Description: Jiro Kasagi is fined 5 credits for repeated socco voce violations of the Verbal Morality Statute. Oh, and ammunition and fuel from an incoming Shank Squad shipment are blown up too.
When the sun goes down in the city...
It's about that time of day, and one last shipment of arms and weaponry for the day is running late.
"There she is," hisses Sakura under her breath, lowering the binoculars to get a non-aided look at the ship coming in on the horizon. "The moment we've all been waiting for..." Bringing the binoculars back to her eyes, she pans over to catch a look at the Shank Squad guard contingent -- "... and the ducks ought to be lined up riiiight about... now." Grinning, she hands the binoculars over to Jiro. "Ready to bust some heads?" Their cover isn't much -- a small gap between two shipping containers -- but if all's according to plan, that won't really matter much.
The binoculars are sliding the Stray Dog's way. In response,t he young man takes the tool and gets a peek of what's going on. He snorts, pocketing the binoculars in his cargo pants. They're good for storage, after all. Focusing the eyes towards Sakura, the Stray Dog nods at the young woman. "Yeah."
Stray Dog's attire hasn't changed, he wears the same trenchcoat and black cargo pants. Well, there's only one difference. He's wearing a red scarf around his neck, and he smirks, "Let's crack their skulls."
Even at this time of day, there's a fair number of people working down at the docks. But most of them aren't really paying much attention to whoever might be lurking around. They're dockworkers. It doesn't really matter to them (well, some of them) who it is that they're unloading cargo for. The only difference here is that they're not used to working while men with guns watch over them.
There are a fair number of Shank Squad soldiers around, although not enough to prove a huge threat to any rebels that might be in the area. The shipment isn't unimportant, but it's not an absolutely critical one, so most of the forces are elsewhere in the city. A few Mad Gear thugs round things out. At the moment, a large shipping crate is being taken off the ship via a crane, and nobody appears particularly apprehensive. The soldiers are certainly keeping their eyes open (woe unto any soldier that has Rolento hear about him slacking off), but they're not really expecting any sort of attack.
Sakura's smile is much too saccharine for someone racing into battle. But, at any rate, she's learned a lot from action movies about weaving in and out of cover -- after a brief nod back to Jiro, she darts to one shipping container, pausing to peek around the corner and ensure no guards are watching before scooting to the next. Lather, rinse, repeat.
By this point, she's already internalized the last known locations of each of the guards. They've positioned wisely, so that she can't really sneak up on anyone ... but that's not to say the sneak isn't packing projectiles.
... Pennies, specifically. Raising her elbow, she snaps her fingers sharply, sending a penny sailing in a high arc over top of the nearest guard's head. But she doesn't stop there -- for the split-second that coin impacts against the side of a container, Sakura's springing into action with a leaping kick towards the side of that guard's head. Bam! Now, whether or not anyone else saw that guard fall is a different story... but it's one Sakura's less concerned about as she crouches low under cover, reaching for her guard's radio, and his sidearm.
As opposed to Sakura's smile, Jiro is more stotic as he looks into the docks. He races after Sakura, trying to keep himself hidden.
Enter Silent Dog.
Jiro is trying his best not to grumble, remembering that he -can- move stealthly. Besides, how else would someone be able to escape from Justice High without getting caught? The Stray shifts his attention around, noticing that the guards have positioned themselves to where sneaking isn't possible.
And the moment that Sakura has tossed the penny towards the nearest guard's head, Jiro shifts his head over towards the other guard. The Stray Dog leaps into the air, flipping over the guard's head while he has both hands grasping at the man's head. One of the hands cover the mouth, and Jiro aims to drop himself to the ground, with the guard's face turned and planted.
The Stray Dog is aiming to take his radio and side arm as well.
"...Let's see Solid Snake do that..." He mutters under his breath.
Well, it seems Sakura and Jiro have been paying attention to their action movies and video games. The first guard, turning to look in the direction of the penny, takes a foot to the side of the head and drops like a stone. The second guard just has time to start turning toward his companion, mouth opening to shout something, when he's cut off by Jiro slamming his head into the ground.
And just for the record, in his prime, Big Boss could pwn Jiro and Solid Snake together, and don't you forget it!
And now both guards are down, and their pistols and radios acquired. Nobody seems to have noticed that there's anything amiss so far... but sooner or later those guards are probably going to be expected to check in. Until then, though, the unloading continues peacefully. The cargo container has been lifted out of the ship now, and is slowly swinging through the air, heading toward the designated location for the shipping crates to be placed until they are picked up by trucks.
"Heh, not so tough..." comments Sakura, brushing off a spot of dust off her shirt. That's the trouble with getting down and dirty -- the dirt. Ah well. Kasugano tucks the clip from the gun into her jeans pocket -- black t-shirt and matching jeans tend to go better for these kind of ops than her usual standout uniform. The radio, naturally, goes on her belt. She keeps the gun handy too, but that's just because it's easier to keep it with her for hiding later.
Turning back to Jiro, she tilts her head, mouthing silently, 'C'mon -- we gotta few more guards to deal with!' And then she slips towards the dock itself, keeping her eyes peeled for any further guards.
Seeing that the coast is clear for the moment, Sakura glances once more to the descending container, before turning back to the guards she can see. Snickering lightly, she turns on the radio, and curls into a corner. Cupping her mouth to the radio, she adopts a a gruff voice and barks out, "C...crap, there's too many of 'em! *cough* We need *cough* backup on the north side of the harbor! It's that headbanded girl the boss warned us about! They've got *cough* smoke bombs now!"
She then peers out of her corner, to see if the guards take the bait...
Eh? Oh yeah, right.
The Stray Dog looks ahead, noticing the cargo container is being lifted out of the ship. He grunts, "How lovely." The young man shakes his head, following after Sakura once more. She is in control of the movement.
And once the coast is clear, he looks up a the guards, then he grunts. The Stray doesn't say anything on his radio, instead...
Jiro's just waiting to strike. He cracks his knuckles, his eyes becoming feral as a grin curls on the side of his lips. "...Come on... bitches.."
Radio isn't exactly the clearest form of communication, so the soldiers buy Sakura's act, for the moment. A number of them begin moving off toward the north side of the dock... but not all of them, by any means. There are still three overseeing the actual unloading of the containers, and another 5 patrolling other sections of the perimeter, but thankfully not near where Sakura and Jiro are. There were already two guys who were supposed to be in that area. The ruse drew off a good half dozen from the central area, however, and probably any patrols near the other end of the harbor.
Well, now the soldiers are down to a more manageable number. Sakura doesn't see the half-dozen or so around the perimiter, so she figures it should be safe enough to make her move. Waving over to Jiro, she points at the guard nearest him... while she then tears off running towards the two nearest -her-.
No sense in wasting a perfectly good pistol though. Ducking close to the nearest cover, she whips the unloaded firearm towards the nearest guard's head. But while that modern-day tomahawk is hurtling towards the guard, her hands are already snapping back to her side. Narrowing her eyes for a moment, she grins as a blue ball of flame comes into existence between her palms... before she shoves it forward at the second guard with a muted hiss, "hadouken!" Gotta keep up appearances and all.
Considering the diminished, shotput size of her fireball, they should both hit their targets at roughly the same time. Not the most -pleasant- way to go, but they'll get better eventually, right?
How lovely. The Stray Dog smirks at Sakura as he hears the footsteps. This is why the Stray Dog looks rather pleased. "Heh...Well... looks like we get to crack some skulls." He lifts his head up, observing out to get a good look at the patrolling Shank Squad members. A snarl curls on his lips as he tightens his fist.
Jiro immediately unloads the pistol, then he pockets the weapon. He'll throw it at someone's head later. The bullets too. But for now, the Stray Dog immediately looks up towards the two heading his way. He creeps towards the nearest guard, then he yanks him to the other side to body slam him towards the ground.
Not only that, but Jiro is planning to use the guard as a weapon, swinging him straight towards the other guard coming his way.
"Bitches."
LiX was.. Somewhere along the dock, making herself scarce as usual so that she could dig in on the most delicious bowl of ramen she's had in some time. Like a good responsible Captain, she's tucked away behind a crate, shoveling the bowls contents into her mouth with chopsticks, and nearly chokes when she hears the message coming from the radio.
Headband-girl? That couldn't be Sakura again, could it? "Oh snap," she mutters as she drops her bowl and clumsily slips on her gas-mask.. But there's no look of worry on her face this time, she'd been wanting a re-match for some time!
She hops over her hiding spot, taking a moment to see where the other Shankers are racing toward, and with another hop, follows after. Lifting her radio off her belt, her muffled tone hisses into it, "Just hold her off for now! I'll take care of her myself!"
It seems there was one other guard who wasn't immediately visible. Dimitri had been on the ship, going over the manifest and clearing things out with the captain, making sure that everything had arrived and was accounted for. Once gets off, however, it takes him a bit of time to get back to the area where all the action is. Running with a cane is a bit tricky. Although he does his best once he starts hearing the shouting on the radio.
His good eye narrows as he comes across the scene of Sakura and Jiro beating up the guards who were overseeing the operation. The violence also causes the dockworkers to start running, leaving the crane unmanned, and the cargo swaying slightly back and forth in the air overhead. The grizzled soldier shouts into his radio, ordering the troops back. Not that they can do a whole lot against real fighters, unless they get some really lucky shots. But there is Xiangfe- Wait. Where is she? Why isn't she at her post!? ...Oh, there she is on the radio. Girl is in /so/ much trouble after this.
Sakura pauses to think, frowning as she realizes the voice coming over the radio. Is that really Xiangfei? She cups her mouth over the radio again, but just before she can bark another confirmation... oh shi--
"Who the heck is this?" Kasugano mumbles to herself, whipping around to find the grizzled commander. What's up with that, someone's countermanding her skillfully-placed orders?! Narrowing her eyes as she finds Dimitri hobbling down towards her, Sakura acts first and thinks later -- running straight for the container! Gotta see what's in this thing -- the old man doesn't seem to be much of a risk at the moment. Though... it's hovering up in the air and all.
"Jiro!" shouts Kasugano. "Get to the crane, lower the container so I can get in!"
At this point, though, there's a pause since she's got to wait for that to happen. So she may as well address the ol' geezer. She realizes she can't just -hit- a guy with a cane though. "Hey, pops... better get a move on! Don't want you to trip and bust your skull open..."
After taking care of the guards, Jiro is watching them running way. A frown curls on his lips, "I was just enjoying sackbeating them too." He shrugs, then his eyes shift over towards the radio, "....What the hell?! ...That can't be her..." He peers, "You gotta kidding me...." He peers out, then he looks over to see the grizzled commander.
...Jiro's eyes widen.
"What the...."
~ Is that...is that Big Boss?! ~
Great. Looks like FOXHOUND is with the Shank Squad. Lovely. The young man is caught back into attention to hear Sakura, "...Gotcha!" The young man immediately sprints towards the crane, climbing on.
After fitting himself on, the young man is pressing the on switch.
"Okay... what the hell to do..." He rummages along,t hen he pulls. "Ah.... here we go..." He pulls the switch out, then he lowers it down. "Ah! So far.. so good..." He gives Sakura the thumbs up.
...Let's hope he can continue the motion without screwing it up.
While she instantly recognizes Jiro, even in his interesting ensamble, she's pretty confident that he wouldn't recognize her. While she wasn't on best terms with the Stray Dog however, she seems rather suprised to see him- Was this a set-up? There didn't seem to be any problems, at least out of the ordinary elsewhere.
The Shanker drops from above and heavy boots crash to the ground in a kneel beside Dimitri, then hops to her feet.
And promptly double-takes to the higher-up, snapping into a salute with a nervous, ".. Eh-heh.. Ahem!" Attention shifting then to Sakura, she points to the schoolgirl, her tone muffled but still somewhat clear, "Don't worry, he's not the one you're going to have to deal with. You've got guts, but this time, I'm not letting you get away with your off-beat shenanigans!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|
Dimitri's certainly no fool, so when he sees a teenager running for the crane, he makes damn certain that he's not standing underneath the cargo container. He doesn't seem to react to being called 'pops' by Sakura, instead gesturing toward her with his cane as he looks at Xiangfei. "Take care of her. Backup should be arriving shortly."
As for Jiro? Well, Xiangfei's only one person, and she can't be in two places at once. And the rest of the soldiers are either disabled, or still on their way. So it looks like if he wants something done right, he's going to have to do it himself. That in mind, he starts heading toward the crane, and he doesn't look very happy.
COMBATSYS: Dimitri has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|
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Dimitri 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Jiro
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Dimitri 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Jiro
Well, gee, Sakura -was- just gonna wait for Jiro to do the needful in lowering the cargo container... but geez, that crane takes -forever!-
But right then, LiX appear rike ninja! Did she jump down from the crane itself? Who knows? The point is... she has an opponent now!
Flashing a thumbs-up to Jiro, she nods back at her opponents. ... Opponent. Narrowing her eyes at the old man, she nods... realizing she has her own hands full. "Bring it on then! I'll even give you a head start this time!" She flexes her bicep, grinning as she tilts her head to indicate the container. "'Cuz that box drops in thirty seconds, and that's -all- it'll take!"
When Kasugano lowers her hands though, they're in tightly-clenched fists -- a blue wind swirling its way around her in a helix. "C'mon, your deal!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Jiro
After lowering the crate, the Stray Dog gives Sakura the thumbs up, then he looks over at the old man coming up. "...Heh." An amused feature is marked on the Stray Dog as he tightens his fist. "Heh...Well then, Big Boss..." He leaps over from the crane.
While soaring in the air, the young man immediately draws his right foot into the air. "Let's see..." He brings the right foot back, then he extends both legs out in his attempt to tackle Dimitri down with a drop-kick pin.
"If you got spunk in you."
~ ...If this asshole pulls out a Metal Gear, I'm going to sack beat anything that looks like a FOXHOUND member. ~
Thirty seconds? The chinese warrior glances upward a moment, and then back to Sakura through the tinted visor, an unseen smile on her face. It would seem for the time being that they were at least on better terms than the first meeting, though admittedly, Xiangfei was slightly bitter, and clearly not intimidated by the King of Fighters champ, "Geez, you sure let things get to your head real quick, don't you," she mumbles, but she takes the offer, she sweeping forward, right palm lashing out to try and tag the schoolgirl in the chest. The strike a temporary paralyzing blow allowing her to whirl in a 360 and drive her elbow into the tagged spot, "Hnn!"
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Dimitri with Heavy Kick.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Jiro
Now, Dimitri may have only one eye, and need a cane to move around, but even for him Jiro's kick is quite well telegraphed. He may not be able to move fast, but the time it takes Jiro to actually get out of the crane booth and jump gives plenty of time to get out of the way... if he hadn't misjudged the angle at which Jiro was going to come down.
And Dimitri hits the ground hard as Jiro lands on top of him... but what's that small shiny device that Dimitri tosses toward Jiro's face, even as the old man is hitting the ground? And why is he shutting his eye and covering his ears? Because a moment later it explodes with an extremely loud bang, and flares with a bright flash of light, right at the level of Jiro's head.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Xiangfei's Senri Chuu'ou.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Jiro
Well... yeah. Overconfidence is one of Sakura's ills that might never be cured. Though when Xiangfei comes rushing forth, the Ansatsuken prodigy doesn't intend to leave an opening for her. Rather, she thrusts her hands forward, catching the palm strike on her padded handguard. And the followup elbow is caught by an open palm and shoved off to the side. "Hey, if you got it, why not flaunt it?!" she cracks back, before leaping into the air, spinning her foot around like a helicoptor rotor, square into Li-X! "Shunpuuuuu Kyaku!"
The video game references are lost on her though, seriously. She might call someone 'big boss' if they were big, and... bossy. Yeah. Like Geese.
COMBATSYS: Dimitri successfully hits Jiro with Flashbang.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Jiro
After landing on the old man's chest, the Stray Dog gives off a smirk as he has a pleased look on his face. He grunts while the old man is throwing someting at his face and he is covering his eyes. Crap, Jiro will have to protect himself.
Unfortunately, he doesn't get the chance to as he is hit against the face with the explosive. The young man is grumbling to himself as he's reeling back. "My eyes!" He hisses, covering his face. "Son of a...." He gets off of Dimitri, stumbling around as he is staggering to the left and right. He growls..
...He lunges forward, aiming to grasp at Dimitri's shoulder to lift him up. Oh, he is going to get this asshole good. "Not bad...."
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Sakura's Shunpuu Kyaku.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Jiro
LiX hmnns. Didn't move quite fast enough, as usual Sakura was at the top of her game. The chinese girl just lowers her head and shakes it as she shrugs, "Oi oi oi," never mind were they in each others shoes she'd do the same. The leaping kick then spinning her way, LiX manages to block the first and deflect the second before stepping to the side.
She wasn't really worried about time here, a few well-placed blows should take the schoolgirl down, she'll just have to be craftier about it. Boots parting a bit, she punches a fist into her open palm, golden chi bursting upward and swirling around her form, "Ok!!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei gathers her will.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Dimitri with Strong Throw.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Jiro
After lifting Dimitri back up to his feet, Jiro smiles, "However... put it... **** it." Jiro immediately draws his right foot out towards the man's stomach to tilt Dimitri forward, then he turns around to wrap an arm around the man's neck while his back faces the old geezer.
Then, Jiro drops the weight down as he makes his way to snap Dimitri's neck to the shoulder.
THE STUNNER! THE STUNNER! Jiro has put Dimitri into the Stone Cold Stunner! And to top it off, Jiro throws the middle finger at his direction. "Not good enough."
Well, Jiro does have a bit of a mobility advantage over the old man, after all. Dimitri can't get out of the way that quickly, and it seems that Jiro's attacks are deceptively fast. The arm wraps around his neck, and his head is jerked to the side, but it seems that Jiro did make one mistake... Dimitri may be missing a leg, and have some damage to his spine... But his upper body is still in fairly good shape.
While Jiro is playing around (painfully) with his neck, Dimitri is slipping a rather nasty looking knife out of the handle of his cane. He then proceeds to ignore the sharp pain of his head being slammed to the side, to jab backwards with the knife in an attempt to drive it into Jiro's flesh. And then drag it down the boy's body with as much strength as he can muster.
Frowning as her kicks land against a guard that seems a bit more solid than her own, Sakura scrambles a few feet away from her gas-masked opponent. "What, you want me to slow down so you can take notes or somethin?" she calls in response to Li-X's cries. Smirking back, Sakura brings her hands to her sides, shaking her head. "Nah... sorry, no-can-do."
Though when Xiangfei tries to draw things out a bit more, Sakura raises an eyebrow. "Oh, you want some chi?" Winking back as the blue blossom of flame swirls about in her palms, she asks, "Here, take some of mine!" Taking one step forward, she looses the two-meter-wide blast at Xiangfei with a cry of her own: "HADOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Dimitri successfully hits Jiro with Knife Gouge EX.
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Xiangfei 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Jiro
After giving the man the Stone Cold Stunner and flipping the man off, he is preparing to stomp Dimitri down. Unfortunately, Jiro is greeted with the nasty looking knife towards his flesh. "Arrgghhh!" Jiro releases a hiss as he feels the blade penetrating against his flesh. He pulls back from the older man, grimacing in pain.
That is when Jiro ignites his lightsaber. Drawing his hatred out, Jiro channels the violet flames to engulf his hands. Both hands are consumed by the flames as he seeks to push himself back to let the blade out. Drawing the hands out, he condenses the flames to form the chi-made katars. "You'll regret that, geezer." He lunges forward, aiming to swing the blades towards Dimitri's arms and chest with graceful swings of his hands.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Sakura's Large Hadouken.
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Xiangfei 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Jiro
Oh that Sakura. There's just no stopping that girls quips and smart alec remarks. She'd probably be firing back some of her own if she weren't.. You know, having some minor complications involving giant fireballs. But yeah, chi. Xiangfei was totally all about chi, and with her blaze still going, she hops forward to take the ball head on, or rather crossed-arms on, forcing it too the side, "Nggh!" she was probably going to pay for that later. Hand then quickly plant to the ground and she springs and backflips toward the schoolgirl, she stops just short to strike at the girls shoulder and force her to turn around. This would leave her open for the jump kick at the back, "--YAH!"
COMBATSYS: Dimitri blocks Jiro's Odious Fang.
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Xiangfei 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jiro
Dimitri's old, but he's not /completely/ out of it. When Jiro comes swinging in with his energy blades, he finds one of his hands knocked away by a sharp blow from the older man's cane, and the other hand is grabbed by the wrist. That's not quite enough to stop the chi-blade from reaching Dimitri, though, and the tip of it still manages to dig into the man's flesh.
It does, however, present a nice opportunity. Dimitri is still holding his cane in one hand, the knife discarded for the moment. He has plenty of others. His eyes dart around for a split second, and that's all it takes for him to come up with a plan. Risky, yes, but he's hardly in his prime, so he's going to have to take some chances if he wants to have any success against a younger, stronger fighter. For the first stage, he lashes out with his cane at Jiro's legs, while using his grip on the Stray Dog's arm in an attempt to flip him off his feet, and hurl him down to the ground a short distance away.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei successfully hits Sakura with Shinsaiha.
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Xiangfei 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Jiro
Yeah, well... Sakura really doesn't wanna get hit right now. It'd kinda hurt.
Tough beans -- it happens anyway, and Sakura's spun around for that punishing jump kick to the back. "Nnngh!" she shouts, stumbling forward before face-planting into the side of that container she was trying to get into. *CLANG!*
She's quick to spin back out of it though, whirling back to face Li-X. "Nice one!" She may be smug, but she'll still call a good hit when she sees one. Not that the vertical red bars on her face aren't speaking volumes already.
Of course, by this point, her hands are already sweeping to her side once more. If Xiangfei liked the last fireball, she ought to be more than pleased with the seething, crackling mass of electricity and blue flame that's surging forth in Sakura's palms at the moment. "Shinkuuu..." Narrowing her eyes at Xiangfei, she thrusts her hands forward, finishing it off with a cry of "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to counter Quick Throw from Dimitri with Bull Fist.
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Xiangfei 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Jiro
After drawing the fists towards Dimitri, the youth growls as he notices the shift of position as he knocks the chi covered blades from its course with the cane. "Grrr...!" He hisses, then he manages to hit part of his skin.
Unfortunately for Jiro, he is unable to get a firm grip on the man's arm. So instead, Jiro is given a smack with the cane, and he's smack towards the ground.
"Ughhh!" He is sent flying a few distance from the older man.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Xiangfei with Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Xiangfei 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 Sakura
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Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Jiro
LiX didn't mind the first fireball, that was cool, but the second one- She wasn't exactly nuts on the idea of trying to take that one head on, ".. Ohboy," she mumbles, wriggling her fingers, and at the very last moment tries to leap out of the way; no such luck!
Xiang goes reeling backward, tumbling long the ground and a muffled groan passes her lips.. That really hurt. However, she is back on her feet a little faster than even she herself expected to, ".. You too," she sputters, and she sprints forward, slowed a little by the sudden sting in her body. She tumbles foward, then once on her feet leaps at Sakura again, using the momentum to shoulder-rush at the schoolgirl.
Remember when Sakura told Xiangfei that the fight would be over before the container touched down in 30 seconds? Her estimate for the time it would take is perhaps a little low, because the crate still has a fair distance to go before it touches the ground... certainly far enough that there was room for Jiro to hit the ground underneath it. And Dimitri's plan becomes clear as he turns toward the controls for the crane, and whips a quickly drawn knife in that direction. Unlike the teenagers, he /does/ know just how it works, and even with one eye his aim is very good.
And the magnet holding the container up? That goes off. And a great deal of weight is now dropping toward Jiro. The stuff inside can survive getting a little banged up, and taking out a rebel is worth the trouble. Luckily for the Stray Dog, however, the container doesn't quite fall straight toward him. The end furthest from him hits the ground first, and the container bounces away, crashing to the ground a short distance from him. The shock, however, is enough to jar loose the door at one end of the container. Apparently it wasn't properly shut. And /that/ is still in a position to crash down on Jiro, and even if it won't squash him like a bug, it's still quite heavy.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Xiangfei's Ekisupo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Xiangfei 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Sakura
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Jiro dodges Dimitri's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Xiangfei 1/-======/=======|=------\-------\0 Sakura
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Jiro
Shoulder rush? Sakura's... kinda ready for that. She even has her palms extended from that Shinkuu Hadouken and all, so that when Xiangfei's shoulder comes close, Sakura's quick to catch it, stepping backwards to soften the blow.
Smirking lightly, Sakura's just about to line up her next attack on Xiangfei. However, a Rather Loud Sound -- that of the container crashing into the ground -- comes from behind her; the schoolgirl practically jumps out of her skin! But it also has the added bonus of propelling Sakura forward, which the prodigy interprets as a sign to modify her attack strategy. So instead of another fireball -- looks like Xiangfei's getting a rising, dashing uppercut to the jaw! "SHOOOOOOU'OOOOU KEN!"
While Jiro continues to slide along the ground, Jiro is groaning in pain, shuddering uncomfortably as he looks straight towards where Dimitri is approaching the crane. "What the....?" He growls, getting back to his feet slowly, then he witnesses the incoming container coming towards him. "Oh shit!" He immediately rolls awayas it crashes tot he ground. The shock sends chills down his spine, and the youth continues to keep himself distanced.
After rolling himself back to his feet, the young boy immediately sprints towards the crane. Jiro takes a high jump towards the crane's seating stage, and Jiro brings both of his hands towards the roof of the entrance.
"Sup? Miss me, asshole?"
He aims to swing both of his legs towards Dimitri's direction, aiming to give him a quick, yet powerful kick off of the seating and perhaps the ocean.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei endures Sakura's Shou'ou Ken!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Xiangfei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Dimitri 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Jiro
LiX.. Doesn't really want to take a dashing uppercut to the jaw, but she doesn't have too much choice in the matter. Or rather, she tries to seek an alternative solution.
Some would think that she was crazy, and hell she probable was but, "RRggh!" the uppercut hits dead on, sending her sailing upward just as Sakura would have hoped. Her eyes narrow however, she tucking in her legs and flipping in mid air- and she suddenly comes rocketing back down toward the schoolgirl as the both decend, her left hand extended, her her form taking a light blue glow as she hissed. As usual, she's setting up for a big attack, if her left hand marks it's spot, it's an even stronger paralysis technique to set up for yet another.
COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Dimitri with Light Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Xiangfei 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Dimitri 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Jiro
And, well... This isn't going to go too well for Dimitri. Looks like he's going to have to find out the hard way just how well he can swim in his current condition. Jiro's feet slam into the old soldier's stomach, launching him into the air in a not particularly graceful arc, leaving him to vanish into the water of the harbor with a loud splash.
Looks like he left a little present for Jiro just before leaving for his flight. A grenade with no pin in it? Why he shouldn't have! Still, it's the thought that counts, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Dimitri can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Xiangfei 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Jiro
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei successfully hits Sakura with Majinga.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Xiangfei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Sakura
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Jiro
LiX draws out her right arm, the blue glow surrounding her shifting over to that hand as it windmills to join her left, a muffled whisper of a chinese chant following with the motion. Once the two join, she stands her ground and proceeds to release burst after short burst of the gathered chi in rapid succession, save for the final blast that has a stunted pause, and with a powerful, "HAH!" the force of it sending her staggering back!
Well, we should all know by now that if an asian chick is glowing blue, someone's gonna be in some frickin pain really soon. And the same could be said of Sakura -- if she weren't also an asian chick glowing blue herself. See, right as soon as she felt Xiangfei take the blow, and flip around in midair, Sakura figured it might be fun to start preparing for the inevitable asskicking that might, y'know, =follow= such a reaction. So she clenched her fists, set her jaw, and started bracing for the best!
Because, let's face it, there's no way she can get out of the way of that first blast -- especially not while she's still in the process of landing from her uppercut and all. Slammed backwards, Kasugano finds herself perfectly wide open for that attack -- well, almost perfectly, as she's still glowing blue when Xiangfei slams her successive attacks into her. She does stumble backwards a bit though. After that burst of chi, she's a bit dazed, and slaps herself in the cheek to wake up. "... heh... maybe it =is= taking a bit longer'n I planned! Oh well!" ... it seems Sakura's... up to something? Maybe...
Or maybe not. She just reaches into her pocket and chucks the clip of ammo at Xiangfei. "Hey, one of your guys dropped this!"
COMBATSYS: Jiro counters Random Weapon EX from Dimitri with Bull Fist.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Xiangfei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Sakura
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Jiro
"Have a nice swim." Jiro snorts, "Thanks for the match, old man." He grumbles, "Looks like you earned your title as Big Boss after all..."
The Stray Dog tightens his fist when he sees the grenade coming his way. "Jesus christ... so many grenades... Okay, screw this." He snarls, "SEI!" He winds his fist back, waiting for the weapon to come at him. Then, he swings the fist out towards the grenade, "DO!"
And so... as Jiro slams the incoming fist towards the grenade, he sends it ricocheting from his hand. So instead of striking him...
... The grenade plinks itself into the ship with the supplies. Crates and such are everywhere. That is when it gives off an explosion. While ordinarily, it couldn't do anything, the fact that the crates are filled with ammo and fuel... don't help the ship's situation.
That is when Sakura and Xiangfei will notice a -huge- explosion giving off through the air, signifying that the resources are destroyed.
From inside the crane, Jiro looks out and murmurs, "....If this was the Titanic, someone would be playing a violin music." Pause. "I'll do them better."
Instead, the fighting artists are treated with a gentle song that would help exaggerate the dramatics with the harmonica. Yes, Jiro's feeling quite sardonic.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Xiangfei with Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Xiangfei 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Jiro
LiX pauses, looking a little perplexed; she wasn't expecting Sakura to be able to get back up from that, ".. Rats," she mumbles, and when she sees the clip zipping her way, she could get out of the way of that easily enough, right? apparently not, with her hands raising upward and she twirls around, she ends up getting nailed in the back and her eyebrow twitches in annoyance, teeth grit hard. She stumbles forward, a bit, "Ow!" and then makes a u-turn to the schoolgirl again, crouching a bit low- Sakura should recognize the technique that'll follow, she's only used it a bajillion times. Falling into a crouch, a ring of smoke billows up from below her and sends her racing upward, she zooming shoulder first toward the schoolgirl, "KYAAAAAAAH!" she yells, flying upward just as the huge explosion erupts- If she could trip in mid-air, she would, "HOLY CRAP!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Tenpou Zan from Xiangfei with Small Hadouken.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Xiangfei 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Jiro
Yeah... Sakura really ought to recognize it, huh? But the overconfidence is coming back to bite her now, for as much as she'd wanted to just hit Xiangfei and get it over with... well, just not happening.
Let's just blame the explosion for that. It'll be a convenient excuse later. The fact of the matter is, though, Li's shoulder charge was quicker than Kasugano's hands this time, and Sakura eats it, full on.
And she also gets slammed into a container, and rattled -further- since the container's empty. Mmm, resonance. Sakura stumbles forward, clutching her ringing head. "Owww... five more minutes, mom, I still got time..." One eye quirking open, she looks back at Xiangfei, forging a faint smirk as if to say she ain't done yet.
'Cause, as much as these two have fought, does it really- need- to be spoken?
While the ship continues to sink, Jiro's playing the harmonica as exaggeratingly tragic as he can. He leans his head down, blowing onto the instrument as he lets the ship sink it's last sail.
Meanwhile, Jiro stops as he can see the incoming fight between Sakura and the mysterious person. He peers towards the two, then he shrugs towards Sakura as he calls out.
"Mission accomplished!"
He immediately jumps out of the crane, and he walks towards the battle ground.
He's getting a good look as to what's going on.
"Take it you're doing fine, hrm?"
LiX noticed for a moment that Sakura was up to something- But it was to her suprise that Sakura didn't counter with her usual anti-airity. Maybe she got lucky? Who knows. But upon landing on her feet, she pauses a moment, and frowns. Oh well isn't that just great, another wasted effort; if only she had moved a little faster! And that probably meant that Dimitri was laying face down somewhere.
A part of her tells her that she should go and check on the commander, but another part of her- She can feel it, it's so close, she had never beaten Sakura! Well that, and she would get a furious talking to if she just let Sakura go. "Y.. Yeah, w.. We're not done yet!" she hesitantly squeaks to Sakura, flipping forward despite Jiros bad news, "Lets finish this!" again she goes for the shoulder ram, attempting to slam Sakura into the crate again.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Xiangfei's Ekisupo.
[ \\\\\ < > ////// ]
Xiangfei 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
> ///////////////// ]
|=======\-------\1 Jiro
Mission wha? ... Oh, right, that explosion thing. The whole... sinking boat... yeah.
Wait, what? Sakura's bell is still ringing here, so you'll have to excuse her for not thinking straight. And when Jiro plays the role of Captain Obvious, Sakura just waves him off dismissively. There's work to do! Like... putting Xiangfei down for the count once more.
Still... guh. Oof. Sakura isn't exactly wanting to get in the way of Xiangfei again, but some part of her heard Jiro's call... and to that aim, the Taiyo schoolgirl strategically withdraws. "Y... yeah! I mean, no! We got what we came for! Let's scram!"
But not before slapping a tiny bloom of blue flame Xiangfei's way as a fond farewell! "Hadoooouken!" She does this all in the midst of backing away, of course...
"....Alright." Jiro shrugs, then he waves off towards the masked Xiangfei, "Peace, enjoy what...eh, you guys have jack left." The Stray Dog turns around and starts running off.
In his mind, Jiro feels that he's up to the level of Solid Snake now. Well, maybe not, but it's a nice thought.
He pockets the harmonica, and he checks to make sure that the red scarf is in order. Good.
COMBATSYS: Jiro has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\ < > //// ]
Xiangfei 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Sakura's Small Hadouken.
[ \\\\ < > //// ]
Xiangfei 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
LiX again couldn't help but feel disappointed, she was hoping she'd be able to goad Sakura into continuing, but.. This wasn't really the time of the place, she supposed. She backflips to give herself a little distance, and the fast fireball slams again against her forearms, however a considerable amount of effort is put into doing so- Maybe because she had put herself in the aspect that she could really win if it kept going. But when her arms lower, the two are already racing off, and she slumps dejectedly.
So close.. But on top of that, it was yet another failed attempt at securing their uh.. Goods. And of course Dimitri was probably going to punish her for sneaking off to eat, "Man.. This sucks," she grumbles, completely ignoring Jiro as she plops onto her rear and sits cross-legged. It'd seem she wasn't going to make the effort to chase after them.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei takes no action.
[ \\\\ < > //// ]
Xiangfei 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei has left the fight here.
> //// ]
|=======\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.
As close as the battle may have been... the point of the battle has been reached. Stuff blew up - and while there was at least one container left untouched, it was still a significant effort.
Of course, blowing up that remaining container could easily trigger a massive wave of destruction that'd blow up everything -else- nearby. Which would kinda ruin an escape plan like the one Sakura and Jiro are putting into effect right now.
... or at least Jiro is. Solo. "... W-wait up, dammit! I'm still coming with you!" she shouts after the Stray Dog, one hand snapping up to massage her temples as she runs. "... gnnhhh!"
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 23:13:31 09/02/2005.