Match of the Millennium

Description: Steve Fox was on the prowl for the fast and furious street tournaments in the heart of Southtown. When he arrives to a CHinatown scrapdown, the British boxer finds himself face to face to a rude and crass young girl. Who thinks she is from Gedo High. Is on Gedo Street. ANd also thinks this is a Gedo Street tournament. A fierce brawl breaks out between the pair, while the audience eggs them on...

[MITSURU]
Mitsuru had her heart straight on one thing: fighting.

Her cover story was straight: she had to go and interview Fumiko for her class project on Culture Studies. That's why she was out of Seijyun High. And why she was in her tattered gakuran with the metal epaulets? Because she could only wear it out of school. But her butler told her that there was a very serious Gedo Street tournament going on. And once she got her interview paper signed? She escaped, her sandals tapping along as she rushes through bus and foot to that mythical tournament. Now -where- it was, was a mystery. She had to use her instincts, and ask around, right?

And Chinatown was near Gedo Street, right?

Moving past the crowd, past the street vendors, past and down the 'gentlemen clubs' and the places where the police don't dare to venture, past the point where stalkers bother to hide in the shadows, her discerning eye finds it. Where cock fights once took place, a more refined form of street fighting was cut out on an demolished lot. Where a building once stood was collapsed into rubble, and only the faintest remains of foundation and support remained. There, where a crowd circled around, with chicken wire outlining it, a sneering, tattooed man sets up in front of a folding table, taking bets, setting up brackets...

And of course, registering fighters.

"Excuse me-" She begins, as she comes to the crowded table, shoving past a man much older... and shorter than her. The sneer becomes a leer, as all eyes fall on the 15 year old girl who was far, far, far away from Seijyun High. The organizer finally says something, letting the girl cut in.

"Can I help you, 'tough stuff?'

Mitsuru, feeling a hundred eyes upon her, growls. "Good grief, you guys have mental problems or something? I'm here to fight. Where do I sign up?" The organizer chuckles, tapping on the paper. "Well it's a 20000 yen pot kid-" Mitsuru quickly goes into her satchel, and begins unfolding the bills, as the others stare. "There. Good grief, what is wrong with all of you? Haven't you seen a real Gedo Street fighter?" There was a murmur. They -did- hear about the delinquents. The organizer waits, and relents. "Okay, everything is in order. Come right this way, tough stuff." Mitsuru stomps her foot.

"The name is Mitsuru Tokugawa!"

"Don't forget it!"

Mitsuru ends past the chicken wire, into the dusty ruins of the collapsed building. THere were some old masony left, even a couple of window frames. But the grounds were just foundations and dirt. It was dry, at least. The crowd around was hooting and hollering, as Mitsuru comes in. Fists tightened furious, Mitsuru grins. She felt alive, she felt -real!- The teenager adjusts her commissar cap, Her stance might be wide open, but she had her size, and her strength, and her- She gasps a moment, and pats around.

Deftly, she quickly unhooks her satchel, and places against a concrete block, to the uproarious cackling of the crowd.

[STEVE]
Steve fox is on a trip to Japan and Southtown, for both recreational and serious "the fighting kind" reasons. He had heard about underground fighting-pits being a relatively common occurence in the depths of southtown, and eagerly decided to tour the slums and alleys of the city looking and asking around. Eventually, he managed to dig up some information about a relativly shady tournament in going on in Chinatown.

Steve finally made his way over after a tiring set of communing with locals and turning numerous alleys. A rowdy crowd of people surround the organizer as Steve boldy steps forward and raises his voice. "Where do i sign up?" A few faces turn his way, some recognizing the somewhat well-known british boxer. The organizer draws more attention to him.

"Looks like we've got another one!" A disturbing smile creeps across his face "Entrance fee is 20000 yen buddy, pay it, or leave"

Steve begrudgingly reaches into his pockets and grabs a stack of bills. "Y'know, that is a rather steep price for what is essentially a glorified pile of rubble." A few angry growls can be heared as he pushes his way through the crowd, and enters the "arena".

As he enters the decrepit building, he is greeted by a peculiar opponent, a teenaged girl wearing a tattered school unifom. Steve Mumbles "Another one?" before stepping into the ring and raising his fist for the crowds.

Steve is wearing a thick white hoodie and some simple jeans and sneakers, and is ready for a good brawl.

[MITSURU]
Well known... outside of Mitsuru's circles.

The teenager actually sneers as Steve comes in, raising his fist up. "Who the hell are you?" SHe barks out.

Mitsuru says, "Another homeless bum? Good grief, what a joke." She growls aloud, silvery energy flooding over her limbs. Despite the show of chi, there was... obvious problems. Mitsuru's stance still hangs open; her guard was exposed. She was trying to show a bruiser stance.

Except, this time, she was smaller than her opponent.

"Tell you what." She calls out, as the organizer lines up, ready to call for the start. "I'll let you come at me. You think you're strong? I'm a real delinquent, I chew through adults like you for breakfast! You can come at me! I'm ready! I'm intense!" Mitsuru beckons Steve to come at her.

"And I have no time for losers!"
"

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mitsuru          0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Steve has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mitsuru          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Steve

[STEVE]
"Good luck to you as well." Steve sighs. "This is a odd place for a teen like yourself, i hope your fiery temper reflects your strength!" He takes the orthodox boxing stance, and as the gong rings and the fight officially starts, Steve rushes forward, getting in prime punching range before curving his right arm and peforming a simple hook aimed at the delinquent's temple!

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru blocks Steve's Hook Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mitsuru          0/-------/------<|-------\-------\0            Steve

[MITSURU]
"Odd-!?"

Mitsuru had more of a response than that. After all, there was plenty to be offended about; the teenager was always looking for more things to be offended about. THe problem? Steve was moving fast. -Very- fast, in fact. Mitsuru wasn't expecting her opponent to be moving so fast. As he comes in, she just barely gets a half-guard stance up. Everything comes to catch the hook, blocking crudely. Blocking, but failing the stop it outright: she actually takes the battering in the head and her forearm in tandem, knocking her stumbling back. It wasn't enough to send her flailing; but the exposed -rest- of her body demonstrated that the lanky teenager was only just realizing what she was up against.

"Are you some kind of boxer?

Mitsuru sputters back, trying to get her bearings. She flails, stepping backwards, conceding momentum. It wasn't any proper form for the most part. But the silvery energy pours out from her, the burning spirit of the teenager blasting out in a rapid fire barrage. Imprecise, yes, but when five unstable blobs of silver energy are flying out at short range, it was to buy space. She was getting overwhelmed out the gate. She wasn't afraid.

But it was the glimmer of concern, about who she would be fighting on the streets.

COMBATSYS: Steve blocks Mitsuru's Flash War Dance.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/------<|>>-----\-------\0            Steve

[STEVE]
As the globs of chi are flying his way, Steve does best to protect himself by taking a low posture and taking a tight guard, he mitigates most of the damage like this, but the small blasts of silver still leave a sting as they go out with a bang.

"Name's Steve Fox. I used to be the middle-weight boxing champ. Good to meet you lass" Steve then closes the new-found distance created by the projectiles and pulls back his dominant right arm, releasing a straight punch aimed at her upper body, after this he will quickly duck down and release a twofold of powerful body-hooks to the stomach, turning his body to maximize the impact

COMBATSYS: Steve successfully hits Mitsuru with Vanguard Rush.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/---<<<<|>>>>---\-------\0            Steve

[MITSURU]
"What's, you're -British?-

Mitsuru's response comes with a shock as Steve's full story came out. Middle-weight boxing champ? From -where?- When he nearly immediately blazes forward after the suppression barrage, Mitsuru finds herself flat-footed and off-balanced. Against a trained, championship fighter, her raw strength and spirit was nothing. The straight punch is only barely deflected, as she brings both arms to shove it aside. Her defenses are wide open, and when the body-blows come, there are -nothing- to stop them. Mitsuru groans in pain, gritting her teeth as she doubles over.

And then, the rage surges her back.

"Italians, Brits, why are all these foreign -losers- lurking out in my city!?" Mitsuru gasps, as she steadies herself. Her body was bruised badly now, that was obvious through the coat. Her forearms hurt, everything hurts. If he was punching, maybe kicks would confuse him? Something? Mitsuru turns as she flails her legs in a wild three-strike kicking chain, starting high and coming low. She was trying to leverage against the ducking position to pressure him down, with the final third kick ending with an aggressive stomping, to try and send Steve into the dust.

COMBATSYS: Steve blocks Mitsuru's Dragon Killing Spiral.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/--<<<<<|>>>>>--\-------\0            Steve

[STEVE]
While Mitsuru's bet with kicks was not entirely off, Steve has had some time getting used to dealing with legs, especially in his fight against Aranha. He definitely feels more comfortable dealing with punches though. Steve manages to block the first 2 kicks easily enough, though the fast conversion into the last one as well as the low angle caught him off-guard and he doesn't manage to negate the impact completely. Steve is left feeling surprised by the significant raw physical strength of his opponent, all of the kicks still leave nasty stings on his arms.
"You're stronger then you look!"

Steve then releases a quick 1-2-3 combination of a jab, a hook and ending with a jab, alternating his punching arm with every blow and stepping into the blows to maximize their power. When he's finished he starts rhythmically bobbing left and right, further increasing his defensive capabilities.

COMBATSYS: Steve successfully hits Mitsuru with Mix-Up Combo.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Mitsuru          1/-------/<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\-------\0            Steve

[MITSURU]
He was too fast.

The audience was jeering, not cheering. At least, for Mitsuru. THe school girl was just barely holding her own, as her relentless overwhelming offense... wasn't. She was hammering Steve with kicks, but his deft defensive play was flummoxing her offense, and his precise offensive play was making bedlam of her defense. As the final stomping comes, she actually blurts out. "Oh, so you don't think I -look- strong?!" Mitsuru belts out. "You English people are all like that, with your, with your English!"

She doesn't have time to focus that thought, because he was countering.

The 1-2-3 catches Mitsuru off guard, who only brings up her arms as Steve is already finishing the 2. She is able to clinch the third, instinctive defenses guarding against her flat chest. She chokes as the final punch rat a tats, as she staggers backwards. She almost falls. She couldn't breath. Her ribs were only bruised, not even broken yet. But taking 5 clean punches, 2 partial hits was already confusing her. She wasn't afraid, she was annoyed. No, not annoyed.

She was mad.

She tightens her fists into balls, as she flexes. She was narrow. But the tensing of the muscles showed she was -strong-. Silver energy cascades over her narrow, battered frame as she shudders with raw energy. It was making her sick, the boiling over chi. She didn't think why it made her sick. But she was drawing out the pure force, forcing it to the surface as she howls at her opponent, eyes twitching as the silver energy flows in and out of her. "You SHIFTLESS, LOW BORN BUM!" She seethes, as she builds into a frenzy.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!?!!"

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru gathers her will.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Mitsuru          1/-----<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\-------\0            Steve

[STEVE]
Steve shoots some mean looks at the jeering audience "Bloody imbeciles" the rowdy and booing crowd is not something that is unfamiliar to Steve. But them humiliating his opponent seriously ticks him off. He considers shouting something for a moment, but the sudden aura and transformation of his opponent make him decide against it. She looks seriously menacing, and Steve takes a defensive position as he takes a moment to catch his breath and prepare for her inevitable assault.

COMBATSYS: Steve gains composure.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Mitsuru          1/-----<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>--\-------\0            Steve

[MITSURU]
Steve wasn't approaching now.

And Mitsuru finally found her footing again. She draws in a deep breath. Then, with a stamp of her sandals, she rushes straight for the boxer, spirit overflowing. She felt sick, but she ignored it. She was dead focused on taking out -her- anger on the jeers right into Steve. And when she came upon the Brit? The telltale cry from her lips told exactly where she expected her technique was borrowed from.

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA"

Mitsuru bellows out as she unleashes a flailing assault of punches, burning with the silver energy. Every impact would come with a fresh burst of energy. She punches harder, harder, faster, faster, and only when the sweat would come on her brow, right under her cap, would she break the attack away, with a final punch.

"YATTA!"

COMBATSYS: Steve interrupts Blazing Hell Fist EX from Mitsuru with Hellfire.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Mitsuru          1/-======/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1            Steve

[STEVE]
Mitsuru bolts towards him, fists ready to clash, Steve starts pulls his right arm back and gathers his energy, attempting to interrupt whatever is coming his way with an attack of his own. As the absurdly fast barrage starts hammering into him, steve does his best to mitigate most of the impact by turning and twisting his body out of the way and using his free arm to dampen some of the impacts, he even resorts to putting up his knee to take a few punches for him, and he manages to keep standing with bruises all across his upper body.

Towards the end of the Barrage, Steve has finally finished preparing. In the small gap of her preparing for her final blow, Steve's arm explodes from his side in an instant and smashes into the Delinquent's face!

[MITSURU]
Impossible.

That was the last thought as the barrage breaks. Not by Mitsuru's accord, no. The moment she slows down a moment, the moment she tries to pull away, it was like someone fired a rifle. A single punch, barreling in, right into her face. There is a crack, and like that, the silver light dims. Everything is black, everything is stars.

And she was down in the dust.

Everything was spinning, spinning. Jeers and boos, a count? 1, 2, 3. She knew those numbers. Why was her face wet? Blood, on her face. She rolls a bit, coughing. She hits a foundation block. 4, 5, 6. She needed to stop this. She needed to keep -moving-.

And she rises up.

"How- how dare you!" Mitsuru sputters, grabbing the concrete base of the ruins. Her words were harsh. Her spirit was waning. Every movement seemed unconfident now, uncertain. She was forcing herself up, but even her tone, there was weakness now. "Who the hel- who the heck do you think you are?! Middle weight? Are you some kind of ringer, some kind of jerk? Are you just trying to humiliate me?" She touches her face. It feels wet. Blood. Pain. Something flickers in Mitsuru's head, as she lunges in with a long, heavy haymaker, bringing the full force of it overhead.

"Did -daddy- send you!?"

COMBATSYS: Steve blocks Mitsuru's Strong Punch.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Mitsuru          1/=======/=======|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1            Steve

[STEVE]
Steve Froze up as he heard the hints of desperation in her voice, and just barely manages to strike a high block against the heavy haymaker. Steve quickly darts back. The girl is obviously in some sort of mental distress. Steve considers how he should respond, before announcing.

"The people in this crowd truly are a bunch of bloody idiots huh?." Steve thinks for a moment "I really just came here for a good fight, i have no relation to what i assume to be your father."

Steve does not attack but does keep a defensive position. "I understand you probably dont want sympathy from me, but i genuinely apologize for whatever memories or thoughts i might have evoked." He hopes he can somewhat defuse the situation, he'd rather not have to continue fighting her under the pressure of the jeering crowd.

COMBATSYS: Steve gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Mitsuru          1/=======/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1            Steve

[MITSURU]
Steve fails to calm the emotional teenager.

"You just -assume?!-" Mitsuru fumes, as the boxer deftly deals with her wild haymaker. "I know your type, stupid weak adults who daddy- the old man works with to ruin everything -good!-" Mitsuru shouts at her opponent. "You're like that stupid fat Italian bully at the bathhouse! Who humiliated me, and wanted to run off. Wanted to -make fun of me- in a fight, and then run away like a dirty, filthy, stupid coward! You lowlife peasants! You stupid- stupid-"

And a bottle is chucked at Mitsuru.

The plastic bottle hits the girl. Physically, harmlessly. Mentally? Shattering. Mitsuru lurches, staring out past the chicken wire, fists balled up. And the words come out. "Lets gabbing, more fighting!" Was the call out, which comes with a barrage of cheers. "Dumb bint wasting time crying instead of fighting." Was the follow up.

That is what detonates for Mitsuru.

Shrieking, Mitsuru hurls in with a staggering deep punch. Not into the audience. No, right at for Steve. Red from blood and rage, her face was twisted into a facade of fury. Whether the punch connects or not, she would struggle to unleash a rapid chain of punches. They would escalates, not simply into an ora ora ora, but into a full whirling mass of silver slashes. There would be no endless chains, she would break it with an explosive uppercut, howling in maddening fury. Not merely angry.

But ashamed, of unintentional humiliations.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru successfully hits Steve with The Path Of The Raging Demon.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/----===|=======\=====--\1            Steve

[STEVE]
How do you calm down the crowd and hopefully not make the girl feel terrible? Why, take the hit to even up the score of course! By process of elimination this seemed like the best option, beating her up further could be devastating for her, but surrendering would probably be even worse. Steve does his absolute best to make his attempted defense seem genuine, he keeps up a tight guard, putting just up enough force to pose resistance but making it possible for her to break through after a couple of hits.

As the barrage shatters his guard, the uncontrollable flurry of silver hit Steve like a truck, and eventually the massive, wide uppercut blows him back like a rag-doll.

The mockery and jeering seem to mostly stop as he had allowed Mitsuru to show the crowd her real power. now it's hoping he actually fooled Mitsuru herself.
%As much as Steve wants to call of the match, he realizes he needs to keep going for both of their sakes. As such, Steve picks himself off the ground. "That was one hell of a move!" Steve spits out a glob of blood as he dashes over to the school girl and tries to grab her by her shoulders to bring her off-balance, using his right leg to sweep her to the ground.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru blocks Steve's Medium Throw.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/---====|=======\======-\1            Steve

[MITSURU]
"Shut up! Shut up!"

Mitsuru states, deflecting the compliment instinctively. She doesn't even seem to register that her assault broke through, her own temper blinding her. The actual throw is less deflected; as he grabs her shoulders, Mitsuru suddenly felt small. That almost gets Steven flailed at in her wild rage. Instead, she tucks on the pivot. She was big, but as she is swept to the ground, she breaks from the grapple. She hits the ground in a roll, tumbling over and away. Stretching back up unevenly, she sweeps her arms around.

Hands still in furious fists.

"You are making them laugh at me!" She accuses, gesturing her fists all around. "Everyone does that! Everyone turns the audience against me! You want me to feel bad! You want to try and humiliate me- me! A strong, nasty tough fighter that is too cool! Y-you Englishman! You English person! You probably drink tea poorly!" Mitsuru rants and raves, to the laughter of the audience. They were eating this up. Steve might be hating it, but the audience couldn't help but crack up at the bratty teenager and the beleaguered boxer who had to put up with her. Mitsuru shrieks again, and strides forward, dragging a leg back to telegraph what was coming.

A full forced roundhouse kick, to stagger him back into the chicken-wire barrier.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru successfully hits Steve with Medium Kick.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Steve

[STEVE]
The british boxer is still in a frustrating set of conflicting feelings, he feels a pit in his stomach and feels sorry for the girl, but is also teeming with rage from the infuriating crowd. This distraction makes him react too late to the incoming Roundhouse kick, Steve attempts to dodge out of the way, but he is simply to late as he is hit square in the chest, staggering him back into the wire.

The british boxer is still in a frustrating set of conflicting feelings, he feels a pit in his stomach and feels sorry for the girl, but is also teeming with rage from the infuriating crowd. This distraction makes him react too late to the incoming Roundhouse kick, Steve attempts to dodge out of the way, but he is simply to late as he is hit square in the chest, staggering him back into the wire.

He picks himself up, and Steve finally loses his temper against the crowd, probably for the worst. He picks up the bottle thrown at Mitsuru earlier and flings it at one overweight fellow laughing particularly loud, hitting him square on his forehead. "If you bloody imbeciles don't stop with this childish rubbish i will personally come up there and and knock all of you out one by one!" The crowd only responds by taunting and laughing louder. "Drat!" He turns to Mitsuru, jumping in and releasing a trifold of lightning-fast jabs, ending the combination with a straight to the chest.

COMBATSYS: Steve successfully hits Mitsuru with Spitfire Combo.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Steve

[MITSURU]
He wasn't the only one with conflicting feelings.

The trouble was, Mitsuru was taking every single conflicting feeling, and trying her best to pour it right into Steve's face. Frustrations to the crowd, to her family, and especially Steve himself had only one outlet. And that was violence. As Steve loses his temper to the crowd, it creates the opening for Mitsuru to hammer through.

She doesn't even have a moment to enjoy it.

Steve's speed and power was a deadly combination, and Mitsuru struggled to force through it. She fails, the blow to her flat chest staggering her backwards. A broken rib> Not yet, but the bruises from earlier were getting heavier and harder.

The crowd wasn't helping, either.

As for the fat man's bottle to the brain only made the audience go more hectic, a roar of laughter accenting the complete breakdown of the fight. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" The teenager shrieks, the rage almost giving her a second wind as she bounds back up, chasing Steve. Mitsuru takes to the air. She slams her leg down back at Steve in a diving kick, attempting to overwhelm him again with the endless barraging of, well, everything. The impact was coming with a crater in the dirt, all while the audience begins to take things directly to Steve.

"Come on, TKO the bint!" It begins, as the rest join in.

"TKO THE BINT!"

"TKO THE BINT!"

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru successfully hits Steve with Heaven And Earth.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Steve

[STEVE]
Steve has no idea what to do at this point

He was Furious at the audience, and frustrated with himself for his indecisiveness. Plus, the girl was freakishly strong! The first hit he took really turned the fight around. The next attack he attempted to dodge again, but the acculuated damage and the further distraction from the ruthless spectators staggered his movement, the divekick carried his skull into the ground, literally leaving behind a crater.

While he had not intended to take those last two kicks, he hopes they manage to reinvigorate some confidence in the poor girl. Should he throw the fight? Should he go all out and hopefully end it quickly? For now, Steve decides to take a save middle ground as he gets off the ground.

"You are truly strong. The spectators might not recognize it, but they haven't faced your blows."

Steve dashes in and crouches down very low to the ground, after preparing for a moment, Steve erupts from the dirt and peforms a jumping uppercut, aiming for Mitsuru's chin.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru fails to interrupt Dreadnought Uppercut from Steve with Rumbling Death Spiral.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2            Steve

[MITSURU]
Mitsuru let the momentum carry her.

She was having a miserable time. Nothing was happening the way she imagined. And the audience was making fun of her. She imagined after she beat Steve, she would send them all running with her super might. But she had to beat Steve. As she stomps on his head, she finally felt happy, she finally smiled. She was twisting on the landing, stepping back. As he dashes back, she was already turning, silver energy cascading over her as she pivots. She turns, and- and Steve in on her too fast. Too early. Mitsuru tries to correct, she tries to force through. And Steve is there, rising up, fist rocketing up.

Right in the jaw.

Everything is swirling, spinning. Mitsuru goes up, and down in the dust. The roars of the crowd come all around, as Steve makes his contact. The calls for TKO hold up, as the organizer begins to give the countdown. After all, what was a TKO when you could go for a straight KO.

1, 2, 3.

Lights, colors, stars. Mitsuru felt everything swirling around, swimming. She was drowning in the ebbing tides of consciousness. She was in the air. And she was hard, down, on the ground. It hurts. IT all hurts. A fire burns within. A spark that endures.

4, 5, 6.

She needed to get up. She had a fight still. She could still fight. Her limbs didn't want to cooperate. Her arms, and legs. But those didn't matter. It was only a hit in the head. It was only a hit in the head. She didn't need to think. She didn't need to think.

7, 8, 9.

"CHEATER!" She screams.

Mitsuru jolted up again, her arms and legs moving too jerky, too unsteady. But she was up, hands balled into fists. Her face was bloodied from before. It was worse now. "You think being nice to me is fair? You jerk! You bully! I hate you!" She coughs hard, giving a faint whimper as she touches her... badly swelling jaw. A cauliflower face? The chortling from the crowd comes around. "Looks like we got a new Ladykiller in Southtown!" Was the callout. Mitsuru throws together the ramshackle guard, bringing her fists up. "Come on, you think I can't take it? You jerkwad! You peasant! I'll take whatever you throw out! I'll beat you until you cry! Or you gonna run away? You are gonna run away like all those other men who are afraid? You don't think I can take it? Come on. COME AT ME!" The crowd gives Steve an egging on, to finish the fight.

"T"

"K"

"O"

"HER!"

[STEVE]
The furious, but at the same time desperate shouts from Mitsuki cut Steve like sharp daggers, he feels like that whatever he does, this will end bittersweet. The crowd seems oblivious to the fact that the continued barrage of attacks has heavily weared down Steve. The roundhouse might have even broken a rib, and at this point Steve's stance is getting shakier and more unbalanced. He is probably worse off Physically then Mitsuru. In that realization, Steve decides to respond to her shaky taunts and truly go in hard.

"Ignore the crowd, This is our battle and it's a bloody good one at that!."

Steve runs over to the girl, and pulls back his right arm, releasing a quick but powerful right straight aimed at her head. Suddenly his entire body seems and his movements begin to, almost unaturally, speed up as he releases a threefold of body hooks. Steve then proceeds to take a quick step back before leaping forwards with a uppercut with enough world-champion power behind it to launch whoever is unfortunate enough to get hit by it sky-high!

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru endures Steve's Wildman!

[                         \\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Mitsuru          1/-----==/=======|>------\-------\0            Steve

[MITSURU]
Mitsuru couldn't ignore them.

Maybe if she could, she would finally have the respect she desperately craved. But in spite of Steve's advice, in spite of it, she could taste weakness. She could beat Steve. She could, she believed she could. She was almost grinning through her swollen, bloodied face as Steve was coming at her. All she had to do, is counter attack. She didn't need skill to counter. She just had to stand fast, and take those hits to the chest. The swaying hooks finally crack a rib; it hurts more than anything else. But she doesn't falter, she doesn't fall. Silver energy builds to her finger tips. The uppercut sends her back up again.

But this time, she was ready.

ALmost instantly, it's like a tripwire. As Mitsuru takes to the air, she begins to unleash an aerial barrage of formless chi blasts. The first one comes almost immediately; each of the silver flames explode as they hammer towards Steve, bombarding more craters across the arena. The audience is even forced to turn away, as the clouds of dust rise up. Mitsuru lands hard, collapsing down on the ground. She's stunned, she's almost down. But before the count can start again, before a TKO can be forced... she is up, rising up amongst the cloud.

"You- you think you can handle that?!" She cries out into the clouds of dust.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru successfully hits Steve with Violent Heated Dance.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Mitsuru          0/-------/---====|>>>>>--\-------\0            Steve

[STEVE]
From the audience's perspective, Steve was Hammering into Mitsuru. But all Steve felt as his fists connected was a unwavering determination to keep standing, and Steve was not prepared for the instant counterattack after his most powerful punch. his arm was still raised up in the air, and his wound made him flinch for a split second, while he attempted to turtle up for the incoming waves of silver the blasts hit him before he could take a sturdy guard. The silver explosions of her manifested energy filled his eyes as he was knocked around like a rag-doll, taking viscous hits to the entirety of his body and knocking him out for a few dangerous moments.

When the barrage was finally finished and the dust settled, Steve was truly on his last legs as his conicousness returned, in addition to the loud voice of the organizer calling out numbers.
5, 6, 7
"Damn, what did those mean again? I'd rather just keep... lying down." A comfortable numbness was washing over Steve. Tempting him to wait out the TKO.
8,
As that last number was said out loud, he almost instinctually struggled to his feet, as quickly as his thoroughly damaged limbs allowed him to but obviously in great pain.
"Loo- looks like i'm still standing huh?" He stutters with a little chuckle. He then stumbles over to Mitsuru and swings his arm in a wide, telegraphed hook with every small bit of energy he could muster.

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru breaks through Heavy Punch from Steve with Violent Echo Fist EX!

[                         \\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Mitsuru          1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1            Steve

[MITSURU]
"NO!"

Mitsuru snarls at Steve return. And his good humor. His optimism, his hope, his -manners-. Mitsuru didn't quite understand why -everything- about Steve made her mad. But really, what made what anybody did to her mad? Sometimes, she was just mad because someone ended up close enough to get punched, and she didn't feel bad about it. Because it was a fight. ANd you could hurt people in fights without feeling bad. Mitsuru stamps her feet as Steve comes at her, with a wide, heavy blow. Mitsuru doesn't try to block. She doesn't try to defend. She takes the full blow straight into her collar, the full force straight into her shoulder. It dislocates. She doesn't care. She wouldn't care. She just -hurls- everything into a rising uppercut, launching it squarely at Steve's chin. She would fall down, to the cries of "T K O".

And she stands.

She was bow legged, she was wobbling like a toddler on its first steps. Her eyes were shut. Was she even conscious? Her face was swelling uncomfortably. But everything in her will, everything in her spirit was to make sure she stay standing. Everyone in the audience wanted her to fall. Everyone wanted her to fall. Everyone wanted her to lose and be humiliated. Save one person.

The very person she was fighting for her own ego.

[STEVE]
That final uppercut was a powerhouse, as- or maybe even stronger as what Steve would be able to pull out at his peak. He is astounded by the incredible display of resilience from Mitsuru, even though his final punch was one hell of a gamble, it still had serious force behind it. And as Steve was lifted a few foot in the air and came crashing down, he knew he had no chance of getting back up. His vision was dazed and hazy, all sound muffled to the point of all of it sounding the same. He could not discern if the crowd was making was jeering or cheering, but he hoped the latter. He hoped his loss would atleast help Mitsuru with reclaiming her confidence, and dignity with the crowd. And manged to utter out

"Yo- you really got me with that one. That was a bloody good fight."

Steve would not be able to hear her, or anything for that matter as he then lost his consciousness, with a slight smirk on his face. The organizer crouched down next to him and, after a short inspection announced.

"Looks like we got our winner! K.O by Mitsuru Tokugawa!

COMBATSYS: Steve takes no action.

[                         \\\\\  <
Mitsuru          1/-------/=======|

COMBATSYS: Steve can no longer fight.

[                         \\\\\  <
Mitsuru          1/-------/=======|

[MITSURU]
Winner.

As the call out comes, Mitsuru doesn't move. Doesn't react. SHe just keeps the brim of her hat down, as she holds perfectly still. She did it. She won her first entry round in a real underground tournament. She was exactly as tough as she imagined, right? The audience was jeering and cheering, but Mitsuru didn't react. As the organizer brushes his hands off, he heads over to the winner, ready to raise her arm up. Grabbing it, it doesn't move. The man struggles a bit, finally wrenching Mitsuru's arm straight up. And promptly, Mitsuru collapses.

Also unconscious.

The audience breaks out into a roar of laughter, as the organizer looks sheepishly around. "I guess her next opponent gets a buy, folks." He chuckles as he snaps his fingers. Two tattoo'd men drag the teenager out by her ankles. The two goons bring her behind the lot, as the organizer follows, lightning up a cigarette. And then, one of the men ask the most important question, whenever one deals with an unconscious woman.

"What are we gonna do we her?

"Frisk her for her cell phone, see if anybody will pick her up?" The first man continues, thoughtfully. "The girl's just a dumb kid." The other man doesn't say anything, but look at the tournament organizer. The man looks thoughtful, taking a draw off his cigarette. "I think... we'll check in with one of our friendly local Syndicate reps. We'll hold on to her a bit. This isn't anything we'd want to be stupid about, but the girl's loaded with cash, and doesn't lo-." The organizer looks over his shoulder. "Doesn't look like she came here with anybody." The man looks down, and runs the grimy tip of his finger against her hair.

"We'll see just how much tough stuff is worth to her daddy."

COMBATSYS: Mitsuru has ended the fight here.


[STEVE]
"So, what do we do with this one?"One of the thugs asked to the tournaments organizer. They just returned from carrying Mitsuru to god knows-where. "Just throw him out, too much of a hassle to find out if anyone would pay for him overseas." he growled "Start preparing for the next fight!". The thug slowly and painstakingly dragged Steve to a back-door exit and left him in a shallow alley.

When Steve came to it was already midnight. The stench of the alley filling his nostrils. "What the hell happened again?" he said out loud "That's right, i lost." He attempted to stand up, but his body wouldn't allow it on the first attempt, or second. He finally managed to push himself up to his legs. "Though i wonder what happened to the girl? I was hoping i'd be able to talk to her."

Steve started stumbling out of the alley. and back towards the entrance of the "arena". There was a deathly silence, the fights had already ended.
"Damn"
Strangely, Steve was worried. This place was a cesspool, and the young girl was already significantly weakend. Suddenly, a sharp pain hit Steve's chest. "She really did a number on me huh?" Left with little options and i need of rest, he started pacing his way back to the worn-out hotel he rented a room in for his trip, with a pit in his stomach from the events of the fight.

"Man, i could use a bloody drink right about now."

Log created on 09:23:47 12/17/2019 by Mitsuru, and last modified on 14:01:09 12/19/2019.