Match of the Millennium

Description: International Psychopath and Notorious Nightmare Inducer Yamazaki is not a very good person to let adopt children. And yet, contract law requires us to allow Yamazaki to 'fight' someone for a 'chance' to 'adopt' a 'child.' Ryo of the Kyokugen style has such a child. Except it isn't a child. Using a clever use of makeup and copious amounts of shaving, we have successfully concealed star actor Danny Devito in the role of a lost orphan girl, plumped and ready for adoption. Yamazaki's goal is clear: overpower the orphan, and adopt 'her' for himself!

[RYO]
Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love. Where it is always sunny. Where Tom Hanks fell in love with Antonio Banderas, but died of AIDs. Where Bruce Springsteen wrote the only other song that people still remember besides Born In The USA. It's an old city, founded when the colonists first washed ashore seeking out the promise of new land and new people to be displeased with to the point of murder. Known for a guy who got his just rewards for flying kites in a lightning storm, the bell with a crack in it, and slapping steakums on a bun with cheeze whiz.

Here, on these venerable streets, the cameras are rolling, and the crowds have come out to watch the spectacle that is about to unfold before them. It's just another SNF match, but this one had the life of a little girl on the line, if the press release was to be believed. Moreover, that little girl MIGHT walk away adopted by an infamous violent gangster from Japan. With only the Invincible Dragon of Kyokugen to stand in the way. The buzz was buzzing and the hype was real.

Inside a small donut shop that has been rented out for prep, Ryo stands, waiting impatiently with his arms folded across his massive chest. He doesn't like this. The publicity is nice, but the gimmicks are uncomfortable. His Kyokugen karate should be good enough to entertain and keep the ratings up. After all, he did just do a turn in the World Warrior Tournament, along with his sparring partner and best friend Robert Garcia. That had to count for something. Didn't it?

"You're frettin' too much, kid," speaks a voice that is, at once, nasal and gravelly. That voice belches forth from the mouth of a rotund creature, perhaps an imp from hell, dressed in a frilly dress with lace and ribbons, and sporting blonde banana curled hair, held with a pink ribbon. Beady dark eyes, crinkled with age, stare out from behind coke bottle thick glasses, peering at the Kyokugen fighter. Speaking around a thick lit cigar that stubby, hairy fingers lift to thin, straight lips, the "girl" continues, "It's all showbiz. Play to the crowd and they'll love ya. And for fuck's sake don't let that madman with the Backstreet Boys hair put a shank in my lily white ass!"

Ryo just nods his head in silence, agreeing to the demand. Obviously, he's not about to let anyone actually get murdered on live television. He rolls his broad shoulders, breathes a silent sigh, and steps out, in the sparkle of the flash bulbs, bright lights, and unrelenting roar of the crowd. The "little orphan Annie" that walks out beside him lifts chubby, hirsute arms, hands clasped in victory, playing to the crowd, just as he told Ryo to do.

And the crowd goes wild.

[YAMAZAKI]
Who cares about orphans?

A bunch of assholes go around yelling about how they're going to put on a great show to help recognize all these dumb kids whose parents end up dead and they're just going to have people beating the crap out of each other to let everyone know how important it is to take care of some little bastards whose parents probably pissed off the wrong person?

It's a bunch of bullshit to give them an excuse to go crazy on each other and get their bloodlust going, but they're all too cowardly to admit they want to see some blood!

And so Ryuji Yamazaki is gonna give them what they want!

As the crowd is filled with roaring cheers, suddenly a shriek breaks out, a wave bursting through the crowd as some touristy asshole is thrown forward through the crowd, knocking people over, off to the sides, people screaming in alarm as they part along the path to allow Yamazaki room to move through, his right hand buried in the pocket of his clean, creased pants, his shoulders hunched forward as he swaggers through the open space created by the human projectile.

One young woman is left gawping at him, eyes trapped in a mixture of terror and fascination right up until he pauses, leaning in close enough that she instictually reels back as he gets into her face, his mouth splitting into an uncomfortable grin.

"Hey, hey, hey, girlie, don't let yourself get too worked up over me, yet. We haven't even gotten to the fun part where I slit someone's throat open, YEEE HAA HAA HAA HAAA!"

As he bursts into a shrill cackle, the thug reels back, planting one hand over his face as he loses complete composure for a moment, and the crowd struggles to find more room to give to the psychopath, the young woman practically in tears now as she finds no room to move past a wall of scared bodies.

Yamazaki doesn't care, turning back toward his opponent and walking forward with that same swagger, the tourist he threw earlier starting to push himself back up to his feet until one of the yakuza's clean, white shoes comes down on the side of his face, pressing his cheek back down to the pavement without even looking at him.

"So, where's this sweet little girl who needs a new daddy?" Yamazaki asks, crazy eyes darting around the open space as if he was completely lost before focusing in on the squat man in drag, completely ignoring the the Kyokugen karateka opponent. His mouth splits in an almost inhuman smile as he leans down lower, close enough to almost bring himself to eyelevel. "Why don't you just come over here and make this easy? I've got a present for you in my pocket!"

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |-------\-------\0         Yamazaki

COMBATSYS: Ryo has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0         Yamazaki

COMBATSYS: Danny DeVito has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0         Yamazaki
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-------|

[RYO]
The shriek draws Ryo's attention, his steely blue-gray eyes snapping in the direction from whence it came. Ah. That must be his opponent. Ryuji Yamazaki. A thug. A hooligan. A murderer and psychopath. A Yakuza. He's the kind of man that Ryo would have demolished on the streets of South Town in his search for Yuri. The kind of man that still brings the second Mister Karate's blood to a boil. When did he get out of the business of thrashing criminals and gangsters again?

He watches the drama unfold as Yamazaki all but sexually assaults a girl right there in front of everyone. Ryo's lip curls up at one corner in disgust. He pushes forward, even as Danny DeVito mutters, "What in the hell did my agent get me into now..." under his breath.

"Hey," Ryo's voice is deep, rumbling and demanding of attention. He almost sounds like a thug himself. Standing a few feet away, Ryo positions himself in a manner that is loose, but defensive, half turning his side to Yamazaki, but squaring his shoulders. "Leave the girl alone. You bullies are all the same. Pathetic. Why don't you come try some of that on me?"

As Ryuji nears Danny-the-Orphan-Girl, the cigar toting man, blows out a big puff of smoke, and tosses the stogie aside. He stammers, "J-jesus Christ kid, this guy's a psycho. Alright! That's it! I'm cuttin' this short right now. I'm out! I'm out!"

Ryo, on the other hand, has already gotten good and worked up. With Ryuji lowering himself into that leaning posture, the Kyokugen Dragon rushes forward and reaches out. His thick, meaty paws try to grasp Yamazaki by his shoulders, and the ball of one foot seeks to find purchase in Ryuji's lower gut. Ryo falls back, rolling onto his back and trying to wrench Yamazaki off of his feet and send him flying a good distance away from the crowd, and into the brick wall of the shop that resides at the side of the street.

COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Yamazaki with Tomoe Nage.
- Power hit! -

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Ryo              0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0         Yamazaki
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-------|

[YAMAZAKI]
All they want him to do is bleed some little fat man as a punk in orange tries to stop him, so why even bother looking at the punk when you can just go on and slit this "little girl's" throat in front of everyone? Let him piss in pants in fear as he sees his life flashing before his eyes and everyone just watches.

But there's still this karate asshole. And maybe Yamazaki should have payed more attention to the whole, because he only turns to look at Ryo when the punk is already grabbing for him. There's not enough room, even as Yamazaki tries to shift out of it, and all the struggling actually ends up getting him is a trip through a plate glass window, crashing through the front of the donut shop despite Ryo's initial attempt to aim for the wall.

More shrieks erupt from within the shop as the Yakuza goes crashing through tables and chairs, even hitting the display case as the crowd is left in complete stunned silence, the only sound for a few potent heartbeats being nothing more than glass settles and shattering.

And then Yamazaki starts to move again, his legs twisting about as he brings his feet back down to the floor, pulling himself up with only his left hand, the right still miraculously buried in his pocket as he gets back up. Small, faint cuts tear through his clothes, lines of red blood streaking down from them.

And Ryuji just continues to smile.

"Not bad, Goldilocks," the Yakuza shouts out as he swaggers back toward the broken window, "I guess I'm going to need to pound your face into the street before I get a chance to make this little piggy squeal all the way home."

More glass is broken aside as he steps up onto the broken frame with one foot, casually carrying himself back to the sidewalk as he rolls his neck out to either side, shockingly unconcerned by the blood even streaking his own face from a cut on his forehead.

"One on one, one fighter to the other, in honorable combat," Yamazaki starts, his tone uneven enough to be largely unsettling. His left arm drawing back as he locks eyes with the karateka

"BUT FIRST I'M KILLING THIS GUY!"

In a flash, without having taken his eyes off Ryo, Yamazaki bursts forward, crossing the open space between himself and Danny DeVito, his left fist gunning to send a single, powerful strike directly to the drag dwarf's gut.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki successfully hits Danny DeVito with Screw Blow.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Ryo              0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0         Yamazaki
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/=======|

[RYO]
Ryo rolls back to his feet immediately after sending the unruly gangster flying headlong through the glass window. He had hoped for the more sturdy stuff of the wall, but glass cutting the dog up will suffice, he supposes. He knows that it won't be enough to put Yamazaki down for the count, though, so he's raising his fists and preparing himself for what comes next.

Little Orphan Dannie comes running up to inspect the damage after hearing the crash, his banana curls bobbing about his chubby, stubble lined and aging face so cutely. He leans forward, his stubby arms slightly out to either side and behind him, trying to peer in through the broken window to get a glimpse of the madman, to see if he was put down. Gruffly, Ryo says, "Hey. Back off. It's still dangerous here. That won't be enough to stop a man like that."

And Ryuji proves his words to be prophetic as he steps out through the makeshift portal of broken glass and bent aluminum. As he waxes on about doing "honorable combat" one on one, Ryo is just preparing for the next offense. He locks eyes on Yamazaki as the gangster does in kind, and he rushes forward, just as the crazed Yakuza lunges for Danny.

Yamazaki's fist strikes Danny's portly girth, sending shockwaves through the short statured man's rotund body. He lets out a loud, but almost breathless, pained groan of "Ooooh!" and falls to the ground, clutching his stomach and wincing in pain. There are real, genuine tears there, as Danny gasps for the breath that had been robbed of his lungs.

"Hey, bastard! You gotta go through me to get to him!" Ryo calls out, even as he comes in, lifting one hand overhead. His back arches, and his lead foot lifts off the ground, just so that, when he wrenches himself forward, bending at the waist, his arm comes thundering down with even more driving force, all channeled into the ridge of his open hand alongside his pinky. A knife hand chop that, coming from Ryo Sakazaki, could likely be used to split logs more effectively than any axe.

COMBATSYS: Ryo dazes Yamazaki with Hyouchuu Wari!
- Power hit! -

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0         Yamazaki
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/=======|

[YAMAZAKI]
That's it, make the fat man squeal.

Everyone in the crowd is here to here for blood, and they can scream and cower all they want as Yamazaki tears down this sad excuse for a farce, but this is what they really want, if they weren't such cowards. This is what makes people feel good. The only way you're going to feel alive, is by watching someone else die!

But it's a distraction, too much to think about. Normally you demolish their big target, make them crumple over in pain, and then the little ones scatter. All these stupid rules they pretend matter are just getting in the way of doing things right!

And that's why the chop comes crashing down on the side of the Yakuza's head as he turns to face the punk in orange, just in time to get knocked down to his knees, his entire head ringing.

Everything's spinning.

Put in a position where nothing but his baser instincts are working, Yamazaki does the one thing he does innately: lash out.

With no hesitation, he's rising back up, twisting around as his left hand swings around with a rising punch for Ryo's midsection before he's even finished getting to his feet.

COMBATSYS: Ryo blocks Yamazaki's Fierce Punch.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0         Yamazaki
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/=======|

[RYO]
He was almost certain that he had just split Yamazaki's skull open, from the way that he connected so solidly with the man's head and sent him to his knees. Ryo's lips curl up into a grin, and he says, mockingly, "Hey. You gonna get it through that thick skull of yours? I'm the one you're fighting."

Ryo's smirk plays on his lips, and he looks down his nose at the wobbling gangster. He can't help but give one scoffing sound that might be a chuckle. It's an affect that he's adopting. Even the way he holds himself is somehow more cocky. Arrogant even. He looks like he just might try stepping on Yamazaki's head, as Yamazaki had done to that tourist just minutes ago. Why? Because it is language that Ryuji can understand. It's also language that should piss him off to no end. Ryo's presenting himself as clearly superior. He's saying that Yamazaki is beneath him. If the body language doesn't sell it, then he'll follow with, "You should be thanking me, you know. I'm Ryo Sakazaki. You're just a damned punk. What makes you think you even deserve to face me, huh? Show some respect, why don't you? Thank me!"

Sure enough, Yamazaki tries to swing at him. Which is what Ryo wants. Ryo's not a bully. He's not a thug. He's not what he's presenting right now, but he wants to egg Ryuji on. Get him worked up and focused on him, and not beating up poor Danny.

The fist is met with unrelenting flesh and bone, as Ryo raises up his defenses and takes it on his forearms, letting them aborb the brunt of the impact. Ryo still feels it. His arms sting, and he can feel the muscles there already tightening from the impact.

"Is that all you got? Pathetic!"

One foot, bare, with the exception of a black ankle brace, slides forward across the pavement, unconcerned with the chips and shards of broken glass that litter the street, and crunch under his bare soles. Suddenly, Ryo's left fist becomes a blur of motion, as punch after punch, after punch goes flying with speed so swift that the human eye would find it impossible to track. High, low, mid. Seemingly from all directions, Ryo just begins pummeling at Yamazaki with a seemingly endless assault.

"Zan Retsu Ken!!"

With that cry, Ryo swings around, torquing at the hip and waist, and using his shoulder to really bring forth more force into an uppercut aimed for the ganster's chin, hoping to send him flying up and back.

Meanwhile, Danny uses this distraction to roll over. It takes him a few tries, rocking from side to side on his back like a turtle stuck on its shell. When he manages it, he crawls on all fours, scurrying as fast as he can away and behind Ryo, making sure that the large, gi clad fighter is between him and the psychopath that's legitimately trying to kill him! All of this crawling, though, and Danny's little pink and white riffled skirt is just short enough to show the little panties with the teddy bear on the butt that he's wearing for this outfit. Maybe, just maybe, he can try to catch his breath and calm the pain and wrenching nausea that has gripped his stomach. He wheezes, trying to show some bravado, "Yeah! Stay down this time! Or I'm gonna shove my fist right into your ass... hard and fast...Not in a sexual way... In a I am pissed off at you way!!"

COMBATSYS: Danny DeVito gains composure.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Ryo              0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki blocks Ryo's Zan Retsu Ken.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[YAMAZAKI]
So this is what they're doing. It's all just trying to keep him from doing what he's supposed to.

They told him he's supposed to get the fat man pretending to be a little girl. All of this pretend garbage about adoptions and the rest of that bullshit, including this asshole are just here to try to keep him from doing what those sickos who run this whole thing wanted him to do.

They let him in.

He's just doing what everyone really wanted!

"Who the fuck is Ryo Sakazaki?" Yamazaki retorts as he brings his left arm between himself and Ryo, adjusting his body position with each strike, suddenly showing that he's more than just some dumb Yakuza punk who doesn't know how to deal with a punch. Each hit strikes his arm hard, but it never gets past that.

"Are you finished now? All this yapping of some chained mutt's really starting to get on my nerves," Ryuji says, his left arm suddenly falling completely limp, as if every hit landed on it had managed to make it completely numb or beat it out of its socket. It might be disarming if it weren't for the smirk that was still plastered cross his face.

"And besides, why the hell should I worry about the big, yappin' dog when this other little mutt with his balls cuts off thinks he can threaten me like this?" The Yakuza twists to the side, leaning over like a snake, bloodthirsty eyes on the squat man.

"WHO THE HELL SAID YOU CAN TAKE A BREAK BEFORE I'M DONE WITH YOU?!"

As his shout fills the air, suddenly that limp arm lashes out, swerving with a new, unnatural length around Ryo, a blade suddenly clutched in its fingers as it aims to stab the princess dress wearing brat right beyond the karateka.

COMBATSYS: Ryo interrupts Snake Tamer from Yamazaki with Koho Shippuken.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[RYO]
"Heh. This chained mutt has bitten you twice now, and you've done nothing to show for it. You talk a big game for someone who can't back it up," Ryo says with a sneer, his eyes burning with ferocious intent as they bore heated holes through Yamazaki, like Superman's heat vision. He lowers that gaze, then, to the flaccid, dangling appendage. He raises a brow, but he's not falling for that. Not in the slightest.

Danny scurries up behind Ryo, still on his knees, and he clutches the karateka's thigh like something out of a space opera movie poster gone horribly wrong. Peeking around the muscular thigh of Ryo, he peers at Yamazaki from behind those thick, giant glasses with a look of equal parts fear and rage. "LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU GOTTA PAY THE TROLL TOLL IF YOU WANNA GET INTO THIS PRINCESS HOLE!!!"

As Yamazaki lashes out with his serpentine limb, Danny shrinks behind the tree trunk of Ryo's thigh, flinching. Meanwhile, Ryo, too, shifts to intercept. Lunging forward, Mr. Karate actually takes the collision of Yamazaki's knife to the back of his reinforced gauntlet, and swats his seemingly boneless arm aside. Without skipping a beat, Ryo slides in, unleashing his own blindingly fast left hook, catching the Yakuza's jaw with his knuckles and rocking him. It's not his hardest punch, but then... Ryo's hardest punch could damn near level entire city blocks. But, it was enough to get the job done.

"I told you! You fight me!"

[YAMAZAKI]
The punch sends Yamazaki spinning in the air, flying back with enough force that he goes flying through one of the trees planted along the walkway, splintering wood flying every which way as if the young tree had been shattered, ending with the the Yakuza splattered against the ground, his left arm twisted back behind him in a painful-looking display.

And then the laughter cuts through the air

"YEEE HAAAA HAAA HAAA HAAAAA!"

A shrill note that could freeze blood as that serpentine arm settles unnaturally back into place, with Yamazaki pushing back up to his feet, laughing the entire time despite the swollen side of his face, the blood pouring down from his nose.

The look in his eyes is that of some mad, unspeakable beast. Not a trace of anger despite everything he's been put through. If he's in pain, it's done nothing but fuel the fires of insanity inside his mind.

Turning back to face Ryo, walking slowly forward, he howls, "Alright, if you think you're so good that you can really beat me, why don't we see what happens when I actually use my right hand!" The muscles in his right arm begin to flex, and it's certainly true that he's never allowed it to leave his pocket this entire time, even with every brutal blow he's taken.

Leaning forward, keeping a good half street between himself and Ryo, he just stands there. "I guess you've earned the right to see what happens when I bring out my strong hand, but don't go crying when I clean your goddamn head off!" he roars, sticking his tongue all the way out, his own blood dripping off it as he flows into some deeper psychosis.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki charges his next attack!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[RYO]
As Yamazaki goes flying, Ryo watches with dispassionate eyes, not even flinching when the madman goes crashing through the tree. Ryo often fights for the thrill of it, and to better himself, but this was not one of those times. Today, he's fighting to put down a mad dog that is literally trying to murder a man for entertainment. He can feel the murderous intent radiating from the insane Yakuza member like a tangible aura, feeling oily and slick on the skin.

That shrill laughter only makes the situation more tense for the Sakazaki heir. Of course, he wouldn't expect Yamazaki to get mad about being beaten to a pulp. He's the sort who thrives on chaos, after all. But the laughter was pushing things a shade too far. It was unsettling. To say the least.

"Do you not see how outclassed you are?" he asks in response to the other's boast about using his right hand. His voice is stern, powerful and almost guttural with the anger laced just under the surface.

"I guess I will have to show you, then."

Ryo grips the tail ends of his obi, jerking them tight with a snap. The thick, densely corded muscles of his shoulders and arms flex, casting every fiber of muscle in relief in his flesh, every vein etched on the surface. Wind picks up, blowing through the streets and whipping up paper detritus, sending shards of shattered glass tinkling as they roll in wide spirals across the street. At the apex, Ryo stands. His hair whips about, already wild and untamed, and only looking more so for being windswept. A faint haze starts to form around him, like a glowing mist. Light suddenly erupts from the ground, golden, at first, but quickly becoming the orange-gold of phantasmal fire that circles around Ryo's feet where he stands, with flickering sparks spiraling lazily about his body up to his waist.

"Let's test that right arm of yours against my Kyokugen fist!"

COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              1/-======/=======|=======\====---\1         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[YAMAZAKI]
What the hell does he think this is? Some grand martial arts challenge to test his resolve against?

No, it's a chance to show this brickheaded idiot that getting a few good hits in on someone who's barely even fighting you doesn't mean you're some great fighter, and who the hell even cares about that to begin with? The only reason to use your strength is to have some goddamn power.

And the point of power is to make people do what you want!

"You wanna waste my time talking about your goddamn fist? How many people has it killed, or are you too scared that you'll lose your stupid honor if you actually make someone bleed?!" he shouts, still smiling like a maniac. "This ain't about doing anything except getting you to bleed!"

By now the crowd has pulled back a good ways, giving wide berth to the two men. The cheers and excitement about some thrilling fight has shifted into an almost fearful unease about whether or not this psychopath is going to kill someone.

And he just might.

Lunging forward without hesitation, Yamazaki charges into the fray, lashing out with his left hand to grab Ryo by the hair, fingers taking hold as he hauls up, trying to yank Sakazaki off his feet and then slam his head down hard enough into the ground that he'll bounce up into the air.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki knocks away Ryo with Empowered Yondan Drill.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

The instant Ryo bounces back into the air, he's met with an almost casually performed axe kick that slams him back into the pavement before Yamazaki goes wild, stomping on the back of his head and back repeatedly.

"YAAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAA! YOU FUCKING MUTT, TALKING ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF YOUR FIST, BY THE END OF THIS, YOU'RE GONNA JUST LAY DOWN AND PLAY FUCKING DEAD!"

The shout is followed up with a sweeping kick that launches Sakazaki back into the air, and finally Yamazaki's right hand slips free of his pocket, drawn back in a clenched fist, an aura of deathly red and black energy forming around it, spiralling into a point as he thrusts it forward in a single punch, catching Ryo dead on in the chest, the energy seeming to explode into a deadly drill point on the other side of his torso before the force of it sends the karateka flying into the air.

[RYO]
It's quick when it does come, Ryo has to give it that much. Yamazaki charges forward and lashes out. Ryo, in turn, lifts his fists to block, but the strange, whiplash nature of Yamazki's attack easily slithers past his guard, finding purchase on his windswept hair. He's lifted and slammed, only to be kicked and stomped while the madman rants and raves.

He feels himself lifted up once more, his limbs leaving the firmament to find the brief momentary lilt of weightlessness tickle his stomach.

And then that drill comes. It feels like it is boring through his chest in reality, though the flesh is not rent. The kinetic impact of it, on the other hand.... Staggering is an understatement. Ryo's body buckles over the ki-encased fist, with the seeming drillpoint ripping out of the back of his shirt. Flung, he limp-limbedly ragdolls up into the air, soaring far across to the other side of the street where he cracks against the concrete of the sidewalk like a sack of lumpy meat.

%"..."

There's a moment of silence before Ryo's laughter can be heard creeping up.

"Heh heh heh! Is that it, then? Your big attack? The full extent of your power?"

He rolls his knees up to his chest and kips up onto his feet. The front of his compression shirt is torn and seared at the edges, so he just tears it off. He doesn't even hesitate to rush back in, his face, swollen, bruised up from being ground into the pavement. And yet he still puts on a wolfish grin.

"It's my turn now!"

He comes sliding to a stop, as he crosses his arms over his chest in an X. Slowly, the lead arm circles out, his fist opening until his wrist is bent and turning his open palm upward. The other fist sweeps down in a circular motion, until it falls to his hip.

"Ichigeki hissatsu!"

He pivots on the balls of his feet, snapping his hip sideways to face Ryuji, and twisting his body in conjuction. That fist chambered at his hip is launched with blinding speed, as Ryo stomps forward with his trailing foot, adding only more momentum and weight to this single, perfectly executed straight punch that brings forth so much power that it creates its own personal cyclone, trailing spiraling wisps of wind around his fist and trailing behind like some destructive wind tunnel.

Should his fist meet its mark, delivering thunderous and inhuman power directly into his opponent's solar plexus, there, too, will come an eruption. Brilliant golden orange ki will punch through Yamazaki, much as Yamazaki's own drill had to him moments prior. Out of Ryuji's back, it will explode, looking like the muzzle flare of an oversized firearm, blinding and blistering and ending with a shower of sparks.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki blocks Ryo's Shin Tenchi Haoh Ken EX.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Ryo              0/-------/---<<<<|=====--\-------\0         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[YAMAZAKI]
Sure, once they've actually gotten into a fight, some of these chained mutts will scamper off with their tail between their legs, but some of the big dumb ones keep on fighting when they should have learned their lesson, yapping furiously the entire time, like all this garbage with their fancy fighting techniques and hundreds of years of history mean shit.

With Ryo bellowing and going through all sorts of poses, there's plenty of time for Yamazaki to reset himself, his right hand disappearing back into his pocket as he works his neck from side to side without a word, not even bothering to look at his opponent.

And then the punch is thrown, and his left arm comes up to meet it, taking the powerful strike with an unpleasant wet crunch against his forearm, the force of the blow visibly straining his arm.

But it doesn't get anywhere close to his chest.

"What, you spend all this time howling and posing about how great your goddamn punch is and you can't even get it to land?" he shouts with a wild look in his eyes, that awful smile spreading wide on his face. "Trying to talk about how little strength I've got when you couldn't even hit me with your weak fancy punch? You know what's even better than a punch?"

With no pomp or circumstance, he suddenly whips a wooden handle out of his pocket with his right hand and brings it around with a vicious slash aimed for Sakazaki's stomach, a knife blade sliding out during the motion as if trying to gut him like a fish. As the blade reaches the end of its arc, he swings it back around, going for a straight stab to follow it up.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki successfully hits Ryo with Hydra's Judgement.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Ryo              0/-------/-<<<<<<|======-\-------\0         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[RYO]
When Ryuji manages to block his Shin Tenchi Haoh Ken, Ryo has to, finally, admit to being surprised. The fact that he was able to block it and still keep standing regardless is a testament to the madman's sheer tenacity. It is not the kind of technique that many could withstand. In truth, that punch alone could destroy this entire street, were Ryo not careful.

And he manages to take it. And gloat. Ryo actually looks somewhat amused by that.

"I've still got more in the tank," Ryo replies with a lopsided grin, even as Yamazaki slashes with his blade, catching Ryo in the side and creating a thin line of red in his bare flesh. Ryo's hands clasp around Ryuji's wrist when he comes in for the stab, halting the blade short of plunging deep enough for a serious or fatal wound.

And then, he rears back, and falls into a wide legged back stance. Again, he folds his forearms across his chest, only this time, he thrusts his leading arm out and down, like a low block, while the other comes back to his side.

He steps forward, snapping every part of his body into alignment to issue forth maximum torque through kinetic linking. His feet lead his knees, which lead his hips, and his trunk. His arm rockets forth, even swifter than before, though the cyclone that generates from his punch is not as visible. Simply a few swirling lines of mist that trail behind his fist as he seeks to bury it directly into Yamazaki's face.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki barely endures Ryo's Tenchi Haoh Ken but gets knocked away!

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1         Yamazaki
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|

[YAMAZAKI]
More of his stupid bragging, who gives a damn?!

All these punches, all this shouting, all of it in the name of pretending that his organization and training and discipline mean anything. It's all a joke, and a waste!

And to prove it all, he's just got to take this last punch and line up his own. The guard is left completely open, his left arm down as he yanks his right hand back, pocketing the blade as more of that vicious black and red chi starts to swirl around his right hand, drawn back, ready to strike after Ryo leaves himself open from the hit.

But it's a bad one, right to the jaw, Yamazaki is sent reeling, only lashing out on instinct does his right hand fly forward faster than he flies backward, aiming to implant all of that energy into Ryo's chest with one nasty punch containing a lingering corruption straight to the karateka's core.

But it's not going to be enough to get a grip, the force of Sakazaki's punch continues to send the Yakuza flying back until he hits the crowd, bowling over some bodies of people who don't get out of the way fast enough.

"Not... a bad punch," the Ryuji groans, getting up to his feet while everyone around his landing scatter. "Seems like this just isn't worth wasting more time on," he says as he moves unsteadily back to his feet, "But I guess I'll just have to find another time to show you why you're so full of shit, if you live that is!"

"YEEE HAAA HAA HAAA!"

A hand is thrown in front of his face as he laughs, then darts off through the opening in the crowd, bodies filling in after him as he flees the scene.

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki can no longer fight.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0              Ryo

COMBATSYS: Yamazaki successfully hits Ryo with Pit Viper.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Danny DeVito     0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0              Ryo

[RYO]
Yes. That last hit landed true, and Ryo can still feel some corrosion racing through him, weakening him with every passing second. He needs to end this decisively and fast. This last hit should do just exactly that.

But, Yamazaki does, in fact, get one last tag in as he's sent hurtling across the way until he crashes into the crowd, falling in a tangled mess of bodies. That burning chi sears Ryo's chest, the fist making contact, flesh to flesh, as Ryo tries to slip aside, away from it, but he's just too large, and not agile as he once was.

It hurts. Oh, it hurts. Everything hurts. But Ryo won't give up. He can't give up. There was too much at stake. So he starts to cross the street, towards where Ryuji is clambering his way back up.

"I told you to take me seriously, you punk," Ryo says, as he raises his fists again. "And now you want to run like a coward?"

He'd have given chase, if he had the energy left to do so. So once, Ryuji is out of visual range, Ryo finally collapses to his knees, sitting on his heels and clutching at his chest.

Meanwhile, Danny DeVito, in his Pretty Little Dutchgirl costume, comes crawling out of a heap of garbage he had managed to secret himself away within. Wrappers and even a banana peel still cling to him as he crawls on all fours over to Ryo. "Hey. Hey, kid. He gone?"

Peering through his glasses, Danny looks this way and that, searching for any signs of Ryuji Yamazaki or his wicked knife. Satisfied that he sees none, he looks back to Ryo. "Hey, kid, you're lookin' kinda... I dunno. Green."

Ryo looks to Danny and gives a shrug of his shoulders, too weak and pained to do much else. "I think he poisoned me."

"Oh. Tough break..." Danny says, looking genuinely concerned for the Sakazaki heir. Reaching into a hidden pocket, he pulls out a small, white eggs and asks, "Can I offer you an egg in this trying time?"

Log created on 14:38:07 04/27/2018 by Yamazaki, and last modified on 12:45:02 04/30/2018.