Chapter 13: Taekkown 7

Few Minutes Later…..

Long rows of cars lined the streets, and the sound of motorcycles roaring and cars honking filled the air.

Everything vaguely smelled of gas, and large crowds of people streamed across the sidewalks and through shops.

The small crew of J-Highschool students made their way down the street, laughing and joking like an ordinary group of friends. Besides Vin Jin, who was just a sore jerk who kept on glaring at everyone around. Really brightened the day of everyone around him.

Takeo smiled as he waved aside a bout of smoke, his nose filled with the scent of the city's many restaurants. Behind, the girls were staring into the windows of every shop. Cho Young-Il was doing the same, but he was mostly looking at the animal plushies, and back at his wallet.

Joining in, he teased around and hung out with the crowd, pointing out a few strange tourist shirts and such.

The group bought grilled squid skewers and shared them in a greasy paper bag. Takeo's teeth sunk into the juicy squid as the bountiful flavor of the sea filled his mouth, along with a solid satisfying crunch.

It was salted and seasoned quite well, bringing out all of the squids' savory goodness while also balancing it perfectly.

Mary Kim led the group into a shop, where they began to marvel over luxury purses and such. Cho Young-il marveled over a cat-motif purse, while Clover posed with a small pink handbag.

Takeo and Vin Jin stayed back, watching the whole group try out random accessories. The sunglasses seemed more partial to clothing and such, rather than purses and wallets, while Takeo already had a handy black school bag that he didn't feel like replacing any time soon.

After a good twenty minutes, the group had finally finished, and waltzed out of the store, handing a few shopping bags to the disgruntled sunglasses. Seemed he would be the bag boy. Takeo sighed in a little sympathy, patting him on the shoulder.

Vin Jin, holding at least three large white shopping bags whipped back and assumed the cliche jerk expression as he spat: "Whatchu lookin at you f*cking loser!?"

Losing his sympathy within a second, Takeo patted him on the head once more, before going back to chatting with the rest of the people, who were infinitely more hospitable than sunglasses.

An hour passed once more as they weaved in and out of shops, buying a few more snacks, and handing the rest to Vin Jin. Judo kids had relatively good stamina.

Takeo was deep in a conversation with Emilia about some random history problems when Mary said:

"Arcade…. Anyone wanna play?"

Immediately, there was a chorus of conflicting answers, but finally, they decided to head on in. Going inside, the group was greeted with marble tiling and lines upon lines of arcade and pinball machines.

A few other things, like a ramshackle basketball hoop and a pool table or two, were also scattered around.

They immediately dispersed off in all directions as Clover and Emilia went off with Mary, while Young-Il began to gush over a few plushie dinosaurs in the claw machine.

Vin Jin was sitting in a corner moping about, a dark cloud over his head, while Takeo waltzed on over to the arcade machines.

He immediately got onto the fighting games as he inserted a few won into the machine. It would last him about half an hour or so, as he immersed himself in the world of Taekkwon 7…..

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(Warning: Cringe Street Fighter Dialogue.)

The sky was dark and stormy with lightning flashing in the distance. The ocean was choppy and grey, with cascading waves constantly crashing against the dock.

The dock was a giant mishmash of dull concrete, with a few chain-link gates and giant cargo boxes were strewn about. By the side of a rolled-up fishing net, a lone man sat there in the freezing cold rain, simply waiting.

He was tall and muscular, his bare chest covered to the brim with inky blooming roses and a mane of grey-white hair spiking down to his heels. His hands were calloused and wet from the rain, yet he seemed pretty unhindered.

His tanned face was manly and sharp, with a bold yet slim nose and chapped thin lips. His small narrow eyes were a fierce unnatural purple, and his eyebrows bold and grey. He wore a pair of camouflage cargo pants, and metal braces on his wrists.

As the storm raged on, suddenly, the solid footsteps of someone walking through puddles approached. Looking up, the muscular old man sighed. His opponent had arrived it seemed….

Exiting from a sleek black limousine, a slim tall man had arrived. He was dressed in a dapper black suit, complete with a tuxedo, and his legs were extremely long.

An umbrella protected him from the rain, revealing his pale unblemished complexion, along with his slim nose and those large soulless black eyes. His hair was short and dropped straight to his shoulders, with a single lofty bang curling aside his left eye.

Displacing the umbrella to the side, he smiled coldly, staring at the gruff old man. "Mr. MacLeior...It is an honor to meet a Boxing Legend such as yourself."

"Ah. So you are my opponent, young Xiong Xue. Practitioner of the ancient art of Kung Fu. The Dragon Of Chengdu" Replying in a rough baritone voice, MacLeior rose to his feet, stamping a barefoot on the ground.

"Let us have a fair and honorable fight…." Bowing slightly, Xiong Xue raised his hands before him, getting into a fighting stance.

[3…..]

[2...]

[1…..]

[Fight!]

Immediately, Xiong Xue went on the offensive, water spraying about as he burst out, leg lashing with the speed of a pouncing tiger.

*Wam!*

MacLeior blocked the blow with his bare fists as he too, attacked, a barrage of straight jabs aimed for every part of his body.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

FIst clashed with fist as they engaged in a dance of deadly blows, arm glancing off shoulder, leg grazing the knee, and then, finally, there was a solid impact.

*Wtroom!*

MacLeior's deadly cannon fist blazed past Xiong Xue's defenses as a hard blow smashed straight into the younger man's midsection, sending him whirling through the air at impact. But the elderly boxer was not done yet.

Charging forwards, he sent a wicked uppercut, which smashed into the guy's jaw. Another three more demolishing hits followed as Xiong Xue flipped back, spitting some blood to the ground.

In this world of Taekkwon, technique and martial arts did not matter, as much as simple instinct and prowess. They were helpful, but….. It was all for naught.

XIong Xue leaped through the air, sending a rattling blow to MacLeior's waist as he tried to retaliate, only for another punch to smash into his jaw, sending him careening across the slippery rock-hard ground.

Flipping back up, the kung fu disciple ducked as a series of blows attempted to knock him off into the ocean.

Xiong Xue, mouth wet with blood, sent a kick flying towards MacLeior's shoulder, which was deflected off by another fist.

Seeing this, he decided on a more overwhelming approach. Lunging like a slithering snake, he sent a swerving punch towards the burly older man's solar plexus, following up with a deadly flying kick as he sent MacLeior half a step back.

The boxer grinned in response as he crossed his arms, instead sending a low sweeping calf-kick, knocking Xiong Xue off balance.

Charging in close, MacLeior tackled the younger man, sending him smashing to the floor as he showed moves that were absolutely not supposed to be part of a boxer's skill set.

*Woom!*

A bloody hit to the face, literally cracked the very ground below him as the kung-fu master attempted to block the onslaught of overwhelming power that left him helpless.

Another heart-wrenching blow to the skull cracked Xiong Xue as he rolled away to a stop, the raging waves behind, soaking his back.

"Dammit! I shall not give up! This is my will!" Getting back into a fighting pose, Xiong Xue got ready for a final stand as his eyes flicked about, trying to see through the boxer's impeccable stance.

And then, he widened his eyes, attempting to block as a large hand grasped his throat, lifting him into the air. MacLeior looked up calmly, shaking his head. With an ungodly left hook to the face, blood spewed like a fountain as Xiong Xue crashed down into the ocean.

*Kaploosh!*

Smirking, the elderly man turned away from the ocean, sitting back down.

[Victory goes too….. MacLeior!]

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"Dammit!" Nearby, a young male teen cursed out loud, slamming his joystick in frustration. Taekkwon 7 did not rely on a person's martial prowess. That much was obvious, as it was using your wrist and fingers to move a stick and tap buttons.

Kung Fu or Boxing, it didn't really matter. In fighting games like these, everyone was supposed to have different movesets, but be balanced enough against each other so that it wouldn't be a one-sided beatdown.

Sometimes. These two characters were quite well balanced against each other. It was just a…. Skill issue.

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To my dear nonexistent viewers, what would be a good way to improve this story? (Besides update schedule.)