SNF 2004.03 - Tora versus Daigo

Description: The Gedo Boss faces down the Ninja of No Fashion. (Winner: Daigo)


Howard Arena

   Cavernous and huge, Howard Arena is the epicenter of public display
within Southtown. A multi-billion dollar venture by Geese Howard, the arena
paid for itself within the first two years. The enormous arena is able to
seat hundreds of thousands for any variety of spectacle--the most common of
which being sports, concerts, and of course, martials arts competition. The
latter has made Howard Arena famous, as it hosts various tournaments and
exhibitions each year.

   There's only one primary arena, and every effort has been made to make it
impressive. The overall atmosphere of the arena is that of solemn magnitude.
Thousands of seats ring the main central stage, the front row seats dropping
to eyelevel of the flat stage. The stage sits in a large depression, with
enough space between it and the seats to allow for trainers, officials, and
other such people to run back and forth. These and exits in the stands lead
off to countless corridors for spectators and competitors to travel in and
out with ease. Naturally enough, these corridors are filled with vendors,
peddling everything from food to Ralf-style bandanas to authentic Mai
Shiranui thongs.

   The stage itself is a massive rectangular block of stone. Six-inch thick
flat slate tiles cover a much harder core of reinforced granite, giving the
stage the look of a weathered, timeless mountaintop. Stairs on opposite sides
provide a dignified way for the fighters to approach the center, the stairs
appearing to be carved directly into the rock. Here, some truly spectacular
battles are fought under the eyes of an entire city and, indeed, the world.

Daigo

You see before you, a tall, and generally quiet man.  Standing a little
over six foot in height, and with a body size that, while not fat,
outmatches a good lot of others his age, this man could possibly make a
rather imposing figure.  Broad shouldered, muscular, his body is a product
of rigorous training and exercise, though most of the complete contours of
those muscles are hidden by the outfits he wears.  Even then, it only seems
to help accent his figure as a whole, chosen to outline and define a sharp
look one can't get with tight clothes.  Besides that, looser clothes tend
to be good for fighting.  This leaves the only parts of this man visible,
as his head, and his hands.
 Completely uncovered, his head is as well defined as the rest of him would
be, a proud chin and stern face making up most of it.  Framing this, a crop
of dark brown hair, styled in several waves that, in a way, spike out from
his head, yet meld together to form a definate style.  A long scar
stretches down the side of his otherwise unmarred face, from his right
cheek, to the center of his forehead, an angry dark color in contrast to
the otherwise lightly tanned face, the eye the scar crosses over almost
always closed.
 As for the famed outfit...  Daigo generally wears, as his 'uniform', an
informal suit of sorts.  Dark blue in color, consisting mainly of a pair of
dark blue dressy-style pants, and a great, large-collared trenchcoat,
buttoned from the top of his collar, to the next-to-last button just below
his waist, offering both an almost wall-like pose to him, and a high collar
that, when buttoned, can go up to the man's upper lip, covering most of his
mouth when he so chooses.
 This is Daigo Kazama.  Gedo High Senior, and Boss of the Gedo Gang...

Tora

 Of an average height and average build, nothing stands out about Tora as
far as stature goes. On the other hand, the bright orange jacket and bright
orange pants do a wonderful job of grabbing a large amount of attention
right off. The pants are made of a light loose material, which makes a soft
'swish'ing sound as the cloth rubs against itself. He's wearing a simple
brown belt with an unadorned steel buckle.

 The jacket is made out of a tougher version of the same material, also
making a soft noise as Tora moves. The shoulders have some leather patches
on them, although the purpose thereof is uncertain. On occasion the jacket
is unbuttoned, and underneath a white t-shirt can be seen, on which is
printed an orange fishcake pattern.

 Okay, orange overload passed. Tora's hair is a fluffy light brown, and his
eyes are blue. He generally has an easy, relaxed expression, looking calm
most of the time, but when an emotion shows it shows with intensity. His
skin is fair, but his hands are calloused, indicating no unfamiliarity with
hard labor.

 The last features, but ones marking his background more than anything
else, are the head protector and the footwear. The protector is a polished
steel plate attached to blue cloth carefully placed on his forehead,
letting the cloth trail behind his head. The footgear is a pair of high
quality blue sandals, designed to keep flexible movement throughout the
entire foot, leaving the toes exposed for maximum agility.

"Laaadies, and geentlemen.. Welcome to HOWARD ARENA." Thus booms the
announcer's voice to the audience. It's not a big crowd, but there's
definitely some fandom going on.
"We bring you another fight in our weekly events.. Today, we have a match
between a known-tough, and a newcomer to the fighting scene. First let me
introduce the man we know.. The Man of Gedo himself, Daaaigooo.." There's a
pause for the appropriate cheers or boos, then.. "And for our newcomer..
Ninja of no fashion, Tooraa!" .. the applause is mostly polite. And not
much.

Sure, he's well known, but Daigo wasn't quite expecting /that/ much
applause/boos/cheers...  He's in one corner of the arena, standing aloof as
always, arms crossed and eyes closed.  How he was conned to do this stunt is
beyond him, but after the past week, the big Gedo boss figured he could use
a bit of stress relief.  This way there's no real risk of turf loss should
he mess up, and he's fighting someone who should have been experienced.
Only when he hears that his opponent is a newcomer...  "...?  They put me
against a kid?  ...Bah..."

Daigo about to be humiliated in public?  Being conned into doing some stunt?
It sounds like Cammy is in the right place at the right time, anyway.  The
red cloaked girl slinks in amidst the crowd, taking a front stand to watch.

Tora strolls towards the arena, being the newcomer, basking in the glory
that is a real live event, complete with audience and even camera crews. He
grins widely, pumping his fist in the air -- and then he realizes that he
hasn't been called yet, and that the shouting is for the other guy. Well,
crap. Well, he's called soon enough, and the applause.. well, crap. That's
no good, either. Finally he shrugs, and steps onto the stone tiling, and
looks at Daigo.
Really.. /looks/ at Daigo.
He blinks once, twice, then gulps. But, true to his own spirit, he takes one
deep breath, and steps forward. "Hey, hey, I may a kid, but don't count me
out, man! I'm ready to fight, and I'm no shoveover!"

That gets Daigo to lift an eyebrow, glancing from the 'kid', to the
audience, and back.  One arm extends, one hand pointing one meaty finger to
the ninja's outfit.  "You're already trying to show off." Both hands
retract, so that the big man can go about cracking his knuckles, heading for
the center of the arena ring.  "Fine.  You're my opponent.  Let's do
this..."

COMBATSYS: Daigo has started a fight here.

Tora frowns slightly, narrowing his eyes as he stares up at the larger man.
He retorts, "Showing off, showing guts, all how ya look at it." Spreading
his legs, he slips into a cross between a brawler's stance, and something
more complex. He looks over Daigo for another moment, then his mouth twists
into a grin. "Right, right.. Let's *DO* this!" Stating this last with a bit
more energy, he dives forward, moving fairly quickly for a newcomer,
thrusting one fist towards Daigo with a fair amount of force.

COMBATSYS: Tora has joined the fight here.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Fierce Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Daigo            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Tora

Force, which is met with one huge, raised hand, catching Tora's thrown punch
with a loud slap of flesh on flesh.  Daigo even skits back an inch from the
force behind that punch.  "...Not bad...  Very direct." Just like Daigo!
Who thus attempts to hold Tora still by one hand, so his other can wind back
and attempt to unleash a quick left hook at Tora's jaw.

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Tora with Jab Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Daigo            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Tora

Tora blinks when his fist meets the big meaty paw. He blinks again when he
looks up at Daigo, who doesn't seem concerned. This.. is not cool. At having
his hand held, and another fist coming his way, he is forced to think fast..
He hops into the air, twists on his arm, and deflects the incoming fist with
a knee, using the impact to break lose and bounce away, landing lightly just
a bit away. Frowning, he looks over Daigo, then rushes in again, bringing
his fist to bear. This time, however, there's a blur of orange flames along
his arm, and he leaps to try to return the favor of putting some knuckles
into Daigo's jaw.

COMBATSYS: Tora successfully hits Daigo with Burning Hand.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Daigo            0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Tora

Orange flames = Harder to avoid!  Daigo's a big man, anyway, so it seems to
be tougher for him to really get out of the way of attacks.  Which means he
takes the punch full-force in the face, his head snapping to the side with a
satisfying smack!  ...Unfortunately the rest of Daigo's body doesn't move,
which may or may not bode well for the smaller attacker.  That orange-fired
arm extended, Daigo quickly attempts to grab ahold of said arm, then spins
around to judo-toss right over his shoulder, and to the arena floor!

COMBATSYS: Tora blocks Daigo's Quick Throw.

Tora is not happy with this turn of events. The dude is like hitting a brick
wall. A moderately hostile one, at that. At realizing the relative
ineffectiveness of his strike, he's already starting to try to move into a
defensive stance when Daigo's hands take hold of him. Having a moment to
brace his arms and hold his breath, Tora manages to twist himself into a
handstand and spring off of the floor, but it's clear the effort was a
strain, from how he lands, rubbing his arms with a pained expression.
"Ow, man, whatta ya eat for breakfast, a bowl of gravel with milk?" Shaking
his hands once, he shrugs, then charges again, this time pulling out a kunai
with one hand -- a small sharp dagger. Instead of rushing headling as
before, however, he does a quick roll just before he reaches Daigo, with the
intent of slipping around behind Daigo to literally stab him in the back.

COMBATSYS: Daigo dodges Tora's Kunai Crush.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Daigo            0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Just to show that Daigo is not a man without a sense of humor, he shrugs,
and half-smirks at Tora's attempt at a breakfast jab, backing into a
defensive stance as he replies.  "...Minus the milk." Okay.  So it's not
MUCH of a sense of humor.  But he HAS one.  Just like Tora now has a dagger.
Dagger?  Sharp pointy tool of destruction?  Peh!  REAL men don't fight with
silly weapons!  So Daigo is very much wary of letting Tora get to where he
can stab Daigo with that sharp tool.
"Put the knife away.  You're not trying to mug me..." commands the larger
man, who then attempts to grab at the 'ninja' while he still rolls, do a
roll with him, and /slam/ the unlucky kid against the arena floor.
Again.

COMBATSYS: Tora dodges Daigo's Rolling Slam.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Daigo            0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Tora allows a quirk at the corner of his mouth to Daigo's reply. May have
been weak, but it's good enough. He could like this guy.. if he wasn't in
imminent danger of getting squashed. At realizing he's not quite moving fast
enough to get where he needs to, and also realizing Daigo's reaching for
him, he does a quick kick at the ground to put himself just out of Daigo's
reach, aborting the role and his attack. Coming to a halt for a moment a
couple meters away, he looks at Daigo.. and nods. Putting the kunai back
wherever it came from, he spreads his feet slightly, looking at Daigo with
what appears to be a placid expression. "Hey, hey.. You're pretty damn good,
you know that?" As he speaks, a faint flickering of orange flame starts
wafting over his skin, even his face. It's faint, but it's there. "I like
this town, I hope I keep getting fight people like you." For the moment, he
seems to be standing there in that stance, concentrating more than anything
else.

COMBATSYS: Tora gathers his will.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Daigo            0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0             Tora

That didn't exactly go as planned.  Daigo misses the throw, and now it's
back to the standoff, Daigo's fists raised in his battle stance, legs
slightly braced.  Expecting an attack, until the other fighter takes a
moment to charge something up, Daigo spotting the telltale signs of orange
flickers roaming the ninja's body.  "...I've been fighting for years.  You
tend to learn a few things." he notes, not wishing to miss an opportunity to
strike while the striking's good.  Maybe he wishes to test Tora.  To see
what kind of trap the ninja can set up.  Since walking into the range of a
guy charging his chi is, obviously, a trap.
"Stick around.  You'll see more fights than you'd ever want..." Daigo
mutters, hopping into range to unleash a quick 1-2 jab, his left punching
out first, followed by a right hook.  Charge this!

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Tora with 1-2 Smash.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Daigo            0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1             Tora

Tora manages a vacant nod to Daigo's comment about his experience. He's
clearly pretty busy with whatever it is he's doing, and while he's trying to
remain alert, clearly it isn't enough. When Daigo comes rushing in, his eyes
snap back to full awareness and he brings both of his forearms in for a
cross block -- but is moving far too slow, and is caught fully with each
blow. Knocked a bit off his feet, he manages to turn it into a haphazard
backwards flip, landing on his feet. He's mildly winded, but still grinning.
"Yeah, yeah.. We'll see how that goes.. Just remember this fight in a few
years, 'kay?" With a quick flash of an orange outline, Tora rushes towards
Daigo with his fist lunching in a pretty straightforward punch towards
Daigo's gut, at a speed itself not too impressive.

What might be more impressive, however, are the two other Toras (Torii?)
that are charging Daigo from other directions, lunching at Daigo after
having appeared a couple meters behind him. All three are coming at Daigo at
slightly different angles, so as to not cross each other up if Daigo somehow
manages to dodge all three strikes.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Daigo            0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0             Tora

Dodge?  No.  Daigo isn't very good at dodging.  That's been covered already.
Blocking, on the other hand, is what he's trained his body to do.  Absorb
damage without the need of fat.  Which really doesn't do a lot anyway!  Just
ask Gan!  Daigo is certainly impressed at the multi-ninja trick, and might
be moreso if he hadn't seen it before way back when during a particular
peculiar 'rescue' mission.  Now Daigo remembers where he's seen Tora
before...  All of this, realized in the time it takes Daigo to throw one arm
out to knock one ninja-blow away, bat at another with his other hand, and
lift one leg to catch the third, doing his best to minimalize the damage.
He's not a gang boss for nothing, yo!
As such, Daigo's got his ways of dealing with 'crowds'.  Something that
takes a mere moment of inner focus to pull off, crouched down after that
third block to let a burst of chi flow through him, down his legs, and
outward from his being, spreading out into a shockwave of fiery force!
Crowd control!

COMBATSYS: Tora blocks Daigo's Phoenix Fire.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Daigo            0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Tora has a mirror of vague surprise on each of his three faces as the attack
doesn't go anywhere near as he expected. Startled for a moment, he doesn't
manage to do much except stand there and brace against the flames for one
part, another part rolls aside after having been knocked aside, to try to
minimize contact, and the third part just vanishes in a puff of smoke,
leaving only two of Tora in the Arena.

After the shockwave of flame paces, the Tora that was left standing leaps
towards Daigo, arm out to catch Daigo in a chokeslam. Of course, he alone
doesn't have the mass or leverage from that angle, which is why the other
Tora kicks out of his roll, to dive towards Daigo's legs, attempting to
knock them out from under Daigo even as the first Tora is trying to push
Daigo back.

COMBATSYS: Daigo dodges Tora's Bunshin Pileup.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Daigo            0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0             Tora

We're going to take a chance here that the Tora that's trying to push Daigo
back is the one that gets hurt.  Why are we going to take a chance on this?
Because Daigo's response to this attack is too convenient to pass up.  The
big man sidesteps the first Tora, and then reaches around to wrap his arms
around the little ninja from behind...so that he might suddenly, violently,
swing backwards, attempting to bring the orange ninja's head down...right on
his other self that's on the ground!  Try to trip Daigo, will you!?

COMBATSYS: Tora dodges Daigo's German Suplex.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Daigo            0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Tora is again thwarted by the fact that this Daigo person seems to be able
to read almost everything he does as he does it. And to add insult to
injury, keeps turning his attack against himselves. When Daigo sidesteps,
Tora makes a quick decision, and the one that was diving towards Daigo's
legs aborts into a short roll, stopping just long enough to leap straight
up. The Tora that is being reached for is indeed caught, and has a moment to
look worried before disappearing in a cloud of white odorless smoke.
Oh, and the Tora that jumped? He's now descending towards Daigo, kicking
straight downwards.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Strong Kick.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Daigo            0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Sneaky ninjas...  You just never know where they're going to pop up next.
The person Daigo holds dissapates into a cloud of smoke, alerting the big
guy that something's likely coming.  He gets to turn around just in time to
witness the fantastic flying leap-kick, getting his arms up just in the nick
of time to save himself another headache, though the forcefulness of the
blow, piled with the full weight of Tora, knocks him back a foot.  ...Hey,
look.  You've actually gotten Daigo to break a sweat!  Or maybe that's just
the arena lighting...  Either way, the Gedo boss has to wipe his brow once,
and then smile a crack of a smile.  Maybe he's enjoying himself, too.  As he
always has with a good fight.  "Keep it up, and I'll have to get serious..."
Daigo comments, stepping forward and giving a quick left jab.

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Tora with Jab Punch.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Daigo            0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0             Tora

Tora flips back after the kick to land gracefully a meter away, turning to
face Daigo as he smiles. At least he's getting the big guy to put some
effort here.. That's something. He manages a faint grin in response,
bringing up his arms in a ready position, just in time to not quite manage
to block the jab to his face, snapping his head back. Wobbling for a moment,
he quickly regains his footing, then turns back to Daigo, grimacing. That
wasn't fun. He braces for a moment, then sprints forward again, leaping into
the air with a slight twist, hand out for a spinning backhand aimed for the
side of Daigo's head. To add to it, he has that kunai out again, but per
Daigo's earlier implied request he has the blade turned away -- he's just
going to hit Daigo with the finely crafted stainless steel looped hilt.

COMBATSYS: Daigo dodges Tora's Kunai Crush.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Daigo            0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0             Tora

Having to deal with gang members left and right, people of all sorts wanting
your head, you develop a sense of awareness that isn't often seen in normal
fighting.  Street smarts, it's called, and no amount of textbook fighting
can tell you how to use it.  Daigo's got this.  He's got a lot of this
streetwise junk.  It's helping him in this fight with the sneaky
self-cloning fighter, and it helps him again to avoid this new kunai-aided
attack, something about that knife making him be more than usually alert.
"...I told you to put that away." Daigo grumbles, disprovingly, and this
being the second time Tora's brought the weapon out...Daigo feels the need
to remove it as a threat once and for all.  With a quick roundhouse kick!

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Tora with Medium Kick.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Daigo            0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0             Tora

Tora finds this alternate attack less than effective, again not quite moving
fast enough to even touch Daigo, much less hurt him. The roundhouse kick
catches him amidst an evasive twist, and thusly is Tora knocked upside the
head, tossed away to land awkwardly nearby, and not on his feet for once. It
takes him a moment to get back up again, and it's pretty clear that hurt.
Even still, Tora steps into a ready position, kunai still in hand. His
expression becomes one of intense concentration, as he stares at Daigo while
remaining stock-still, completely statuesque. Unlike last time he stopped,
he seems notably more aware, and there's no silhouette of chi-flame.

COMBATSYS: Tora focuses on his next action.

[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Daigo            0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0             Tora

Story-wise...this is where the challenger rises up to strike down the
oppressive villain with an unleashing of some super self-taught or
ancestrial type of attack!  ...Only Daigo's no villain.  he almost winced
himself when he struck Tora square in the head, but noting that the other
fighter's alright, and looking rather angry about it, Daigo stops.  Stops,
stands just as still, and then breathes a sigh, stepping back into a
defensive stance, one arm outstretched, palm up.  One finger curls,
universal sign of 'bring it'.

COMBATSYS: Daigo takes a breather.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Daigo            0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0             Tora

Tora tilts his head slightly to the side, eyes narrowing. At the gesture,
Tora nods, slipping into an offensive stance as he starts moving forward. He
shifts his grip on the kunai, to a throwing grip, and runs forward, closing
half the distance to Daigo before leaping into the air, adding all the
momentum he possibly can before throwing the ninja blade towards Daigo,
getting all the speed he possibly can. The dagger flies swiftly, in a
stright line -- but not at Daigo. Instead, it passes over Daigo, half a
meter above him. A miss?
No, instead, another copy of Tora is there, unannounced and silent, grabbing
the Kunai out of the air to descend on Daigo, stabbing downwards at him from
behind.

COMBATSYS: Tora successfully hits Daigo with Bunshin Ambush.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Daigo            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0             Tora

Consider it brought!  Daigo ducks the knife...but that had never been the
intention of the knife to strike Daigo from the front.  So when Dai gets up
to reach out and smack someone for using knives again, the Tora copy behind
him stabs true!  Ripping a hole in his coat, digging in, and leaving a
slightly bloodied spot on his clothes.  Now THAT gets his attention.
Stinging pain that one just doesn't get with a slap to the face.  "..."

Daigo goes silent.  For the third time, weapons are brought into a fight he
was expecting to be pure fists.  The Nice Guy face fades, replaced with a
grim stare, Dai's good eye catching his opponent's moves and bringing about
his next attack.  Daigo simply reaches out...his intended action from the
start, but if he can get a hold of Tora, he'll bring the ninja up to his
face, and growl at him, "You think those toys are gonna help you in a REAL
fight, boy?  Lemme teach you a think or two..." Up comes a knee to the gut!
And then a casual toss to the side!

COMBATSYS: Tora blocks Daigo's Knee and Beatdown.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Daigo            1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1             Tora

Tora looks vaguely unhappy with the response his attack gets him, but his
job is to win. It's that simple to him, so he shrugs, and takes up his
serious expression again. No room for discomfort in a fight. Bracing
himself, he doesn't quite have enough time to get away from Daigo when he's
grabbed, but he does have time to move his hands into a block, bracing
against the knee. Using Daigo's own force, he breaks out of the hold,
flipping into the air. Somehow during the flip he's brought out another of
the kunai, which he flicks at Daigo mid-air with a bit of a spin.
At the same time, the other Tora that stabbed Daigo from behind has backed
off, and thrown the Kunai at Daigo again.
And another Tora appears from another angle, throwing his own. To add
further insult, a fourth Tora has appeared, in a quickly evaporating white
mist, a few of meters above Daigo. Throwing a kunai downwards.
Throughout the other throws, the first Tora lands, holding his wrists with a
pained expression. Regardless of what exactly happens, he notes calmly,
"They'll help if that's what's needed to win. This IS a real fight."

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Kage Bunshin Kunai Surprise.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Daigo            1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0             Tora

This reminds Daigo of another fight he'd been in, just a couple months back.
A fellow by the name of Rolento.  Used knives, grenades, and sticks...
Daigo whupped him, too.  So let's play out how this assault of the throwing
knives goes, shall we?  One knife thrown.  Daigo bats it out of the air with
a hand.  Second knife thrown.  One leg extended back to knock it with one of
his thick-soled shoes.  The third and fourth knives pose a problem, coming
from upper angles.  Those two Daigo lets thunk into his left arm, the sharp
points sticking into his coat, shirt, and skin.  Making another goodly
bloody spot, and introducing a bit of pain to that arm.
"You want a real fight." Daigo grunts, pulling both the kunai from his arm,
"Fine...  Here.  You dropped these!" Both knuai, tossed 'casually' back at
Tora, and then Dai dropping into a defensive stance.  Just waiting for the
next attack.  Throw a knife at him, and he loses all his humor.

COMBATSYS: Tora blocks Daigo's Thrown Object.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Daigo            1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0             Tora

Tora braces into a combat stance after he finishes with his comments, not
sure what exactly will be the return from his action -- it was something
obviously against the grain and good nature of his opponent, but he felt it
had to be done. He needed an advantage, and he was hard-pressed to find one.
When Daigo makes his retort, and returns the lost objects, Tora first makes
a point to allow two of the duplicates to disappear, the one from above and
the most recent to the side. The vanish in the typical cloud of white smoke,
as Tora works on dealing with the kunai. He grabs one out of the air, and
shifts his arm to deflect the other, allowing a gash to run up his arm. He
grimaces, but does not actually flinch, holding his position steady.
Pausing a moment, he rushes in again, putting the kunai away for now. He
leaps towards Daigo, fist extended..
But in actuality, this is a feint, and not intended to actually do damage.
In the interim, the remaining alternate Tora rushes Daigo from behind,
aiming to jab Daigo precisely with two extended fingers, aiming for a
specific pressure point, one intended to be most unpleasant.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Thousand Years of Pain.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Daigo            1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0             Tora

Let's make that...ten seconds of pain instead.  GO!  
The problem is that now Daigo's quite aware of at least four human copies
that can appear out of nowhere.  He's keeping his perspective as wide as he
can.  So one comes up from the front, he's ready to smash that punk in the
face, until he catches sight of the movement behind him, having to spin
around before he can be /painfully/ touched.  Instead, just nicking the
point, and bringing all of a wince across Daigo's face.  That's it.  On the
other hand, it's now brought both ninja-copies together, and near Daigo's
fists...  One would expect him to reach out and do unto others the way he's
been treated.  They'd be right.  Tired of 'playin' around, the Gedo Boss
lets a momentary flash of phoenix chi rise up, unleashing a great backhand
upon his assailants, seeking to clock them both with one hit!

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Tora with Phoenix Backfist.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Daigo            1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0             Tora

As hard as he's been fighting, Tora simply wasn't prepared for exactly what
Daigo could dish out. The Tora behind Daigo simply vanishes into white mist,
barely being a slow to Daigo's swing as it discorporates. The remaining Tora
is struck full-on with the blow, flying across the arena to land on the
stone tiles with a dull thump. He pushes himself up for a moment, to stare
at Daigo with a dazed expression. He makes a flicking gesture with one hand,
launching a single shuriken at Daigo.

Then Tora's face hits the tiling.

COMBATSYS: Tora can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Tora has left the fight here.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Tora's Shuriken.

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

What does Daigo think of the shuriken?  He thinks he'll just let it catch on
his arm where the Kunai had landed.  Since it's already bloody and injured,
he really didn't feel the further sting.  The star is plucked from his arm,
and Dai walks up to the defeated opponent, casually flicking the star back
down next to Tora's head.  "...Tsk.  Didn't help, did it.  Next time, rely
on skill.  Not steel." ...That means his business in the Arena is done,
right?  The audience, given the Daigo Stare.  He won.  Hooray.  Now he's got
to replace his coat again...
It's at this point that the announcer breaks in, "And the wiiinneerr..
DAIGO! Let's hear it for the man, folks!" The audience, having seen what was
not a bad fight at all, cheers, and the medics move in to drag Tora up from
the arena, and a pair of techs timidly approach Daigo, and offer him
assistance. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being here for this
event!"

Daigo...politely refuses the techs.  He's got nurses at Gedo that take care
of his wounds.  He almost ignores all the applause, too, giving only a brief
wave of his now-good arm, and then marching out of the arena.  Back to
business, as usual!

Tora allows himself to be carried off by the medics, being out cold.

-- fini

Log created by Kobun, and last modified on 09:36:32 04/23/2005.