Match of the Millennium

Description: Sven Maesters, the War wolf of Sweden, takes on Justice High's own Haru Sakuraba on the latter's home turf. The winner takes home the Worldwide Rookie Belt! Prepare for a saga of heels, faces, and the most Disney film-approved cursing ever to appear on international television.

[SVEN]
Justice High was the most elite school in Southtown.

Bar none, Justice High was where the greatest students in Southtown would go. And while there was always examples of high quality students in other schools, none could compare to the greatest Justice High could offer. Certainly, you had students like Sie Kensou who were barely comparable in matters such as academics. But as the uniformed students march between the hallways in unison, there was just this unstoppable sense of perfection in this place.

And then you had Sven Maesters.

The world rookie champion (what a title) was outside the main auditorium floor, ready to defend his title from an actual King Of Fighters champion. The main auditorium was chosen since it was where these kind of organized fights would take place. Normally used for school competitions both internally and across the district, it worked well for official events like this outside the whole school circuit. The style was the same however; the students participating in the audience portion would be taking a seat in folding chairs, which were arranged in a circle around the ring. No bleachers. Not for an auditorium fight. There was a raised section in the back, however, and the stage was given a row of chairs for the administrative staff of the school, but that was about as good as it got. Everything was staged in place, though the students were just filing in now. What about the fighters? Well.

Sven was trying to figure out who to talk to about his problem.

The towering Swede looks uncomfortable. Compared to all the uniformed students, he was garbed in almost... nothing. No shirt, and just a pair of khaki shorts and two big military boots. The swede had his blonde hair cut short, and he strokes his beard nervously. He had some talismens and crosses around his neck, hanging from ropes, and he had his Wolfman Mask stuffed in one of the kahki pants pockets. Hooking his thumbs into his Worldwide Rookie Championship Belt, he was off to the side, standing out off to the side in a hallway as the students filed into their seats. And he was... waiting impatiently, trying to look at the Japanese teachers in the eye, to see if they would look back. He manages to catch one of the teacher's eyes once, and that's all he needed. Some kind of authority figure.

"Hey." Sven grunts out loud, holding an arm out.

The stoic, well-dressed individual stops, staring Sven straight in the eyes."I am Haru Sakuraba's opponent. I need to talk to him before the fight. Can you send over Haru to me before we get out there? I need to ask him something." The wrestler sweeps his arms dramatically. "No cameras, no press. You can listen in if he needs supervision." Sven scratches his blonde beard. The teacher stares at him, before turning around, seeking out Haru. Hopefully. Sven Maesters looks away, still playing with his beard. He mutters to himself.

"I do not like fighting children very much, and need to make sure of something, yah?"

[HARU]
Haru Sakuraba had watched the Golden Angel finals livestreamed, right up to the part where they fell through the floor and there was talk of a giant goo monster. Then he'd been too anxious to follow it. From what he heard afterwards, everyone seemed to be okay, which is good! After all, he felt a bit of a bond with Hotaru Futaba, and it was nice to know that nothing bad happened to her in the end. But he had fun during Golden Angel, despite the... level of embarassment... that some of the fights he had produced. It was a reminder that he got into pro fighting for a reason, one he had been neglecting.

Even with that in mind, however, it was... difficult to make the call to the Saturday Night Fight people. Haru's last match on the fighting game show-esque program had not ended well, at all. A few people had suggested he take legal action against the company, contract and waiver be damned, but Haru didn't want to; he mostly wanted it to quietly go away and never be spoken of again. His fellow students at Justice were surprisingly empathetic about it; more than a few of them wished him well on his return to school, after a brief hospitalization. And since then, a lot of time has passed. Maybe enough.

So here we are.

A part of the Psycho Soldier is relieved that they chose Justice as the venue, however; home turf, surrounded by friends and people he knows, is comforting for the anxiety in his head. His clothing isn't much different than usual: black shirt and slacks with his yellow-gold Justice uniform jacket tied around his waist. As students walk in, he notices a few from his classes and says a polite hello... until a very nervous social sciences teacher tracks him down and makes a request, one that makes Haru's eyebrows go up in confusion.

Ten minutes later, he's shown into the little cordoned-off area for craft and production services by the SNF folks and camera crews, looking around for, apparently, his opponent. "Hello?" he ventures, craning his neck somewhat to see around the crowd of production staff and crew weaving around him busily. "Someone was looking for me...?"

[SVEN]
"You are Haru Sakuraba?"

The response comes with a thick Scandinavian accent. The towering swede stomps, stomps, stomps towards Haru, a scowl on his face. And approaching the boy, he comes to a halt. He doesn't get too close to Haru, keeping a good arm's length away. Looking down a bit, as while Haru is about average height, the Swede was... swedish. Sven seems to be... struggling with the scowl, trying to look nice. "You are the champion? Okay." He keeps a neutral tone. "You look like a good kid too. I need to talk to you."

"Need you to understand something."

Sven pounds a fist on his naked chest. "So when I am in a fight, I put on a character who is really tough. I am going to insult you and make fun of you, and try and tick you off, yah? It is good in fights, gets people excited for good guys, gets people excited for me. But this is a school, you are a kid, and I want to make sure you have fun, yah?" Sven nods his head firmly, crouching down a bit to look at Haru eye level. "I want to know if it is okay to be real jerk to you in a fight, I will fight serious no matter what, but I want to know if it is okay to be a jerk to you in the fight, and if it is, what should I not make fun of you on?" Sven seems uncomfortable with the topic, but struggles with it anyways.

"I do not want to have other kids make fun of you after, yah?"

[HARU]
That's a voice -- and a physique -- that's actually very difficult to miss. When Sven speaks, and then enters Haru's field of view, the Justice student turns, blinks, and looks... up. He's not short by any means, but the Swedish wrestler is indeed very tall, by most objective standards, for normal human beings. "Ah, yes! That's me," he responds, nodding, but as soon as the word 'champion' gets uttered, he responds -- with a swiftness and certainty that suggests it is rote reflex at this point -- "And just one of a team, that's all." He doesn't have anything to say about being a good kid, but cocks his head at the wrestler once sven says he has something to say.

Haru's expression gets progressively more surprised, even intrigued, at the Swede's calm and precise explanation of what it is that's on his mind, and why he is speaking to his opponent first. The black-and-silver-haired head tilts ever so slightly to the side as he listens closely. Of course, Haru's no fool, and proresu is as big a phenomenon in Japan as it is anywhere else, really. The idea of a stage persona isn't exactly new. The idea of a professional fighter -- which, showmanship or not, IS different from pro-wrestling -- actually engaging him in this conversation before a match is sort of... unthinkable, really. His flabbergasted-ness shows on the Justice student's face.

Eventually, Haru stammers out an answer. "That's, ah... it's nice of you to to do that," he says, and surprisingly even to himself, he very much feels like he means that. His last SNF involved the boy being drugged and then attacked by a mass murderer. This one is starting with his opponent actually taking steps to care about his emotional well-being before hand. What night and day experiences!

"The truth is, though, I can't really thi--" Haru continues, before stopping abruptly, thinking back to his match with Haruna during Golden Angel, the color draining from his face. "Uh, well, there might be one thing, but I can't imagine you'd think to make fun of me for it, so don't worry about that." Nice save, you *dork*.

However, one hand does come up, palm out, and held in Haru's grip is one of his yoyos, the black and gunmetal catching the light. "I guess I should tell you, though, that I fight with these, and... it's not a joke, I promise. I'm not trying to make fun of *you*, either." With that, the Psycho Soldier smiles. "But thank you for thinking of me. That's nice of you. I think now that you said something ahead of time, I'll be okay."

[SVEN]
"You fight with yoyo? Okay."

Same neutral tone as before. Sven wasn't judging, it was in fact a powerful lack of judging from a man who wears a rubber mask when he fights. He gives a hearty nod though. "I will not joke about it. And let me make this clear, I will fight very serious! No holding back, I will slam you down! But words, eh. If I push too hard, you just do this." Sven pinches the tip of his nose. "You just pinch tip of nose, and I know to stop talking about it." Sven straightens up, and gets a friendly pat on Haru's shoulder. "You good kid. Okay."

"Now I get to work."

Sven turns towards the main hall, and strides forward with heavy steps. Bringing his rubber wolfman mask to his face, he straps it with a string. One of his folks, a roadie, tosses him a wolfskin cloak, which he drapes over his own shoulders in midstride. Moving down into the center of the auditorium, he throws his chest out, moving with an arrogant pace.

Bellowing as he clears through the chairs.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Sven Maesters roars out to the stoic students. The response is silence, as they file into their chairs. Justice High had somewhat stricter rules on merriment. But the Swede digs into it. "What, is this some kind of painting? What is Justice High! I never hear of it! Must be some loser school!" The students are silent. Sven rolls his eyes. "Where is Haru? I hope Haru has more personality than Justice High! Justice High is lame! Justice High is terrible! And terrible uniforms too!" Sven circles the center, bellowing out heat.

The students are silent.

[HARU]
Well, that seems like it went oka--

Haru turned and is watching Sven leave, just in time to see a werewolf mask come up and get tied in place, and a genuine wolfskin cloak get involved, and for a moment or two he's genuinely speechless. I mean, the man DID just tell him about his stage persona and all that, but Haru was expecting something a little different than: Suddenly, Wolf. Still, it's probably not even the strangest thing he's seen in the ring in his short career; after all, he fought a literal succubus that one time, even if he didn't really know it. So, rolling his shoulders a bit, he decides to get into the designated ring area and get the match rolling.

The problem here is that Sven's big heel entrance is... well. It definitely fits the heel character, that's for sure. The Justice audience are too snobby to dignify it with a response, after all, which is a shame; a good heel deserves a properly riled audience, and these kids are just a little TOO under control. But hey, you would be too if a trip to the principal's office meant dealing with Raizo freakin' Imawano.

Stepping into the proverbial squared circle, Haru feels a brief burst of actual indignance before his brain reminds him of the conversation he had with Sven MERE MOMENTS AGO, and he clears his throat, pointing with one hand. "Justice High has some of Japan's best... and brightest students!" Haru blurts out, not sounding at all convincing. "I'll prove it right here and now!"

And without further preamble he rushes forward, whipping his left arm around with one of his weapons, the black and grey yoyo, following after it in a tight arc right into the side of the wolf masked head. Protip, Haru: the face doesn't do a headshot right off the bat.

COMBATSYS: Haru has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Haru             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Sven has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Haru             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Sven

COMBATSYS: Sven parries Haru's Medium Strike!

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Haru             0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Sven

[SVEN]
Not just wolf.

-Wolfman-

As Haru comes out, Sven turns around, bearing a full air of defiant majesty, as if Krauser himself strode down to face the wrestler. Glaring through the eyeholes, he crosses his arms at the boy coming forward. As Haru makes a stand, declaring the superiority of Justice High, Sven staggers back. "The best and the brightest? HORSEHOCKEY!" He declares, looking away for only a moment at an audience member looking for a reaction... or rather, halfway look away, letting Haru make his move to prove it...

And he reacts.

The motion comes almost in slow motion in it's precision. As the yoyo comes for his face, the wrestler movements are aggressive, moving -towards- the arc, not away from the yoyo. As the yoyo sweeps to the side, Sven is already surging in. He suddenly ducks, moving in sync with the yoyo, his eyes burning through the mask as they focus on Haru. His hands come out as the yoyo passes over his head, grazing the top of his hair just so. They snap together, aiming to catch the boy before the yoyo even finishes it's arc.

ANd if he gets his grip?

He would suddenly and swiftly spin the young man around his body, whipping him up on his shoulder and under the opposite shoulder in a blur of intricate motion and movement, all with the single charge. He would need to take another step with it, as he finally would spin Haru up on both his left and right hands, holding him flat out horizontal to the ground. And there, the attack would finish with the wrestler falling to one knee, and -slamming- Haru back first across it. All with a howl at the top of his throat, to release the boy from the assault.

But only -if- he got his grip.

COMBATSYS: Haru dodges Sven's World Wolf III EX ES.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Haru             0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Sven

[HARU]
Apparently, Wolf War III is escalating faster than expected.

For a fighter like Haru, who relies on careful tactics and planning to succeed, the sort of aggressive defense that Sven just engaged in isn't really in his toolbox at the moment. This means it's quite effective, way moreso than one might expect. But the more experience he gets, the more the Psycho Soldier is able to keep calm in a crisis, instead of panicking. And the more he trains the ability he's about to use, the easier it comes to him in moments like this.

Still, Sven might be surprised to see, seconds before impact, the Justice student close his eyes and murmur, "Do it *on purpose*...!" extremely quietly.

When the wrestling wolfman arrives at his destination, his destination is in fact no longer there. In a burst of pearly white light, Haru blinks out of existence, leaving only quickly fading lotus petals of light in his wake.

When he reappears on the other side of the arena, Haru still has to finish the arc of his swing; teleportation is one thing, but conservation of momentum is another entirely. This means he has a second or two of wasted time, where he can't capitalize on the moment of likely surprise. But he *tries*, anyway, rushing toward Sven and whirling one yoyo like a flail, attempting to snag the lupine wrestler's arm or leg, whatever's handy, and then slingshot him into the air before pivoting and lashing out with the other yoyo to drag him back down to earth, *hard*.

Say something witty while you make your counterattack, Haru!

"I don't even know what horsehockey *is*!"

Good job, buddy.

COMBATSYS: Haru successfully hits Sven with Jade Turbulence.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Haru             0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0             Sven

[SVEN]
What speed!

Sven thought he had him. Grabbing nothing, he overacts his actual shock as he blinks behind his mask, grabbing around blindly for a person who was not there. For a moment, he is exposed from behind. As he staggers around, he turns around just in time to see that yoyo coming around again. Stepping back in shock again, he once again charges at Haru, aggressively slipping in. But the lack of initative fails him this time; He tries to step over the yoyo, and ends up stumbling into it. With a jerk, he is slingshot straight down, face down, smashing his face into the ground. There is a single round of applause, which is shush'd. Sven stumbles back up, face bruises, nose hurting. But staring down at Haru, he roars back.

"What is horsehockey?!"

"Horse hockey is the horse's spit! PATOOIE! PATOOIE! Horse hockey is Justice High! PATOOIE! PATOOIE!" Sven mimes the spitting gesture as he begins to hammer his chest. "And above all, the PSYCHO SOLDIERS are HORSE HOCKEY! PATOOIE! PAT-"

"BOOOO!"

Sie Kensou calls out from the audience, standing up from his chair. "BOOO! BOOO! PSYCHO SOLDIERS ARE NUMBER-"

Sie Kensou is smacked in the back of his head by a teacher armed with a ruler.

Sven claps his hands together, finally getting the reaction he needed. Throwing a fist back, he gives a dramatic windup. And there, throwing himself into the air, he vaults into a frontflip, finishing with a falling superman punch, aiming straight for Haru's center. All while he howls.

"AROOOOOOOOOO!"
%

COMBATSYS: Haru endures Sven's Garouken ES.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Haru             0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1             Sven

[HARU]
He really... really doesn't like being touched. Hence the full-body coverage clothing even in warm spring weather. Hence the gloves. Hence the yoyos. Now, Haru's not an *idiot* -- fighting is a contact sport and he's prepared for that. But it probably says something that anyone watching his public fights will note a marked tendency toward defensive maneuvers that involve not actually touching another human being.

Thus it comes as a surprise to the audience (especially Kensou, if he's able to even see after the ruler to the head) when Sven comes sailing in with a diving kick at Haru and the Justice student just... plants his feet, bites his bottom lip, and *catches him*.

Well, perhaps 'catches' is a bit of an overstatement; the wrestlewolf's forward momentum cannot be arrested quite so simply, and indeed his extended fist lands squarely in Haru's stomach with a loud exhalation of air. But for a brief, glorious second, the Psycho Soldier gets both hands on Sven's punching arm in a very firm grip.

Now, his style involves the meteor hammer, but all martial arts share some key fundamentals... and as a result, Haru attempts to turn his impromptu defense into an immediate sumi-otoshi, borrowing from judo: he just shifts his body weight and attempts to use a combination of his superior positioning and Sven's existing momentum to direct him right into the arena floor, shouting "I've never even SEEN a horse!"

Of course, proresu is prone to all sorts of sudden reversals, and while Haru knows many countering techniques, this isn't one of them, meaning Sven has a window in which to turn things to his advantage yet...

COMBATSYS: Sven fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Haru with Wolfensteiner ES.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Haru             0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1             Sven

[SVEN]
It was bold of the boy to make his stand.

Sven Maesters whole technique was grabbing, hitting, holding. His kind of proresu lucha style was dramatic and dynamic, and was very much close quarters. Even with Sven not knowing the whole of Haru's aversion though, he knew that powerbombing a kid in front of his peers was gonna be ugly. He wanted to make sure he was ready for this. And as the boy stands fast to the driving punch, it's very clear to the Swede that he was. While Kensou was suppressed, there was a feel in the audience as they come around to Haru's side.

The trouble was, this was a combination attack.

Everything is once again in slow motion. Sven's momentum doesn't cease, but cycles. Sven was already rolling forward, flipping forward after his punch. The murderous thighs of the Warwolf close in towards Haru's face, ready to snap on. But the counter-attack carries Sven's momentum forward. The thighs snap shut, catching no man as he keeps shifting with Haru's reversal. Passing along Haru, Sven is hurled across, slammed into a rough tumble across the floor. Coming on to his knees, the wrestle, pounds his fists on the floor.

"BULL POOP!"

Sven gradually comes back up to a stand, spinning to face the student...

[HARU]
This moment of triumph for Haru is seriously compromised by two things:

1.) The look of shock on his face at his own success.
2.) A loud yell of... someone trying their best to curse. Sort of.

Taking a few deep breaths, Haru raises his eyes and watches as the Varulv of the Wrestling Ring goes through a pretty good show of being angry and frustrated at missing his chance, which might be enhanced by that probably being Sven's actual mental state. A tiny part of Haru's brain, however -- the one that isn't too nice for its own good -- does flash a little fin, asking: 'bull poop'?

Hmmm.

"I... I told you, Justice students are the best of the best!" he says, trying to sound proud and actually sounding like he wants to convince himself as much as anyone else. "I can handle anything you can throw at me, you... you..."

A too-long pause.

"You wolf!"

As Haru defiantly watches his opponent, a few students in the audience -- risking the wrath of their teachers -- groan and put their faces in their hands. Quietly, of course.

COMBATSYS: Haru formulates a plan of attack.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Haru             0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1             Sven

[SVEN]
Sven gets an opening.

Not for a mere attack, no, that wouldn't make sense. What was more dramatic was a moment to build himself into a frenzy. As Haru builds up his insult, Sven begins to gasp and groan, as if every word was a baseball bat on his body. When the final insult comes, while the audience might not buy it, Sven -sells- it, clutching his heart as he staggers backwards. Shaking his head, he pounds his hands together.

"I am no mere wolf, you horseless buffoon!"

Sven Maesters bellows, throwing off his cloak into the audience. It hits a stoic Algebra instructor in the face. There is no reaction from the audience. Sven's entire body begins to flex, as he unleashes a chain of poses. A flex. A second flex. Even a -third- flex as his biceps build. "I am..." And he rips free his mask, revealing the man underneath. Throwing the rubber mask aside, he roars.

"THE WARWOLF!"

And he throws back his sweat-drenched head in a howl.

"AROOOOOO!"

COMBATSYS: Sven focuses on his next action.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Haru             0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1             Sven

[HARU]
Well... on the one hand, Haru is just too... nice? Too much of a dork? Too much of a lot of things to REALLY be any good at pro-wrestling style drama and banter. Unlike Sven, who draws a comparison between his earlier, professional warning that this is all show, and his misguided but undeniable intensity in the ring, Haru just isn't a very good compartmentalizer. He's had to make constant effort to remind himself this is a real fight, but the *trappings* are all theatre. That the only long-term consequences here are physical.

Still... he knows drama when he sees it.

Bringing his arms up in front of him, Haru narrows his eyes, leaning forward just slightly. "Well, I... I'm..."

The pause is real. You're losing them, Haru. Just look at the faces in that audience. And then, he remembers something from Sven's pre-fight meeting.

'You are the champion?'
'And just one of a team, that's all.'

"I'm Haru Sakuraba, Psycho Soldier. KoF champion! And I'm not going to lose to anyone, wolf or not!"

His arms uncross, in a swift and decisive movement; in the air in front of him, both yoyos suddenly whip in criss-crossing circles before slapping back into his palms, arms at his side. His body is suddenly limned with an opalescent white light, spectral lotus petals floating off his form before flickering out of existence mere centimeters from his body.

And then, he charges.

The space in front of him, as he runs, becomes alive with swinging yoyos, each one passing in between the other so that there is a continuous, battering field of bludgeoning force before him, Haru aiming to make a swift and decisive strike on his opponent while his confidence lasts.

COMBATSYS: Sven blocks Haru's Garnet Intensity.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Haru             0/-------/---====|=======\=======\1             Sven

[SVEN]
"AROOOO!"

"AROOOO!"

"THE NIGHT OF THE WARWOLF HAS BEGUN!"

Sven continues to remain red as he builds into an ever increasing berserker frenzy. Frothing at the mouth like a rabid wolf, he rushes forward at Haru when the boy charges. The yoyo barrage comes in, hammering hte forearms of Sven Maesters, as he grits his teeth. The barrage builds, until finally, he lets the blow knock him flipping over backwards. Landing -right- on a chair, standing over a petrified student. "Ha ha ha! Is this the best you can do Haru?" Sven -pummels- his own chest again, as bruises build on his sweaty body. "Is this what the Champion of the King Of Fighters can muster?"

"Kick his ass Haru!"

Sie Kensou holds up a paper sign, reading 'GO HARU' as he shouts out again. "PSYCHO SOLDIERS ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" Kensou shouts again, before the teacher begins switching him again. As the banner is torn down, Sven vaults off the chair, sending it and the student to the ground as he flips forward. Bringing his heel around, he unleashes a -wild- aerial drop kick at Haru, attempting to bowl over him.

Building into a greater berserker frenzy.

COMBATSYS: Haru counters Light Kick from Sven with Moonstone Tenacity.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Haru             0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Sven

[HARU]
Well... Sven wanted drama. And he's definitely going to get it.

The consistent thread of Haru's fighting skills, even during the King of Fighters tournament, is that they aren't *bad*, but he does a lot of things on instinct or reflex, instead of on purpose. It's taken him a lot of training with Athena, for example, to master being able to teleport when HE wants to and not when his body and brain think he should. It's taken a lot of training with Kensou to know how to actually shape his power into the weapon or shield he sometimes needs it to be. And, well... maybe he just needed a good, dramatic heel to push him into that zone of 'heroic' confidence.

Sven's diving kick lands early, smacking into a sudden spherical field of glowing white force mere feet from Haru's actual head. The nature of Psycho Power actually makes it so that, for a moment or two, Sven's entire body is actually suspended, perfectly, in diving eagle-esque attack pose in midair. Win or lose, these two are going to have some AMAZING promotional stills from the footage.

But that state cannot hold, with a sharp yell, Haru breaks the shield, forcefully separating himself and the War Wolf in a burst of spectral lotus petals.

Afterwards, Haru remains in ready stance, breathing heavily. Whatever it is that happening, it's absolutely taking a toll, but the white light continues to swirl around him. And... well. He doesn't have an immediate response to Sven, on whom his eyes are fixed, but he DOES take a second or two to smile gratefully at Kensou for the support.

[SVEN]
Sven doesn't even know why he stops.

His foot catching the shield, he hangs there, frozen in the air. That even manages to get some 'ooos' from the audience, before they are quickly shushed. Sven hangs there, trying to -fight- through the field, actually bringing his other leg to try and kick through it... before he is blasted away. He hits the ground, rolling hard on the floor, smashing into some student's feet. They scoot back.

And Sven doesn't slow down.

"AROOOO! AROOOO!" Sven returns with howling. Rolling back up into a stand, he looks exhausted through his roaring. His conversation abilities was not top tier right now. But as his berserker rage consumes him, the wrestler hurls around with a wild frenzy unmatched. He was stumbling as he comes back, still not fully understanding his opponent's true psychic talent. Was it an act? Was it a style? In any case, he doesn't give Haru much time to appreciate his teammates.

He begins the combination.

Hurling at Haru, it comes with an elbow slam from the right, a forearm slam with the left. Chopping both arms down, he gives a low kick, before slamming his shoulder at Haru. Should he connect with that? He would pivot by snatching the boy, lifting him straight up, and -power- bombing straight down to the ground. Only building into a greater and greater frenzy.

Burning himself up faster and faster.

COMBATSYS: Haru dodges Sven's Wolf Blitzer ES.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Haru             0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\1             Sven

[HARU]
His chest... burns. Getting air feels really hard, now, and Haru knows that he doesn't have a lot of time left before he's about to pay for this little burst of dramatic power. But while it lasts, he's going to do everything in his power to use it to the fullest. The dramatic performance of Sven Maester demands no less than that.

Taking a cue from his opponent's earlier aggressive maneuvers, Haru actually starts running *toward* Sven as the grappler starts storming his way. The crowd has to gasp at that one, because seeing the slightly-built Justice student versus the quite buff wrestler, this seems like a really, REALLY stupid idea...

...Right up to the point that Haru invokes his teammate and says, "Tele--" and vanishes, passing right THROUGH Sven in some unseen realm and appearing BEHIND him, finishing his utterance: "--pooooort!"

And then, as before, he whirls and heads directly for Sven, yoyo in hand. Now it's Kensou's turn in the homage spotlight; with a little hop, Haru does his best impression of Kensou's Ryuu Sougeki, diving and swinging his arm in an arc. While the Korean leads with an elbow, Haru is simply swinging his yoyo in a wide, crushing arc. "Yaaaaaaaa...!"

But he's tried this trick before; it's unlikely Sven will fall for it a second time. Will this final burst of power be enough to carry him through...?!

COMBATSYS: Haru successfully hits Sven with Crushing Strike.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Haru             0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>----\1             Sven

[SVEN]
Sven was swirling, swiming in his fury.

Swiping his arms blindly and wildly, the teleport evades his very assault. By the time Haru reappears, he is already hurling at him, attempting to grab him. But already, Haru was attacking. He might think about this fight later, he might think hard. But in his berserker rage?

He was only on track to attack.

Sven moves to dodge the elbow in his hyper-focused frenzy. Instead, he takes the wide arc of the yoyo, knocking him rolling through the air. Smashing to the ground a third time, his rise is slower than ever before. Wiping the spit and blood from his mouth, he bellows as he stampedes back at Haru.

"GRAAAAGH!"

He roars as he fights the building fatigue around him, the consuming weakness that was driving deeper and deeper into him. As the heel, this was his fate. But he promised the fight. With a frightful force, the Swede flips forward, attempting to snap on with his murderous thighs right around the boy's neck. Should he get the grip? He would squeeze hard, attempting to ensure the latch. And if he gets the grip?

Not even Kensou could bear to watch...

COMBATSYS: Sven successfully hits Haru with Wolfensteiner 3D ES.
- Power hit! -

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Haru             1/--=====/=======|-------\-------\0             Sven

And Sven locks his thighs around Haru face tightly.

Latching on, he gives a quick one two of punches, before he gives one more good -squeeze-. And then, he pivots backwards, unleashing the Franksteiner with a face smashing drop. But he does not let go. No, the vice-like grip of his thighs hold true as he rolls on the ground, whipping around to lift Haru up and over again. And there, he unleashes a -second- Wolfensteiner, bridged into the second. And with that, he gives the roll on it hard, as he whips Haru up and over AGAIN for a third drop. As the third one comes, however, he makes the pin for a moment, and throws his head back.

"AROOOOOOO-"

"Awoo."

Sven stumbles back off Haru, landing on his bottom, dazed.

The Night Of the Warwolf Has Ended.

[HARU]
Welp.

To this point in the fight, Haru had been doing pretty well, but for the past few moments, he'd largely been running on borrowed time. When Sven -- apparently at the peak of a similar burst of confidence and dramatic power -- comes gunning across the field of battle for him, Haru swallows, tries to coax some energy into protesting muscles, and does what he does best: analyzes the situation and tries to find the best way to handle it.

And he does indeed have that flash of insight, but what that insight tells him, as Sven lands on his shoulders, is: you are BONED, my friend.

The result is a very wild and very painful ride thanks to the Swedish grappler's intensity and skill; the final one sees Haru land heavily on his back before the 'pin' comes, and after Sven rolls off for his victory howl, the Justice student stares wide-eyed at the ceiling, shock and pain overcoming his senses for a moment.

But, one important thing happens:

He gets up.

"That... was pretty good..." Haru grinds out, even though his lungs burn and it's a little hard to talk right now. Slowly but surely, he hauls himself to his feet, then standing straighter, then getting into an actual fighting stance. "I guess I owe it to you... to pay you back... in kind!"

And then he's running. Running right for Sven, yoyo held fast, knuckles white with the grip, until he gets close, lashing out. Again, as before, the flail-like movement of the yoyo attempts to snag an exposed limb and flip the War Wolf into the air. But if he can accomplish that, he doesn't redirect Sven into the ground just yet, as he did previously. Instead, he brings up the other hand, without a yoyo, and makes a gesture with it, palm out; a burst of pearly white Psycho Power appears in the path of Sven's aerial travel, bouncing him back in *another direction*, only to find Haru's yoyo there to 'catch' him. The game of human tennis -- throw, blast, strike, throw, blast, strike -- continues for three repetitions, the final one directing the Swedish wrestler directly into the floor... and hopefully, given Haru's obvious exhaustion, out of the fight!

COMBATSYS: Haru successfully hits Sven with Crystal Ferocity.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Haru             0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0             Sven

[SVEN]
It dawns on Sven what is going on.

Winded by his last ditch everything, he can't even stand up when Haru rises. As the boy charges him? "Oh bull poop-" Sven begins, as he tries to stand up. But reaching up only gives Haru a limb to snatch. Giving a 'whoops!' as he is snatched out, he is hurled up into the air. And like a puppet or a ragdoll, he is at Haru's mercy, knocked around by the blasts to only be snatched by the yoyo. The assault finally ends with the wrestler -smashes- to the ground.

This time, he doesn't get up so good.

Laying there, he breathes hard. There is a silence. Kensou stands up, drawing in a heavy breath. It is cut short by a squeak, as he is slapped again. "NO." The teacher says. And Sven, hearing the slap, struggles back up. He eases on his feet, breathing hard. He looks at Haru, and... he gives a nod. It's a subtle thing. He gives a pause, pounding his chest. And there, he calls out.

"HOOOOOORSE HOCKEY!"

He bellows as he suddenly leaps at Haru, throwing his whole body at him. Spinning through the air, he would try and grab him by the body with his legs again, and send him smashing to the ground. ANd if he doesn't muster it?

he would collapse on the ground, a final time.

COMBATSYS: Sven can no longer fight.

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

COMBATSYS: Sven successfully hits Haru with Howler ES.
Glancing Blow

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

[HARU]
They're both exhausted, particularly Haru after delivering that series of strikes and, likely, Sven after enduring it. But true to his form, the War Wolf of the North has enough left in the tank, enough sheer grit and drama, to try for one grapple. One last attempt to even the score.

Buuuuut slowed by fatigue and pain, it is not Sven's *best* strike, and thus Haru simply... starts to walk backwards cautiously, out of the way. Which seems fine until, at the VERY LAST SECOND of his attempt, Sven's grabby hands catch hold of Haru's *feet* while the *rest* of him was trying to move. Result: the KoF champ goes ass over teakettle onto the ground, with a loud *WHAM*.

For a second, it looks like the refs are going to call it a draw, but at the last, Haru gets to unsteadily to his feet and back into stance. He's battered and bruised and a tiny cut on his forehead is bleeding... but he did it. The face won.

And now, finally, the Justice students are allowed to applaud and cheer.

Sitting down heavily on the arena floor, ignoring the pronouncement of him as belt holder and the cheers of his classmates, Haru places his palms on his thighs, and bows at the waist to Sven.

"Mister Maester... thank you. I don't think I've ever pushed myself quite that hard to win before, and I think it's because you tried so hard to challenge and provoke me." He smiles. "I hope you'll try to win the belt for yourself in the future so maybe, I can do the same for you."

Log created on 16:22:57 04/14/2018 by Haru, and last modified on 16:09:04 04/15/2018.