Post by Rik on Feb 21, 2020 9:45:43 GMT -8
Riku sat on the patio of a restaurant as the sun dropped towards the horizon, watching the colors of the sunset develop from crimsons, to oranges, pinks, yellows, up to the serene navy blue of the oncoming evening. The wind freshened and frolicked its way over the crashing surf to slide past him with its refreshing embrace. He reached over to the small table and picked up the mug of tea that had been cooling there and sipped at it, enjoying the warm flavors dancing across his tongue. It was a nice moment of relaxation for him; no where to go, no training to do, and no pressing tasks calling for his attention. He idly brought up his HUD and began searching for more information on the basics of cybernetics.
Searching...
Most Popular result: Dr. Kringle's Beginners Guide to Cybernetics: 4th Edition
Open this book: Y/N
He clicked yes; it seemed fortuitous that the first and most popular book was written by Vidar's creator. It was only wisdom to seek know as much about one's self as possible; wisdom dictated that he learn about how the mechanical parts of his body worked. At least somewhat, it might be that one day he would be stuck somewhere and have to repair himself with no aid. He had only read a few pages when he heard a loud voice yelling inside of the tea shop behind him. He set the tea cup back onto the table and stood, dismissing the pages from his view and stalking towards the open doors of the Sweetwater Tea shoppe. The tea shop was a lovely building, the walls and floors made of polished driftwood that glowed warmly from the natural sunlight and the couple of gas lamps they had lit. Wooden shelves with jars of tea lined the walls showing all the different flavors and varieties offered. At the register, which was on top of a driftwood log sawed in half set into the top of a counter, a round bodied island man with long frizzy hair held his hands up in surrender to the huge saiyan with slicked back jet black hair holding a sword at his throat. The saiyan was growling in a low gritty voice as his tail wagged madly back and forth, "Last chance, Rooie. See I'm going to be... protecting the shops here on the beach front from now on... and you got to pay your dues, see?"
Riku started moving carefully towards the man, stepping slowly on the heels of his feet to make as little sound as possible as Rooi, the shopkeeper began sputtering, "B-b-b-but Root, we're just a bunch of small shop owners, we don't make enough zenni to pay that sort of fee..."
Root drew the blade back and smacked Rooie against his cheek with the flat of the blade as he snarled out, "Don't give me that shit, Rooie. I know you take in a lot of money from all the tourists around here. You can afford this and more, but see, I'm a reasonable guy, so I only want ten percent of your take. Aren't I generous, you bag of lard?"
Rooie rubbed at his reddened cheek as Riku crept closer and held up a finger to his lips as the tea shop owner's eyes darted towards him. The saiyin, Root apparently was his name, paused and tensed, beginning to suspect there was something afoot... when Riku's hand closed around his tail and tugged him backwards. The big saiyan made a pained gasp and seemed about to fall over as riku turn and twisted, swinging him about by the tail and throwing him out the open door onto the boardwalk by the beach. Riku told the shopkeeper, "Contact the authorities. I will restrain him." and then strode after him, running a quick scan to get a gauge on his fighting capabilities.
Scanning...
Subject is a Male Saiyin
Power Level: 100
Risk Assessment: Negligible
Riku stepped back outside and had to lean back as the saiyin hopped up on his feet with his back towards then samurai and spun, whipping his sword at his head level. As soon as it passed by, Riku's right arm snapped out and crashed into the man's nose, causing a crunch and likely breaking it. Root staggered back, clutching at his face and cursing loudly as his eyes watered and obscured his vision. the samurai calmly spoke as he moved back into a loose ready position of his open palm fighting technique, "You are really gripping the handle of that blade too tightly; have you even had any formal training? If so, then either your master should not be teaching pupils or you are an incompetent donkey."
The saiyin growled and called out, "You cocky son of a bi..." As he tried dashed his free hand across his eyes and came in for a vicious stab towards Riku's abdomen. Riku slid to the side as he left had shot out to grab his wrist and then his right fingers hit a pressure point on his forearm, causing Root's hand to spasm open and the blade to thunk against the boardwalk's slats. Riku released the arm as the thug swung his other fist around with a grunt in a wide sweeping hook. The samurai ducked under it with an agility that seemed out of reach for the saiyin man. He twisted to his right and chopped into the man's side, clucking his tongue and calling out, "Sloppy. Sloppy and ineffective, I expected better of a wannabe gangster." Riku then had to spin to his left to avoid a kick and sent a rising palm strike directly under the man's chin. Root's eyes crossed and he fell back against the railing and slumped down, head hanging lifelessly as he went unconscious. Riku picked up the blade and examined it, shaking his head in disgust. It was just some sort of ornamental blade... what people in this day and age would call a "wall hanger". waited until the police came to take the saiyin away before he went back to his table to finish his tea. He took a sip and sighed with satisfaction; if anything the mint tea might be even better cold.
The murmur of voices rose in excitement as they considered the possibilities and the potential sales boost they could get from getting a viral star to advertise for their budding brand. A woman's voice rose above the hubbub and asked, "That's all great... but do we know where to even find this guy? Will he work with us? How much will it cost us?"
The small man pointed at her, "Good questions, Mira, good questions. I think if we offer the right amount of money... why wouldn't he work with us? As for where to find him... I'm not 100 percent sure. But I got an idea. Let me check that out and get back to you. Go ahead, you lot, get outta here. I got calls to make."
The man turned back to the screen and started playing the video again, watching the graceful beat down once more as he pulled his Cap Phone out of his pocket and started dialing. He held the phone up to his ear for a few moments before he said, "Hey, Ted, I have a job for you. I need you to run down a lead in a video. You know, the one with the little guy beating up the big saiyin thug, the one that's super popular right now... yeah that's the one. I need you to run down the name of the tea shop that happened at and get back to me, sooner would be better. Yeah, sure, thanks man, I owe you some beer. Later."
The man leaned back in his chair and watched the video intently, reaching over and picking up his notepad... He had an idea of how to get him to sign on, if he was reluctant at first. As he watched he began to idly take notes for some of his ideas... "This will be SO good..."
Riku felt a swirl of semi conflicting emotions running through him at this pronouncement. Pride at a job well done warred with Humility demanding he not seek recognition or recompense; in the end he decided to not shame Rooie and accept the gesture. He gave the shop keeper a slight bow and murmured, "You honor me, Rooie. I did not seek reward for what I did, only to protect an innocent man and to do what was right. I will accept your tea... maka. I will take whatever you recommend, I am feeling a bit adventurous today, so surprise me."
The big man grinned, "Adventurous, eh? Let me see what I have here." The big man took a ball that was composed of metal mesh on both sides and started walking along the walls, humming a melodious song with his pleasant tenor voice. About halfway down he crouched down to one of the bottom jars and opened it, taking a scoop from inside of it and dexterously popped the ball open with his other hand and packed the sphere full of the tea mixture. After replacing the scoop and the lid of the jar, he carefully closed the mesh ball and came back to the counter with Riku. Rooie reached under the counter and produced a mug and then placed the loaded sphere into it before turning around to grab a kettle of boiling water. He began speaking as he poured the steaming liquid slowly into the mug, "This is what I call Shenron's Breath. It is a spiced tea, you should pick up some ginger, cloves, star anise, a hint of lemongrass, and... a bit of a secret something that gives it a bit of a fiery kick. This might not be for everyone, but it is definitely adventurous."
Riku could smell ginger almost immediately as the steam began to waft up from the steeping tea. After that, hints of the other spices began to come through, and then something hit his nose which seemed to slam his sinuses open. He eyes widened a bit... this might be more spice than he had bargained for but he wasn't one to turn his face away from a challenge. Even from a mug of tea. "It does certainly smell adventurous, Rooie. I don't think my sinuses have been this wide open for months."
Rooie laughed as he replied, "That is good! Maybe I should market it as a cold reliever! Come and drink the dragon's breath to get your own breath back! Thanks for the idea maka." Rooie's hand disappeared under the counter and reappeared with a small pair of tongs. He reached over and grabbed a towel before he placed the tongs into the tea and carefully extracted his steeping sphere and moved the towel under it as he made a curiously graceful motion, spinning and placing the sphere in the sink expertly along with the tongs. He slid the steaming mug towards Riku with a grin and said, "Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else... and how you like it."
Riku smiled and took the mug, "I will do so, for now I will retire to the deck and enjoy this, you have my thanks." The samurai walked out onto the planks of the boardwalk and crossed them to the deck of the tea house and made a beeline for the table nearest to the water once more. He turned the chair to face the ocean and sat down to watch the dancing waters. The mug he held loosely in both hands and let the aroma drift up to his face. Something about the salt air in the breeze seemed to combine with the tea's scent and enhance it somehow. It made his mouth water and he decided to give in and take a sip. There was a punch of ginger, backed up by the other spices... it was quite pleasant, actually. He didn't see why it was called Shenron's Breath... until the explosion of heat exploded in his mouth. It was heat with a pinch of... cinnamon maybe? It faded quickly enough... Riku took another sip. The explosion of the heat at the end was not as bad when you were expecting it. It was actually curiously complimentary to the experience of the spices. It was one of the most unique teas he had ever experienced. As he sipped more the heat at the end of the sips became the highlight of the experience rather than the seeming afterthought.
He leaned back into his chair, settling in to enjoy the late evening breeze and the rest of his tea as he took in the sunset. I might even try to dig into a few more pages of that book by Dr. Kringle... When a voice called out behind him, "Excuse me, but are you Riku Masumura? I'm Sal Slokum, and I've got an offer for you that I don't think you'll want to pass up..."
Riku found himself in front of film camera's at the commercial shoot. The deal he had been offered was simple; if he agreed to use his fleeting celebrity to endorse this product, they would roll it out to Rooie's Sweetwater teashop in the initial rollout, potentially netting the big man a lot of money as well. Riku's recompense seemed at least enough for him to give them an afternoon of his time. The man they called the director signaled for the lights to come up and then counted him in.
A big guy with a fake monkey tail charged in at him and Riku did a simple hip throw to toss him over onto a mat concealed from view before turning to face the camera with a smile, "Greetings, I am Riku. YOu might know me from the tea shop security video making its rounds around Cap Tube at the moment. When I'm done with a hard day of fighting hooligans, I reach for Nevermore Energy Tea!" He reached down and grabbed a box of tea and a cup of a flavor called Toadstool Grey as it steamed up into his face he caught a faint weird odor... but took a sip of the tea anyway. The first touch on his tongue was decent enough... but then the rush of whatever they added crowded all the flavors out with an incredibly foul taste. He kept a faint smile on his face as he lowered the tea and said, "With flavors such as Mana Pot, Toadstool Grey here, or Verde, there are plenty of options to put a pep in your step. Drink Nevermore Energy tea, and all your excuses about not doing things because you are too tired... will disappear forever more!"
[2723/2000]
Searching...
Most Popular result: Dr. Kringle's Beginners Guide to Cybernetics: 4th Edition
Open this book: Y/N
He clicked yes; it seemed fortuitous that the first and most popular book was written by Vidar's creator. It was only wisdom to seek know as much about one's self as possible; wisdom dictated that he learn about how the mechanical parts of his body worked. At least somewhat, it might be that one day he would be stuck somewhere and have to repair himself with no aid. He had only read a few pages when he heard a loud voice yelling inside of the tea shop behind him. He set the tea cup back onto the table and stood, dismissing the pages from his view and stalking towards the open doors of the Sweetwater Tea shoppe. The tea shop was a lovely building, the walls and floors made of polished driftwood that glowed warmly from the natural sunlight and the couple of gas lamps they had lit. Wooden shelves with jars of tea lined the walls showing all the different flavors and varieties offered. At the register, which was on top of a driftwood log sawed in half set into the top of a counter, a round bodied island man with long frizzy hair held his hands up in surrender to the huge saiyan with slicked back jet black hair holding a sword at his throat. The saiyan was growling in a low gritty voice as his tail wagged madly back and forth, "Last chance, Rooie. See I'm going to be... protecting the shops here on the beach front from now on... and you got to pay your dues, see?"
Riku started moving carefully towards the man, stepping slowly on the heels of his feet to make as little sound as possible as Rooi, the shopkeeper began sputtering, "B-b-b-but Root, we're just a bunch of small shop owners, we don't make enough zenni to pay that sort of fee..."
Root drew the blade back and smacked Rooie against his cheek with the flat of the blade as he snarled out, "Don't give me that shit, Rooie. I know you take in a lot of money from all the tourists around here. You can afford this and more, but see, I'm a reasonable guy, so I only want ten percent of your take. Aren't I generous, you bag of lard?"
Rooie rubbed at his reddened cheek as Riku crept closer and held up a finger to his lips as the tea shop owner's eyes darted towards him. The saiyin, Root apparently was his name, paused and tensed, beginning to suspect there was something afoot... when Riku's hand closed around his tail and tugged him backwards. The big saiyan made a pained gasp and seemed about to fall over as riku turn and twisted, swinging him about by the tail and throwing him out the open door onto the boardwalk by the beach. Riku told the shopkeeper, "Contact the authorities. I will restrain him." and then strode after him, running a quick scan to get a gauge on his fighting capabilities.
Scanning...
Subject is a Male Saiyin
Power Level: 100
Risk Assessment: Negligible
Riku stepped back outside and had to lean back as the saiyin hopped up on his feet with his back towards then samurai and spun, whipping his sword at his head level. As soon as it passed by, Riku's right arm snapped out and crashed into the man's nose, causing a crunch and likely breaking it. Root staggered back, clutching at his face and cursing loudly as his eyes watered and obscured his vision. the samurai calmly spoke as he moved back into a loose ready position of his open palm fighting technique, "You are really gripping the handle of that blade too tightly; have you even had any formal training? If so, then either your master should not be teaching pupils or you are an incompetent donkey."
The saiyin growled and called out, "You cocky son of a bi..." As he tried dashed his free hand across his eyes and came in for a vicious stab towards Riku's abdomen. Riku slid to the side as he left had shot out to grab his wrist and then his right fingers hit a pressure point on his forearm, causing Root's hand to spasm open and the blade to thunk against the boardwalk's slats. Riku released the arm as the thug swung his other fist around with a grunt in a wide sweeping hook. The samurai ducked under it with an agility that seemed out of reach for the saiyin man. He twisted to his right and chopped into the man's side, clucking his tongue and calling out, "Sloppy. Sloppy and ineffective, I expected better of a wannabe gangster." Riku then had to spin to his left to avoid a kick and sent a rising palm strike directly under the man's chin. Root's eyes crossed and he fell back against the railing and slumped down, head hanging lifelessly as he went unconscious. Riku picked up the blade and examined it, shaking his head in disgust. It was just some sort of ornamental blade... what people in this day and age would call a "wall hanger". waited until the police came to take the saiyin away before he went back to his table to finish his tea. He took a sip and sighed with satisfaction; if anything the mint tea might be even better cold.
* * *
Unbeknownst to Riku, the grateful shop keep Rooie spread word of his deed and even uploaded the security footage to Cap-Tube. A week later, in a corporate office on the same island, a group an advertising team was sitting together in a sleek meeting room. The table was long and mahogany, the chairs were all plush swivel chairs, and each person had an array of snacks and a drink at hand. They watched with rapt attention as the samurai, only a little over half the size of the brutish saiyin, slammed the saiyan onto his back and then was shortly sitting back down to enjoy his tea. A small balding wiry man hopped up and clicked the pause button as he called back words getting louder and more emphatic as he went, "With martial arts on the rise popularity wise once more, this guy would be an awesome spokesman for our brand! I mean just look at this, he's the real deal!" The murmur of voices rose in excitement as they considered the possibilities and the potential sales boost they could get from getting a viral star to advertise for their budding brand. A woman's voice rose above the hubbub and asked, "That's all great... but do we know where to even find this guy? Will he work with us? How much will it cost us?"
The small man pointed at her, "Good questions, Mira, good questions. I think if we offer the right amount of money... why wouldn't he work with us? As for where to find him... I'm not 100 percent sure. But I got an idea. Let me check that out and get back to you. Go ahead, you lot, get outta here. I got calls to make."
The man turned back to the screen and started playing the video again, watching the graceful beat down once more as he pulled his Cap Phone out of his pocket and started dialing. He held the phone up to his ear for a few moments before he said, "Hey, Ted, I have a job for you. I need you to run down a lead in a video. You know, the one with the little guy beating up the big saiyin thug, the one that's super popular right now... yeah that's the one. I need you to run down the name of the tea shop that happened at and get back to me, sooner would be better. Yeah, sure, thanks man, I owe you some beer. Later."
The man leaned back in his chair and watched the video intently, reaching over and picking up his notepad... He had an idea of how to get him to sign on, if he was reluctant at first. As he watched he began to idly take notes for some of his ideas... "This will be SO good..."
* * *
Riku walked back into the Sweetleaf Tea Shoppe and was greeted by huge grin lighting up the face and a boisterous cry from the shop keep Rooie, "Hey! Riku, it's good to see you again, brother. What's your fancy today? On the house." The big man held up his hand as if to forestall Riku's possible protest before it could even begin to coalesce, "Don't even think of refusing, maka. I insist, I and every other person on the board walk are your friends, big time."Riku felt a swirl of semi conflicting emotions running through him at this pronouncement. Pride at a job well done warred with Humility demanding he not seek recognition or recompense; in the end he decided to not shame Rooie and accept the gesture. He gave the shop keeper a slight bow and murmured, "You honor me, Rooie. I did not seek reward for what I did, only to protect an innocent man and to do what was right. I will accept your tea... maka. I will take whatever you recommend, I am feeling a bit adventurous today, so surprise me."
The big man grinned, "Adventurous, eh? Let me see what I have here." The big man took a ball that was composed of metal mesh on both sides and started walking along the walls, humming a melodious song with his pleasant tenor voice. About halfway down he crouched down to one of the bottom jars and opened it, taking a scoop from inside of it and dexterously popped the ball open with his other hand and packed the sphere full of the tea mixture. After replacing the scoop and the lid of the jar, he carefully closed the mesh ball and came back to the counter with Riku. Rooie reached under the counter and produced a mug and then placed the loaded sphere into it before turning around to grab a kettle of boiling water. He began speaking as he poured the steaming liquid slowly into the mug, "This is what I call Shenron's Breath. It is a spiced tea, you should pick up some ginger, cloves, star anise, a hint of lemongrass, and... a bit of a secret something that gives it a bit of a fiery kick. This might not be for everyone, but it is definitely adventurous."
Riku could smell ginger almost immediately as the steam began to waft up from the steeping tea. After that, hints of the other spices began to come through, and then something hit his nose which seemed to slam his sinuses open. He eyes widened a bit... this might be more spice than he had bargained for but he wasn't one to turn his face away from a challenge. Even from a mug of tea. "It does certainly smell adventurous, Rooie. I don't think my sinuses have been this wide open for months."
Rooie laughed as he replied, "That is good! Maybe I should market it as a cold reliever! Come and drink the dragon's breath to get your own breath back! Thanks for the idea maka." Rooie's hand disappeared under the counter and reappeared with a small pair of tongs. He reached over and grabbed a towel before he placed the tongs into the tea and carefully extracted his steeping sphere and moved the towel under it as he made a curiously graceful motion, spinning and placing the sphere in the sink expertly along with the tongs. He slid the steaming mug towards Riku with a grin and said, "Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else... and how you like it."
Riku smiled and took the mug, "I will do so, for now I will retire to the deck and enjoy this, you have my thanks." The samurai walked out onto the planks of the boardwalk and crossed them to the deck of the tea house and made a beeline for the table nearest to the water once more. He turned the chair to face the ocean and sat down to watch the dancing waters. The mug he held loosely in both hands and let the aroma drift up to his face. Something about the salt air in the breeze seemed to combine with the tea's scent and enhance it somehow. It made his mouth water and he decided to give in and take a sip. There was a punch of ginger, backed up by the other spices... it was quite pleasant, actually. He didn't see why it was called Shenron's Breath... until the explosion of heat exploded in his mouth. It was heat with a pinch of... cinnamon maybe? It faded quickly enough... Riku took another sip. The explosion of the heat at the end was not as bad when you were expecting it. It was actually curiously complimentary to the experience of the spices. It was one of the most unique teas he had ever experienced. As he sipped more the heat at the end of the sips became the highlight of the experience rather than the seeming afterthought.
He leaned back into his chair, settling in to enjoy the late evening breeze and the rest of his tea as he took in the sunset. I might even try to dig into a few more pages of that book by Dr. Kringle... When a voice called out behind him, "Excuse me, but are you Riku Masumura? I'm Sal Slokum, and I've got an offer for you that I don't think you'll want to pass up..."
* * *
Riku found himself in front of film camera's at the commercial shoot. The deal he had been offered was simple; if he agreed to use his fleeting celebrity to endorse this product, they would roll it out to Rooie's Sweetwater teashop in the initial rollout, potentially netting the big man a lot of money as well. Riku's recompense seemed at least enough for him to give them an afternoon of his time. The man they called the director signaled for the lights to come up and then counted him in.
A big guy with a fake monkey tail charged in at him and Riku did a simple hip throw to toss him over onto a mat concealed from view before turning to face the camera with a smile, "Greetings, I am Riku. YOu might know me from the tea shop security video making its rounds around Cap Tube at the moment. When I'm done with a hard day of fighting hooligans, I reach for Nevermore Energy Tea!" He reached down and grabbed a box of tea and a cup of a flavor called Toadstool Grey as it steamed up into his face he caught a faint weird odor... but took a sip of the tea anyway. The first touch on his tongue was decent enough... but then the rush of whatever they added crowded all the flavors out with an incredibly foul taste. He kept a faint smile on his face as he lowered the tea and said, "With flavors such as Mana Pot, Toadstool Grey here, or Verde, there are plenty of options to put a pep in your step. Drink Nevermore Energy tea, and all your excuses about not doing things because you are too tired... will disappear forever more!"
[2723/2000]