Description: Girl verses beast, Mentor verses Monster, not even the participants of this Day 3 MAIN EVENT of SLAMFEST 2014 have any idea what is in store this match!
Being here at all is, to say the least, a bewildering experience for the Futaba heiress. For almost six months since her sixteenth birthday, she was struggling to get a chance in the world of fighting. Finally she had the remarkable chance to substitute for another rookie fighter who had dropped out of a venue at Howard Arena in her debut bout against one Haru Sakuraba... She hoped to make a good enough impression that other opportunities would open up in the future. The match was nailbitingly close, but it gave her a chance to show off the acrobatic talents she had developed in her years of preparing for the path she had dedicated her life to.
What she didn't expect was the immediate reaction her appearance in the fighting world sparked. With a story that easily tugged at heartstrings, a perky, immediately memorable pig-tailed hairstyle, and an impressively flashy, active fighting style for a new fighter, Hotaru became immediately noticed. A post match interview with the adorable orphan where she made a heartfelt appeal to anyone who might know where her brother might be, only furthered the momentum her brand new fighting career had. She was certain to get invited to something again soon, she was certain.
When that next invitation was, of all things, the SLAMFEST 2014 event that had been the most hyped fighting event since World Warrior, she was extremely surprised. When the fight card described her match as a Main Event for Day 3 of SLAMFEST, the rookie fighter was completely blown away! The fight card simply said she would be facing someone named Kuma and that the name of the heralded event was 'BEAR KING BAD.' That's quite the psuedoname, she had thought at the time. Would she be going up against the famous wrestler, Raiden??
The airplane flight to the island was her first time out of Japan. The first night of SLAMs was an incredible sight to behold as simply a member of the audience. The second night was also unlike anything she had ever been a personal witness as well, though she couldn't shake that nagging worry as she started to see actual, live bears involved in escalating the events to the most ridiculous degree possible. What was that about her opponent's name of Kuma again...?
But now it's the third night. Like both nights before, the stadium has been a hive of activity. A number of events have played out on the arena while Hotaru has waited in the backstage preparation rooms provided to participants. It was like Howard Arena all over again, but even MORE pressure, knowing she was to be a part of the night's Main Event. All expectations of a quality, adrenaline pumping match would be on her. A disappointed crowd would hurt her future opportunities!
An event staff comes to get her. It's time to make her appearance. A few words of encouragement are offered the nervous looking girl as she moves down the hall toward the entrance to the grandiose arena itself but she can't really hear them above the noise of the arena above and beyond. She clenches her right hand into a fist, pressing her left hand over it, trying to force the temble in her arms.
Floor shakingly loud music is playing. Blue and white spot lights sweeping over to the side she's to enter from. This is it. A pat on her upper back is her cue to go and with that, Hotaru Futaba strides forward out of the door. Arms raised, hands waving, she half sprints, half skips down the aisle toward the impressive stage. Her face is beaming, her heart beating so fast she can feel it pounding in her chest.
"The Brave Orphan from Southtown, HOTARU FUTABA!!"
That's her name over the loud speakers. She leaps up into the arena, hand gripping the top rope to bring herself down just inside of her side of the large ring. The cheering is deafening and it's hard to keep from being completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the spectacle of it all. Anxious eyes shift to focusing at the entryway on the far side of the ring. This will be her first time getting a look at this Kuma guy... h-he... he isn't actually a bear, right? That was just a gimmick for last night, y-yes?
COMBATSYS: [Halestorm - Rock Show] It looks like they held nothing back for the new fighter. Powerful rock music fills the arena as Hotaru steps up. "Little girl, you like it loud, / Come alive in the middle of a crowd, / You wanna scream, you wanna shout / Get excited when the lights go down.. / At the rock show, / You'll be right in the front row / Heart and soul, they both know / It's where you gotta be..." HOTARU FUTABA is ready to SLAM!
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
Normally, Heihachi takes little interest in tournaments. Decades ago he went through those proving grounds, and has no need to confirm to the world his station as one of the mightiest beings to ever live. But the idea of a SLAMMASTERS event is something else entirely. This is a true opportunity, to finally show the world... the one Mishima of which he is most proud, who has lived up to every expectation as he was hand raised with love and affection from a baby...
That person is Kuma, of course.
It took some physical convincing before the SLAM abilities of the bear was accepted, of course. Progress is always painful at the start. But a venue had been booked, although Heihachi threatening to fight himself likely made a savage bear seem like a much better option in comparison.
A private jet owned by the Zaibatsu was the method of conveyance for Kuma and Heihachi, touching down the day before and preparing themselves for the fight to come with a savage wrestling that destroyed two floors in their private hotel. Within their own personal room, Heihachi is holding up his hands, as the utterly massive Kuma swipes his paws at them like a boxer warming up.
Slash! Slash slash!
"Remember what I taught you, Kuma. Go for the throat and underbelly. Use your teeth on the jugular. And when you get a chance, crush the skull with your teeth!"
A warbling sound and look of shocked horror from Kuma follows, before Heihachi drops his arms and lets out a sigh. "FINE. You don't have to kill and eat her!! GOD. I have enough damn pansies in my family, Kuma!!" He then kicks the bear over, before the announcement comes that it's time to fight...!
The entire stage suddenly goes black, before a single spotlight appears over where the Mishima strides out. Of course, initially attention is on the legendary prong-haired warrior himself. A bucket filled with sundries is held in one hand, large towel swung across impossibly broad shoulders. Each step shows a barely restrained power, as music roars and laser-lights play. Behind him, someone who makes even Hugo seem small strides forward with a strange gait. An oversized robe conceals the hulking form, and a plastic bear mask is atop Kuma's head... concealing the fact he actually /is/ a bear, at least from initial inspecting.
"This is your debut, Kuma!!" Heihachi growls backwards. "We'll make the world acknowledge you, one fight at a time. You're up against... ...I have no idea. Honestly, I didn't care. Not that it matters!!"
They reach the side of the ring, before Kuma suddenly extends his hulking paws from the sleeves. Bladed talons grip the front of his robe, followed by a savage motion that shreds it to tatters that fly around. A reared back head sends the mask flying, before Kuma leaps straight into the air and balls tightly.
He lands upon the ring opposite Hotaru so heavily that a permanent dent thumps down, shaking it wildly enough she might have trouble with her footing. Well over eight feet tall and weighing hundreds of pounds, Kuma is titanic even by the standards of his race. He beats on his chest, before baring monstrous teeth at the little girl, roaring out a spray of spittle.
"Don't forget!!" Heihachi states adjacent to the ring, pounding a fist upon the canvas. "Go for the throat!! It's okay to kill her--OW!!" Kuma suddenly kicks Heihachi right in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Not many people alive could get away with this, but the bear rolls his eyes with an oddly humanoid exasperation before sinking into a loose, upright stance, long arms lolling before him as he sways side to side, huffing out pants and growls.
...Is she really going to fight a /bear?/ Who could fight something THIS big and win?!
COMBATSYS: [Disney - Winnie the Pooh] "Winnie The Pooh, Winnie The Pooh / Chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff / He's Winnie The Pooh, Winnie the Pooh / Willy, nilly, silly old bear..." KUMA is ready to SLAM!
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
...The music continues for a brief time. Kuma looks around, shocked. Before suddenly he ROARS. The sound is so loud that the music warbles and screeches, and the entire roaring crowd goes silence. There's a dull 'click' as the music is immediately turned off in the midst of the chorus. ...Well, now Hotaru is up against a VERY MAD BEAR.
In an ill-advised cross promotion effort, the mysterious woman "ROSE" has appeared at the commentators' table. She's been sipping coffee and classing up the place fractionally as several sweaty men declare things about the fighters and wipe their forehead.
And there's HOTARUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Rose puts her hands together for Hotaru. Her scarf is worn loose around her shoulders, and she's wearing tinted glasses against the harsh lights of the ring. But then the stage goes black, Rose looks over the rims, and...
At first, Rose mistakes it for mere stage presence. A powerful aura, emanating -- but it is in fact a bear.
"This is quite a twist of events. From his appearance, I would say he must be from the Hokkaido grizzlies... this would certainly represent a powerful opponent for Hotaru." Slightly quieter, she adds (if still audible on the commentary track), "It's under control, yes?"
The springiness of the ring beneath her feet feels nice as she bounces lightly on her toes. This is far more welcoming to fall onto than the stone tablets of Howard Arena... a small relief, at least. She decides not to draw her arms up in preparation to fight just yet. She should wait for her opponent to show. He should have his moment in the spotlight before she gets too serious about actually engaging him in combat, afterall.
That almost composed, rational thought is the last thing that goes through her mind before Heihachi Mishima steps into view. Azure eyes widen at the imposing presence of the man. Powerful muscles, pointy hair that refuses to be argued with, and a calm, confident composure that communicates a readiness for this match completely unlike her first public opponent, the nervous boy from Justice High... wait-
That's when she notices the towering form approaching from behind Heihachi. That can't possibly be a man!! This... this is going to hurt a lot! Maybe he will just slam her down and pin her quickly and get this over with, she thinks to herself. No one could possibly expect her to fight such a gigantic wrestler and last for very long!
That's when the- oh no, are those- they wouldn't-
Steel-like talons shread through the robe and reveal her opponent for what he is.
A bear.
Lost in a daze of immediate panic, she only snaps out of the momentary trance when the entire ring is shaken by the landing of the collosal beast. Stumbling back a step, her hand snaps out to grab hold of the rope for support. This has to be some kind of mistake. This isn't a match!!
Complexion paled, blue eyes wide, the young Kung Fu artist stares at Kuma as he occupies a significant portion of the ring simply by standing there. He can practically reach her from anywhere. The heat of his breath is heard across the ring as the martial artist trembles.
Should she run for it? She never thought anything in this world of fighters could be so abjectly terrifying! How could her brother go through something like this-
That's right. Her brother. She had resolved to face any fear, brave any challenge in the professiona fighting world to follow in his footsteps. If he was standing here against this beast, would he be thinking of running away? In her mind's eye, she cannot picture Gato being even the slightest bit afraid. Cowardice would not have been tolerated by their father...
Jaw glenched, hands balled at her sides, she stares at Kuma. She has to face this. Besides... as she watches him act and interact with the man who escorted him ringside, there's a certain sentience there... an awareness that seems impossible. The quizzical look on the bear's features seems almost too human at the music playing right now.
Maybe he isn't just a monster-
Wait, what, they picked /that/?
The new roar is even more thundering than the first one and she is forced to bring her hands over her ears to avoid being deafened by the blend if sonic force and bear spittle that washes over her.
A silence washes over the arena as everyone ways to see what happens next as Hotaru lowers her hands from her ears.
"I understand why you would be mad," she speaks up, her quiet voice easy to hear in otherwise silent stadium. "They are not taking you seriously."
She frowns a little, "I feel I can relate..." Someone must have thought putting the young rookie against an eight foot tall bear would be either hilarious or gruesome or both. Either way, she isn't amused.
"I will fight you the best I can, just like any other participant of SLAMfest." Hands press together, hand over fist, as the girl bows her head in Kuma's direction, before she raises her hands, palms forward, lips pressed tightly together.
The GONGA rings, heralding the start of the bout!
The savageness within Kuma's face slowly bleeds away. After Hotaru finishes her pity, Kuma just nods his head in a sombre manner, sulking forward. There's a sense of drive, here. Passion. One not unlike her own. Kuma, too, is attempting to make his mark on the world!! But what sob-story does he have? 'Bears cannot fight' 'Bears are not people' 'Your bear ate his arm', all of these racisms and more oppress him at every turn. But... the heart of a Mishima will not give up!!
Kuma stands fully upright, before crossing one paw over the other and bowing back. Certainly not the action of a feral beast in the slightest! Sliding once more into something that might be construed as 'ready', the large bear then collapses to all fours... before hurtling forward, letting out an incredibly loud snarl that echoes within the ring!!
Tears are in the thick cloth of the ring as he's suddenly in front of Hotaru. A huge arm rears back, swinging forward with bladed talons bared imposingly. This is... well. It looks exactly like someone might imagine a REAL ursine terror swinging a paw. That's not to say that it isn't absolutely dangerous -- but it seems that the opening gambit is thrown by Heihachi's disciple!!
"That's it, Kuma!! Carve her up!! Show her the strength and pride of a true bear!!" He continues to beat his fist on the ring, in a manner that might be more than a little distracting!!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru instinctively dodges Kuma's Strong Claw.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
"What an honorable position for her to take," Rose says, when she gets a general vibe that the bear is apparently under control. Maybe it's animatronic, or well trained for this purpose? She is skeptical that such training is wholly safe, but she is confident that if the animal gets out of hand, Hotaru will be able to escape.
She sounds disapproving even so. This is a farce, in a sense. Or is it? Perhaps, Rose thinks with disapproval, Hotaru is getting 'squashed,' as they say in America.
Rose's eyes cut towards the cheering Heihachi. She frowns. This does not seem like the kind of man who responsibly trains a performing animal.
As if Hotaru wasn't already building a reputation for being irresponsibly adorable, the exchange between child and bear is absolutely not what the packed stadium expected to see when Kuma launched himself into the ring. Her polite bow of respect is returned equally by the ursine SLAMer and the young Kung Fu artist nods her head, eyes on him now.
Her hands snap up, palms forward, assuming her own ready stance in reply to Kuma's. She's really going to do this. She... she can take one swipe, right? She will have to see how bad this really is! The pounding of the mat from the man at the side is distracting on some level, but even worse is what he's encouraging Kuma to do. What kind of monster is he!?
One that is bearing down on her even now, it just so happens. The entire ring shakes as he rushes, shreading the surface of the mat. No wonder they saved this match for the Main Event of the night - they're going to have to do a lot of repairs before tomorrow!!
There are times when training alone can't save one. Having a bear trying to knock you clean out of the ring in a single hit is one of those times. Trusting instincts over prediction, the girl ducks low just in time, strands of hair cut free from the top of her head with how narrowly she avoided the powerful swing. Her feet are spread apart, her arms out at her sides, allowing her to adopt an incredibly low profile against the mat without falling over all together.
The low posture is the perfect springboard for Hotaru to lunge forward. Trapped against the ropes, she needs to get to the other side of him fast. And given how much of the space in front of her is occupied by GIANT BEAR, she sees only one course of action available to her!
Reaching out, the girl tries to get her fingers into his thick, bristly fur in order to secure a tight enough grip to pull herself up and forward, attempting to plant her feet up his body. Normally the technique only requires a few quick steps to reach an opponent's shoulders... but this time, she's got quite the climb! "YA, YA, YA!"
If she makes to the top she'll use his mountainous shoulders to spring off toward Kuma's back, attempting to get behind him into the slightly more open side of the arena!
COMBATSYS: Kuma endures Hotaru's Shinjou Tai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
If it's a question of who the bigger monster is, Heihachi wins by a massive margin. There was a certain measure of restraint in Kuma's swing; he doesn't /actually/ want to hurt the little girl after all. She looks adorable and harmless. What sort of ambassador to bears would he be if...
But she's apparently taking this a good deal more seriously. Scrambled up, feet plant upon Kuma's face before he's launched backwards. His head is jarred heavily, but what begins as a stagger turns into a... roll. Indeed, he is now hurling backwards, before hitting the ropes with Hotaru's momentum bolstering him up. They creak heavily, one bolt half-popping from a turnbuckle...
And then Kuma is launched through the air, coming from above in a streak of brown fur. Descending like some kind of horrible meteor, big enough that the overpowered white lights actually cast a /shadow/ upon Hotaru, he rears back one arm...
Before launching down his right paw at full force. He felt it. Her resolve!! She wishes to fight Kuma?! Who is he to deny it! Were he to connect, she'd likely be utterly flattened upon the mat, a great rush of air and power nearly tangible in the SLAM arena merely from the attempt...
Of course, he's not using any claws this time. Only the relatively harmless pads. That means it would only hurt as much as someone with the sheer power of a grizzly smacking you as hard as possible from above. See? Nice.
"ROOOOAR!!"
"What swift agility! Perhaps Hotaru will be able to tire the creature - oh no!" Rose says, suddenly spiking in concern towards the end as Kuma goes for a brutal smackdown.
Or is it...
A SLAMdown?
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Kuma's Megaton Claw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Hotaru
Climbing over him like someone decided to throw a mountain in her path, Hotaru flips forward down into the ring. No sooner do her feet touch down, however, when a certain springiness in the way the ring floor shudders clues her in that her opponent is currently airborn.
This... is an awful thought.
Whirling around, she doesn't even bother putting up a guard. She has to FIND him first, the muscles in her legs tensing as she gets ready to spring in any way deemed necessary to avoid a gruesome bear'ing. This is definitely the moment the audience has been waiting for - it's do or die for the young fighter who has only a fraction of a second to act.
She risks looking up, well aware that the lights above might blind her for doing so, only to 'luck out' that all the lights are currently being eclipsed by Kuma's body!
A traditional guard is useless against something like this. All she can really do is make her move to avoid being at the dead center of the incredible strike coming her way. Raising her arms, turning her shoulder to the arm, she kicks forward, actually moving /inside/ of Kuma's reach instead of trying to escape all together. The positioning is just enough that instead of bearing the full front of the crushing impact, only his mighty arm smothers her! The weight alone is enough to nearly flatten her, her shoulder and legs suffering the most from the furry limb's landing.
Of course, this leaves her right in tight next to Kuma. The only choice she really has is to try and kick her way out from him and get some distance. Drawing her leg up, she plants her foot forward, attempting to kick against Kuma's haunch with enough force that she can backflip just outside of his reach and begin the game of cat and mouse once more!
COMBATSYS: Kuma blocks Hotaru's Koushuu Da.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
There's a sudden shift, and Hotaru would find herself on the utterly bizarre end of... yes, Kuma just defended himself. One arm thrust inwards, and her foot found his elbow. It feels exactly like she'd imagine kicking a bear, which is a lot of dense muscle and lack of doing anything at all. His short leg sweeps forward, and as Hotaru launches herself backwards, the battle rages with a swift, but brutal-seeming counter-attack. Kuma's head suddenly snaps up -- she may have maneuvered in a manner to evade strikes of paw, but the trajectory of his powerful neck is another thing entirely. His teeth attempt to snap shut on Hotaru's calve, so he can shake her around with a growl before twisting to hurl her in the direction of the turnbuckle!!
"Yes!! Do it, Kuma! Kill her!!" Heihachi begins to whoop, like someone in the midst of a gladiator match. Of course, only Hotaru is likely fully aware... he's not actually using his teeth. Gums have folded over imposing incisors, and although it would certainly hurt like hell, not a drop of blood could possibly be shed one way or another!
COMBATSYS: Kuma knocks away Hotaru with Aggressive Bite.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Rose watches with her teeth digging into her lip as Hotaru keeps moving. Maybe this will end well despite the actions of the bear's handler. Perhaps they'll come out of this with a story of this ridiculous but amusingly quaint outcome. Perhaps -
'Do it, Kuma! Kill her!!'
Rose reaches up to take off her earpiece.
"What're you doin', we still got this going live!" says one of the sweaty men, to Rose.
"I am not going to sit here and watch a trained bear eat the limbs of an innocent young woman," Rose states. As she puts the mike down, takes off the waist unit, and picks up her coffee, she says to herself, "I cannot believe this is even a question in dispute..."
She hesitates for a moment as she returns to her full stature, standing upright for the first time in several hours. Is this wise? Is this a good way to interfere in things? Or is she simply going to paint a massive target on everything - draw the attention of HIM, or his agents, whom silence might have let come forth?
On the other hand she could sit there and watch a girl get her leg chewed off. Rose is not quite able to suss out that Kuma is lacking in his killing intent, being unfamiliar with the evil (or lack thereof) that lurks in the souls of bears.
She takes a step up onto the announcer's table, which creaks precariously, still holding her paper cup of coffee. One of the sweaty men cranes his head up on reflex--
Rose kicks off, smashing through the thin wood and reaching out with her free hand to grasp hold of the upper rope of the ring and pull herself in. "Hoi!" she shouts at the bear, whistling and raising her free hand up, snapping her fingers at it. "You!"
Her head pivots to glare daggers at Heihachi, as if to transmit through mysterious power, 'this is your fault.' It's brief, though - then she turns back to the bear. "Come here! Don't bite her, now!" Her fingers continue to snap provocatively. Her scarf whips past behind her, rustling in the breeze of the arena.
COMBATSYS: [Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket] She's got that certain kind of a walk. No nonsense, all business. Her theme music seems to back her up on this. "I want a girl with a mind like a diamond / I want a girl who knows what's best / I want a girl with shoes that cut / And eyes that burn like cigarettes!" Get ready, boys, ROSE is ready to SLAM!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Rose focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
That he defends himself... like a martial artist... is just an indicator to her how much he too has prepared for this match. But the human-like movement does make it seem like she's fighting another person which leads to making certain assumptions about what he will or will not do moment to moment in a fight.
Which is why she completely discounts the bear's maw - an unfortunate lapse in judgement when FIGHTING A BEAR.
His movements are swift enough that she can't twist out of the path of his jaws in time as he snaps out for the girl's trailing foot. Eyes widen as she finds herself caught and then swung around by her leg. Arms flailing, there's nothing to grab hold of, so she takes to trying to kick at his nose with her other foot to no avail.
The jarring, body stressing ordeal ends with her getting hurled in a spinning flihgt through the air before crashing against the turn buckle "Ggh," the girl gasps as she crumples forward against the padded post - thank goodness for that at least - hand pressed against it for support. Her hip hurts, her knee hurts, her side hurts, her ankle hurts... but as she glances down she notices a surprising lack of teeth marks dug into her skin, and no blood whatsoever to mar her white pants.
Pushing herself up and stepping on her wounded leg gingerly, Hotaru whirls around to take stock of the situation, all the while Heihachi's words ring in her ears in spite the difficulty she's having hearing anything at all. A narrow glare is cast the old enterpreneur's direction before she looks back toward the bear she's sharing this all-too-small ring with. It would be easy to slip out now and make a run for it. It would be shameful, but even the most hardened critic could hardly blame her for it, right?
The thought that her brother might see or know is enough to shatter any thought of flight, however, the girl whipping around, jaw set, face flushed with pain from the bear's mighty technique. She's still in this to fight!
First, she needs to keep him away, to buy herself time. Leaning back against the turnbuckle, the girl snaps her right arm out and behind her back a little, azure chi surging along her limb before she steps forward, swinging her arm out from behind, pressing a surging sphere of concussive blue force in Kuma's direction. It might slow the mighty bear down long enough for her to clear her head and figure out how to adjust to the fact that he's got jaws to worry about as well!
"YAA!"
It is only after she lets the projectile fly that she becomes aware of having been joined in the arena by a third. It isn't the miserable old man but rather a stunningly elegant woman. What is she doing here? Is this part of the SLAMFEST 2014's antics? She knew things could be hard to predict around here, but she didn't expect something like this. Everything is happening so fast, it can be hard for the young fighter to take it all in!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kuma with Hakki Shou EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Kuma lets out another imposing snarl, bringing up his arms and looking absolutely terrifying no matter how conservative one's viewpoints are. Looming up higher, beating his chest like some kind of gorilla... although even the greatest of apes would be like an insect beside him! Only for him to find that a burst of chi is now launching towards him...!
It's a mild mistake to think you can get distance on someone like Kuma. No; he is struck dead on, but only barely staggers backwards. He's already dropped into a crouch, resting his weight on his rear legs. And then there's a sudden SPRING, as his coiled muscles launch him forward. Both paws extend towards Hotaru's midsection... with the aim being to impact her dead center, and take her all the way across the ring to the opposite turnbuckle!!
Whether she's bisected between the horribly bent piece of metal or not is an important question, but Kuma as well gets distracted when Rose enters the ring. But what she sees is not a wild beast, but a look of horrified surprise. Kuma turns his back to Hotaru, lifting up his paws and waving them in a frantic manner as gibberish comes out. What's he...?
Wait. He's not looking at Rose. He's looking at...
Standing tall on the turnbuckle opposite is Heihachi Mishima. His long towel flutters like a scarf beside him, seeming to have no issues balancing his own iron frame. "YOU DARE INTERVENE IN A SANCTIONED DEBUT MATCH WITH MY DEAR, SWEET KUMA?! HE'D NOT HURT A FLY!!" Says the guy trying to get him to kill Hotaru! ...Multiple times.
"BY THE SWOLE LAWS OF SLAM, I CHALLENGE YOU, PLEBIAN WHORE!!"
And then Heihachi flexes in a bright CRACK of lightning. His shirt and pants /both/ explode, leaving only a brown thong with a cartoon rendition of Kuma's face upon it. Even at his age, nobody could say that he isn't built to match a Greek adonis of old. Despite the lack of mass, his densely built frame seems somehow even more terrifying to impose than Kuma... and Hotaru might feel an absolutely overwhelming wave of chi rush across. Static sets hair standing on end, Kuma puffing up in a comical fashion. Crackles of visible lightning run along the ropes, as Heihachi crouches down like an olympic diver.
And then he hurtles himself into the air. One, two, THREE meters high. And then he descends like the hammer of the Gods, thrusting out his right arm in an attempt to catch Rose by the throat and SLAM her down into the middle of the ring, amidst a thunderous burst of lightning!!
COMBATSYS: [Quad City DJs - Space Jam] And then a powerful beat fills the arena. "Come on and SLAM! / And welcome to the JAM! / Come on and SLAM! / IF you wanna JAM!" It turns out, Heihachi's heard a little bit about this SLAMFEST thing. Arriving in his unique Mishima SLAM hachimaki, he's dictated terms to the soundtrack coordinators. Like no other before or after him, HEIHACHI MISHIMA is ready to SLAM!
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Kuma's Hunting Spear.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Medium Lariat from Heihachi with Irish Whip.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Rose gives Hotaru a slightly rueful smile as she lands, but her attention is on the bear.
In a moment, Rose reaches out - and she can sense within Kuma's heart is only a certain sort of rugged individualism, the sort of strength a bear needs to get ahead in this world of acid rain and ozone depletion and income taxes and Bisoncare. In that moment, Rose realizes that Kuma is not truly her enemy...
But rather that her enemy is behind her.
Rose pivots on her heel and points an index finger accusingly towards Heihachi. "You're bringing this poor creature here, and then telling him to slay and mutilate." (Him, now, not it. Empathy! Sympathy! These are the hallmarks of the soul!) "I accept your challenge, you uncouth man!"
His clothes blow off. Rose's eyebrows lift in astonishment. Her hair ripples outwards, already inclined towards certain patterns - and then she advances forwards to try and capture that intended arm bar.
BUT...
Hesitance to tip her hand, to reveal Soul Power, gets in her way, as does the coffee in her hand! Self doubt and hesitance are always lethal to decisive action, but perhaps sheer ridiculous super-powers would have saved Rose. But no - critical to this failure... was the coffee.
Rose manages to get her hand up enough to spare herself throat-slamming. Instead, Heihachi's brutal armbar SMASHES the coffee out with a burst of latte-infused deliciousness, the double milk peppermint mixture from the Starbucks out in the food court bursting over Rose's face and upper chest even as he himself calls down the thunder with a rattling, cracking boom!
Rose hits the ring floor, bounces once like a freshly landed mackinaw trout, and comes upwards again - landing, by some ridiculous mischance, on her feet again. Splayed out as they are, she has to rest one hand on the side of her head, pushing past the tension and steadying herself. In short, Hotaru should not count on being aided in her quest to not be eaten by a bear (or Heihachi) for a moment.
Hotaru's fierce projectile splashes against the powerful chest of her opponent mid-roar. Perhaps he underestimated her ability to attack him from by the turnbuckle. Or did he discount the magnitude of her chi strike's potential? Either way, the azure sphere dissipates after impact, leaving no scorch mark or flames like so many chi attacks are wont to do.
If she thought it was going to get him to back off, however, she was horribly mistaken, as the formidable opponent is upon her in almost an instant. The turnbuckle at her back ends up being her salvation, as the girl springs back on it and then takes to the air in an extremely high jump up and over the surging bear. Arms raised, she comes down to land in the opposite corner, knees bending to absorb the impact a little as she whirls around, eager to figure out what is going on with the new figure in the ring. Who is she? Is she here to help?
As the ringing in her ears finally subsides, she realizes Rose is attempting to draw Kuma off of her. The feeling of relief that washes over her is almost shameful, she realizes. She shouldn't be so glad to have her opponent distracted by another, but with every moment in the ring feeling like a life and death struggle to survive, she can't hold it against herself TOO much.
The issue is the fourth to enter the ring. Eyes flick to Heihachi as he lands atop the turnbuckle of the far corner. What she sees has her wishing even more to back out of the ring all together. While Kuma might tower over the man by a lot, there is, in an instant, no doubt in her mind who the greater threat is. Reaching out, she grabs hold of the rope for support as her legs tremble and refuse to move. W-what is even going on here? Why is this impossible man in the ring?
It is in a daze that she watches him ascend then dive for the woman who is trying to save her a fierce bear'ing. The shockwave that rushes over the ring has her drop to one knee, teeth grit as she struggles to stay conscious in the overwhelming presence of the head of the Mishima's.
Gulping, Hotaru pulls herself back up to standing just in time to see Rose getting bounced off the ring floor. At least it has some give to it...?
Pressing against the turnbuckle, she shows no signs of leaving her corner. Any steps she takes would bring her a step closer to Heihachi Mishima, a man of such incredible power she still can't comprehend it.
Is THIS the power her brother seeks?
She never knew it existed!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Rose
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Slowly, languidly, the coffee-splashed Heihachi rises to his feet. Both arms thrust to the ceiling, and the crowd begins to cheer wildly towards him. Kuma looks distraught, walking towards him with wild gesticulations of his arms. "KUMA, YOU RAT BASTARD, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" Two large hands grasp the grizzly bear... before literally /hefting him overhead./ Hotaru knows very well just what a feat this is, but he seems like some kind of stuffed toy with churning legs to the observers.
And then Heihachi just plain hurls him out of the ring, head over heels, crashing into the announcer's table on his back in a sprawl. Those remaining, trying to follow what's going on, leap away as a result.
"Who do you think you are?!" Heihachi snarls into a microphone. Where'd he get that? The glistening legend walks in a circle about Rose as she moves to get up. He honestly is impressed she took his flying clothesline as well as she did... not many alive would still be in such a good state.
But that's less important, for sure.
"This is MISHIMA'S HOUSE!!" And then Heihachi brings up an elbow, rotating it 360 degrees a single time before dropping down, attempting to slam it into Rose as she attempts to rise and drive her back into the middle of the ring!!
COMBATSYS: Kuma takes no action.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------------=
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Rose
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Heihachi's Audacious Slam.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------------
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rose
> ////////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
"!" Rose stares as Heihachi throws his bear prodigy out of the ring with a single majestic motion of fluid, furious, elderly flesh. Her eyes turn back to the large-handed man, her unusually expressive brows remaining upswept.
"Who I am doesn't matter," she answers, projecting despite her lack of microphone. "You claim to love your ursine prodigy, and then you hurl him aside so callously. You throw him like so much meat, and you try to arrange his introductory battle to be against a girl one-tenth his size!"
Rose puts her hand on her hip. Saucy. "Why did you not find someone nearer to his size -- if it is truly his wish to be a professional fighter!"
"This house -- is a house of challenge!" Rose declares as Heihachi spins around and comes towards her. She raises a leg as Heihachi brings his brutal elbow down, grimacing as she feels that pain ripple through her thigh and doubtless strain several vital layers of precious, precious bodily tissue and fluids, but he's pushing forwards, and that is what counts.
Rose reaches out to pull herself upwards as Heihachi follows through - and what happens comes quick, fluid, and (despite the content) elegant. Her thighs, brutalized and unbrutalized alike, clasp down - hopefully around his head. She slides the glittering yellow cashmere of her scarf forwards...
Like a seatbelt.
With just a little twinkle of something violet-blue-pink she hoists upwards at the same time she falls back. And down. A modified pyramid driver! Can Heihachi's spine endure the pressure!?
From her corner, Hotaru watches as Kuma rushes the executive in a hapless bid to get the man to back out of his match against the young Kung Fu artist. She could tell he was avoiding using his sharp claws, his deadly teeth. It might have been somewhat of a mismatch, but it was their fight and he wanted his second out of here before it got ruined! If that happened, maybe Rose would judge the match fit to continue now that she had seen the nature of Kuma's heart.
But then Heihachi hurls Kuma out of the ring all together and Hotaru gasps. How dare he destroy their honorable fight! "H-hey!" she protests. "Kuma and I were having a fight!"
She stands up a little straighter now, resolve fueled by righteous indignation. Gritting her teeth, the rookie fighter sucks in her breath. She won't leave Rose to fight this tyrant alone.
Pushing off from the turnbuckle, Hotaru bolts toward Heihachi, "You had no right!" She's airborn an instant later, even as Heihachi declares this the arena to be the Mishima's House. She and Rose will see about that!
A forward flip into a sharp dive brings her left knee bearing down toward one of Heihachi's powerful shoulders. If she manages to impact the rock solid muscle with her knee, the girl would swing forward with her right foot as a followup, attempting to plant it off the man's face and backflip away. She knows better than to believe such an attack would be a decisive blow against the monster, but it might help the enigmatic woman fighting him along with her a little?
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Heihachi with Rengeki Shuu.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-------------==
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Heihachi with Brutal Powerbomb.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Okay, things went downhill a little. It's possible to showboat to a self-destructive amount after all, and when Rose manages to survive his follow-up elbow only to find the mysterious girl leg-locking him in a manner most uncomfortable. Struck in the back of the shoulder, Hotaru manages a feat few have done before -- kicking him in the face as he's sent hurtling down, hitting the ring with the utmost in satisfying SLAMS!!
He rolls away in a violent twist, breaking free of Rose with effort -- those thighs may not be Chun-Li level, but they are damn well on the same planet -- before pushing up to his feet. His head is burning and swimming. That's... definitely not chi.
"Stupid girl... seems like I need to demonstrate to you..." Suddenly there's a flash of lightning up Heihachi's legs, swirling and crackling before he gathers it in a clenched fist behind him. "Why I'm the TRUE master of SLAM!!"
Launching himself forward, Heihachi then brings his arm down in the Ultimate Mishima Chop, the sheer power in his muscles greatly amplified as he aims to leverage such down upon Rose with all the excessive force he can bring to bear. Hotaru, at the moment, appears to be forgotten...
But not by Kuma!! They may have had their fight interrupted, but... well. Indeed, it's not finished. A shadow appears above Hotaru, before she might vanish beneath a veritable house of bearmeat, attempting to THUMP her flat beneath him upon the matt, assaulting her with his most potent weapon... going limp and weighing well over half a ton!!
"Roar!! << Our fight's only just beginning!! >>"
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to deflect Lightning Hammer EX from Heihachi with Soul Reflect.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rose
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Kuma successfully hits Hotaru with Power Toss.
- Power hit! -
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Kuma 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Rose
> /////////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>-\1 Hotaru
"Hmh," Rose says tartly. "Any master would behave with more wisdom and less vulgarity --" Hm. That's probably bad.
The lightning that is to say.
Rose is leaning back a little and bringing up her scarf after Heihachi managed to wriggle loose from her lethal thigh lock. The return of the bear is something in the corner of Rose's eyes because she has much larger problems.
"S," Rose begins, but the sibilant note coming from her lips doesn't go far. No: Heihachi's coming down like a ton of bricks. Smashed directly into the chest, Rose's slight lean turns into a toppling backwards, and indeed, she learns the power of SLAM -
When she hits the mat.
She hits it hard enough that one of her shoes flies off, spiralling up into the air as she bounces several more times, on her back, dazed and grimacing and pushing herself up on one elbow. It is a bad place to be. Especially when SLAM is in such profusion.
Having connected with her risky gambit, Hotaru flips back down to land in the ring, injured knee buckling a little as she touches the mat again. Well. At least she got a clean hit on the SLAM Master. But what to do now? She frowns slightly. She should keep trying to help Rose dish out some well deserved SLAM discipline on the phenominal threat that Heihachi manages to be.
But as she makes up her mind and starts to step forward, preparing to launch another aggressive attack on Heihachi, she suddenly feels a sense of impending doom as the lights of the arena are blocked out by a powerfully plumetting mass. She knows, on an instinctual level, what is about to happen, but there's no chance to look up and figure out where to dart to or how to escape her fate. That doesn't stop her from trying, the girl stomping forward with her left foot, hoping against hope to-
*SLAM*
Where Hotaru was a moment ago, a full sized Kuma is now, the young martial artist no where to be seen.
It's any wonder if she's even conscious under there! But Kuma might sense it, that burst of energy, that swell of potential as the thoroughly smothered girl somehow finds a way to twist herself into a positition beneath his body to deliver one powerful, chi-laced kick!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kuma with Tenshou Ranki.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Kuma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Rose
> ////////// ]
|>>>----\-------\0 Hotaru
The entirety of Hotaru's combination from beneath Kuma would be impossible for the audience to figure out. There is a swath of azure chi that blasts out from beneath the mighty bear even if it is barely enough to make him budge slightly. There is, however, a second buildup, an entire hemisphere of sapphire hued chi builing up over the flat, limp bear, golden forks of energy crackling throughout it.
The significant chi bubble grows large enough to encase Kuma in its entirety before it suddenly collapses back down on the ursine brawler, being drawn into the fighter beneath him...
A loud cry from beneath him can be heard over the roar of the incredibly entertained crowd before there is a ring-cratering explosion directly beneath Kuma. Enough to dislodge the bear if he doesn't feel like moving? Probably not... but if the girl he's body slammed on top of has any more attacks like that at her disposal, he might want to reconsider staying there for any longer!!
There's something satisfying about striking someone so hard that the people in the first thirty rows can feel it thrum in their seats. The electricity seeming to dance within the ring continues in full throttle, fingers slowly flexing as Heihachi approaches Rose once more, twisting his neck to the side with a dull *POP!*. "I'm not done with you just yet, girl... so don't be passing out on me!!" He then shifts to catch Rose by the hair, intending to yank her upright with a snarl. With the intent being for both hands to take her forearm, and with an explosive twist, send her hurtling towards the ropes!! This is certainly not fake; even if she lost her feeting, she'd thump into it hard enough to rebound right back towards Heihachi, who slams down into a brutal-looking stance in preparation...
Time for the FINAL SLAM.
As for Kuma, he's got little X's in his eyes after the brutal onslaught is done, mouth frothing lightly before a last explosion sends him clean up and off; Hotaru likely underestimated her own strength, but the smoking bear thumps down a couple meters away with another floor-rattling impact. But slowly, relentlessly, he manages to get back to his feet... and then turns towards Hotaru.
Blackened fur stinks the air, but still Kuma gets up on his hind legs once more. Roaring in a brutal fashion... and then suddenly lunging forward. His right hand strikes down with surprising speed; because it's not MEANT to hit very hard -- a staggering blow to Hotaru's temple as she tries to rise, to make her unable to figure out head from tail...!!
COMBATSYS: Kuma successfully hits Hotaru with Fatal Wind EX.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Rose
> ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Heihachi's Irish Whip.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Rose
> ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Once Hotaru is fully disoriented by the strike, Kuma suddenly twists. He strikes her back and forth, a brutal but short combination of paw-strikes. Once more he keeps his claws retracted... not wanting to actually shred the hapless girl, even if Rose initially failed to notice who the truly poor soul was. And then a final uppercut sends her thumping into the rope, to stumble forward and fall...
Wait... she'd thump against something soft, warm, and fuzzy. How strange!! Until an explosive burst of force impacts her, and sends Hotaru flying back two meters into the turnbuckle.
What just happened might not immediately sink in. Until the horrific odor that permutes the ring settles upon her, and the crowd begins to make horribly unhappy sounds, many fleeing the front lines.
"KUMA!! WHAT THE HELL?!" Heihachi states with a grimace. Well, now NOBODY WINS.
Whew. Lights. That's promising, Hotaru thinks to herself, lying on her back, knees bent, palms in the air from where her arms had served as conduits for an incredible compression of chi force applied to the underside of the massive bear.
Rolling to her knees, she's in the process of rising when Kuma's mighty paw staggers her with stunning force. The battering that follows would have easily been lethal had the largest of the Mishima household had willed it, but even clawless as it might be, the blows are more than enough to send the girl staggering back and forth into each solid hit.
The rising bash to her chin has Hotaru bouncing off the ropes, arms flailing wildly as she tries to catch herself from falling flat on her face. Unfortunately for her, her face impacts something other than the ring foor all together. Fingers curl into the thick fur as her brain, reeling from the staggering combination, tries to make any sense at all of what is happening. Did she already black out?
Blasted back against the turnbuckle, her mind has already rejected the very possibility that any of this is remotely real and decided to shut down and give this whole reality thing another pass when the world decides to make a lot more sense and smell a bit less like dying hopes and dreams.
The turnbuckle only serves to save her from falling out onto the arena floor on her back as beyond impacting with enough force to knock the wind from her lungs, the young Kung Fu artist is slumps down, her back against the post, eyes already glassed over.
On the bright side, she won't have to smell the fumigation permeating the air throughout the stadium. On the downside, this outfit is definitely going to need to be excised in fire.
With any luck, this will NOT be the crowning moment of her young fighting career!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Rose
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Rose
Rose is hoisted upwards with her hair pulled on most cruelly. Fortunately, it's durable. She is twisted around and hurled towards the turnbuckles, staggering on her single remaining shoe. She slides on the mat -
And kicks up high with her still be-shoed leg, the red pump toppling up in the air. With that, she regains an even keel, and despite a bruise, despite labored breathing, despite everything, she extends an accusing index finger towards Heihachi.
"Passing out...? I wouldn't dream of finishing before you've been given a proper punishment for your cruel acts. Hurling your anger around this arena like a petulant child - interfering on behalf of a creature who you put up to this conflict, a creature who is clearly outside of his own weight class...!"
Rose's head arcs up, so she can look down her nose at Heihachi. It's a skill.
"And -"
Her attention cuts towards Kuma as the great bear topples forwards. "No...! Look what you've done to him, you cruel man!" Rose declares as Kuma topples forwards. Her face tightens with concern, and she seems about to rush forwards, when there is instead a burst of force that sends Hotaru flying. Rose tenses, but doesn't advance. Hotaru's stunned. Rose takes in a breath --
Her nose wrinkles. Her face contorts with sheer and utter disgust.
Her shoe descends. Rose catches it in her hand, and the red-dyed leather shines as she pivots towards Heihachi. "You /disgust/ me," she states, before whipping the shoe at him with the power of a thousand furious Iraqis.
"Collect that poor creature and leave!" she states, even as the shoe flies. But the real question is-- will it fit?
COMBATSYS: Heihachi interrupts Thrown Object from Rose with Demon Uppercut EX.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-==============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\======-\1 Rose
"Cruel acts?! Hahahaha!! Do you hear that, Kuma?! She thinks I'm CRUEL!!" Heihachi seems to be genuinely amused by this choice of phrase. Kuma makes a number of noises and violent motions, which causes the tufted man to stiffen. "YOU SHUT UP!! You're not above becoming a bear-skin rug, either!!"
Then, Rose throws a shoe towards Heihachi. Oh, it's clear that the intention was to be insulting. But there's very few martial styles that involve throwing harmless objects at people with over sixty years of mastery. That's because it makes you /vulnerable/. As it skips off the round, shiny dome of Heihachi, he's already exploded forward, slamming down a foot directly adjacent to Rose.
"Why don't YOU get out...!! You are the one..."
And then he unleashes a brutal short hook into Rose's ribcage, knuckle imprint followed by an incredible voltaic surge of lightning through Rose's body. Aiming to send her skyward with a snarl by the pantsless Mishima.
"WHO INTERRUPTED KUMA'S SLAM!!"
Kuma himself is nosing at Hotaru, seeming content she's only battered before wobbling and thumping on his rear. He barely survived her furious assault. Tiny fighters are more threatening than he expected!
Rose narrows her eyes.
She would claim, of course, that this is all according to plan, but that would be a lie. However nine-tenths of presentation involves doing something on the fly and making it look good, so perhaps in the end this isn't so untrue. Only time will tell.
However, Rose's initial plan is greatly impaired when Heihachi does not merely punch her right in the ribcage, but lays a slobberknocker of an electrifying ripple through her liver. There are a series of noises like a tree falling after a storm (thankfully, only one of them anywhere near an actual fracture), but the electrical jolt through that hard-working hepatic heroic hemoscrubber reminds Rose of every glass of wine she's had in her ?? years.
And Rose achieves liftoff in a sparkle of light. Her scarf trails after her --
Wait, is it moving to wrap around Heihachi's waist with cashmere swiftness and gentility?
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-==============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Heihachi with Grand Superplex.
HEIHACHI
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|---============|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kuma 0/-------/--<<<<<|
Yes, it is.
The scarf carries Heihachi up as Rose rises into the air, her head turning and a single violet eye turning disapprovingly down onto him. Rose hauls him up, even as she reaches the apex of her ascent.
"Words cannot possibly express my disdain for you in this moment, you horrible man," Rose says. "You've hurt me, of course - this body's already passed out - but do you truly hunger for, do you truly celebrate 'slam'? If so, then I will give you --"
The scarf contracts like a gigantic muscle fiber - and Rose's back slams into Heihachi's front with a huge meaty SLAP!
"What you wish -"
Her eyes roll back as she descends, the scarf losing its sparklingly unnatural grasp as she does. Rose struggles against the swooning embrace of unconsciousness, worrying for Hotaru's safety in the face of the bear once there is nothing to stop Heihachi from whipping it into a cannibalistic frenzy - or perhaps for her own self-respect if she should lose awareness around Heihachi.
She shifts slightly, her shoulder blade gently poking Heihachi in the sternum.
Then comes the ring floor. With a titanic ringing SLAM as they impact the mat, Rose bounces free, like a stylish submunition. The end goal is to place Heihachi within paw's reach of Kuma.
Let the bear decide... who is the true master.
"Good...!! It's more fun in life to be hated, than to be loved!!" Heihachi snarls, more than a little complacent in Rose meeting his fists in such a manner. However, that means that he's not truly expecting a last, SLAMtastic effort of any meaningful magnitude...!!
Drawn up into the air along with Rose, Heihachi kicks his legs with a number of angry curses, yanking at the psychic-imbued fabric with no avail. He then SLAMS down into the middle of the ring, hitting face-first with both arms thumping hard to either side. Legs remain within the air for a few moments, before he slowly comes down, knees hitting the mat.
"Haa... hahaha... n,nice try!! But you're nothing to Mishima -- uncontested KING of SLAM!!" However, he then tenses, glancing backwards. Kuma looms behind, both paws held up and a glint in his eye. "What the hell do you think you're--"
Kuma lets loose a terrifying roar, before suddenly lancing forward. Two brutal rakes are aimed at Heihachi's chest. This is not the playbatting he used on Hotaru -- no. It's fully clawed!!
Only to follow up with a last swinging uppercut, attempting to smack him in the face and send him skyward!! Even in the face of suicide, even in the face of helpless odds, a bear's passion for SLAM must burn fiercely onwards!!
COMBATSYS: Kuma successfully hits Heihachi with Wild Lumberjack.
HEIHACHI
[ ||||||||||||| ]
2|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kuma 0/-------/=======|
Heihachi twists around, but is still defiant. "DON'T YOU DARE, YOU OLD--" He probably should have tried to defend himself instead. Two crimson slashes erupt upon his shiny torso, although barely welling up with blood; even the raw ferocity of a massive grizzly seems only barely able to get through the man's skin. And then Kuma's fierce paw hits him in the chin, sending Heihachi into the air.
His back hits the ropes, bouncing down... before Heihachi flips away, falling outside the ring and thumping upon the concrete beyond. Slowly a hand reaches up, grasping the bottom rope and beginning to pull himself up. Lightning ripples across him, expression one of raging determination.
"KUMA... I'M GOING TO... ?!?!"
He is now staring directly into Kuma's ass.
A massive blast of green wind explodes out, and Heihachi thumps on his back once more, eyes white and frothing at the side of his mouth.
The crowd is understandably silent. Kuma looks over to Rose, then to Hotaru, and then Heihachi, a man who has not fallen upon camera for decades. Before raising up on his feet, and thrusting up both paws to the sky.
"ROAR!!! << I AM THE TRUE KING OF SLAM!! >>
The audience goes wild.
COMBATSYS: Heihachi takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kuma 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Heihachi can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kuma 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kuma has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:19:07 11/14/2014 by Hotaru, and last modified on 22:29:01 11/15/2014.