Description: The organizer of the Medal Tournament versus her archrival? "You knew it was coming." (Winner: Sakura)
So... it's a Friday afternoon, not long after school has let out for the weekend. Anyone remotely familiar with Sakura's schedule can probably guess her location at this time of day: the Kim Dojo. And, likewise, anyone familiar with her interests would know she's training. Hard.
In this case, she's near a tree. A half-dozen targets hang from the autumn-ravaged limbs of the tree, and Sakura's goal is simple -- hit the targets before they hit her. She's just tapping the targets with her fist to set them into motion, for the most part -- it's an attention drill more than anything else. Every so often she'll get adventurous and snap a high-kick into a target, but for the most part she's content to keep a leisurely pace of jab punches, her headband flitting about in mid-air like a really pissed-off sidewinder.
Karin knows Sakura's schedule better than most... and this only partly due to some sophisticated GPS equipment on the part of the zaibatsu from when Sakura and Karin's rivalvry was less... how to say... bizarre. Still, there's also the minor fact that of late Karin has been training here as well, even if her sessions with Sakura and her master have been, of late, highly infrequent to the point of near non-existence. Still, when it comes to knowing where Sakura will be any given afternoon, Karin's a decent enough authority.
She actually had the TV ninjas keep to themselves this time. Why? Because this fight is going to be the bonus features on the DVD, probably. Still, there's a certain amount of pride in Karin's karriage (er, carriage) as she walks toward the dojo, knowing exactly why she came, tightening her handguards once she gets close. Presumably, she'll sit tight until Sakura notices her, and then give her rival a grin.
"You knew it was coming."
Punch, punch, dodge, kick, punch punch punch. Sakura's pacing herself well, but it's... well, boring. She's been at this a while, so the telltale signs of a visitor are most welcome indeed.
Her first sign of awareness is a slight turn to the side, just enough to allow her ears to pinpoint the sound of Karin's fotfalls. Or her handguards, or whatever makes noise and all. But it's only a few seconds later that Sakura throws out open palms to the targets, stilling them with a softened strike so that they don't rebound back and smack her in the head.
Once the targets are stopped, she turns to face Karin with a faint grin. "... Well, yeah, it was 'when', not 'if'." Reaching back to toss her headband back over her shoulder, she bows in welcome to Karin. ... Yeah, it's overexaggerated. "So, like... the tournament. Is it going mostly as planned, or what?" She takes a few steps towards Karin -- though it's really to grab the water bottle nearby. A shiny medal lies right beside it.
The blonde stops short, letting Sakura catch her breath and getting in the casual conversation part of the program... partly out of everyday politeness, and partly out of a honest desire for a little back and forth every once in a while. She takes occasion to lean against a tree while Sakura drinks.
"Do you mean for the company, or for me personally?" she asks with a wry smile. Karin's still a little bruised; Kula really put her through the wringer this morning despite only landing a handful of actual hits. It shows. Though typically, she's over it by now. "We're raking in profits from the pay-per-views. Your friend Xiangfei--" And here, Karin's voice becomes briefly and unexpectedly taut. "--is particularly popular. I think we may owe Nokia some licensing fees, though. As for me personally... I haven't gotten a clear win in no matter what, so hopefully we won't end up knocking each other flat."
Sipping at her water, Sakura then caps the bottle and slings it aside. Retrieving the medal, she goes ahead and pins that on to her gi. "... Both, really. Since this is something for the company to kinda work the crowd and all, so Misters Howard and Masters don't steal =all= the press!" Sakura scratches her nose with the back of her hand -- it's probably hard to tell since she =always= gets in fights, but there are mild discolorations all across her face. As Karin's probably aware... Tony does not hit lightly. The gi itself helps to cover the rest.
She nods slowly, though, as the thought sinks in. "Mmm... at least things are going well on the business front. I... well, I'm getting shown up!" she admits, flashing a brief smile just the same. "I really ought to have beat Tony and Xiangfei without a problem, y'know? It can't be that I'm easing up or anything..."
Shrugging, she takes a few steps away, towards an area that's a bit clearer. Pausing to look around, she quirks an eyebrow. "Where the heck's your camera crew? You sure you want to do this without 'em?" But... just the same, Sakura balls her hands into fists, feet squared shoulder-width apart as she pivots her left side toward Karin in preparation.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
Stepping away from the tree she was leaning against, Karin takes the time to do a little warming up of her own while Sakura exposits... and very carefully pretends not to notice. As the tournament coordinator she gets all the footage, and so she is fully aware of Tony's antics... antics that were just inside the acceptable range. Fighting is a harsh world, after all. Not everybody is as friendly as Kula or Mimiru.
"It's not as if we're going to turn it into a full-time pursuit," the blonde explains, spreading her stance wide and leaning forward to touch the ground with both palms, the straightening back up and falling back into stance, circling Sakura a little bit. It's on... sort of. "But somehow Geese is making money hand over fist on Saturday Night Fights despite the absurd payout. So like a good businessperson I am relentlessly stealing his schtick."
And then, bam, she's on the move. Fancy footwork is completely discarded; instead, she simply makes with the Vanessa impression and ducks right on in, aiming a right cross at her age-old nemesis. "As for getting shown up, I guess we'll see how it works out!"
COMBATSYS: Karin has joined the fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Karin
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Karin's Quick Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Karin
"Well, it'd be fun to keep around, y'know? But yeah, more fun as an every now-and-then deal rather than a weekly..."
Sakura doesn't have time to expand on that thought. Raising her left arm, she takes the cross full on the shoulder and forearm, grinning back through grit teeth. Karin doesn't hit light either, but at least this is just a warmup!
And that'd be why Sakura follows up the blocked punch with something a bit more down-to-earth, rather than her specialty attacks. In this case, just a high snap kick aimed at cracking Karin in the jaw, Kasugano's right hand low, left hand high as a counterbalance for the otherwise unstable position. "Yu-ttaa!"
COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Sakura's Medium Kick.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Karin
Perhaps a little more torque might have been a good plan... or maybe less. Either way, though Sakura's technique is much better than her improvised methods can make her seem, Karin manages to use the quick nature of her first attack to come out of the blow with speed, twisting her body out of the way of the kick, which shears by her head by mere centimeters. Still, a close call is better than a broken nose.
"Well, it's a little haphazard, true," she says, planting her foot to stop the dodge from taking her too far away and then mimicking Sakura's kick, throwing out a high angled snap to her rival's shoulders that is a little less strong than Sakura's version, but has the advantage of being a little quicker. "Perhaps we could do it like a game show. 'Who Wants to Beat Up A Millionaire'."
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Light Kick from Karin with Quick Throw.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Karin
... Oof. Karin's kick is definitely =quicker=, as it catches Sakura before she can even get away from it. Mind, that's =partially= because she was trying to snatch Karin's kick out of midair, but her hands were a bit too slow -- and she just ends up getting nailed in the shoulder, stumbling back a few steps.
"Nggh..... well, you might be onto something there..." she admits, brushing the dirt off her shoulder. Karin's shoes are filthy. :(
"... but, like that? Would you still be able to call in lifelines, like calling your friends for backup? Or... hey, even audience participation!"
Grinning, Karin doesn't actually pull her leg back; instead, she keeps it extended and actually hooks it around, trying to yank Sakura to the ground with it. Perhaps not the most elegant maneuver in the world, but it certainly does have the advantage of conserving movement... and in a fight between these two, keeping momentum up has proven, in the past, to be monumentally important. "What, like a teammate to sit in the sidelines and jump in to help you on call, like some sort of... I don't know. Striker?" A derisive snort and a backing off to get into stance again, whether or not she can get Sakura onto the ground with her improvised leg takedown. "What kind of crazy person would think up that idea?"
COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Sakura with Quick Throw.
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Karin
WHAM. Karin uses her impressive command of leverage to send Sakura spinning to the dirt. She's clearly learned =something= from their many battles together, that much is certain.
She's quick to roll with it, though! One tumble later, Sakura's right back on her feet again, curling her hands by her side. Karin ought to recognize the signature bloom of blue energy from her hands by now, really! "Crazy like a =fox!= But yeah, it's been done, just... get a better host than Regis!" And on that note, Kasugano shoves her hands forward, unleashing the massive fireball she'd built up over the course of her sentence. And by 'massive', we of course mean 'at least as large as either of the two fighters'. The improbably large orb thunders towards Karin, nearly drowning out Sakura's cry of "Hadoooouken!" that follows it.
COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Sakura's Large Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Karin
Whoa. Actually, this is the first time Karin's ever had to deal with the XXL biggie size Hadouken (let's hear it for brand extension marketing). However, after a moment of careful (some might say panicked) analysis she comes to the conclusion that it's actually not as bad as one might expect; it's large, but large usually means slow moving. Pivoting on one heel, the blonde makes a quick turn, the huge projectile brushing just past a swirl of red fuku skirt... another close call, but Karin has the gall to rub it in: "Ole!"
Facing off with Sakura once again, the blonde decides to keep pressing the attack while she has the chance. She can't necessarily sense anything supernatural from Sakura, but past experience says the longer the fight goes on, the better her rival's "fighting spirit" gets... which typically leads bad places, like the SUPER OMGWTF HADOUKEN that won't be as easy to get away from. Flexing her fingers, Karin simply lashes out at Sakura with a basic but effective shotei punch to the stomach. "We can get Kai Gabriel to host," she adds as she does so, bemused. "That would make for must see TV."
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Hou Shou from Karin with Shou'ou Ken.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Karin
The slow Hadouken was enough of a longshot that Sakura expected it might have a chance... but naturally, Karin's seen past that strategy. It's probably a safe bet that a chess grandmaster has a tactical sense far outstripping that of a checkers aficionado, after all... and it's basically that 'foresight' that Sakura needs to improve upon.
Sakura thinks, for example, that it might be a good idea to try uppercutting Karin once she comes close. A shotei punch to the stomach serves as negative reinforcement for such an idea, stopping the uppercut cold, an aborted cry of "Shoou'oooOWW" providing a distasteful reminder of last night's battle with Styles. It's doubtful this match will end in a brutal beatdown to Sakura's face, at least.
Panting heavily as she staggers backward, Sakura stares wildly back at Karin. She's... cornered, threatened... even upset, now. "W...wha? Gabriel?" Relaxing her hands, she takes a moment to reassess this fight. Clearly... she's spiralled downward pretty far in this match.
Though it might be cold comfort to Sakura, Karin is as surprised; the Hou Sou has not exactly proven to be a 100% reliable strategy in the past, especially against inventive fighters like Sakura. Thus she actually pulls back in surprise, not pressing the counterattack. Instead, she hangs back and watches, deciding to keep up the witty repartee instead. "Well, it'd certainly be interesting color commentary, don't you think? Though perhaps we might have trouble with the networks in America about religious fundamentalism..."
COMBATSYS: Karin takes no action.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Karin
"... I'm..." Sakura shakes her head, narrowing her eyes slightly as she sees Karin refrain from attacking again. Just... another reflection on the harsh reality of Sakura's abysmal luck this week -- friendlier, yes, but Sakura can't help but feel a bit offended. After a brief sigh, she shakes off the mood, renewing her resolve and clenching her fists at her sides. "... I'm not sure 'interesting' is the word I'd use. More like 'annoying'." Sakura's dislike for Gabriel is pretty clear, after all: those other than Karin might easily confuse Sakura's frustration with Gabriel for her frustration with her progress with this fight, or rather the lack thereof.
But if life gives you lemons, make lemonade and all. Sakura might not like the idea of the offered charity, but she puts it to good use, elbows locking by her side as she refills her 'batteries', summoning a nice, big whirlwind of blue energy around her. "Haaaaaaaaah..." she voices, mouth lightly ajar, as the surrounding dirt and her loose clothing alike are tossed into motion by the miniature tornado.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Karin
Okay. That? Is bad news, and Karin is instantly regretting not continuing her offensive. The last time a fighter on the defensive produced the pretty light show as such it was Xiangfei, and what followed FROM Xiangfei was not pretty. Gritting her teeth at her own mistake, the blonde rushes to get back in the action, throwing out a pair of quick palm strikes followed by another, slightly less powerful version of the Hou Shou, hoping the changeup will be enough to keep Sakura off guard... and keep herself from getting fried in the process.
"I wouldn't be heartbroken if I never saw her again either," Karin admits as she attacks. "If you have a better suggestion I'm all ears. I just assumed you didn't like speaking in public, so your name never came up."
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Karin's Guren Ken.
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Sakura 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Karin
The moment, while considered a mistake by Karin and somewhat insulting to Sakura, =was= nonetheless the much-needed respite Sakura needed to get her head in the game, as it were. When Kanzuki charges in with a series of palm strikes =this= time, she might notice a more enthusiastic response from her rival. A renewed half-smile lights her features as she steps backward with the assault, meeting the alternating strikes with raised handguards, still glowing a faint blue from their recent immersion in the chi vortex. It takes both handguards to dull the final palm strike, bringing an amplified smile to her face for a moment.
"I... was thinking that guest announcer who jumped in SNF. The crazy one, tried to pee on Sagat right before we did that Metro City benefit." She knows specifics, but it's unlikely Karin's aware of the event, but the name finally comes to her.
Pity that it does so when Sakura has both hands at her sides, curled about for another one of her master's trademark attacks. "=Naerose=, I think... but she's psycho! So I got nothin."
Contrary to her assertion, she definitely has =something= in her hands -- it's only half the size, but it's significantly more opaque. "Mmm... Xiangfei, maybe?" she comments, right before thrusting her hands forward. Delivery is the difference here -- the fireball rockets out towards Karin at a significantly faster rate than before. "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Karin with Large Hadouken EX.
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Sakura 1/-======/=======|======-\-------\0 Karin
The second attempt fares much better than the first, for sure; Karin is about to respond to Sakura when she notices the incoming attack and, banking on her previous attempt, decides to try and skirt this one too. Unfortunately she was making the mistake of thinking they were the same attack, when Sakura clearly put a new spin on this one... the burst of chi gets Karin right in the side, sending her spinning backwards in a wire-fu type motion to land on the ground a few feet away.
Wincing in pain as she pulls herself standing, the blonde faces off with Sakura again, grinning a little bit as she wipes dirt off her cheek. "I don't know much about Sagat, but that sounds like a 'lucky to be alive' situation right there, if he didn't kill her," the blonde says conversationally, before jumping on in and making a grab for Sakura's shoulder, intending to drive her knee home into her rival's gut a couple times and then back off, hoping to get her rhythm back. "As for Xiangfei..." Karin trails off. Noticably.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Karin's Homura-geri.
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Sakura 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Karin
A successful hit -- that's another helpful boost to Sakura's mood in this fight. The alternative, of course, is Sakura going all 'murderous intent' and everything, as often happens in fights against, oh, Freeman or Vice. Sakura's not quite at that stage. Yet.
She =is= a bit shy from forcing the fight back onto Karin, though. Right now, anyway, she feels the need to stay focused --- and that means backing off slightly as Karin closes in. She's able to brush off the initial grab for her shoulder by swivelling her forearm to the side, but it's not enough to keep a knee from plowing into her stomach, causing her spine to arch in recoil. "Gnnh... yeah, basically..." agrees Sakura.
But... while she might not be =angry=, she is still a bit... shall we say, 'intense'. And after a knee like that, Sakura backs away, keeping her hands raised to fend off further advances. At least, until she gets to a distance where it'd be safe enough to strike.
The 'strike' in this instance starts as the last few have, with Sakura cupping her hands to her sides. The flames that spurt forward though are a deep orange, rather than blue. Kasugano seems indifferent, continuing, "... She's still my friend, Karin... she's still got a good heart inside..." Not like she has to explain her rationale -- there are other things to pay attention to. Like the flickering of orange lights upon her features. Or the fact that the flickers of orange are now being thrust at Karin. "HADOOOOOOUKEN!"
Mind, Sakura herself seems a bit confused at the change. "... Oh, hey, how 'bout that?"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Karin with Medium Hadouken.
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Karin
The first time around Karin could at least blame it on the attack being unexpected. This time she has no such excuse; the Hadouken simply blows right on past her attempt to dodge, the extra force Sakura kicked into it doing... a rather considerable amount of damage. In only two attacks, the Ansatsuken prodigy has turned the match around and then some. Never mind that the light-hearted tone of the conversation has become a little serious.
"I am reserving judgment for the moment," Karin says, voice carefully neutral as she circles Sakura, looking... a bit worse for wear overall, but certainly not out of the fight yet by any means. "I'm not convinced she's innocent. I'm not convinced she's not either." And then, finding her opening, the blonde dashes in, making a move to ostensibly start the Mujin Kyaku...
COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Sakura with Kanzuki-ryu Kou'ou Ken.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Sakura 1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0 Karin
Unfortunately for Sakura, it's not a Mujin Kyaku at all. Karin does sweep up with the right leg, tossing Sakura into the air, but doesn't follow up with the left. Instead, she shouts "Kanzuki revised style, Kou'ou Ken!" and leaps into the air, making the normal scything motion of the Kou'ou Ken to basically spike Sakura back down to earth, ending with a Hou Shou as she lands to send her rival schoolgirl flying away.
Wham, wham, wham! Sakura's propelled into the air by Karin's ultimate assault... only to be smacked right back down, leaving her staggering for balance long enough for that Hou Shou to utterly smash the schoolgirl back. Effectively, whatever 'balance' she'd managed to eke out is blasted away in the process, which results in Sakura's leg hooking on a tree and spinning her wildly out of control before she skips once, twice across the ground. Medic!
... mind. Sakura's still got =something= left here. And that 'something' sounds like the crackle of wrapping paper on christmas morning as the schoolgirl pushes back to her feet. A grin flits across Sakura's mouth as she reveals the source of the sound -- lightning from her fingertips. Raw chi, fire, and now lightning... if she only had water she could complete the whole set! But as it is, Karin might have to settle for what Sakura's dealing out. "Eh... maybe I should just leave the philosophy to you, huh? Shinkuuu...." And she gives another halting step forward, the battle having clearly taken its toll on the schoolgirl as she practically throws her entire body into delivering her last-ditch effort to Karin: a seething mass of electricity and swirling chi: "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Karin
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Karin with Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Karin
Perhaps learning from previous lessons in this very fight, Karin is 100% exxpecting the incoming chi assault. She does her best to get out of the way, but her best isn't good enough in that regard and the fireball slams into her... but it doesn't knock her out, and simply sends her sliding across the ground instead; at the last minute, Karin had thrown up her arms and tried her damndest to resist, turning a potential knockout blow into... a crushing smackdown instead.
But seeing as neither girl is down quite yet, the blonde simply grins, though it soon becomes gritted teeth; this is the second fight today that energy attacks have proven to be her undoing, and isn't that the whole reason she started training here to begin with? "You just couldn't have the decency to stay down..." she says, with wry good humor, before lunging in for a knife hand to Sakura's side. Beyond injured, the blonde looks tired too.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Karin's Quick Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Karin
Grinning back at Karin as her attack lands true, Sakura seems... rather pleased, actually. "Decency? I thought I was an uncultured lout or something!" And a loudmouth to boot!
But, in contrast to Karin, Sakura seems to have caught another burst of energy. No whirlwinds or anything like that, just an adrenaline high, apparent in how she springs back to her feet from what was looking like her toppling over. Shunting Karin's knifehand away with a quick sweep of her forearm, Sakura takes one step forward, following it with a quick knee driven up towards Karin's midsection. "Hyaa!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Karin with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > / ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Karin
COMBATSYS: Karin takes no action.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Karin can no longer fight.
[ \\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/=======|
Sakura may be on her second wind, but Karin used up her first and probably the first of whatever her next fight would be in this battle already. She makes an attempt to get out of the way of Sakura's kick, but it's just not in the cards, as it were; stumbling back a few steps with a loud "oof!", the blonde tries to keep standing and it just doesn't work; instead she drops to one knee, panting. Physically battered and exhausted, she doesn't make any last desperate attempts. "Alright... I'm done. Good work."
Well... Sakura didn't expect it to be quite so sudden, but apparently she'd managed to turn the tide in one breathtaking sequence of events. If it weren't for Karin dropping to one knee, Sakura might have charged forward with another sequence of punches... but as it is, she steps forward with an extended hand. It's unlikely Karin will accept the assistance, but it's the thought that counts. "Y... yeah?" asks Sakura, still unsure about the whole arrangement. Most of that's because of the way she pretty much declined to take Mimiru's medal, just one night before. "... you aren't just sayin' that, are you...?" she asks, with a half-joking, half-skeptical expression upon her face. Saving face for Karin, perhaps, but Sakura does offer, with a more sincere smile, "... Thanks for pushing me to the limit again, Karin. I really enjoyed it."
COMBATSYS: Sakura takes no action.
[ \\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.
Karin's not going to get up from kneeling, not just yet; it's taking a herculean effort just to keep that one leg up as is. Presumably, though, someone perceptive like Sakura will see that, rather than assume she's refusing help. Instead, Karin takes her medal off her collar and puts it into Sakura's hands. "Yes, I'm serious. What would be the point of winning my own tournament?" she asks, lips quirking into a faint smile. "I've had the chance to fight some interesting styles, and more to the point I've gotten to see so many fighters in action. That's worth the price of my participation as it is."
Sakura stares down at the medal in her hand, closing her fingers around it very, very slowly as she listens. Attention flickering back to Karin's eyes for a moment, she slowly nods in understanding. "... I think I got it, yeah..." Lips pressing together into a tight smile, Sakura moves to pin the medal onto her gi, beside the other one. (She really did put the medal on her collar earlier, this absent-minded typist simply neglected to mention it!) "... I think... " She chuckles a bit, noting that Karin's staying on the ground -- and so she drops to her feet, folding her legs indian-style. Smoothing her gi across her legs, she notes, "Maybe when I get rich off fighting and stuff, I'll start my own tournament to, just like you and Ken did. I really like this format for it though, it's fun!"
Get rich off fighting? At first that thought would seem absurd to someone like Karin, who is about as close to a real life John Galt as one can get, more or less. Still, she's seen (and received) some of the boku bucks Geese Howard throws out even for draws, so in reality it's not all that far-fetched. But just because Sakura wins the medal doesn't mean Karin, who gives up on the one leg and just rests against a tree, is going to let her off easy. "Ah, getting rich, eh... well. I suppose I shall have to rely on good old-fashioned business genius to do that, but you know, whatever works for you."
"Well... yeah. I suppose it's kinda silly to expect to run a business just goin' by my heart and all. Maybe..." Pausing, she taps her cheek -- inadvertently touching a light bruise from her fight with Tony. "ow." Further pause. "... That's it! I'll go to business school, learn all my stuff, right?" She outlines her plan, tapping an index finger on her palm as she looks up towards the dojo. "And... and =then= you can hire me as an executive, so I'll know everything about how to run a business..." Musing off in that direction, she balls a fist again. "And after a few years, you'll probably be sick of me, buy out my stake of the company, and by that point..." She turns back to Karin with an excited grin! "By then, I'll have enough to start my own tournament and everything!"
The silence she's sure to be greeted with is deafening. "... what?"
Karin has the decency not to laugh. Or perhaps the willpower not to laugh. ...alright, who are we kidding? She's almost laughing before Sakura can get the comic pause in. "You can run the next one of these, then," she says patiently, once she can, you know, breathe again. "I'm sure you'll have oodles of fun with cost accounting and liability paperwork."
Sakura pales, turning nearly white as a sheet. That's right, kiddies -- legal issues. "... whaaaa? You mean you had to go out and do =other= stuff too? What kinda paperwork did you have to..." Mouth gaping wide as she thinks of the possibilities, she suddenly comes to a realization.
"... Never mind, don't tell me! I'll just... I'll just go to art school and throw buckets of paint onto walls or something!" She laughs a bit, flashing Karin a brief thumbs-up. "Ah... it's been a rough week! At least my relatives left this weekend though..."
Having finally recovered enough to at least stand up, Karin gives Sakura a grim nod. "Oh yes. Consider that Kula and I did a good $700 in damages to the Pao Pao Cafe alone. Multiply that times 40, plus insurance and other concerns for the city of Southtown in general, the waivers for recording footage..." Lost in her own little world, the blonde ticks points off on her dusty fingers absently, then remembers where she is and coughs. "Anyhow. Yes, I'm doing all the paperwork. Controlling interest is one thing, but Daddy still has some say, and when I proposed this... let's just say anything your aunts and uncles did to you this past week is kind of mild by comparison." She actually shudders a tiny bit, since the last time 'Daddy' got mad about fighting, she had to take on a huge bear, uh... bare-handed.
Gulping at the thought, Sakura fends off the thought with hands, "Ew, no, get it away from me!" A brief snicker follows, in case it weren't blindingly obvious that was a joke. "... Man, though. You really wanted this to get off the ground, huh?" Grinning, Sakura nods in enthusiasm. "Well... it's a little late =now=, but you know if you need any help, I dunno, wrangling people together or something, just give me a shout..."
Of course, there's a reason Sakura trails off -- she glances once more to the dojo, at roughly the same time a ferocious bear roars in the distance. No, wait -- that's just Sakura's stomach. "... eh-heh. I... it's gettin' on toward suppertime, and I was just about to throw some teriyaki chicken on the stove so that Master could have something when he gets back. You want some?" ... It's probably no secret that the elder Kasugano child likes to cook, but it's not exactly the most -obvious- interest in light of her prominent tomboy features...
Oh yes. Beat her down, then feed her. They'll be married by the time the year is out. Still. "To be honest, I could use five minute's vacation from dealing with all this. I'm glad it's been fun, but..." And here she grins, just a tiny bit. "Mind you, I watched the fight between Heavy D and Shingo a few times. I hope you'll forgive me on that." Presumably Sakura's seen it too, and hopefully she will actually forgive the blonde for taking a tiny bit of joy in seeing Shingo get whacked, especially after their fight ended... not so hot. "To be honest, I'm just glad to have one fight end in something other than a double knockout!" And then she starts... well, not striding, but briskly limping, inside. Thank you, Kim Kaphwan!
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 06:22:06 11/12/2005.