Yumi continued her commentary with enthusiasm. "Okay! So the first match in the semi-finals is a big showdown between Tokyo representatives! They already faced off once in the Tokyo Batch One final—Hayabusa vs. MuSho! Who will win this time!?"
MuSho (Yoko) and Hayabusa (Endo) approached the stage, shook hands, and took their seats at the arcade machines.
Yoko had been preparing for this moment. She had a secret weapon in mind to counter Endo's ultra-aggressive Ken: Dhalsim. The audience murmured—there was indeed a way for Dhalsim to counter Ken, though it depended heavily on the player.
Hmph, go on, choose Ken. I trained for this, Yoko thought. Since her loss in the Tokyo final, she had trained relentlessly against Ken players in arcades. Even though none of them were as skilled as Endo, her win rate using Dhalsim against Ken had reached 100%. She was confident that her trick could defeat Endo Ken!
But Endo surprised everyone—he didn't pick Ken. He picked Guile.
Yoko's confidence wavered, her face was pale and She had never faced Endo's Guile. Yoko thought, What...? Why is he using Guile!? Why not Ken!?
Yumi, ever lively, announced, "Oho!? Both participants are using characters they've never selected in this tournament before! Interesting!"
Caught off guard, Yoko found herself overwhelmed. Endo's playstyle with Guile was unpredictable. He mixed zoning and aggression flawlessly, tossing Sonic Booms and then suddenly rushing in. She panicked and couldn't adapt. She didn't know how to handle Endo's Guile and ended up losing 3-0.
Yumi shouted, "Ohh! What a match! Hayabusa really dominated MuSho—maybe because she wasn't expecting that Guile pick."
It was a clear mental defeat. Yoko, still young, struggled when things didn't go her way. Endo shook her hand and said, "Good fight." Yoko shook his hand quietly, holding back tears, earning sympathy from Endo and the crowd.
Yumi quickly shifted the atmosphere. "It's okay, MuSho! There's always next time! Anyway, let's move on to the next match—Ougi vs. Riri!"
This time, the matchup favored Ougi. Vega struggled against Blanka, and Ougi exploited this. His timing with Electric Thunder and Rolling Attacks left Riri defenseless. She lost 3-0.
Yumi declared, "Another overwhelming victory! And now, we're heading to the final: Tokyo vs. Osaka! Hayabusa vs. Ougi—who will win!?"
As both players took their places, Ougi picked Blanka, as expected. Hayabusa stuck with Guile. Yumi exclaimed, "Ohh, Guile again!"
Then the match started. The match was insane. Ougi was efficient as always, looking for counters, but Hayabusa played without rhythm. Sometimes he was really aggressive, then, just when Ougi expected another rush, Hayabusa would retreat and fight from a distance with careful precision. This made Ougi sweat bullets.
Ougi thought, Damn! This guy is really insane! Even Zaboru was impressed by the way Hayabusa—Endo—played. But Zaboru knew the truth: Endo is reading Ougi like a book.
Ougi always believed he was the one who read his opponents' moves, but it never occurred to him that someone might be studying his own habits just as closely. That's exactly what Endo had done. Even so, Ougi proved his strength as a true gamer—managing to catch Endo off guard at key moments and pushing the match to a 2-2 tie.
In the final round, Hayabusa did something strange—he began spamming Sonic Booms like newbie Guile.
"What is this? Hayabusa is spamming Sonic Booms?" the audience was confused.
As Ougi tried to punish with a Rolling Attack, Hayabusa jumped—anticipating it perfectly—and unleashed a full combo, depleting Ougi's health bar. He had clearly baited Ougi into making a mistake. What a play!
Hayabusa won.
"Ladies and gentlemen! We have a winner! The champion of ZAGE E-Sport Street Fighter 1993 is Hayabusa!"
The crowd erupted. Zaboru stepped onto the stage to hand out prizes: 100,000 yen for semi-finalists, 200,000 yen for the finalist, and 500,000 yen for the winner. The reward stunned the audience—many began dreaming of their own path to prize money.
Endo was ecstatic. He had another trophy and a big payout to show his parents. He'd already won the R.C. Pro-Am tournament the previous year and earned 250,000 yen and he can brag to his parents that he is playing games for money!.
Zaboru handed out medals—bronze for the semi-finalists, silver for the finalist, and a golden medal plus a trophy for Endo. Their faces were shown nationwide on TV Tokyo.
Still in his Kaiba outfit and wearing the Z Helmet, Zaboru turned to Endo with a grin. "So, Hayabusa, do you want a chance to win an additional reward like last time?" Zaboru was genuinely impressed with Endo—this guy was truly talented at games. The audience knew it too. In Tokyo, Endo was already recognized as a top-tier player, and even his friends called him the Gamer God.
Endo blinked in surprise. Last time, Zaboru had challenged him to a bonus race in the R.C PRO Am tournament, which Endo lost and failed to receive the extra reward.
"Yes! I want to, please!" Endo said.
Zaboru smiled and addressed the crowd. "Alright, everyone! One more match: me versus the champion! Who's your bet!?"
The audience roared, chanting Zaboru's name. They were clearly excited about this match!
Endo set aside his medal and trophy, stepping up to face Zaboru once more.
This time, I won't lose! he thought. Unlike last time, they were playing Street Fighter—a game Endo was truly confident in. He believed this was his territory, and he was ready to prove it. I wonder what the additional price is? Is it more money? Or something else?
Meanwhile, Zaboru leaned back casually, a smirk on his face. Let's see if I can beat Japan's Street Fighter champion, he mused.
Then the match began.
To be continued
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