"Another drink before you head out into the crowds?"
"Yeah."
Yuri slid his shot glass across the bar to the man in the apron standing behind it, a casual acquaintance of his that had become used to his presence around at the bar. He'd fallen into the habit of coming in on the same day every week, always in the early afternoon at promptly one o'clock; eventually, his old friend had grown so accustomed to his presence that his drink was already waiting for him when he arrived.
In this case, however, Yuri had already been there for hours, and several drinks had already passed in the meanwhile. He always had the same drinks, as well; two shots of whiskey followed by a glass of wine and ending with a duo of mugs filled with a fruity concoction known only to the local area as "the most tropical ale ever invented". Yuri had a warm spot in his heart for the drink, the liquid streaming easily down his throat to relax his body.
It had been too long, since he had fought anyone. Choosing instead to train alone, he had honed his abilities, completely refining his entire technique in the span of a year. His entire fighting style was completely different from before; even he himself was a different person from who he used to be.
With all of that happening, though, he somehow always managed to stride in the bar with the same attitude he always did, and was welcomed all the same.
It would be an interesting tournament this year.
(OOC: Sorry for the lackluster post; still sorting some important stuff happening in my life right now, but I couldn't let my team wait any longer to start posting. I'll add more detail to my posts as time progresses; the next few days are gonna be rough for me. The rest of my team can start posting in this thread, though.)
Large Avatar: http://i.imgur.com/jrJgUQk.pngProfile: http://forcedheroes.proboards.com/thread/2185/gokan-bushinoTimeline: http://forcedheroes.proboards.com/thread/2340/gokan-thread-magnificent-order
Ever since she emerged from her hotel room....well, to be exact, ever since her aircraft touched down, the "Three" as they would be called, were hounded by the press, especially the Vice President of Raverita, Kasumi Hashimoto. Like the previous tournament, the media was obsessed with a political figure of a fairly powerful nation to get involved in such an event like this. Her being a woman entering a field normally dominated by men also made her an underdog in the tournament, which made her story a lot more interesting than the other fighters, hence her having a lot more attention. Of course, she also attracted attention for wearing the gi of an infamous Saiyan. Scrawled into the lower right side of her blue t-shirt were a bunch of Japanese characters that read "Bunshino." Her black, shin-high boots were marked in a similar fashion around the back and outer-sides of the footwear.
As the triumvirate continued forward, it was getting fairly obvious that with the oncoming press, it was getting a little hard to move. Even with extra security provided by The Doll Unit, they weren't getting far. A simple solution would be to simply backhand the mass into the sky, but that wouldn't be a pleasant sight. "I think we should just stop and answer questions," Julia Remenko, the President of Raverita, whispered calmly to Kasumi and Katilina Silvermage, the Defense Secretary of said country, "When we can be on our way."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Katilina replied as she glanced over to Kasumi, "Most of the questions will be for her anyway."
"There's no need for questions, they already know why we're here anyway," The Cyborg stated before letting off a sigh, "But whatever, as long as it gets them to go away for a moment." Overhearing this, Santamu, who also went by D-2, stopped and faced the onslaught of press associates, immediately followed by the remainder of the cybernetic female soldiers.
"The heads of the state of Raverita have finally decided to answer your queries," Santamu stated almost monotonously, with Aprile, D-1, following up.
"However, only five questions will be answered, as final preparations for the tournament, the funraiser, and future press conferences preceeding the tournament need to be maid."
"I like how these two work," Kasumi whispered to Julia and Katilina, "They should be promoted. Kat, get on that." Putting on an feign smile, Kasumi turned to face the landscape of flashes and cameras, attempting not to squint as bright lights filled her eyes. "I figure the questions will be about me, so ask away folks!" She shouted, signaling she was ready for the stock questions she already had 87 answers for.
"Vice President Hashimoto, you were defeated early in the tournament last go around, so what is your strategy for going into the bout this time around? Will you be taking advantage of the team element to make sure you advance further?"
"You know, there were two questions in there, but since I'm nice, I'll answer both," She spouted jokingly, eventually receiving several chuckles from the crowd. Heh, such suckups. "My main problem last time was that I went in too slow, but that was because of my inexperience around these other fighters. They've been in several other tournaments and that was my first one, and I didn't know what to expect. Now that I've been around these people and know what they're capable of, I'll handle the situation better this time around. And yes, I will have a team."
"On the subject of teams, will you be forming up with your wonderful private guard, the Doll Unit?"
"Nope, not at all," She replied, "They're more soldiers than martial arts fighters. I asked Aprile, Kyami, and Jianyu, but they all turned me down. Heh, what friends they are, huh?" The was another brief burst of laughter following the comment. And while Kasumi had a smile the entire time, the fourteen women she was currently with knew very well she didn't want to be bothered with this stale situation any longer.
"Should you win this year, do you still have plans to use the funds amassed to rebuild the destroyed parts of Raverita with the money gained from the fund raiser?"
"No," Kasumi said sternly, which seemed to be a shock to most overhearing the conversation. "If I win, any money I gain from competing in the tournament will go to the families and businesses torn apart in the conflict. The money from the fundraiser will go towards reconstruction so we can get people into homes. If I were to lose, then I plan on splitting the raised funds 70/30, with the least amount going to reconstruction."
"How was your preparation for this event?"
"Difficult. I had to eat chocolate and sit behind a desk. Hardest physical training any person can ever do to prepare for a competition." Once again, the lames in the crowd laughed. Silly, silly people laughing at jokes that aren't even funny.
"There's a rumor going around that Gokan Bushino is in attendence here and is participating on the tournament..."
"Wait," Kasumi interjected, interrupting the man's comment, "What did you just say?"
"That Gokan Bushino may be in attendence." Immediately following that, eleven of the twelve members of the Doll Unit took off in multiple directions, most likely to comb the area in search of the Saiyan. The only person who was left was Jianyu, D-12. Of course, the press took note of this, so there was no doubt it'd end up on the news by the days end.
"Sorry, but I don't comment on rumors and speculation," The Cyborg said forcibly before turning away from the crowd and walking away.
"Okay, show's over, folks!" Katilina shouted as she waved her arms chaotically, motioning for everyone to go about their own. As she was doing this, Julia ran up next to Kasumi and wrapped her arm around her friend.
"Do you want to talk about it or....."
"I need a drink," The woman said before slowly drifting off into the air and floating above the crowd to the bar. Finding empty seating, the woman sat down with a vicious thud and motioned for the bartender. "Get me everything mixed together."
"Sounds like you're having a most enjoyable afternoon," Yuri murmured, sitting only two seats down from Kasumi's position, his comment aimed at the cyborg woman. Tilting his head up, he smirked lightly, motioning for the bartender to attend to the lady. He extended his hand out to her from underneath his jacket.
"Name's Yuri," he whispered, just loud enough for her - and only her - to hear; seeing as the reporters were still nearby, he didn't want a fair share of his own attention. He, as well, was an underdog for the tournament this year - having come in second last year in one of the flashiest displays of power ever seen in a tournament, many returning fans were expecting his return and cheering for him.
He, on the other hand, had no intention of ruining such a good buzz by answering idiosyncratic questions.
His attention turned back to the woman, the subtle differences in her movements and physical features, as well as her voice, giving her away to him as being a cyborg. He smiled lightly, uncharacteristically relaxed and laid-back thanks to the drinks. "Entering the tournament without a team can be a dangerous thing, especially to a beautiful woman such as yourself," he commented, picking up on her predicament without missing a beat - a predicament he felt himself suffering from, as well, although for different reasons.
He remembered her from the tournament last year - her fighting style was of supreme craftsmanship; she had just gotten unlucky in her draft pick. She'd make a strong fighter, on his team.
The only trouble was, he had to figure out a way to ask her about it.
Not that he was desperate for a team or anything. ...Or maybe he was.