Match of the Millennium

Description: At the elegant and gorgeous Theatro Municipal Opera House in Rio de Janerio, the Heir To Legends will face off against Team Miggy Mew Mew. Honoka is teaming up for the first time with Zach Glenn and Nakoruru, both fresh faces in the King Of Fighters. Against them, is junk girl Sylvie Paula Paula and the infamous Caballero Rojo, a brutal returning face in the KOF. Bringing a brutality to the opera scene, both sides will need to balance performance against function, as they strike out for the coveted 5th Bracket position, for the King of Fighters.

[ZACH GLENN]
LOCATION: BRAZIL - RIO DE JANIERO
TIME: AFTERNOON
VENUE: THEATRO MUNICIPAL

The 2017 King of Fighters has officially begun! There are, as there were last year, some qualifying matches before the final brackets settled out. One such match is taking place at a very large, very ornate opera house in Rio de Janiero.

The two teams have a couple of things in common: both involve a King of Fighters veteran and some fresh faces to the tournament. That is pretty much where the commonalities end, however.

The Heirs to Legend arrive first, with team captain and lead Zach Glenn already pacing one side of the stage to warm himself up. The former Marine is wearing blue jeans, a light grey t-shirt, and a black bomber jacket. Combat boots and MMA-gloves with metal plates on the backs of the hands complete the look. The young man seems impatient for the match to start as the crowd works to a fever pitch.

[SYLVIE]
LOCATION: ????????
TIME: Same
VENUE: ????

A mug with a winking Kula is raised upwards as the official King of Fighters begins, fanfare crowds that were eager for some action. Another day at the office for one of the members of NESTS sitting back to watch for some fresh-faced talent. Sometimes, or rather very often, one of their mistakes would make it into it. The one that manages to crawl up from the gutter this time causes the mug to be placed down, carefully.

The Heirs may arrive in their way, but team Miggy Mew Mew really catches the attention. The ever lovable Rufus, twisting his moustache - the handsome and totally swoonable Miguel, and finally the overly stand-out figure of Sylvie Paula Paula! With Miguel leading in, Sylvie is bouncing up and down upon her feet, waving and giving multiple members of the crowd peace signs! "EVERYONE! Welcome to Sylvie Paula Paula's DEBUT! She can't really believe she's doing it, but she's doing it for YOU!"

"Damn, looks like she's not our problem anymore." "The princess? Oh yeah, can't wait to see her mop the floor with her face. How did she even convince them to put her on the team? Hell, ten to one odds, she's going down." "Who the hell is going to be against you? Bet she's not even fighting." Comes a third voice, all watching the live stream from one of the surveillance devices.

With Miguel and Rufus taking their place, Sylvie winks out to the crowd, bobbing back and forth as she waddles triumphantly out into the arena, legs swung widely forwards in some sort of fanciful childrenish stride. "Bibibibibiiiiiiiiiii~! Sylvie's all charged up!" She beams cheerfully.

"Man, remind me to never listen to your betting." "Shut the hell up!" The NESTS personnel have a laugh about it.

Sylvie's mind is positively buzzing, cheerful smile and get-up simply inane to describe, but normal for her, eyeballs a plenty. <~Why is Sylvie even here~>. The smile never shifts. "Sylvie promises a great show everyone! You can see her later at Sylvie's sponsers~! Don't forget, there's a great Paula promotion going on right now!"

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Zach Glenn       0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Sylvie has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach tilts his head to one side, trying to make /sense/ of the dimunitive girl in front of him. Then he decides this is not an issue; this is a fight. He has no idea whatsoever of how Sylvie fights. That is not an issue either. The issue at hand? Getting through this round.

"All right, then," he mutters to himself as he tugs his gloves on a bit tighter. Golden light spins around his hands, causing Celtic sigils on the plates of the gloves to flare with similarly golden light.

The referee signals the start of the fight, and that amber energy flares around the monster hunter's body in an explosive display. "Let's do this."

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn gathers his will.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Sylvie

[HONOKA]
While the leader of the so-called Heirs of Legend is pacing on the fight stage, the rest of the team awaits in the shadow of an adjoining tent. One 6'5" figure in a orange-and-black bodysuit remains seated. With his white hair, the well-muscled brawler could be mistaken as a relative for the team captain, but it would be hard to see a family resemblance in either the world-weary expression or the pair of dark sunglasses upon his face. Nevertheless, aside from choosing such blindingly bright attire (muted only by the shade), the man known as Radel does nothing further to evoke the attention of the crowd.

In contrast, the youngest of the Heirs of Legend is at the front of the tent with a sunny, cheerful smile. Though she has stepped out of the spotlight, the star juggler is definitely pulling advertising duty: her bright purple tights are emblazoned the star-shaped Twilight Star Circus logo in a lighter shade. She wears a long-sleeved jacket, a light and airy synthetic in royal blue. Her jacket billows about in the slightest of Rio de Janeiro breezes, much like the locks of her fuschia-highlighted hair. And in her hand -- a long stick, from which unfurls a much larger banner -- the professional, top-notch lettering of the official "HEIRS OF LEGEND" fan community. Yes, somewhere, the hashtag #HeirsofLegend is trending with photos of the tent as the event unfolds in realtime.

And yet, with her eyes on the stage, and her motions focused on twirling the banner in a graceful and eye-catching fashion, Honoka Kawamoto still has her concerns elsewhere.
Mindful of the roaring crowd, she turns her head aside to address the Ainu woman seated behind her -- "Wow, they scheduled this thing kinda tight. Was really looking forward to trying the feijoada, but they only sell it on certain days..."

[SYLVIE]
The battle begins with a ... muted bang? The power is explosive, but Sylvie only watches it flare around Zach. "Hey! Stealing Sylvie's spotlight isn't okay! Even if that's pretty powerful!" Paula proclaims, whipping a hand around with a peace sign over her eyes, another held as if it was a weapon towards Zach! The courageous exterior of Pretty Pugilist Paula is clear! With Zach's plan to be on the defensive and become ever stronger, Paula's plan is -

You were expecting a plan? NESTS isn't either, as more money goes into the Zach side of the betting boxes. NESTS does not respect the 'no bets on work hours' philosophy.

"Sylvie can do that too, you know!" And then an eruption of electricity swallows Paula's form! ... for a second. "Eh?" BZZZTpop, "SHE SO CAN!" BZZZTfizzle. "She ... just doesn't want to right now!" Skipping towards Zach, it seems there's quite the space for her to go across the battlefield. At least it would seem that way.

Paula's hands, waving to the crowd, suddenly twist downwards, electrical chi crackling, an attempt to copy perhaps, Benimaru?, as the oddly dressed fighter's feet and legs leave the ground, rapidly electrozipping across the ground, a final punt of energy sent as she twirls about in the air, totally acrobatically, before an eye-ball clad foot swings down towards Zach's body, propelled by the same force that brought her there!

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Sylvie's Guillo-Ton!.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach brings his left aim up to block the incoming kick, catching it on his forearm. He frowns, thinking for a second before pushing the leg away. The quick move was interesting to watch; maybe he could try something like that in the future. Only less with electricity and more with Soul Power.

Neither here nor there for the moment.

Zach brings his right hand in, the sigil on the glove flaring with light as the psion throws a quick uppercut at the still airborne girl. If it hits, excellent. If not, then he can start to gage her reactions.

COMBATSYS: Sylvie blocks Zach Glenn's Medium Strike.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
The middling Sylvie manages to slam her eyeball clad foot straight into forearm, Sylvie's massive dress hanging there, looking rediculous for a moment, before Zach manages to push it away. Twirling in her bright dress, Sylvie is a mess of colors in motions, all of them bright. Bright. Not enough, however, to hide the bright energy that Zach brings forwards with his hand, slamming it into Sylvie. Both arms clasp tight as she takes the impact and is thrown upwards with a "Wah!?" Cartwheeling towards the ground in a flurry of colors and eyeballs.

"Wow, your danger level is like, the big-bang! Paula's going to have to careful!"

Hands are pointed downwards, keeping her afloat. That changes quickly, however, with Sylvie pointing them downwards and away, electrokinesis pushing her down towards Zach - at which point she falls into a roll, tumbling forwards, towards Zach, before releasing both hands upwards and outwards, "TADAAA~! DischarJING energy!"

Her hands are swept outwards and not even pointing towards Zach though. Until the circuit between them completes, a sudden swell of electricity from the NESTS failure's hands!

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Sylvie's Dischar-Jing!.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach calls up more of that energy he wields into his hands, catching the electricity in both hands before pulling the arcs around and away from him. Smoke rises from the singed cuffs of his jacket sleeves. The gloves, however, seem unharmed.

Zach takes a half-step back. He brings his right hand to a spot just forward of his left hip as if grasping for something there before swinging the hand across his body at a slightly upward angle.

A blade, more like a long knife or vary short sword, composed of pure psychic energy rips into existence as it slashes at Sylvie. The blade vanishes from Zach's hand as soon as the strike is complete.

COMBATSYS: Sylvie interrupts Swift Blade from Zach Glenn with Kaiten Coil.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Zach Glenn       1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
That energy that swarms into Zach's hands is powerful! Like, One Punch Zach powerful! Sylvie has seen it, for sure. The anime that is. She didn't like him though because he's not very cute. Also bald. The half-step back from Zach is all that Sylvie needs, though Sylvie's interest seems more to be show-offy than to have a strategy. Sometimes the two coincide. One of those instances occurs as Zach brings that right hand forwards and a blade simply appears! POP! Right out of the air! "WHA!?" Sylvie's eyes bulge a little as she gasps, seeing that energy blade, of whatever energy he has got, is swinging around towards him.

Sylvie, of course, has already decided the moment Zach doesn't become see-through like an X-ray due to physics that clearly control them, she must not have made contact! As such, one foot is already shooting electromagnetic energy off the ground. "You're a wizard, Zachie!? Pulling swords out of your hat!" Surprised as she is, Sylvie isn't actually happy to be sailing straight into that blade. Her entire body, propelled cartwheeling upwards and lead by that popping, sizzling energy, travels upwards and away towards the sky!

Of course, Zach is in the path, too! The blade digs into her stomach before popping out, but the NESTS creation has taken quite the beating in the past - why, it was the one thing she was good at! As she flips upside down, kicking Zach away with an electrical POP, Sylvie lands on the ground - sweat running down her brow.

She's apparently running out of battery already! "I think the crowd'll love it! We're going to be stars!" She beams! "bright colorful stars!"

Jason, from NESTS accounting, loses his bonus. A few researchers in NESTS pause. Why is she still even standing? Previous tests indicated Candy to be more than enough for her.

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach gets tagged hard, and is sent crashing to the stage. He stands up, wobbling slightly from the damage; that hit harder than he would have expected from the small girl. Glenn shakes the cobwebs loose, and takes a deep breath.

He regains his stance, letting the breath out. He watches. He waits, as the energy that he has been slinging around spins and swirls around him.

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn focuses on his next action.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Zach Glenn       1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
With Zach on the defensive, Paula, huffing and puffing, tilts her head! "You're giving Paula a breather?..." With a huff and a puff, Paula looks around, "But... that's not going to make the people happy!" She so declares! At least, that is the delcaration. "But that swirly energy IS a thingy-thing, isn't it?" She states out loud, "BRAINSTORM~! Crackow! Sylvie will wait here ... for you!" She excitedly states, thrusting a fist to the air.

"Battery RECHAAAAARGE~!"

There's a BZZZT of energy, a popping of ozone, and Sylvie is suddenly pulling some of her energy and converting it, somewhat efficiently, letting Zach hang back and recover! How nice of her! Wait what's that in her other hand!? "BZZZZT~!" The loud-speaker is buzzed through, "Everyone here, I hope you're enjoying yourself! Sylvie is definitely, but maybe you aren't? If you aren't, you gotta yell loud enough! BRAZIIIIIIIIL!~ Make sure you visit the Wonderous Land of Dreams website okay? OKAY~!"

She rocks back and forth otherwise, throwing a thumbs up and a peace-sign to Zach as well, body rocking too and fro as she bounces somewhat in place.

COMBATSYS: Sylvie gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Zach Glenn       1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
"Probably not the best move," Zach says patiently. Those amber energies collect into Zach's fist, spinning and twirling around them as Zach pulls his right hand back. The monster hunter twists at the wrist, hips, and shoulders, the motion not entirely unlike that of someone about to swing a baseball bat.

There is one last flare of energies, at Zach's feet, as he launches himself across the stage directly at Sylvie. When he gets close, both feet plant hard, leading with the left. The right fist drives directly at Sylvie's heart as it corkscrews in while the energy around the right hand, taking an almost drill-like shape as it slams home!

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hits Sylvie with Brog.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
"Pfft! It's the best move!" Sylvie retors, "Because Sylvie was dead tired!" She proclaims, "Well, totally tired!"

She tosses the megaphone to the side and wiggles a bit in place, "Because I gotta take a breath! Watch!" She breathes in. Then out. Then in - and then out! Before Zach suddenly launches across the stage.

And then ... In?

Electricity crackles aimlessly as she tries to shoot away, the sudden impact holding her there as the right fist drives directly at her heart, eyes, including the ones on her costume, seemingly opening wide as the impact shakes and tremors within her. To say she was having a coughing fit implies there is something left in her lungs. The impact of energy causing Sylvie's heart to pitter-patter, body suffering under the shock that she has felt before. It was an attempt, of course, to 'awaken' something. To 'liven her up a little'.

It never really worked.

But the impact doesn't blast Sylvie away - the electromagnetics of her energy clinging her to the floor, to her feet, as she takes the blow head on.

"Sylvie..." She coughs a bit upon impact, "Knows this feeling pretty good. You want Sylvie to die for you, you with them, huh?" She asks, msiling sweetly all the same. Energy runs rampant in her body, but Sylvie staggers back, hands raising as she attempts to stagger away, "N.. No, Sylvie isn't going to just go away like that!" She misunderstands, but it doesn't matter.

Electricity arcs outwards towards Zach, double-streams of it curving towards him as she staggers, clumsily, away, gasping for breath.

"GODDAMMIT! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HER!" A man in NESTS suddenly loses his morgate, the woman smiling mischeviously, "Well dear, it seems like she learned something after all." Is her response, "So did you."

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn blocks Sylvie's Denki Kaijin.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach brings his left hand forward, another wisp of golden power slipping around it as he bats at the twin arcs of electricity and drives them toward the stage. The attack strikes with enough force to shove him back, however, as Glenn shakes his hand loose. The wince on his face gives evidence that he felt that one.

Zach takes two quick steps toward Sylvie before jumping towards the smaller woman. He brings his right hand back once more, driving downward at the top of Sylvie's head. Despite the viciousness of the shot, he seems to lack anything like malice at the moment.

COMBATSYS: Sylvie dodges Zach Glenn's Heavy Swing.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Zach Glenn       0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
That left hand is brought forwards, more golden power slipping around it - Zach aiming to end Sylvie's turn in this TURN-ament! Staggering backwards and putting just enough distance between her and him, Sylvie manages to catch her breath! Her head pounds, but the crazy lady begins to swing her hips a bit more, body twirling a little as everything calms down, "Woooow. You took my breath and heartbeat away!" Sylvie pronounces loudly to the stoic Zach!

And Zach comes out swinging! ONE! TWO! Quick steps that lead towards Sylvie before he takes to the sky like a bird, driving down towards her head! Paula can't tell malice, but she can sure tell violence! Good thing they're in a tournament for fighting, right?!

"AH! LOW BRIDGE! Duck and cover!" Sylvie topples over as Zach closes the distance, the well dressed man compared to the lump of garbage dressed upon Sylvie a surprise as she rolls forwards and under him, twisting her body around, "Mr Zach, over HERE!~!" Her legs comically grind against the ground, rubbing back and forth faster than the eye can see, cartoonishly!

Except her hands have something glowing atop of them, sparks erupting off as she attempts to press against his back! "TAG~! You're IT!" If she /does/ grasp ahold of him...

Sylvie would suddenly send all that stored up power around Zach, trapping him in a ball of electric energy, which would suddenly be swung around, slamming into the ground twice before returning to Sylvie's foot - to be kicked away! It would be very uncomfortable, at the very least!

COMBATSYS: Sylvie successfully hits Zach Glenn with Magneto-Trapo!.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Zach Glenn       1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Sylvie

[ZACH GLENN]
Zach doesn't get his footing in time to avoid the globe of energy, and gets sent for a really bumpy ride. Bruises show where skin can be found as Zach comes up in a three point stance. He takes a short breath, and charges in. He throws a swift jab and a push kick of his own to unbalance the girl in front of him.

And that energy, which had all but vanished a moment ago, is back to sweep and spin around Glenn like a protective cloak...

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn successfully hits Sylvie with Random Strike.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Zach Glenn       1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
That swinging kick, that swinging jab, both impact Sylvie as she throw s apeace sign out to the crowd, both of them, waaaaaagging them around, "Paula's having a BALL, you know!? Come on, root for team Miggy MEW MEW~! I'll start! MIG-GY! MEW MOUUUUGH!" Sylvie gets out as she twists arounnd, eyes widdening as that fist impacts her face, then that kick, causing Sylvie to topple over and roll backwards, crown and eyeballs cracking a bit from the impacts she has weathered, "Geeze, Paula thought THAT was in the bag... you're all still up? Wow, Sylvie's gotta give it to you! You're like that bunny! 'Course, Sylvie is too!" She claims, at least.

"But I've gotta recharge again." She takes a stance backwards, like before, energy spiking for a moment. Is she REALLY going to once more? No.

That'd be wrong of her! "JINX! Here I COME!" Bounding forwards, Sylvie twists around, spinning as she does, arms outstretched into fists, electro-magnetic energy making her movements more deadly than they should be by making her spin faster than she should!

"I'm a CAROUSEL~!"

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn fails to interrupt Aggressive Strike from Sylvie with Fragarach EX.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Sylvie           0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Zach Glenn can no longer fight.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Sylvie           0/-------/--=====|

[ZACH GLENN]
The plan was a simple one. Grab the incoming fist, follow it up with a spike of psychic force to drive her into the stage. Except that he did not properly account for just how fast she could move. The first fist strikes home, followed by any successive punches that might have followed. Zach drops, the abuse too much even for his power to overcome.

The referee proceeds to count Glenn out. Looks like it's up to the next challenger. Can Sylvie turn her lightning against the Bringer of Storms?

[SYLVIE]
The first fist is slow, swung around as Sylvie twists into position - before both palms electromagnetically pinwheel, closing and facing away to send her spinning rapidly, barely managing to free herself from the absolute edge of defeat. As Zach drops, Sylvie, dizzy, twirls to a stop and puts up her fists, valiantly, expecting a response. She gets it as Zach drops - and the referee counts Glenn out.

Sylvie's eyes open wide for the second time. "Wha... EH? WOAH! Hehe, Gotcha~!" Before she staggers a bit, valuing a wave of her hands before falling back onto her rear, "Oof... I can't move anymore." Paula remarks, wincing, "You're like totally a Big Bang! BOOM!" She exclaims once more, hands opening wide as she sits back against the ground, fluffing her dress, bobbing back and forth, she tilts around, crawling over to the megaphone, "ATTENTION! This is your wonderful Paula Paula telling you the first match if over! This is a test of the Paula broadcast system! If it wasn't, all messages would consist of UBUUUUUUU! Thank you!"

Staring upwards, Paula lets her muscles relax, head lolling, "Ohhh, Sylvie's really gotta story now."

Back at NESTS, there is a silence. A single man has become far richer today than he had any right to, for tossing in his lunch money. Command is notified, specifically, that the 'Problem Princess', kept on an extremely long leash for elimination, has produced positive results rather than getting herself killed for the first time. A failure in testing, a failure in mission simulation, and a failure to live up to NESTS requirements is suddenly marked with a higher priority.

COMBATSYS: Sylvie awaits the next challenger.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sylvie           0/-------/--=====|

[HONOKA]
All throughout the fight, the banner for the Heirs of Legend swings to the left. Swings to the right. And then it spins around in a circle, giving the illusion of a cylinder with Honoka in the center.

But when Sylvie Paula Paula starts hurtling towards Zach in her impression of a tiny hurricane, the banner is allowed to hang a bit lower than it had before, slipping out of the low-key dance she'd adopted to keep from stealing the spotlight from Zach.

Glassy eyes stare back at the sight, of Zach getting pummeled by one spinning fist after another, electricity igniting the air into tiny thunderstorms. Her lips press into a solid line, teeth grinding together. As a psion, she can feel, perhaps more than anyone present at these festivities, how much pain and turmoil Zach is experiencing right now.

Some may expect her to run out onto the stage, to sweep Zach into her arms, to console him for the loss.
She doesn't. King of Fighters has medical staff for that.

As the gaze from her coffee-colored irises slides over to Sylvie Paula Paula, she begins to roll the banner up so that it does not wrinkle. And calmly, ever so calmly, she glances back at Nakoruru over her shoulder.
And by this point, she is smiling brightly.
"You wanted to see the world -- but I think it's now time for the world to see -you-, Miss Nakoruru. Good luck out there."

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Nakoruru         0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0           Sylvie

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru is empowered by Nature's Fury!

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0           Sylvie



[NAKORURU]
Concealed by the tent raised for the team to wait within, she has stood silently next to the powerfully built tall man seated within as well. Her own travel arrangements something of an enigma, she had met the rest of her at the airport upon their arrival. Clothed in civilian clothes, she hardly looked any more out of place as any other tourist. In every direction, steel blue eyes looked with curiosity though she typically kept quiet concerning the questions that must certainly be going through her mind.

Only at the venue itself did she appear in more traditional attire - a long white robe with a crimson and royal azure geometric border worn over similarly white pants and a pair of matching crimson moccasins. Her long, black hair is kept only slightly in check by a ruby red ribbon tied into a large bow behind her head, the ends trailing down behind her back.

From within the cover of the tent she watched the first round play out, right hand, covered in thick, white wrist guards, folded behind her back. Her left arm is held up, bent at the elbow, and there, perched on the thick wrist white cloth cone shaped wrist guard, is a magnificent feathered bird of prey that seems just as keen to observe the match in progress as she is. Only when she is finally addressed does she speak, stepping forward into the light to glance around at the impressive setup, the eager crowd, and the busy crew keeping the whole operation running. At Honoka's words, her lips break into a faint, quiet smile, "A century ago, my brothers and sisters warned me of the dangers of the soul thieving cameras that had been newly introduced to the world." She pauses for a moment, dipping her head toward the skilled performer, "I trust..." she looks back up toward the cameras being manipulated by the busy crew and the countless phones held up by the audience, before her focus returns to Honoka's, "The technology has become much safer since then." The corner of her mouth lifts a bit further, a certain sparkle in her eyes at a subtle joke exchanged.

Keeping her left arm raised in front of her, affording the great hawk a sturdy perch, she continues out into the open to stand across from Sylvie Paula Paula. Attention settles on the curiously dressed young woman - not that the Ainu wanderer seems likely to critique - and then she dips her head in acknowledgement. "You fought well." she remarks softly. She glances to the bird perched on her forearm, "I must warn you - I have demonstrated my fighting style to the officials and, unconventional as it may be, it has been approved for use. Should you feel overwhelmed..." She lowers her left hand a little then lifts it, encouraging the hawk to flap her wings and lift up into the air with a few powerful beats, a few feathers scattered to the wind. "You may ask to forfeit at any point. Until then," her right hand lifts, slipping behind her back, fingers resting lightly on the black handle of a sheathed short blade. "I will fight you to the best of my abilities."

The young woman leans forward, left leg slipping out of her robe at the knee, her left shoulder closer to Sylvie as she waits patiently, the only sound from her side for the next long moment the beating of the bird's wings as it somehow manages to hover in a controlled space. The announcements don't even seem to register to her as she calmly breathes, but when it comes time to fight, she moves without hesitation, her left hand snapping out, finger pointed toward Sylvie, "Mamahaha!"

Overhead, the raptor flaps up and backward for a heartbeat, and then, suddenly wreathed in a multi-hued shroud of vibrant chi, she dives down out of the sky toward the eyeball decorated Sylvie with a shrill cry and rush of air, seemingly on a collision course! Already, the young falconer is dashing forward, though several steps behind the diving bird, clearly intending to engage Sylvie in melee combat without giving her any chance to recover!

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru successfully hits Sylvie with Shichikap Etu.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
Rocking back and forth on her backside on the ground, legs spread out infront of her on those multicolored pairs of leggings that add to her costume, striped in different colors, as the rather modestly dressed Nakoruru makes her path forwards. A tiny girl! Sort of tiny like her, but somehow tiny-ER! Like, that's possible!? "Paula totally did! She was like BUZZZ and ZAP! So you know you have to be careful!" Her head bobs up and down, fake eyes rocking, iris bouncing around. For some reason, she doesn't seem to be getting up.

Then comes the warning! Sylvie's totally cheerful demeanor becomes somewhat neutral, head tilted to the other direction before her. "Oh! That's animal cruelty, you can't just swing a bird at Sylvie!" But the hawk lifts into the air, "Your weapon is flying away. Looks like Sylvie wins!" The strangely dressed woman decrees, finally getting up, watching Mamahaha flying around the other woman? "OH! Two against one!" A lightbulb nearly literately pops into her head, if there was any space, fingers touching her head from each side, before flashing out forwards.

"Sylvie can forfeit!? Oh but Miggy would be mad, and would be all hiss hiss instead of mew mew." She decides, "So Sylvie's going to stay here!" As such, her position remains, the failed experiment bouncing from one leg to the other in a cheerful way, "And the crowd wouldn't like it either! Sylvie couldn't handle that!"

Then there is a lot of nothing. Sylvie standing in position, eyes, all of them, fixated upon Nakoruru and the bird. At last, Nakoruru makes her move! ... Mamahaha!? "Mama-" Sylvie starts...

And the hawk flaps at her, shrouded in such energy, darting towards Sylvie, "Hama-nuh Hama-nuh?!" Sylvie jabbers incoherently in surprise as she becomes prey! Nakoruru follows after. The ground around Sylvie bolts with electricity for a moment, shuddering through the ground and dispersing as Sylvie attempts to outspeed the bird! ... She cannot. Crashing into Sylvie, the hawk manages to unbalance AND unnerve her, gloved hands swinging wildly to GET. IT. OFF! "Go away you BIRD BRAIN!" It fails, "I MEAN NOW!" It fails also, "Why does it not listen to Sylvie, but it listens to you!"

Sylvie totally knows the answer, but she must ask the question.

A sudden surge of energy about Sylvie makes it very clear, the very air around the woman, as Nakoruru dashes in, crackling. She plainly rises off the ground, dress arcing in every directly, electricity bursting out each and every direction as she extends both hands, legs clinging together downwards. Arcs crackle and tear into the ground about her, others striking towards the air, most of them holding her upwards as she spiral about her in a vortex, the NESTS experiment spinning inside!

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru blocks Sylvie's Paula Experiment.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/----===|>>>>>>>\-------\1           Sylvie



[NAKORURU]
"To take the crowd's wishes to heart," Nakoruru murmurs softly as Sylvie carries on, her own voice muted, patient in spite the antics on display, "Shows sincerity for your obligations here. I understand."

And with that, the match is underway, with the feathered divebombing of Sylvie, Mamahaha crashing into her and then flapping her wings to circle around and generally harass the living hell out of the beleaguered young woman.

The swordswoman is right behind, clearly intending to take advantage of the likely confusion caused by her airborn combat partner.

But when the retaliation comes so swiftly, all plans are immediately hurled out the window, moccasins sliding to a stop a long the ground as Nakoruru catches herself mid-stride. "Mamahaha, homakochiwe!" her voice rings out and the swift raptor beats her wings hard, creating a palpable downdraft as she retreats at a backward angle from the range of the incoming electric destruction.

Nakoruru isn't so fortunate, her own momentum having carried her forward into close proximity to Sylvie with her prior intent to strike only to find herself now facing a localized lightning storm. Rather than drawing her weapon, she flicks her left wrist, turning her shoulder toward Sylvie, and in her fingers manifests a small, pristine white cloth with crimson patterns along its border. Whipping her arm, the fabric unfurls into a full sheet of which she holds up, providing shelter against the electric vortex emanating out from the decidedly charged, hovering young woman.

Even with her cloak to insulate her from some of the energy forking around her, Nakoruru hisses a breath between her teeth as she's forced back over a meter from Sylvie. Finally, the moment she feels any easing off in the pressure that keeps her suppressed, she whips the cloak out with her left hand, cracking the air near the eyeball-decorated girl's head before gracefully spinning to the left to move with the motion and close distance while leaving herself exposed for only the briefest of instants.

The next moment, she's rolling past Sylvie, her blade drawn, a strike delivered toward the young fighter's thigh with lightning speed that may have have happened so fast Nakoruru might already be scrambling back up to her feet behind Sylvie before the fighter realizes she's been struck!

COMBATSYS: Sylvie blocks Nakoruru's Chitenzan.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>------\1           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
"Obligations? Oh no! Sylvie had those once." But more on that later, "People are cheering for Sylvie right now! She feels more alive than ever!"

The crash was painful, the flapping just as much, but there's a chance that the arrival of Nakoruru, blade in hand, could hurt ever more! That's of course why Sylvie Paula Paula treats Nakoruru to a nice thunderstorm! It's EXCITING! At least... for one of the two, right? Three! Sylvie can't forget about birdbrain! Mamalamadramahaha!

'Homacoochiecoo?' Sylvie thinks, as she spirals about in the air, arcs of lightning crashing around her as she unleashes her power! But all good, and shocking, things cease to be after you get used to it! In this case, the battery that is Sylvie runs out of Paula power as she floats to the ground, breath ragged, "See! That's how much Paula cares! She'll keep it up, and keep caring, TOO!" She claims. To a cloak. A cloak? "Did you disappear somewhere?" Sylvie asks, eyes a bit wide as she looks all around. That's a cloak, not a woman! A hand raises above her (human) eyes and she looks left and right, on her toes, before Nakoruru whips that cloak away! "OH NO! A TRICK!" Paula reels, the air near her head cracking as the woman dashes towards her -

And then appears on the other side, rolling past, with a blade.

A strike had been made... right into Sylvie's thigh! With the air cracked, Sylvie had twisted, but the failed experiment didn't react in time naturally. No, that's hardly the case! The lightning speed that Nakoruru deploys is met with the NESTS experiment's reactions to the 'tests' she had performed on her before, body instinctively throws gloved hands and eyeballs into it, one of the eyeballs simply EYE-SECTED as it shatters from the strike, the blade cleaving into leg and thigh all the same, Sylvie staggering backwards in pain as blood is drawn! "Birds! Blades! Are you a bird too, I bet that's your talon! You really scratched Sylvie up good! She feels light headed, oh, it's taking her back to her NESTS days! Sylvie always felt light headed!"

Normally, one doesn't just admit that. Usually.

"Since you're a ninja, Sylvie has this to say... COWABUNGAAA~!" Her hands raise upwards as she exhaustedly not only stays up but -shoots- upwards, electromagnetic pulse on her hands sparking and sending her arcing low and fast towards Nakoruru, body twisting about as she grows closer, leg with a damaged eyeball on her foot leading, for vengeance! The other is coiled up against her!

Impact, or not, the hands would pulse once and 'kick' her forwards, ending in a flip to land back on her feet!

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru full-parries Sylvie's Medium Kick!!

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1           Sylvie



[NAKORURU]
Back to her feet, Nakoruru whirls, short blade held out to her right side briefly before she pivots, right shoulder forward, right arm snapping up and out in front of her at around face level. The kodachi is held in a reverse grip such that the sharp side of its razor edge faces out away from her. The stance is dangerous to approach, the young woman poised to strike with a swift backswing of her arm or continue spinning away with a simple twist of her foot.

But she isn't met with the immediate retaliation that she was perhaps bracing for, eyes flicking over the severed eye-like decoration as its pieces scatter along the floor, then back up at Sylvie, brow furrowed slightly as if with a hint of concern.

"I am not a bird," she replies, eyes flicking up a little at the feathered hunter circling the cordoned area above. "Though perhaps they bless me with their speed." She relaxes out of her stance, left shoulder moving forward, left foot slipping out along the ground as she returns to a more relaxed, ready idle. The concern hasn't faded from her expression, however, as she finally asks the question forcing its way forward through her thoughts.

%"Forgive me, but.. you... were raised in a nest?"

But then she's forced back on the defense, Sylvie closing the distance between them with airborn, electrical reinforcement. The young woman in white's response is swift, a single step into the attack while simultaneously sweeping the flat of her blade up while spinning out of the way herself. Rather than get a dazing kick to the head, it is her sturdy weapon that absorbs the blow, leaving her free to kick back another step, now facing Sylvie from behind, clearly intending to counter attack in an instant.

But the airborn electric wonder's trajectory is far from predictable, changing course with a surge of power from her hands to carry her further away rather than landing as one would normally expect. Caught off guard but no less resolved to land a decisive attack, Nakoruru sprints after Sylvie, short blade still drawn.

It's when she's within four strides of Sylvie that she leans forward further, kicking off with her feet, then vanishing into a forward, low surging dash of near instantaneous movement, a prism-like shroud of energy pulsing out from around the flashing steel of her blade as she attempts to pass right by Sylvie once more, this time leaving a second cut - shallow enough to avoid a lethal strike, but certainly no less painful for it.

Unless prevented, she would land in a low roll before coming up in a crouch two meters beyond, already rising to defend herself once more.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru successfully hits Sylvie with Annu Mutsube EX.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //                            ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1           Sylvie

[SYLVIE]
"Pft, you don't get blessed by anything! Paula already knows that's all a load of -AH HELL!"

Nakoruru's movement is to step forwards, sweeping the blade up and spinning away, causing Sylvie to twirl to a stop. "Now I'm super dizzy! OOoh... eh? Nopety~nope~nope! BZZZT! Wro~ng!" Wiggling back and forth in place, Sylvie is definitely more tired than she should, or seems, to be! "It wasn't cozy like some kinda nest! It was way worse!" That's about all Sylvie gets to say before Nakoruru is upon her, and just on landing, Sylvie gets an eyefull of Nakoruru, who is currently dashing forwards, surging forwards, at unavoidable speeds! Sylvie only as time to gasp before throwing herself forwards, hands splaying outwards towards Nakoruru to seemingly 'absorb' the strike - intent on catching and rolling with like some kind of yellow rodent!

The shroud of energy coats the blade more than it does Nakoruru though, causing Sylvie to hold fast against the gentle breeze. "Hah! Totally missed me! Looks like Paula's not the T-" Her eyes widen as the slash makes its mark known, the failed experiment seizing as the 'non-lethal' energy infused cut tears into her form, damaging exposed skin and light clothing, blood seeping downwards, Sylvie's vision swimming as she staggers forwards with two wide steps, hands held up like an idol, "OH NO! E-.. EVERYONE! Y...Your Paula really t..tried hard! Now she's all dizzy.." A foot extends outwards for another step, childishly, before the body of Sylvie Paula Paula twists around, gravity accelerating her odd costume and body towards the ground just as her eyes close, the experiment passing out.

It doesn't fall far - it doesn't even begin to. The body hangs in the air, hands and legs electromagnetically hovering as the referees approach to check on Sylvie's vital status. Both eyes close. The stored energy, surging through the experiement, triggers an automatic procedure. Another pair of eyes open. A deliberate step taken forwards. Ribbons of purple energy, wreathed in electricity, begin to take form about the NESTS experiment, one by one wrapping about it. Vitals, system status, observations from the conflict all written along the electrical currents, read by the 'false' eyes, a single hand held out towards Nakoruru.

The voice is not Sylvie's at all, lifeless and lacking the playful tone or energy, "Energy discharge initiated. Chance of success, 52% Attempting rebooting procedure." The bands tighten together, filling with energy as 'Syvlie' pours the energy into the sphere, crackling electrical chi discharging into that sizable sphere, equal to Sylvie's height. Released, it twists, an eye visible for a moment aupon it, and begins towards Nakoruru. Crackling, it's slow to begin with but speeds up over time.

'Sylvie' staggers a bit, systems attempting to force her to stand, to 'reboot' as NESTS intended it. It fails, obvious, but as eyes close...

COMBATSYS: Sylvie has reached second wind!

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0           Sylvie

A foot shoots out, Sylvie staggering back to her feet, eyes opening and flickering left and right, "Eh? Huh!? WHA!? Where's Sylvie?!" She asks, in surprise, as she manages to stand, glancing about and slapping her face and shaking it around, "Ooooh... Sylvie kinda was sleeping there! Don't worry, Sylvie doesn't think you're boring or anything!"

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru dodges Sylvie's Mechahaya Reboot.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0           Sylvie



[NAKORURU]
On her feet again, Nakoruru assumes a similar defensive stance as before, blade out in front, reverse gripped, feet positioned to allow her to spring in any direction she needs. But once more, the retaliation is far from instant. In fact, quite the opposite in this case, leaving not just herself but audiences confused, officials starting to move out as the omni-eyeball-flair bearing girl becomes rather still, leaning forward, her body becoming limp though still supported by reserves of that phenomenal energy of hers.

Slowly, Nakoruru lowers her weapon as Mamahaha cries out from above with an echoing scree. The raven-haired young woman begins to glance around the reserved fighting area, looking for direction from somewhere. "Ah... s-should that be the end of it then?" She certainly can't rush in to attack again, the eccentric opponent somewhere in the world between consciousness and peaceful, well earned rest. Slowly, she slides her blade back into the black sheath at her back, the azure gem in its grip catching the light as she pulls her hand away.

Canting her head to the side, she clasps her hands in front of her, awaiting a judge's decision on the match... for a few seconds. But then she notices the build up, the gathering storm of even more potent, devastating potential building around Sylvie. Eyes widening, Nakoruru lifts her right arm defensively in front of her at the level of her face as the area becomes illuminated more by the nova of her opponent's power than by any other light source; violet shadows cast against the walls.

A stranger's voice escapes Sylvie's lips as the swordswoman braces herself. But when the gargantuan sphere of hyper-compressed power is finally unleashed, all thought of being able to simply weather the assault directly is put out of thought. Crouching, she closes her eyes against the blinding light, and when it seems almost a split second too late, she leaps into the air in a forward flip, hands snapping out at the apex of her jump to grip tightly onto the outstretched, talon-clawed legs of the great hawk overhead. Curling up, legs tucked under, just barely avoiding getting a thorough shocking.

Opening her eyes to glance down, she discovers that Mamahaha has already moved her into perfect counter striking position... directly over the extremely unpredictable opponent. Sucking in a breath, Nakoruru releases her hold, falling straight down. Coming out of her slow flip, her right leg snaps out as she continues her drop, aiming to plant a heel kick right on the crown of Sylvie's head.

All about her head, her long, black hair frays out at wild angles, clearly having gotten a bit too close in the lightning, but at least it's staying out of her face?

COMBATSYS: Sylvie fails to interrupt Kamui Fum Kesp EX from Nakoruru with Stret-Chon!.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Sylvie can no longer fight.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/=======|

[SYLVIE]
A massive sphere of violet, violent energy travels forwards, Sylvie staring at it for a second as Nakoruru is under assault! "Oh, that looks bad! Hawkgirl, don't let it touch you! Your fight is with me, not whatever that is!" Sylvie cries out, hands flailing - or attempting to, as Sylvie staggers forwards, finding it hard to raise her arms. Wow, Sylvie is tired!

As Nakoruru manages to slip past, clinging onto her bird, Sylvie manages to open her mouth and eyes wide, the rest of her body dropping. What little energy she has left slowly humming around her as the NESTS experiment manages to subsist but certainly not thrive. Nakoruru passes above her as she escapes, "Over here! You'll be safe ov... oh, we're still fighting, right! Come over here so I can -!" Her voice is cut off once more as Nakoruru releases from the bird, leg snapped out as Sylvie's hands raise upwards, streee-tching! Up to the heavens! That was the intention. Sylvie may have stepped forwards, into it, but the hands and arms only raise half-way, fatigue really having gotten to the girl. Just like that heel gets the crown of Sylvie's head - but not Sylvie's CROWN on her head, right? Because then Nakoruru wouldn't escape retribution! Nothing could save her then!

"UWAH!" Sylvie emits, a scream of clear defeat as Sylvie's arms and legs splay outwards, the force causing her form to rebound once against the ground and stare upwards, eyes half-lidded, "Ooooh? Low pooooowwwerr, Sylvie's... gonna count lambs." Finally toppling over and flattened by the terrifying Nakoruru, Sylvie is given a nice 10 (+5) second count, though there is some arguments about it even then! No electromagnetic energy bleeds out this time, and Sylvie would be able to be retrieved without issue!

BACK AT !?!?!?!:

"You saw it, right?" "Looks like our princess is a late bloomer." "Not a complete waste of time and money, huh? Gahaha! Well, she is still, but maybe that'll change. You know what? Write up a report to Zero, let him know the good news." "What the hell, why would I do that!?" "You lost the damn bet!" Even now, Sylvie's name is cursed upon back home!~

[HONOKA]
Honoka was a bit worried at Nakoruru's transition to this so-called modern life. Cellphones, with their high-res OLED displays, were completely unheard of in Nakoruru's time -- the very notion of photography stood poised to destabilize all of the animist Ainu society's beliefs. And yet, Nakoruru's tongue-in-cheek comment brings rise to a warm smile from her modern-day counterpart -- she gets it.

That smile does not leave Honoka's face, all through the Stormbringer's combat with the electrified singer. Her banner dance is executed on full muscle memory, leaving the circus performer with the mental bandwidth to absorb every crackle of electricity, every thrilling dive and roll, every shrill cry from Mamahaha's beak. While the juggler had trepidation about Zach fighting the very same fighter, it's a completely different story with Nakoruru fighting.

After all, it's not every day you get to see a living legend.

The juggler is so far on autopilot that when the end comes, it takes until Sylvie is on her 8-count for Honoka to snap out of her reverie. The banner snaps outwards, pressing taut -- and then flies upwards, fluttering down to the stage to reveal Honoka with both hands outstretched skyward, in a leaping cheer.

Part of her feels queasy at acting so cloyingly charming.
The other part's already come to grips with the idea: It's a living.

"DOWN!" shouts the announcer over the arena's PA system. "WINNAH IZU... NAKORURU!"



[NAKORURU]
Landing on the foot she didn't use for kicking the exhausted girl in the head, Nakoruru springs backward without hesitation. She's already seen well enough that the electricity-flinging bizarrely decorated girl can't be counted out too early. Overhead, Mamahaha resumes circling, her cries impossible to hear over the cacophony of noise left in the aftermath of Sylvie's devastating technique.

Turning her left shoulder forward, her right hand slips down near the handle of her short blade, steel blue eyes fixed on the now non-moving form of the tired girl. The officials are understandably hesitant to rush out and call it too early after the previously unexpected reboot, but it seems her batteries have finally run out.

Quiet amidst the shouts of the officials' judgement and the crowd, Nakoruru stands up straight, head dipped for a quiet moment of acknowledgement for the efforts of her opponent. Still, she knows the rules well enough - the time for rest has yet to be fully earned.

Breathing in then exhaling, she lifts her left arm, bent at the elbow, and Mamahaha circles down to perch on her guarded forearm once again. Immediately, the bird begins trying to brush down the young woman's frizzy black hair with her beak, bringing notice to the static charge built up just by fighting in the proximity of Sylvie.

Smiling faintly, Nakoruru lifts her right hand to try and contribute to the effort as well, "Does this remind you of the duels from long ago, Mamahaha?" she asks her feathered cohort before closing her eyes briefly, content to wait for the event to move forward to the next round.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru awaits the next challenger.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/------=|

[MIGUEL]
The blaring of the announcer prompted Miguel to step into the light. The large muscle Spaniard was no longer dressed in the meager hobo rags he had been seen wearing in his previous fights. He was wearing a new red leather jacket and white shirt, both baring his chest. The jacket featured a nice fur trim, his pants were stripped, and he wore nice new leather boots. The back of the leather jacket featured the names of the sponsors that paid Miguel greatly to wear their names. The largest name in bright shiny gold was,

CRAZY ZHIN'S CRAZY DEALS!

He walked onto the stage where he looked the girl with the eagle square in the eye. Looking at her sword, he put on the brass knuckles in his pocket. He cracked his knuckles as he walked up and spoke loudly to the whole opera house.

"She hasn't won yet, she's just the one still standing. I'm the one here to fix that for you."

He then faced the audience and circled his arms, prompting a loud wave of wolf whistles. He walked closer to the girl then spoke with a quieter voice.

"Lucky for you, I don't really want to hurt you."
"Unlucky for you, I really don't want to lose."

Once the bell rung, Miguel shot his knee up to Nakoruru's head, and would follow it up with a boot heel to the forehead.

COMBATSYS: Miguel has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Miguel           0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru blocks Miguel's Traste Doble.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Miguel           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
After fighting someone decked out like Sylvie, Nakoruru's next opponent seems downright mundane by comparison, even decked out like a man who's career has taken something of an upturn. Calmly, she stands, left arm supporting the diminutive weight of the great hawk she shared the arena with in the previous round, watching Miguel step out into the open.

Compared to her quiet nature, his appeals to the crowd show a much greater understanding of showmanship and how to build audience enthusiasm. Her expression becomes distant for a moment, eyes losing their sharp focus as she gazes across the way without seeming to pay attention for several heartbeats. Finally, she blinks, lifting her left arm a little, bringing the bird closer as to whisper a shared secret with the feathered sentinel, the exchange punctuated with a wistful smile as she then nudges her arm up a bit further and with the beating of powerful wings, the raptor takes to flight overhead.

The closer Miguel gets, the more apparent the size gap is between the two, Nakoruru craning her neck to look up at the powerfully built brawler, her smile from a moment ago already a thing of the past. His words to her are almost inaudible over the roar of the crowd he's worked into a fervor with his entrance, but he would see comprehension in her eyes - she heard well enough. Answering with a dip of her head, she slams her right foot back, left foot forward, already moving in response to the powerfully strong knee strike inbound for her head. Her left arm drops, intersecting the blow with an audible grunt before pivoting into his follow up kick. Her right arm snaps up, a flash of steel catching light as she mitigates the potential wrecking force of his leg by stepping in closer and catching his heel with her right forearm.

Even blunted as the force might be, it's more than enough to send her slipping back inches along the ground, robbing her of the close range quarters she'll need in order to match Miguel's exceptional reach advantage. "Triumph over pain," she murmurs, pushing off with her back foot to apply leverage to a snapping forward kick with her right leg toward Miguel's stomach, "Is core to the crucible of combat in which we now stand."

The initial kick serves as an opener, an attempt to draw Miguel's guard before she spins to his left, swinging her sword hand back, attempting to drive the sturdy end of her kodachi's grip into the side of Miguel's ribs. Should she connect, a final side kick from her right leg into the man's stomach would be designed to try and force him backward and buy herself space to reposition.

COMBATSYS: Miguel blocks Nakoruru's Crushing Strike.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Miguel           0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
The first kick Miguel saw drew his guard well. The follow up jab hit dead on, providing a pain in Miguel's side. The side kick however, the Spaniard grabbed in his mighty grip, and threw down.

"Here where your wrong, it's crucible in which I stand, and you kneel!" % R
With that Miguel brought down his great leg towards Nakoruru's knee.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru full-parries Miguel's Medium Kick!!

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Miguel           0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
Her foot caught in Miguel's fierce grip, Nakoruru kicks up off the ground with her left foot, flipping up and over the axis of her held leg, intending to slam her crimson moccasin into the side of Miguel's head should he risk holding onto the spry swordswoman for too long. But he prudently forces her right foot down, robbing her counter attack of its necessary leverage, and the nimble acrobat is forced to recover mid-air, landing on both feet, knees partially bent.

"It is good to exude confidence," she murmurs, rising up from her bent-knee position into another aggressive spring toward the Spaniard. His leg smashes out, aiming to hobble the smaller fighter, but airborne as she is, his extended shin merely serves as a launching off point for her to vault even further into the air, a forward flip up and over the top of the tall brawler.

"But not to the point-"

Swift, small hands snap out, securing a grip on the talon-clawed legs of Mamahaha overhead, giving her the perfect medium to reverse her dive. A falling star of vibrant, multi-hued energy, Nakoruru plunges back down toward Miguel, potentially catching him in the upper back should his own reactions prove a step too slow to keep track of her. The real threat is that she's drawn her blade once more - victory over pain, physical or otherwise, is the heart of this contest.

"Of hubris."

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru successfully hits Miguel with Kamui Mutsube EX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Miguel           1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel saw the small girl jump over him. Then he felt a lot of pain in his back. It reminded him of the last time he was stabbed with all the nice energy swords. Just with more metal this time. His jacket now featured a sponsor's name modified by blood and cut marks.

CRAZY ZHIN IS CRAZY DEAD

He arched back in pain. He turned to face Nakoruru, rage in his eyes. Miguel walked forward in full on rant.

"Okay this is were I draw the line! You get to fight with a giant bloody chicken. You don't see me sicking a doberman on you while I wail on you! Your getting it now you prissy hippie ninja, I'm taking off the nice guy gloves and I will shove your face into a briar patch and drag you back and forth!"

Whilst shouting in his pain induced rage, Miguel went to kick Nakoruru's leg once more, but gently from the side. The goal was to open her up to a full on headbutt.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru blocks Miguel's Bajeza Con Cabeza.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Miguel           1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
Sliding to a stop in a low crouch some meters past Miguel, Nakoruru spins back up to her feet, whirling, weapon still drawn, attention focused intensely back on the powerful brawler, his rage and threats answered with patient calm. "Where I come from," she answers back, eyes blinking once as she leans forward, right hand twirling her kodachi to a reverse grip and then sliding it into the sheath behind her waistline, "Showing up prepared to face threats of any kind is a matter of life and death."

Her left foot slips forward, right foot back, bracing herself against the verbal storm and impending menace, her expression neutral, mouth pressed closed. "As I explained to your teammate, my fighting style, while unorthodox, has been approved-" Pivoting on her left foot, she kicks her right foot forward, meeting Miguel's leg with her own shin, meeting force with force, enabling her to keep her balance in spite the bruise no doubt forming beneath her pant leg.

Slamming her foot back down, she brings both arms up, holding them in front of her face as Miguel's head slams forward. Even guarded against, the power behind his attack is enough to send the smaller fighter reeling, arms flailing at her sides. But rather than fight the push back, she falls into it, kicking off the ground with her feet to spring back even further.

"If it is too overwhelming," Another skip back, a half meter of retreat. "There is no shame in forfeiting." Landing on her feet nimbly again, the smaller fighter braces herself, a surge of energy swirling up around her form, radiating all the colors of the rainbow as she snaps her left hand out, finger extended. "Mamahaha!"

Speaking of that giant bloody chicken, Miguel may need to concern himself with the rainbow-hued, diving energy bomb in the form of a hawk that is hurtling out of the sky at him at a very difficult angle to defend against!

COMBATSYS: Miguel endures Nakoruru's Amube Yatoro EX.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Miguel           1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel was not dealing with this. He saw the hawk diving for him. He waited for it to come at him. The bird dived and hit his manly muscles. But it was a trap for the bird. Once it hit him with it's beak and claws. Miguel snatched it in both hands. He threw the bird onto the floor with malice.

He laughed at what he did. He broke into a hearty laugh at the vengeance he wrought on the bird. He walked towards Nakoruru, still laughing. He was going to enjoy punching this tool full on in the face. He was gonna punch Nakoruru so hard she'd be the new Phantom of the Opera. He was going to make her suffer.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru dodges Miguel's Burla.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Miguel           0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=------\1     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
The man's defiance to the bird's fierce dive is successful, his hands closing over the feathered nuisance just as it crashes against his strong chest in a point blank detonation of that multi-hued chi. His small opponent's eyes widen as Mamahaha begins beating her wings furiously, dangerously sharp talons clawing out in a vain attempt to deliver additional scratches now that she's being held point blank.

But the futile struggle comes to an end when the surprisingly light creature gets bodily slammed to the ground, a shrill bird cry as she bounces once and then lands in a disheveled heap on the floor, no longer stirring.

Nakoruru's eyes flick from the still bird then back up to the laughing man as he strides forward, ready to deliver one hell of a haymaker into her face.

"I see that we are beyond words."

She leans forward, preparing for Miguel to close the distance, her right hand now gripping the handle of her kodachi tightly. She tenses, body winding up as if a tightened spring, her long, raven-black hair swaying freely on her left side.

"So be it."

His arm swings, fist a smoldering boulder of rage primed to deliver a devastating blow to his smaller opponent. But it smashes through empty air, his target already blurring forward in a burst of lightning speed, exploding past Miguel and sliding to a stop meters beyond him, a blur of white and crimson.

A brief pause, her robe sweeping around her feet as everything about her finally comes to rest. Slowly, the young seeming swordswoman rotates her blade backward and slides it into its sheath with a calm click.

Miguel, for his own part, if his defenses were anything less than flawless, will find himself suffering from a vicious, potentially fight-ending slash on his right side.

COMBATSYS: Miguel blocks Nakoruru's Inep Ikashima Wanpe Chuie EX.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Miguel           0/-------/-<<<<<<|-------\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel's fist missed, and he was filled with shock. That punch, that dodge, it was not normal. Miguel actually began to feel fear, what was he fighting. Was it one of Lee's monsters?

The blade was swift and Miguel was hesitating. A long crimson line was drawn on Miguel's right arm. Miguel was growing tired and desperate. The blood was forming scarlet pools on the wooden floor. He was backed into a corner, he gave up on honor, or being nice.

He was gonna kick this lady in the pelvis, Spartan style.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru blocks Miguel's Strong Kick.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Miguel           0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
Perhaps provoked, Nakoruru demonstrates speed unlike any she had demonstrated throughout the fight - yet, in that microsecond of time to defend himself, Miguel succeeds the seemingly impossible, preventing her blade from finding his unprotected side. Her weapon sheathed, Nakoruru stands up straight, whirling to face the man with a swirl of robe and long, black hair that all comes to rest a moment later. Her expression is as before, almost unreadable, showing neither compassion nor fury - yet maybe there is a hint of surprise... she clearly couldn't have expected him to defend himself against so swift a strike.

When her eyes flick to the still grounded bird to the side, something shifts in her demeanor, her right hand clenching tightly, focus finding Miguel once more as he moves forward aggressively to retaliate. A soft, terse exhale, and her hand slowly unclenches. Leaning forward on her feet, arms raised, she braces her guard once more in preparation for a staggeringly strong strikes from the brawler.

When his foot swings in, leveraging the strong reach advantage he has over his smaller opponent, she snaps her guard low into the heel of it. Unlike before, when she was simply forced backward, this time she is actually knocked up off her feet by the kinetic exchange, a pained gasp escaping her lips.

It couldn't have been planned in advance, the way she twists in the air, bending her legs, slamming into a strong support column feet first, but it certainly is executed with enough grace as to seem intentional.

Once more, Miguel would find himself the target of a blisteringly fast assault, blade drawn, a wreath of energy borrowed from the natural world around her as she aims to execute another sliding dash past him going the other way. While not quite as fast as her strike a moment before, her movement is still nearly beyond the audience's ability to perceive. Of course, most of them are not fighters - Miguel may yet have a chance.

Unless prevented, her trajectory would bring the lithe fighter sliding to a stop adjacent to the crumpled form of Mamahaha, where already she would be reaching out with her left hand to check on the well being of her feathered partner in battle, the rainbow hued energy fading from around her.

COMBATSYS: Miguel dodges Nakoruru's Annu Mutsube.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Miguel           0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel saw the swipe of the blade, and turned out of the slash. The red leather jacket gained another cut, in Miguel place this time. When he saw Nakoruru run past, he saw an opening.

His blood lust surged through him, not willing to lose. He was going to punish Nakoruru's sympathy for her bird. He was going to punch the girl in the back of the neck.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru dodges Miguel's Strong Punch.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Miguel           0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
Once more, Miguel's defenses have stood the test of lightning, the determined man refusing to be struck down even by the most bewilderingly fast of attacks. She had to have known her blade connected with so very little on her passing, yet she reaches out for Mamahaha all the same, delicate fingers digging into the creature's feathers as she strokes her friend's back once.

But the Spaniard refuses to accept defeat in spite the seeming odds between the two, charging head on into another bold attack when perhaps her guard is at its lowest.

Pushing up out of her crouch, the swordswoman narrowly escapes the swing of Miguel's fist, weaving to the side and around to his right flank in two quick steps. For all her bursts of acceleration throughout the matches, her endurance doesn't seem to be flagging yet and she moves with the same speed in her step as when she first started this ongoing gauntlet.

Having escaped Miguel's charging strike, she retaliates with nothing fancy - no rainbow vibrant chi, no twirl of her sharp blade, just a wind up and attempt to drive her right knee up into the side of Miguel's rib cage. Recoiling from the knee would be a solid swing of her left hand, a closed fist strike in the form of a traditional hook punch, aiming for roughly the same point of impact as a follow up blow.

The final step of her counter attack places her between Miguel and the still bird, right hand slipping back down toward the handle of her sheathed blade, eyes burning with quiet intensity as she remains focused on the resilient brawler.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru successfully hits Miguel with Aggressive Strike.
- Power hit! -

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Miguel           1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel's fist missed again. He kept trying to get to brass attacks, but she always slipped away. When he turned, she kneed him in the ribs, and he heard a crack. His ribs where in burning pain. He coughed up blood.

He was wearing down, breaking down. He cold feel the cold enclosing him. But he would not turn over to lose like a dog. The fires within burned hotter than the fires around him.

He lashed out to grab Nakoruru. He was going to grab her by the arm, hammer her back in with all his rage and anger. Then drive his knee up towards the inside of her rib cage.

He could fall right then and there, but he was too DETERMINED!

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru blocks Miguel's Exciter.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Miguel           0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru



[NAKORURU]
Perhaps she thought that one-two combination would be enough to finally drop the tenacious brawler that towers over her whenever they engage in close quarters exchanges. But as he lashes out, securing a grip on her striking arm with enough strength to deny the slippery swordswoman from plying her speed to evade him once again, it's obvious that even with what may be a cracked rib in his side, he's refusing to fall.

Securely grabbed, Nakoruru is struck soundly in the upper back as she tries to twist free. A brief cry of pain accompanies the impact before she manages to reach behind her and draw her blade, snapping it up behind her back in a desperate bid to diminish some of Miguel's striking force by allowing his knuckles to crack against the flat side weapon instead of her spine even if it still ends up smacking her in the back all the same.

The knee might have broken her in half if she didn't finally wrest her way free just in time, heel against his knee for leverage, slipping loose the wrist guard over her forearm and leaving it in his grip as she scrambles backward at last, eyes widened slightly with a hint of alarm.

Maybe that was the closest she had come to see just how far the rage burning in his soul could drive him. Maybe she was convinced she certainly didn't want to suffer another assault like that. Quickly recovering her balance, her mad escape comes to an end as she slides to a stop, breaths coming more quickly now, as if her calm had at last been dispelled.

Kodachi still in hand, its azure gemmed pommel glimmering, she exhales softly, eyes studying Miguel with perhaps newfound respect for the threat he represents. Pushing off, she lunges back for Miguel, leaning forward to give her arm and short blade all the reach she can against him with a swift, horizontal sweep to the right near the level of his chest, then a quick back swing of her arm, this time slicing from low to high, from left to right back toward Miguel's torso.

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru successfully hits Miguel with Random Strike.

[                           \\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Miguel           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0     [E] Nakoruru

[MIGUEL]
Miguel was being held together by his drive, and he was being driven by anger. When the target of his anger slipped from his grasp, he was still in a daze of pain and rage. When he finally sees her, she was launching forward, blade in hand. He felt the sharp slice of the blade, and began to keel over.

But rather than let this girl just win, she was going to feel an extra bit of pain for everything she did. He was going to grab her by the should and punch the shoulder. He would then kick Nakoruru to her knee's before giving one last punch with his brass knuckles. And providing one last statement.

"Damn you..."

COMBATSYS: Miguel can no longer fight.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru dodges Miguel's Caricia.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Nakoruru [E]     0/-------/--=====|



[NAKORURU]
At last, after the dashes, the leaps, the desperate blocks and evasions, Nakoruru finishes the fight with a swift, deft pair of cuts - just enough to pierce through the nearly indomitable wall of Miguel's unbreakable resolve.

She finishes, leaning forward, exhaling softly, right arm out at one side, kodachi held in a reverse grip, left arm out the other way, lower to the ground as she pants for breath. A drop of blood falls from the end of her edged weapon as she stares back at Miguel, waiting to see if he's finished in his relentless aggression at last.

When he does advance, she's quick to move, spinning on her left foot to come to a stop in the exact same stance, ready to strike or evade, and, as it just so happens, right out of reach of his last, defiant attempt to get a hold of her.

Slowly, the young woman stands up straight, kodachi flipped in her hand then slowly slipped back into its sheath. She watches Miguel for a long moment - both members of this team proved to have more staying power than she initially expected. But when it becomes clear that at long last, this bout is over, she bows her head slightly toward him, "This is as far as your rage can carry you," she states softly, moving over to kneel down next to Mamahaha.

A snap of her left hand and a second whip of her wrist produces the billowing, white cloak she used to guard against one of the Electric Child's more fearsome attacks. Carefully, she wraps the bird up in the cloak, hefting it up a covered bundle cradled against her right side. One more glance toward Miguel before she shakes her head to move back toward the rest of her team, "You could go so much further... if you can conquer the pain that stirs your soul to such wrath."

Finally, she steps away, moving back toward Honoka, a gentle smile already forming at the side of her lips. "Now then," she states, drawing near to the one who served as Team Cheerleader this round. "I think to recall some mention of a tour of this land, hm?"

COMBATSYS: Nakoruru has ended the fight here.

Log created on 14:11:07 08/06/2017 by Sylvie, and last modified on 13:02:47 08/14/2017.