Match of the Millennium

Description: As part of the GRAND OPENING BATTLE FEST to kick off the Southtown Youth Fighters' Initiative, Gorin High's star volleyball player, Natsu Ayuhara, has been matched up against a relative newcomer, the Seijyun student practicing her family's ancient kenjutsu style, Sumire Wakatsuki. It may end up being a learning experience for both!

[NATSU]
The Southtown Youth Fighters Initiative. Just a couple years ago, the building was no more than an old firehouse that had fallen into disrepair. But now, not only have its new owners completely refurbished the exterior, but they have also expanded the complex by adding a marvelous state-of-the-art dojo. Its Japanese stylings are in stark contrast to the Western-style firehouse. Indeed, while the dojo is packed to the gills with the latest display technologies for those around, those at the heart of battle would find it very easy to dismiss the high-tech trappings in lieu of the austere, respectful dojo facade presented in the center. The only reminders of the technological underpinnings are the camera domes and lighting embedded within the ceilings.

Natsu Ayuhara is used to this sort of disparity between ancient and modern for two reasons. The first: she lives in Japan, where this sort of dissonance is commonplace. The second: her home school, Gorin High, struggles every day to maintain an attitude of modernness while keeping one foot rooted in the past, for the benefit of the old-world parents eager to see their kids survive. So while other people might be impressed at the time-travel effect of walking from the new-ish firehouse into the rustic dojo, Miss Ayuhara is unfazed -- almost blissfully ambivalent to the appearance.

Damn kids, these days.

The Gorin High volleyball captain looks around the room. Already, here at the SYFI dojo, there have already been several exhibition matches. And many of the competitors have worn red attire like hers -- but even still, the aspirant captain's uniform lends an air of respectability to the proceedings. It might not be a martial arts gi, but the shiny fabrics of her volleyball uniform show she is absolutely committed to advancing the spectacle of this exhibition match.

As the young, six-foot-tall woman strides into the competition space, a half-dozen of her Gorin high friends wave to her from the crowd. She waves back, elbow at eye level, a contagious smile upon her face. Win or lose -- she's ready to have a good time.

... Is her uniform going to be cut up? Maybe she should have read up on her opponent beforehand...

[MIMI]
Wakatsuki Sumire--more usually known as Mimi--heard about the SYFI through a couple of sources and was immediately interested. Of course she would be; one of the main reasons she left her home was to get exactly this kind of experience. Plus, the very idea of it interests her; she may end up spending quite a bit of time here, if it turns out to be anything like she's thinking.

Had she been just out of the family compound, she probably would be more visually confused by what she's seeing--fortunately, having spent quite a bit of time in the city and at Seijyun, she's more used to the mix of ancient and modern. But she won't deny that the old Japanese style is pretty comforting to see. Just before she was scheduled to leave for the fight, a teacher caught her and suggested that perhaps she could fly the colors, so to speak, for her school. Though she had been planning on showing up in her traditional fighting attire, she thought about it for a moment and agreed.

So when she shows up, she's got her Seijyun uniform on, with the few additions she made, primarily the cord-belt she uses to secure her bokken. Natsu will probably be happy to see that her opponent doesn't carry real steel--Mimi is far, far away from being qualified by her school to carry a real sword. Pushing through the front door, she looks around. her opponent isn't hard to pick out; she'd been informed that her opponent was a six-foot tall volleyball player. So moments later she heads in that direction.

"Miss Ayuhara?" comes Mimi's pleasant, alto voice, as she greets her opponent, bowing quite correctly.

"I'm Sumire Wakatsuki. Please, call me Mimi." She looks around and then looks down at herself, and confesses, "I feel like I should have worn my gi but... a teacher asked me to represent the school..."

[NATSU]
For the moment, Natsu had been glancing back and forth in the middle. Sure, the last match had ended a few minutes ago, but this "grand opening" has thus far been pretty loose and laid-back on timing -- accordingly, just about everyone in the dojo had been whiling away the time in conversation amongst themselves.

Mimi's punctuality is, however, greatly appreciated. Natsu turns her smile to her, nodding her head in an initial greeting before following it up with a more formal Japanese bow. "Wakatsuki-sa-- I mean, Mimi. It is a pleasure to meet you." Formal, with just a slight shade of immaturity, like a big sister ought to be!

"I wouldn't worry about it. After all, this is just for fun, right? We'll be edited down to five seconds on the nightly news -- folks will want to be able to recognize your colors..."

A calm, reassuring grin is flashed back to Mimi, as Natsu takes a step backwards. Just a step!

And even without another word, the crowd begins to clear the taped-off ring, making space for the two schoolgirls. Another non-vocal signal is made by Natsu -- the raising of a hand to her friends in the crowd.

An instant later, a volleyball carves an arc out to her, sailing into the captain's upraised hand with a satisfying tap of fingers.

An official -- marked in a black gi with a stylized mask pulled over his face -- raises flags to signal his awareness. After giving Mimi a moment to compose herself, Natsu asks with a confident smile: "Shall we begin, then?"

The flag drops.

And Natsu tosses the volleyball into the air, leaping into the air and smacking it with a lazy overhand shot -- a casual warning shot to inspire the senses and stir Mimi into motion!

COMBATSYS: Natsu has started a fight here.

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Natsu            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Mimi has joined the fight here.

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Natsu            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Mimi

COMBATSYS: Mimi blocks Natsu's Light Random Weapon.

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Natsu            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Mimi

[MIMI]
Mimi takes that onboard and nods. While the crowd is clearing off, Mimi goes over to her side, standing squarely on the spot designated for her to start, and bows her head for a moment--offering up a prayer, or simply a moment to clear her mind. She reaches to her left side, grips the bokken, and draws it in a smooth motion, its gleaming black, blunt wooden blade exquisitely made, the grip wrapped in crimson-dyed sharkskin. The show she puts on in the draw, whipping the blade out to a 30 degree angle, then drawing it back in and getting her left hand on the grip as she slides her left foot back, is very traditional--and actually pretty showy in an understated manner.

Just as her left foot reaches its point, the flag drops--and Natsu jumps on go. Mimi's eyes widen for a moment--and she has only a moment to really consider what to do. But the answer is pretty obvious--she just doesn't have time to do anything else, so the warning shot bounces off a combination of wooden blade and forearm. She fades back a step, giving Natsu some room to land and also giving her the right range.

Up close she has to do very different things to attack with her weapon, most of which are not really recommended. She fades back another step, although it's not just a step--she twists to her right, switching her stance and slashing out horizontally as she goes, just a quick strike in turn.

COMBATSYS: Natsu blocks Mimi's Medium Strike.

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Natsu            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Mimi

[NATSU]
Mimi would likely be able to catch Natsu's appreciation: her widening eyes and nodding head are far from subtle. For, after all, the craftsmanship on the blade is certainly impressive! Natsu can certainly appreciate that the sword is blunted and not live steel -- though that is -far- from a reason to discount the practice sword entirely. After all, the Taiyo P.E. teacher fights with a shinai -- a weapon designed more for the clacky sound of impact than an intent to deal harm -- and he made it hurt quite a bit!

So when she draws her breath in, it's to steel herself. Being friendly before a fight is nice, but the commencement of combat brings a level of gravity to her expression. The smile fades, lips pressing into a tight line as her hawkish gaze follows the ball to its target. The volleyball rebounds off to the side, which provides a cue as to where Natsu will leap with both hands. As the ball impacts her fingertips with the sound of a slap, it might seem like Natsu has left herself critically open to counterattack...

But that would be for people who aren't paying attention to her upraised knee. The wooden blade cracks against her plastic kneepad, forcing Natsu to stagger backwards in her zeal to catch the ball. It's a momentary stagger -- enough to widen the volleyball captain's stance. Her pressed-together lips tense as she stifles a cry of pain, but now that she has the volleyball in hand...

Well, no, she's not attacking with it. Not yet. Instead, she's whirling around to deliver a roundhouse kick to Mimi's midsection, hoping to tag the sword-wielder before she gets too far out of range!

COMBATSYS: Natsu successfully hits Mimi with Medium Kick.

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Natsu            0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0             Mimi

[MIMI]
Mimi gets the feeling that Natsu is... considerably strong, physically. Of course the six foot height suggests it, but size isn't everything. It's just her feeling. So when that roundhouse comes in, Mimi speeds up, trying to get out of range before the impact. Unfortunately, Natsu's sweeping kick is much faster than Mimi's full-body movement, and what was going to be a just-in-time avoidance doesn't happen.

Instead, the student swordswoman takes the full brunt of that kick and she lets out an involuntary yelp of pain as it sends her flying at almost a right angle to the direction she was going; she manages to tumble in midair, which doesn't lessen the impact at all but lets her roll and pop back up to her feet rather than land flat on her back and be stunned for a moment. Her lips twist in a wry grin--it's just as she suspected.

Breathing hard, pain flaring and beginning to recede, Mimi centers herself for just a second, less than that, even, tensing as she brings her weapon down to her left hip, holding it as if it were sheathed--then putting all her momentum into a forward lunge, almost seeming to blur or disappear forward, though she hasn't quite achieved that level of mastery yet, sweeping her weapon around in a diagonal lower left to upper right cut, controlling the blade strongly, not wanting to be too out of position.

COMBATSYS: Natsu endures Mimi's Kouryuu no Kari Yaiba.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Natsu            0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0             Mimi

[NATSU]
As her kick connects solidly with Mimi, there is a slight pang of regret from Natsu. She isn't, like, someone who -enjoys- hurting others, but friends of hers have been overwhelming in their support of martial arts as a way of pushing the human boundaries further than any other method. Each impact strengthens both the attacker and the receiver in cumulative fashion -- and so she reassures herself in that instant that Mimi will be even better once she recovers.

As Natsu hops sideways to give Mimi a bit of breathing room, she catches notice of that wry grin -- sign that she's on the right track of understanding her opponent. Clearly, for that one moment at least, they may have been on the same page.

It would be a mistake for Natsu to back away totally though -- despite the volleyball she's grasping firmly in her left hand, she's much better at close range. -Especially- against someone with a bokken. When Mimi 'sheathes' her weapon, Natsu mentally recalls the samurai movies she's seen in the past. When someone has a sheathed blade...

Gulp.

Ayuhara realizes she can't avoid this kind of speed. She had started to move -- but not enough to get out of the way. When the strike slashes across her right leg, it makes a rather -loud- crack, like the blade hitting a tree trunk wrapped in ropes. Natsu's body rocks backwards, a red welt forming nearly instantly along her right thigh, just above the knee.

Her upper torso, though... it's already in motion. In fact, she -had- started to move -- rolling in the same direction even before the point of impact. The volleyball is loosed from her hands in a lazy toss... The six-foot-tall volleybrawler starts to topple over...

But she's kept some of her strength in reserve. As soon as the foot of her injured leg taps against the floor, Natsu surges towards Mimi, shoulder-first. Her aim is to shoulder-check Mimi while she's off-balance, and invert her totally. By that point she hopes to snare Mimi's legs, tugging them upwards. If she were to accomplish that, she'd bring the inverted Mimi downward onto the shoulders and the back of her neck for a belly-to-back piledriver!

And only afterwards would the volleyball smack the dojo floor...

COMBATSYS: Natsu successfully hits Mimi with Pile Driver.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Natsu            0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1             Mimi

[MIMI]
This isn't the time or place, but Mimi would definitely tell Natsu not to feel any regret. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she picked up the blade. She's already accepted that she might get hurt, might be injured. Anyone who takes up this kind of life should expect it. So she has no regrets either, though she does not take any sort of pleasure in the way the bokken sounds impacting against that leg.

She had hoped to keep herself balanced; since she first began practicing the technique, it's always had that flaw, that she hasn't yet defeated--she can't keep herself perfectly centered and balanced. It's been reduced, but it's still there. So she's still a bit off her center of gravity and that is what costs her.

Natsu's strong, but Mimi could probably have fended her off if she'd been able to properly brace herself. As it is, between pulling her weapon back into proper stance and that bit of time she's off-balance, Natsu's shoulder tackle bursts Mimi's guard easily, leaving the kenjutsu student unable to defend against being caught, lifted, and dropped onto her shoulders and neck.

Another grunt of pain from the girl and she has to fight the stars in her eyes to violently twist herself away from Natsu, rolling once again to gain some space before rising to her feet.

She's got to center herself, got to regain some emptiness of mind; everything's too chaotic right now. Deliberately, she centers herself into a lowered stance, raising her weapon above her head in a high guard. Moon-white energy begins to climb slowly up her body from her feet, the glow rising up and surrounding her in a pulsating, cold-looking whiteness.

COMBATSYS: Mimi draws power into herself!

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Natsu            0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1             Mimi

[NATSU]
Ever since being tutored in the art of SLAM from Hayato-sensei, Natsu has sought out opportunities to practice her wrestling moves in a real competition. It felt weird at first, but now it came out almost naturally, executed entirely on muscle memory. It's only when she backs away from Mimi, giving her a moment to collect herself, that she hears the audience gasping in shock. Responding to the move, moments after it happened.

She's no stranger to the crowd, or its responses. But the closeness and intimacy of the Southtown Youth Fighters Initiative... that's new. Everyone is here -- and everyone is participating with the combat, even if they aren't as far "in the zone" as much as Natsu and Mimi are.

It brings a faint smile to Natsu's face, as she hops back. She can certainly appreciate Mimi's need to recover -- and indeed, she gives Mimi a few moments to recover as the white light suffuses through her form.

The volleybrawler toes her ball into the air, palming it into her right hand. She'd been nice enough to give the preceding moments, but this is still a battle. As her faint smile grows slightly lopsided, she lobs the ball into the air. And then drops her right hand like a hammer onto the volleyball. While the last shot delivered was a warning, this spike has a bit more momentum on it -- and it's aimed at Mimi's shoulder.

COMBATSYS: Mimi blocks Natsu's Jikkon Serve.

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Natsu            0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1             Mimi

[MIMI]
Mimi has time for perhaps one good, deep breath, one inhale and exhale to quiet the jumble of her mind.

For the moment, it's enough; she won't claim it as anything -healing-, but it's allowed her to return to a mindset that she strives for when fighting. Of course, she knows Natsu won't be sitting idly by while Mimi gets herself together, so she expects some sort of attempt to strike, and there it is.

Mimi shifts her weapon and again backs it up with her left forearm, absorbing the strike there rather than in the meat of her shoulder. One disadvantage to this--as the white glow fades from her body--is that it takes enough concentration that breaking out of it abruptly is difficult.

The impact drives her back a bit, and that is a distance she'll have to make up... but she doesn't rush in the same way. Taking a more balanced, measured approach, Mimi closes just a bit before beginning a sequence of attacks, flowing through a horizontal slash from left to right, then back right to left, bringing the blade around from upper left to lower right... then repeating the last strike, flowing through the four attacks in a smooth, well-practiced sequence.

COMBATSYS: Natsu just-defends Mimi's Kouryuu Kenbu!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Natsu            0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1             Mimi

[NATSU]
Natsu does not immediately press her advantage, as she knows that when someone marshals that much of their energy at once, it is probably a portent of something -huge- being flung in response. So instead, her gaze snaps away for a moment, eyes tracking the volleyball as it rebounds back and away from Mimi's successful defense. She backs up, her hand rising to catch the volleyball out of midair.

No doubt, Mimi was counting on that moment of opportunity, and without Natsu rising into midair, it wouldn't be a repeat of the last time. And indeed, this time it isn't the same -- the horizontal slash hits at a different angle.

But it makes a resounding slap sound, rather than the sound of sword hitting body. The palmed volleyball is used to block the strike, softening the impact for both Mimi's benefit and Natsu's own. A second time, the volleyball is raised to fend off the slash, deflecting it away from Natsu's surprised eyes. The alarm in her expression should show that Natsu isn't even cognizant of her own speed in this regard -- it's a surprise to the volleybrawler as well!

The horizontal slash that follows is met in similar regard, the white paint upon the volleyball cracking as the leather beneath is stretched to an improbable degree. Ayuhara's hand withdraws with each blow, forced to acknowledge the considerable strength behind Mimi's blows even as she is momentarily spared from their full fury.

She will -not- be so lucky with the fourth strike though -- for even the blunt bokken blade is able to cleave straight through the volleyball, popping it with a hiss of air as Natsu hops backwards to relative safety.

And then, only then, does Natsu expel the breath she'd been holding all the while, eyes wide with incredulity. "So fast..." she whispers, tossing the deflated remains of her volleyball off to the side. She'll just ask for another in a minute...

But right now, she throws herself at the dojo floor, taking full advantage of the slick surface and throwing herself into a sliding kick. It's a dangerous approach -- but she hopes to be able to sweep Mimi's feet out from under her. It's an exhibition after all -- let's see how flexible Mimi's style is!

COMBATSYS: Mimi fails to counter Sliding Receive from Natsu with Kuroryuu no Ura Odori.
- Power fail! -

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Natsu            0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1             Mimi

[MIMI]
In retrospect, Mimi may be glad she didn't wear her family's colors to this match. Although she chalks up every fight to a learning experience, and she knows, in her head, that despite years of intense, intense training, fighting a volleyball player is so outside her range that there's no way she could be prepared for it... in the moment, she would have to admit, it still... hurts. She hasn't been able to yet divorce herself from these moments, hasn't yet achieved the dispassion...

Of course there are many fighters who power themselves with their emotions, who utilize them in many ways.. but Mimi hasn't learned that lesson yet. Perhaps it's a fundmental failing of her family's martial arts, one she may yet learn to overcome in time. For now, as she's tripped up by the unorthodox low attack and dumped on her back, her attempt to parry off due to the alienness of the attack and her own mounting fatigue and injuries, she merely works to disguise and tamp down those feelings. It is as much out of a sense of duty and honor that she rises once more, than anything else, though she very carefully does not let it show in anything except, perhaps, her eyes, at least until she can school that.

To outwardly show her disappointment in herself would be unforgivable.

[NATSU]
While there is no way for Natsu to know what Mimi is feeling at the moment, she can certainly sympathize with her streak of bad luck. The volleybrawler's entire combat style is unorthodox, unrefined -- and leaves a great number of gaps that can only be mortared over with rigorous discipline. That's kind of why she's here in the Southtown Youth Fighters Initiative to begin with -- to not only demonstrate to her teammates in the crowd and at home that unique combat styles can still flourish, but also to give the "senpai" an opportunity to learn under similarly diverse combat styles.

After all, the fighter who believes their style to be flawless and perfect could not be more wrong.

So it is with sympathy that she withdraws, opting not to follow through with the attack at the moment. Instead, she takes a moment to raise her hand to her teammates. Moments later, another volleyball sails through the air, caught in similar fashion as before.

Only this time, she dribbles the ball, like a basketball, onto the wooden platform.

"What style do you use? I had thought it was kendo at first, but...?"

The ball is dribbled again, its impact resounding against the dojo's flat walls. She may be talking -- albeit with a neutral and nigh-unreadable expression -- but her storm grey eyes are tacitly taking note of her opponent's features.

COMBATSYS: Natsu focuses on her next action.

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Natsu            0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1             Mimi

[MIMI]
Mimi is startled out of her brief, introspective reverie by the sound of Natsu's voice. Not that she wasn't paying attention--she is in a fight after all--but she maybe wasn't paying quite the kind of attention she should be. Natsu reminding of that--gently--is appreciated.

"Ah..." She takes a moment to answer, parsing the question.

"Oh. I am a pracitioner of the Shinguuji Ittou-Ryuu. An old style of kenjutsu, passed down through my family." A brief pause, then she adds, sheepishly, "You probably haven't heard of it... my family is... pretty insular." To put it mildly.

"But that's why I'm here... to learn things beyond what my family has taught me. I'm... still a student." And so are her siblings, but they're further along the path.

The conversation seems to lighten Mimi's mood; she smiles, and gives a small head-bow. "Thank for facing me on the field of battle today." Okay... that's enough of a break, isn't it? Besides, they -are-, as it were, putting in a show. To indicate her intentions, Mimi tightens up her stance, the short breather giving her some time to at least control that much of her pain. A deep breath to focus, and that white chi flares up again--this time around Mimi's blade, inducing a brief, if pretty light show of the black blade illuminated with a white aura, until Mimi, without moving from where she stands, whips the blade from lower right to upper left, cleaving nothing but air--and unleashing that white energy in a hissing crescent of power that reaches out for Natsu.

COMBATSYS: Mimi successfully hits Natsu with Hangetsuzan.

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Natsu            1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1             Mimi

[NATSU]
Natsu blinks quietly at the notion that she hasn't heard of Shinguuji Ittou-ryuu. She's not really one to spend a lot of time studying a style of martial arts unless one of her closest friends recommends it to her. She's no martial arts hipster; it's -not- a surprise that she hasn't heard of it before.

So it's -her- turn to give a sheepish expression: a self-deprecatory chuckle. "Kenjutsu, then..." That's about as deep as her knowledge gets -- knowing that kenjutsu is different than kendo. The volleyball is dribbled again, this time remaining in her grasp as she takes a brief step to the side -- conversation or not, she's still in the midst of a fight, surrounded by folks she knows, and cameras potentially beaming the interchange to anyone with an interest in the two fighters. The lateral move also gives her a bit of space, which the wary Ayuhara appreciates as soon as she sees the angelic light flare up again. The volleybrawler seems a bit concerned by the way in which Mimi's stance does not suggest closing the gap -- moreso because of the wellspring of energy.

Seeing the danger, though, does not equate to being able to do anything about it. Natsu finds herself studying the crescent a bit too intensely, hampering her own escape. The arc of energy slams into her leading hand, knocking it aside. The wavefront continues barreling forward into the Gorin student, blasting her backwards a good four feet. Her red uniform jacket and the bandages on her arms prevent anyone from seeing the red welts left behind -- and it's probably a good thing too. Her trailing hand is pressing inward on the volleyball so hard it looks like it, too, might be about to burst...

Natsu's shoulders rock forward, as she regains her balance -- everything she can do to keep from toppling over from the powerful blast wave. Her grip on the volleyball decreases as she nods back -- a bit less amiable from before, but only because she's trying not to show how much that smarted. "If you don't work a muscle, it never gets stronger..." A smile is flashed: proof of her sincerity.

But she does not plan to strike with her volleyball -- indeed, she even drops it in the midst of charging forward. She swings her trailing hand forward in an overhand slap, before coupling both hands together and reversing the direction of her swing in a rising axehandle blow. Should she connect with both of those she'd swing both her hands downward at Mimi's shoulders in an overhead swing.

COMBATSYS: Natsu successfully hits Mimi with Aggressive Strike.
- Power hit! -

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Natsu            1/-------/=======|=======\====---\1             Mimi

[MIMI]
Mimi is simply telling the truth about her family's style; it's an obscure one, mostly lost to history. The Shinguuji clan, which her own family was formerly subservient to, has been long forgotten to all but the most dedicated of Japanese historians--and really, the Shinguuji ryuu has continued to evolve over the years, as her family encouraged innovation and individuality in technique.

Her brother, for example, wields a weapon much closer to a nodachi, almost like a claymore, and her sister prefers paired kodachi, shorter, more agile weapons, as befits their strengths. Mimi herself is more middle-of-the-road, herself.

As Natsu's studying cost her, so does Mimi's little bit of woolgathering cost her. She'll have to learn to shunt these thought-journeys off to the side better--and this will be a well-remembered lesson to help her do that. Almost before she knows it, Natsu's moving, and leaping, and Mimi -thinks- she recognizes the pattern of attack--but she's wrong, and she only realizes it once the volleyball is discarded. Scrambling to fortify her defensive position, the brief stab of realization--and them *BAM*, Natsu's overhead swing crushes her incomplete guard and basically drops her to her knees in a swift moment.

Mimi lets out a deep grunt, the result of air being forced out of her lungs involuntarily, then drops to her hands, her bokken still gripped in her right hand. She takes a moment to speak, because she's dragging air back in, but once she can she says, just loud enough for the cameras to pick up (forgive her, it's hard to project after a hit like that), "Th--that's enough... I concede."

COMBATSYS: Mimi takes no action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Natsu            1/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Mimi can no longer fight.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Natsu            1/-------/=======|

[NATSU]
The path that led to Natsu becoming a competent martial artist is a strange one: she never had a real need to learn self-defense, per se. Bullies, as a general rule, were shorter than her; they just didn't seek out fights against a taller opponent who was not easy pickings. No, if she got involved in a fight, it was as a defender, seeking to end the conflict as quickly as possible.

Which has... unfortunate side effects when the target is not a well-muscled bully like those she'd cut her teeth fighting against.

The tall Ayuhara, sometimes, doesn't know her own strength. That is another topic she wishes to learn more about from the Initiative.

In the here and now, though -- is Mimi, succumbing to her hammer blows. Once she sees the kenjutsuka holding the sword up at her in a warding fashion, she relents in her attack, withdrawing her hands and taking a quick step backwards. The pain in her opponent's face is evident -- even moreso once she states it for the record.

An eyebrow twitches lightly at the word 'concede.' Natsu has an advantage over Mimi when it comes to performing in front of an audience -- and concession is not a situation she's encountered before. But, after a moment of thought, Natsu realizes that Mimi's experience -- both in this fight and outside of it -- is markedly different than hers.

After a moment's hesitation, a warm smile spreads across her face. Natsu's hands press to her thighs -- reddened though they may be from the earlier brushes with the bokken -- and she offers a proper bow.

"And I accept." She gestures to her thighs, adding, "Besides, I'll need to get these wounds looked at..." Another pause, for an awkward smile. "Mimi, that was a great fight -- really kept me on my toes. I look forward to fighting you again."

And with that, and the words from the officials, Ayuhara bows once more, as first aid personnel step in to assist the two injured fighters.

COMBATSYS: Natsu takes no action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Natsu            1/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Natsu has ended the fight here.

Log created on 21:29:40 05/06/2017 by Mimi, and last modified on 14:19:37 05/08/2017.