Match of the Millennium

Description: The Prince of Kyokugen battles the Queen of Makai in a daring duel! There may even be a King involved...?

[MORRIGAN]
Lady Morrigan Aensland had little expectations for World Warrior. She was bored, and when someone like Morrigan gets bored, this apparently means engaging in a global tournament with the world's strongest fighters. Perhaps as punishment for her hubris, she was soundly defeated by Akuma--a fighter who might be as much of a monster as she is, in his own way.

But surprisingly, Morrigan did not leave then. Perhaps her bouts with Ramlethal Valentine and Akuma kindled genuine interest in the tourney. Maybe she wants to see what else World Warrior can offer before she flits off into the night.

Whatever the case, a swarm of bats flutters through the courtyard suddenly. In the wake is a green-haired woman in purple tights and a leotard. Her outfit would be exotic enough as is, but the two sets of wings--a small set on her head and a full set on her back--give her a definite unearthly appearance. That, or she has some elaborate costuming.

[RYO]
Ryo Sakazaki had far more earnest and earthly reasons for participating in this tournament. For him, it was a chance to test himself. Win or lose, it was about perfecting his Kyokugen and growing stronger, not just as a fighter, but as a man.

Of course, too, there was the promise of fame and fortune. Both things that Ryo needs in spades. It's not about vainglory, nor about greed. He simply needs these things in order to continue pushing on, building up his father's legacy, and to keep the art of Kyokugen alive. It seems that the dojo is always struggling to hold members, after all. It's a rigorous fighting style. One that requires a lot of endurance and truly transforms one's entire lifestyle. This leads to a lot of dropouts shortly after starting. The weeding out process is what kills the dojo. Bringing fame gets more people in the doors. The money is just a constant bailout.

So here he is, giving it his all. Of course, his first match had placed him squarely in the "losers" bracket. Something that had stung, perhaps, but it didn't seem to dissuade him. Since then, he has kept his footing, proving to others that he is no pushover, despite his first round showing. He can only hope that, as the stronger fighters fall in the rankings, the competition only promises to get stiffer.

Right now, he's kneeling in the courtyard, awaiting his opponent. He's fair less impressive than the succubus when she arrives. His own "costuming" consists of a worn, threadbare black gi, its only adornments being the crimson embroidery that heralds the kanji sigils of the Kyokugen dojo.

When Morrigan comes in as a flock of bats, his cobalt eyes open, and the karateka rises from his knees, brushing them off. If Ryo is impressed by her appearance, it doesn't show on his rugged, stoic face. He has encountered another that looked very similar to her in the past, after all. Only not as busty. Definitely.

"So, you're Morrigan, then," he says, as he slides on a pair of weighted pair of black leather gauntlets, stretching them taut over his knuckles. "Are you ready to do this?"

[MORRIGAN]
Morrigan brushes her hair back idly, twirling strands of green around her index finger. She looks up slowly at Ryo. She did she flutter her eyelashes, or is she blinking to adjust?

"So you've heard of me," Morrigan says, her voice melodic but slightly smoky--and tinged with a Scottish accent. "What's your name again?" she asks. "Ryo--something, is that right?"

She steps forward with a click of her heels, then spreads her hands out in front of her, backs of her hands facing Ryo in an unorthodox stance.

"Of course," she smiles. "Whenever you are."

[RYO]
The toying with her hair and lash flutter actually catches Ryo off guard. He freezes in place for a moment, his eyes widening for just the briefest of seconds. A bit of color tints his cheeks under the stubble that's starting to form. He averts his gaze.

"Sakazaki."

He shrugs his broad shoulders, using the movement to roll them, before he follows suit with his head, stretching out his neck. His squeezes each of his fists with the counterpart, crackling his knuckles with a series of dull, wet crunches. Finally, he brushes his thick, calloused fingers through his bushy blonde hair and steps forward, until the pair of them are just outside of arm's reach of one another.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Without so much as a break in his cadence to give a hint to his violent intention, Ryo explodes into action. The black clad warrior makes a sudden rush, more of a hop, really, with his feet sliding in the dirt underfoot. His thick, densely muscled upper body moves with a machinelike precision and power, torguing to the side, and then springing back as he uses that movement, along with his shoulder and powerful, trunklike arm to attempt to drive a fist not just into Morrigan's stomach, but actually aiming through it, as if he's trying to punch her back through her gut.

COMBATSYS: Ryo has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ryo              0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Morrigan has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0         Morrigan

COMBATSYS: Morrigan blocks Ryo's Mouko Raijin Gou.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
"Right," Morrigan says, flipping her hair back. "Mmm." The succubus seems to have noticed Ryo's sheepishness there. She shows a little teeth with an amused smile.

"Oh, don't tell me you're shy," she says. "With a body like that, I'm sure that women are simply throwing themselves at you!"

But then Ryo is upon her with a air-splitting punch. In an instant, Morrigan's wings have bent around from her back to form a shield. Leathery flesh (?) becomes like wrought iron, the wings criss-crossing to absorb the hit with a heavy thump.

"And strong, too," Morrigan says with a smile.
%But then the wings shift and coil, winding around her arm. Dancing like shadows in candlelight, the wings reshape themselves to form an imposing claw, which then launches forward toward Ryo's chest to try and grab into his gi and shove him back away from her once more.

"So why are you here?" Morrigan asks. "Be honest!"

COMBATSYS: Ryo blocks Morrigan's Breast Anguish.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0         Morrigan

[RYO]
"What? What are you talking about? No one throws themselves at me!" Ryo's retort comes defensive and loud. The flush in his cheeks grows brighter still, even as he is throwing that punch. Alas, Ryo does seem to be the obliviously sort when it comes to the ways of women, truth be told. It's easy to get him flustered.

His fist collides against leathery flesh and he knows that she's managed to avoid his attack. He reacts, expecting the counter, and he's not disappointed. He is, on the other hand, prepared.

He raises his arms, blocking the grasping claw of her wing, and deflecting it to the side so that it cannot grab hold of him.

He steps in, making sure that Morrigan isn't able to put distance between the pair of them. His leg positions itself between hers, and his thick arms slip out, attempting to coil around her like twin anacondas. Provided he gets a grasp on her, he uses that leg between hers as leverage to take her balance from her, and then leaps back, pulling her down with him to slam her into the ground, with him still entangled and landing atop her prone form.

COMBATSYS: Morrigan dodges Ryo's Tani Otoshi.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Ryo              0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
"Aww," Morrigan chimes with a pout, "maybe you just aren't paying attention?" But as the claw tries to push Ryo back, her deflects it away with a sturdy block. The queeen of the night smiles, her excitement rising as Ryo shows himself capable. This is what she was looking for--and he's certainly much more talkative than the Demon.

But then there's a leg down there. Ryo pushes her forward, executing his throw perfectly. The problem comes when Morrigan doesn't quite abide by the rules of gravity suddenly.

Instead, she floats over the ground without colliding and slides out of Ryo's grasp like snake. Was that a person he was holding just then? It certainly didn't feel like one. Instead of slamming in the ground, she slides away weightlessly before turning a flip and landing in a crouch.

"Oh dear," Morrigan says, "I can't let you lay me down so quickly," she presses a finger to her cheek. "That'd just be unbecoming of a lady. Let's dance a while instead!"

And suddenly Morrigan vanishes, reappearing above Ryo as he tries to get to his feet. Her wings snake around, tracing along her thighs, then calves, then down to her boots. The wings curl and twist, shaping into a drill as she spins down to the earth!

COMBATSYS: Ryo fails to interrupt Shell Pierce from Morrigan with Koho Shippuken.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0         Morrigan

[RYO]
Ryo feels theit fall come up short and decidedly not slammy. He glances about, seeing how the pair of them are suspended in the air, and his brow furrows. Of course she flies. The other one, Lilith... she flew, too.

Then, she's like so much mist, sliding out of his grasp and leaving him to fall the rest of the way to the ground by his lonesome. He sighs, and silently curses that this tournament allows participants who are not human.

"I'll just be a disappointment. I've the dance skills of an epileptic sloth," Ryo retorts to the offer to dance. But Morrigan isn't there. Instead, she's appearing above him. He rolls out of the way, scrambling to his feet with a speed and agility that his muscular frame belies. He makes an attempt to counteract her drilling attack, but the rise to his feet cost him just enough time that he's barely able to duck back, before she crashes into him, spinning and boring into his chest as he rears back.

[MORRIGAN]
The wings unfurl from around Morrigan's feet, snapping back into position with a leathery flap. "Oh, come now," she says, "it's a metaphor! Show me your strength!" A fang briefly flashes in the light.

But then she's broken away once more, landing with a light tap of her stilettos. "Though that's a new one to me, on the note of metaphors," she muses, flipping her hair again. She shifts, her stance, power starting to gather as a gold-yellow aura rises around her skin. "But I digress."

"Maybe you need something a bit more traditional as an incentive!" Morrigan surges forward, throw out a tight straight punch--except one backed by a strange sort of energy. It's not quite -chi-. Ryo may find it familiar.

COMBATSYS: Ryo guards against Morrigan's Medium Strike.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0         Morrigan

[RYO]
"And what I'm doing is bantering!" Ryo responds, a half smirk forming on his lips, lighting up his rugged features with an impish expression. He composes himself, closing his gi top tight, and brushing himself off quickly. "Maybe I just suck at it, though! Haha I'm not really all that clever or witty. I mostly leave that to Robert!"

As she comes back in, pressing the attack, Ryo moves his head to the side, avoiding the blow, and raising the ridge of one hand to slap it aside. That energy, though, sends a shock through his system, pain racing through his nerves, up and down his spine. He grits his teeth, but bears it, as he, in turn, balls up one of his prodigous fists and sends it back at Morrigan, intent on colliding against her jaw.

COMBATSYS: Morrigan blocks Ryo's Aggressive Strike.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
Morrigan smirks. "Is that what it is? Well, I suppose everything improves with practice." "Who's Robert?"

But she doesn't have time to linger on it before Ryo is powering toward her with an against forward punch. The succubus meets might with might, forcing her forearm against Ryo's to redirect the blow away from her jaw.

And as she does, Morrigan kicks backward. Her wings flap once as she widens the gap between them, aiming to force Ryo to close in on her again. She extends a fist outward, bracing it with her other hand. Once she does, a bright yellow bat launches forward with a flash, its body luminous and sparkling with energy.

"So do you have other tricks because those big muscles?" Morrigan asks.

COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Morrigan's Soul Fist.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0         Morrigan

[RYO]
Seeing the burst of bright yellow energy, the Kyokugen master slips to the side, twisting his body so that the bat shaped magical blast slips right past him. It rockets off and crashes against one of the walls surrounding the courtyard.

"I've got a few," Ryo retorts. He moves in close, again, and attempts to wrap one of his arms around her waist and draw her in. Like they're dance partners, except instead of a tango, they're dancing with violence. His hips turn, twisting to push against her and use them as leverage to hoist her up and over. While his prodigous amount of muscle, in fact, is used to send her flipping around and slamming to the floor.

"Let's not underestimate the power of good old fashioned muscle, though!"

COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Morrigan with Fast Throw.
Grazing Hit

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Ryo              0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
The dance continues as Ryo bridges the gap and wraps an arm around Morrigan's waist. She almost seems surprised as she's drawn in closer, but in another moment, she's planted soundly against the ground.

Well, mostly. Morrigan's wing curls to cushion her fall, the succubus practically springing off of it--was it a giant black hand for a moment there--and landing in a hover once more. She works her shoulder gently from where she impacted the ground a moment ago. There seems to be a small fissure where she was slammed down.

"Oh, of course not! It's all fair and good, but oh so boring!"

Morrigan suddenly blurs again, moving rapidly toward Ryo. In a way, she almost seems illusory. It's as if she isn't quite there.

That is, until she's reaching to grab hold of Ryo herself. She plants a hip heavily against his, practically trying to hipcheck him off balance before shifting into a shoulder throw.

COMBATSYS: Ryo just-defends Morrigan's Moon Tracer!

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Ryo              0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1         Morrigan

[RYO]
"Boring or not," Ryo says as Morrigan seems to bleed out of reality with the way she blurs. He's getting used to fighting the inhuman, perhaps. He anticipates it. And when she stops beside him, Ryo moves, his hands immediately shifting to intercept and seize hers. He seems bolstered. There's a light in his eyes that seems to have ignited just in that moment before. "It gets the job done."

He draws back a hand, and it flares with a brilliant fiery light, centered in the palm of his hand. This, he thrusts out, as if he were suddenly trying to catch her by the face, and, in turn, trying to smash that ball of concussive force into her.

COMBATSYS: Morrigan blocks Ryo's Ko'oh Ken EX.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ryo              0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
The Ko'oh Ken smashes toward Morrigan's face with a flash of chi, but suddenly things get strange. Her hair snakes around in great jagged spikes, intercepting the blast in part even if some of it smashes against her cheek. There's a brief smell of burnt hair before her face is visible again, small burns mending themselves in a smoke of shadow.

"But still boring. Fighting should be fun, wouldn't you agree?" Her wings stretch out, then shift into two giant black hands. They snake around Morrigan's back, threatening to grab Ryo by the sides, squeeze him until he lets go of Morrigan's wrists, and then pick him up like a ragdoll before tossing him away from her.

"If fighting isn't enjoyable, why do it?"

COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Morrigan's Medium Throw.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ryo              0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1         Morrigan

[RYO]
"I'm sorry if I'm boring you," Ryo says, even as he deftly manuevers out of the way of those giant grasping wing-hands, ducking under them as they clench, and skidding backwards a few feet in the process. "Fighting is a means to an end. Sure, it's fun, but it's more than that. It's a way to test yourself. To get stronger. To be able to overcome your limits."

Ryo stands up straight, and grasps the tail ends of his obi, jerking them sharply to tighten the knot around his waist. His muscles tense, and his eyes fall closed. "But, let's go ahead and step this up a bit, then, shall we?"

The earth around his feet starts to crack, orange light glowing upwards. There's a sudden change in the pressure of the area, as if gravity just grew stronger, and electricity seems to dance in the air, making hair stand on end. Suddenly, the ground bursts upwards, and a ring of fiery ki surrounds Ryo's feet, his entire body glowing, with motes and sparkles of golden-orange light. The ki swirls around his feet, spiraling as wind whips around him, lifting his hair up as if he stands in the eye of a storm.

COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Ryo              1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
"How utilitarian of you," Morrigan says, brushing her hair back again. She works her fingers through the singed edges from before, clearing them out in a smooth sweep. In a moment, her hair seems as pristine as it was before.

But now chi is gathering around Ryo, which pique's Morrigan's interest.

"But what's the power for, anyway? You have to pushing your limits for something. Family? A girlfriend, maybe?"

Morrigan kicks off toward Ryo, flying low along the ground toward him. Her aura surges again, her skin glowing faintly. She snaps into an upward knee strike at him.

"What are you fighting FOR if it isn't for fun?"

COMBATSYS: Morrigan successfully hits Ryo with Random Strike.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Ryo              1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1         Morrigan

[RYO]
As Morrigan comes in, Ryo is still gathering his ki, but he's not blind. She comes in low, and Ryo moves to intercept and block the strike, only to have her switch it up, and come in with a rising knee that connects to his chin. His head wrenches back, and he is knocked, stumbling back a few feet. The aura of energy that surrounds him dissipates, but he still seems to crackle with energy.

"Good switch up. I liked that," Ryo says, clutching his stubble lined jaw. "I fight for myself. I fight to be a better person. I fight to provide for my family and to protect the things that matter to me. I fight because Kyokugen is the truth of my life."

Ryo's adopts a traditional karate side stance, and sweeps his front arm upwards, his palm open and upturned. His other fist is drawn in close to his body at his side. His eyes fall closed, as he channels his surging ki, and draws it forth.

His open hand snaps shut into a fist.

"Ichigeki hissatsu!"

He steps forward, stomping his foot on the ground. His body torques forward, and he throws out his straight fist with the strength of gale force winds, spiraling like a tornado around his punch and blasting outward towards Morrigan.

That punch isn't directed at the center of her chest. Far from it. It seeks to punch her spine, through her chest. At the last moment, if it collides, a blast of brilliant orange ki actually punches through her, exploding out of her back like a giant sized muzzle flare.

COMBATSYS: Ryo knocks away Morrigan with Shin Tenchi Haoh Ken.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2         Morrigan

[MORRIGAN]
"I see," Morrigan says, her face curling into a frown. "Admirable, but not what I'm seeking. So many mortals who only know fighting in this er--"

The punch impacts with Morrigan's torso with a heavy thump. The world seems to stand still for a moment while the impact sets in. When it does, the whole fight changes.

Morrigan seems to be practically ripped apart by the impact, the chi-blast ripping out her back like a cannon. It leaves a hole as Morrigan soars backward, smashing against a stone wall. Stones of the ancient castle wall falls off the wall in a storm of dust.

Things are deathly quiet for several moments.

"Oh, now that is more like it." Morrigan's silhouette appears in the dust and she takes several steps toward Ryo. Her chest starts to close up, mending itself unnaturally. This seems to sap her reserves considerably, but what would have been fatal for someone else seems more...inconvenient, to Morrigan.

She rolls her neck.

"But is that really all there is to it? Let's see, shall we?"

Morrigan raises a hand to her face, then blows a kiss. A bright pink heart floats toward Ryo--surely it's some kind of trick?

COMBATSYS: Morrigan successfully hits Ryo with #Eternal Slumber#.

[                          \\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0         Morrigan

The heart flutters through the air. When it touches Ryo, it pops into a flash of pink and a smell of sweet. Morrigan chases after it, suddenly descending on Ryo like a missile!

"Venom Strike!" Suddenly a blue fireball smashes into Morrigan, knocking her off course. "Double Strike!" Two more fireballs crash into her, pummeling her into the wall. She disappears in the smoke once again.

And King strolls across the courtyard, one hand on her hip.

"Ryo!" she says, "who is this woman?"

[RYO]
Ryo isn't certain what the heart is. Certainly, it is some kind of attack, but what it is, he has no clue. He's also not sure... how does one defend themselves against it?

He doesn't know. He raises his arms, but the kiss slides through, and then the Succubus comes rushing in--

Just to be taken down by King?

What the hell? Ryo is left blinking his cobalt eyes at the appearance of the tuxedo clad kickboxing beauty. After a moment, he lowers his fists. "King? What are you doing here? This is a tournament match! You can't interfere. I might lose. Man... crap... did I just get disqualified?"

[MORRIGAN]
"Entering tournaments without me again? Am I not good enough to be your sparring partner?" King asks, walking closer to Ryo. She looks up at him. "Don't tell me that just because you beat me once you think I'm not up to par!"

King leans in close, a button popping off her blouse. "Or maybe there's another kind of sparring you'd rather do, hmm? I mean, last time we fought--"

Another button pops from King's blouse.

COMBATSYS: Morrigan full-parries Ryo's Light Kick!!

[                        \\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Ryo              0/-------/--=====|>------\-------\0         Morrigan

COMBATSYS: Morrigan successfully hits Ryo with Quick Throw EX.

[                           \\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Ryo              0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0         Morrigan

COMBATSYS: Ryo can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Morrigan dodges Ryo's Ryuuko Ranbu EX.

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

[RYO]
"You weren't around," Ryo states, getting a little defensive as King starts coming at him with the accusations. The rather large man seems to diminish before her very eyes, withering under her reproach. "I have no idea what you are even doing these days. You or Yuri, for that matter. It has nothing to do with how strong you are! I would like you to come be a special instructor at the dojo! Teach people how you got to have such strong kicks!"

When the first button pops off, Ryo actually jumps a bit. The next thing that comes out of her mouth causes the karateka to scratch the back of his head and look away. Warmth and color fills his cheeks and his heart sounds like crashing ocean waves in his ears. "Uh.. last time we fought... I didn't mean to... I mean... That was a total accident!"

That last button just about kills Ryo, and he lifts his gaze up to the ceiling, or to the side. He looks essentially anywhere except for at the blonde haired kickboxing beauty herself.

[MORRIGAN]
"King" puts her hands on her hips, leaning in slightly. "Uh huh," she says. "A complete accident I'm sure." She gestures with her hand, sweeping it dismissively. When Ryo looks away, King gets a wicked look in her eye. She moves unbearably close to Ryo, pressing up against him.

"Well, you know where you can find me. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding me."

Something seems slightly off. King isn't usually ...

[RYO]
Every muscle in his body tenses up as he feels the warmth and pressure of King's body against his own. He looks away from her again as she chastises and taunts him, keeping his gaze averted as if that might somehow cover the way his face turns more red with every passing moment.

"I.. uh.. I don't really know... and the dojo..." He stammers, as he touches the tips of his pointer fingers together, scowling in thought. "You should come to the dojo more. Like I said, I'd really like you to teach my students your kicking techniques..."

No, King isn't usually this flirtatious. She isn't usually very flirtatious at all, in fact. If anything, King always seems cool and reserved around Ryo, so all of this... all of this is overwhelming for him. He finds himself taking a step back, breaking the contact with her. "Wha...what's gotten into you?"

[MORRIGAN]
"King" doesn't seem to let go; no, she keeps the pressure on. It's odd. Out of place. Ryo can feel pressure on his chest. A heavy weight. Is his heart really beating that quickly?

"Maybe I should come by," she says, leaning in again and tugging on Ryo's belt. "Maybe I should give you another kind of lesson...?"

But then Ryo breaks away. She gets a pouty expression, but it creeps back into a smile.

"Oh, no," she says. "The question here is, what's gotten into you?" The pressure gets worse. The weight on Ryo's chest is unbearable.

Suddenly, King is gone. The whole castle is gone. There's nothing but black: a great void seems to have swallowed everything up. Why is all so heavy? What's going on?

And everything shatters. Ryo will find himself back on the castle grounds, sprawled on his back. Morrigan is pressed on top of him, orange-yellow chi moving out from Ryo and into Morrigan as she inhales it.

"Up already?" she asks playfully. "You ARE shy. I thought that one would be to your liking."

[RYO]
Ryo clutches at his chest, his breath coming at a rapid clip, gulping down mouthful of air. The sweat on his brow is no longer the sweat of the fight. When King propositions him like that, Ryo actually winces and recoils and puts his hands up in front of him in a frantic effort to ward off any possible misunderstandings. "Oh! Uh.. I mean... I don't... that's not... that... I..."

Then the world around him seems to fall apart, leaving only an empty black abyss. King is nowhere to be found. He's alone in this vast emptiness, with only the weight of an unbearable gravity weighing him down.

He snaps to.

"You!" He snarls out, as his eyes focus on Morrigan. Realizing what she had done, playing to his heart as she did, tricking him and violating his deepest secrets, he trembles. Tears well up in his eyes, and his fists clench to the point where his nails dig into his palms, leaving tiny ruby rivulets of blood to seep between his fingers. "Get off of me!"

He uses his prodigal strength to hoist the succubus off of him, as he rolls up onto his feet. In his fury, he doesn't even pause, quickly sending out a flashing roundhouse kick just trying to lash out at her.

[MORRIGAN]
Morrigan takes off weightlessly, lifting away from Ryo's chest when he resists. She floats a few feet from him, licking her fingertips as the last of the stolen chi disappears.

"Oh, come now," Morrigan says. "It was just a little teasing! From what little I saw, she really does like you, and you're so modest and polite. I'm sure she'd fall all over you if you'd let her -- trust me, a girl like that must like the good boys."

A roundhouse kick whips around for Morrigan's face. She ducks beneath it, then sweeps her forearm up to catch it underneath.

"But more seriously," she says, "that was pretty impressive a moment ago! I needed to get back in fighting shape." Morrigan twists, swinging Ryo around toward a tree. "Pardon my nibbling! I'm sure you won't miss it."

[RYO]
His kick avoided and used against him, the Kyokugen warrior is sent flying into the tree, his back almost snapping around the trunk, making his body bend around it. He falls to the ground, and for a moment, it looks like he might just be out of the fight. He lies still and motionless.

"Don't you talk about her," Ryo's growling voice speaks out, his face still pressed into the earth that his fingers now claw at. "Someone like you doesn't have any right to talk about her. You know nothing!"

Ryo's head snaps up, and he rises from his stomach into a crouching runner's set pose. With explosive ferocity, he pounces like a fierce and fearsome tiger towards his intended prey. It's a berserker barrage, of sorts, as Ryo lets loose a flurry of thunderous punches and kicks that seem to come from all directions at once. High. Low. From the left and the right. Even overhead. It seems like it is never ending, a last ditch effort to just pummel Morrigan into the dirt, or perhaps annihilate her completely. It's committed to wholeheartedly, with wild abandon and no reservation. He's going all or nothing.

[MORRIGAN]
"Aww," Morrigan says, "she seems like a nice girl. Strong fighter, too." The succubus almost seems intent to keep talking just about of proving that she can.

Then Ryo is launching at her with full intensity. Morrigan moves unnaturally fast, almost as if she's illusory. She bobs and weaves, threading between fists and feet to emerge unscathed. When it reaches maximum intensity, the Queen of Makai seems to phase away, slipping backward out of reach as Ryo exhausts himself.

"But you're right," Morrigan says with a wicked grin. "I don't know. I don't know you that well either." She raises a finger to her cheek, tapping it with a long nail. "That energy, however...perhaps I'll have to fix that later..."

But with that, Morrigan knows she's worn Ryo out. The fight can't continue further--nor does she see any need to push the mortal when he has already pressed his limits to the very edge.

But with that, Morrigan knows she's worn Ryo out. The fight can't continue further--nor does she see any need to push the mortal when he has already pressed his limits to the very edge. She waits for the man to pass out from exhaustion, then floats over him briefly. For a lingering moment, Morrigan seems to be assessing the Kyokugen expert with curiosity.

But with the victor decided, she takes off, disappearing into a cloud of bats. He seems sturdy enough to last until Krauser's servants can tend to his wounds.

Log created on 20:04:03 03/16/2018 by Morrigan, and last modified on 12:25:17 03/26/2018.