Description: Leona was originally scheduled in this match as the third person in a Free For All, but was unable to make it. The other two fought a 1-on-1 instead, with the Taiyo schoolgirl getting utterly embarassed by the red-headed boxer. (Winner: Vanessa)
According to that clock on the top of Taiyo High, the time is now 1:32. There's a couple dozen people on the Taiyo rooftop, though there's relatively few spectators gathered for this Saturday Night Fight match. Part of that's due to the fact that these matches are pre-recorded. Part of it's due to simple logistics -- the roof ain't big enough for the fighters -and- a big audience. Though... there is an audience on an adjacent building, conveniently watching with binoculars and a large-screen television.
On the rooftop itself, though... the fighters are nowhere to be seen. They're both late, but not to Dong Hwan levels of lateitude. But... right about now, Sakura comes bounding up the stairs, her headband fluttering along behind her as she storms onto the scene.
"Sorry I'm laaaate!" Of course, she stops short when she realizes neither of her opponents are here yet. She looks around, scratching her cheek, but then shrugs. "Ah, well!"
Right about then, one of the officials approaches Sakura with a small notecard.
Upon reading it, Sakura announces, "Aww... Leona couldn't make it?" She hands it back, though it's clearly meant for her to keep. But she insists -- where's she gonna keep it? "Oh well! I've been wanting to fight Vanessa solo for a while anyway!" Her sunny disposition is practically unfazed.
Given the fact that there's been a lot of talk between these two fighters about a one-on-one match, Vanessa is more than happy with the news-- not to say she wasn't looking forward for something of a rematch between herself and Leona, but hey-- beggers can't be choosers, mn? Or so to speak. Making her way into the ring with decidedly -downplayed- attire-- namely, a t-shirt, jeans, and her hair pulled back and out of her face-- the redhead can't help but field something of a sheepish grin.
"Been so damn long since I've been in one of these that it almost slipped my mind," she offers by way of explination, glancing down towards her clothing before pulling on both of her leather gloves. Have to have -something- from the usual outfit-- and there's no way in hell she's going into this without -some- meager kind of protection. "But hey-- better late than never, even if I barely got a chance to look presentable."
Stretching out her shoulders, the boxer works out a couple kinks in her neck, the loud *POPS* that issue out plain enough even with the chatter that moves throughout the attending audience. "Ready whenever you are," she says to the girl across from her. "Seems to me we've been waiting for a while to get something like this underway."
COMBATSYS: Vanessa has started a fight here.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura doesn't 'pop'. At least, she tries not to, cracking her knuckles excepted. So the sound of Vanessa's joints popping is a little disconcerting for the schoolgirl in the prime of her youth. "..." But, just the same, she's been itching for a sanctioned fight ever since she'd first left for Metro City a month or so ago... and she's glad to be back in the swing of things! "I hear you there! I'm =almost= gettin' outta practice!" she replies, hopping lightly from one foot to the other.
The announcer makes some preliminary remarks to the audience in the meantime. Nothing out of the ordinary -- but as usual, the only word Sakura's waiting for is: "FIGHT!"
She's not going to jump -right- into things, though. Running up the stairs was her warmup, but this kind of situation requires a slightly different kind of preparation. One that involves a light breeze whipping about the area, tossing her skirt and headband aflutter. "Haaaaaaa..." she intones, fists lightly clenched, elbows locked at her waist, and a pale blue aura swirling around her like a miniature whirlwind.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Vanessa's learned a -few- things from fighting this girl before-- first and foremost, that sometimes those incoherent noises and posturing actually -means- something. Straightening up into a typical defensive stance, the redhead takes in a deep breath of air, steeling herself against the eventual pain that'll inevitably come from this fray. Of course, -this- time, she doesn't have to worry about her clothes being blown to hell or her modesty being questioned on international television.
One hopes, at least.
Grinning broadly, she says, "If knowing how to do that requires shouting monosyllabic jibberish, I think I'll skip that training session," her eyes trained patiently on the girl in front of her. Better to play it on the defensive in this particular instance...
COMBATSYS: Vanessa focuses on her next action.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Sakura
The wind dies down slightly, as Sakura gives a confused blink. Then she realizes what Vanessa's talking about and shrugs. "Hey, are you kidding? It's great at parties!" Smirking brightly, Sakura takes one step forward, swiveling to her right. Mind, that blue aura takes on more of a viscous quality as it follows her hands to her side, almost as if she were kneading translucent pizza dough into a ball. It'll sting quite a bit more than that once it hits, though -- the lukewarm energy packing the kinetic impact of a good hard punch to the stomach once swept into the tight, white-hot core of a meter-wide fireball. Sakura takes another step forward, thrusting her hands forward and loosing that orb of chi energy off toward Vanessa. The boxer may be able to see it coming, but Sakura is hoping that won't change much! "Hadoooouken!"
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
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Vanessa 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Raising either of her arms, Vanessa does her best to keep from taking too much of the damage the energy seeks to inflict, though it does a good job in pushing her back a few crucial paces. Should've struck out initially when she had the chance-- but, should'a could'a would'a. For -now-, she's happy enough to be getting back into the swing of things. Even if those fireballs HURT LIKE CRAZY.
Shaking her head a little, she laces her fingers together and cracks them quickly, sizing Sakura up before making her move. Kicking off the ground in a sprint meant to cover the lost distance, in spite of the opening in her defenses, she intends to at -least- throw one hell of a retaliation at the girl. Hit or miss--
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Vanessa's Machine Gun Puncher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Sakura
While the punches meet up with defensive manuevering, Vanessa isn't about to let up in the least. The six-hit combination of punches just keep coming, the resultant slam of her fist that was originally intended for the girl's jaw whiffing less-than-dramtically as she skirts back a couple steps. She lost a bit of potential momentum in the sprint for defense, but she's not letting it lapse her confidence. "Nice one."
Six punches, six defenses -- though fortunately the fire starts to die down after the first few. Sakura's backpedaling all the while, catching the blows on her padded handguards instead of her jaw. It's a good thing, in the long run. Grinning back at Vanessa, the schoolgirl chirps, "Thanks!" But before Vanessa can get =too= far away, Sakura's already on the move -- in this case, dashing forward in an attempt to dart in close, whip her arm around the older woman's neck, and pull her into a stranglehold. Should she be so lucky to succeed, she'd tug sharply for four or five pulls before releasing with a hard chop to the shoulder. "Yut-ttah!"
COMBATSYS: Vanessa fails to counter Sakura Strangle from Sakura with Puncher Vision.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Sakura
With as much speed as she can muster, Vanessa ... launches -into- the attack, which is clearly the worst possible idea. In spite of a decent opening in Sakura's defenses, she's simply not fast enough to land the intended blow, the blur of motion ending her straight in the headlock and into one -hell- of a stranglehold. Coughing audibly at her own momentum landing her against the attack, it takes her a moment or two to try and tug out of it, but-- by the time she gains any kind of purchase, it's over.
Shaking her head and stumbling back another couple paces, the redhead takes in a light breath, rubbing at her neck. "Keep forgetting how damn fast you are," she mutters, more to herself than her opponent in thi case.
Wincing lightly as she sees what Vanessa was =planning= on doing -- if not fully able to execute it -- Sakura shivers. "Oooh... yeah. Yeah, you coulda messed me up big-time right there!" she assents, giving a quick wink back to the red-haired boxer.
But really, Sakura's still in a prime position to strike. Should she force her advantage and make the best of it... or just hang back and wait for Vanessa to come to her? She's been lucky -so- far... but that luck could change at any moment. In the end, Sakura decides to hop back and re-center herself -- for there's no telling when she's going to be able to take a breather later in the fight. Hopping backwards, Sakura raises her defenses again, smirking faintly back at Vanessa. "Don't feel like you hafta go easy on me though, 'kay?"
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Not looking too good at the moment.
The only thing Vanessa has going for her is the girl's stagnance-- though given the change in stance, it's not difficult to tell why her hand is stayed. With a couple strands of red hair having fallen from the short ponytail, she blows some of the more errant ones out of her face, clearly assessing the situation to the best of her ability-- within the split second she's afforded.
And thus... she charges in, ready to deliver not one, but two swift punches to either side of the girl's head, the speed she throws into it meant to plow through the defenses that are being set up-- but you never know. It could turn on her at a moment's notice.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt 1-2 Puncher from Vanessa with Small Hadouken.
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Vanessa 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Could... but won't. Sakura certainly -tried- to turn the situation around in her favor by ducking down, cupping her hands to her side, and lobbing her blue-encased palms forward -- but by the time she's able to do that, Vanessa's one-two combo is enough to disabuse her of that notion. "K-kuh!" The half-formed fireball fades as the schoolgirl's knocked backwards, her feet scrambling wildly for purchase before she finally falls over onto her rump. Skittering backwards, she =does= manage to kick back to her feet, but with no small amount of unease. "H-hey, good one there!"
At least it's something.
Offering a wry grin, the boxer rolls her shoulders in another brief attempt to get the -adverse- tension out of the both of them, already trying to pinpoint her next move. Still, good to at least gain -some- purchase. Lord only knows, either of them could have their luck change in the blink of an eye. So for now...? Time for something a little more gutsy.
Once again pushing in and hopefully -past- the girl's defensive range, Vanessa throws what looks to be the makings of a devestating punch-- only to withdraw just as suddenly, the attack whiffing past Sakura's head as her other fist goes down to deliver a sharp blow to her gut. At least-- that's the intent.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Puncher Weaving from Vanessa with Shou'ou Ken EX.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
And here it comes.
Noticing the girl attempting to manuever her way out of this one the same way she did(n't) during the last attack, Vanessa pushes the assault further, driving her fist into the prodigy's gut and instantly snapping upwards to deliver a blow to the side of her head. Once that's done, there's a harsh right straight aimed for the girl's sternum, the entirity of the attack ending with a brutal uppercut.
And, of course, there's time granted to pull back a little, the boxer fanning out her fingers to stretch them a little. "Guess we could both use a little practice," she says, a halfsmirk on her face.
Hey, it's only natural for someone fighting a boxer to want to punch back, right? Sakura was standing there waiting for something to happen when Vanessa drove in close, and... well. Beating a boxer on her own turf is proven to have serious repercussions on one's chances of getting a date. Sakura now has a shiner to prove the point, not to mention the new bruises to her sternum, chin, and ego as she goes staggering backward from the blows.
Normally she's in pretty good humor about a fight, but she's not... exactly smiling right at the moment. She -has- been practicing, just not in ways that are obvious in this fight.
Just so long as she stays away from this projectiles. That's all Vanessa cares about.
At this point, she's not about to relent-- or, for that matter, believe that she's got the schoolgirl backed into a proverbial corner. This could still turn on her at a moment's notice. However-- that doesn't mean she's going to take it slow and simple. She -was- told to keep from holding back, yes? And to prove to herself that even some of her slower manuevering can have good results is a plus.
Taking only a single step back as if to further bolster her defenses, she only springs out of it with another quick sprint, her body ducking down before snapping back upwards in a fierce uppercut aimed towards Sakura's already bruised jaw, waiting for the outcome before deciding where to move to next.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Vanessa's Dash Puncher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Sakura
Okay... straight dashing punches, Sakura can deal with. She's all but given up on doing anything -fancy- for the rest of this fight, having pretty much resigned to just buckle down and stick with the basics here. That means no trading punches or fireballs -- just a straight-up block as she catches Vanessa's blow on her padded handguard, followed by a hasty backpedal to get herself to a safe distance.
What's that you say, Vanessa? No more projectiles? Well, Sakura -might- be inclined to agree if she weren't already on the proverbial ropes in this match. And really? A little fire couldn't hurt. Cupping her hands by her side, Sakura quirks a brief smile at Vanessa. "With any luck, this'll hurt you a looot more than it does me!" Instead of blue chi, her palms erupt into brilliant, flickering orange flames. "Shakunetsu!" No lukewarm 'soft' chi here, this is the real deal! And the 'real deal' is summarily thrust off towards Vanessa at a rapid pace. "HADOOOOOUKEN!" Gee, been taking after her master much?
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
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Vanessa 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Unfortunately for Sakura-- it hurts about the same as the last time. Unfortunately for Vanessa... friggin... OW. This is why she's constantly debating whether or not to wear something on her arms. Grunting audibly at the lancing pain that comes from that, she's noticing her own defenses being worn down little by little-- but at least she's been able to keep from doing anything TOO ridiculously stupid.
For now.
"Might have to try harder'n that," she replies to the girl, keeping her arms raised in a defensive posture, her eyes focussing in on her opponent as much as possible. Better to size up the situation now that she's gotten a few good hits in.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa focuses on her next action.
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Vanessa 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Well, if that last ball of flame had hit, Sakura might just -have- a bit more oomph. But Sakura takes heart with the knowledge that if Vanessa's hurting from that, she could probably take a little more punishment. Or, to look at it another way... "Well... I could try punching you again, but I'm gonna be lookin' like a patchwork quilt tomorrow as it is now!" And with the bruises, she just might. But... in other words, Sakura has no compulsion against sticking to her fireballs as long as Vanessa sticks to her punches. And since there's no sign of Muay Thai in Vanessa's near future... Sakura winds her hands back, smirking lightly. "If at first you don't succeed..." She then thrusts her hands forward, shouting, "Hadouken, Hadouken again!" But =this= time, it isn't just one meter-wide fireball that comes out from her palms, but two -- one after another!
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Vanessa with Large Hadouken.
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Vanessa 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Sakura
In spite of the fact that Vanessa's got some decent space between her and the blast of energy, the attempt to skirt to the side is met with a dead-on impact, the fierball itself slamming straight against her chest and shoulder and jerking her less-than-gracefully to the side. Forced to catch herself on the opposing arm, the redhead is, to her credit, far from being knocked against the ground-- however...
This presents something of a problem.
Not only is her equilibrium thrown off, but the attempt made to regain some of her senses is all but obliterated for the time she needs to retaliate. Grunting audibly as she pushes herself back to her feet, she favors the girl in front of her with only a brief glance before pushing off her feet and into another attack. Whether or not it lands is entirely up to Sakura's reflexes.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa successfully hits Sakura with Forbidden Eagle.
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Vanessa 1/-======/=======|=======\====---\1 Sakura
The manuever proceeds uninterrupted. With one swift shot aimed for the side of Sakura's head, the lancing energy that comes behind it only adds an extra bit of force to the attack-- the second blow, coming up against the poor girl's side, is followed up by energy that all but tears through whatever happens to be in its path. Which, in this case, happens to be Sakura's side.
Withdrawing from the attack, the boxer has no words to offer-- after all, they're getting down to the crucial part of the fight.
... Oof. That kinda stings. Sakura staggers backward from the strikes, gritting her teeth and wondering to herself just -why- she volunteers for this every week. Does it stop being 'fun' when it hurts this much?
Naaaaah. She's hooked on the adrenaline, it just hasn't fully kicked in till this point. Now? Now it has. And Sakura's smile comes back as she scrambles backwards, strafing sharply to the right in vicious overcompensation for the blows dealt to her. Maybe she got hit in the head a little hard with that last strike, who knows? The point is... her hands are glowing blue-white and crackling! No fire... but plenty of energy! "Shinkuuuu...." It may not be monosyllabic, but there sure is a seriously -large- amount of energy being funneled into the Taiyo youngster's hands. The only thing she -hasn't- done to the swirling, raging mass of electricity and raw power is giftwrap and tag it [ To Vanessa, with <3, Sakura ] . But she does give the gift a name, just before shipping it off express-mail to Vanessa: "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Vanessa overcomes Shinkuu Hadouken from Sakura with Gaia Gear.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Instead of just, say... sitting there and taking it for an extra boost, or god forbid, running away from it... Vanessa just seems to stand there for a moment or two, mustering up the energy required to let loose with this. If it makes it... all the better. If not, it was a worthwhile gamble.
At the last possible second, the boxer throws her fist out, a sudden gust of wind spiralling out from the extended arm, the energy that races towards her obliterated instantly with the force of the attack backing it up. For once in a -great- while, a gamble worked; and in this case, it's a spiralling wind that continues to barrel towards Sakura with just as much speed as originally intended. The hope, of course, is that it actually -hits- its intended target.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa successfully hits Sakura with Gaia Gear.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
And hit it does... heck, Sakura had almost forgot Vanessa could even -do- anything like that. Almost. She's getting a really big reminder right now, but luckily, most of the wind got knocked out of the attack from Sakura's vortex fireball. Most... but not all, as the remainder is enough to knock Sakura onto her rear again, and literally blows Sakura's shoes off. It's been known to happen -- especially since the girl doesn't tie them on too tightly.
It's hard to keep the spunky schoolgirl down, though -- and when she kips back to her feet, she kips a bit too far forward -- so it seems. Partly because she's =running= at the moment -- running towards her shoes! She snags one, and then the other, before spinning around in a quick 360 and =pitching= both of her Chuck Taylors at Vanessa. "Improvised Schoolgirl Attack Number Thirty-Six -- Feet Of Fury!" ... It's doubtful that she's pulled that from anything but thin air, naturally, but if =that= hits... hey, more power to her, right?
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Sakura's Thrown Object.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Or not.
Swatting aside the shoes with only a minimal sting along either of her arms, Vanessa notes only afterwards that it would've been just as easy to snatch them out of the air and whip them right back at the girl. Instead, though-- better safe than sorry. And in this case, she's more interested in seeing this through to the end. It'd be nice to have another win on her record, after all.
Steeling herself against a possible retaliation, the redhead charges back in, hoping to land the attack she'd originally failed to put across. It starts with a quick feint, a swift punch that's 'meant' to catch the girl across the jaw before it launches into the rest...
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Machine Gun Puncher from Vanessa with Shou'ou Ken.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|
Swinging her other fist around, Vanessa's quick to catch Sakura along the side of her head before, quite literally, boxing the poor girl's ears. Juggling her back and forth between blows six times over, she ends it with a fierce uppercut to her jaw, drawing in a slow breath of air as she shakes both of her hands out, the release of that breath sounding more like a hiss than anything else. You'd think after this long she'd get used to brutalizing her hands-- or invest in heavier gloves.
Well, what more can be said? Sakura tried to uppercut her out of this one too, but it's just not in the cards -- Vanessa nails her right before anything else can happen, putting an effective end to Sakura's already-halted momentum. She's unconscious before she hits the concrete of the rooftop.
After the ten-count elapses, the ref gives the signal -- "And winner by knockout -- VANESSA!!!"
COMBATSYS: Vanessa has ended the fight here.
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 16:00:51 10/02/2005.