Description: In the wake of the Metro City disaster, Sakura's training takes a turn towards the confusing as Ryu speaks on the risks of seeking combat on idealism alone - and puts his conflicted apprentice through the paces rather thoroughly as well.
Discipline -- the reason Sakura's been practicing so much, and one reason the highschool martial arts star had been swimming laps across the small pond outside the Kim Dojo. Sloppy? ... Well, a month or so of artificial firepower has killed the muscle memory needed to throw out the proper forms. She's been working for the past week to regain what she'd lost in form -- though it should be pretty obvious that she's made great strides in raw =strength= during her stay in Metro City. Which is one reason she's had to 'rein it in' today: precision, or a lack thereof. She may be able to hit =harder=, but not =better=.
Sakura slings off excess water as she climbs out of the pond, walking over to the tree where she had shed her gi, earlier. As per usual, she steps through one quick kata to finish drying off, an invigorated smile upon her face as she steps through the paces. Swimming may be a disciplinary measure, but there's no arguing against the benefits of a dip in the water on a mildly hot summer day!
It's interesting how the longer the two train together, the more often Sakura manages to pick up on the lessons she needs to learn before Ryu actually gets to teaching them. Which of course is part of the intent. One only has to look at Ryu's own life, and his screw-ups, to realize that while Gouken may have been a focused instructor... there was also a large degree of autonomy once the master's adopted son and student reached a certain age. Sakura, well... she's already too independent to be taking that step back. She wouldn't listen, and Ryu knows it. Better to let her learn from her own mistakes, and try to keep them from being too terrible, right?
Somewhere between the time Kasugano starts the kata and the time she finishes donning the gi and getting ready to resume other sorts of training, she may happen to glimpse Ryu's arrival. He's not down by the pond, though, rather up a short ways perched on the edge of the dojo roof,one leg hanging over the side, the other bent up to prop him against said ledge. There's a relaxed patience to the stance, but once Sakura notices him, the nomad wordlessly gestures for her to join him. On the roof, apparently. TO THE FRIGGIN' MOON!
Sakura would have difficulty believing that Ryu had 'screwed up', despite his numerous warnings to the contrary. Some small measure of idolatry is still driving her, beneath all the layers of training, after all. The need to impress him, and the world, is one of the driving factors here.
Which... might be why a faint shade of pink dances across her cheeks as her gi slides across her bare, glistening shoulders. Embarassment? More like surprise, at having found herself watched. A bright smile flickers across her face before she gives a nod, tying her belt on snugly before dashing over.
Luckily for her, there's a tree beside the dojo. Sure... it's probably -possible- for the energetic schoolgirl to bound straight to the roof, but there's more style points to be had by triangle-jumping off the tree, first. Leaping off the tree, Sakura draws her leg out to the side, steadying her landing with catlike grace so as not to put a hole in the angled roof. (Because she knows who'd be fixing it.)
And then she rises once more, deftly toeing over to her master. Bowing at the waist, she asks with an eager chirp, "Yes, sensei?" She seems to think this summoning is a good omen.
A good omen? Perhaps it'll turn out to be good for her, but the particulars of getting her up here, well... who knows what Ryu's thinking, right? "You have begun to see the dangers of applying strength over control, and pride over patience, yes?" He postulates, not harshly despite the words themselves, his demeanor thoughtful. He gazes out over the pond for the moment, still sitting calmly where he was, "And the risks one creates by taking such heavy steps. If one walks quietly, one's course may come more clearly, and the consequences of each ripple your fists make through the air more evident. I did not bring you up here to punish you for this, or lecture you... I have a feeling whatever conclusions you've drawn are more than enough." And in truth, his opinion might soften that. Let Sakura live with her potentially less than happy self-analysis... it can be a useful force, after all, "I brought you up here to teach you control, and precision, or watch you fall face-first off the roof." And yes, there's the trademark slightly delayed. wry quirk of a smile following the totally dry words, as Ryu hops to his feet, smoothly rising right at the edge of the dojo roof without so much as a glance to double-check his footing.
There's a brief twitch at the left corner of Sakura's lip as she hears the first words of the 'lecture'... primarily because she can tell what's coming. She =has= figured it out, after all... but even still, it hurts to hear it. Insofar as Metro City goes, she =did= gather a lot of intelligence before making her first move... it's just that the actual move -itself- may have been the deciding factor. The only way to win is not to play, or something. Thinking of it in that light... Sakura calms herself, nodding once more. It's a nice way to close that chapter, she realizes.
The joke itself? A good beginning for the next. Smirking faintly at the assertion, Sakura nods her head. "'Pride goeth before a fall', I guess?" she quips, tilting her head towards the edge. She doesn't seem to be having =too= many issues walking along the angled portion of the roof, but that's probably more because she hasn't quite looked =down= yet.
Still. She's a bit confused, here, and pauses at a fair distance. "... Wait, you don't mean... up =here=, do you?" She takes a hesitant step backward -- still no sign of slippage just yet, but a faint bit of incredulity in her expression. Or perhaps eager anxiety?
"Something like that." Ryu answers back, as the smile dissipates to be replaced by his customary stoic consideration, "It's not easy, but it's important to step back, in the important situations, and make sure you understand two things... one, what you're fighting for. And two, what the direct effects of your battle may be if you lose. Sometimes, even if you win. Sometimes the only way to win /is/ not to fight. Something that's even harder to recognize... you saw what happened with my own error there, with Bison." Not a pleasant topic, but certainly illustrative of Ryu's point. He steps back a fair bit more calmly than Sakura, pacing along the angled edge before hopping up to the apex, one foot in front of the other as he walks the proverbial balance beam of the pagoda(?) style edge and gestures Sakura forward, "Yes, up here. And try not to fall, because it'll sting. And I'll expect you to get right back up here to finish the lesson." Leniency is not a word in Ryu's vocabulary, when it comes to training regimens. It's still called Assassin's Fist, right?
COMBATSYS: Ryu has started a fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|
... yeah. Perhaps that's true. Sakura knew what was going to happen, but her pride had allowed her to believe it wouldn't. ... And in a way, it =did= happen. Even if there was a 'good' ending out of it, it was far from the =ideal=.
But that's neither here nor there. And besides, Sakura's already come to grips with the situation. Right now... it's just training. And not falling off the roof. Her eyes glancing down to the rooftop for a brief instant, Kasugano looks back up at her master, nodding slowly. Her hands adopt the tried-and-true Ansatsuken stance, her left arm leading while her right arm -- the 'power' arm -- defends. As she evens up to the center, her sideways stance proves to not only present less of a profile to strike, but to allow a more stable position upon the narrow the rooftop. And... just to prove how well she was listening, she shows that she can win this sparring match by not fighting at all -- as she keeps her distance, her toes creeping forward along the rooftop as if it might be booby-trapped. Y'never know.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
That understanding has been clear enough in how Sakura's acted, really. How she's approached her training, and general life, since returning to Japan. For his part, just now, Ryu simply paces backwards evenly, not watching where he's going but nonetheless flawlessly following the roofline to the central support, which he continues to follow back across the length of the dojo roof, putting a bit more space between either of them and the edge. Maybe he's not so heartless after all. Just maybe. Despite his relative nonchalance, there's no underestimating the calm clarity in his eyes as they hold to Sakura, watching and assessing. Part of precision is the ability to act in the instant, without undue force and fanfare... something he's imparted to Kasugano in part, but still prides working on himself. He doesn't comment, but he does nod once, approvingly. It was a wise choice to get her bearings first, after all.
COMBATSYS: Ryu focuses on his next action.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
It's true, Sakura may not have walked along the roof as much as her master. It's... not exactly on the list of the teen's to-do list, after all. And if she wants to hide somewhere, the park's much better cover. Regardless, she's sure that Ryu's got =something= in mind here, and getting too close might not quite be the best thing at this time.
Her side-stepping approach halts, as one bare foot slides forward, weight shifting to her right as her hands collect at her side. A faint smile crosses her lips, as she's fairly certain he can see this coming -- but that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't still the =right= thing to do. Time may tell, as blue flames sprout from her palms in a familiar blossom, her fingers curling around to urge it into full bloom. With practiced ease, her palms whip forward, extending to release an opening salvo at Ryu. "HADOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu overcomes Medium Hadouken from Sakura with Hadouken.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
It's a nice, peaceful place to go, particularly when all the stars are out. Right now, its main function is that it's rather precarious, and unorthodox, and forces Sakura to think about her motions rather than just going all-out. Of course, keeping her distance may not be as good an option as she might hope, the Ansatsuken master's footfalls pausing as she gathers her chi, his left dropping back as his own hands move to cup at his side... patiently, almost pensively, the nomad charges his own burst of energy, the blue-white swirl of power glimmering brightly as it rushes into existance, the spherical mass driven forward dead center with Sakura's blast, cleaving through the center of the slightly larger blue burst and sending out a brilliant shockwave of luminescent chi, the wildly flickering remnants of the World Warrior's answering blast swirling in at Sakura with an echoing, "Hadooouken!!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Sakura with Hadouken.
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Ryu 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Well, if he wanted her to 'wake up', there's probably safer ways to do so -- which would probably not be as fun as having her fireball blasted through. Or having the remnants of Ryu's plowing through to slam into the schoolgirl's chest, sending her scrambling backwards a good five or six feet. Her feet dig in, though she's quick to snap her hands out to either side for balance. Seems she doesn't need it this time, though, panting lightly to regain the wind that'd been knocked out of her. "Touche..." she quips lightly, rolling her shoulders back into position. Maybe the distance game just isn't the way to go here! Which might just be why Sakura breaks into a mad dash for Ryu, squinting her dazed eyes narrower as she charges low, uncoiling herself into a hard uppercut into his midsection. It's an abrupt change of pace, as evidenced by the sudden glow of blue suffusing her small frame -- but she's hoping it pays off! "SHOOOOOU'OOOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu parries Sakura's Shou'ou Ken EX!
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Ryu 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Sakura
Whoosh! That's the sound of Sakura's powerful fist making those notable ripples through the air that Ryu was mentioning earlier, as her rising uppercut carries her clean through the air. It /looked/ like it was going to hit him. It /almost/ did. To all appearances, Ryu barely moved, leaning his weight back and dropping back a half-step at the very final instant, Sakura's knuckles grazing white gi as she hurtles skywards....
... and in a display of rather remarkable improvised precision of his own, the nomad twists and drops back towards the side of the roof a small hop, before reversing his momentum and careening skyward at a slight angle, aligned to connect with Sakura at the apex of her near-Shoryuken, and catch her in the familiar spinning rotorblade of Ryu's right leg, which snaps about with wind-stirring intensity as he twists blurring spins through the air with gravity-defying acuity, "Tatsumaki Senpuuuu Kyaku!!!" Yes, ladies and gentlemen... this one is designed to send Sakura flying, and how she deals with it? That's likely part of the lesson.
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Sakura with Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku EX.
- Power hit! -
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Ryu 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Sakura
How she deals with it? ... How, exactly, is a 5'3" schoolgirl with the approximate mass of a small sack of potatoes supposed to deal with a hurricane that erupts completely spontaneously underneath her, churning her around in a maelstrom that could easily snap any of her bones in twain?
And it quite possibly =would= if Sakura weren't several times more resilient than she looks. She raises her knee in an attempt at defense, but it doesn't look like it's gonna happen -- especially not from the way she gets churned about from the repeated kicks.
But that's not to say she doesn't kick out of it in midair. Sure, she's bruised beneath that eggshell-blue gi of hers, but she's determined not to show it! In fact, she =tries= to whip back around, taking hold of that imparted momentum and spinning her foot around in a counter-current -- like two gears intermeshing. Though... gears don't usually kick each other in the face. "SHUNPUUUU KYAKU!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu interrupts Shunpuu Kyaku from Sakura with Joudan Sokutou Geri.
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Ryu 0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
Poor Sakura! She does get kicked around a lot, granted, but she's resilient, and what's more... it's inarguable that she's learning from it. Training in an art like Ansatsuken isn't easy, but to the girl's credit, she deals with it a lot better than Ryu had expected her to, under the circumstances. Of course, the normally rather straightforward Ryu is no slouch at the midair antics necessary to keep pace now and then, and despite the initial surprise as Sakura recovers her bearings enough to spin against his momentum, as that first kick snaps in for his ribs, Ryu's leg snaps up to intersect it, the Ansatsuken master throwing his weight back just enough to twist one further half-turn, his own part of the gear changing up its rotation to suddenly snap outwards, right leg thrusting out to his side in midair as he drifts away from the stinging strikes, and then slams the kick home soundly to drive Kasugano out of her assault entirely, "Hyaaaaaah!!!" Today's lesson in placement and precision seems to be something of a demonstrative one...
Yeah, yeah. Getting her ribcage turned inside out by the heel of Ryu's foot builds character, don'tcha know? Especially when said kick nearly sends the girl flying off the roof, with only a last minute grab at the roofline saving her from plummeting to the ground below. Clutching the tiles with both hands, knuckles bared white, Sakura shakes her head -- the pain of both the grip and her earlier pummeling has her in tears. And yet she won't give up!
Nope. But she does pump her legs once, then twice, before swinging one upwards. Toes get a substantial enough grip on the tile to allow her to push forward, climbing back up. She may easily have fractured something here, but with her lips pressed together tightly, the schoolgirl's adamant. And speechless. "..."
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Ryu 0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
There've been no punches pulled thus far, that's certainly true. Ryu gets funny when he's demonstrating something in regards to a fighting ideal, and here today, he certainly has something to teach Sakura. As the strike drives her nearly over the edge, both literally and in terms of the pain factor, Ryu drops lightly out of the kick and lands on subtly bent legs, facing the edge of the roof where Sakura clings. She's getting herself back up, and that's good, "Just as you cannot be overzealous, overbearing... you cannot be meek, or hesitate. Therein lies the true challenge... not knowing right from wrong, but knowing right from wrong in the right moment, the same as technique cannot compare to the answer, perfectly delivered. That is why we defend, and do not crusade... nurture, but do not control... and fight, but do not wage war." The nomad, finally, shifts into a customary ready stance, eyes fixed on Sakura over the leading left fist, "There is one vital answer at the end of that road, that understanding. What do you see beyond your fist?"
COMBATSYS: Ryu focuses on his next action.
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Ryu 0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
what.
Sakura may have thought she understood. But she doesn't. And it's actually starting to tick her off, now. Her sensei can probably read the exasperation clear as day on the schoolgirl's face for the moment after his question is delivered. But when she's been brought to her figurative knees this early in a fight -- when she'd done so much better in earlier ones -- she doesn't know what to think. Why =is= this going so poorly?
She delivers one slow, telegraphed punch, answering, "I don't see anything." Jaw set, hot-blooded determination setting in, her fist unfolds to a supine palm. "I'm just standing, here." And so she is, lowering her guard in an open defiance of the rules of engagement. Either she doesn't get the message... or she's getting too much of it.
COMBATSYS: Sakura takes no action.
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Ryu 0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
"Nothing?" Ryu echoes, not sounding overly surprised, or offended... Nonetheless, his stance does relax a fair bit, not pressing the attack as the schoolgirl decides to stand down. He doesn't even seem interested in pushing that decision either way, either, as the outcome is rather unimportant to the overall intent of fighting her up here, on ground where Ryu's experience and confidence give him one more rather clear edge... "That is precisely why these things are so important to think on, and why I am glad to see how you have approached your training again, lately. Sooner or later, you'll need to see, and your path from there will be decided by that vision."
COMBATSYS: Ryu takes no action.
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Ryu 0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
"... yeah." The schoolgirl isn't in a really good mood right now, it would seem -- she's terrible at hiding her emotions from her teacher, after all. "... if it's okay with you, I'm going home now." Frustration, plain as day. Wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve, she takes a slower, deeper breath. "I don't understand, and I'm not -going- to understand right now, why the heck I should've just =stood and watched= as Rolento proceeded to rob the city blind. Is he some genius? =No=. He's some crazed lunatic, just like Freeman was. He wasn't killing anyone yet, but he had the =power= to. And you wanna beat it outta me? Hold =me= to blame for doing everything I thought was =right?= For taking action when every instinct screamed for me to get up there, when I spent two freakin' weeks =thinking= and =seeing?="
Eyes go down for a moment, before rising again. Curtly, her hands snap to her sides for a bow, her teeth gritting from the pain. "... sorry. I'm not in the right place right now. Too much in my head." She takes one step back towards the edge of the roof, her jaw quivering. She's mad... intense... but it's more out of fear for having spoken out than anything else.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/---====|
Ryu doesn't seem phased by the outburst, even if this isn't what he was wanting to inspire in Sakura at all, "You don't understand." The nomad confirms, though not quite in the way Kasugano stated it, "You fought a just fight, for a good cause. But there are times one must look deeper than that, times when that isn't enough, and it's more important how we fight, and when." The words are calm, as steady and matter of fact as his tone has remained through this exchange. There's no hostility there, no disappointment, "It weighs on you despite doing the right thing. It is important to me, and it is important for you, that you start to realize /why/. The Amazon is a mighty river, but its currents are just as dangerous to those riding them as to those in their path." That said, Ryu turns, and starts towards the far side of the roof, offering in addendum a simple, "You may go, but I hope you know you are welcome to return, and expected to. There is no shame in what you've done."
"I =don't= understand," Sakura restates. Stubbornness is simultaneously Sakura's greatest strength and her greatest weakness. Training may help... but the Taiyo student can't help but feel slighted by this continued line of didactic counseling. His words are similar to those she's been trying to gulp down over the past few weeks... but the deaths of Metro City people are still on her hands, as far as she's concerned. Maybe she's said that... maybe not. She certainly seems to -think- she has.
Even if she's being absolved of the shame by Ryu's words. Turning away from her master as he turns, Sakura drops to the ground, only a light whimper as her ribs remind her of the intense pain they're in, before she walks, quickly, back inside to change.
She knows she's welcome. But she's at a loss for answers, and she doesn't have any yet.
Log created on 17:34:46 09/27/2005 by Ryu, and last modified on 14:49:17 08/14/2008.