4th Strike: Moving On

Center of Attention (Part 2)

Monotonous, cruisin' on this and I got rhythm goddamn,
Confuse the funk music, rock the jam,
Pack the stand, stack the grands and mack the female fans,
At the local the-ater, the vocal creator,
Slash I shall blast because you can't fuck with me,
I guess this is the way your luck will be,
Frontin' much nerve with a rep that you can't preserve,
Step to I in '95, you gettin' served.

InI - "Center of Attention"

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For the next couple hours, the impromptu party had been in full swing, with funky tunes, good food, dance-offs, and at least one Soul Train line thrown together by Luzia. Sean had the best time he had in a long time, and his guests were enjoying themselves as well. Of course, all good things eventually have to end; thus Garlend and Leon left to go back to their training camp around 3PM, with a promise to link up with Sean and Enzo after the fight. Currently, Sakura and Elena were helping the Matsudas clean up the leftover food and dishes on the backyard table.

"Thanks again for letting us hang around on such short notice," Elena said gratefully to the jiujiteiro as she helped Laura gather up some of dishes.

"No worries! You two are more than welcome to visit," Laura replied with a smile. "You're always welcome in our home. I know first hand how Karin can act, so I don't blame you two for leaving."

"Honestly, I wanted to kick her head off today," Elena admitted shamefully. "And I probably would have, if Sakura didn't stop me."

Laura shook her head. "You can't be faulted for that."

"Still, that's not in my nature," Elena replied. "I agree, my anger was righteous, but I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me like that."

Laura patted Elena on the back gently. "Listen, even the nicest people have their breaking points, and what she said and did was messed up," she said. "I'm not saying violence is the solution at all, far from it. But when you say some seriously fucked up stuff to someone like she did, you can't cry foul if someone responds by cracking you on the spot."

"I guess," Elena murmured, still unsure about herself. She tried to be a positive influence, even in tough situations; so letting herself slip into anger, even justified anger, was a sign of weakness.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Enzo interjected as he carried a stack of chairs. "Kanzuki deserves to be knocked down a peg or two, but if me and Sean had cooler heads last night, none of us would be caught up in all this mess."

"And we wouldn't be shackled to the shop for the summer," Sean groaned, also carrying a stack of chairs. "Of all times for me to finally unlock my inner strength, it had to be right then."

"At least they won't be so quick to piss you off next time," Enzo said. "Goes to show that your training's paying off."

"And that I'm gonna be paying off that hole for years to come," Sean replied sardonically. He and Enzo walked over to the backyard patio, and set the chairs down near the windows. "Anyways, what're we all gonna do 'til the arena doors open? We're grounded, but we got too much time to kill until then."

"Good question," Enzo said, scratching the back of his head. Unfortunately, as he did so, the musk from his armpits wafted into his nostrils. The strength of the stench was enough to cause him to stumble back a couple feet in a brief stupor, before catching himself.

"Buurrhhh, goddamn! I think a shower is in order before we do anything else!" He waved his hand in front of his face, trying to push the stench of his body odor away.