Description: Kensou gets a rematch against Alma Towazu, who defeated him pretty badly not long ago! This time, things go... Marginally better, reminding Kensou that he has a long way to go, even if he DOES scrape by the win. Special Bonus: The return of the Most Devastating Light Kick in the Business! (tm Xiangfei)
"/o~ Hmmm hmmm hmm hmmm hmm... /o~"
A beautiful young man turns his head and ever-so-slightly adjusts the seemingly-accidental position of one stray blonde lock of hair, the tip tapering to a unique reddish tone and curving downward dashingly. Eyes low-lidded so that his long eyelashes shade his calm hazel eyes, he finally smiles serenely, looking more than satisfied, and turns away from his reflection -- only to blink at the expression of the teenaged clerk gazing at him, who promptly reddens, bites her lip, and tries to look busy. Suddenly feeling a bit silly and self-conscious, the young man reaches up and scratches the back of the head in bemusement and mental self-reproach for his open and unconscious display of vanity, but he quickly recovers and lowers his hand to the quaking of his shoulders, chuckling silently, his eyes sparkling with mirth. He only has to look over his shoulder one last time back into the mirror before deciding that this white ribbed shirt really *does* suit him.
Every day is a beautiful day when you're Alma Towazu.
Being well-dressed just gives you an edge.
Considering how the days have been growing more overcast, that edge might be just what some people need, but though Alma feels himself gaining a tendency toward placidity and occasional melancholy as the seasons change, it feels nothing but natural. As the year changes so must he -- and he feels comfortable with this. It's like giving every facet of your personality a good airing out every year. Heh, you should see him in the spring.
Whatever the case, Alma is finished here. He has made an excellent purchase. Wearing it out of the store, the bag in his hand holding the shirt he wore in, the tall youth steps out into the outdoor plaza and smiles openly up at the sky, the stud in his ear glinting at what sunlight filters through. The honesty of the expression is startling in its radiance.
He'd look like a big dork if it didn't make him so stunningly beautiful.
On the other hand, Kensou doesn't really 'get' the complexities behind clothes shopping. It's just not in his psyche; growing up the way he did, with pretty much nothing, has left him pretty much disinterested in material goods. ...Well, except for food. And comic books. And occasionally video games. But, you know... Ahh, forget it. The point is, much unlike Alma, Kensou is pretty much exclusively a casual dresser. The Chinese youth is actually emerging from a bookstore in the mall, having spent a bit of money on some new comics, which fill the plastic bag he's carrying in his left hand. No, he's not trying to read and walk at the same time. The last time he attempted that sort of multitasking, it resulted in some evil old woman stealing his cellphone. "Man, maybe I should get somethin' t' eat," he mutters to himself as he walks across the paved street of the mall, consideringly. Hmm. Decisions, decisions.
Theoretically Alma is done for the day, but he just has one of those intuitions of his that today is going to be a bigger day than that. He came out to quietly celebrate his acceptance to Southtown University for next semester, but having caught up with all the work he's needed to catch up on -- and organic chemistry is nothing fun to catch up on, let me tell you -- he's finished with school for the next couple months. Now is the time to educate himself in other ways. To further himself by manifesting the deepest level of his fighting spirit, so as to integrate it with his daily--
~ Mm? A familiar aura... but stronger than I remember... ~
Turning his head calmly, Alma's mild features brighten noticably at the sight of from where his target aura manifests. "Kensou!" he calls heartily, smile spreading into a grin as he starts to take long confident strides toward his fellow psychic. "I didn't expect to see you here." Not him in particular, at any rate... "Looks like you've been training." Not like any normal person would really be able to tell, but Kensou may know what he means. "How've you been...?
His expression softens, his hospitable nature showing through. He looks genuinely happy to see the guy.
Of course, Kensou gives a bit of a start when he's called to; the whole 'heightened awareness' thing isn't something he generally seems to have entirely gotten the hang of. Oh, sure, sometimes he gets little flashes of it, with the empathic nature of Psycho Power, but other times... "Oh, hey, Alma," Kensou says when he notices who it is that surprised him, looking a bit sheepish as he waves. "Yeah, I've been trainin' a little..." Wait, how could Alma know that?!, is his internal reaction, but he doesn't say anything about it. He's just, well, surprised! Again. "My teacher decided I oughta step up my lessons, y'see. Had me runnin' all the way 'round the city every day, with weights on my back. An' then he'd make me spar with him," the shorter psion admits, shrugging as if it were the most normal thing in the world! "Other'n that, I've been okay. How 'bout you? Been trainin' hard?"
~ Oh... I hope he doesn't have back trouble later in life. ~
"Just my usual amount, I'm afraid," Alma says with a little smile. "I've been relaxing a bit. Trying to get back into my art." The smile widens at that mention. "I like to draw for fun. Today I just went shopping... do you like my new shirt?" He basically goes ^_^ for a moment, but fortunately for all of us, that subsides quickly, back to his usual mild, calm expression.
His eyes then narrow slightly, thoughtfully. "Interesting," he murmurs quietly, before speaking, "Kensou. Would you feel prepared for a rematch? Do you think you can defeat me now?"
~ I know I've been getting stronger. I feel myself on the verge of a real breakthrough with my techniques. But I don't know if I can defeat him now... his powers are still far greater than mine. Yet I learned so much from our last battle. If I pit my fighting spirit against him again, will I find the same inspiration as before...? ~
What a girly question to ask, Alma! You girl! Kensou blinks owlishly at the question, mumbling something noncomittal; that's not the sort of thing you /ask/ another guy! It violates the Guy Code of Guyness! Besides, there are much more interesting things to talk about. Like fighting, which is much manlier than discussing shirts. It's something Kensou has to think about, though; the last time he faced Alma, things... Really didn't go well, and Kensou paid for his initial overconfidence. He should know better than that, of course, given all the lessons Chin has given him on how overconfidence disturbs the spirit and leads to folly and defeat. "All right," he says, with a slow nod, walking over to a nearby bench to put his bag of comics on top of it. "Nothin' wrong with another friendly match, right?" Kensou grins at this, tilting his head a bit at Alma... While casually dropping into his usual fighting stance.
COMBATSYS: Kensou has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kensou 0/-------/-------|
Calmly tossing his own bag onto the bench on the opposite side of the path, Alma steps back and raises his arms into the air, stretching languidly and breathing deeply, feeling his fingers and toes tingle as his loosening body begins to accept more of the ambient chi. Body and mind are inextricably and intimately intertwined. By stretching the body, one stretches the mind. By stretching the mind, one stretches the body. The self expands until the boundary is so thin as to be invisible, and then the flow of the fight can be felt, the driving heartbeat of the universe sings in one's ears--
Alma taps his foot quietly for a few moments, establishing a rhythm, before smiling slightly and turning back to Kensou, his posture straightening and growing yet more poised even as his limbs relax, arms swinging easily into an open handed guard position, right foot sliding forward for a balanced stance.
"Then, please... do your best!"
He lets go, and the rushing tides of his fighting spirit burst within him -- his eyes flash once, gleaming white-pink -- and stepping forward in a sudden lunge, Alma chops upward with his right hand and sends a sudden gout of pinkish-purple Psycho Power flame right at Kensou, if only to send him stumbling back.
"KUUSEIHA!"
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kensou
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kensou with Sacred Wave.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kensou
Alas for Kensou; though he tries, valiantly, to get the heck out of the way of Alma's Psycho Power 'flame', it doesn't really pan out. Instead, he's struck by it, the energy searing at him - though definitely not as much as other hits he's taken - and dulling his focus slightly. "Heh," he chuckles, recklessly closing the distance between himself and Alma anyway, keeping his hands up for guard as he puts all his weight on one leg, bringing his other foot up in a pretty regular kick, aimed right at the side of Alma's head. "Hyaa-!"
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Alma with Light Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Alma 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kensou
~ Eh? He was barely slowed at-- ~
Wha-POW! Alright, that was just partially bad luck there -- but mostly it was Kensou being a better martial artist than Alma. He takes the kick on the side of the head so hard that it actually spins him around once before he can even get a grip one himself, his eyes wide and dazed with surprise -- but his fighting spirit doth protest. Surging up from within him, he ignores the pain, overcomes the daze with sheer resolve, and continues to spin, feinting freefall. Instead, he turns to step-kick at Kensou's shin, hoping to jam any follow-up attacks before unleashing the real blow, a fierce twisting uppercut.
"HAH!"
It's gonna take more than a kick in the head to stop Alma!
You'll need at *least* two.
COMBATSYS: Kensou dodges Alma's Strong Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kensou
See, now that? THAT is a kick. Kensou is actually pretty surprised at how /effective/ his speedy kick turned out to be, but he's certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth! Not even when Alma keeps spinning and feints with his foot and /then/ tries to ghetto Shoryuken him. Kensou's shin isn't in the way of Alma's foot when he tries to step-kick him, and that twisting uppercut likewise meets nothing but air, because Kensou? Backed the heck outta the way. The shorter psion brings his hands up in front of his face as he dodges back, collecting energy for a brief moment before sweeping his hands out! This would be when that distinctive sphere of blue-tinged white Psycho Power forms in midair, hurtling towards Alma... Ideally before he recovers from his uppercut! "Choukyuudan!"
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Alma with Choukyuu Dan.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kensou
Alright, smooth moves on Kensou's part. Alma has to recover from that uppercut, and in the time that takes, he doesn't have enough time to react before--
~ Oh, damn--! ~
He sinks into a crouch, clutching at his temples, and looks up, blinking in surprise at his now-blinding white surroundings. Before the shock of being transported fades, however, two shadowy features materalize before him. Soft-eyed, lips parted, the youth stares at them, and after a moment, starts to tremble. He bites his lip, and then tries to speak, but can find no words to express himself. There are things to say, he knows, but he's still not ready to say them. The moment has not yet come. He struggles with himself furiously, trying to force himself to say what needs to be said--
--but then they smile.
And when Alma looks back up at Kensou during the split-second he has spent in his wounded crouch, he is smiling as well. His eyes are oddly soft for a man in the middle of a fight, though. "I saw them," he whispers to himself. "It wasn't... the memory, this time..."
He lunges, and fists igniting, he starts to grin.
"Dodge this, Kensou!"
His fists blur as he begins a series of fierce, flaming jabs...
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kensou with Sacred Rekka Revelation.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kensou
And connecting with the first barrage, Alma is able to unleash the full force of his fury, attacking with a series of flaming stunning high punches and low kicks before finishes with an explosive uppercut, releasing so much Psycho Power in the act that it actually appears to ignite Kensou entirely for a second before the flames vanish.
With a long, quiet exhalation, Alma settles back into his fighting stance. "Shaaaaa..."
He hasn't stopped smiling. But his eyes are expectant, now, rather than soft.
And it's... Quite the barrage, really! Kensou is battered and pummelled by Alma's collection of attacks, those Psycho Power flames burning pretty good! Kensou slumps a bit before he catches himself, shaking his head a bit... And turning a focused gaze on Alma. "That was pretty good," he says. And it was! Kensou was honestly unable to comply with his opponent's suggestion of dodging. But what to do?! Dashing in towards Alma again, he tries to /grab/ the model by his brand-new shirt, each hand gripping a bunch of fabric before he throws his weight back, intent on taking his opponent with him. On the way down, one of Kensou's feet comes up, and if all goes as planned, he'll roll on his back and then push out with his foot while letting go of Alma's shirt, to toss him away. "Hup!"
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Kensou's Tomoe Nage.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Kensou
Alma is grabbed by his shirt... and frowns slightly as he's lifted off the ground. He just meets Kensou's gaze and remarks calmly, slightly reproachfully even, "That's my shirt," before reaching out to grab Kensou's own shirt, snapping out his elbows to forcibly break Kensou's grip even as his opponent is throwing his weight back. Alma is half-thrown, but breaks free more than soon enough to recover mid-air, and as if just to prove it, he twists around to aim a snapping kick to Kensou's head. Whether hit or miss, Alma will be able to land gracefully afterward, avoiding most of the damage of the attack.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kensou with Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Kensou
Hey, ow! Kensou gets kicked in the head, which sucks, especially with how his throw got borked, and all. He clutches his head as he gets to his feet, because /ow man/, grunting a bit. He exhales slowly, turning to face Alma... And then again he's dashing forwards, closing the distance between the two of them, feinting with a slow right-hand punch to set up... A much quicker, snapping punch with his left hand, fist darting out towards Alma's cheek before being pulled right back. "Ya-!"
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Alma with Quick Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Kensou
The punch snaps Alma's head back, but he remains unfazed. Seeing stars is no problem when you only half rely on your eyes to see. Even as he's recovering from the punch itself Alma is counterattacking, striking with a series of punches: a knuckles-out punch to Kensou's solar plexus, a twisting claw strike to his face, and then another few fierce punches to his fellow kung-fuers midsection. Twisting Tiger!
Fighting spirit ablaze, Alma appears to not notice how much damage he's taking.
COMBATSYS: Kensou fails to interrupt Strong Punch from Alma with Sunda.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Kensou
The first punch strikes true; Kensou, however, starts to lash out with an open palm towards Alma's solar plexus, although the wind is... Pretty securely knocked out of him... At least until he gets slashed at - ow, you girl! - which sort of forstalls what he was doing, and then punched /again/, stumbling backwards with a hand on his midsection. Ow, ow, ow. Looks like Alma has the upper hand, here. But for how long?!
Long enough to get his fighting spirit back in gear. The damage from Kensou's attacks has been too jarring and mind-numbing, even with Alma's improved abilities, to really get himself fully inspired, but by golly, he's not going to let that get him down. He just needs a little time... and that's just what Kensou has given him.
So, taking a deep breath, Alma relaxes completely, lowering himself once again into his stance as he releases everything -- only to have passion overwhelm him again, filling the void. There is not just appreciation for the fight and the joy of battle, now; there is the desire to win.
When his eyes reopen, they blaze. The youth quirks his mouth into a tight smile, almost a fierce smirk. Alma will win! Again!
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Kensou
Maybe he will... And maybe he won't. Kensou's definitely not the sort of person to just lie down and let it happen. Gathering himself, he reaches behind his back, watching Alma carefully. Now, normally, Kensou would be the sort of person to go straight after the other fighter when presented with such an opening... But not right this minute. Right this minute? He's producing a piping-hot meatbun from behind his back, and popping the thing into his mouth to chew. Arrm num num num. If he's going to give it his all, he can't do it on an empty stomach, apparently!
"SyeaaAAHHH..."
The sight of Kensou eating a meat bun in the middle of a battle doesn't seem to surprise Alma much, interestingly, but it does get his attention, for his reaction is urgent; he senses the accumulation of power in Kensou's act, and knows, quite intimately in fact, what it means. He rushes. Leaping in mid-lunge, Alma soars through the air, covering the distance quickly as the air roars around him in protest at his speed, and igniting his right foot, he thrusts out in a fierce hooking flying kick, snapping out in a hammering strike at his opponent's face. Eat *this*!
"SHOOTING STAR!"
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Kensou with Meat Bun.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Kensou
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kensou with Engeki Shooter.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Kensou
Mmm, nutritous and delicious! The visible injuries on Kensou's body - like the marks on his face - fade right before Alma and any other onlookers' very eyes, but unfortunately he doesn't manage to get out of the way of that big ol' kick of Alma's. "Geh!" exclaims he, getting knocked to the ground. That sucked pretty bad! But not so bad that Kensou doesn't have anything to do about it, as he twists around and simply tries to sweep Alma's legs right out from under him after he lands from that energy kick. "Tch-!"
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Alma with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Alma 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kensou
Alma flips off of Kensou's face after the kick, quite stylishly, but his graceful descent to the ground costs him time that turns out to be valuable indeed. He doesn't have time to react to the kick, and it sweeps him off his feet, sending him tumbling to the ground, but he kip-ups quickly and draws his right hand back with a huff. Focusing his energies, Alma feels his power renewed by self-inspiration, summoning all his gathered passion and battle-joy into a single point on his fingertips, drawing upon the power until his entire hand glows white-hot...
He recalls the image, and cannot help but smile.
~ Whatever happens now... I'm not afraid. ~
He strikes once.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Kensou with The One Strike.
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Kensou
He connects.
Unleashing the full force of all that passion, all that momentum and energy, directly into Kensou's mind, the attack surges through the shorter psion's defenses, forcibly forging a temporary psychic connection through which Alma simply channels the sheer force of his raw battle aura, the pure release overwhelming and stunning.
It only takes a second.
Alma steps back, feeling cleansed.
"Absolution," he murmurs quietly.
It's powerful, all right... But Kensou's defenses, even if they won't quite let him get out of the way of Alma's assault, are still quite formidable; much of the potential power of the assault doesn't really get through. "Y'know, Alma... It's funny, I never seem t' have much luck dealin' with your attacks." Does that mean that he's going to give up? That he's going to just sit down and give up? Hah, not a chance! Instead, rather than continuing to stagger back, Kensou hurls himself into /forward/ motion, jumping and twisting with one foot swung out, trying to impact the other psion in the face...!
COMBATSYS: Kensou successfully hits Alma with Ryuu Sougeki.
[ \\\\\ < > /////// ]
Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Kensou
"Gnnkh...!"
Ears ringing, vision fading, Alma slumps to his knees, feeling his strength failing him now that he's expended the last of his power. With a quiet gasp, feeling himself now overwhelmed by Kensou's own psychic strength, he finds his arms no longer able to support him, he collapses before Kensou's eyes--
--and never touches the ground.
Even before his image has finished blurring, Alma is halfway through aiming a fierce, flaming roundhouse kick at the back of Alma's head. The fabric of space is surprisingly fragile. Sometimes, all it takes is resolve to tear it and mend it anew...
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Kensou 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kensou blocks Alma's Sacred Rekka Revelation.
[ \\\\\ <
Kensou 1/------=/=======|
But with his final attack checked, Alma doesn't have anything left for more. He hits the ground on his knees... for real this time. After a few moments of heavy breathing, palms placed flat on the ground, he looks up, bleary eyed, and manages a little grin.
"Well fought, Kensou..."
There was also totally a streak of blue-tinged white Psycho Power behind that kick of Kensou's. Really. No, there was, it just wasn't mentioned before; he too flips back off of his energised kick, landing on the balls of his feet and skidding back a few inches... His shoulders heave, his breathing is ragged, and he's pretty hurt. But this time, at least, he's got enough in him to react in time to Alma's attack, throwing up an arm to intercept that leg before it can get all flaming and kicking on his /head/, which is fragile and important. With Alma giving up, Kensou lets out a hefty sigh, but... He's on his feet! He's overcome the model who previously embarassed him! Barely! At least it's something. "Heheh... Yeah, whew, that was pretty tough," Kensou says to alma with a grin. "Your attacks are kinda hard t' deal with."
After a few more moments to summon up the resolve, Alma manages to get to his feet as well, head clearing as the attacks have finished. "That's reassuring," he says with a smile, perfectly deadpan, though his eyes sparkle lightly with mild amusement. "Still, you dealt with them today. You've gotten stronger since last time. But I bet you still have more left to give, hmm?"
A couple more deep breaths and Alma is ready to walk again. He patiently and methodically makes his way over to the bench and gets his bag, then turns his head and smiles. It's the sort of smile that makes the air seem to sparkle around him. You know, one of those special anime shots. "Thanks for the match, Kensou," he says gently, voice lowered. "I'll train harder for next time."
~ I'd better... if I'm going to defeat Xiangfei! ~
"Heh, thanks," Kensou says, since his increase in strenght is noted! Yes, isn't he such a humble young man? "I might have a little, but y' just about had me with that last hit." Of course, his own final attack... Had a lot of his own fighting spirit behind it, as Alma no doubt witnessed firsthand. He's also headed towards his bag, waving a bit towards the model. "I'll be lookin' forward to it, an' don't think I won't be trainin', too!" Because he will. As long as he can be kept from slacking off about it... Which would probably require Chin to stay sober. So honestly? It's kind of a crapshoot. Ahh, but now? Now he needs something to /eat/. Fighting always makes him hungry!
Log created by Kensou, and last modified on 02:12:11 11/25/2005.