Description: The classic nature versus nurture argument is debated in the language of fists and flames. (Winner: Kyo)
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.
A gorgeous day in Southtown, the sun is shining, accompanied by a few fluffy
white clouds and a nice cooling breeze, and nowhere is this beautiful
weather more apparent than when standing in the middle of the cavernous
Howard Arena, as Kyo and Daigo are right at this particular moment in time.
As usual, the arena is packed with adoring fans of the two fighters, along
with the normal gamut of fighting fans.
Annoying Announcer says, "Allllright! Hardcore fans have been eagerly
anticipating this event, and now the waiting is finally over! Today we have
two of the strongest youths in all of Japan, Daigo Kazama and Kyo Kusanagi,
squaring off to decide the title of Japan's Strongest High Schooler! This
battle is about to EXPLODE!"
For his part, Kusanagi is actually on-time to this scheduled bout rather
than showing up "fashionably late" as has become his trademark; he's
genuinely curious to see what this boy that people call "The strongest
student of the islands" is really like. So Kyo stands at his side of the
ring, constantly adjusting his gloves or rolling a little ball of fire in
his hand while the announcer goes through his pre-match hype. Kusanagi is
rather bored with the whole histronics, and his demeanor shows in the
expression of his face as he stares across the arena at his oppponent.
A gorgeous day...and Daigo has to spend it cooped up in an arena, doing a
battle with some fighting punk. Pfft. The real threats are still lurking
out in Southtown proper. Daigo's just here because he let off a little
steam last weekend, and everyone liked it so much, they signed him up again!
Such is the fighting circuit, eh? At any rate, the announcer's going
through the motions, and Daigo's more or less following Kyo's example. Only
he's just standing there, in his corner, leaned up against the ropes
casually, not even so much as looking towards the audience at all.
Occasionally he adjusts his collar, or cracks his knuckles in preparation.
"...Can he shut up already? I'm not here to be hyped over. I'm here to
have a fight..."
Kyo closes the hand rolling around a fireball into a fist, extinguishing the
flame, shoves his hands in his pant pockets, and starts ambling over towards
Daigo, all while the announcer keeps raving about how exciting this upcoming
fight is sure to be. Kusanagi stops a few paces short of the Gedo boss, not
quite "in his face" yet, and looks... up at the the younger boy. "You're a
pretty big kid alright..." Kyo muses, "...I guess that just means there's
more to fry with these flames of mine!" His bored expression now turns into
a rather superior smirk, "I don't really like instant death though... since
we have to entertain a crowd I'll play around with you for a little while
first, okay?"
Now isn't that cute. Someone wants to play! Daigo finishes cracking the
knuckles of one hand, gazing his one good eye first towards the announcer,
who is /still/ rambling about excitement and fighting and junk. "..." Then
turns his eye to the challenger, his arms crossing over his chest. "That's
all this is to you? Play? I'm here for a serious fight, boy. If you're
not going to try, turn around and go home. Otherwise..." One arm stretches
out, the hand closed in a fist. "...let's do this already."
COMBATSYS: Daigo has started a fight here.
"Pssh... And they call you the strongest boy in Southtown? You're too
serious, that title doesn't fit you at all!" Kyo shakes his head and takes a
few steps backwards to the pre-fight distance between fighters the
regulations here at Howard Arena call for. "To get that title you'd have to
have an entirely different history..." Kyo raises a hand, engulfs it in
flame, then extinguishes it as he drops back into his fighting stance and
affirmative states "Ikuze!" (Let's go!)
*Ready... FIGHT!!*
Kyo wastes no time, dashing off the soles of his uniform shoes to cover the
short distance between Daigo and himself while simutaniously winding his
right fist up behind his head. The fist explodes with the crimson bloodline
flames of the Kusanagi and is utilized in a sharp right cross punch aimed
right at Daigo's scarred face.
COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Kyo's Aragami.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daigo
Daigo smirks at the mention of the title he's supposedly obtained, shaking
his head slowly. "Reputations only mean so much. You don't get strength by
being the school joker. You get it through training. Fighting. It's
something to take serious..." By then Kyo's dropped into his battle stance,
and the announcer looks like he's finally ready to call the start of the
match! Good. Daigo's tired of waiting anyway.
He, too, drops into a battle stance, slightly defensive, sizing up his
opponent's stature with that one eye of his.
*Ready... FIGHT!!*
Daigo, all business now, holds his stance as he witnesses a quick attack
by his opponent, a heated, chi-boosted crimson blazing punch of DOOM
that, of course, is aimed for Daigo's head. They always attack the head
first. Like that scar were a magnet. What's a gang boss to do?
..Raise a hand, and block, naturally, attempting to catch the thrown punch
like it were a baseball, maybe sliding back an inch from the force of that
sharp cross. "...Are you serious, yet?" The Gedo 'Kid' says, with a mocking
lift of one eyebrow, before his other fist lashes out, trying to go for a
quick right jab. TO THE FACE!
COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Kyo with Jab Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Daigo
Kyo's head whips back slightly, the jab punch tagging him in the chin. It
doesn't appear to phase him much, however, if anything it serves to "wake
him up" a little, just like Daigo perhaps intended. Kyo shakes his head,
brown hair bouncing to and fro as he deftly backpedals, Jeet kune do style.
"Fighting is all about talent! Train as much as you want, you'll still never
get up to the level of a genius like me!" He declares. Though the distance
between him and Daigo is greater now, Kyo manages to close the distance
again, but not through a dash; this time he launches off his back foot,
executing a rather simple looking high kick, hopefully returning some chin
music back to his opponent.
COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Kyo's Nana Juu Go Shiki Kai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Daigo
Genius? It takes a genius to strike at someone's head. Daigo makes a soft
grunt, adjusting his stance, and bringing his arms up in a cross-block to
take the force of that kick. And yet, he takes it well, as a boy his size
might be expected to do. "Talent means nothing if you don't hone it.
Everyone has talent..." Giving the knuckles of one hand a quick crack, since
Kyo's been so kind as to step up close to the Gedo Boss, Daigo waits all of
a half-second for that high kick to drop a bit, before he launches his own
attack. Another quick jab! Only this one's part of a combo, as the left
jab is followed up quick by his own right cross. Sans the pretty flames of
Kyo's type of chi. This one's just got pure Daigo muscle behind it.
COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Kyo with 1-2 Smash.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Daigo
*Bang! Crack!* Kyo gets suckered by it, the jab perfectly sets him up to
get socked right in the cheek by the powerful cross. This time Kyo doesn't
backpedal as gracefully as last time, and looks agrivated when he finally
skids to a halt, "Man, you're going to be a real hassle, aren't you? Here,
hone yourself on these, Gedo boy!" Kyo keeps a nice distance from Daigo this
time instead of going in close and getting punished for it again. Flames
drive up from both of his gloved hands and he slices at the air with them,
the crimson fires roaring off his knuckles and striking the ground, becoming
fireballs and ripping up the slate arena floor towards Daigo.
COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Kyo's Yami Barai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Daigo
Fireballs. That's another thing common with fighters these days. Darn
projectiles. Daigo, having landed his ol' 1-2, takes a step back again to
assess what this punk's gonna do next. Which comes as little surprise that
it'd be throwing fire around. Punk. Good thing it's only chi, and not REAL
fire, or else his coat would burn up when he lifts his arms to block! Those
arms of Daigo's, they take a lot of punishment... Though both arms do light
up in the 'flames' as they impact and spread, causing a touch of numbness.
Just a touch! "What did you expect?" Daigo says, advancing on the 'kid'
now, each step a quick hop to keep his stance intact. "A pushover? You
don't pay attention to the street talk, do you..." Two more hops, and it'll
bring Daigo right within range for another attack. This one bringing with
it a glow to his own fists. When the swing comes, it's just one punch, but
it's one backed not only with muscle, but the fiery energy hidden inside
this Gedo Boss!
And it's a real gut-buster, too...
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Daigo's Phoenix Fist.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Daigo
Kyo watches the fireballs wash over Daigo, who seems to absorb their impact
again, his opponent seems content to just try and dull Kyo's attacks, not
avoid them, "Huh. I'm glad that you don't get surprised by my flames. Or is
it that you just got scared and couldn't even move a finger!?" He mocks; all
this talking would distract a lesser fighter from his battle, but even as
Kyo runs his mouth he is ready for Daigo when the big Gedo boss comes
charging in with a nasty punch to the midsection. The Kusanagi heir twists
his body to the side, the punch hitting his opened jacket, but not much
else. "Body ga... GARADAKI DAZE!!" (And you've left your body WIDE OPEN!"
Kyo yells, directing a nasty elbow attack towards Daigo's said wide-open
ribs.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Daigo with Koto Moon Positive.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Daigo
Yes. He did.
WIIIIIIIIIIIDE open! And it turns out, that elbow was just the first part
of a combo attack, as Daigo finds himself stunned...grabbed, lifted, set
ablaze in not-quite-chi-fire, and blown away to the ropes! Where he leans
for a moment, shaking his head from the sheer impact of that attack.
"...guh..." The Gedo Boss gets to his feet after a moment, sliding back to
his stance, his eye narrowed to a slit. "...That must be your 'genius',
huh? Heh. 'bout time you got a little serious..." So he might as well,
too. Enough with the kiddie stuff! Then again, Daigo's a very
straightforward fighter. He's content to hop on up, pause a second, and
then throw a roundhouse kick Kyo's way, his whole body turning with the
effort. Not flashy. But effective when it hits.
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Medium Kick from Daigo with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Daigo
When Daigo stands up, what he sees is Kyo shaking his head, body turned
slightly away from the other schoolboy, "Now you're the one who's going to
get serious after that? I told you that I'm still just playing around! Don't
tell me that's everything you got..." Amazingly, he continues to talk even
as the kick sails towards him to.... get captured by both of Kyo's gloved
hand. *BOOM!* Leg hits hands, the impact and subsequent power struggle
echoes off the arena floor. Kyo holds Daigo's ankle with a triumphant smile
on his face (which he's sure to let his opponent see), then uses his
leverage to push the leg, and Daigo, down to the ground hard. To add insult
to injury, Kyo drops to his knees and strikes Daigo's collarbone with
another flaming punch!
Now that's uncalled for. Adding insult to injury! DISHONOR! ...Not that
Daigo can exactly say much about it, having just been smashed in the neck by
a flaming fist. ...And y'know what? That doesn't exactly feel like the chi
Dai's used to. It's hotter. And actually burns for a bit. Strange. Even
stranger that he would have time to reflect upon this whilst on his back.
Oh, wait. He doesn't... ROLL, DAIGO! ROLL LIKE A TUMBLEWEED! And he
does. Scrambling to his feet, the Gedo Boss has to regain his composure,
and focus on the multiple images swimming around his head. Only takes a
second, but in a fight like that, time is precious... "You ain't seen half
of what I can do yet, kid..." Dai mutters, hunching into a more defense
oriented pose, circling Kyo to see if there might be an opening... Well?
Is there? No? ...Damn. "You're pretty good, I'll give you that." Daigo
notes, just before he winds his right arm back again, and swings it in a
mighty backhand! Knock the taste right out of Kyo's mouth! Or fly right
over his head. Did we mention his phoenix chi's lit up again? Leaving a
small energy trail in the fist's wake...
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Daigo
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Daigo's Phoenix Backfist.
Kyo circles with Daigo carefully, he's not about to let this one-eyed freak
get in another couple lucky shots like he did in the beginning of this
fight. "Kid?! Shouldn't you show some respect to your upperclassmen? At your
age I was busy winning K.O.F!" He taunts, putting foot in front of foot as
he and Daigo continue their little dance. Finally Daigo chooses to stop the
momentary break and lash out with a backfist, which Kyo nimbly ducks under.
The meaty fist creates a gust that messes up the part in Kyo's hair, blowing
it to one side, "Kurae!" He blasts upwards from his crouched position into a
rising knee manuever.
COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Kyo's Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Daigo
Looks like those 'lucky shots' are about all Daigo's going to be able to
land on this punk. The backfist misses, but his other arm's right there to
block the rising knee, and this time Dai hopes he's got the 'upperclassman'
in a less favorable position. So he can bring his once-backfisted right
hand back, and grab at Kyo's collar! "Upperclassman? I'm a senior! Try
showin' a little respect before you go askin' for it!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Daigo's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Daigo
Kyo is choked for a brief second, but he manages to elude Daigo's grasp by
using an arm to hit away the bigger guy's hand. "You're a real pain. Weak
fighters like you have no place asking me for anything!" The arrogant
Kusanagi heir backflips, landing several meters away from Daigo, whereupon
he clenches his fists, bringing them close to his body. Kyo's clothes start
rustling, a small circle of flame errupting on the stone floor around his
body, "Here... I'll 'pay some respect' to you by showing you the flame of
the Kusanagi which has burned for 1800 years!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Daigo
Daigo can tell a charge when he sees one. Though around Gedo, they only
happen when someone's about to get gang-beat. Or smashed with huge
chi-balls of death! Darn you, Batsu! Either way, Daigo knows this is a Bad
Thing, and must be stopped. One way, or another. The easiest way to
interrupt a charge? Pretty much flat-out fist to the face. It hasn't
exactly failed him before. The quick hits, that is. "You can call me weak
when you beat me, punk..." Daigo growls, hopping in to unleash another of
his famed 1-2 blitzes, trying to rattle the marbles of Kyo's mind!
COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Kyo with 1-2 Smash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 1/--=====/=======|=======\====---\1 Daigo
Kyo doesn't seem to even bother to dodge, his head snaps to the left, then
to the right as Daigo gives him (literally) the 'ol one-two. He takes a step
back, and spits out a globule of blood that lands near Daigo's feet... but
the ring of fire has not been extinguished, if anything it's bigger now,
growing to encircle both Kyo and his opponent. "Kore ga... KUSANAGI NO KEN
DA!!" The ring of fire explodes into a blazing column of fire that reaches
towards the heavens, completely enveloping both Kyo and Daigo! When the
column subsides, Kyo is inflicting "One of the three divine weapons" upon
Daigo, with his body literally on fire: First he lashes out with a dokugami,
then spins and attacks with another flaming aragami punch, until finishing
with a rising shoulder charge that becomes an oniyaki in mid-air! This is
the Saihsuu Kessen Ougi: Mu Shiki!
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Daigo with Mu Shiki.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Daigo
Kyo drops to the ground, the last embers of flame fading from his body, and
starts wagging his finger at Daigo again, "Rekishi ga chigaundayo..." (We
have different histories)
..Now that's a cool attack. Poor Daigo. He never quite saw what hit
him. The first explosion of fire blinded his good eye enough to where he
tried to put a guard up, but...ended up being suckered into the full attack!
DOKUGAMI! ARAGAMI! Shoulder charge! Daigo flies backwards, and into the
ropes, surrounded by the leftover fires from that explosive attack... His
vision blurry, the Gedo Boss knows he's about to fall on his face. What
Gedo punk is worth their sweat if they don't fight to the bitter end? None
of them... And so dragging up every bit of energy he can, Dai struggles to
his feet, stumbling step, by step, towards Kyo.
"...Yeah. We do."
*POW!* ...or at least, that's the sound Daigo's hoping for. One hand had
just lashed out in a brutally stunning face jab. It's the opener to the
technique he rarely, if ever, uses. Phoenix Fury...
COMBATSYS: Daigo can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Daigo has left the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Kyo with Phoenix Fury.
Kyo watches Daigo stumble towards him in blase fashion, half-expecting the
giant Gedo High boss to fall flat on his face of exhaustion any second now.
"Feh..." So it comes as quite a surprise to Kyo that rather than pass out
after the jab punch which does little to phase him even when it hits his
chest, Daigo executes his own secret technique, cracking his knuckles then
trapping Kusanagi within a virtual whirlwind of fists, kicks, roundhouses,
knees, overhead smacks, and to top it off, a huge Phoenix Fist *CRACK!* that
sends Kyo flying! He hits the slate tiles and skids to a halt by the ropes,
black eye from that attack for sure... but he picks himself up before long.
"Whew... " he says, dusting off his shoulder "Your technique's not bad, but
if that's the best you have...." Kyo's voice carries with it a certain sense
of victory; even though Daigo just kicked the crap out of him, Kyo knows he
did so with the last bit of strentgh he had, "I hate repeating myself, but
even if you work hard, not everything pays off. That's what makes the
difference between you with a genius such as myself!"
After all that effort...Daigo can only stumble to a knee, and glare up at
the kid who's bested him. "..." There's not really a lot he can say. He
got his butt whipped. Trounced, even. Hard... It's a wonder he hasn't
simply passed completely out, but that's Daigo for you. "I'll get better.
I'll find you again. I'll prove my point..."
Kyo rubs at his jaw, as if making sure it's still all in one piece, "Yeah?"
he says curiously, peering down at Daigo, "Then, when we fight next time
around, wear something like a fire reppelant, because I won't hold back my
flames on you like I did today!"
Daigo's eye narrows again, the kid finding enough strength in him to stand
on his own two feet again. "...Good. I'll expect you to fight me full
strength." He means it, too. Sometimes Dai just can't do his best when the
other guy isn't, either. Psh. Yeah. Right... The Gedo Boss then turns
around, and stomps his way out of the arena. Good luck getting him back in
there again...
Log created by Kobun, and last modified on 10:02:30 04/23/2005.