Dragon's Trip[Kenichi, Vanyel]

"Kensou, yeah? His name even sounds a little similar to mine. Maybe, he'll be my pick," Kenichi humored, surveying the array of characters to choose from, hazel eyes browsing through a potential character pick. After sweeping past all of them, he settled on a fan favorite - Kyo Kusanagi. Of course, the game allowed for one to pick three fighters at once, priding itself on the team-oriented approach. After picking Kyo, he chose Iori, and then Chizuru. His decisions made, he turned to Vanyel, observing who he might choose, looking for anything to commentate on as they prepared to face one another. Maybe he might pick the more chinese-oriented fighters? There weren't many, but considering the way Vanyel fought... Kenichi was visibly excited, curious to see who he might choose.

"Alright, let's see who you pick, Van.'

Well, that was certainly a line of reasoning to picking a character. He was glad that his observation didn't go unnoticed though -- Kensou really did look similar, and Kenichi even pointed out the similarity in their names. Wasn't that something? He chuckled softly, looking through the character list available to them. There were a couple that stood out from design alone -- Kyo and Iori, namely. He saw Kenichi pick them, and he took a moment to think.

He knew a couple of the characters that he wanted to pick, and didn't waste time in moving over to them: Shen Woo and Robert Garcia. He felt a kinship with Shen in fighting style, nationality, and abilities. All in all, he just thought the guy was cool, and he liked playing him. Robert was cool as well, but it was mainly attributed to his abilities and fighting style more than anything.

He didn't really know who to pick for his third option. He first thought was to pick someone else to avoid picking the same that Kenichi did, but...fuck it, who cares? He smirked as he went to his third pick: Iori Yagami, the same as one of Kenichi's picks. He liked the rushdown style, his ability names were cool, his titles were cool, and it was one of the poster children for the series. What wasn't there to like?

So, readying up, Vanyel had every intention of making their matchup, at least with Iori, a mirror match.

After choosing their respective fighters, the first round began with Vanyel gaining the upper hand in a surprising upset, or perhaps not entirely so. Kenichi had never really used Shen Woo before, but Vanyel had taken to him pretty well, displaying a solid array of combinations in their first match. Round Uno went to Vanyel, but Kenichi was far too competitive to give him the second round, and with Kyo Kusanagi at his disposal, he pursued the Vanyel-controlled Shen Woo with dogged aggression, executing each combo from memory he could recall.

Round Two ended in Kenichi's victory, and but one fighter remained on Vanyel's team, and he wasted no time in earning a victory with Iori Yagami, leading to the final match concluding with mirror opponents. Iori Yagami vs Iori Yagami. It made for an interesting experience, and even a few people had gathered, impressed by how well they played the game, but by a hair's breadth, Kenichi managed to eek out the final victory, defeating Vanyel's last fighter.

Kenichi sighed deeply as he nudged Vanyel's shoulder, chuckling to himself as he wiped his forehead a bit.

"You had me on the ropes for a bit there, Van. For someone who doesn't play fighting games that much, you nearly did me in there. Now, that I think about it... perhaps we could incorporate cool techniques from fighting games, too! I forgot the cool techniques and combos Kyo can do with his fire, and Iori is pretty fearsome too. I don't think I could replicate Chizuru all that well, though... but now I've worked up an appetite. Go figure, huh? Want to head over to the food court and grab a bite to eat?'

Managing to win the first round, but quickly fell in the second round to Kenichi's relentless aggression. Even in the loss, he found himself smiling -- even if it was an old game, he still liked fighting games, and playing them with a friend like Kenichi made the loss stingless. Finally, as the game was coming to a close, their last fighters remained -- a mirror matched, just as intended.

The two went at it for a while, constantly switching between neutral, defense, and offense, chipping away at each other's health with a shocking amount of skill. A few people started to gather, and Vanyel couldn't help but feel a little anxious as a result. Perhaps it was that which lost him the game, as Kenichi managed to overcome him by the slightest of margins, leaving the victory to him.

As the two leaned back from the cabinet, Vanyel slipped his hands into his pockets, turning to face the other man as he felt the nudge.

"Yeah, that'd be pretty cool. No idea what kind of stuff I'd do for my own powers, but, yeah. Let's brainstorm over some food."

"Don't you worry, Van. You've cultivated some pretty good ideas for abilities rooted in mythology, but I do believe I am your equal when it comes to fighting games," he mused humorously, a firm hand tapping against his companion's shoulder. Indeed, Vanyel seemed to be the greater of the two in inventing ideas from countless tales of mythology; his inspiration was boundless, his ideas seemingly automatic, at least from his perspective. It was a fine source to build from, too. Mythology had always occupied a source of awe, to a degree equal that was almost equal to his friend. Divinities who held hegemony over an element, a concept, an archetype---fearsome, regal, benevolent, tyrannical... Ah, it was truly fascinating in every sense of the word.

However, a divine force in the form of a rumbling belly would quickly force Kenichi away from his musings, eliciting a sheepish chuckle from the fiery martial artist as he quickened his pace toward the food court. Considering the wide array of vendors to choose from, his initial decision proved difficult. Even so, as his eyes swept through each food stall, it soon became abundantly clear what his intention was. Order something from all of them. Directing Vanyel to sit down, Kenichi would grab his own wallet and flash through each vendor with the speed of a lightning bolt.

Nothing avoided his appetite. American Cuisine. Chinese Cuisine. Okinawan Cuisine. Even if he didn't finish it here, there would be plenty of food to bring back home for his family - or perhaps not, considering his mother likely wanted to prepare a meal for Vanyel. The thought of incurring her wrath alone humbled his charge, and so he only brought half of what he intended. Whatever Vanyel didn't consume, Kenichi would just eat himself. No food would meet the Murata's household. After placing in his respective orders, Kenichi would sit down across from him, setting the meals onto a large table. As a matter of course, he was a man with a big appetite. Fortunately, with the way Vanyel's energy reserves had been, perhaps his appetite might equal his own.

"Now, if we are brainstorming ideas... I have plenty. There are so many fighting games with characters who have energy emission going hand and hand with their fighting styles. For example, lets talk about Ryu from Street Fighter. He uses elements of Karate, Judo, and Kenpo---mixing that together with Qi. I can't forget about who I picked either---Kyo. His style in that particular universe is referred to as an ancient martial art---Kusanagi Fighting style. It might appear fictional at first glance, but I can see elements of kenpo in there as clear as day! In other words, there is plenty of inspiration to take from. Its simply a matter of choosing which speaks to you the most."

Yeah, he couldn't deny that. Kenichi was definitely a match for him in fighting games. But, he then soon heard his companion's stomach growling, and Vanyel figured that the suggestion for food was a good call. Even if he would have rather cooked it himself, he wasn't exactly going to be finding what he needed on such short notice. So, the two made their way over to a variety of vendors.

As expected, Kenichi ordered pretty much one of everything. While he didn't need to eat quite that much, he still ordered a decent enough portion that would tide him over until their next meal. As opposed to Kenichi's wide, voracious and seemingly unending appetite, Vanyel was quiet, casual with his food. He ate while the two talked, and he took some time to think about what Kenichi was saying.

Even if he wasn't going to be basing his powers around martial arts exactly, the origins of those martial arts and their inspirations would be a good place to drawn inspiration of his own. He already had his Dragon Dance, basing it off the real-world event. He knew that he wanted to have something involving dragons in his actual powers, beyond the abilities he planned to re-create and re-learn.

"Mm, I'll have to give it some more thought. Might not be makin' stuff based on those martial arts exactly, but there's stuff behind the scenes with 'em that could be interestin' and inspirational in their own right."

"That's fair. Too many styles can be overwhelming, truth be told. It's better to stick to what suits you best in the end, right?"

Kenichi certainly understood Vanyel's point of view. There was no need to overwhelm himself with too much. Too many influences could throw off what defined his fighting style best. Although he could certainly envision Vanyel being a jack of all trades, master of none, he didn't want to overwhelm his friend with too much exposition on martial arts, either.

They would have plenty of time to do that once they arrived at his home. For now, Kenichi contented himself with enjoying the large meal he had brought for the two of them. Naturally, he ate the large portions, while Vanyel could eat until his heart was content.

Between the both of them, Kenichi had the more voracious appetite, no question. Plus, he genuinely desired to clear off enough of the meal and throw away any evidence they ate anything, lest he earned his mother's ire. She had probably prepared a feast, and if any of that went to waste? Well... he didn't really want to imagine that scenario, truth be told. It was frightening. After finishing his part of the meal, Kenichi would turn toward Vanyel, filling the silence with a contented sigh as he pat his hands against his belly. He'd have to burn this off fast.

"Since we'll need to burn off this food before we reach my home, we're going to pick up the pace by jogging from this point out. I... didn't mention it, but my mother will be pissed if we arrive there and I tell her that we're full because we ate food that wasn't prepared by her two hands."

Vanyel, above everything else, was more interested in the cultural values; the history, the mythology, the skeleton, foundations, and inspirations for all of these aspects of his home above all else. The arts themselves were of interest and fascination in their own right, but it was what lay beneath that had invoked the inspiration for his abilities before.

Maybe he'd have to give his copy of A Journey to the West a more serious, thorough reading again one of these days.

Then the sudden news came -- that they had to burn it off before they got to his home, else his mom would be furious. Uh-oh. Vanyel's expression suddenly changed, giving a look that said "You couldn't have told me this sooner?" as he facepalmed and stood up. The two men quickly headed out, taking a slight detour, away from the bustle and clutter of other civilians.

It was a quiet path, one where Vanyel used the time to start sparring with Kenichi as they moved. It wasn't a massive difference, but, the movement and martial art routines that he went through would help burn more of the food off as they ran. Back and forth, he'd keep the other man on his toes, ensuring that both of them would get the exercise they needed to avoid the wrath of Kenichi's mother.