Re: Shredding It

by Berial Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:05 am

"...Dude, that burp was so cute."

"Wicked cute."

"Totally cute."

"Yo, T, why don't you burp like-"

A row of knuckles punching into what should have been her friend's toes shut him right the fuck up before the rest of that poorly thought-out remark could finish. Kento's lips curled back into his mouth in a desperate bid to staunch the cry trailing out from the back of his throat the tears welling at the corner of his eye. Forming an "A-okay" sign with his thumb and index finger signaled Tam to release him from his torment. She wagged the dirt from his shoes clean from her fingers. How did she end up with these idiots?

She didn't know what was worse: being sidelined by Natsu's mere presence or listening to her toot her own horn.

It was unbelievable to her that people actually fell for this crap. When you waded through the bullshit, there was just a smiling idiot who had the gall to accuse her of cheating. Just because she brought it up. If the Vietnamese striker were standing up, Nat would be picking her teeth up from the floor. Tam would bet everything that she didn't work for a single thing in her life.

But...then her mind replayed that image of her Natusko's last match, toppling the Buriki King with practically one hand behind her back. The knockout punch that shot her into superstardom. That wasn't just luck or raw strength. There was passionate focus that reminded the Vietnamese girl of her younger days. Tam could easily picture ten other people in Gai's place if that punch was really genuine. That could have easily been Dasher. That could have been anyone. That could have been her.

Her red-eyed funk was interrupted by Nat's skateboard setting against the ground. Tam regarded her parting words with little more than a pair of furrowed brows as the schoolgirl skated away. As if that was some sort of cool exit for this once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Did she think she needed help? Did she ask for that? Tam reached behind and plucked a decently-sized pebble between her fingers.

"Hey!" With a flick of her wrist, Tam skipped the stone across the concrete, slipping it underneath Natsu's skateboard as it rolled and catching itself underneath the back wheel. Assuming she could bring Nat's skateboard to a sudden stop, Tam would slowly stand from the floor and walk herself over to the Japanese girl. Her imposing silhouette seemed to darken as she intently cracked her knuckles on each hand.

"If you mean that then, why wait? I'm standing right here. Or did you think you can just drink all of my pop free of charge?"

Kento kept rubbing his toes as he looked up at her. "Uh, that was my soda, brah."

"Fuck up, Ken."

"Uncool."

by **killcarrion** Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:53 am

Butterflies were all aflutter within Natsu's stomach throughout practically the entirety of that congenial chatter. Not that she was anxious in the slightest around all those skater dudes who all seemed like a friendly buncha guys, but who woulda thunk that she'd skate across such a highly admired coworker of hers clear on the edge of town? Natsu's remedial knowledge of mathematics ensured that she wouldn't be calculating the odds of this chance encounter anytime soon, but man. She was still geekin out over it on the inside. That match she had with Dasher was for sure in her Top 5 AFW matches and one she replayed numerous times. Just straight up captivated by the sheer grit and determination that her fellow martial artist displayed that day. And in the end she didn't even tap out, instead enduring it right to the bitter end just so she wouldn't give that guy the satisfaction. Ohhhh, Nattie's getting goosebumps just thinkin about it. She hopes Tam gets back to her about those tickets and-oh no, did she come on too strong? Aww man...Natsu knew offering to train with her was too presumptuous, betting she came off like a doofus stalker fan or-

"HUPUPUPUP!!!" Natsu went from internally replaying the entire conversation within her head and kicking herself for her moment of fandom weakness, to stopping on a pebbled dime as her skateboard hit the brakes without any prompting from her. The schoolgirl waving her arms like a flapping duck as she struggled to remain balanced on her board now dipped sharply forward before managing to collapse it back down. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to catch Tam menacingly marching right up to Natsu with a threatening gait and her friends parting like the Red Sea for her. Even those in the immediate vicinity, whom she had no intention of pummeling into a battered heap, made space around the two of them. Nattie naively remaining steadfast with doe-eyed innocence towards Tam as she computed everything she had to say before a flickering light bulb clicked in her head. Her expression brightening up to match the illumination in her noggin as she smiled enthusiastically at Tam. "OH!!!...OHOHOH!!! You wanna throwdown right here and now???!!! Well why didn't ya say so earlier!!!" Natsu kicked her skateboard over towards the sore-footed Ken, who stopped it but was promptly blinded by the schoolgirls jacket being flung over his head as well.

"I'm not about to back down from a challenge this tempting, no siree. Thanks a bunch for the opportunity, Ms. Nguyen. This'll be a perfect warm-up for my Showdown match, too~..." Natsu could scarcely contain herself as she started getting unclipping her sparring gloves from her belt and put them one at a time, afterward doing a few brief stretches and adopting her fighting stance.

by Berial Sun Nov 21, 2021 3:34 am

Nice reflexes. Shit.

Tam knew there was more to this girl than met the eye. It was just a different experience seeing it in action. Questions swirled inside of her mind that pondered the kind of life bestowed to her such talent. Natsu had the look of an everyday schoolgirl that watched a bunch of Karate Kid. It was annoying, yet undeniably compelling in how much it made you want to beat her face in. Maybe the feeling was mutual. Natsuko seemed to know Tam, but Tam didn't know her nearly as well. And that bugged her more than it should have.

Whatever. There was one really good way to find out.

"Ken. Shun. You know what the deal is." Tam cracked her knuckles and stepped up to the Japanese girl. Kento and Shun could only spare a second to glance at each other with the stupidest grins before they spun around to the crowd gathering all around. Kento took the lead, shoving a fellow skater back.

"Yo yo! This ain't some sideshow, homeboy! You want action? I want some cheddah!" Despite the general air of reluctance, generous donations were already flinging into hats from around the circle closing around them. The word had already gotten around Setagaya. Folks knew better than to cheat the best out of a few bucks. And if they were being honest, it was usually worth the price of admission. "500 yen for Tam Nguyen! Show me those wallets, people! Let's see it, let's see it!"

Tam should have been running these sorts of collections back in Vietnam. Would have made relocating a hell of a lot easier. She lamented that realization for a good half of a second before her attention turned back to the person more deserving of her time.

Aside from that brawl with Gai Tendo and a stand-out record for someone her age, the Sakura Girl was nothing but rumors and hearsay to her. That was bound to change soon. Tam had heard about that Showdown event. All things considered, Nat here was set for a meteoric rise. Tam was interested in knowing exactly why that seemed to be the case.

"Warm-up, huh?" She had the confidence going for her. Or maybe she was just that stupid, who knew? Tam bounced on her heels as she widened her stance and raised her fists. Her gaze narrowed tightly on Natsuko. “Keep dreaming, schoolgirl.”

The Viet Fighter lunged forward, looking to catch the initiative. Her fist thrust forward as she stepped into the motion, aiming a punch at the Japanese girl’s sternum with enough power to put her down before their fight even started. Tam didn’t have the patience to see if Natsuko was worth her time.

by **killcarrion** Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:01 am

...whoa....the spaced out brawler was starting to feel like she was on that...twilighty, zoner show or sumthin. The name escapes her at the moment. But what didn't escape her vague recollection was how eerily similar this fight was to another impromptu scuffle she'd taken part in earlier in the week when she set up a rendezvous with her high-school friend Nami. Whom teachers described as being somehow more of a spastic troublemaker than Natsu, and whom the schoolgirl would love to introduce Tam to one day. Except while her encounter with Nami sparked a friendly little bout between the pair to determine who could knock the other on to their keister first with a swarm of grade-schoolers cheering them on...this scuffle looked like it was only gonna be decided when someone ends up being awoken to people snapping fingers in their face, and the sidelined audience was far more concerned with making some quick cash than wondering when the ice cream truck was going to circle back around again. Natsu sure had the best luck when it came around to finding capable challengers for on the spot training bouts, but she wondered if this fight was because she might have rubbed Tam the wrong way. And that maybe Tam just isn't too fond of-

*OH, nevermind whatever that was. Fight's starting~...* Natsu gleefully hopped to her feet after stretching her legs from side to side, punching into the palm of her other hand and performing a respectful bow to the sound of scrunched up yen being stuffed into Kento's hat. Excited though she was, some butterflies in her stomach started to flutter at the prospect of returning to her street brawling roots once again. Those Mad Machine Gang goobers didn't really count as a for realz challenge in her book, and AFW was where she was getting most of her grappling fix nowadays. Natsu just hoped she could shake off any rust before Tam wallops it off herself. The peppy schoolgirl meeting her opponent's ferocious glare with one of her own, although twinged with a slight smile behind her raised gloves tightened into fists as well. Luckily she didn't have to ponder for long as to how they can break the ice here, as Tam opted to do it herself by dashing forward with a straight punch that would've done some serious damage...had a smiling Natsu not swiveled around with Tam's extended arm clasped onto by Nat and slung over the schoolgirl's shoulder. Popping her hips against the Viet fighter's own hips and attempting a flowing throw that would end with Tam flipped onto her back and her flowery foe knelt beside her.

by Berial Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:23 pm

It wasn't like she wanted to beat Natsuko so much as she just had to. The feeling was difficult to describe, but it was like watching a moving, human stain on her wall. She couldn't set her mind to anything else until this was dealt with. Natsuko wasn’t keen on making that easy for her.

Tam knew something was off from the moment she charged her. Most people backpedaled onto the defense or chuckled at the thought of a tiny fighter like herself trying to run someone down until they got bulldozed over. Natsuko didn’t laugh or freeze or even try to run. All the Japanese girl did was smile. The next thing Tam knew, her fist was caught and she was sailing through the air. Fuck.

Only a second past the point of no return did Tam manage to twist herself with the momentum and come down on two feet. The force sent her stumbling away on her backfoot with her arms flailing about in the middle of the circle. Her vision became a blur as she was swept away, but Tam knew she didn’t have much time to react. She planted her feet and skid round into a forward posture, her fist chambering far back as she lunged forward and-

"Whoa!" Tam tensed and stopped herself on the spot only inches away from landing a walloping punch to Shun’s face. She blinked and looked past him to the wall of onlookers baffled at her. The focus in her eyes sent a shiver up his spine. He almost forgot to lower his hands, chuckling the fear away.

"Yo, we should meet like this more oft-" Tam unstopped herself and knocked him unconscious square in the face. The Viet Fighter spun around and immediately locked eyes with Natsuko. Her feet dashed forward in another brisk charge at her adversary. She charged the Japanese's girls guard with a high roundhouse kick that bounced back from the impact for a return kick aimed at her ribs.

by **killcarrion** Fri Dec 24, 2021 5:44 am

Natsu's guilt-ridden conscience may begrudgingly make it known one day that although she re-watched the Tam/Dasher fight a whole buncha times merely because of her burgeoning admiration for the Viet-Fighter and the epic clash between diametric grappling styles...she might have kinda been using it as tape study in case she'd ever come across either of those world class competitors in a Tension ring. Becoming familiar with their stances and what they were a prelude to, attempting to memorize what were some of their favorite tactics, strategizing ways to counter some submissions. Although she admittedly got nuthin for the Inoba Clutch. Tam was a trooper for lastin as long as she did in Nat's book. However, all those match replays did make her familiar with a lunging straight punch attempt when she noticed certain motions. And was thankfully able to react swiftly with an over the shoulder flip that may not have taken Tam off her feet, but did send her into an accidental face to face with one of her skater friends.

"Whew, that was a close one. For a second there it looked like you were about to...*thwack*...ohhh. Hmm, nevermind I guess." Natsu flinched on the impact that kayoed Shun, onlookers paying the fallen skater-boy only a brief second of attention before returning to the fight they're betting good money on. The schoolgirl taken aback by how swiftly Tam returned her attention back to her adversary without a moment's hesitation and which prevented Natsu from reading any movements this time around. Instead using that time to raise up a guard with her gloved hands that shielded her from the roundhouse kick but left her ribcage susceptible to the second impact. Natsu flinched from the sidekick thwacked underneath her arm that unsteadied her stance and sent electric twangs coursing from where Tam made contact as she stepped to the side with a slouched posture, but would no sooner than that crouch lower and plant her fingers on the ground for an attempted low spinning kick meant to sweep Tam off her feet. In the painful way, not the romantic way.

by Berial Sat Jan 08, 2022 4:52 am

Natsuko had some pretty fast reflexes for a schoolgirl. Maybe even faster than her own. Tam only took half a second to relive her mistake in the back of her head as she dedicated herself to another reckless charge.

There was nothing wrong with Tam’s approach, nothing bad about her form. She’d dropped guys three times her size with that punch and Nat batted it away like a fly. As seemed to be the case, Nat was a “showing”, not “telling” kind of type. Someone that rolled with the punches and kept her arsenal loaded. It wasn’t hard for her to see now why she was able to take out that Buriki King mono a mono. Twice.

The Vietnamese fighter had no intention of adding her name to that (no doubt) long list of victories. The Sakura Girl would feel that when Tam nearly knocked her head off on the end of her high roundhouse. She took the bait, as expected, and left her side wide open for Tam to punish with a consecutive roundhouse that brought the faintest hint of a smile to the corner of her lip. It wasn’t like she got off on hurting some pissant schoolgirl with a habit of getting in over her head. But she couldn’t deny that there was a certain appeal. Tam was just about to bring her foot down for another strike at the Japanese fighter when, all of a sudden, she didn’t have one to stand on.

“God-!" Tam shouted as her ankle was cut out from underneath her with a buttery-smooth leg sweep. The only image she saw aside from the clear blue sky zipping past her was a glimpse of Kento, holding his phone out for the instant her back crashed against the ground. The squawking yelp she caught on the back of her throat betrayed how hurt she was by that. But she’d taken worse. And worse is what she would get if she let Nat keep fucking with her.

Her hands braced against the pavement as she popped up and threw a blind, wild kick out in front of her. One that she could only hope Natusko would be on the other end of.

by **killcarrion** Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:18 am

Small victory through it may have been, and relevant to absolutely nobody aside from her and Nami, Natsuko nevertheless patted herself on the back from knowing that this spar would have been officially finito had they been dueling under more restrained playground rules. Where the loser was decided whenever they'd get taken off their feet. Tam emphatically fulfilling those requirements via the flat back splat she'd taken from Natsu's swift flowing sweep kick that she hoped looked as cool as she envisioned within her overactive imagination. Her older brother was capable of that exact same kick except far more polished. Although whatever style points Natsu earned were probably the ones deducted from Tam and her wailing pratfall. Anyone in the crowd who had the gumption to brandish a smile at her misfortune were quick to undo them once the Viet-Fighter was standing upright again with nothing but vengeance what seems to be a little bloodlust on her mind.

Natsu popped back up and reclaimed her fighting stance as quick as she could, guard raised with honed attention on the scrambling Tam, who...really just kept coming at her. Getting taken off her feet twice didn't appear to faze Tam in the slightest...wow. The schoolgirl was earnestly taken aback by how much of a rampaging force of nature she was. Except that ferocity led to one mistake too many as Nattie sidestepped to avoid the impatient kick and hooked Tam's calf in the crook of her arm. "...*Phew*...This seems like a good spot to take a breather!!! We've totally gotta do this more often!!! You've got some gnarly strikes to ya, and you're just as much of a badass as I figured you'd be. Buuuuut I don't think that gives you the right to start decking your skater friends like that. S'like my older brother says...A warrior's journey is ultimately fruitless without the friends they make along the way." Natsu brandishing a goofy smile with Tam's leg firmly affixed and free hand grasping the back of Tam's thigh, helping the fighter become as balanced as possible with only one good leg to stand on.

by Berial Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:51 am

Tam had a few problems.

The first was that she was having a hard time getting a read on Natsu. Her technique was fierce, reactive, and had its momentum that Tam just wasn’t gelling with. She moved like a goddamn badger. What made it worse was that stupid, psyched expression on the Japanese girl’s face. It didn’t budge an inch, only becoming more focused the harder she tried, hiding her intentions behind a smokescreen of serenity.

The second problem was that said unreadable schoolgirl caught her leg like she'd plucked a fly out of thin air. There hadn't been anything wrong with her speed or her technique, but she was wavering. It was a bad position to be in, made even worse by that troubling smile Natsu had on her face. Tam had expected her to seize the advantage by damaging her leg and was already preparing her body for the shock. That was what she would have done; what a smart person would do. What the Sakura Fighter had in store turned out to be far worse.

Which led to her last and most severe problem: Natsu never shut up. Tam groaned as she balanced herself on one tired leg. The only thing keeping her properly balanced was the Sakura girl's grip beneath her thigh. Though that did come with the unfortunate price of having to look Natsu in the eye the entire time.

"God, where's the 'off' button on you?" Tam wasn't having the most fun of her life balancing on one foot, but she'd be lying if she said she didn’t need this breather as much as Natsu did. Her lungs were still working off the impact from the concrete. Her words came out behind unsteady breaths and a fixed glare. "Tell your brother that he's got the sense of a dung beetle if he seriously thinks that. That explains a lot about you. Apple must not fall too far from the tree, huh?"

by **killcarrion** Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:19 am

Hmm, Tam's terse response wasn't quite what Natsu had expected. It was more snarling bitterness than awestruck enlightenment, although she could empathize with Tam to a certain degree since her older brother tended to spout these quotable pearls of wisdom all the live long day when it came to fighting philosophies. She herself sometimes doubted their authenticity with popped question marks floating around her head. Except in this particular case, Natsu can totally vouch for her big bro since one of those friends he claimed to make in his travels around the world was a gigantic Russian piledriving bear wrestler. Natsu initially handwaving that off as her brother pranking her with the tale of a Russian folkhero or something...well, that is until the guy came strolling into Tension one day. Broadening her mind as to what other types of fighters could be out in the world. But she was skeptical about her brother's other friend who was a green jungle man who can generate electricity.

"Oh, Umm...well, I can tell him that if you want. But you oughtta see if you can tell him yourself. I'd give you props for courage, and about a minute or two before you're sent flying through the air with a barefooted imprint on your face~..." Natsu jokingly uttered what totally wasn't a joke since she's seen it happen to braggadocios challengers more times than she can count. Sharing in Tam's uneven breathes but with nothing resembling hostility in her eyes as she appreciated the respite as well. Compensating through shuffled footing and affirming the snatched gripping of her leg to prolong the Viet-Fighter's hopping mad predicament. "But I guess you could say my brother and I are similar in a few ways. After all, we're making friends by beating them up. Speaking of, wanna see something really cool?!" Natsu ambitiously queried but with a malicious aura about her before spinning around like a top in mid-air, and by doing so compelling Tam to do the same in a Dragon Legscrew takedown.

by Sponsored content