Description: In the grand tradition of Zero getting beat by two little girls and a bouncer, the mighty Iori falls to... two little girls and a few tennis balls. Lo, how the mighty have fallen! (Winners: Kula and Momo)
Spotlights flicker on in the Howard arena as the lighting for the audience fades out like a glorified cinema, a deadly hush falls on the stadium as the completely empty arena is revealed. Then, bounding up the walkway, is Momo in all her glory, hair tied back into those characteristic pig-tails, her white-and-red uniform clean and shiny, and of course, her racket- gleaming in the bright lights of the arena- looks as vicious as ever, she takes up position at the far edge of the ring, waving to whoops of adulation from the crowd as her classmates recognize her, and the few fans she had garnered from her, well, if nothing else spirited, performance from the previous week. Oh yeah! Tonight was going to be good.
And then those darn commentators start up.
"Good evening fight fans and welcome to Saturday Night Fight LIVE! I'm Johnny Diamond"
"And I'm Nick Gomez, and tonight we have another match of weird proportions, two young girls- Momo and Kula against the foreboding figure that is Iori! I personally think we're about to see a couple of little girls get stomped flat, but by the sounds of it the crowd really disagrees! But who knows? Momo put up a halfway decent struggle against her opponent last week, this could be the kids big chance to follow up on that success! And of course, Kula herself put on a fantastic show against the mighty Haggar! "
"I'm not so sure Nick, Iori isn't one to go down easy, I think the fight could easily be swung in his favor depending on the first few moves, if either of the girls gets taken out early on, then its all over, and you have to face it, Iori can really pack a punch, when you are talking about Iori you gotta remember this is the guy that took on Geese, and took him down!!!"
"Well, either way, this is guaranteed to be one exciting matchup! And with Momo already in position, it won't be long now before the attacks start flying here on Saturday Night Fight LIVE!"
COMBATSYS: Momo has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
There's a great deal of irony in the fact that Kula and Iori were just talking the other day, and were discussing why people fight. Kula had meant to talk to some other people about why they fight before entering the ring again, but after the incident with Kain, well, the girl was probably lucky to even be here now. Silent thanks are given to her natural ability to heal quickly when lying in bed asleep.
Even now, the girl still has a shiner on her eye that she's done her best to cover up with the efforts of Candy, but the few who have come to acknowlege Kula as a fighter seem able to tell, and whispers circulate through the crowd.
Kula waves to the people, silently boggled at the fact so many people are here for the fight, and closes her eyes for a minute to push down all her emotions. She knows Iori. He's her friend. ...and, well, now's that chance to test how well Kula's improved that they've talked about. She just hopes Momo can pull her own as the girl brushes back some of her hair, already blue from the ice crystals clinging to it.
COMBATSYS: Kula has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
The announcer banter never really gets to Iori much. He's here to fight -- whatever snappy comments they cook up can't get through his battle-hardened skin. Momo and Kula may break his bones, but words will never hurt him. ... Actually, he's fairly confident that Momo wouldn't have a chance of breaking his bones in a million years. Kula, possibly, but unlikely.
Glancing between the two as he saunters onstage, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his leather pants, a faint smirk crosses his visage. It's more for Kula's benefit than the little tennis star's, though. He doesn't pay the crowd any mind... right now his only goal is on the two young women before him. "Kula," he nods briefly, before turning to give Momo an equally encouraging nod. Even though he doesn't speak her name -- not concerned with her opinion, after all.
"... whenever you're ready," he intones, rolling his neck once, before tilting his shoulders forward, hands open and ready to fend off the junior fighters' attacks.
COMBATSYS: Iori has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
Momo smirks slightly, returning the nod... she picks up on that faint, underlying coldness, and the fact that her name isn't spoken, well, it hardly matters to her what this guy thinks about her, she was still going to fight and- with any luck- she was still going to win!
Momo adopts her usual, light, wavy dance, licks her lips and then, in a blur of motion, she produces a tennis ball from about her person, throws it into the air, and brings her racket off her back and round to slam the ball towards Iori as hard as she possibly can, the ball shooting forwards with pinpoint-accuracy, aiming right between Iori's eyes, she wanted to send him a clear message... she wasn't just going to be discounted from this match! She is every bit as much a threat as Kula... at least, in theory.
"Iori." The greeting is returned, though Kula's is undoubtedly warmer than his. Silently, she's hoping he's impressed by her. Out loud, she's experssionless, all that NESTS training coming to the fore. The girl nods to him, and then takes a fighting stance, waiting for the signal for the fight to begin. ...and apparently it begins when Momo pulls out that tennis ball from...somewhere. She doesn't even try to figure out where.
Even as Momo's ball whizzes past her, Kula is skating ahead, the ground around her freezing to allow her to do so, and then she twists once to fall back and land on her rear, bringing both feet up as she braces herself with her feet and continues sliding, trying to connect with Iori's shins and knock him off balance.
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Iori with Whale Serve.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Iori blocks Kula's Slider Shoot.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
Well, there's no doubt that Iori's impressed by Kula -- impressed enough that he doesn't even seem to notice the tennis ball whizzing towards him from Momo. Instead, he's keeping his attention squarely centered on Kula as she comes sliding in, dropping to one knee to fend her off.
Trouble with that is, of course, Momo's serve is much faster. Yagami's head ratchets backward from the blow -- he'd clearly underestimated Momo at the outset, but he's still confident she'll prove little more than an annoyance in this fight. (Not that it'll actually play out that way, of course -- that's just how Iori sees it.) It doesn't distract him greatly from Kula, though -- his braced kneeling position is such that Kula's sliding kick really doesn't hurt him as much as it ought to.
"Good," he compliments, his crimson-irised gaze flickering to Momo for only one fleeting moment. "But you're too close!" he rumbles, rising to his feet and surging forward at Kula in one fluid motion. The motion extends into a hard left gut punch aimed at knocking her back, and upwards -- setting her up for another step forward and an uppercut. "GURRAH! GURRAAAH!" Should both land, he'd continue the forward momentum, bringing both hands overhead and then slamming them down in a hammer blow for the girl's head. She's a friend of his, yes -- but this =is= part of her training, after all. "GURAAAAAOH!"
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kula with Aoi Hana.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
Momo blinks slightly... Iori barely seemed to register that attack! She obviously hadn't packed enough into that blow, Momo licks her lips again, taking a careful step back she hurls the ball into the air, and swings her racket round as hard as she possibly can, the projectile shooting forwards yet again with that same devastating accuracy, aiming for the same area as last time- hoping that, like wearing down a wall, continued hits at the same location would hurt more that dispersing the damage.
Of course, she wasn't willing to get into close quarters with the man, not just yet, after all, if she got in close, she left herself far more open to attack, besides, Kula was all too eager to keep him occupied for her, so for now she hangs back, maneuvering herself so that she can, if she is ignored again, get a clearer shot.
In truth, Iori's lack of recognition to her attack irritated her to her core... oh sure, the fight had barely started yet, but she was determined to prove to him- and the rest of the world- that she could compete on an even footing, and clearly she wasn't going to do that if she didn't put everything she had into this fight...
...too close. Right. Kula tucks that away in her brain even as the first punch connects with her ribs as she stands up again, and the next connects right under her chin. With her vision now consisting entirely of really bright lights and pain. Her arms seem to still be rising to block that first punch, showing a slight lack of reaction that will probably have Zero watching coldly on a television monitor back at home base. When Iori's fists connect with her head, the girl slams back down onto the ground, creating a nice pile of dust.
...that really hurt. Kula blinks her eyes open and then pushes back away from Iori immediately, the ground around her freezing again out of natural instinct. She tries to focus on where he was, and pushes out with her hands, two streams of ice coming from them and turning into spears to hit Iori and knock him back.
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Iori with Whale Serve.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Iori blocks Kula's Critical Ice.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
Yagami might not particularly -like- to hurt his #1 fan, but it's inarguable that it's serving a purpose here: getting Kula to put her mind in the fight. To that end, Iori's kinda glad that she's not retreating to safer ground here -- but rather bucking up and throwing something right back at him. Nodding in approval, he raises his forearms in defense. The twin spears of ice impact his guard, digging into the man's flesh for the split second before splintering and cracking as he twists his arms slightly. "Better." The fact that she's keeping to medium range -- probably a good thing.
Of course, about that time, Momo's serve comes rocketing in to ping him in the cheek again. Same spot, same ratcheting effect. Scowling, Iori flicks his gaze over to Momo. Again, the glance doesn't last long -- enraging his opponents is a strategy that works better for him in the long run. They might not be able to harness -their- rage to a good effect, but he can certainly use -his-. And that means Momo gets dissed AGAIN, as the tall Orochi halfblood drops his shoulders low, bull-rushing Kula before ascending into a rapid spin. His hands ignite with purple flame, as his hands rotate around him like a top -- a twin helix conflagration erupting in the wake of his attack. "KURAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Iori's Oniyaki.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
Momo cocks an eyebrow, she takes a deep breath. No, she had to remain calm, collected... if she didn't, her aim would falter and she would just get hurt- her getting really pissed off inevitably followed horrible, horrible pain. At least, that is the way it had worked in every other match she had been in.
And so Momo takes a careful step to the right, pulling out a third tennis ball and readies to strike a third time, she is not impressed by the appearance of the flames, after all, she had fought Kain, she was used to them, and so far this was nowhere near as impressive as Zero's attacks, hah, as long as Kula could keep him occupied, this would be a piece of cake.
The ball is again slammed out, the same spot targeted, although she doesn't pack quite as much force into this attack, instead carefully drawing herself in, preparing herself- she is not foolish enough to believe that Iori might actually just let her wear him down from afar the entire match... and three of her attacks- should this one hit- usually struck home that, over time, these attacks would really start to hurt.
Kula's apparently paying attention now that her vision is clearing. She didn't expect much of her attempt to push Iori away, but is happy that she finally gets a moment to shake her head and see what rattles free. As blobs start to turn into shapes, she can't help but notice that there's a blur coming at her. So, the girl does what comes naturally from all her training, she crouches and jumps over flaming fists and lands back behind Iori, the ground frosting over and icing as her skates form onto her feet again.
Taking a half-second to take a breath, the girl then immediately goes with a simpler move, twisting around on one foot and kicking at Iori with her skate, aiming for the small of his back. ...at least, she hopes it's the small of his back. Right now he's still a blurry Iori.
COMBATSYS: Iori dodges Kula's Medium Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Iori fails to slow Whale Serve from Momo with Yami Barai.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/------=|
Nowhere near as impressive as Kain? Why, Iori will just have to show Momo who she's dealing with!
But first, a brief message from Kula, communicated with the blade of her skate. He's already starting to grow tired of Momo's attacks, and such was already started rushing out of the way to take care of that little issue -- so the skate whistles past Iori's backside without so much as scratching the surface.
Now, where were we? Oh, right, putting an end to the tennis player's lucky streak. Once that third serve comes rocketing out, Iori's right palm flares with a brilliant purple flame. He's clearly intending to slam out a fastball of his own at the tennis ball that comes blazing forth -- but just as he's winding up for the pitch, Momo's tennis ball slams him, once more, in the face. He was running at the time, though... which means that not only does his head snap back from the impact, but he also lists over to one side, falling to the arena's hard floor, the flames in his hand nothing more than a wisp of smoke.
So much for that idea. Iori pushes himself back to his feet, crimson gaze cautiously assessing his two opponents. Clearly, this won't be the cakewalk he may have thought it to be.
Momo grins slightly, oh yeah, now -that- just goes to send a clear message out to the world. Momo isn't some kind of joke, oh no, right now, she was deadly serious. And she certainly wasn't going to give Iori time to recover from that last, painful-looking shot, and why mess with a winning strategy? If it took a dozen more tennis balls to take this guy down, why, Momo would just have to give them to him.
The queen of the courts winds up another ball, centers her breathing, and shoots it forward, pinpoint accuracy again, Momo had worn down walls in some of her training sessions, and now she was settling back into that same, steady rhythm, only with Iori's head in place of the wall... and so far, so good, as long as she could keep the distance between her and him, she should be able to keep this up for a good, long while yet. Finally! All her practice was starting to pay off!
Okay, Kula honestly has no idea where Momo is pulling these tennis balls from. But, whatever her secret is, it seems to be working. Kula misses with her kick, and spins around once from the energy she put into it. Well, now the crowd is cheering on Momo instead of her, which Kula doesn't mind one bit. Honestly. The less spotlight she has of her being slammed and blocked and dodged, the happier she is.
Kula pushes forward again, skating after Iori, and then goes for an attempt to hit him when he's down. She gains some speed, and then goes for that same attack from the beginning, this time trying two things different. One, she's aiming at the /back/ of Iori's ankles. Two, she hopefully has enough speed that at worse, she'll bounce off and slide out of easy arm's reach.
COMBATSYS: Iori parries Momo's Whale Serve!
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Iori blocks Kula's Slider Shoot.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 0/-------/------=|
Cheers? What cheers? Iori isn't paying attention to any of that. He's still focused on the two fighters -- and with Momo keeping her distance, the tall Orochi's fairly certain he can predict what's coming next -- a shot to the cheek. So with that in mind, he drops to one knee, turning to face Kula for a moment. She might be able to spot the frustration in his eyes as he stares at her wordlessly, dropping his hand to catch Kula's foot juuuust after the skate lands true on his ankle. Net effect -- the force of her strike isn't fully communicated to his shins. The front, not the back, due to his rapid pivot.
Scowling, he rises back to his feet, and just when it looks like Momo's serve is going to hit him as he turns around -- no! Iori's hand snaps up, backhanding the ball out of the air. "ENOUGH!" he howls, seamlessly shifting into a mad charge for Momo. Like before, he drops his shoulders in a bull-rush, though he's bringing the claws out for this one. He leads with a slashing overhand slash, only then shifting to deliver a low left punch to the stomach. His right uppercut -should- be perfectly timed to knock Momo into the air -- even if not, the twin-fisted axehandle he brings to bear on the tennis star's head ought to be more than enough to leave a mark. "GURAAH! GURAAH! GURAAAAH! GURAAAAOH!"
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Momo with Aoi Hana EX.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Iori
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Momo 1/--=====/=======|
Momo licks her lips, readying herself as the attack comes in for her, as Iori charges forward like a man possessed, dear god... such anger! And although she does her best to be in a position to block the oncoming onslaught, she is just a fraction of a second too slow, the brutal serious of attacks buffets her around like a rag doll, and culminates in her form being driven painfully into the ground, right by Iori's feet.
But Momo isn't out of the fight just yet, and with a sudden scream of her own she leaps upwards, swinging her racket around as she goes to bring those wicked reinforcement bolts up between her opponents legs, intending to drag them all the way up his body and then flip away, getting some distance between the two again, she does spare a glance over to her partner, and... unless its just a trick of the light, it seems obvious from the look in her eye that she is asking for a little assistance.
Kula isn't the type to let a partner suffer in vain! She's too slow to react as Momo gets hit /hard/, and immediately rushes after Iori, trying to catch up before Momo is sl- ...ouch. Kula flinches a bit, and then pushes forward again, claws of ice appearing on her hands. The girl jumps at Iori's backside and slashes with each one, spinning, hoping to get him pinned between the two of them for a minute, and remind him that she's a bigger threat.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Iori with Claw Bites.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Iori
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Momo 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Iori interrupts Spin Smash from Momo with Yumebiki.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Iori
[ \\\ <
Momo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Momo's low blow is a no-go. At least, not in the sense that she may have been planning -- because while she's in the midst of trying to put an end to the Orochi bloodline, he's also just a smidge ticked off at a girl who's tipped him over with tennis balls, of all things. Indeed, just as that racket comes upwards, Iori shoves his left forearm low to absorb the fury of the metal racket -- didn't hurt, and you can't prove it. But in the midst of doing so, he's also slashing his =right= arm overhead, talons spread wide as he brings them to bear on the tennis star in a broad diagonal slash. Stepping forward, he reverses the direction of his slash, bringing the back of his right fist back at Momo in a crushing blow. "KURAAAAOH!" he howls with rage, spitting once he stands up.
Though, leaving his back to Kula proves to be an immense liability in this case, as ginormous shards of ice slash across his back, carving gulleys into his thin leather shirt and forcing him to stagger forward in surprise. Whirling about with a wild-eyed stare at Kula, canting forward with a slightly ragged pant, Iori nods his head in approval. "... much better," he notes, restoring his guard.
Momo lets out a cry of surprise and pain as she is sent reeling, head over heels, to land heavily back. Darkness starts to edge in around her vision, but still, somehow, she manages to pull herself to her knees... god damnit she was /not/ going to go down after just two attacks! She just couldn't! She... she would be a laughing stock!
Momo tightens her grip on her racket, swaying a little, she suddenly charges forward, screaming a long, agonizing wail of sheer rage, her racket slashes out again and again and again at the unprotected back of the target of her rage as she covers the distance between her and her opponent in record time, the blows mounting up faster and harder and harder and faster until she seems more like a frantic, frenzied tornado beating at her opponent rather than an enraged little girl...
And then, as quickly as the assault started, it ends, her body just couldn't cope with the amount of stress she was putting on it, she couldn't sustain such a demanding attack for long, and so she sags to her knees, and then, very slowly, very gently, hits the floor. Her racket clatters to her side as her hand finally releases her grip on it, clear marks in the rubber handle from the sheer strength she had been gripping it with.
And only then does Momo let her traitorous body collapse into the warm arms of unconsciousness, only after the very last dregs of her strength had been thrown at her opponent... but again she does fall into unconsciousness, again she finds herself completely and utterly outmatched, but maybe after the impressive show she had put on, just maybe, she would be taken just a little bit more seriously.
COMBATSYS: Momo can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Iori
As the last bits of Kula's vision return to her, she Well, that could have gone better for Momo. Kula can only watch as the poor girl is beaten down, and she tries to skate around Iori to catch the girl after it's all over, and set her down gently. As the crowd gives a soft cheer of support for Momo for doing that well, and to cheer on Iori to win the match, Kula stands back up again, and focuses on him. "...I was worried she wouldn't be able to last long. But she did help." She crouches a bit, and then skates forward again, picking up speed as she goes, charging right towards Iori and then ducking down and bringing her hand up towards his stomach. She just... inches it against his body, but the force behind should feel like someone just hit him with a sizable weight.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Iori with One Inch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Iori
COMBATSYS: Iori blocks Momo's Momo Crush.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Iori
It isn't hard for Iori to weathering the storm of Momo's last-ditch effort to knock him over. It's part of his strategy to unhinge people, and get them playing right into his hands, after all -- he's quite familiar with panicked reactions, and so it's really not too much of a stretch for him to be able to handle them in turn. Sure, that reinforced racket hurts like crazy, but it's nothing compared to the Kusanagi flames.
And with as little damage as Momo's effort had done, Iori's suitably led into a false sense of security as the Anti-K' helps Momo to the arena floor, then charges him. It looks like a punch -- but in reality, it's a trick that he'd experienced first with K'. And with as battered as his forearms were, there wasn't -too- much chance of stopping it. Kula's fist, in other words, completely -nails- him in the gut, the accumulated force knocking him back a good three yards.
Pushing back to his feet, Iori seems... suitably impressed. "Much better," he appraises. No words for Momo? Well... she's likely too unconscious to hear them anyway. As for Kula, though? She's looking... awfully clean right now.
With an emotionless expression, Iori just shrugs his shoulders. "Now, how do you follow an act like that?"
COMBATSYS: Iori focuses on his next action.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Iori
Kula slides past Iori, feeling a bit proud of the fact her punch connected, and it's just bolstered by the fact he actually seems impressed. Turning on her heels to skate backwards from him, she feels her confidence rise some. If anger is some peoples weakness, confidence is Kula's. Skidding to a stop at a medium distance, she crouches down to observe Iori, and then smiles some. She raises her hand, ice crystals starting to swirl around it as she pushes up and spins, and then suddenly stops and puts the hand to her mouth instead of charging forward, and blows the shards of ice at Iori. A nice spray of crystals to dampen those flames some.
Yagami sees it as an excellent strategy -- which is why he offers one brief nod of approval, and even a bit of a grin back to Kula as she blows her ice crystals at the man. He's quite pleased, at any rate.
That isn't to say he's going to just -take- the attack full-force though. No... he's got something else in mind. His right palm extends to his side, an orchid of flame blossoming into existence with a flash. He focuses on the incoming crystals -- and suddenly clenches his fist tightly, crunching the flame into a dense ball. In the same motion, he's pitching that ball of flame forward.
It flares bright as it intercepts the crystals, a vibrant dance of light and color dazzling the audience with oohs and ahhs. Yet, the projectile still rockets onward, landing roughly at Kula's feet. As Iori pulls his hands back from the pitch, the ball of flame erupts into a gigantic conflagration, flames exploding in every direction.
And then... lightning strikes. Three bolts lance down from the heavens, threatening to jolt Kula into unconsciousness.
Unless she's got a better idea, of course.
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kula with Ya Sakazuki.
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Kula 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Iori
That...wasn't supposed to happen like that. See, the ice was supposed to hit Iori, and then Iori was supposed to do something really impressive. He wasn't supposed to just go /through/ her ice. Kula stares for a second at the power Iori brings out all of a suddenly, and when the projectile is launched, she throws her arms up, trying to get some ice cover. Unfortunately for her, it's not enough.
The ice quickly dissolves as the flames burst upward instead of at her, and the audience hushes as Kula ...screams. Not a very pleasant sound. See, this is what happens when she starts to get cocky and think she's going to win! The girl can't let her guard down for a moment. It's only through some miracle that when the lightning strikes, Kula goes quiet, and then collapses onto the ground, sizzling. Her hair looks somewhat fried, though the sheer amount of ice on it helped a little. Kula pushes back up to her feet weakly, her previous smiles gone now as she looks at Iori and steadies herself.
The girl charges forward, putting her hands together beside her. Bearing straight at Iori, she starts focusing ice energy into a swirling mass of crystals and snow between her hands, bearing right at him before she suddeny pulls her hands apart and jumps. The bundle of ice lands and shoots a stream out under Iori's feet, and Kula glides over his head, flipping upside down to slash at his backside with her hands, thin blades of ice forming over them. With luck, they'll connect and she'll land back on her feet again to slide away to safety. Not the ultrapowerful attack people might have been expecting in retaliation, but...surely, she must have /some/ kind of plan. ...right?
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Iori with Behind Slash.
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Kula 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Iori
Again... better than expected. Iori thought that blast would have felled her completely -- but somehow the girl's still standing. Slight problem there. She's giving the man a good fight, though, and he greatly appreciates that.
The aerial acrobatics? Well... he wasn't completely expecting that. Yagami moves forward in an attempt to step out of Kula's way, but it proves to be too little, too late: the blades of ice cut like a knife, loosing rivulets of Orochi-tainted blood as he steps forward with a mute frown. There's appreciation, and then there's bringing Iori ever closer to the point of collapse.
And there's also making him -mad-. The last blast wasn't driven by fear, or anger... but this one is, his will shaken by the sudden bloodletting. Will Kula ever forgive him for what comes next?
Twin blossoms of flame sprout from his palms as he wheels back around towards the young Anti-K', face pulled taut into a rictus of anger. One orchid is slammed down at Kula's feet, igniting into a fiery rage. The second follows suit shortly afterwards, the explosion growing by degrees. "KURAAAAH! KURAAAAAOH!" But then he brings his hands back with a howl, the madness infecting his cerebral cortex as he explodes into a violent rage -- and then SLAMS both hands on the ground before him, erupting a nasty fissure into the stone floor. "NGYAAAAAH!"
The crack isn't the problem -- it's the enormous, teetering column of flame that erupts from within it, threatening to swallow Kula whole within its fiery embrace.
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kula with Yami Sugi.
[ \\\\ < > ///// ]
Kula 1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0 Iori
Will Kula forgive Iori? Probably. Will it be any time soon? ...well, we'll have to see when she's really able to talk again. There's no scream this time from Kula, mostly because there's just no air for her to breathe in as the first column of flame hits her. The girl cringes, feeling her eyes burn past her eyelids, her mouth go dry, and her lungs burn. The second column hits her, bringing over another sensation as she weakly tries to get up some kind of defense, but there's just nothing to work with or fight against. If she encased herself in ice, it's likely she might just boil herself. Finally, the last column hits her, and the girl falls out of it looking /burnt/. The leather outfit is burned to a crisp on her, falling away in pieces. Her hair, well... Kula might have to wear a wig for a while. And get some extra ocnditioner. The girl just lies there for a moment before she weakly gets to her knees and looks at Iori.
Emotions? Not anymore. If NESTS wanted an ultimate weapon, it looks like they're about to find out what it can do. Kula's eyes flash for a second as a sheen of ice covers her, and then she slams one hand down on the ground, a flow of ice shooting out towards Iori and then a column spikes up to try to knock him into the air.
COMBATSYS: Iori dodges Kula's Freeze Execution.
[ \\\\ < > ///// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Iori
Eyeing Kula as her burnt clothes start to, er, fall apart, Iori seems a bit bewildered that the girl's even managing to -stand-, let alone get -up- from that attack. Of course, he's not quite as analytical as he was earlier in the fight -- from the hunch of his shoulders, it's clear his bewilderment is only a prelude to rage. And more rage.
Indeed, he doesn't waste too much time in snapping out of it -- as that spike of ice rushes out at him, he dives to the side, throwing his shoulder to the ground and snapping out with only slight delay, the ice rushing past harmlessly. It's a move borne of desperation, which ought to be a clear sign to Kula that his reserves are flagging.
But he doesn't seem to be -showing- it much, for the tall man seems to have little issue with striding close to Kula. It seems he detects movement from Kula, though, and he pre-emptively screeches to a halt, stutter-stepping to the side -- but his stance changes from hunched-over to upright in the blink of an eye. Instead of the punch she may have expected, Iori brings his boot high, swinging it overhead to come crashing down on Kula like a guillotine. "GUUUUUURAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Iori's Goufu In.
[ \\\\ < > //// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Iori
Kula can picture Zero at NESTS headquarters right now, watching the fight and jotting down on a notepad that Kula needs to be 'reconsidered'. And if Kula has one fear (not inluding K9999, he's just creepy), it's of NESTS deciding to cut its losses and make sure there's no evidence left. And from fear breeds desperation. Kula's pretty positive she won't be able to stand on her feet for long, but while she's still able to move, she'll do her best. Hopefully, the fact that Kula not only tosses herself to the side, but that she rolls out of it should be enough to make even Zero pause at his notepad. The girl spins to a stop on a small sheen of ice, and then pushes off again, her eyes not even really focused on Iori. To anybody else, it would be like fighting someone who's drunk.
Kula's hands coat with ice again, and this time she doesn't try anything clever. The girl simply dashes right at Iori, and then jumps, spinning in the air as her claws slash out at his chest once, and then again. If they hit, well, maybe there's hope for her yet. If they go deep, well, maybe NESTS will be impressed.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Iori with Claw Bites.
[ \\\ < > ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Iori
Impressed? Definitely. Pleased? Hardly. Iori hates a lot of things, and freezing cold is one of them. He'd fought for quite a bit to overpower this urge, to force his body to become acclimated to it, but in the end -- it still hurts like crazy. He tries to avoid it with another quick stutter-step, but it's to no avail: the icy stalagmite pierces his skin, loosing a mild spray of blood as it knocks him back a few feet.
Shaking his head in incredulity, Iori pushes himself back to his feet for one more charge. It's nothing fancy -- hell, it's nothing even all that difficult to see coming. But in the end, his last charge consists of little more than a stomp kick to the stomach, aimed at taking Kula down with him before he falls.
And he does fall to the arena floor, afterwards. It all comes down to that tennis player's help, doesn't it?
COMBATSYS: Iori can no longer fight.
[ \\\ <
Kula 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Iori's Light Kick.
[ \\\ <
Kula 0/-------/---====|
Apparently, the tennis girl's help came through! Kula, still wobbling like a drunk sailor on a stormy sea, and still with her claws on, twists sideways, one claw digging into the ice and broken up ground to pull Kula sideways. She spins around, the claw acting as a center point for her skating circle, and then pushes up with both claws ready again to dig into Iori...and then he falls. Kula just blinks, as if not really understanding what happened, and then looks at her hands for a moment and the claws she has. And even at the bit of Iori's blood still on them.
The claws seem to just melt off her hands, and then Kula slumps down to her knees next to Iori, and then tries to hug him to her. ...despite the fact he easily has 100 pounds on her. She won a fight...so why does she feel like she's about to cry? It's just the softest whisper to Iori, a simple, "I'm sorry," before she hugs him again. And she'll stay there until the medical crews arrive to wheel her out in a gurney. Those burns are going to sting like the dickens... as soon as Kula feels like feeling again.
Log created by Iori, and last modified on 00:10:14 08/21/2005.