Description: Not long after a particularly brutal Valentine's Day exhibition match with Mike Bison, Sakura and Megumi show down. It starts off friendly, but goes downhill from there... (Winner: Megumi)
Down here in the middle of Southtown Village is a small gathering area carved out of the city as a haven, safe from the hustle and bustle of the city proper. And tonight, it's really anything but, as that was the spot decided for the popular Saturday Night Fight attraction. The triangle-shaped area, lowered five feet from street level and rimmed by concrete steps, has been declared the fight zone, with standing room only for the spectators to gather around and watch.
The ambulance is parked a good distance away, and the television van right behind it. From the table near "ringside", the emcee whips out a microphone. "LADIIIIIES AND GENTLEMEN! And you scrubs from Taiyo High also! WELCOME! TO! SATURDAY! NIGHT! FIIIIIIIIIGHT!" Applause, cheering, and the occasional boo erupt from the surrounded spectators. "Tonight we bring to you two of Southtown's most powerful young women -- both teenagers at the high school just down the street! They've fought together as a team in the past -- and now they're here to settle the score!"
Raising an eyebrow at the announcer, Sakura scratches the back of her head. "What the heck is he babbling about..." she mutters, prodding lightly at the bandages still covering the left side of her face. Her parents told her not to fight, but that's never stopped her before!
"On the west side, we have the Schoolgirl Wonder, the Fireball Freak--" (Sakura makes sure to wag her fist at the emcee for this one) , " the unstoppable force of nature, SAKURAAAAAA KASUGAAAANOOOOOOOO!"
Still shaking her head, Sakura strolls out to the middle of the stage. "You see, that's why you folks need to stop listening to this emcee guy!" she shouts, her voice carrying surprisingly well in the small, makeshift arena. Still, she pulls on her handguards with a distracted smirk, taking a deep breath as she glances over to Megumi.
Megumi is every bit as disinterested in this weak attempt to drag up a grudge match by the announcer. First off, she's in a good mood because this match location is within walking distance. That means she got here early, and is already in the fighting stage. She's passed time offering little waves or talking with random crowd members, right until Sakura shows up.
"Ahh, finally. Someone I can have a decent match with. No sick insults, no sickos for that matter." Megumi's got her arms propped behind her head, pretty relaxed and perfectly willing to let Sakura take the time to get her gloves on. "Let me know when you're ready, okay?" If she's supposed to feel tense about an 'ex-teammate' thing, it's just not materializing.
"And on the east side, we have the..." Well, Sakura's not paying attention, and neither is Megumi, so what difference does it make? Besides, Sakura has pretty much forgiven Megumi for... well, darn near everything. "Sure, I'm ready. Let's just keep this fun, right?" Smiling brightly, she strides into the center, adopting her usual fighting stance -- fists clenched, left arm leading, right arm by her neck. "Let's do it!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
Megumi thrusts her right palm out at the distant Sakura, only nothing comes out. No energy blast, and Sakura can walk right up to the center unhindered as Megumi shakes her head. "Nah, not going to start this off with that..." She's walking up to meet Sakura there, and once close enough she makes a grab at one of Sakura's arms, intending to bend it backwards and upwards, then past Sakura's head in a quick takedown.
COMBATSYS: Megumi has joined the fight here.
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Megumi 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Megumi successfully hits Sakura with Flood Reversal.
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Megumi 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Megumi lets go after the takedown, too. The impact was the goal, not establishing a limb-targeting hold.
Blinking a bit as Megumi throws out her palm, Sakura crosses her eyes. "Uh... okay?" she asks, confusedly -- but apparently that moment of indecision was all it took for Sakura's arm to get grabbed and slung overhead, bringing her swiftly to the ground. "Nnf!" she complains -- though rather than try to press her advantage, she plants both hands on the ground, leaping to safety and brushing herself off. "Oww... nice way to start the fight!" But rather than press her luck -- she's going to take a moment to gather herself, flattening her palms. A light breeze filters through the area, ruffling her headband and skirt into life. She'd already been caught off-guard, after all -- maybe she needs another moment to collect herself.
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Megumi 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Megumi also hops back from her opponent, though not as far as Sakura went since her concern was avoiding immediate counter-attack. As Sakura's backing off and readying herself, Megumi cups her hands together. "I can do other stuff too, after all. Thanks, though." A familiar sparkling red energy sphere forms in front of them, then sticks to her right hand and is brought behind her head...then she leans her body forward and tosses it in a manner fairly similar to a baseball pitcher. Unlike most baseball pitchers though, she's definitely planning to hit Sakura with this projectile.
COMBATSYS: Megumi successfully hits Sakura with Crimson Comet.
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Megumi 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
And hit she did -- the massive crimson orb smacking into her a split second before its concussive impact knocks Sakura to the ground. Even with all that preparation, it seems to have been for naught. "Well... I think I'm -more- than well acquainted with that one, thanks!" Pushing herself back to her feet, =again=, she starts off by running -- and then leaping into the air. She seems to think she'll be able to catch Megumi by swinging both arms overhead, then bringing them crashing down onto her pink-haired opponent in a double-fisted axehandle. "HYAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Megumi dodges Sakura's Sakura Otoshi.
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Megumi 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Sakura
Megumi watches Sakura go down, and is quite willing to give her whatever time she needs to get up and talk. "Don't worry about it too much, I'm not going to be using that technique much tonight." She watches Sakura's leap, and rolls toward Sakura in order to go underneath and past her. Rising easily from that roll, she spins around to try leaping at Sakura in a 'cross body' fashion, hoping to wrap her arms around one of Sakura's own, and her legs around the other arm, then lean back.
Another takedown attempt, definitely. An odd one, but the follow-up isn't so strange: Megumi's trying to apply a wrist-lock while holding Sakura down like this.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Aikido Techniques from Megumi with Sakura Strangle.
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Megumi 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
"That's a relief!" Sakura seems glad for that, at least, even if Megumi's whipping out crazy acrobatic techniques in place of balls of red soulcrushing energy. Frowning slightly, Sakura finds her arm caught, but isn't having any of that other stuff -- she sidesteps just enough to bring her other arm clear. Continuing the sidestep, Sakura frowns even more at the heinous pressure Megumi's applying to her arm -- not to mention the centripetal force exerted from the half-spin -- but she still manages to work it to her advantage, pulling Megumi to her tightly and locking her into a submission move of her own, her free arm now latched about Megumi's neck. Tightening her grip, Sakura chuckles lightly... "... We can do this all night, y'know..." Before finishing, she jerks her arm free of Megumi's grasp and slams her elbow down onto Megumi. "... but I'd rather not!" Snickering lightly, she coughs and takes a quick, preemptive hop back.
Megumi went with the technique anyway, though her leverage wasn't anywhere near as good with just one limb to anchor to. She tightens her hold when she begins to be choked, only to lose that grappling debate when Sakura elbows her instead. Her summary of this is an eloquent "Uhgk!", and then she's scrambling to her feet as Sakura gets some distance. "Spiral..." Sparkling red energy forms around her right hand, which tightens into a fist...then Megumi yells "Knuckle," and launches herself at Sakura head-first. Body twirling in mid-air as the energy-enveloped fist goes forth, she's seeking to crash into Sakura's face and ideally land in a one-handed handstand, then use that hand to jump into the air and flip herself to land on her feet. Fast and fancy.
COMBATSYS: Megumi successfully hits Sakura with Crimson Spiral Knuckle.
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Megumi 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
Sakura starts to jump out of the way of Megumi's attack, but it doesn't seem like it's in the cards tonight -- but yeah. Way to go, Megumi, hit the girl right in the spot where Bison's fist landed three times before with a burst of highly concentrated energy. That's sure to win you brownie points with Sakura! SCREAMING with pain, she howls and scrambles backwards -- not like that does a whole lot for mitigating the damage, but when one's literally tearing up from the pain... well. Maybe you can excuse her for going all out the instant Megumi lands, whipping her foot into a whirling frenzy, suffused with blue energy that surrounds the heavily injured highschool girl like a whirlwind. "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Megumi with Haru Ichiban EX.
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Megumi 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Sakura
First off, Sakura has the right idea: hit her upon the end of that righting-flip. Second, Sakura has good timing. Third, Megumi lands with a rather...surprised look. She hadn't expected to draw /quite/ that reaction from Sakura, and it startles the hell out of her. She doesn't even try to get out of the way, or defend herself. Sakura's spin-kicks trip her up and send her crashing to the edge of the stage. "Umm..." Well, so much for that. Megumi leaps back into the fray with plenty of speed but not exactly what one might call ferocity. She uses her leap as a means to slide along the ground once she lands, swinging her arms out to try and drag Sakura off-balance to the floor, and from there apply an ankle-lock, trying to get a solid submission hold in. She doesn't look quite so energized about this fight after Sakura's yelling, though.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Storm Hold from Megumi with Shunpuu Kyaku.
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Megumi 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
Well, it's not like Sakura -wants- to be a raving lunatic, but she'd been spending the past few days out of school from the very injury Megumi planted her hands onto, and had the nerve to handstand on top of. Classic heel behavior, as far as Sakura's concerned. Exhaling her breath sharply after that, though, Sakura brushes her cheeks -- and the bandages over same -- dry with the back of her handguard, shaking off the rage. Her hot temper is probably the main thing Ryu -hasn't- been able to train the schoolgirl to tone down -- but she's working on it.
And when Megumi closes, she really does try to leap into the air, clearing over top of Megumi's head with a spinning kick -- but she kinda gets caught in the middle of the maneuver: "SHUNPUUUUU KYAaaaaaaah!" The problem there, of course, was that Sakura still had one leg down, and that's the one Megumi grabbed and used to ankle-lock her into. Slamming her fist on the ground afterwards in frustration, her temper starts to make a comeback -- but so is a faint blue glow about her tightly-wound fists. "Nnnnnnrgh..." she comments with a tight frown.
Well, it's not like Sakura -wants- to be a raving lunatic, but she'd been spending the past few days out of school from the very injury Megumi crashed into -- by design. Classic heel behavior, as far as Sakura's concerned. Exhaling her breath sharply after that, though, Sakura brushes her cheeks -- and the bandages over same -- dry with the back of her handguard, shaking off the rage. Her hot temper is probably the main thing Ryu -hasn't- been able to train the schoolgirl to tone down -- but she's working on it.
And when Megumi closes, she really does try to leap into the air, clearing over top of Megumi's head with a spinning kick -- but she kinda gets caught in the middle of the maneuver: "SHUNPUUUUU KYAaaaaaaah!" The problem there, of course, was that Sakura still had one leg down, and that's the one Megumi grabbed and used to ankle-lock her into. Slamming her fist on the ground afterwards in frustration, her temper starts to make a comeback -- but so is a faint blue glow about her tightly-wound fists. "Nnnnnnrgh..." she comments with a tight frown.
Megumi continues her hold for a few seconds, then lets go before she figures Sakura can recover and strike her for her trouble. In fact, she's expecting to be kicked any moment now by Sakura's free leg, and rolls backwards to be by Sakura's arms and head. Switching targets, but employing the same methods. She's trying to get Sakura's arm held, then roll her over to one side, settle on the ground, and arm-bar in another attempt to get Sakura to give up. She's definitely using different tactics in light of the response to her earlier strike on Sakura...
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Flood Reversal from Megumi with Flower Kick.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Megumi 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Well... as much as Sakura had wanted to try wheeling that leg overhead, beinging it crashing down onto Megumi... well, it's just not meant to be. Her arm is pulled away from her, she's rolled onto one side, settled upon, and held in a submission hold -- all according to Megumi's plan. Whether Megumi can actually -keep- the girl pinned there is another matter entirely, considering the strength she's exerting to try and break free. "Nothing's =working= tonight..." she hisses through grit teeth, even giving one last jerk against Megumi -- but it's to no avail, and, at least for a moment, her head sinks forward in defeat. But no -- it rises back up. "I'm not going down that easy!"
Megumi sure plans to try. She's staying down on the ground, continuing to apply the arm-bar since Sakura's still somewhat in her grip. It's possible Sakura's going to get loose any moment now, but Megumi tries to reinforce her hold and bend Sakura's arm back still. "Come on, tap out...I don't feel like hitting you..." It sounds like more of a request than a command, with how quiet she's become now.
COMBATSYS: Megumi successfully hits Sakura with Flood Reversal.
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Megumi 1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Drawing in a tight breath, Sakura howls with agony as her arm's bent just once more. She really can't fight back in this position, can she? Yet... she keeps trying. And it keeps hurting. But really, Sakura's just having lousy luck, and that's really what's coloring her decision. "... yeah, sure, whatever." She taps lamely on the concrete floor, sighing. "Megumi, you win." And pretty much goes limp, closing her eyes.
COMBATSYS: Sakura takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
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Megumi 1/=======/=======|
Megumi lets go immediately after 'win.' Absolutely no hesitation or lingering. She gets back up, and simply backs off from Sakura. No celebration like after most of her wins, she just steps backwards from Sakura, then turns and starts walking home. Megumi does not look very pleased about this at all.
COMBATSYS: Megumi has ended the fight here.
Sighing, Sakura calls out, "Megumi, wait." Taking a deep breath, she sits up. "I... hurt. Not that it's your fault... I mean it is, but it isn't." Ruffling the back of her head, she glances over, amidst the silent crowd. "But look... you gave me a good fight, and I'm sitting over here and =nothing's= =working=. If you wanna take offense to that, go right ahead." Pushing herself back to her feet, she dusts herself off as she continues. "I shouldn't have entered tonight, that's all. I'm not gonna make any excuses for it." Shrugging lightly, she then waves to Megumi. "Gimme a call tomorrow or somethin'." Once more, she wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, once more prodding at the bandages on her face, wincing lightly at the reddening stain, and the reopened wounds beneath. "We can go get some ice cream or somethin'."
Megumi stops when asked to wait, looking over her shoulder at Sakura. "I'm not taking offense at you." A rather 'dead', quiet response. She sets her arms wide apart, then high and low to create one of those thin red restorative 'walls' of hers, and pushes it towards Sakura. Full-sized one, as big as any other she's made. She doesn't stay to watch the results though, just turning again and walking off while the wall floats towards Sakura, likely to wash over her and fade away.
Sakura closes her eyes, sighing as the wall washes over her. Just like the request to tap out -- it was an olive branch from Megumi that matched everything Sakura had been hoping for ... yet, still tainted with shame. She'd wanted to run out of the way, let the wall fade on its own, but that would have been stupid. "Y... y'know, I..." She starts to say something else, but just turns on her heel, and walks the other way. "Congrats. And thanks." Shaking her head, it's hardly sincere -- though that's probably because the schoolgirl's already reasoned it's silly to hold a conversation when there's a few hundred people about, hinging on every word. She puts on the fakest smile she can manage before pushing through the crowd -- obviously, not wanting to be anywhere close to public now.
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 07:32:24 05/30/2005.