Match of the Millennium

Description: Sakura Kasugano and Lita Luwanda were invited to Slamfes to SLAM! The Ansatsuken Flower pits her striking prowess and chi proficiency against the versatility and weapon proficiency of the Weapons Mistress. The fight is brutal and in the end, only one can be victorious.

[SAKURA]
SLAMFEST!!

Sakura Kasugano is not, per se or in any other way, a wrestler, pro or am. And yet, her desire to experience every aspect of the cultures of martial arts led her to sign up for what will undoubtedly be just like the PPVs she used to watch with Hinata, Natsu, and a very reluctant Kei--wild Royal Rumbles and Hell in a Cell and Cage Matches... or maybe not. Still, those were supremely exciting, and Sakura leapt (not literally) at the chance to participate in a 'pro wrestling' tournament. Hell, she's watched plenty of matches--the basics of pro wrestling aren't deep, though she would never claim to have the kind of technique and skill for it that Rainbow Mika or Zangief rightfully claim. Still, she really thought about creating a 'persona' for herself... but she had _too many_ ideas and couldn't pick one, so she's just gotta go as herself.

She'd arrived early, as is customary for her, and spent her time in the locker room getting ready, pumping herself up, doing her stretches and shadowboxing, and then a functionary stuck his head in. "Kasugano? You're up. Good luck." One deep breath, two slaps to her cheeks to get her adrenaline pumping, and Sakura bursts out from the locker room to make the long walk from the locker room to the arena. The lights don't snap in on her until a third of the way there, and loud, raucous, peppy J-pop fills the air, the actual lyrics almost lost to the distortion of trying to fill the cavernous stadium, not to mention fighting against the crowd noise.

The Ansatsuken Flower was walking calmly, imitating her mentor, but when the lights it, she starts jogging, waving her hands, leaping and twirling to flash a V-sign when she's almost there--and then she's at the stage and she vaults in, making use of those strong legs and her natural athleticism to jump up, grab the top rope, and flip over it into the ring, landing on her standard Converse and bouncing in place.

[LITA]
Lita has always wanted to prove that she was more than her sword. To prove that she could wield any weapon or be her own weapon. To show she had the skill to be versatile. Unfortunately, that huge sword she carries was always the thing that drew attention. Slamfest however gave her the opportunity to embrace the hardcore/garbage wrestling gimmick.

When it is Lita's turn to enter, it starts with what sounds to be hybrid between a hum and a chant before a lone female voice starts singing in a haunting tone a cover of an R&B song. Lita, with large sword strapped to her back, steps out into the open pushing a shopping cart filled with various items, like trash cans and lids, street signs, kendo sticks, and steel chairs. Upon making it to the ring, she leaves the cart on the outside of the ring before climbing steps on the outside of the ring and then vaulting over the rope.

Once in the ring, she flexes for the crowd and then moves to her corner.

COMBATSYS: [2wei - Survivor] As Lita slowly makes her way to the ring pushing a shopping cart filled with various improvised weapons, the sound of a single, haunting, female voice can be heard singing. "Thought I couldn't breathe without you, I'm inhaling | Thought I couldn't see without you, perfect vision | Thought I couldn't last without you, but I'm lastin' | Thought that I would die without you, but I'm livin'" She's not gonna stop. She's gonna work harder. -- LITA LUWANDA is Ready to SLAM!

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Lita             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Sakura enters the arena, to the roar of the crowd!

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Sakura           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Lita

[SAKURA]
If anything, the roar of the crowd gets Sakura even _more_ pumped, and since that roar only increases in volume and density when Lita comes out--a very different, but no less captivating entrance--Sakura is _ready_. She turns to flash another V-sign at the crowd, and it's clear she's raring to go. In her own way, she looks like a bull ready to charge, that ready tension like an electric current running through her. The announcer's booming voice, amplified through the sound system by his big, showy mic, announces the card with typical flair and showmanship. "WE HAVE TWO NEWCOMERS TO THE SLAMFEST TONIGHT!!!!" he roars, knowing, through long experience, just when to pause to let the crowd respond with their own roars.

"IN ONE CORNAH! A GIRL KNOWN AS THE ANSATSUKEN FLOWER!!! A PRODIGY OF THE MARTIAL ARTS!!! SAKURA... KASUGANO!!!!!" Pause for cheers, and some Taiyo kids who took a flight over get caught on the Jumbotron, holding up signs in bright colors, "GO SAKURA!!!!"

And then, the announcer drops his voice nearly an octave. "AND HER OPPONENT--TRAINED IN THE MOST SERIOUS BUSINESS OF FIGHTING FOR CROWN AND COUNTRY!!! A MASTER OF WEAPONS!!! LITA.... LU-WAN-DAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" More cheers, and the Jumbotron helpfully flashes to Lita, the expert framing showing not only her, but the shopping cart of weapons, and then, one last interjection from the announcer. "NOW... LET'S GET READY... TO SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!"

And that is the cue for hte start of the fight. Sakura kicks off her corner post, literally, launching herself into a low, swift run, giving out her best 'banzai' cry as she looks to take a time-honored attack pattern--going aggro and aiming to slam right into Lita's face with a classic running lariat. For effect, she does her own version of Edmond Honda's famous "URYAAA!!" Just, you know, higher-pitched, because she is not a 500 pound yokozuna.

COMBATSYS: Lita dodges Sakura's Medium Lariat.

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Sakura           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Lita

[LITA]
The weapons mistress of the Ikari Warriors takes her stance when the signal to go is given and she isn't given a lot of time to set her feet before Sakura is immediately upon her. The soldier keeps it simple at first, ducking under and stepping around so then she can turn and face Sakura once again.

Lita moves in slowly like a stealthy predator tracking its prey and then she lets her hands shoot around to the back of the high schooler's neck and squeezing the sides of the neck with her forearm in a clinch. She increases the pressure before attempting to violently turn to the side to mess with her opponent's balance while she attempts to maintain the clinch.

COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Lita's Tie-up Lock.

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Sakura           0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0             Lita

[SAKURA]
Quick thinking and reactions save Sakura from a painful little choke-out; her hands are moving bakc into place and resuming defensive posture even as she's slipped past, and it's that lets her get one of her arms between Lita and herself--not evading all that squeeze and pressure, but lessening it, and allowing the high schooler to keep her wits about her and jump with Lita's attempt to twist her around. The quick leap followed by the sudden inertia of Sakura slamming her feet into the mat let her break the clinch; she backpedals a couple of steps from the momentum, then reverses, staying close.

Grinning at Lita, Sakura lunges forward, her hands coming up. Her goal _looks_ similar to Lita's--to grab her opponent around the back of the neck--but it isn't quite the same. For one, Sakura isn't looking to put pressure on Lita's neck. Instead, she's looking to rush her off-balance, forcing her into a brief backpedal--while grabbing for her neck..

From there, she'll kick off the mat and then curl up and look to slam both feet into Lita's chest, flipping up and backwards--resetting the situation, so to speak.

COMBATSYS: Lita blocks Sakura's Sailor Shoot.

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Sakura           0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0             Lita

[LITA]
The professional soldier had to admit that was a creative response to her attempt to clinch up and swing her around. Lita had no choice but to release the clinch and that's the point where Sakura reinitiates the clinch to Lita's disadvantage. Lita's first instinct is to snake her hands in between Sakura's in order to attempt to re-establish the clinch. This is abandoned when Sakura's feet leave the ground. The soldier slides a foot back to spread out her weight in case Sakura decided to drop backwards to flip her over. This turns out to be a boon since the wider stance prevented her getting knocked backward as her forearms move to intercept the feet a moment before Sakura flips off of her.

With Sakura a bit farther away, Lita slides into her original stance before edging closer. Steadily, Lita moves in to grappling range and reaches out for Sakura's lead hand and yanks it toward herself before attempting to wrench the teenager face first to the wrestling mat and then performing an armbar on her.

COMBATSYS: Lita successfully hits Sakura with Close Quarters Catch.

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Sakura           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0             Lita

[SAKURA]
"OH!! IT LOOKS LIKE SAKURA'S IN SOME TROUBLE!!" comes the announcer, right on cue, as Sakura reacts too late, getting caught, slammed into the mat, then put into an armbar; she winces, biting down on a shout of pain, a moment captured beautifully on the Jumbotron--the cameramen are _really_ on the ball tonight! It takes her a moment to wriggle out of it, and the positioning is such that she can't really afford the time to get up and back off, so she's forced to do something... well, something that Kei would call 'suboptimal'; she has to try and reverse the momentum by flailing herself into a spectacular, picturesque, but not exactly good-technique breakdance-style whirling kick.

It's not optimal for several reasons, but the most suboptimal thing about it, is just that she doesn't really have a good chance to get back to her feet otherwise. Then again, flashy but not quite optimal is sort of Sakura's brand, isn't it?

COMBATSYS: Lita dodges Sakura's Short Kick.

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Sakura           0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0             Lita

[LITA]
While suboptimal, it still had a few things going for her. It forced Lita to readjust her grip to maintain a hold on her and said readjustment didn't allow Lita to maintain the armbar. The flailing kicks forced Lita to dance over the kicks so she had to give Sakura time to stand up.

This brings us to the part that might not have worked in Sakura's favor. Lita still had a grip on Sakura's arm. Lita performs another tug on the arm, this time to pull her in and then swings her around to the ropes to send her rebounding off of them.

COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Lita's Irish Whip.

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Sakura           0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0             Lita

[SAKURA]
Sakura stumbles forward, pulled along by Lita's grip on her arm--but she maybe expected it, or just had some idea of what was going to happen, because as Lita slings her towards the ropes, Sakura actually picks up speed. When she slams into the ropes, she does so back-first--and in such a way as to not just absorb the impact, but redirect it. So it is that she comes screaming back in--not vocally screaming, but running straight at Lita, using that momentum to close the gap.

It's a _big_ arena, which means there's plenty of ground to cover before she reaches Lita again. It gives her a second or two to plan, in as much as she ever _does_ plan--she's certainly known more for being a 'flow' fighter, doing her best to feel her way through a fight, as per the advice of another famous martial artist. Her blood pumping, the roaring in her ears swelling, Sakura reacts as she can only in the context of this, a big-lights, big-money match at the heart of the pro wrestling world; she borrows a move from Mika... sort of.

It's not like she's got a lot of mass, per se, but she does have technique and an innate knowledge of how her body works for doing things like this--and so it is that she leaps and attempts to just, you know.

Flatten Lita to the floor with a falling body splash.

COMBATSYS: Lita interrupts Audacious Slam from Sakura with Audacious Slam.

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Sakura           1/-------/<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Lita

[LITA]
The size of the ring is a double edged sword. While it gave Sakura more time to plan, it also gave Lita more time to react. Sakura's stumble gives way to a run, and upon rebounding off the rope, the run gives way to full on dash before the high schooler suddenly takes to the air.

Lita's eyes widen in surprise but then she swiftly recovers as she shifts into a wider stance and performs a small hop to collide with the other fighter in the air before turning with the force of the body splash to send Sakura down to ground in the form of a belly to belly suplex.

After that, Lita gets up on one knee and pauses for a second before climbing back up to her feet and taking her stance once more.

[SAKURA]
"NNGH!" Sakura can't help let out the shout of pain, as Lita counters her most effectively; contrary to what people may think about pro wrestling, that was one hundred percent real, and there was no rolling with the blow. The splashy technique draws a huge cheer from the crowd and the announcer blares out, "OH MAH GAWD!!! LUWANDA TAKES THE FLOWER DOWN WITH A HUGE COUNTER!!! SHE'S BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK FOLKS, SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE'S DOIN'!!!!!"

Sakura, for her part, staggers, rolling in a direction she thinks is away from Lita before climbing to her feet. It's only because Lita's still recovering herself that Sakura has a moment to find her bearings--not that she's all there again yet--but maybe she can take advantage of Lita's own apparent reaction to the impact.

It takes some effort for Sakura to get moving--she *hurts*--but she's never been the give up type, and so Lita will at least hear, if not see, Sakura running for her, looking to lunge past her target--and snag her arm along the way. She isn't as strong as Lita--she needs speed, momentum, and inertia to do what Lita can just do, physically--so she attempts a sort of... Bulldog-Irish Whip hybrid, trying to snag Lita's arm and use the built-up momentum by slamming her feet into the ground to whip Lita towards the ropes!

COMBATSYS: Lita blocks Sakura's Irish Whip.

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Sakura           1/-------/<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0             Lita

[LITA]
This time it's Lita's turn to get whipped around to the ropes. The combination of Sakura's body weight and momentum sends the soldier rushing into the ropes. Lita responds to it in a different manner from Sakura. Like Sakura, she spins around so that her back goes into the ropes but that's where the similarities end. Lita hooks her arm around the top rope, completely arresting her momentum.

Lita lets go of the rope and then moves back towards the smaller fighter and goes for a backhanded smack to Sakura's abdomen. Should it connect, it will be loud. It likely would also elicit, from the audience, a high pitched, "WOO!!!"

COMBATSYS: Lita successfully hits Sakura with Light Chop.

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Sakura           1/-----<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1             Lita

[SAKURA]
The sound makes it sound worse than it is, but not by too much; still, Sakura staggers back a half-step before planting her back heel, determined not to give too much ground. Gritting her teeth, she pushes back forward, determined not to give Lita room now. She doesn't have the advantage, but backing off won't change that now. She has to create an opening.

Her next attack has absolutely nothing pro-wrestling flavored about it--it is pure Sakura, meaning that it has its roots in Ansatsuken, but blended with her own flavor. There's no empowering shout, as Sakura slides forward to reclaim that half-step, just a sharp kiai as she brings her hands in tgoether at the mid-level of her chest...

Then thrusts them forward, a blue aura flaring around them as she unleashes her chi. It's very similar to her trademarked move, but she doesn't throw energy off--just uses it to enhance her double palm strike.

COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Lita with Hadoushou.

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Sakura           1/-----<</<<<<<<<|=======\=====--\1             Lita

[LITA]
Sakura may not have wanted to give Lita room but that ends up what happening. An opening was not just created, it was forced open, blowing through Lita's guard like an Ammunition Technical Officer's explosives. The impact of chi and flesh against sends the former Delta Red backwards before she manages to roll backwards and onto one knee.

It was at that point that Lita decided to embrace the garbage wrestling gimmick she foreshadowed when she showed up ringside with the shopping cart filled with foreign objects. She slides under the rope and pulls out a polycarbonate replica of her ridiculously huge sword and slides back into the ring before approaching the teenager.

Once in sword range, Lita slashes once at the thigh of Sakura's lead leg, once at Sakura's shoulder, and then directing the final slash across her stomach.

COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Triple Slash from Lita with Shinkuu Hadouken.

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Sakura           0/-------/------<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Lita

[SAKURA]
Is this it? The tide turning? The flow of battle is not easy to read, not even for the most experienced of fighters. There are those, of course, who can literally read the tides, or so it seems--those with the kind of skill that seems to border on the supernatural. Someday, Sakura may attain that kind of higher existence. But for now, as far as she's come... sometimes she just has to hope.

"OOOH! AND SUDDENLY IT LOOKS LIKE LITTLE MISS SAKURA'S GOT THE MOMENTUM!!" shouts the announcer, barely audible over the roaring cheers of thousands upon thousands of people who love nothing more than a good fight, as Sakura slams her chi-powered palms into Lita--and Lita takes off running for her basket of weapons, coming back with a mean-looking sword.

"UH OH! I'D ASK IF THAT'S LEGAL BUT WE ALL KNOW THERE'S NO RULES HERE!! ONLY _WRESTLING!!!!_" calls the announcer. Lita's stunt gives Sakura time--just enough time--to focus, and despite the huge sword coming at her, she doesn't flinch or waver. Once again, she pulls her hands to her stomach, power building up between them--a far more rapid and powerful accumulation this time, the blue-tinged white glow lighting up Sakura and, as Lita nears, the mercenary as well--and though that first blow hits, Sakura is already thrusting her palms forward. It's hard, but not impossible, to miss at this range, but Sakura manages, unleashing a nearly body-height, flaring ball of her chi, the flash seeming to wash Lita away for a moment as it goes off with a sound not quite unlike a bomb.

"OH MAH GAWD!!! THAT'S THE REAL DEAL FOLKS!!!"

[LITA]
Lita has never had the affinity for wielding chi or psionic energy. As a result, the Ikari has always had to lean on her skill with weaponry as an equalizer. It's rough when she faces a weapon wielder who can also wield some type of energy. But that's neither here nor there.

Lita was too commited to her sword attack and she was powerless to stop the deluge of energy plowing into her and blasting her up and over the ropes and right next to the shopping cart filled with assorted weaponry. She takes a moment to lean her sword up against the ring before heaving a trash can and then a shinai into the ring. After adding more foreign objects, Lita rolls under the rope while grabbing her polycarbonate replica. She quickly gets back on her feet and goes dashing for Sakura with a powerful strike to that lead leg she had already attacked, she then grabs the shinai and takes a few more whacks before dropping the weapon and going for the trash can which she proceeds to use to repeatedly to bash Sakura with it.

COMBATSYS: Lita knocks away Sakura with She Who Dares Wins.

[                           \\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Sakura           1/-----==/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\0             Lita

[SAKURA]
While not, technically, her strongest technique, the Shinkuu Hadouken is absolutely one that takes a lot of energy. And Sakura, while a boundless fount of energy, is still recovering from that blast when Lita comes in on her.

To be honest, Sakura wasn't expecting--or was hoping--that the blast would finish Lita, or slow her down, or--something. When Lita comes roaring back, Sakura is caught almost flat-footed. There's one desperate attempt to evade, but to no avail. The violence is short, but brutal--even without 'lethal' weapons--and the trash can sends Sakura sailing into the ropes. She rounds off those, then staggers, dropping to one knee.

There's a sort of shaky laugh--the kind of sound that just expresses, non-verbally, 'wow that hurt', in a way that words possibly couldn't. Slapping her hands against the mat, she pushes off, and lunges forward, roaring a sound without words, looking to rock Lita with a potentially final strike--one in which she throws a short, almost spinning uppercut, designed to pop Lita in the chin and stun her, and then another uppercut to blast the weapons master off her feet, and then a third, taking both Lita and herself into the sky.

The roar from the crowd has gone blurry for Sakura; she can't hear the commentary from the announcer or the analysis desk anymore, though undoubtedly there's a lot of it about how painful the last few seconds looked--for both fighters.

COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Lita             0/-------/<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Lita blocks Sakura's Midare Zakura.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Lita             1/------</<<<<<<<|

[LITA]
The weapons mistress lets the trash can drag along the ground as she recovers from the effort of unleashing so much brutality so quickly. Lita didn't expect the teenager to be able to stand up afterwards. Sakura earns the mercenary's respect right away as she stands right back up.

Lita knows without a doubt that the teenager is going to try to swing for the fences on her so she brings the now severely dented trash can into position in preparation to weather the storm. The first uppercut causes the soldier to slide backwards. The second one unbalances Lita causing her to stumble back while the force of the uppercut drove the can into her shoulder and chest. The third uppercut straight up rips the destroyed trash can right out of her hands. It lands on the turnbuckle.

The soldier sees that Sakura is finally down and so Lita goes to ground to perform a pin.

Log created on 19:34:28 01/19/2020 by Lita, and last modified on 15:43:50 01/23/2020.