MUGEN Voltage

Ch. 4: El Diablo del Pilar

SATURDAY
-Arcade 1:10 PM-

During weekends, when there's not much else to do outside, Kouya usually spends his time and money at the local arcade to play a couple of rounds with his favorite fighting game, Fighting Champions IX. Sometimes he is able to pull off a lucky win. Most of the time...

"Augh, dammit! Lost again..." Said Kouya. "That was my last token, even!"

"Tch, that player got me reeeeal good. Must be a veteran or something." Kouya continued. "Ah, well. At the very least, I had a good match."

Kouya then leaves his seat and walks away. Meanwhile on the other side of the back-to-back cabinet that Kouya played on... was a kid, no less in his pre-teens, who was breezing through the game simply by mashing buttons.

-Streets 1:11 PM-

After his stint at the arcade, Kouya comes back to the streets, walking around town, when he stumbles upon Risa Himawari. Risa notices Kouya's pockets were turned over, much to his chagrin.

"So, got bodied at the arcade again, huh?" Said Risa.

"... Yeah..." Kouya replied, hanging his head in shame.

"Ahahahaha! Well, maybe you should've played alongside me!" Said Risa. "Maybe then I would would have scored a few more wins for you."

"Hmph... as if you even know how to play." Kouya replied.

"You fool. I'll have you know that I'm actually a prolific master of that game!" Said Risa, pulling out a small piece of paper from her pocket with what appears to be a move list written on it. "I've managed to know all the characters' special moves and combos. Ryuga, Kevin, Ling-Fang... you name it, I could play them all!"

"As a matter of fact, I have a couple of tokens with me right now." Risa continued, as she grins and winks. "How about a couple of rounds?"

"Nah, that'd just be a waste of time." Kouya replied. "Maybe tomorrow or something..."

Furious that Kouya refused her little challenge, Risa pouts and folds her arms together.

"Hmph! You're just afraid to lose to a girl, now do ya?" Said Risa, arms folded while turning away from Kouya.

"No, really. I have something else to do today." Kouya replied.

"Psh. And what could that 'something' be?" Said Risa.

"One of my dreams has always been to start a gang of Irregulars with a bunch of others." Kouya replied. "But instead of being nuisances, we would act as crime fighters. Solving crimes and kicking bad guy butt, like in all those manga!"

"I even came up with a name!" Kouya continued. "I'll name it... 'Mugen'."

"Mugen, huh... the Japanese word for infinity?" Said Risa. "That's a neat little name for our would-be gang."

"But how do we start recruiting? Who do we pick?" Risa continued. "Who do you think would join our little gang?"

Kouya went silent for a while, before eventually speaking.

"... Say, Risa." Said Kouya. "Ever heard of 'El Diablo del Pilar'?"

Risa was surprised at what Kouya had just said.

"El Diablo... del Pilar?" Said Risa.

"He's a fearsome delinquent Irregular known for his fearsome fighting skills and stone-based PSI." Kouya replied. "Rumors say that he's right here in Shin-Majima right now."

"Okay... assuming that this Dee Yeah Blow dude actually is in Shin-Majima." Said Risa. "Why exactly would you go after him? For what purpose? Seems to me like you're asking for a death wish."