make sure she was clean.

She lathered up and was scrubbing her body when the phone rang. "Sonofa!" She said and dropped her lufa. She hopped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She put it to her front and picked up the phone in the hallway. "Yeah?" She asked.

The voice on the other end was Cristos. "Hey it's me, I got you all set up. So you're good to go. Just slip the money in my drop box. I'll be at home by the time you get there." He said and she nodded.

"You got it." she replied and hung up. From there Terri went back to the bathroom and finished her shower. She put on a belly tee, a thong and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees. Her shoes and socks were the last things to go on. There she sat back on the couch and waited for her traveling companions. She ate a few more slices of pizza and left the rest for them.

When Terri left, Lian felt it was her 'sister duty' to give Kyo a hard time. "She's pretty cute huh?"

Kyo knew what Lian was getting at, but he took it in stride. "She is. Anyway, we have a few hours so why not get a few things done?"

Lian shrugged a bit, but smiled. "I'm with ya. Lets go get it done." For the next couple of hours, they do a few errands. Mostly getting a few supplies here and there and over all just killing time when they weren't preparing.

After it was said and done, both headed to where Terri was staying, Lian knocking on the door a bit before both of them waited.

Terri was flipping through the channels when she heard a knock at the door. Turning the T.V. off she stood and walked over. Looking through her peep hole she smiled.

Terri opened the door and waved the pair in. "Come on in. There's some now cold pizza and some root beer in the 'fridge." He said. "Help yourselves." She said and walked back to the living room.

When the two were settled she spoke. "Okay here's the plan, our boat doesn't leave until 3 a.m. so we're gonna have to chill here until it's time to go." She started. "Now we could only get one cabin so we're gonna have to share. I hope that's not gonna be an issue. Now lastly we have a three day trip in a cramped environment so I hope no one's claustrophobic. Also there's no working shower in the cabin so if you need to shower please do so now, towels are in the hall closet." She finished

Looking to the pair she smiled. "Any questions?" She asked.

Elsewhere in South Town...

Bad Rad Walked along the pier He had just arrived from Fury City and was on his way to the Man Made Island of Shad. He knew the World Warrior Tournament was going to start soon and he wanted in. Not for the prize money Though it was considerable. He had always wanted to compete. He wasn't able to do so because he was 9 years old at the last one. Once every ten years the 4 Heavenly Lords of Shadoloo held the tournament and since the Queen had taken over that organization he hoped she would honor the tradition set forth by M. Bison.

He knew he would find worthy opponents there and looked forward to the challenge. He thought about entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament held by the Mishima Zaibatsu but no one ever knew when that was. It was kind of sporadic. Held at the whim of the leader of the Zaibatsu. He fought in the King of Fighters Tournament and won but that was more of a team sport than an actual Street Fight.

Another reason he wanted to go was the hope of seeing his brother Mad there. However the chances of that were highly unlikely. He looked at the boats loading and unloading. He had used this place before to get to other places in the world. He walked into a place called Cristos. The man behind the counter looked at him. "Well if it isn't the legendary street fighter himself. What can I do for ya?" He asked.

Bad nodded and walked over. "I need a ride to Shad can you hook me up?" He asked.

Christos smiled "Shad's popular today, yeah I can do that. However all the cabins are taken." he said

Bad shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me, I'll ride on or below deck." He offered.

Cristos nodded "Okay you got it, that'll be five hundred U.S." He said.

Bad winced at the amount. "Damn, business must be slow." He said and the other man smiled wider.

"Supply and demand my friend. The boat leaves at three a.m." He finished.

Bad nodded and handed over the money. The fighter then walked out and to the boat. There he walked on and went to the other side. Leaning against the rail he looked to the sea.

"Nah, we just ate so I'm cool at least." Lian didn't want to over stay her welcome and be one of those guest you hate see coming. So that end she always tried to make herself as low matience as possible. Not that hard to do since she was pretty easy going to begin with when it came down to it. "And we took a shower not too long ago so we should be fine."

Kyo nodded, adding. "Actually, we've dealt with worse so we're used to soldiering it. There was a time we ended up having to hitch a ride of a back of a truck."

"Said truck..we'll, lets just say it was used to 'clean up' stuff." Lian finished. "Anyway, we could take it easy for a bit."

Terri nodded, "Suit yourselves, It's just gonna go to waste." She said and leaned over and plucked another slice for herself. She munched on it. Pushing the bite to one side, "So, aside from training and stiff what do you guys do for fun?" She chewed and swallowed taking another bite she continued. "I like to play basketball." She finished.

"Me?" Lian said, thinking. "I like to play sports, basketball or baseball mainly but I'm not all that picky."

Seeing his cue, Kyo answered. "Honestly, I'm very low key. Training aside, I mostly like to read or collect things. I'm a big fan of art as well."

Terri nodded, "I'm a huge fan of Julie Bell and her husband." She said "As for reading, it all depends on the book for me." She then looked to Lian, "Who's your favorite teams? I like the Knicks and the Yankees." She said.

"Red Sox." Lian replied without missing a beat. "And the Cubs. Its been awhile since I kept with any of it from a normal basis though. I mostly just like to play it more then I like to watch it most of the time."

"And drags me hostage." Kyo said. "But that's about normal for us."

Lian gently elbowed him. "Only other thing I can think of..we both like Demolition Derby. But that might have to do with the fact we both like to watch things blow up."

Terri laughed. "Well who doesn't?!" She asked. "The best place I found for derby is in Kentucky." She said and grabbed another pizza. "You sure you guys don't want any? It's gonna be a while before we eat good food. If you don't want soda there's water in the tap and ice in the freezer." She looked at the clock three and a half hours to go. Good. I like these two. They're fun to talk to. She thought.

Lian thought about it a bit longer, then got up. "We'll if you put it that way, might as well get something to eat. You Kyo?"

The shrugg was the only response, in Kyo speak it meant 'Ok' as far as she knew. The two got a few things to eat and then sat back down. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been training and who taught you? I've been at mine for a while. It's a fighting style called Rayzoku, not sure if you heard of it."

"I mostly just use Choy Li Fut but I use it with conjunction with my Ki energy, not just for attacks but my body too." Lian explained. "Basically, in lay mans terms my Sifu taught me how to use Ki to amp myself physically. I still gotta build it up though, just like you would with normal muscles. Kyo's..stuff is more supernatural I don't understand it completely but its cool."

Terri nodded, "It's my father's style, he taught it to me. I've been training since I was four. It's a mixed form of martial arts rooted in the Hakkyokuseiken school. My dad learned it from his dad. My cousin was going to learn it too but he went with Shiranui Style Ninja Technique and Koppoken." She shrugged. "He's more of a traditionalist than I am." She chuckled.

Terri stood and walked over to the kitchen grabbing three glasses from the cabinet, a small tub of ice from the freezer and a liter of root beer from the fridge. She walked back and poured them all a glass. "I've been in various tournaments except the World Warrior Tournament. That's only held every ten years. There should be some interesting fighters out there. I'm hoping to meet and fight Bad Rad." She took a sip of her soda.