Description: Even a backup band isn't enough to keep Sakura safe from the Crack Counter! (Winner: Rock/Seijyun High)
Open-Air Arena
Imagine a large 2-man arena, set in the outdoors and the open air, built of
polished stone tiling, with large curved spires set around the edge. Steel
infrastructure and clear bulletproof plastics form the spires which allow for
mostly unimpeded viewing of the event from the raised seating but still
providing a protective barrier in the style of a kind of fence to break up and
dissipate large projectiles gone awry. The seating in and of itself is largely
higher up and mostly out of harm's way. While the majority of the seating is
communal, there's a smaller rack set off to the north side of the arena,
clearly reserved for Justice High witnesses. As a final touch, jade dragons
sit on molded stone pedestals at the cardinal directions around the arena,
just outside the spire barrier.
The Justice Arena is packed to the gills today. A roar of chatter washes over
the crowd, mostly composed of students, with teachers and parents scattered
here and there. Students from each school are easy to spot; clumps of Gedo and
Justice students are especially visible, although certainly there's enough
milling that no clear lines can be drawn.
"Hey everyone!" A high yet strong and energetic voice cuts through the white
noise, and it comes from a long-purple-haired girl down on the arena floor.
She looks like she's wearing a Taiyo uniform. More or less, anyway. "Welcome
to the first fight of our very own school tournament! I hope you all are ready
for some action, 'cuz I know I am! Our first fighter today is someone many of
you know; representing Taiyo High, Sakura Kasugano!" The crowd roars with
applause, with many of the guys whistling.
Sakura smiles brightly! For once, she's been placed against a tournament
opponent she has an actual fighting -chance- against -- and as such, she's in
exceptionally good spirits! And she's even getting the royal welcome!
Proudly she marches out to the ring with a hand held aloft for her adoring
fans -- and darn near everyone else! And what better way to represent Taiyo
but with the official school uniform? Handguards strapped on tightly, she
carries her headband in her hand as she approaches the ring, smiling and
waving enthusiastically as she arrives. It should be more than obvious she's
excited to be here, but just in case: "Hi everyone! I'm happy to be here
representing Taiyo, and... I hate to break it to ya, Rock, but I'm going
-totally- all out on you today! Best of luck, just the same!" She throws
up a fist and a good-natured smile, and steps into the ring, pausing to tie on
her headband good and tight.
Someone's not dressed in... quite the usual fashion. For the first time, Rock
Howard seems to be lacking his trademark red jacket in favor of a slightly
more... dignified look. Apparently, someone's found a compromise between
traditional school uniforms and Seijyun's ornate (and female) dresses. Clad in
tan slacks and a sky blue blazer (complete with the Seijyun crest emblazoned
on the right breast), Rock Howard looks, simply put... like a total, and utter
preppy. Why would he wear such a thing? He clearly doesn't seem very
comfortable in it, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets and a grimace worn
on his face. If one listens carefully, he can be heard muttering something
extremely profane regarding his father, whoever that is. Walking up to the
fighting area of the court, Rock pries his hands out of his pockets, looking
straight ahead towards his opponent. "Hey, Sakura." He doesn't even sound
mildly surprised. In fact, he seems more... subdued, than usual. "Looks like
we've got a little rematch goin', huh? I was hoping I'd run into you during
the tournament. I ain't holding anything back, either. Whenever you're
ready... bring it on." Folding his arms into his traditional combat stance,
Rock stands and prepares for... well, whatever is coming his way.
The announcer smiles and waves to Sakura as she enters the ring. Once the
audience begins to die down a ittle, she jumps right back into it. "Sakura's
challenger today is representing Seijyun High, but he isn't a girl, folks!
Please welcome *giggle* Rock Howard!" The crowd breaks out again - mostly
good-natured applause and cheering, but many of the boys (Gedo especially)
start hooting and catcalling, falling all over themselves with laughter. As
Rock enters the arena, the girl bolts out the entrance with a happy, "Let's
fight!"
Sakura had been so focused on her stage appearance -- y'know, not -tripping-
over oneself -- that she hadn't even noticed Rock until he called the Taiyo
student's name. "Oh... there you a--" And that's about when she doubles
over with laughter at his manner of dress, but more importantly, the way he's
-acting- about it. Slapping the stone floor, she points at him and GUFFAWS
with laughter. "You... you're -fighting- in that?" Breaking into further
peals of giggling, she shakes her head, pushing herself back to her feet,
nodding. "Oh... man, Rock. Yeah, then... let's get it on!" Choking herself
back, she draws a deep breath, settling into her traditional stance near the
center of the ring, one fist forward guarding her waist, one fist hanging back
by her chin. Nodding to him, she then pulls her hands back for a half-second,
collecting a small bloom of fiery blue chi together, before rocking them
forward again with a cry of "HADOUKEN!" It's not much bigger than a soccer
ball, but it's a quick opening!
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Rock has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Rock with Small Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Sakura
Rock crosses his arms, grimacing a little bit. "It's a long story. I'll
explain it to you /after/ I win." That might be a bit early of a victory
pronouncement, though -- considering that Sakura's tiny chi blast is ripping
its way towards Rock /fast/. Fast enough to catch him completely off guard and
knock him back more than a few feet. Grunting with pain as he gets hit dead
on, Rock doesn't waste any time returning Sakura's attack -- an eye for an
eye, perhaps. Sweeping one arm over the ground, Rock sends a wave of his own
chi racing after Sakura, his nose wrinkling with exertion as he does so.
"REPPUUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Rock's Reppuken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Sakura
Smirking a bit, Sakura nods in reply, stifling just another giggle as she hops
back from her rapid-fire attack. He -did- say 'whenever you're ready' after
all! Breaking out her full-bore grin again, she nods -- and turns her
attention towards the wave racing towards her on the ground. Her own nose
wrinkling a bit, she pauses for a moment, smile fading as she assesses the
move. As the Reppuken is about halfway to her, she somersaults -over- the
attack, coming out of the quick spin with both fists crashing down onto the
Seijyun representative's head! "HYAAA!" she cries, legs splayed like
stabilators to guide her axehandled fists to their target!
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Sakura Otoshi from Sakura with Joudan Crack
Counter.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Sakura
This time, Rock is a little quicker to respond -- now that he's gotten past
his embarassment and into the fight, he's actually responding. Once Sakura
darts towards him with both fists, the blonde youth's entire body rockets into
motion. Rock, perhaps, is just beginning to get into his 'groove'. Snatching
both of Sakura's fists out of mid air with his forearms, Rock cracks a
momentary smirk. "I'm not going to just /give/ you this one, you know!" Before
he darts forward, flipping straight ahead to bring one leg down hard on
Sakura's shoulder, hoping to knock her clean out of the air and onto the
ground, off-balance... a position from which he can quickly follow-up.
Wait. Was the beginning of this fight just punctuated with music?
It /is,/ and it's not even vaguely school-affiliated. The sudden
interjection is a rousing, fast-paced number, and... classical? Two
tuxedo-clad men make their way through the crowd to the sidelines,
miraculously playing as they go. And well, at that.
A moment later, everything makes sense: Wolfgang Krauser, easily spotted
by virtue of simply looming over the gathered crowd, joins the two musicians
with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Ignoring the (relatively few)
requests to sit down, the nobleman stoically observes the fight. It's little
secret that Rock is Krauser's nephew, but even so, his appearance here is
sudden.
In an almost synchronized movement, all the spectators sitting behind the
tall German scoot to the side so they can see.
Her sprightly momentum diverted so effectively by Rock, there's little Sakura
can do but tense up and hope for the best. Seijyun-approved foot welcoming
her to the ground, face-first, the schoolgirl quickly rolls to the side before
he can follow up with another blow. "Yeah, I didn't -expect- it to be that
easy..." she says in the midst of rolling sideways to her feet. She hurls
herself into a straight punch, aiming to catch Rock with a just-above-the-belt
haymaker -- though her aim wavers once that classical music starts suddenly.
Oh, no, not -this- again! Totally messing with her game!
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Sakura's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Sakura
As Sakura drives her fist towards Rock, the young fighter -- who is too caught
up to notice the music wafting through the athletic field -- easily deflects
the majority of Sakura's blow with a quick rise of his forearms. "I'm not
letting up just yet!" Even though they're at point blank range, Rock is still
going to let loose with a chi attack, as he drives both arms straight ahead,
one after the other. Two reppukens, this time, race towards Sakura. So close
are they, though, that the two blasts don't even have time to merge -- they'll
hit Sakura one after the other, if at all, and probably induce more than a bit
of damage.
My! What a fight. Sakura and Rock are going at it as we speak, Rock being
the more noticeable of the two because... well, he's dressed in a men's
version of a Seijyun uniform. Spectators from both schools fill the stands,
but all have moved out of the way to see: mostly because Krauser stands on the
sidelines, in full armor, and definately would block someone's view.
Also, two men in tuxedos are playing violen.
Best not to ask.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to slow Double Reppuken from Rock with Medium
Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura's trying her darndest just to -hit- her Seijyun counterpart, and yet he
keeps coming at her with more! After her fist resounds against his defenses,
the schoolgirl jumps back, expecting a fierce counterattack. She gets one --
and while her fingertips splay by her side, swirls of blue chi coalescing
into a tight spherical shape, it's still not quick enough to provide an
adequate counter for the frazzled schoolgirl. "HADO--nnf!" Slamming into the
girl with such speed, there's little alternative but to be blasted backwards a
dozen feet. Her half-formed fireball spirals out of control, splashing into
the cold stone floor as the schoolgirl bravely climbs back to her feet --
pausing to shake her fist at Krauser and his violinists. "FASTER! And get
some bass drums while you're at it!" Irritably, she turns her attention back
towards Rock, snapping her muscles tautly into her standard pose with renewed
resolve.
One of the violenists spares a quick glance towards Krauser, who takes a
break from looking like a statue to nod his approval - and grin. Ferally. Two
reppukens, and she still stands! A pity it looked like Rock had the upper hand
here, and Wolfgang was a very good judge of the battlefield.
So, the musicians begin to play faster, and while the head of Strolheim
can't readily supply the bass drum, one attentive Taiyo student makes a dash
for the main building.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
"... Huh?" Rock cranes his next up when Sakura lets on that there's a new,
weirder spectator in the crowd... and he catches sight of Krauser.
Momentarily, he looks more than a little surprised. "... What the hell? He's
here? Why did /he/ come?" Krauser might notice something odd about Rock's
fighting style: It's more like Terry Bogard's, now, than it is like Geese
Howard's. No, more than just that. Now, it's more like /Rock/ Howard's
fighting style than either of his greatest teachers. He's a little faster, a
little stronger, but more importantly, he simply seems more /fluid/, now, when
he moves, far moreso than he did last uncle and nephew met. "Don't mind that
guy, Sakura. He's just here to watch... as weird a way he has of doin' it.
You've got more important things to worry about -- like me!" Rock's entire
body races forward like a missile, one elbow extending on a crash course with
Sakura's chin. There's more, too. If he hits, Rock'll deliver a second blow,
this time accompanied by a blast of chi... not only from the palm, but in the
form of a bizarre shape burned out of chi, rising from his right
shoulderblade: A vaguely angelic wing, appearing and dissipating within the
space of an instant.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Rock's Hard Edge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
A surprisingly short amount of time later, the Taiyo student comes
limping back, somehow dragging a bass drum and playing it at the same time -
at a decidedly lower level of skill than his two Strolheim cohorts. Still, the
valiant and nameless member of the audience drags himself up to the sidelines
and plays on, for great justice. And Sakura.
Two people who look like they're from the Justice High band dash out,
come to a halt when they see the Taiyo boy is standing next to Krauser, and
sulk back inside.
In a random sampling of three master-level fighters, the consensus was this:
Sakura Kasugano is a -spaz-. The advice prescribed for the fighting fangirl
was simple, then -- calm the heck down and put one's head in the fight. Rock
was clearly able to do that, ignoring the violinists once they started up,
enough to deliver a series of crushing blows to the Taiyo representative. And
yet, she was shaken by it -- enough so that she almost got smacked around
again. But no more! For, during that brief respite before Rock's attack, the
quickened tempo of the violinists synchronized with her racing heartbeat,
enough to allow her to put the distracting music out of mind and focus on the
fight again. Good timing too, for as Rock comes flying at her, Sakura leaps
to the side, neatly evading the punch. She backpedals a bit more, bounding
from one foot to the other with a boxer's quick step -- though never once
dropping her guard, or losing sight of her target. Stepping to the nonexistent
drumbeat implied by the violinists, she once more smiles in the face of
adversity. ... And once the drum beat is added, she smiles even more
brightly, biding her time and eyeing Rock. So far -she's- been on the
offensive -- maybe it's time for the converse to be true?
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Rock 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Rock isn't wasting any time -- or any momentum. Both are precious resources.
The moment Sakura slides away from Rock's fist, the blonde plants one foot
into the ground to completely cease himself, using his speed to whirl around
instead to face Sakura again. "I've seen you break out this sort of game
before -- let's see if I can match you at it!" That said, Rock is already
beginning to sweep one arm over the ground, sending /another/ chi blast flying
at Sakura. Rock's deviating from his typical strategy, here, just a bit...
experimentation, maybe? "REPPUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to slow Reppuken from Rock with Medium Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Rock 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Game? This isn't a game, it's a battle! Sakura's smiling about it, but that
doesn't change the fact that she's riding on the outcome! Replying with a
quick nod to Rock, she settles her feet, grounding herself as she gathers her
hands by her side. Once more she calls tendrils of chi into existence,
twirling them with a lightly furrowed brow into the good ol' sphere she knows
and loves, with a few extra sparkly bits for good measure. Gotta look good
for the cameras! Problem is -- she's underestimated the speed of Rock's
blasts, yet again -- apparently, he pumped a bit more juice into it than she
expected, and it slams into her feet, knocking them out from under her and
faceplanting her into the stone floor -- before she tumbles over -again-.
Ow. Shaking herself free, she pushes herself back to her feet -- it'll take
another deep breath before she can smile again, bobbing once more to the
helpful beat of her fellow Taiyo student. Beat that drum!
Rock might be an odd case, to most. He's almost all offense. He throws in a
block, sometimes, when he has to -- but he's all offense. Even his /defense/
is an offense, in the form of his counters. That holds true even now. By the
time Sakura hoists herself up onto her feet, Rock is already in a sprint
across the battlefield, closing in on her like a shot before she can even
shake out the cobwebs, hopefully. Rock isn't letting up, whatever the case.
"Hey, Kasugano! Think fast!" Winding up even as he runs, Rock sends one fist
flying towards Sakura, all of his weight and momentum thrown into it. But the
instant before it connects... he's gone. Simply gone. At least, to Sakura's
point of view. To the audience, and to the cameras, a faint blur of blond and
sky blue is distinctly visible rushing around Sakura's left side, circling
around behind her. It might be only a brief burst, but Rock has /speed/,
that's for sure. By the time he comes to a halt, Rock is right behind his
opponent, and sending one fist towards her shoulderblades.
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Sakura with Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Rock 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
With a warning like that, Sakura's halfway expecting this to be an easy
evasion. "Bring it!" Narrowing her eyes, she nods -- though once he blurs out
of view, she still keeps her cool. It's something she's been working on,
with a few choice tutors -- learning to sense her opponents' fighting auras,
rather than relying on her eyes. She's partly successful in that -- though
less so than she might prefer. She's able to step quickly forward once she
senses him behind her -- though not quickly enough to avoid being -smacked- by
the punch. Stumbling forward, she spins around to face him fully, clenching
her jaw to keep from screaming from the pain -- and launches herself at him
again! Her form suffused in a gentle blue light, she launches her fist, fully
intending to clock the Seijyun stand-in full in the jaw with a rushing
uppercut! "Take -this-!" she cries in the midst of her attack -- and should
that first uppercut land, she'll try to whirl about and deliver a second --
then a third, throwing her whole body into propelling him upward with her
schoolgirlly wrath!
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Midare Zakura from Sakura with Joudan Crack
Counter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Rock 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
"Whoa!" Sakura... shouldn't have responded that fast. Rock was hoping for --
COUNTING on -- a few seconds of time to move and set up his next blow before
Sakura went completely crazy with her own offense. Much less an offense of
/this/ caliber. So, he's caught with his pants down, in a way. Staggering
backwards, Rock still can't avoid the rushing series of blows that Sakura is
about to strike him with. So, he decides, simply, not to. Instead, he moves
/forward/ into the brunt of the blast, his arms darting upwards to snatch her
leg out of the air as she rises in the midsts of her uppercut. Speeding
forward, Rock immediately follows up with a hard kick to her chest, using his
grip on her calf as a fulcrum. "Not bad, Sakura... but you'll have to work a
little harder than this if you want to be as strong as Ryu!"
Well... so much for all that positive thinking she's been doing. She has a
few choice words lined up in response for how her most powerful chain of
attacks was avoided without so much as a whimper from the Seijyun
representative, but now's neither the time nor the place for them. Especially
when the whole world's watching them. Taking the foot hard, she stumbles
backwards, coughing violently for a moment as the knot of her scarf is wedged
into her solar plexus. "Nnf!" she spouts, breathing ragged. It's not a good
sign for the Taiyo warrior... but she hasn't lost her spirit yet. Coughing
once more, she flashes Rock a faint smile. "Strength isn't what I've been
lacking today..." she notes, chuckling lightly. As much as she -wants- to
throw another punch, she's admittedly on edge after that series of blows. Her
hands flare blue, but instead of staying still, she rushes -forward- at Rock.
There's some question as to whether she's going to throw a punch or something
else, but it seems she's stuck with an old favorite -- firing off a rather
-large- mushrooming blast of blue chi with the familiar cry of "HADOUUUUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Rock with Large Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Rock 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Sakura
"... Oh, jeez." That's a big hadouken, isn't it? Yes. Yes, it is. Rock lunges
to the side, doing a great job of getting nearly out of the way... nearly. Not
quite. The huge blast nails him squarely in the knees as he rushes off,
spinning him around like a top and sending him to the ground like a sack of
bricks. Yelping with pain, the fighter hits the ground, looking... apparently
incapacitated by the force of the blow. This state lasts for only a few
seconds, though, before he eventually fights his way back to his feet. He's
limping a little, though, that's for sure, and might have a bit fo trouble
dashing to and fro like he's done so far. Fortunately... Sakura's close, at
least for the moment. Close enough for Rock to take a quick swing at her,
trying to nail her on the inside of an elbow while she's near.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Rock's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rock 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Well, at least Sakura's luck hasn't -completely- forsaken her. The schoolgirl
smiles just a bit as the fireball slams into Rock, taking a few moments to
pause, hands hanging weakly in front of her. The battle's taking its toll on
the young fighter, apparent in her body language if not in her cheerful
expression. Panting slightly, her upper torso bobbing with each breath, she
narrows her eyes lightly... focusing instead on the drum beat of her fellow
students. Syncing her breathing and her foot-tapping to the beat, she nods
quietly -- throwing her shoulder into the blow and shoving it aside. But
that's not to say that's the -extent- of her attack though -- for as her hands
are both conveniently near each other, a blue spark erupts between them -- yet
another? She pushes into Rock, swirling the energy into a vortex. It starts
off spherical, but its form becomes more oblong as she swings it towards Rock,
triggering the ball to explode at short range into Rock's chest.
"HADOOOOUKEN!" That's the plan, anyway...
COMBATSYS: Rock just-defends Sakura's Medium Hadouken!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rock 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
..! Dammit! Rock's eyes go wide, his blue blazer and tie blown back by the
power burning off of the hadouken, and the air displaced by its ever-
increasing mass. Every time he attacks, she soaks it up and uses the
opportunity to lead into her next attack. Grimacing as the blue light
illuminates his features, Rock lashes his hands up over his person,
protecting himself at the very last moment. His timing is simply perfect,
deflecting the blast off in another direction and leaving Rock entirely
unharmed. In fact, the momentary save seems to have provided him with something
of a surge of adrenaline. As the energy between them dissipates into mist, Rock
cracks another smirk. He's growing confident, slowly drifting to the right with
his arms in fighting positions. "You look a little tired, Kasugano. A few too
many of those hadoukens? Spitting out chi like that burns stamina like nuts --
I know that firsthand. How many more of those things can you toss?" Without
skipping a beat, Rock lashes out with one foot, striking Sakura squarely in
the thigh if he can pull it off. It's quick, and weak... is he relenting, at
this late hour of the fight?
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Sakura with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Rock 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura hops backwards after her Hadouken is atomized by a quick slash of his
uniform sleeve. "Jerk!" she calls back, winking to let him know she's just
kidding. She does wonder how he can spout things out so fast when she keeps
pressing an attack, as she was just starting to backpedal out of his range
when he tags her with a quick tap to the thigh. The backpedal process is
interrupted as her knee cants askew, but she still manages to get to a safe
range afterwards, snapping back into her defensive pose. Still she's trying
to rush this fight too much... though, as Rock mentioned, she can't throw the
fireballs forever. "Y'know... maybe you're right..." she notes, crab-walking
to the side as she keeps her opponent in view, her battle aura gently ebbing
blue as she speaks. "I'm gonna have to work on that a bit, ain't I...? I
mean... I can't =possibly= be strong enough to keep this up all day, right?"
And then she -slams- her elbows downward, that aura erupting into a blazing
conflagration of blue energy, swirling around her in a vortex. "... Or /can/
I?" she answers, grinning as her headband and the tails of her skirt are
kicked up by the raging chi-flames.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Rock 1/--=====/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
"Oh, no you don't!" He can see what Sakura's trying to do. And it's not good,
at least judging by how close a call her /last/ big attack attempt was. So,
he's not going to let something like that happen again. As Sakura tries to put
some distance between them, Rock is dashing at her at full-tilt, whipping
around and driving a foot at her gut. While she's charging, she can't move,
right? So why not take advantage of that and try to end this fight
here?
COMBATSYS: Sakura endures Rock's Strong Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Rock 1/-======/=======|=======\======-\1 Sakura
That's what Rock thinks! It might not be to her best -advantage- to move, but
heck if she ain't gonna try her best to fight for Taiyo! It might not be
Justice's brains, Gedo's brawn, or Seijyun's ... manners, but the most potent
quality about Taiyo students is their drive to succeed! Their steadfast
determination to take the lemons they're offered and make lemonade-flavored
bubble tea with the really good tapioca pealrs, if that's what they really
want to, by gum! And ... that actually sounds kinda good right now, but
that's not the point! "Here we go..." she calls with a crazy glint in her
eyes. Sakura does the unthinkable -- she runs -into- Rock's foot, taking the
shot to her stomach -- but the surprising thing is the -manner- in which she
takes it. Sure, she gets slammed -- but she uses it as an impetus for her own
momentum, rolling with the shot and wheeling about into a low roundhouse for
his other foot. That blue firestorm of chi didn't go to waste either, for she
draws it into herself, fueling the rush of energy that goes into propelling
herself forward, whirling her foot at Rock repeatedly in aim to make the most
of her initiative!
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Rock 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Haru Ichiban from Sakura with Joudan Crack
Counter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Rock 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Rock's spent most of this fight punching Sakura, and being surprised when she
punched back, just as hard. Not this time. When Sakura steps forward and gets
nailed by his foot, Rock barely seems remotely shocked... as though he'd
expected this to happen for the entire fight. He's completely in his groove at
this point, his leg retracting out of her gut and arcing across the arena
floor as he collapses into a crouch. "... Tch! You're predictable!" Tucking
his arms low, Rock matches glares with his opponent in mid-kick, his arms
entangling her ankle and trapping her completely -- He's fast! Like he's
moving on nothing more than adrenaline and guts. At this point, there's no
thought in Rock's counterattack, only instinct as he rushes forward, leaping
from his crouch to bring his foot down on Sakura's head like a sack of
bricks.
Speaking of moving on no more than adrenaline and guts, Sakura's pretty
shaky. As she's jarred out of her move, an incredulous look dawns upon her
face -- /predictable?/ Apparently, she's still fighting with her conscious
mind, rather than letting the true instincts that shone just a few days before
surface. She starts cursing her ineffectiveness, before shoving the negative
thoughts out of her mind. No place for them here. Rock wants fireballs? He
-gets- fireballs. Gritting her teeth as she's slammed back to the ground, the
schoolgirl glares intently back at Rock -- not mad, just -determined-. Her
accumulated chi from earlier still hangs in the air like a dense cloud, once
more surging towards her fists as she calls out, "Shin..." -- though it seems
like it's a bit too pale of a collection effort for the infamous Shinkuu
Hadouken. Nay -- there's none of the sparks, but all of the fury, even as the
schoolgirl lies on her back before Rock. Hands shoving the gathered energy
forward, she cries, "HADOUKEN!" squeezing the shot into a mortar round of
swirling energy.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Rock with Large Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Rock 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Sakura
Rock gets nailed by the hadouken once again -- it's a mixed ball, trying not
to eat one of those things. But this time, he's ready for it. Knocking
backwards by the hit, Rock gets his footing a moment later and takes off for
Sakura. But he's not attacking dead on this time -- this time, he's attacking
from on high. Leaping up into the air, Rock drops out of mid-air like an
artillery shell, one fist driving towards Sakura. He wants to end this, and
he's not letting Sakura get out with her wounded state, not if he can help it.
"Nice work, Kasugano -- but I'm winning this tournament, no matter
what!"
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Sakura with Rage Run Dunk.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Rock 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Rock's spirit is admirable... but anything he can do, Sakura can do better!
Okay, well, maybe that's not being borne out in the fight -- yet -- but
perseverence is a fangirl's best friend! There may be no way she'll get
-everything- out of this, but she's at least going to give it her all. She
promised -- she can't do any less for her school. "Yeah, good luck with
that." It's honest, even though it does have a slight sarcastic bent to it.
She kicks hard, trying to leap out of the boy's way, but to no avail -- she
takes it hard in the shoulder, the brutal blow quite possibly -shattering- the
hard process underneath as she's slapped right back to the ground. It's
wounded, at any rate -- her left arm isn't even -moving-, but it could easily
have been worse. Smirking a bit, she opens her eyes. "Hadouken." she states
simply, another wild burst of energy sizzling in her palm. Really, with her
beaten down like this, and with her now -ingrained- fear of attacking the boy
physically, it's her only option -- a one-handed burst of energy, aimed to
knock the Howard boy off his attack, and quite possibly give her another
chance at getting back up. Maybe.
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Rock 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rock dodges Sakura's Large Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Rock 1/---====/=======|
After an expenditure like that, though... it seems Rock was right. Sakura
slumps back into the small crater she's been dug, eyelids closing to mere
slits. She's still awake, but she doesn't look like she's of a mood to get up
any time soon.
"You did good, Kasugano. Everybody at Taiyo's gonna be more than proud of you,
I'm sure." Landing on his feet as Sakura goes down and stays down, Rock slides
to the left to evade the last energy blast, escaping mostly unharmed. His tie
and blazer settling on his person, the young Howard dusts his hands, taking a
few steps towards Sakura as the medics start to shuffle off into the center of
the arena. Crouching beside her, Rock cracks a smirk, flashing a thumbs up
towards the prone Amazon. "Anytime you want a rematch, Kasugano, you know
where to find me."
Sakura chuckles a bit, nodding weakly in response. Though... she'd really
rather not move =at all= until the medics show up, assessing her wounds before
hefting her onto the gurney. "Yeah... thanks." Why isn't Rock in school,
again? She wonders that for a moment, but doesn't voice it, instead
preferring a quiet comment of "Good luck..." before she gets belted down.
Really, she's more interested in a nice restful sleep.
Log created by Kobun, and last modified on 18:02:47 12/06/2005.