Description: On a chance mall meeting, Karin manages to get a match out of Shingo since their last attempt at one was interrupted. However, Shingo's eternally-grinning technique takes down Karin with ridiculous ease, and the two fighters part before anything is settled. Will Karin EVER actually win a fight? Or does she have to learn to smile first? Don't worry; be happy!
As is typical of the Southtown Village Mall on a late summer afternoon, it's fairly busy here, though not as much as it will be in a few hours when the city's workers get out of the office. Filled with students on break wistfully window shopping, it's certainly a stark change for Karin Kanzuki, who's spent the last god knows how many days meditating, alone, in a van down by the river. Alright, so no van, but the picture is fairly clear: Karin had to get out of the Kim family Robinson's dojo and get some air before she lost her mind.
Rather unexpectedly, however, she's here alone. Usually Kanzuki shopping trips involve a much-burdened butler or aide trailing in Karin's wake under a sea of boutique bags, but for the moment she is alone, sitting at an outdoor table in one of the parks, drinking something white and frothy out of a Starbucks cup and leafing through a small, red-covered book; sitting next to her drink on the table is a small, handled paper bag from a local bookstore.
The Fates must've smiled down on Karin this day. While she may be alone at the moment, it doesn't stay like that for too long. For naught but about less than ten minutes later gallavanting through the streets is none other than one of the many Taiyo fighters who also happens to be the significant other of Miss Kanzuki's rival. Whom she coincidentally enough had a nice conversation with yesterday as well. What are the chances? Apparently extremely good! Or bad. Depending on how she looks at these things.
Want to know how you can tell it's Shingo? You know, besides for the blue modified school unfirm and Kusanagi-type gloves. It would have to the be goofy grin adorning his face. Cause come on. There's no other 'doofus' around that can be -that- happy all the time. If anyone has seen Shingo at the mall before they'd know that he usually has a bag or two on him with model figures inside. Today, however, his hands are clasped behind his back as he hums a tune to himself. That is until he spies the blonde heiress sitting at the table. Friendly as always, he decides to say 'hello'. Not like he could resist since he's been saying 'hello' and 'good afternoon' to every single person he's passed by. "Hello Karin~!" Shingo chimes.
Shingo's greeting catches Karin mid-sip; she puts down the drink, some sort of milkshake-looking thing, and gives the approaching Mini-Kyo an appraising look before setting down the book as well. She doesn't necessarily smile, but she doesn't call in an air strike either, so the ledger looks clean for the time being. "Ah, Shingo," she greets, giving a nod. "It would seem we are destined to run into each other lately." Seeing he has no bags, she waves a hand at the chair opposite her at the table. "Have a seat, if you'd like."
And then she busies herself cleaning up the table itself, pulling the bag and the drink closer to herself and gently folding the book closed before slipping it back in the bag. What was Karin reading so intently before Shingo arrived? "The Tao of Pooh". If you look in the bag before she yanks it to her side, one could also see "The Te of Piglet" inside it. Someone's taking a roundabout approach to meditation, it would appear.
Shingo nods and does as she suggests. He's in no rush to be anywhere at the moment so why not? "Thanks." Choosing to sit on the opposite end of the table from her, he does catch the titles of the books out of the corner of his eye and inwardly chuckles. Hahaha. Pooh and Piglet indeed. "So how's it going? Taking a little breaking from all your shopping," he asks motioning to her bags with his head. Also glancing around quickly he notes that her helpful assistant is nowhere to be found, "Where's that guy that's always with you?" Well. He can't say always. Because he wasn't there at the dojo yesterday either.
A raised eyebrow. "If you're referring to my aide, Shibazaki..." She scans Shingo's face for a moment, and in a moment of rare generosity supplies: "...the tall one, he's in charge of zaibatsu affairs while I am training. It would be inappropriate to take him away from work to carry a single bag." That last bit sounds the tiniest bit... rehearsed. Just a little. Was she coached? Perhaps more momentous is the fact that she just said her aide -- the man who carries her shopping bags -- is currently in charge of one of the world's most powerful corporations. Shock and AWE.
"As for myself, I came to get some reading material and to get out into the world a bit." She glances around at all the people wandering through the mall, then back at Shingo. "Perhaps Ryu is so strong because he can dedicate himself so fully to seclusion..." A pause, and she visibly struggles with how to word the rest of the sentence, settling on: "...but I, for one, was beginning to lose it and needed some fresh air and a frappucino." There!
Hee. She wouldn't be the only person to think that of the World Warrior. "Heh. Not perhaps. I think that's it exactly. At least that's what Mister Masters says..." Shingo trails off with a smile. Not that he has to wonder about the realiabily of Ken's information; being Ryu's best friend and all. "Yeah. I don't know how he does it. He's got like super extreme discipline. Like he's a monk." With all the swearing off of alcohol, meat, and women. Except in the Ansatsuken master's case it's just alcohol. He thinks. He knows the man definitely didn't swear off women. Though that reminds him that he hasn't seen Chun-li around in a while. Must ask Sakura about that. But anyways.
Shingo nods and totaly missing any thing that was supposed to be significant in Karin's words. He's not overly familiar with her family's business nor the role of the employees so has nothing to worry about. Like he was worried anyways. "Ah, that's cool." Shingo snickers, "Funny though. How you leave the -countryside- and come to the -city- for 'fresh air'." Think about it. It is funny. Oh the irony of it all.
That earns a brief chuckle from Karin. "I don't know that I like the countryside. The Kanzuki manor is rather isolated from society," she explains. HOUSE ON THE HILL. "Yet I feel most comfortable when I am staying here in Southtown, or during the year at Seijyun." She takes another sip of her drink and puts a hand to her cheek in thought. "Ah, Ken Masters... I really do need to speak to him, sometime. I'm certain our people can have that arranged." About *what*? Who knows?
After a moment, Karin glances at Shingo. "What brings you out here, anyway? You don't look like you've done much in the way of shopping," she observes, waving a hand at Shingo's... well, lack of bags. "Simply out for a walk?"
"Actually, I just got here. More or less." Shingo muses as he strokes his non-existant beard, "Though a walk sounds good too!" Heheheh. Doofus really is an apt title for him. "Honestly though. I've just had some time to kill so I figured I'd check out the mall for any new figures that may have come out." This talk of Ken did catch his curiousity for a minute. Only a minute though. It really has nothing to do with him so why concern himself with the details? Because he's such a mannerly boy he nods with interest as Karin explains herself to him. Even if she didn't really have to. But eh. He'd never tell her that.
"Aha," the blonde replies evenly, finishing off her frappucino and placing the cup in a nearby garbage can. "Well, it is a pleasant enough day for..." A pause, here. "Figures? As in, people watching?" she asks, genuinely curious. You're looking at a girl whose childhood hobby was probably playing stock options and who goes to an all-girl's high school. 'Figures' is an accounting term to her. "That's certainly one way to kill time."
People watching? Ahahahahah. No. That does incur a laugh from him. A big laugh. She should try out for stand-up comedy with lines like that one. Sniffing and almost wiping a tear from his eye, if he had one, Shingo explains, "No no no. Nothing like that. I mean like model figures. You know. Like mini-statues or action figures type of stuff." He says this with a grin. This sort of thing being somewhat dear to him. Good thing she hasn't seen his room or she'd likely think him crazy. Or crazier. Whatever the case may be. "But you were saying? Pleasant day for...?" The boy scratches his head wondering what it is she was going to say before inquiring about his hobbies.
Action... what now? Karin just gives Shingo a sort of blank expression, the one typically reserved for people speaking insane languages like Sanskrit. "I... see," she lies. "Well, it certainly is good to be able to pursue one's hobbies freely." And with that, she stands, stretching her arms out over her head. "Speaking of... how about a match, Mister Yabuki?" Karin asks. "Except for one rudely interrupted by the perky blonde man, we haven't had one." She gives him a grin, to at least let him know she's playfully teasing. "After all, you do keep avoiding me in Saturday Night matchups."
COMBATSYS: Karin has started a fight here.
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Karin 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here.
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Karin 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shingo
Perky blond man...huh? "Oh! Yeah, heheheh. You mean Benimaru, eh?" At the suggestion of a match he rolls his head around on his shoulders, a smile replacing the grin on his lips. "Well. That wasn't really a match, was it?" Interlocking his fingers together and resting his elbows on the table when he leans forward, Shingo then goes on with a grin to answer her own, "And what do you mean -I- keep avoiding you? It's not like it's -my- fault you always get paired up with my teammate. I mean. All you had to do was ask I'd be more than happy to switch partners."
"Hmph," Karin notes with a derisive expression. "The Kanzuki way isn't to jump rails when things look dire... well, with one possible exception." When fighting Xiangfei means you're about to get *executed*, turning around and running is a perfectly acceptable alternative. "What I start, I follow through on." She looks a little more serious than Shingo's retort probably called for, but then again, that just might be Karin being Karin.
"Allow me to demonstrate. En garge!" Bracing herself against the ground much like a sprinter might, the blonde dashes forward and makes a grab for Shingo's shoulder, intending to simply push him right down onto the ground, a rather typical shoulder throw maneuver common to a lot of different fighting styles.
COMBATSYS: Shingo counters Quick Throw from Karin with Tsuki Hiji.
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Karin 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Shingo
En garge? Isn't it supposed to be 'en guarde'? Eh, it's a moot point by now anyways. Karin gets the first move in but it's Shingo that gets first attack and a bonus 5000 points. It's all faster than the normal eye can perceive. The two going from sitting to standing and battling in the amount of time it takes someone to blink. Less than even. It's how you can tell they're both high quality fighters. Being able to act and react at such a high speed that it's hard for 'normals' to even follow some techniques. Karin's shoulder throw brought to a quick halt from Shingo managing to use his free hand to bring his elbow down on her right where neck meets the body, "GECCHU!" Actually, just a few centimetres off from there. More in between neck and shoulder. Dropping her to the ground with the slam he hops back watching for her next action.
[OOC] Shingo says, "En garde, even."
[OOC] Karin says, "Was supposed to be 'en garde'. Remind me to mock your next typo in a pose."
That... hurt, but it's not enough to keep Karin down for long. In a remarkably acrobatic display the blonde does a sort of reverse kippup, pushing off the ground with her hands and doing a reserve somersault to her feet. "Well played, but I'm just getting started!" And here come the two palm strikes of Karin's Guren Ken... but the followup is different than normal; rather than going directly into the Hou Shou, she plants her foot and does a sort of curving jump similar to May Lee's Chop, bringing her right hand and then her right foot down in a perfect circle onto Shingo's shoulder, hoping to return that knockdown favor in her own way.
COMBATSYS: Shingo dodges Karin's Guren Ken.
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Karin 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Shingo
A good effort! Just...not good enough to catch Shingo. Getting that bit of distance between him and the blonde female was smart thinking on his part. Because of it he had ample time to witness Karin's next attack in order to choose a suitable way of handling it. His chances weren't the best from the way he saw it but he still goes for the dodge by tucking his head in to his chest and diving forward into a roll under the spinning circular chop from her. Surprise is on his face for a few seconds when he gets out of the manouever. Wait. He actually made it out without getting hit? Cool.
Now it's his turn. "Good! If we're going to do this we might as well give it our best, right? That way we have no regrets!" And with that he follows suit and jumps into the air as well. Unlike Karin's previous technique, there is no spinning around with a chopping-motion involved. Well. No chopping-motion with hands anyways. "SHINGO KIIIIIICKU!" The chopping motion comes from the boy's heavy legged kick intending to catch Karin just as she turns back around. Just not in the face. He would never hit her in the face. Or any other girl for that matter.
COMBATSYS: Karin fails to counter Shingo Kick from Shingo with Yasha Gaeshi.
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Karin 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
Our best? There's a laugh. The Guren Ken is handily evaded by Shingo, self-effacing surprise or no, and his signature counterattack blows right through Karin's carefully prepared counter stance, catching her right in the stomach and sending her back a few paces, before she pulls herself back into a wobbly fighting stance. The normally talkative fighter says nothing; instead she merely prepares herself for Shingo's next assault... and does not look too happy with herself either, that's for sure.
Ah, there's his good ol' trusty signature Shingo Kick pulling through for him yet again. It doesn't work one hundred percent of the time. But to most people it's close enough. Just not to Shingo. Still. It does seem to have a better hit rate than some of his other moves. Also known for breaking through even Rock's Joudan Crack Counter. So Karin shouldn't feel too bad that she wasn't able to catch the kick...-this time-. He did come in at her just as she turned to face him.
Shingo lands on his feet and wastes not a second following the kick with another one of his stolen moves from Kyo. From the crouch he landed in, the boy duck-steps forward to see if he can get in under Karin's guard and any other counters she may toss out at him. Only to spring suddenly like a sturdy jack-in-the-box upward with a swinging elbow into a backfist rising into the air and hopefully carrying Karin with him for the double hit to her torso. He's still taking care to avoid her face, "Oriyaaaa!" If he whiffs this, well...sucks for him.
COMBATSYS: Karin counters Oniyaki Mikansei from Shingo with Yasha Gaeshi.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
This time, however, Karin's ready for Shingo... in actuality, it's as if his kiai snapped her out of... something. There's one of those perfect moments where her expression, glazed before, snaps into acuity mere moments before Shingo's simulated Oniyaki comes into her personal space. The primary elbow meets the palm of Karin's lowered left hand; pushing down with it, she eats some of the force of Shingo's inertia, but uses her right hand to deflect it, a thrust at the chest designed to turn the momentum away and give Karin her space back.
Falling back into a fighting stance as Shingo recovers from her counter, Karin gives him an even expression. "I owe you an apology," she admits, taking a deep breath. "I let my mind wander and succumbed, for a moment, to distraction. But the next pass, I won't be on the defensive," she adds, her lips quirking just a bit into what would be the hint of a smile... if the rest of her expression weren't so grave.
Oh snap! He wasn't expecting another counter attempt from his friendly opponent like -right- after she just went for one against his Shingo Kick. That'll teach him to not expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything. One of his strongest specials. Patted aside so easily by the shorter girl. Not only that! She sends him sprawling on his backside to the ground. Of course it's only for a moment before he scrambles to stand up again. Still. It's the principle that counts. Regardless of her stance against him and landing on his butt, Shingo is still grinning. "Much appreciated! Though. How about we make it -now- the next pass then, huh? I need to take a rest anyways." Liar. No one with as much energy as he has ever needs to take a rest in a fight that just only started. Literally.
Shingo holds his Kusanagi-ryuu stance firm and looks to Karin; beckoning her to come at him with whatever she's got. He's ready for her. He doesn't hope. He knows. He thinks. Only one way to find out for sure. Though standing still probably isn't something he should be doing. Running around making himself a harder target would work out a lot better in the long run.
COMBATSYS: Shingo focuses on his next action.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
Grinning, Karin dashes in at Shingo. "Fine by me!" It doesn't take her long to close the distance, rushing in to try and get inside his guard as quickly as possible. Once she gets close enough, the blonde does a tiny little hop, with a mid-air turning punch that seems to be a tiny bit too far outside Shingo's guard to do her any good... mainly because, it becomes immediately clear, the punch was a faint; using her landing to plant her left foot Karin immediately brings the right leg up in an arcing kick attack intended to lift Shingo right off his feet, with the immediate and identical follow-up kick from her left leg, carrying her briefly into the air, to add to the applied force. "Mujin Kyaku!"
COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Shingo with Mujin Kyaku.
- Power hit! -
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Karin 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Shingo
All it is really is a simple kick. The type of kick some typically use when firing a shot to the groin area of males or to kick a ball. Which if you think about it, is more-or-less the same thing. So with it being so simple that would mean that it would be super easy to block, right? The speed of which notwithstanding. WRONG. So wrong. Shingo finds this out the hard way. He's had harder. But that one was still hard nonetheless. He wasn't distracted by the feint if anyone was wondering. What gets him is the shock from watching Karin's slender foot just totally and utterly crush his guard to nail him right in the gut. The force of which sending him stumbling backwards a few steps.
"Ow...that really hurt there Karin. Nice move!" If it hurts, then why is he smiling and giving her a thumbs-up? He must be a sucker for pain. Or he's having fun. Either way he's recovered and moving in at Karin again. This time coming in straight at her. Why waste time dancing about the place when a straight line is the shortest distance? So short that in a blink he's already reaching out to grab her by the back of the neck with his left hand reaching around to draw her near. A hug? Nope! Not even close! The hand slips free as he bends his knees to get low enough to slam the back forearm of his right hand straight into her torso. A hard slam that is bound to send her tumbling.
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Karin with Hatsugane.
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Karin 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Shingo
Well, that hurt. It's not that Karin can't track Shingo's movements; rather to the contrary, as he reaches in for the grab she's already in the motions of defense, but without sufficient leverage she can't fight the throw very well and gets the wind knocked right out of her. Stumbling back a few steps, she pulls herself into a fighting stance once again, but she's back to saying nothing... never mind that from the beating she's taken it already looks like she's given up on this fight. Definitely insofar as she doesn't make a return attack, merely watching Shingo's movements instead. "That eternally-smiling face..." she murmurs, more to herself, but it's perfectly audible. "...is beginning to annoy me."
COMBATSYS: Karin focuses on her next action.
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Karin 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Shingo
She says that like he's doing it on purpose to irk the heck out of her. Rest assured. He's not. It's the way he is. He can't help it that he enjoys life so much that he sees no reason to frown or be upset/frustrated at all. If he had his way everyone would be the same. But as they say, can't please all the people all the time. Ah well. He'll do what he can. After their convesation yesterday, Shingo can understand why this is frustrating to Karin. Here he is grinning and skinning the whole match while she's not doing so hot against him. If he were in a similar situation and had a similar personality, he'd want to stuff him into a barrel upside down too.
At this point he simply nods and does his best to quell the smile. Beyond that...nothing else is exchanged verbally. She's gotten more serious than before so he'll accomodate her by keeping the smiling down. Don't want to come across arrogant or anything. So know what he does? Jumps high into the air to come down on her with a rapidly descending fist towards her. The boy angled in such a way that he'll strike her torso and not her head or face. He's just that good to do that. Hopefully. "Teya!"
COMBATSYS: Karin counters Fierce Punch from Shingo with Yasha Gaeshi.
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Karin 1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1 Shingo
Well, on the offensive didn't work so well for Karin last time, but on the defensive appears to be succeeding beyond expectation at this point. And in fact Karin has the last laugh, at least in terms of this particular meeting of attacks; the tried-and-true Yasha Gaeshi finds Shingo's incoming punch caught perfectly in the dead center of Karin's right palm, while the left sweeps down from the upper position to push him away with a redirection of the youth's momentum toward the ground; apparently Aikido is included in the many styles that make up the Kanzuki hybrid arts. "You hit quite hard," Karin admits as Shingo sails past her. "It was a mistake to try and go blow-to-blow with you."
Understatement of the year. Shingo hitting quite hard, that is. It's all he could do in order to be on the same level as all these folks throwing around energy blasts like confetti at a New Year's party. Since he refuses to channel his chi in such a manner since he wants to use -real- flames as opposed to chi manifestations, he has become very skillful in knowing how to and where to hit someone or something to make it more effective than normal punches. Not that it really matters with Karin flooring him -again- with her counter attack.
Giving her a nod he replies, "Thanks. And yeah, I get that a lot. You're not bad with them either!" Grin. Maybe it's safe now that she seems to be in a better mood? What isn't safe is the distance between him and her caused by Shingo rushing in again. This time darting back and forth in a wider distance. He's looking for that perfect opportunity through her defenses. There! He thinks he sees it! "An opening!" Shingo darts to the side and into a lunge coming in at a strange angle to Karin. It's not head-on nor is it directly perpendicular to her. It's like a sort of 60 degree angle. Whatever the precise angle, it's still a hook punch body blow.
COMBATSYS: Karin fails to counter Aragami Mikansei from Shingo with Kanzuki-ryu Kou'ou Ken.
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Karin 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Shingo
Considering Shingo witnessed Karin's previous fight against Sakura, and her rather inventive use of a simple thrown rock to defuse an incoming Hadouken, he's probably aware that one of her hallmarks as a fighter is improvisation; she's used to modifying attacks on the fly to fit the situation. And it seems, as one of Shingo's stolen Kusanagi blows comes in for the hit, that she's about to do the same.
Of course, 90% of experimentation is what is generally called 'trial and error'... so into every trial, a little error must fall. Karin's stance as Shingo's punch comes in -- an odd bending of her right leg to make a sort of possible circle with her raised right hand -- is very, very awkward for receiving an attack. "It's all or nothing... Kanzuki-ryu, Kou'ou...!" But she doesn't get to finish. The plan had been to use the downward scythe of the first hit of the Kou'ou Ken to knock the Aragami out of the way and follow up with the rest, but it just doesn't work; the punch lands and sends Karin spinning backwards and into a very, very shaky stance. It really did look like she bet it all on that one attack. And lost, big time.
She may be counting herself lost. Not Shingo, though. He knows better. He's seen fighters on the verge of being out of the fight just...flipping out, for lack of a better term, and simply turning the tides on an opponent into a tsunami. This could be one of those cases. He doubts it though. She doesn't seem to be thinking well of herself. And as anyone knows, a fight is mostly mental. That must be why he usually does so well. Always looking on the bright side of any situation. Very glad that her little tactic didn't exactly pan out for her. Though he would like for her to enjoy this too. Ah well. Can't please everyone all the time.
Instead of pressing the advantage on Karin, Shingo takes a step back and stands. Not in a stance or with fists held up. He simply...stands, scratching his head. He's no psychic, but he can pick up on how people are feeling. Sometimes. Most of the time it's 'if they're not smiling then something must be wrong'. "Uh...Karin? I hate to do this. But eh, can we cut this short? I just remembered that my mom wants me home to take care of something. I got so side-tracked with looking for new figures that I forgot." He rubs his head obviously feeling really embarrassed about this and even chuckles nervously.
COMBATSYS: Shingo takes no action.
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Karin 0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1 Shingo
Breathing heavily, Karin actually stares at Shingo uncomprehendingly for a moment. There's a very determined look in her eye; it's the type that really would make someone 'go tsunami', as Shingo just put it. However, she eventually forces herself to stand down, putting a hand to her forehead and running it through her hair before looking back at Shingo with... it's not exactly anger, but it's not the most forgiving expression in the world, either. "I don't need your pity, Yabuki," she snaps. "But in the interest of magnanimity I'll presume you're not making up such a textbook-sounding excuse and agree." There is a leaden pause as she walks over, taking her bag off the table, and turns back to Shingo. "But this isn't over. Have a good afternoon." And then she's on her way back to the Kim dojo without another word; it's a long walk, and better not to show him her face after that comment, for serious.
Hey! With Shingo one can never be sure. He has been known to get sidetracked with his hobby and/or fighting and forgetting that he was supposed to do something for mom. It -has- happened before. So he isn't going to debate the subject with Karin. Especially not when she's in a mood like that. He lets it go and waves to her. Not that she sees it with her walking off. Shrugging he turns and makes a mad dash for home!
COMBATSYS: Shingo has left the fight here.
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Karin 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Karin has ended the fight here.
Log created by Karin, and last modified on 17:35:26 08/18/2005.