Match of the Millennium

Description: Tairyu and Vuong throw down in the Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district! Thunder and lightning, very very frightening!

[VUONG]
From the air, it's clear the beating heart of Yokohama can be found on the west bank of Yokohama Bay, within the vibrant Minato Mirai 21 commercial district. Yokohama Landmark Tower battles fiercely for the brightly-lit Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel for dominance of the urban skyline.

And tonight, audiences get a spectacular view of both the four-masted vessel Nippon Maru and the aforementioned ferris wheel, as a small elevated stage has been built for a special one-time Neo League performance. Multi-colored stage lights hang from scaffolding stationed around the stage's perimeter, positioned to be as unobtrusive as possible for the surrounding rows of seating. Already, the stands are nearing capacity. The Minato Mirai 21 pulses to its own nightly rhythm, with thumping basslines vaguely audible in the distance.

The stage lights fall dim, passing authority of the illumination to ambient streetlights and the far-off ferris wheel.

And then, a bolt of lightning strikes the stage. When one's eyes can readjust, they will find that a new arrival has made his way to center stage. He stands bedecked in a royal blue sports jacket, and billowy, light-grey slacks. He wears a pair of stylish Italian sunglasses. And he stands with his hand outstretched, the afterglow of lightning crackling about his palm.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" resounds his amplified voice through the hushed crowd. "It is I -- Vuong -- your hero of the night!"

The ladies are the first to squeal their approval, but it is soon drowned under the cascade of applause, as Vuong looks out upon the crowd. "Or should I say... your -first- hero? For of course, it takes two..." Pausing, he reaches up and plucks the sunglasses from his eyes, folding them up in one casual motion, as he finds the first lady he can in the crowd. "... To tango!"

COMBATSYS: Vuong has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Vuong            0/-------/-------|

[TAIRYU]
Down below, by the other set of stairs leading up to the elevated stage, a lone figure stands within. A fighter sent along to Yokohama, to go through yet another League fight under the orders of a certain organization with a vice grip on it.

A smartphone is in his hand, displaying a picture of a young, black-haired girl with an encouraging smile -- no more than 13 years in age, surely. Looking upon the picture, the man lets out a heavy, forlogn sigh.

"Just this last one, Miku," he mutters, and just as the lightning strikes above, he locks the phone up and slips the device into safety. "Then I'll be coming."

And up the stairs, he goes.

The entry of the second man is much more subdued than that of Vuong's. With one hand stuck lazily into a pocket, does a tall japanese man in black suit pants and jacket over a red, high-collared button-up shirt with it's top three buttons left undone step into view from the opposing end of the stage. And yet, it is no less determined. Every step is carried with determined purpose, the weight of a man striding into battle. And the bright-green eyes under dark brows are lit up with all the more intensity -- seemingly glowing when they sweep briefly over the crowds, first, and then lock on to Vuong.

"Yo," his heavy baritone rumbles out then, as one foot stomps onto the ground to bring him to a stop a few paces away from his opponent-to-be.

"Tairyu Katashi," he declares then, while his shoulders roll back and one arm stretches out, followed by the other, to shed off the jacket. "I will be your opponent, today." The jacket, thus, is tossed aside, sent fluttering in the wind for a few seconds before it lands on the very edge of the stage.

"May you fight well."

COMBATSYS: Tairyu has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Vuong            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Tairyu

[VUONG]
Southtown may be a damned mess right now, but residents of Yokohama are acting blissfully unaware. For a moment, the audience appears to be completely enthralled by Vuong's electrifying appearance. And then a hush falls over them, as Tairyu the understated strides up within their midst.

Vuong, for his part, seems more than pleased at his opponent's arrival. "Well, hello there! We got us a badass comin' through here, folks!" The comment draws its fair share of laughs; a jovial round of applause provides the soundtrack to Tairyu climbing up to stage level. Hopefully Tairyu's coat won't be going anywhere in the midst of the fight.

"Tairyu, huh? Nice to meet you." He clasps his hands together before him, offering a tight bow. "Yeah, let's make it a good one."

The announcer does his schpiel. The bell rings: ding, ding, ding!

And with a sudden crackle of lightning, Vuong launches forward! He leads the charge with his shoulder, but the true danger comes as the Vovinam fighter brings his foot forward, aiming to catch Tairyu in the back of the knee with his heel. "Here we go!" And should he make contact, the impact point would be punctuated by a jolt of lightning -- enough of a surprise attack for Vuong to then try wrenching him to the floor in a swift leg takedown!

COMBATSYS: Tairyu blocks Vuong's Medium Throw.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Vuong            0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Tairyu

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu's already lowering himself down into a prepared stance by the bell has rung -- knees slightly bent, one foot pushed apart, and one fist held up nearly parallel to his chin while the other stays pointed down towards the floor.

And the instant the bell does ring, Vuong's already moving behind him, and Tairyu's brows are shooting up with surprise. Despite the initial lack of reaction, he quickly lifts his foot up while turning his weight skidding along with the other, sending the raised foot smacking right back against Vuong's intruding one.

"Hhgh--?"

But that burst of electricity from the man's limb still takes him off guard. It might not knock him down, and it might not stop him from sending himself backing up with a choice tactical hop to ensure not being hit by a follow-up attack... but it still *jolted* him for certain. His own shoe even has smoke wafting up from it where the leather was slightly burned.

"...Everyone's flashy these days, huh..." the japanese man mutters with a quick shake given to that foot still carrying some leftover static electricity. "It's a shame to disappoint you, but I don't have any pyrotechnics."

With a sudden duck down, he launches himself right back towards Vuong. "All I have is myself--!"

True to his words, there are no sparks or glows of energy accompanying Tairyu's approach-- but as he closes in, and he comes to springing up again, his open palm sweeps right up along with him, aimed squarely for Vuong's chin.

COMBATSYS: Vuong interrupts Rising Claw from Tairyu with Tu Ve Dao.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Vuong            0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0           Tairyu

[VUONG]
"It's a'ight, man," comments Vuong as he nimbly hops back to a safer distance. His feet scissor back and forth. He hops his collar, tendrils of electricity tracing the lines of his jacket. "I got enough for the both of us!"

Vuong can tell what's coming next. Conversation can be a friendly interaction -- or it can be a smokescreen for a deadly follow-up. The more he fights, the more aware he comes of the double edges of the weapon. He smirks -- and suddenly, he's consumed within a crackling burst of lightning.

An instant later, the transition is revealed -- Vuong has substitued his open palm for his chin, his core pivoted just out of harm's way. While it was a tactical exchange, it wasn't a painless one -- the stinging blow is enough to grit the Vovinam fighter's teeth.

It was, however, enough to hold Tairyu in place for Vuong to jerk the arm back towards him. And before Tairyu can hope to pry himself free, Vuong will slam his electrified knee into Tairyu's midsection!

Only then would Vuong release the limb, hopping back and free. With a mild cough, he flings both his hands down to his sides, shaking his fingers out loosely. Particularly the -numbness- in the one hand that stopped the attack. "Besides, you're pretty explosive as it is, pal! Yeowch!"

[TAIRYU]
One doesn't usually associate open-palm strikes with a lot of force. When Tairyu's palm smacks into Vuong's bracing one, however, it comes with a loud echo of an impact reverbating through the stage and all the way to the spectator stands as it jostles the other man's arm.

It's not enough, unfortunately. Tairyu's arm is caught-- and in that instant he already knows what's happening. And that he can't stop the electric knee coming for his--

"GACH-!"

A knee to the solar plexus is bad enough as it is, but an electric jolt added on top of the sensation of breath driven out of the lungs even worse. It's all the man can do to instinctively stumble himself back away in an effort to regain some distance while his hand instinctively clutches at his stomach, left bent over for afew seconds from the strike itself.

"Ghuh-... Good, good..." Tairyu rumbles out when his eyes snap back up to Vuong, with one corner of his mouth tugged upwards.

THe instant his hand snaps away from his stomach, too, he's pouncing forward. Lowered down slightly, but this time in more of a boxer-esque stance while he launches two fierce jabs with his left fist towards Vuong. The right, however? When it comes forward, it doesn't follow through in a punch, instead grabbing for the man's shoulder to pull him over towards himself while a foot sweeps in between his own. Intent to bring him down to the floor.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu successfully hits Vuong with Combo Grapple.
- Power hit! -

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Vuong            1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0           Tairyu

[VUONG]
Vuong starts to fan himself with his less-injured hand after that. The Yokohama audience starts to get boisterous, and yet from up on stage, it's still possible for the two fighters to hear one another when they're -not- using their outside voices. "Good exchange, man. Keep it up, the audience is lovin' it." He flicks his other hand into a finger-gun, as he begins to swagger forward, closing the distance to keep -some- pressure on Tairyu.

But the yakuza fighter is far from down yet, as he proves by surging forward with two swift jabs. Despite the ferocity of the previous attack, Vuong's cocky nature seemed to have left him unaware for the followup. The first punch tags him in the sternum, the second a bit askew, forcing him to stagger backward. And then Tairyu manages to grab hold of his shoulder, and sweeps his feet aside.

And Tairyu may notice that Vuong is -burning up-, to the point heat waves are practically roiling off of him.

The Vietnamese fighter is plowed into the floor decking, as carpet shreds beneath the strike, and aluminum beams are bent in the process. The stage itself groans from the distortion, as Vuong finds himself within a divot in the floor, bared aluminum glowing orange around him.

Despite the pain furrowing his brow, he flashes a smile back at Tairyu. "Hey, is it hot in here?" His back arches sharply, and then in one swift motion, he kips back to his feet! Shuffle-stepping sideways, he slicks his hair back with both hands, beads of sweat rolling from the point of contact.

And then he winks. "Or is it just -you?-"

Suddenly, Vuong surges forward. He snaps into a quick roundhouse kick. And then, he seems to snap into a second kick -- but this time he leaves the ground, as both his ankles snap forward, seeking to scissor around Tairyu's neck and shoulders! Should they catch hold, Tairyu will have not only the inordinate heat blazing around Vuong to contend with -- but he might also find himself whipped off his feet, and slammed sideways into the ground as Vuong twists!

COMBATSYS: Vuong successfully hits Tairyu with Flying Scissors.
- Power hit! -

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Vuong            1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1           Tairyu

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu didn't expect that.

He did expect the kick coming in, but he didn't expect it trnasitioning into a scissor-grab, however, so he's caught completely off-guard by the suddenly-burning legs wrapping up about his neck.

"GHH--!"

Down he's brought then, head-first onto the floor with a might THUD that rings out -- and probably leaves a visible crack onto the stage, too.

Once Vuong's arms loosen up enough, Tairyu does at least manage to roll himself over away from the man-- even if he does have to breifly clutch at his own forehead, staining fingers with blood sent dripping down from his scalp. "Guhh-- Some show too..." He rumbles, wobbling lightly while he manages to bring himself up to his feet.

"But I'm not..." His hand snaps away from his forehead then, sending some of that stained blood flicking away down to the floor. "...Done yet..."

Following up on it, he leans his weight over to Vuong's way-- sending a quick jab to his way as a feint before he ducks down, winding up into a quick uppercut aimed for his middlesection. At such an angle meant to knock him off his feet -- and if he manages that, he'll immediately find that upraised fist coming right back down to slam into his side while he's still airborne.

COMBATSYS: Vuong blocks Tairyu's Rise And Fall ES.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vuong            1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1           Tairyu

[VUONG]
The fighter from Vietnam rolls back, springing to his feet about a meter away. Shuffle-stepping sideways, he raises his fists in guard, panting for air. He may be somewhat acrobatic, but the fact remains that Tairyu's impacts have left their mark on him. "Of course not!" he quips back, raising his hands to slick his hair back again. "You've still got some more techniques to share with me!" The heat, mercifully, seems to be subsiding at last.

And when Tairyu comes for him, Vuong is ready this time. The first jab comes in fast -- he leans back, dodging the obvious feint. The uppercut, though, he meets a bit more head-on, thrusting his left arm into the blow in lieu of his midsection -- something more akin to Tairyu's own style. But this defensive guard allows him the time to hop backwards, so that when that upraised fist comes scything downward, Vuong has already twisted sideways out of its path.

"Whew! That might've been painful!" he laughs, while revolving around to face Tairyu once again.

The crowd is going ballistic, with all the high-impact fighting going on. The stage is showing its fair share of battle damage -- luckily, it only has to last to the end of this fight! And Vuong seems to be drinking in the intensity, his face and hair matted with sweat.

He raises his hand in a beckoning gesture. The crowd eats that right up, hooting and hollering. "Show me what else you've got!"

And almost immediately, he surges forward, cutting a nearly full circle as he leaps forward. Both his feet roll over sideways -- and if he manages to do what he's -hoping- to do, that'd mean he practically -sits- on Tairyu's shoulder, clamping his left hand around Tairyu's head, his right locking around Tairyu's left arm. And the motion would continue with Vuong as the pivot point, whipping Tairyu around in a full revolution, with Tairyu hitting the stage hard! "Hnnnh!"

COMBATSYS: Tairyu counters Rebound Throw from Vuong with Tiger Drop ES.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Vuong            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>--\-------\0           Tairyu

[TAIRYU]
The moment Vuong has hopped back, Tairyu's flowing right back into his initial posture he started the fight with, after a quick brush of his thumb over his cheek. Eyes lit bright while they focus on his vietnamese opponent, feet shuffling in a steady footwork along the other man's perimeter.

His tongue clicks at the other man's beckoning words -- and there's just the briefest of smiles there. "Right back at you."

He sees him leaping for him. Aiming those dangerous legs for him. Tairyu remains calm there still, standing before the man's incoming assault, with a steady breath out.

"I'll receive you."

It's an instantenous shift in motion. The moment Vuong's legs are just inches from impacting with Tairyu, he suddenly drops one knee forward and lenas his weight towards the aerial man. Every single part of his body seems to lean into the motion, every join flexing as his right fist is sent with lightning-speed into Vuong. The moment his knuckles find it's mark, they're already getting pulled back -- and a fierce, sharp sound cracks through the stage, akin to the sonic boom of the sound barrier being broken. Surely his fist didn't *actually* throw a punch past the speed of sound, right? It couldn't have?

Whichever the case is, the strike is enough to completely redirect Vuong's momentum, and launch him right back away from Tairyu, rather than letting him follow through on the intended attack.

[VUONG]
Vuong had intended to use gravity and leverage to attack Tairyu. But instead, these weapons are wielded against him. Knuckles deaden the Vovinam fighter's momentum, and then rechannel an impact so powerful that the thundrous sound resonating throughout the stage scaffolding is only one crack of many that take place.

Vuong's pained cry dies on his lips, drowned out in the roar of the crowd, as he sails upwards. He crests, he hits the floor. Limply, he flops around -- and remains still. A half-second later -- blood, coughed from his mouth, splatters down beside him. Seconds pass, and the Yokohama crowd's riotous cheers fall silent. Is he alive? Dead?

And then, his ribs move. Crack, crack. He grunts, shoulders pitching forward. His entire body feels like it's on fire now -- the sum effort of one riotously powerful punch -- or was it two?

The crowd surges. Cheers. And Vuong's eyes snap open.

"It's... it's not over. Not yet!" He cries out -- and slams his palm onto the stage. His spine arches, flexes -- and he kips back to his feet.

And he hitches forward, his body in revolt. "Nnnnrgh!" Vuong holds up a hand.

"No, no... I'll see this through! You've shown me your strength..."

He squeezes his fists, bringing his elbows down to his waist. His body practically explodes with lightning, crackling blue-white tendrills spilling everywhere, sparks cascading onto the ring floor.

"...And I'll show you... mine!"

Vuong surges forward. Gone are the acrobatics, gone are the fancy techniques -- he just delivers a blisteringly fast series of strikes. Punches, knife-hand strikes, high and low, one after the other, perceptible mainly from the trailing paths of lightning left in their respective wakes.

And should he land those -- he'd surge forward with his shoulder. Ramming speed -- powerful enough to launch Tairyu upward into the air. And once he's -in- the air? That's when Vuong would launch forward, feet first -- aiming to grip hold of him, invert the aerial Tairyu -- and drop him back-first onto the floor!

COMBATSYS: Tairyu blocks Vuong's Inertial Succession EX.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Vuong            1/-------/<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Tairyu

[TAIRYU]
Tairyu waits, patiently, while Vuong is there on the ground. A more pragmatic fighter might well have intended to go after him and aimed more strikes for him while he's still not fully recovered, but not Tairyu. Tairyu merely assumes his original stance once more, and waits to see if he's able to bring himself up.

And he actually looks satisfied, when he does.

"That's right," he calls out back to him, head tipping briefly into a nod while he's still gathering up his determination. "THat's how it should be. SHOW ME!"

And show he does. But Tairyu takes it all head-on. Not so much by attacking, himself, but receiving the flurry of strikes aimed for him with his arms sweeping into the first few to redirect them away-- up until he has to simply hold them up and move his own body to receive them, in order to just brace against the assault. Even then, the lightning sparks burn and jolt at his nerves, burning at the sleeves of his shirt and tearing at the fabric.

Once the charge comes in, he does something... let's say unorthodox. He does brace for the slam, but he does it by reaching his hands over and grabbing tight on the sides of Vuong's skull. A grunt of exertion, while his feet press tight into the floor first, skidding along it for a foot or so before the advance is brought to a halt, and...

The next thing Vuong knows, Tairyu's own head is swinging forward. His forehead descending at alarming rate towards his own.

COMBATSYS: Vuong interrupts Headbutt Grab from Tairyu with Don Chan.
- Power hit! -

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

COMBATSYS: Vuong can no longer fight.

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

[VUONG]
There is a thing called 'honor.' The samurai fought with honor. Honor was what allowed these brave warriors to hold up their heads high, knowing that -- despite causing innumerable deaths -- the act of defending a patron was still a humble and most of all -noble- act. But then there were their counterparts, the ninja, largely understood as contract killers who slew people, both guilty and innocent, in their sleep.

Vuong is Vietnamese. He never really gave much thought to either archetype. Or honor at all, for that matter. He fights to survive, to get ahead, to win.

He'd given his all into one manic rush -- to give his body one last surge of adrenaline to chase the pain away. His body can be fixed -- hospitals have the technology, for those -- like him -- who have the money. But only if he makes a name for himself. Only if he gets into the spotlight.

His frenzied strikes make no headway at all -- barely scratching the surface of Tairyu's defense. Calls to action drive him -- and he's invigorated by what has been mostly an amiable match.

And then Vuong's skull is clamped down onto. The Vovinam fighter presses back, skidding across the floor. And then he feels it. He senses Tairyu reel back.

And Vuong stops pushing forward. His body ignites with electricity -- a blinding light. He leaps -- using Tairyu's grip on his head for stability, shutting his eyes as he screams from the pain of conducting this last electrical surge.

And he -rams- his heels down onto the yakuza fighter's knees, forcing them to buckle. Either the shoe tread will slip sideways -- or bone itself will be rent in two.

At one time -- the outcome would have mattered to Vuong. At one time, he might have understood the notion of 'honor.'

But now -- Vuong is simply making use of momentum. The pair twists around. The motion weaponizes Tairyu's forward momentum against him -- the tables turning once again. The pair slams horizontal -- with Tairyu's shoulder and Vuong's shoulder both hitting the ground at roughly the same moment.

But there will be no other words, no witty repartee. Vuong gave it his all, just as he'd demanded of Tairyu. Vuong's eyes have fallen shut. And at -this- moment... he has nothing left to give, but the hissing of his lightning-seared clothes and the ozone-laden scent of evaporated sweat.

[TAIRYU]
It's an instantenous exchange. Skull meets skull, and knees meet feet. It's a powerful enough jolt to Tairyu, buckling his legs whole and sending him falling down sideways, forehead still pressed right against Vuong's own.

It's only five or so seconds after hitting the ground that Tairyu manages to seperate from the Vietnamese man... and even that is just an ungraceful roll and flop over onto his back, arms spread out limply and unfocused eyes staring towards the sky.

"Well, that was..." Mumbles Tairyu, while his eyelids slowly drift downwards. "...A good fight..."

He takes in a deep, heavy breath with those breaths -- and he just lets his consciousness drift the rest of the way there. They both gave it their all, so as far as results go, he's fine with this.

He's going to need an immense amount of painkillers and burn cream once he's woken up, though.

COMBATSYS: Tairyu takes no action.


COMBATSYS: Tairyu can no longer fight.

Log created on 11:33:42 07/24/2020 by Vuong, and last modified on 22:16:40 07/24/2020.