Part 36: Street Fight

_{content warning: terminal illness discussion, suicidal ideation}

[BGM: Chasing Me]


That's right, this puzzle relies on fighting game inputs to solve!

If you were paying attention at the start of the letter, we know the fighting game Jimmy is playing is Prince of Fighters '97- which is an expy of the real fighting game franchise King of Fighters. From there, we can also retroactively determine the character his main is parodying- that is, Iori Yagami. The move that Jimmy accidentally uses in the default Bad ending is even referencing one of Yagami's specials in KOF '97, Ura 108 Shiki Ya Sakazuki I wonder if any of the other combinations reference Yagami's movelist? Let's find out.



There's obviously only one non-Bad ending to get here, so we'll just quickly run through the list of other wrong inputs, just for fun.



Yogami stepped forward, leapt high into the air and slammed Kosanagi onto the ground.
------ Special Move: 127 Shiki Aoi Hana Three.

Oh crap, that was the wrong move!
Once the opponent was knocked onto the ground the combo was terminated.
But ending the combo with a special move was not powerful enough to K.O. him.
I quickly readjusted the joystick, ready to follow up with a Yomi Barai to hinder his movement from a distance.
However, my momentary hesitation had already decided the result of the game.
Oh shit!

The punk kid smiled behind his glasses.
While I was still moving the joystick in preparation of the next move and unable to defend myself, Kosanagi jumped on top of me and hit me right in the face.

Kosanagi then kicked me into the air. Raging fire erupted in his right hand as he held it high. It then turned into a devouring firebomb while I was staring in shock; it blew Yogami into the sky.

[K.O.]

As Yogami kept flying upwards on the screen, my heart was sinking all the way into the ground.
I lost. My prize... gone.



The move being referenced in this bad ending is 127 Shiki Aobana.



Onto the next one.



An energy wave burst off of the ground and blasted towards Kosanagi.
Special Move: 108 Shiki Yomi Barai.

Oh crap, that was the wrong move!
Kosanagi was still in midair, but I mistakenly launched a shockwave that crawled along the ground.
The wave went right below Kosanagi and completley missed him.
Before the attack dissipated, Kosanagi quickly airteched and dashed towards me.
I hastily readjusted my joystick, trying to change into an Akai Hana to deter his aggression.
However, my momentary hestitation had already decided the result of the game.

The punk kid smiled behind his glasses.
My move was too slow to stop my opponent, who had already leapt into the air.

Kosanagi jumped on top of me and hit me right in the face.
Kosanagi then kicked me into the air. Raging fire erupted in his right hand as he held it high. It then turned into a devouring firebomb while I was staring in shock; it blew Yogami into the sky.

[K.O.]

As Yogami kept flying upwards on the screen, my heart was sinking all the way into the ground.
I lost. My prize... gone.



In this bad ending, the move being referenced is 108 Shiki Yami Barai.



There's one more Bad ending left.



“Hey!”
Yogami only threw a hard punch.
Kosanagi jumped backwards and casually dodged the attack.

Wait, where was my Desperation Move?
I froze. The announcers froze. Even the audience froze.
I completely panicked. I couldn't even remember what to do anymore, and I just kept mashing at the joystick and the buttons.

The punk kid smiled behind his glasses.
While I was totally disoriented, Kosanagi jumped on top of me and hit me right in the face.

Kosanagi then kicked me into the air. Raging fire erupted in his right hand as he held it high. It then turned into a devouring firebomb while I was staring in shock; it blew Yogami into the sky.

[K.O.]

As Yogami kept flying upwards on the screen, my heart was sinking all the way into the ground.
I lost. My prize... gone.



In fighting games like this one, combos usually END with the punch input, not start. Whoops! In any case, let's put the right input in finally.





Yogami's hands morphed into a blur. He grabbed Kosanagi in the air and slammed him onto the ground. His attacks, fueled with every last drop of his power, washed over his opponent like an unstoppable waterfall. Kosanagi couldn't even hold his posture anymore.
Desperation Move: Kin 1211 Shiki Yo Otome

[K.O.]

[BGM: Silence]


Yes!
Three months of expenses!
See how it's done, you little punk?!

[BGM: Getting Serious]


After the ceremony, I was about to duck out of the arcade quietly, when the punk kid suddenly blocked my way.
“What? You want to look for a real fight now? Don't you know my fame of beating up both a senior home and a kindergarten on the same day?” I quietly thought to myself.

“Congratulations, mister! I bought you this newspaper as a special gift to you!”

I took the newspaper. It was some random tabloid.
Cover page, headline:
[Despicable! Hong Kong Youth Molests Child In The Street?!]
What the hell was this?!



Several months ago, I had beaten up the little punk “Primary School Killer” pretty badly in another casual tournament.
Then, a few days later an article began circulating on the Internet about me taking off my pants on the street and mooning some little kid. There was even a picture to go with it!
Yet, whether you judged it by the shape or by the percentage of body fat, that was not my butt in the picture!

And the funny thing was, when I tried to remove the censor boxes from the picture through some technical magic, I realized that the “kid” in the picture was exactly this little punk!

When had I ever taken a picture with him?
Besides, what kind of twisted mind would make up such a gross and embarrassing idea in the first place, not to mention actually going through the trouble of faking a picture?

Afterwards, I had to hack a dozen websites to delete all of the related articles.
And now you had it printed on paper?! 凸(` 皿 ´ )
I didn't know who was more 'despicable' in this whole ordeal.
In any case, the more 'despicable' the story was, the faster it traveled. People would always believe this kind of garbage.



People in the arcade were starting to stare at me.
I knew they had not just come here for the tournament today.
What? Did you expect me to tear the paper into pieces and make a scene?
Screw you, you little punk. I stuffed the newspaper into the bag with my prize and walked out of the arcade.

[BGM: Life is Good]


It was drizzling outside.
Life is Good was playing in my headphones.

I decided to not take a cab and just walked back to the apartment.
I bumped into a few people, but nobody gave me any trouble or even a second look.

Yeah. Why bother myself with other people's opinions?
This was MY life. The one that I had always wanted.



The real move that Jimmy needed to win was parodying Kin 1211 Shiki Yaotome, for the record.

…

[BGM: New Life]




…

[BGM: Broken Dream 1]


The Final Goodbye

I sat in the exam room of the hospital. My fingers kept tapping my knees.
Maybe it was because of my past experiences, but any time I had to deal with a hospital I would always worry about the worst outcome.

After a long while, the doctor finally came in.
He closed the door and sat down in front of me.
My hands clenched into fists.

He opened the test results and read through them.
Then he looked up from the document and stared at me.



“Your...”
“Ah, I meant... what is your relationship with her?”
“... The diagnosis is stomach cancer.”

I was stunned. It really was the worst outcome.
I couldn't believe it.

I couldn't really remember what the doctor had said afterwards.

I took the test results and went back to the patient's room.
I looked at her, still sound asleep. I wondered if she would just keep sleeping like this.
Maybe she would never wake up again.



Yang Ying had told me her story.
She had been all alone, with no family for a long time, just like me.
And now with this diagnosis she would have to deal with this all by herself.

I could see her bright eyes looking into mine in the flickering candle lights.
I crumpled the test results in my hands.

Wen Zhaoren



Well... that's a hell of a tone shift, huh. And it's obvious who's the one in the hospital bed, too. ...As if that wasn't enough, there's only one other solution to this puzzle- no fucking around for this one. ...And, while it's the 'S' ending...



…all it entails is changing who the diagnosis is for.

[BGM: Whispered Feeling]


I sat on the steps of the hospital, stunned.
I thought the doctor was going to tell me about her condition, but he had given me the test results from my previous hospital stay.

About a month ago I had been in a fight with someone.
I had been a little rusty and too hot headed, and one of my ribs was broken. I had to ask for sick leave from the school because I had to stay in the hospital for a while.

The doctor was very attentive.
After I recovered he suggested that I get a full physical.
I realized that I hadn't had a physical for a long time, so I thought I might as well get one.

Little did I know that I would be getting such a “surprise”.



It had gone dark outside now.
I picked up the test results, got up, and went back to the patient's room.

The nurse must have just taken her temperature, as I saw Li Wen's hands hanging outside of the sheets; her collar was messed up.
I carefully tucked her hands back under the sheets, trying to not wake her up.
She seemed to be dreaming. She suddenly turned her face to the side and mumbled something.

Her face was only inches away from mine.
I couldn't move for a second, and I remembered what had happened the day I fainted in my apartment.

Even though my heart had stopped, and I hadn't been breathing, I had been conscious.
I felt someone pressing my chest.
I felt someone yelling my name.



I knew it was her, but I couldn't move at all.
No, actually I could.
But I was thinking, perhaps I could just let go, and all of this would be over.

However, when I heard her crying, my heart suddenly bounced.
I opened my eyes with all the strength I had, and I saw her sobbing uncontrollably.
Why would she care so much about someone whom she barely knew?
Why?

And I suddenly realized the reason, why I had cared about her so much.
We were just like each other.
We... must have similar pasts.



My strength started coming back to my body.
I grabbed her hand as soon as I could, just so that I could “tell” her

I was okay.

I didn't want to see her sad.

A buzz from my cellphone pulled me back from my thoughts. I had a text message.
I walked out of the room, leaned on the wall in the hallway and opened my inbox.
It was from Yang Ying. She had received my texts about my condition, and she wanted to see me at the coffee house later.

I pressed the delete button.
It had been a habit of mine for a very long time. I always deleted my texts as soon as I read them. I would always get annoyed if I had too many texts in my inbox.
There were four other texts left in the inbox.



[It's raining. Remember to bring an umbrella with you if you are heading out, Mr. Wen.]

Deleted.



[There is a book signing at the west entrance right now! I just bought an art collection book! I think it's going to be sold out soon. Mr. Wen, would you like me to buy you a copy?]

Deleted.



[The art show today is really cool! Thank you so much for the ticket, Mr. Wen! I'm in the gift shop near the north entrance right now. They have a lot of cute little things here. Are you coming today too, Mr. Wen?]

Deleted.



[Mr. Wen, I'm about to head back. Thank you again.]

...Deleted.



…

[BGM: New Life]




***

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