[It's nearly summer.  Your normal afterschool diversion is on a date, and you're
working with the drama club, anyway.  The production of Fiddler on a Hot Tin
Roof is coming along nicely.  Nevermind that it doesn't seem to make much sense,
you're sure it'll be absolutely wonderful.]
[The strangest part, though, is your audience.  A single man, perhaps fifty, but
remarkably well aged, and downright pretty, he's got close-cropped white hair,
and he's wearing a black overcoat over a black business suit.  He's just been
standing around, never interfering or getting in the way, just watching.  You
get the oddest feeling he's watching... you.]
[Atsuko Intro... FIGHT!]
* Atsuko fumbles over a line, but continues on, sideglancing at the strange man.
* Man doesn't react.
* Atsuko begins to get a little nervous, uncharacteristically flubbing a couple
more lines.
* Man quirks an eyebrow.
* Atsuko comes to a halt, looking embarassed, and turns to one of her fellow
club members. "Um, sorry 'bout that. Can you guys do another scene without me
for a bit? I need to do something."
* The director waves Atsuko off and screams for people to form up for a
different scene.
* Atsuko hops down off the stage and walks towards the man.
* Atsuko smiles politely. "Excuse me, sir? Can I help you with something?"
<Man> I doubt it.  You can't even mumble your lines correctly.
* Atsuko reddens. "I was doing fine until you started watching me. It's very
distracting."
<Man> Oh, I'm so sorry you can't perform in front of an audience.
* Atsuko suddenly realizes how utterly stupid that sounds.
<Atsuko> ...
* Atsuko seems to deflate a little. "Eheheh."
<Man> Pathetic.  You can't even stand up for yourself.  How do you expect to
stand up in front of a crowd?
<Man> You'll be eaten alive before you ever graduate high school.
* Atsuko frowns. "Being stared at by strange men is unsettling. I've never had
someone as odd as you stare at me from an audience before."
<Atsuko> Now, did you want something, or are you just here to watch?
<Man> Yes, I want something.
* Atsuko puts her hands on her hips. "Well? What is it?"
<Man> Why should I tell an incompetent little girl who can't stand up for
herself, or even say her lines properly?
<Man> If you want to know, make me tell you, little girl.
<Atsuko> Hmph. I can deliver my lines just fine.
* Atsuko spins on her heel and walks back to the stage.
* Man stays right where he is.
* Atsuko returns to the rehearsal, and pointedly ignores the man, delivering the
rest of her lines just fine, thank you, though in a slightly defiant manner.
* An hour or so later, the director dismisses everybody, after reprimanding
Atsuko for not portraying her submissive character very well at all.
* Man is gone when you look back at where he was.
* Atsuko hangs her head and apologizes contritely.
* Atsuko goes to get her bag, then heads home.
* Ten minutes or so of walking later, you're just passing through the park when
you spot, on a bench just ahead of you, the man who was watching you at school.
* Atsuko comes to a halt and looks at the man. "I suppose this is just a
coincidence, right?"
<Man> There's no such thing.
<Atsuko> Then why am I running into you again? I thought you didn't want
anything from me.
<Man> Did I say that?
<Man> Now you're putting words in my mouth.  You're worse than I thought.
* Atsuko scowls.
<Atsuko> Nevermind.
* Atsuko stalks off, hoping to blow off some steam at the arcade.
* As you continue through the park, you're brought up short when you see the man
sitting on a bench in front of you.  This is remarkable because he didn't pass
you, so far as you saw.
* Atsuko blinks. And blinks again. "Okay, who are you?"
<Man> You want my name?  Make me give it.
<Atsuko> 'Make' you give it?
<Man> You claim to be a fighter, little girl.  Prove it.
* Atsuko gives a start, then recovers and smiles cutely at the man. "A fighter?
What are you talking about?"
<Man> Don't play cute little wannabe star with me, Atsuko Matsura.
* Atsuko drops her smile, her face becoming serious. "Alright. If that's what
you want, I guess that's how it has to be."
* Atsuko tosses her bag off to the side and settles into a fighting stance.
* Man yawns widely and fails to move from his seat on the park bench.
* Atsuko scowls, and leaps into the air, lashing a kick out at the man's head.
* Man leans his head back, letting the kick pass through where his head was.
Atsuko nearly breaks her leg trying to recover without being entangled in the
bench.
<Atsuko> Gah!
<Man> Pathetic.  No consideration of your environment at all.
* Atsuko hops back to land close in front of the man.
* Atsuko scowls. "I'm just getting started."
<Man> Really.  Did you know you gave me a nice show with that kick?  You're
lucky I'm not some perverted old man.
* Atsuko blinks. "Huh?"
* Man points at Atsuko's uniform skirt.
<Man> Kicking in a skirt isn't really modest.
* Atsuko blushes a bit.
* Man reaches out with one foot, hooks Atsuko's ankles, and upends her on the
ground.
<Man> Worthless.  Allowing yourself to be distracted because you flashed your
panties.
* Atsuko lashes out a kick from her prone position.
* Man moves slightly, and the kick dents the park bench.
* Atsuko grits her teeth, and rolls to her feet.
* Atsuko raises her hands to the sky. "Heaven's Glory!" Light seems to gather in
her hands, which she then thrusts forward at the man, creating a huge flash.
* When the light clears, there's a slightly singed park bench, but no man.
* Atsuko whirls around, looking for him.
* Man reappears behind Atsuko and lashes out with a straight kick. It feels
rather like being hit by a train, as Atsuko goes crashing through two decently
sized trees before stopping against a third.
* Atsuko screams as she's sent flying, but just moans once she finally comes to
a stop.
* Man steps to one side to avoid the falling trees.
* Man strolls casually towards Atsuko.
* Atsuko wipes the blood from the cut on her forehead away, and manages to get
one eye open. "You..."
<Man> Still going?
<Man> Not bad.  Not bad at all.
* Man reaches into his coat.
<Atsuko> ...no. There's no way I can hit you.
<Man> Of course not, stupid girl.  I'm Quentin Nagawa, the principal of Battle
High.  You might be able to hit me once you graduate.  IF you graduate.
* Atsuko tries to get to her feet, using the tree for support.
* Man withdraws a formal-looking envelope from his coat and tosses it to the
ground at Atsuko's feet.
* Atsuko looks at the envelope.
<Man> That's your invitation and your plane ticket.  Don't be late.  Don't miss
your flight.  And above all, be prepared to fight.
<Atsuko> Wuh...Battle High?
* Battle High is the name of an arcade fighting game.  The current iteration is
Battle High: Class of '02
* Man turns his back on Atsuko and walks away down the park path.
<Atsuko> ...a game? Huh?
* Atsuko lies against the tree for a few minutes, breathing heavily.
[Intro Fight... Win by Submission: Quentin Nagawa]