Match of the Millennium

Description: Dojo busting is practically Asia's longest-standing tradition. You go in. You punch a bunch of dojo students. And you leave a cliffhanger at the start or end of some character's storyline. For the ROOKIE RIOT, it's all 100% bringing the pain straight to the footsteps of the Kyokugen Dojo. Hot dog eating champion Hotaru Futaba challenges the Queen of the Kyokugen Dojo, with a full on dojo-busting challenge. The Kyokugen maiden will have to defend not only her dojo, however: she will also have to defend her belt in an OFFICIAL BELT MATCH!

[YURI]
The blue belt... a symbol of honor in the martial arts world, right? Well, this is only for the rookies, but it's still a sign of respect, right?

Well, that's why Yuri is being charged with defending it in this fight. Of course it's not just the belt that's at stake here, but also her dojo's honor that's on the line. And Yuri, for one, is not intent on letting her dojo's honor be damaged in the slightest bit! Sure, Hotaru's good at eating hot dogs, but can she actually fight someone like Yuri? Maybe Hotaru thinks so, but Yuri doesn't think so!

Lacing up her sneakers extra tightly and adjusting her socks, Yuri proceeds to do some light stretching and warming up as she waits for the signal to begin. Despite the challenge of defending her belt as well as her honor, Yuri still has a big smile on her face as she prepares for the fight. For those who are watching, Yuri occasionally stops to give them a thumbs up and a wink. "Don't you worry about a thing, folks!" Yuri says as she continues warming up. "The Kyokugen style is so awesome that no one can destroy its honor! The princess of Kyokugen herself, Yuri Sakazaki, will be the one who protects its honor and its awesomeness!"

Coincidentally, those who have gathered today are being offered hot dogs (as well as other snacks, but mainly hot dogs and soda pop) for reasonable prices. It's all because of Robert Garcia helping out, although whether Yuri asked him to help out or not is anyone's guess, because Yuri's not saying anything.

"The fight will soon begin, everyone!" Yuri says as she finishes her warming up and stretching, then proceeds to take a sip of water from her water bottle. "You'd better be ready, though, because if you're not prepared for just how totally awesome the Kyokugen style of karate truly is, you're gonna be blown away!"

[HOTARU]
Long had Hotaru Futaba considered the prestige associated with the belts up for grabs, wondering if she had what it took to take on her fellow rookies and carve out a name for herself. Perhaps her brother skipped past this entire echelon of combat in his own rise to becoming a powerful warrior, but while she hopes to follow in his footsteps eventually, her path is far longer, requiring growth of time to find her own way.

The young fighter hardly has a formidable track record, but that isn't to say she's never won fights. But her recent performance at the controversial if wildly viewed Golden Angel tournament seems to have elevated her eligibility to participate on a new level. And now, finally, after thinking about one day earning an accoladed for herself, the day has come to test what she can do against one who holds it.

The Kyokugen Dojo is to play host to the challenge match and it seems they have embraced the opportunity all out, with hotdogs, snacks, and drinks for those in attendance. Perhaps this moment is also a good recruiting opportunity. After all, how many dojos in Southtown can boast of having a belt held by one of their very own family members?

Perhaps the pig-tailed fighter standing across from Yuri is feeling some of that pressure as she glances around the Sakazaki family dojo. A family of martial artists, all living together, training together, and building a legacy and name to be remembered... she, herself, comes from a family of fighters, yet where are they all now? A mother who has passed on, a father and brother who have vanished from her life. A soft exhale escapes her lips as her eyes come back around to focus on Yuri with a quiet smile.

"Thank you," she declares, "For having me here. You truly have a wonderful thing." She presses one hand over a closed fist and bows her head, "It is an honor, Sakazaki-san."

The viewing audience is packed into the confines of the dojo, but at least the two girls have their own open area to fight. This match may be a stepping stone for Hotaru, or a reminder of just how much further she has to go. Either way, she is going to give it her all.

Sucking in her breath, she stands up straight, sliding one foot forward, raising her right arm up at her side, elbow near the level of her head, bent and ready for striking. Her left hand extends, palm open, fingers splayed, readied for defending or lighter jabs should opportunities present themselves.

"Okay!" she exclaims, grinning as she feels the rush of excitement wash over her. "I'm ready!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.

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

[YURI]
Hey, this could indeed serve as a good opportunity for recruiting. In fact, several students of the dojo are offering potential clients demonstrations of the style in hopes of getting them to sign up. Albeit in a spot away from where the action is taking place, as they don't want to interrupt the match that's about to begin between the self-proclaimed 'princess of Kyokugen.' Yuri wouldn't like that one bit!

Upon seeing the bow from Hotaru, Yuri immediately returns the bow the same way. "It's an honor to have you here too, Futaba-san," Yuri replies, echoing the politeness Hotaru has shown to her. "I appreciate your coming here, and I hope we can fight honorably and fairly... because THAT is what makes Kyokugen Karate totally awesome!"

The sudden change in her tone might seem surprising to Hotaru, but that's just how Yuri is, spunky and optimistic. As soon as she finishes returning her greeting to Hotaru, Yuri looks to the crowd and takes a deep breath before yelling out, "Laaaaaaaaaaadies and geeeeeeentlemen, booooooooys and giiiiiiiiirls, you are about to witness a spectacle like no other! You are about to witness the power of the most truly awesome style of fighting in the whole wide world!"

As she rolls her arm around a few times to loosen it up, Yuri then says, "You are going to see the powerfully awesome Kyokugen Karate style!" Yuri then rolls her other arm around before looking to Hotaru, who appears to have gotten into her fighting stance already. Yuri then assumes her own stance as well, which looks like a standard fighting stance for a karate fighter, albeit with Yuri bouncing on her heels. When Hotaru announces she's ready, Yuri nods with a smile.

"All right, here we go!" Yuri runs in towards Hotaru, then drops down quickly and attempts to kick at Hotaru's feet with her Chuck Taylor-clad feet.

COMBATSYS: Yuri has joined the fight here.

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

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

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

[HOTARU]
The two opponents seem to be a good match for each other. Fellow high-school students, Yuri has the advantage of bit of height and reach on Hotaru, but the willowy smaller girl looks like she has nimble speed on her side. Having declared herself ready, Hotaru all but holds her breath in anticipation of the match to come. There is more pressure on this bout than any other she can think of, she tells herself. This is an opportunity to truly be measured, to understand what would be next for her growth as a fighter. To face a belt holder, even if refererred to as a rookie belt, fills her with a sense of nervous confidence.

"Thank you," she replies as Yuri answers her greeting with kind words in return while also taking the opportunity to promote the family dojo style. The enthusiasm with which the Princess of Kyokugen speaks about her own martial arts is almost contagious. Maybe the young Kung Fu artist should get some lessons in some good old-fashioned Kyokugen Karate herself?

"I hope my demonstration of Futaba-style Kenpo, Juukei variant, is up to the task of facing such a well known art." she continues.

She falls quiet as Yuri singlehandedly handles announcement duties, earning the energetic girl a grin from Hotaru. Fighter and public relations guru? Yuri does it all!

But then the match is started and the two must face each other in earnest, putting all they've learned to the test. Hotaru braces, watching her opponent close in on her, trying to predict where the attack will come from. Karate is, if anything, rather versatile regarding attack vectors.

The one angle she didn't anticipate was a sweep for her feet. Eyes widen as she tries to step back at the last moment, moving too late as her forward ankle is struck and her feet are taken right out from under her. Arms flailing in desperate bid to regain control, Hotaru stumbles backward, falling into a seated position against a shelf bearing some of the snacks prepared for the visiting audience.

A small storm of chips rain down around the girl as she sits blinking, a bit of wind taking from her from the ungainly fall, but then she's pushing herself back to her feet, scattering the chips to her sides in the process, "Oops, I meant to wait until after the match to tackle those!" she laughs off the awkward start as she charges back in on Yuri.

She doesn't just try to close the distance, but rather goes all out in trying to get to the other girl, hands extending out, attempting to get a hold of Yuri's forearms and hold her in place as Hotaru would try to transition into a series of rapid, stepping kicks right up the front of her before back flipping off Yuri's shoulders to try and land safely away.

"Ya, ya, ya!"

COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Hotaru's Shinjou Tai.

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

[YURI]
As soon as Hotaru hits the ground, Yuri is ready for her. She gets into her fighting stance again and keeps an eye on the girl as best as she can, not wanting to risk getting caught by a surprise attack. Fortunately, Hotaru seems lighthearted enough to make a joke about the potato chips that fell on her. "Well, we've got plenty more where that came from!" Yuri says with a laugh, going along with the gag. "Plenty more, I assure you!"

But enough joking around, it's time to get back to the fight.

Yuri steps back a couple steps, only to find that Hotaru is intent on closing the distance between the two of them. Before she even knows what happened, Yuri finds herself getting kicked numerous times by Hotaru while her forearms are gripped tightly. Somehow, whether it's reflex or just coincidence, Yuri tightens her stomach, absorbing the kicks as best as she can. They still hurt, but remembering the technique of tightening the abs helps ease the pain a little bit. Then Hotaru is using Yuri as a platform to demonstrate an acrobatic technique?

"Nice one there," Yuri says with a smile. "I'm capable of doing a few flips myself. But this is no circus, I'll have you know!" Yuri shakes her head with a smirk. "This is about the awesome Kyokugen Karate style! Here, let me show you one of my favorites!"

Yuri starts to approach Hotaru but stops suddenly. Then she leaps into the air and calls out, "Rai'ou Ken!" While shooting forth a fireball from her hands diagonally aimed right at Hotaru.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru fails to reflect Rai'ou Ken from Yuri with Kobi Kyaku EX.

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

[HOTARU]
Landing on her feet out of the backflip, Hotaru raises her hands back to the ready. One thing's for sure, Yuri proved to be drastically more sturdy an opponent than she expected. She could feel her using her muscles to push back against the blows of her feet, no matter how swiftly she delivered the kicks.

Kyokugen must make them tough!

"Oh?" Hotaru replies when Yuri promises the capacity to do flips of her own, "I'd like to see that," she continues with a grin. In spite her rough start, she hasn't lost her conviction to put all she can into this match. Yuri didn't get to where she is by being lazy. Surely, she has trained as well, under the eye of her father and brother, to accomplish what she has. Hotaru can't approach such a fighter with anything less than absolute respect for that.

"Time to find out," she grins back at the promise of getting to see how awesome the family's hardcore karate really is. Each practitioner may have their own spin on the family art, but the fundamentals are definitely shared across them.

And it seems Hotaru's introduction to the hard hitting antics of the Sakazakis is to continue, as Yuri takes the air, pulling a large ball of chi into the visible spectrum from her own spirit and skill, and sends it hurtling down at her smaller opponent.

Hotaru should know better than to try and reflect an attack coming in at such an awkward angle, but she hasn't come here to play it safe, either, willing to take risks and try to showcase her own abilities. In this case, it's the ability to create a barrier of chi, sweeping her leg up, a swath of azure energy in the wake of her foot.

"Kya!"

But the angle is wrong, Yuri's fireball coming from too high, and in spite her efforts to elevate her technique up higher than normal, she just can't quite pull it off. Yuri's fireball collides directly with the side of the pig-tailed girls head, sending Hotaru crashing to the floor a second time. Shaking her head, she squints her eyes, stabilizing her vision, before scrambling back up to her feet.

"Okay, that was pretty awesome," she admits, focus returning as she sucks in her breath and tries to fight back the dazing pain. She can do this, she tells herself. Time to pull herself together!

[YURI]
Landing in a crouched position, Yuri watches as the fireball crashes into her opponent. She shakes her head a little as if to say, "Close, but no cigar." She pushes herself back up onto her feet as she dusts herself off a little before focusing on Hotaru again. "That was a great effort if I say so myself. I've got a similar thing myself, and I've had many projectiles crash into me because my timing was off!" She shakes her head. "So uncool!"

Smiling again, Yuri reassumes her fighting stance. "But the fight must go on! We've only gotten started!" She bounces on her heels a few times before advancing on Hotaru again. "Besides, I still don't feel fully warmed up yet! And let me tell you, warming up in the Kyokugen style isn't easy, but it's well worth it!"

Yuri gets closer and close to Hotaru, then attempts to grab her by the shoulders. Should she grab the shoulders of her opponent, Yuri will drop onto her back while using her feet to throw Hotaru backwards. It's a simple throw, often used by Ken Masters and Ryu, but Yuri adds her own touches to these types of moves. When she succeeds, she jumps back up and points at her opponent as if to say, "Take that!"

But that's only if she succeeds...

COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Yuri's Quick Throw.

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

[HOTARU]
"Oh?" Hotaru replies, looking a bit surprised, "It's not often that I run into people that can do something similar. That's cool, but-" She nods slightly, feeling the effects of the impact now. "The timing is really unforgiving."

She lifts her hands back up into a ready stance, sucking in her breath as she prepares herself. Yuri has the advantage to close in now, all Hotaru can do is brace herself and be ready for whatever might come. "Yeah!" she exclaims back as her opponent insists the fight must go on. "Me too," she adds about just getting warmed up. Two bad lumps isn't a great start, but she's still on her feet, seeing clearly, and feels her speed and instincts firing on all cylinders.

The opportunity to prove that comes up as Yuri closes in, hands snapping out to grab her shoulders and drop back, aiming to flip Hotaru onto the ground on her back. But the Futaba girl's agility finally pays off, and rather than being launched into a painful landing, she flips out of the vault, pivots a half circle in mid air, and lands with a soft grunt facing back at Yuri, lips drawn back in an energized grin. "Not bad."

She steps forward then, "But it's my time to show my stuff too!"

Leaning forward, Hotaru flips into the air, twisting her body into a horizontal cartwheel, feet sweeping out to try and crash into Yuri's chest. Her left foot would touch down on one foot, as she'd finish with a second spin with her right leg, attempting to finish the swift aggressive combo!

COMBATSYS: Yuri interrupts Medium Kick from Hotaru with Fast Throw.
? Strange Hit! ?

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

[YURI]
That's a pretty impressive cartwheel. It looks pretty powerful too.

"She's coming up fast, but what does Yuri do?" Yuri says, almost like she's pretending to be the commentator of her own match. "Why she tries to stop it!" With that, Yuri's hands come up and catch the first foot with swift reflexes. Using this to control Hotaru, she swiftly throws the girl towards the ground. "Wow, I didn't even break a sweat!"

Yuri dusts off her hands as if to show off a little, but then she retains her fighting stance. "OK, I admit that seemed out of the blue, but that's just one of the tricks- erm, techniques I've learned as a Kyokugen mistress!"

Yuri cracks her knuckles then waits for Hotaru to come back up. "Now I'm feeling warmed up! Let's see what you're truly made of!"

[HOTARU]
Foot caught, Hotaru's eyes widen as the hold Yuri gets is used to twist the airborne girl to the ground. What could have been a painful landing is handled with fast reflexes, however, as the Kung Fu artist's hands plant down, push off, and send her into a horizontal spin that has her landing on her feet a meter away rather than hitting the ground hard this time.

She looks quite surprised as she blinks back at Yuri. Not only is the Sakazaki Princess of Kyokugen able to keep up with every step she makes, she's also able to manage running commentary at the same time? No wonder she's held this belt for so long, the girl muses. Still, she can't be daunted by her opponent's remarkable performance, all she can do is try to rise to the challenge, a path she committed to before even stepping foot into this dojo.

Drawing her hands up again as she slides back into her fighting stance, she breathes in then exhales, lips still maintaining the same smile from before, her own enthusiasm for the match having not taken a hit in spite the setbacks she's encountered thus far.

"You better believe it," she replies with a grin. Her opponent may have the home court advantage here, but that just means she has to push herself even harder. Besides, Yuri has the expectations of her family and other Kyokugen students to deal with - what might encourage her can also be a distracting amount of pressure.

"Kyokugen may have a lot of techniques in its repertoire, but let's see if it can handle this!"

Hotaru rushes forward again, trying to close distance with the the karate user, but a meter out, she drops low, arms out at her sides, left foot far forward, right leg bent beneath her holding up her center of mass.

"Ya!"

Hotaru surges out of her low stance with her left arm leading the way with a strong palm strike. "HAH!" But it's the second strike that packs the real punch, her body pivoting into the follow up blow, right arm slamming out with twice the power behind it than her left did as she attempts to power right through the mighty Kyokugen defenses she's crashed against thus far into the match!

COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Hotaru's Fierce Punch.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Hotaru           1/------</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1             Yuri

[YURI]
"You know we can handle it," Yuri says with a determined grin. "Kyokugen has so many awesome ways of dealing with things that you never know what your opponent will come up with next!" The girl keeps her steady eye on Hotaru, waiting to see what she's going to do next. "All right, show me what you got!" She raises her hands to deflect away the first strike like it's nothing, and then the second strike comes at her. It's almost like a fake out on Hotaru's part, right?

"A-ha!" Yuri exclaims as she brings up her hands up again to deflect away the other palm strike. The impact shows a little on Yuri's face as she strains a little against the impact, but she still seems unfazed otherwise. "Ooh, you got me good there! Like I said, you never know what's gonna happen next! It's so cool!"

Once Yuri's finished shaking out the pain from her hands, she turns to face Hotaru again. "This is a totally awesome fight, but I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve too!" Then Yuri dashes at Hotaru, attempting to drive her fist into her stomach as she jumps into the air and spins around, demonstrating what Yuri calls her 'most totally awesome' move!

COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Yuri's Yuri Chou Upper.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Hotaru           1/----<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1             Yuri

[HOTARU]
Her two palm strikes are guarded against expertly by the Kyokugen Karate Princess, leaving Hotaru hurriedly pulling back, her forward leg straightening out to propel her into a lean away from Yuri. It buys her a little bit of time, but mostly she stands to benefit from the energetic Sakazaki daughter's promotion of her family's art.

Well, one thing's for sure, Hotaru definitely can't argue that its practitioners are tough. She's been attacking Yuri directly for a while now yet the other girl barely seems to buckle under the relentless pressure she's maintained. Meanwhile, the blows she belts out hurt and the Kung Fu artist knows full well she can't just keep taking a beating like that.

Sucking in her breath, braces for the return fire, unsure what form it will take. "Me too," she answers Yuri with a grin. Then incomes the bullet fist, a powerful uppercut, by any standards, one of the tried and true techniques of Kyokugen, given Yuri's on special little twist to make it her personal version. Sucking in her breath, Hotaru brings her arms up in front of her, tucking her elbows down, her right leg lifting, knee helping protect her abdomen even further.

Rather than slamming a fist into her gut and making her relieved she didn't devour the snacks ahead of time, the Yuri's strike impacts bony elbows and knee, still sending a reverberating impact through the smaller girl's body as she goes reeling back, but not dealing quite as much damage as she could have.

"Now I've got you!" Hotaru insists, leaning back out of her block, lunging forward to crouch low against the ground, arms out at her sides again like wings for balance. "Tenshou...-!" An explosion of sapphire blue chi erupts up around the girl as she launches herself upward into a devastating backflip kick, attempting to connect solidly with Yuri before she lands from her leaping punch.

"Ranki!"

If she connects, she'll flip forward at the apex of her ascent, aiming to dive tackle Yurit out of the sky and back down to the dojo floor, coming to rest atop her, hands planted against the other girl's sternum, a much larger swell of azure chi exploding up around the two of them, whipping her pigtails around behind her back as she builds up the largest energy display shown this fight.

If Yuri doesn't escape in time, she will be treated to a ground zero experience of a massive detonation of chi located directly over her, Hotaru exhaling, looking far more exhausted then, as she pushes herself to her feet to try and back away!

COMBATSYS: Yuri stops Tenshou Ranki from Hotaru with Saiha.

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

Hotaru meters

[YURI]
So the attack was deflected? Oh well, it happens to Ryo and Robert too. Not to mention her father has it happen to him as well, although when it's against someone he's sparring with, he tends to penalize them with a hundred knuckle push-ups.

But for Yuri, it's just another day where she mistimes it and it doesn't quite land. Still, Yuri's not the least bit sore as she returns to her fighting stance.

"You don't have me yet!" Yuri replies, with a big grin on her face still. "I've still got the upper hand, remember?" She taps her fists together as she awaits Hotaru's next attack. "I've got plenty more where that came from..." Yuri's eyes widen a little as she watches Hotaru go up into the air. "Uh-oh..."

The backflipping fighter is coming at Yuri rather fast, and she's got chi around her too. That looks like it could definitely hurt a lot if it connects with Yuri, and there's nowhere to run. Is that a bead of sweat on Yuri's forehead?

Whatever it is, it's gone a moment later as Yuri brings up her hands and calls out, "SAIHA!" Sending forth an aura of chi around her hands and bringing up a shield that should stop Hotaru's attack completely. Yuri has her eyes squeezed shut at first, but when she opens them and realizes that she stopped the attack, a smirk forms on her face. Once she finishes, Yuri gives a thumbs up and says, "Good try, though!"

[HOTARU]
Hotaru is forced to kick back off the barrier of energy rather than collide with it bodily. The latter would have ended very painfully, to be certain. Instead, she lands a few meters away in a half crouch, blue eyes widened at Yuri's well timed defense, clearly looking impressed at what the other fighter accomplished.

Rising up to her feet, she brings her hands to her ready stance once again, bouncing lightly on her feet. The alarm at being warded off fades quickly. She might be feeling some aches from the prior attacks, but she's still got a lot of stamina to see this battle through. She can't let the pressure of the other girl's performance and home court advantage get to her!

Exhaling, she grins a little, fingers closing then opening. "Right." she replies. "But there's still more to go!" She has to keep the offense going, for sure. Breathing in again, she bolts into a sprint toward Yuri, trying to keep the other girl a bit cornered. A leap into the air, a spin, and then a dive heel first is the next form of attack she unleashes, attempting to plant her foot hard into the other girl's center of mass as she drops out of the sky!

COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Hotaru's Diving Kick.

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

[YURI]
Once Yuri's recovered from the shielding effort, as it took a little out of her, she smiles and wipes her hands with a chuckle. "I never knew that would work so well against something that wasn't even a projectile!" The girl runs a hand through her hair playfully. "Come on, I'm all warmed up, show me what you're really made of!" She clenches her fists again and resumes her fighting stance, bouncing on her heels as usual.

However, it seems Hotaru wants to go airborne again. "I always said flying was for the birds," Yuri says with a chuckle. "Of course I don't see either of us staying airborne for very long!" She places her left foot behind her, preparing to move at the drop of a hat. Or should that be the drop of a Hotaru?

Because just as Hotaru drops towards Yuri, the Kyokugen fighter has shifted backwards a little... very little, in fact. Because Hotaru lands in front of Yuri as opposed to atop her, had she not moved a moment sooner. Getting a bit close for comfort it seems, but Yuri isn't about to let this opportunity be wasted. "Tsk tsk, you should know better than to move too close to me!"

As soon as Yuri's sure that Hotaru's not moving just yet, she rears back with her right hand and then attempts to drive the clenched fist into Hotaru's stomach. With a lot of force too, one might add!

COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Hotaru with Strong Punch.

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

[HOTARU]
Yuri's clean escape has Hotaru landing foot first against the dojo floor. She clearly corrected for this possible outcome, so the landing itself is smooth enough, but it does mean committing to the momentum, her other foot touching down a second later. As if anticipating Yuri's reaction, she's already starting to try and backpedal away, eschewing guarding in favor of trying to escape the anticipated counter attack outright.

She isn't successful. The karate fighter is a step ahead, lunging in with a balled up fist, smashing it into the smaller fighter's exposed stomach with a tremendous amount of force. The impact folds the pig-tailed fighter over, sending her sliding back, her right hand pressing over her stomach as she gasps out in surprise at the successful hit. It's clear that this Kyokugen style karate is something else, and every attempt to break through it is being met with effective escapes, solid defenses, and painful counter strikes. No wonder this girl holds the rookie belt!

Sucking in her breath, Hotaru straightens up. She opens her mouth to speak, but just a squeak comes out, her breath not entirely returned yet. There is a faint blush at the noise, the fighter looking a bit sheepish coupled with clearly not feeling well from the stomach hit, but she collects herself, bolting forward again, trying to find a way through this other fighter's guard.

Once more, she takes to the air, once more she dives in on Yuri, seemingly determined to find a way to overpower the Sakazaki girl's formidable defenses. A leading knee strike this time, followed by a sweep of her foot would have her once more trying to backflip away in the aftermath. She can't stop moving yet!!

COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu.

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

[YURI]
Yuri's punch connected squarely. It packed a bit of power in it too. Which is what Kyokugen students are taught to do when the opponent is up close and personal.

Yuri herself didn't expect the punch to connect so hard. She reels back a little at the feel of the fist connecting with Hotaru, but shakes it off fairly quickly. Namely because Hotaru's coming back with another attack, and it looks like she means business right here and right now! "That's it, keep it coming! I love fights like this!"

The knee connects with Yuri's guard once it comes up, and the sweep is met with tightened ankles as Yuri absorbs the blows as best as she can. She staggers a little but doesn't fall down. Apparently, her defenses are stronger than she anticipated.

"OK, time to really up the ante!" Yuri exclaims as she brings both hands behind her back. "I'm gonna show you the true power of Kyokugen Karate! This is when my ki is really focused! So you better watch out!" Yuri then throws her hands forward, and with that comes a huge fireball aimed right at Hotaru!

COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Yuri's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.

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

[HOTARU]
Once more, Yuri's defenses prove that they're the real deal as she guards off the diving knee strike and braces for the follow up sweep kick. This leaves Hotaru retreating as planned, trying to put distance between her and the brunette. Maybe she remembers all too well what the risks of staying TOO close to Yuri are. That queasy feeling in her stomach isn't going away anytime soon.

Landing on her feet out of a backflip, she comes up in her ready stance, arms raised, azure eyes locked on Yuri at full attention. She's panting for breath a little now. This battle has been grueling, to say the least, and she hasn't managed to get much in on her opponent in spite her best efforts. But now? Now Yuri is taking a different approach. She's not charing in with her fist, she's not leaping up to rain chi balls from above. She's building up for something. Something big, Hotaru can tell.

And in this moment, Hotaru knows full well that she had better not be in Yuri's path when that attack comes flying. "Thanks for the warning," she grins back, still enthusiastic in spite the pain she's feeling. "You're putting on quite the display here."

And then it's her turn, to put her airborne acrobatics to use once more, crouching slightly, then leaping up and over the wall of Yuri's chi, allowing it to fly by under her. Good thing the walls of this dojo are Kyokugen Tough, because they'll have to deal with the impact, not the pig-tailed Kung Fu artist.

Hotaru lands on the other side, standing up straight and wiping her arm across her brow. "Whew." She muses, glancing over her shoulder. "That's one serious attack!"

And with that, she has no choice but to resume trying to keep pressure on the Rookie Belt Holder, charging in again, slipping low, but then surging out of the crouch with a standing spin kick!

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Yuri with Aggressive Strike.

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

[YURI]
How is Yuri like David Bowie and Queen?

She's under pressure!

OK, bad joke... but getting back to the point.

Yuri thinks she's got this under control, but then there's a sudden uprising and a spin kick. And that spin kick sends Yuri flying across the dojo, causing her to hit her back against a pillar. She grunts as she crashes, glad that the beam held against her impact, but it's not that good for her back. She sinks to the ground and groans a little, rubbing her back with her left hand as she stands up. "Owww... that was so uncool!" She shakes her head. "But it's just a small demerit for me!"

Yuri puts on a brave face again and smiles. "That was a great comeback, I'll give you that! But don't think I'm done either!" Yuri shifts her legs a few times before closing her eyes and focusing her chi into her legs. "I always save the best for last!" Then Yuri suddenly ZOOMS towards Hotaru.

If Hotaru isn't careful, Yuri's going to jump into her, and then literally start driving her feet into her rapidly, before dropping down and grabbing Hotaru and knocking her away with an uppercut! What will happen now?

COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Hotaru with Hien Hou'ou Kyaku.

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

[HOTARU]
The spin kick delivered, Hotaru lands on her feet, bracing herself for whatever might come next. A gasp of breath has her returning to her ready stance, arms raised. Tho0ugh she did lan da clean hit, she knows full well that Yuri is still ready and able to demonstrate what Kyokugen Karate is all about.

"Thanks," she replies with a smile when the other girl declares her hit a great comeback. It was certainly better than nothing, at least, but she still has her work cut out for her. She can't let down her guard now!

Once more, she finds herself having to try and figure out what kind of attack the other girl might bring to bear next. More and more, she's finding it really challenging to predict what weapon the Sakazaki girl might have at her disposal next. How many techniques does she know!

"All right," Hotaru replies, focused now as Yuri shifts the focus of her chi to empower her legs for a fierce surge of speed... and then she's off!

The Futaba girl brings her arms up, trying to brace for the incoming maelstrom of attacks, but while she gets her guard in place, it's simply not enough to withstand the stomping kicks in an attack similar to one Hotaru did earlier, only far more fierce and swift!

The blows stagger the pig-tailed fighter, causing her to see stars and leaving her easy to grab hold of and deliver a truly fight-deciding uppercut that sends her flying! Crashing against the ground, Hotaru gasps, rolling onto her side, pushing herself up with one hand. Lip bloodied, cheeks bruised, outfit dusty from foot stomps, she struggles to pull herself back up to standing, wiping her forearm across her mouth once as she finally finds Yuri.

Blinking her eyes, she nods her head, "That wasn't too bad!" More like, it was really bad. For her! But she has to do her best, even if that means charging in for one last attack! "Haaaah!" Azure chi answers her cry as Hotaru bolts back for Yuri, springing into a spin in the air, arms windmilling out, attempting to batter the other girl before leaping up with a chi empowered shoulder slam and finishing with a knee dive right back down!

Unfortunately for her, the dive will be her last attack, the flurry of strikes finally catching up, leaving her unable to even control her landing but rather crash down into a wild tumble before coming to rest on the dojo floor.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Yuri with Soushou Tenrenge EX.

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

[YURI]
Yuri thinks now that she's landed the coup de grace, she's got this made. Unfortunately, her cockiness costs her big time, as Yuri finds herself also in the air and suffering from numerous blows as well. She finds herself going down to the dojo floor hard... but then she gets back up. Albeit with a few bruises more than she had before. Not to mention, she's also looking a bit on the dazed side. "Unnngh... whoa.... has anyone seen... where I left... the keys?" She babbles a little, slapping her head to try to get herself back into the match.

A few slaps more and she groans again, realizing just how much pain she's in. "Unngh... that hurt... so uncool..." Yuri grits her teeth as she tries to get back into her fighting stance, awaiting Hotaru's next move... but Hotaru is nowhere to be found!

Instead, she's tumbled onto the dojo floor, and the fight has stopped. Apparently, while it was very close, Yuri just barely won by knockout!

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Yuri Sakazaki!" There are cheers and boos together, as some people were rooting for Hotaru. Weakened as she is, Yuri still manages to walk over to where Hotaru is and give her a thumbs up. "Great fighting. That was totally awesome!" Yuri gives a weak smile.

COMBATSYS: Yuri has ended the fight here.

Log created on 21:48:11 04/13/2018 by Hotaru, and last modified on 01:03:27 04/22/2018.