Match of the Millennium

Description: A clash of kung fu styles on a precarious perch. Will it be the wild or the mild who is sent splashing to the water below? (Winner: Hotaru)

[HAYLEY]
The Golden Angel Tournament has quickly become a gathering place for fighters all sorts. The young upstarts, the rising stars, and even the eccentric weirdos. In some cases, all labels apply equally well. Whatever the case, the Golden Angel Waterpark makes for an equally exciting new venue for the tournament bouts. There's fights on the beaches, on the waterslides...

...and battles on the floating buoys. These precarious fights put opponents head to on a drastically limited fighting stage. Combat becomes a dangerous game of offense and defense where one misstep, be it a wide-swinging attack or an overextended dodge, can lead to the combatant falling into the drink. How will these newcomers handle such a bout? Well, only time will tell on that one!

But the first of these battlers is one Hayley Bretherton. Though mostly an unknown in the fighting circuit, there are quite a few rumors flying around about young Ms. Bretherton. First of all, her father, Art Bretherton, once hosted "Fight Hunter," a "reality" show where he traveled the world learning new styles and testing them against the brightest students in each art. While few remember Hayley from the show--she was barely a teenager even by the final seasons--more people know her as "Aussie Spangles," a young star in Jezebel Faiblesse's absurd new "International Spangles" initiative.

Either way, Hayley is here today, and she's dressed in what the "Golden Angel" product has provided. Hayley's swimsuit (today at least) is a blue and white number that most closely resembles the Australian flag. It is a form-flattering one piece in dark blue with white stars along the belly. Perhaps more noticeably, the Union Jack is printed on the butt -- drawing further attention to emphatic snugness around Hayley's curvaceous...if rather big...bottom.

She knocks her firsts together excitedly, bouncing one her feet as she climbs up onto the platform. "This is gonna be great," she says to herself. "I wonder what Hotaru's fighting style is like..."



[HOTARU]
Hayley, or the regrettably known, Aussie Spangles, hasn't long to wait on the circular buoy. With about a minute to spare, Hotaru Futaba rushes up to the side of the pool situated in the artificially sunny Golden Angel Waterpark. It's a good thing the place is entirely enclosed beneath the greenhouse dome as on the other side of the glass, the temperature will be unlikely to get above fifty degrees Fahrenheit on this mid-winter's day. With all the faux-sunlight bathing the interior of the extravagant water park, one would be forgiven for not even realizing that it's a cloudy day outside in Southtown, Japan.

Hayley's opponent pauses to glance over herself, as if making absolutely sure that the curious concoction advertised as Golden Angel is holding up to its promise of providing ideal swimwear for its user. The lotion has taken on the form of an azure one piece swimsuit with a small diamond opening over the belly and almost all of her upper back left uncovered but for a few crisscrossing cords. At her waist is a short crimson sarong skirt matching the color of the red ribbons tying off Hotaru's two long pig-tails.

Well, the swimsuit passes a visual inspection, at least. Still skeptical, the girl crouches down, scooping her hand into the saltwater pool, then stands up, rubbing the water on her side, making absolutely sure that this science fiction marvel holds up to the water test as promised.

Her skeptical expression shifts to bright amusement as everything seems to work as advertised and then she sets her eyes across the way to where Hayley has situated herself. Breathing in, Hotaru circles back several steps before sprinting forward, leaping out over the water to land dead center on a buoy between the shore and her destination. Without missing a step, she springs a second time into a long jump, "Look out!" she exclaims, laughter already on her voice as she comes crashing down on the buoy on the side opposite the Australian up and comer.

"Pleased to meet you!" she exclaims, pressing her hand over her fist as she bows slightly the moment she has her footing on the tipsy platform. Hayley's opponent is hardly a big name herself. Having gotten into a number of small time matches with less than amazing results, she's certainly not out of place in the target demographic for Golden Angel participants. Any chance to get her name out there... she'll get recognized for something bigger someday!

Coming out of her bow, she extends her left hand forward, palm open, her right arm bent behind her and raised slightly as she pivots her left shoulder toward her opponent. The girl has a petite figure from head to toe, unlikely to break a hundred pounds even soaking wet. "I'm ready when you are!" she chirps, full of excited energy at being able to be part of the latest big event to hit the fighting leagues.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.

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Hotaru           0/-------/-------|

[HAYLEY]
Hayley bounces on her heels excitedly to get the blood pumping. She drops to a crouch and stretches in a few warm-up exercises as she waits. The wait is over soon enough, however, when Hotaru makes herself known with a bounding leap onto the platform. It bobs with a crest of water, rocking back and forth--but only slightly, Hotaru's landing offset somewhat by the weight difference. Hayley's certainly not large, of course, but Hotaru's such a lithe young-woman!

"Oh," Hayley says, "Nice to meetcha. Hotaru, right? I'm Hayley!" she beams, brushing her dark, black hair away from her face. She pops out of her stretch with a bounce before sticking her thumbs in the back of her swimsuit to pull it down just a little more modestly in the rear. Even as she does, however, Hayley's green eyes trace Hotaru's stance and stature.

"Oh! Is that a Southern kung fu style? --Kenpo?!" Hayley's tone is ecstatic. "I love Kenpo!" She drops into a similar stance of her own -- clearly Kenpo, though certainly not Hotaru's own Kenpo Juukei.

"Let's get started, then!" Hayley digs her feet in, sliding her bare soles across the slightly slick platform. Her eyes narrow, carefully observing Hotaru: how she carries herself, the center of gravity, the nuances of her stance. "I've been looking forward to this! You can come at me whenever you're ready!""

COMBATSYS: Hayley has joined the fight here.

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Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Hayley

COMBATSYS: Hayley focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Hayley

[HOTARU]
"Yeah!" Hotaru answers back in confirmation of her name, grinning a bit sheepishly, "Glad to meet you. I am a big fan of your father's show. I was sad when it ended." Eyes so dark blue as to almost seem black close for a moment she shakes her head, "There were still so many styles for him to talk about!" A soft sigh, her eyes opening again, her stance held throughout the brief moment of reminiscence.

And then she's beaming at the recognition of her stance, "That's right! Of course you would know your stuff!" She exhales. There's cameras rolling, audiences milling about on the sides of the water as the event begins in earnest. But Hotaru has at least made enough appearances to be past the point of stage fright, eyes focused on Hayley now. A swimsuit battle might be a bit ridiculous on face value, but she views every fight as an opportunity to test her progress and to get a morsel more of recognition. The Champion's Road is a long one, to be certain.

Studying her stance reveals very little initial that wouldn't be obvious. She's light on her feet, bouncing up onto her toes slightly without showing any signs of losing her balance on the unstable surface. Her stance leaves her easily positioned to defend herself, strike back with a quick left or harder right, or even commit to swinging in her right leg for a harder kick if the opportunity presents itself.

"But I've integrated a lot of little touches into it, things I've learned from different teachers along the way. So maybe I'll be able to surprise you," she grins good-naturedly.

And then comes that potential for surprise as she takes a confident step forward. Yet rather than advancing directly into an attack, her next step has her twisting around, her back toward Hayley, her crimson skirt swishing about her hips. Continuing into the momentum, the girl takes a step backward, bringing her into closer range to strike. The moment her foot roots itself near the center of the buoy, the Futaba girl snaps her right hand out backward, twisting her torso at the same time to lean into the strike, lending it a touch more impact while her pig-tails swirl out from the sides of her head.

"HA!"

COMBATSYS: Hayley blocks Hotaru's Medium Punch.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Hayley

[HAYLEY]
"Oh," Hayley's eyes widen. For a time, she was getting discouraged. Rashid and Mint had never heard of it. Jezebel mostly knew it from a rejected spot on the show. Hotaru, though, Hotaru is a fan? The Australian's smile widens. "That's awesome! I'm thinking about trying to revive it," she admits, more quietly.

She continues to watch Hotaru's movements, moving in sync with the platform herself with careful, balanced steps. "Oh, yeah? I'm sure you've got some cool tricks," Hayley says excitedly, but not with time to ponder what they might be, for Hotaru's soon on the offensive with a spinning backfist of sorts. The Australian raises her forearm, bracing it with the other to block. As Hotaru's fist smashes against Hayley's guard with a thump and a slight wobble of the platform, Hayley herself goes on the offensive. She steps forward and turns on one heel, snapping forward with the opposite leg. It's a strong, snap kick aimed to catch Miss Futaba in the side before she can withdraw again. In truth, it feels a bit more like Taekwondo that Kenpo, but maybe she's familiar with several styles...?

COMBATSYS: Hayley successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Kick.
? Strange Hit! ?

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Hotaru           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0           Hayley

[HOTARU]
As her backhand impacts Hayley's forearm, Hotaru is already rebounding, adjusting her footing to correct for the shift in momentum necessary. She definitely hadn't overcommitted to the probing strike, nor is she slow to twist on her feet in spite the uncertain platform beneath the girls.

No, the reason Hayley's snap kick collides solidly against her target's side is entirely due to her own speed in counter attacking, slipping into the strike with faster ease and retaliation than the pig-tailed Kung Fu artist had remotely been anticipating. "Gah!" Hotaru exclaims as the foot drives into her ribs faster than she can lower her arm to brace for an impact. Still, in spite her small stature, and even taking into consideration the swaying buoy beneath the two fighters' feet, the Futaba girl is surprisingly hard to dislodge. There's something about her stance, the way she bends her right knee, leaning into the blow, shifting her center of mass downward as she folds with the hit rather than being knocked backward.

Even though her expression is a wince from pain, there is a spark to her eyes, the spirit of one truly exhilarated at the chance to compete.

"I truly hope that you do," she grunts out as she winds herself up by turning into her step, sweeping both arms away from Hayley, turning her torso until her slender abdomen is taut.

And then she unwinds into strong attack, springing into a low hop even as her arms sweep forward, whirling in reverse from a moment ago as she attempts to batter Hayley's high guard with twin rapid windmilling strikes, first right, then left. The moment her feet touch down on the buoy, however, she launches into the true meat of the attack, lips drawn back in an intense grin as she slams her right hand out for Hayley's center of mass, aiming to deliver a single, devastating palm strike with her right. The girl leans her all into the attack, legs and torso augmenting the striking force that her slight arm can possibly deliver on its own.

And with this second look at the girl's striking style, it becomes clear that she is making up for stature and lower upper body strength by coordinated use of nearly every muscle in her body, empowering each blow to land way harder than one might expect from a girl her size. "HAAH!" her cry echoes out across the pool as the Kung Fu artist fully commits, holding nothing back.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayley with Soushou Shin EX.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Hotaru           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0           Hayley

[HAYLEY]
Hayley steps back out of the kick on one foot, hopping briefly to reestablish her balance. There's a precarious second hop when the buoy bobs in the water, but Hotaru's sturdy defense helps keep the whole platform much more steady than some fighters would. As Hayley lowers her leg back down, she finds herself staring down a follow-up attack from Hotaru. The dark-haired Aussie blinks, surprised by the speed.

For a moment, she looks ready to meet the attack head-on, but the burst of speed from Futaba catches Bretherton off guard. The twin hits catch her on the cheek and stagger her, setting up the Aussie for a heavy blow to the belly that nearly bowls her over.

"W-whoa!" Hayley says, digging her heels in to avoid going backwards off the buoy. "No offense," she rubs her stomach. "But you hit pretty hard for someone so small! That's some great technique. The power, the speed!" Hayley runs her thumb across her lip, running the movement back over in her mind. She spreads her feet further apart, bendhing her knees and extending one hand, open-palmed, toward Hotaru. She takes a deep breath, and the pressure around her increases. Droplets of water part as she gathers her chi, focusing it into a brief swirling cyclone of wind-like energy. It's faint, but certainly palpable.

And then Hayley steps forward, swinging her back hand in a wide, tiger claw. Chi gathers around her fingertips as she swings before Hayley finally hurls a projectile like a fuzzy, vaguely shaped boomerang of wind.

"Ha!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru auto-guards Hayley's Emu Shoot.

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Hotaru           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0           Hayley

[HOTARU]
The strike delivered, Hotaru pushes back with her forward leg, using leg strength to recover out of the hard lean she had used to empower her final blow. There is a certain controlled precision about the girl's techniques - an elegance without being superfluous, every motion, however graceful in appearance, somehow contributing to the whole of her compact combat style.

Balance recovered, she's twirling back on her feet, the whirling motion serving both to distance herself from Hayley while also leaving her an uncertain target - after all, she might be inclined to attack out of that spin rather than simply retreat, and her insistence upon never remaining stationary as her bare feet find purchase upon the floating platform's surface might discourage a more straight forward approach to fighting the girl.

But the Australian martial artist adopts a wiser course, targeting the spinning girl with an attack that won't broker any potential counter strike. The Futaba girl is coming out of her second distancing spin when the wind sheer of chi reaches her. Azure eyes widen as she sweeps her arms into the course of the attack, matching cerulean glow washing over her forearms as chi collides with chi, knocking the attack aside at the last second. "Ha- ack!"

The hasty, split second defense is not without consequence, however, as she has to catch her balance, arms whirling for a moment before she plants her feet solidly on the ground once more. Wringing her hands to shake away what must have been a stinging impact, she grins back at Hayley, "Thank you." There is a dip of her head in acknowledging the compliment. "I have to give it all to make my family proud."

She springs forward then, landing in a low splits crouch, just shy of reaching Hayley, her left foot straight forward, her right leg bent at the knee, her foot planted directly beneath her own center of mass for support. With her arms out at her sides, she looks as if crouching low in order to leap high into the sky and take flight.

"I think you might know what that is like." the girl remarks good naturedly as she springs into her next attack. As before, she goes from setup to attacking with remarkable speed as she rises up with her left palm leading the way, aiming to catch Hayley at the base of her rib cage if she doesn't guard quite in time.

But just like the previous attack, it's the second blow she need watch out for as Hotaru twists her body at her hips, left harm swinging back even as her right hand swings forward, another one of her surprisingly strong palm strikes slamming in for Hayley's gut. "Ha-HAH!" the Futaba girl exclaims.

COMBATSYS: Hayley interrupts Fierce Punch from Hotaru with Wombat Tackle.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Hotaru           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Hayley

[HAYLEY]
Hayley's emerald eyes widen when Hotaru deftly intercepts her fireball with a flash of chi. "Whoa," she mouths before putting on a pokerface for the camera. She can't sit in too much awe, she has to make a good impression here.

"Err," Hayley says, "yeah..."

****************

Hayley, fourteen at most, tightens the belt of her gi and adjusts her gloves. She can hear excited murmurs of the crowd outside. This is her chance to shine, to represent the her father's teaching to the world. In a little less than hour, life as she knows it will be irrevocably changed.

****************

Hayley shakes her head, chasing the thought away. Hotaru meant nothing by it, she tells herself silently. The Australian shifts her footing, spreading her feet further apart to guard against the blow. The first palm strikes heavily against her ribs with a resounding thump as Hotaru's power and weight collide with Hayley's hardened body. The dark-haired girl stumbles back from Hotaru's blow, staggering backward in a spin that puts her back to the young Kenpo expert and thereby exposing her to the follow-up palm.

That is, until Hayley snaps toward her opponent like a cannon. She leaps up in a flash of red, white and blue--the print of her bathing suit--and smashes her backside into the smaller girl with an unorthodox hip tackle aimed to shoot through a brief opening left between the initial strike and the follow-up.

"A-ha!" Hayley gasps, holding her ribs. "How was that?" ...did she really intend to smash Hotaru with her butt from the beginning?

[HOTARU]
In the perfect timing of Hayley's unexpected counterstrike, she demonstrates how quickly she's come up to speed on the Futaba girl's style of Kung Fu. Chaining blows, either to try and batter her way through one's defense via brute force or perhaps to misdirect her opponent's guard into the wrong place so that she can deliver the true attack. But now that 'Aussie Spangles' is wise to the style, she can take advantage in return. Rather than try to second guess where the follow up strike will land, just barrel through it!

The impact is solid as Hotaru's right palm snaps out, intersected early enough to barely pack any punch at all as her arm is knocked aside. Having been mid-strike, there is no opportunity at all to defend herself as Hayley's backside collides with her chest and chin, ricocheting the smaller of the two into flying backward. Arms flailing, Hotaru tumbles backward, once, then twice, and then just about flies clean off the buoy.

It's a last second scramble to catch herself, spreading her legs and arms out at her sides to land in a flat sprawl against the edge of the smooth surface, sliding another half meter before coming to a rest. Eyes blink back at Hayley as she pushes herself up back up into standing, a bit of a dazed look to her expression as if still trying to process what the heck happened in the instant exchange of strikes.

Squinting, she raises her hands, standing up straight as she returns to her ready stance. "Wow, you sure got me there!" she acknowledges when she finally speaks up again, a laugh to her voice as her focus finally settles on Hayley. "Good one."

It's easy to tell she's trying to think her way through the problem. Now that her style seems to have been figured out, she'll need to shift tactics and find another way to get in on her opponent.

Whatever she settles on, it comes fast, the girl bursting across the buoy with a swift but light step. In close range, rather than strike, both hands snap forward, attempting to secure a hold on Hayley's forearms and pull her forward off balance.

At the same time, Hotaru's forward momentum is devoted to pulling herself into a series of rapid, rising kicks as she tries to climb right up the front of Hayley like a set of stairs - right shin, left knee, right thigh, a blow to her stomach, then planting both feet against the other girl's shoulders to kick off into a backflip to escape. "Ya, ya, YA!"

Of course, if Hayley proves wily, she might catch Hotaru entirely off balance from her aggressive charge, hands sweeping out into the air to catch nothing at all!

COMBATSYS: Hayley blocks Hotaru's Shinjou Tai.

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Hotaru           1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Hayley

[HAYLEY]
Hayley grins at Hotaru over her shoulder, keeping her back turned for a lingering moment. She doesn't wait, however, as Hotaru has certainly shown herself a skilled enough opponent that doing so is quite simply asking for trouble.

Instead Hayley turns, dropping once more into a fighting stance with the brief squeak of her feet across the buoy.

"Thanks!" she says, "I had to find some kind of opening. Your moves are pretty fast!

And as if on cue, Hayley's soon defending from another one! The hand clenches around her wrist and pulls her off balance, but Hayley's guard is tight. She raises her leg, intercepting the climbing kicks by pressing into them with her own leg muscles. To do this Hayley has to put her entire weight onto one foot and maintain her balance, but the Taekwondo in her background seems to make it a feasible task for the Aussie's powerful legs. Even so, each kick slams heavily against Hayley's raised calve and thigh. The stomach kick requires a swift forearm block, Hayley's arm snapping out to intercept it and offer Hotaru another step. The shoulder kick is only half-countered, as one shoulder is braced but the other is very much exposed.

Hayley staggers back precariously as Hotaru kicks into back and away, the Aussie turning with the blow and nearly toppling over backward.

"Gosh," she manages, "you're really agile, too!" Hayley doesn't wait around herself, though, as she's soon barreling after Hotaru for a combination attack of her own. She steps forward with a low kick that hooks around to try and catch the back of the other girl's knee. If she succeeds, she applies pressure to stumble her forward, where Hayley tries to slam her hip into Hotaru's midsection, hook her arm under the Kenpo fighter's armpit, and then toss her over with a traditional judo throw.

COMBATSYS: Hayley successfully hits Hotaru with Combo Grapple.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Hotaru           1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Hayley

[HOTARU]
Backflipping out of Hayley's solid defense, Hotaru is just in the process of landing back down on the buoy with a light step that runs no risk of jostling the platform so much that it should dump either girl. But her opponent leaves her no room to recover, either, darting in with a hooking low kick that catches Hotaru's leg at the knee.

Azure eyes widen as her leg buckles, balance shattered. Her arms come up quickly in a desperate bid to regain control as the Asutralian-born prodigy, but all that does is leave her vulnerable to getting gripped, then hipchecked hard enough to force the air from her lungs in an unsightly wheeze before she finds herself up and flipped onto her back on the ground all in one smoothly executed sequence.

"Not agile enough, it seems," she replies with an abashed grin, pushing into a swift roll to the right that suggests she's hell bent on getting away. But as she rolls prone, the black-haired Southtown local is already lunging into a swift counter attack, knee and hands pressing off the buoy hard enough to rock it a little as she takes to the air, pivoting into a pair of windmilling strikes aimed at battering Hayley's guard high.

Unlike before, there is no follow up attack, Hotaru landing in her low stance from the start of the fight, left leg out in front, right foot planted securely beneath her, each arm out at her sides as she returns to her Tsubame stance unless prevented.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayley with Enryuu Banda.

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Hotaru           1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\1           Hayley

[HAYLEY]
Hayley hops once to land on both feet as she comes out of her throw. It's a short, light hop that manages to avoid upsetting the platform too much in its wake. This does not last when Hotaru applies pressure on her own, making the buoy bob and rock with a dangerous lurch. For a moment, Hayley loses her balance in the transition. Between the shift in the platform and Hotaru's shift in style, the Aussie is caught with her pants down metaphorically. Entirely metaphorically, in this case! Her swimsuit lacks shorts.

Hayley's expecting short, clipped strikes with immediate follow-up. Instead, all the fury of the moves comes in the wake. When it does, Hayley gets a battering of windmill strikes that go over her guard and leave her in a daze. "Wuuugh," is the noise that Hayley manages to make. "Mixing it up, huh?" She can tell, apparently. Perhaps not read it yet, but she does seem to know something happened.

"That's really exciting," Hayley says as she rubs her head. She steps back into her stance, stepping onto her toes as she seems to coil like a spring. Building up power she bounds dangerously across the platform, launching herself with a spinning cyclone of gathering chi. It culminates in a staggering haymaker, of all things, making her mixture of moves even more eclectic. Did Hayley just take whatever techniques she could remember and mash them together?

COMBATSYS: Hayley successfully hits Hotaru with Devil Spin EX.
> Determined Hit! <

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Hotaru           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1           Hayley

[HOTARU]
"I've got to try," Hotaru remarks from her low stance, head lifted, eyes on Hayley. Though her mouth is still drawn into a friendly smile, her eyes are focused with purpose. These matches - fun, intense, and stepping stones along the road she hopes to pursue. Maybe her brother never had to subject himself to swimsuit battles to get further down the road, but he also had more years of training than she did, so she has to catch up somehow!

This low, with such a wide stance, it's easy for her to stay balanced on the buoy. It would have to nearly topple onto its side to dislodge the girl in this state. But while the low stance is great for balance, and at times allows her to escape the path of incoming attacks, it's not a great way to deal with powerful blows.

Eyes widening as Hayley winds up with a literal blurring whirlwind of chi, the young Kung Fu artist pushes up out of her stance, arms raising up to try and guard against whatever might be coming next. But her weaker arm strength catches up with her as the Aussie fighter spins into a powerful chambered haymaker.

The impact smashes right through the featherweight fighter's guard, crashing into her cheek with all the unwound momentum behind it. Spinning on her feet from getting her bell rung, the girl nearly stumbles her way right off the platform in a complete daze.

She catches herself at the last moment, foot coming down half on, half off the lip of the buoy, her balance regained with a more controlled sweep of her arms.

Panting for breath, she spins back toward Hayley, arms snapping up into a guarded positon just to be safe. It's easy to see that she's still a bit stunned. Being tipsy atop the tipsy platform is a bad combination and it won't take too much to dislodge her from it all together at this point.

"Whew," she replies, eyes finding Hayley, "A punch worthy of Mister Bretherton's daughter. Though next time I think I'd enjoy just watching it remotely well enough," she grins before her expression becomes serious again. Hayley will have enough experience to know that look - the intent to put it all on the line, holding nothing back. Whatever tricks she has up her sleeve to prepare herself, now is definitely the time to use them.

When Hotaru bursts forward, it is with speed unlike anything she had demonstrated throughout the fight. In an instant, she's in front of the larger girl, back in her low stance, arms out her side. "Tenshou-"

The small Kung Fu artist launches into a backflipping kick, the strike empowered by a huge swath of cerulean chi similar to the defensive spark power she had demonstrated early on in the match.

With her feet flipping up, she puts Hayley's guard to the test, attempting to launch the possibly future video star into the air!

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayley with Tenshou Ranki EX.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>---\1           Hayley

If Hayley thought Hotaru's earlier strikes packed a punch, they don't compare the crushing power behind her next attack. Knocking Aussie Spangles airborne, Hotaru ascends with her, following the momentum of her backflip, coming out of the graceful ascent near its apex. Below them both, the entire buoy flips over in the water, knocked so hard in the opposite direction by Hotaru's launch.

Eyes finding her opponent, her trajectory through the air shifts, one last burst of chi taking her into a shallow angled dive, tackling the other girl clean out of the air back down toward the pool. Whether by design or by accident, the two land on the second buoy the pig-tailed Kung Fu artist had leapt from at the start of the match, sliding along its surface and nearly flying right off the other end of it before coming to a stop near the edge. The featherweight Futaba girl is situated atop Hayley, having tackled her to her back, sitting on her stomach with her knees at either side on her arms.

Both palms press against Hayley's sternum as Hotaru gathers up all the chi she is capable of using, a hemisphere of sapphire blue energy erupting up around her. "aaaaaAAAAAAAH!"

Teeth grit, hair whipped by the flurry of power swelling around her, the girl finally allows it all to collapse back in on her, her arms serving as conduits, channeling the chi into a point blank blast against Hayley's torso, sending a shockwave out along the surface of the water, driving a tidal wave that splashes over the audience watching along the sides of the pool.

For her own part, Hotaru presses down to spring backward, exhaling as she lands on her feet wearily, barely staying balanced on the wobbly buoy.

[HAYLEY]
Hayley pauses, taken by surprise by the compliment. It seems to genuinely throw her off guard for a moment. Her mouth goes agape and she's briefly stunned to silence.

****************

Tremor looms over Hayley. He tells her she was poorly trained. That her father wasted his time imparting worthless knowledge on her. Tears well up in her eyes as she lays there, broken and defeated and staring at the ceiling of some bungaloo in Thailand.

****************

"T-thanks," Hayley says, her eyes starting to water. "Really," she says, quieter than she's been all match. Even so, there's no time to linger on it as suddenly Hotaru's foot has connected with Hayley's chin with enough force to launch her high-up into the air.

The two collide in mid-air and Hayley is slammed into a second buoy like a meteor, colliding with it with so much force that the two of them slide across the length of it and come to a stop at the edge. Groggy and punchdrunk, Hayley tries to move, but between her arms being pinned and Hotaru (light as she is) sitting on her stomach, she can't get up. There's a brief panic as the Aussie realizes she can't slip away from the chi explosion, which soon coalesces into a massive, tidal surge of power that's dumped right into her at point-blank. She actually steams a bit when Hotaru moves away, the lingering heat from the outpouring of energy evaporating some of the salt water from the splashdown.

But somehow, Hayley gets up. She slowly crawls to her feet, first with an elbow to hoist up, then to her knees, and finally all the way into a hunched, half-stance. She raises her fists, ready to go again!

"That...that was really good!" Hayley says, "I--I didn't know you had that kind of power. Could...you teach me to do something...something like that?"

And then, Hayley's remaining stamina runs out. She stumbles backward and collapses into the water behind her. Sploosh.

COMBATSYS: Hayley takes no action.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Hotaru           0/-------/--<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Hayley can no longer fight.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Hotaru           0/-------/--<<<<<|

[HOTARU]
Hotaru is still catching her breath as Hayley gets to her feet. With so much of her combat being focused on her Kung Fu strikes, unleashing a chi bomb like that tends to catch her opponents entirely off guard. At the same time, she hardly leaves anything in the tank for the rest of the fight afterward, pouring every ounce of chi drawing potential into a singular, decisive hit.

Seeing Hayley get to her feet afterward is a bit of a surprise. Most opponents in the Futaba girl's bracket don't manage nearly as much if she manages to land the setup and see her signature technique through.

Sucking in her breath, she lifts up her arms, standing up straight but no longer bouncing on her feet. The energy for that kind of relentless mobility went into her chi bomb. "Hah," she gasps, pivoting into a guarded stance, readying for an anticipated counter attack.

"It's a gamble, throwing everything into one attack." She sucks in another breath, clearly trying to take a moment to prepare herself. "You had me on the ropes though, I didn't have a cha-"

Hayley topples backward into the pool and Hotaru's eyes widen, the girl bolting forward without the slightest hesitation, even if her first few steps are more wobbly than graceful. A dive off the edge after the Australia-borne fighter is followed by her surfacing with an arm around the other girl, swimming backward toward the shore. "Easy there," she gasps, sputtering water as she backstrokes with her other arm. Fortunately, there isn't far to go for the two battle-weary girls and officials are on point to drag them out of the pool and provide towels while the audience cheers at having been able to witness a very entertaining spectacle. "Still gotta get rested up for future rounds!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.

Log created on 17:23:51 01/13/2018 by Hotaru, and last modified on 02:34:21 01/14/2018.