Description: My, Acacia's popular. It's another day at Gedo High as Juli drops by to settle a grudge. On the basketball court. Catcalls from the Gedo boys as the two go at it. It's a close and brutal fight. But Acacia wins - because white dolls can't jump. (Winner: Acacia)
She beat her. She tagteamed with that runt of a schoolgirl and beat her. She was on Juli's side, and she beat her. If Juli's had one thing pounded relentlessly into her head since her rebirth, it's loyalty. Loyalty to Shadaloo, loyalty to Lord Vega. That someone can turn their back on the loyalty to their own gang so easily disturbs Juli. This cannot stand.
And so, the invitation--one of the lower ranked thugs in Daigo's gang set off to deliver the word. Juli wants Acacia, after school in the courtyard. Historically, this is the preferred time and place of school bullies to be certain, though Juli knows little of this.
And now the time, the final bell for school has rung, and true to her word Juli waits in the courtyard for the entrance of her .. teammate... the disloyal one. The one that requires retraining in the concept of loyalty, and failing that, a severe beatdown for her emotional flightiness. She stands underneath one of the basketball nets, her direction turned towards the main exit into the room with an intensity that those few who've already heard the news and gathered in early to see the fight almost instinctively realize to leave her alone.
At the border between the basketball court and the school building, a small commotion goes up. The crowd parts, letting Acacia through. A few words are spoken, shouts, jeers, mixed together - the usual from a Gedo audience. Acacia doesn't speak in return, though. The most she gives is a thin smile as she shoulders her way through.
The heavy tread of her boots sounds on the court surface. She's dressed as she usually is, heavy jacket over jeans and t-shirt. But as she approaches Juli, Acacia starts shrugging off her coat, snaking her arms out of the old army uniform. She's seen Juli in action, before...and even though Acacia's state of mind wasn't very coherent then, it's enough to remember a...few things. And come to a few conclusions.
Tossing her jacket aside, Acacia folds her bared arms. And raises an eyebrow. "Well?"
Tracking the disturance in the crowd, Juli tracks Acacia's path towards her, that unsettling stare focsed on her opponent as soon as she's clear enough to be seen. A frown, of sorts, curls Juli's lips.. a faint display of emotion, though for Juli that's enough.
"You are disloyal." Juli charges. "An army cannot tolerate disloyalty among its ranks."
And with that, Juli hurls one of the basketballs strewn across the basketball court at Acacia's head. Hard. Even with the distance between the two fighters, there's enough velocity in the throw to seriously hurt of Juli gets lucky with it.
Fight on, and at least Juli's wearing sensible clothes for this, a denim jacket over a black halter top, and loose fitting blue jeans.
COMBATSYS: Juli has started a fight here.
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Juli 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Acacia has joined the fight here.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Juli
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Juli's Thrown Object.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Juli
The sound of the basketball hitting Acacia's flesh...is loud, -very- loud. Too loud, like a whipcrack, a gunshot. Acacia lowers the hand she used to catch the ball, letting the orange sphere drop. She shakes her head. "Disloyal?"
Acacia snorts, air hissing through her nostrils. Not a particularly feminine thing to do, but then she's never given a damn about 'proper' behaviour for her gender.
"Like I told Yamada. Sakura is -my friend-."
Her eyes glint. "That's loyalty."
COMBATSYS: Acacia focuses on her next action.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Juli
It was a distraction, enough to get the girl distracted with the ball so that Juli could clear the distance between the two of them. Juli's running fast, the impact of her tennis shoes hitting the floor echoing through the large room.
"We were in a fight. You sided with the enemy. That is treason."
And then she's off of her feet with a strong jump, the momentum of her charge carrying her the rest of the way to her target. WIth her leg extended to lead in with it, and the red glimmer of psychopower surrounding the striking surface of her foot, it stands to deliver far more damage then the easily caught ball did.
COMBATSYS: Acacia interrupts Sniping Arrow from Juli with Icon of Stone.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Juli
Acacia doesn't move from her spot.
Instead, her combat boots scrape against the court floor, rubber soles finding purchase, finding grip and balance. She balls her fists, leather biker-gloves crinkling with the motion. And with a single fluid movement, she slams one arm in the path of Juli's incoming kick...-striking- the other girl's leg as it comes in. Elbow meeting shin with the shock of bone against bone.
"Attacked her when she was down," Acacia grates, "no honour, no quarter."
That again, though the impact jars her far more than it did the last time. She's a little off when she lands on her feet again, enough to dock her off a couple 10ths of a point in the olympics. This isn't the olympics though, so minor details like that don't matter too much.
Once on her feet, Juli presses the attack, body twisting to charge into Acacia with her shoulder. She knows how well the girl facing her defends, better to wear her down with an onslaught of fast attacks, hoping one or to gets through to wear her down.
"Not in war. Not to the enemy. None."
COMBATSYS: Juli successfully hits Acacia with Quick Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Acacia 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Juli
Acacia makes a small -annoyed- sound, as Juli plows into her. The other girl's shoulder driving her back, nearly knocking her off her feet. She stumbles...before regaining her balance, her eyes and face showing her irritation. Her muscles tense, visibly, flexing beneath the black T-shirt stretched over her lean frame.
"That wasn't war," she hisses, "that was Yamada waving his manhood around."
A surge of power builds within Acacia, pulsing through her body. Racing through nerves, muscle, bone, focusing into one clenched fist. And with an atonal shriek, it bursts into visible being. A shimmer dancing around her hand, engulfing an arm...a blur that distorts the very air, like a mirage, like a heat haze. Successive waves of concussive force pound the air as Acacia aims a powerful uppercut to Juli's jaw.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Acacia's Bonecrusher.
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Acacia 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Juli
Useless. Juli's seen this attack before and knows how to respond to it. When the concussive force is sent Juli's way, the Doll's simply no longer there, her duck so quick it could have been teleportation, and just a faint sheen of red tinted psychopower in the air to meet the punch, as harmless as the exertion on her opponet's part was.
"It was our leader telling us what to do." And that's the way it's always been for Juli -- hear an order, obey order. Never, ever, question order.
Juli's below her opponent now, crouched with her her head at waist level for the time.. she isn't down there for long though. There's another burst of red about her feet as she pushes herself up. Airborne, that lethal foot leading the charge once more.
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Cannon Spike from Juli with Icon of Stone.
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Acacia 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Juli
In the background, the noise from the crowd reaches fever pitch. Gedo students aren't exactly a sedate bunch to begin with, and a clash between two fighters of this calibre...that's something to -see-. Even if both are girls. Or maybe, -especially- if both are girls. Given that most of the Gedo student population is male. And the fact both combatants are in the newly-formed League? Just gravy.
But Acacia doesn't care about that. All she's concerned with is Juli. And she glares at the girl with single-minded intent.
It happened a moment ago, and now it happens again. Acacia deflects the rising energy-charged kick with one rigid forearm, light splashing off her skin. This time, with enough violent force to throw Juli off-course, sending her back to the ground. Hard.
"And if that order's '-ing screwed up?"
Equally ignorant to the crowd, Juli lets the noise and excitement wash over her -- she can't help but notice it, latent psychopowers picking up the energy in the room effortlessly, but she's had enough mental training to ignore these things. Especially when she's fighting.
Pushing herself to a crouch again, Juli lashing out with a sweep kick once she's got her feet underneath her again. Or, more properly, a knee and her balance.
"An order is an order." Juli responds with that same flat tone to her voice.
COMBATSYS: Acacia endures Juli's Light Kick.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Juli
As Juli's foot speeds towards her lower body, Acacia makes no move to dodge. She just stands there, taking the blow, Juli's kick hammering into her own legs. It must hurt, it -has- to...but Acacia doesn't react, doesn't show any sign of pain. Nor does she budge.
At least until she shifts position on her own accord. While Juli's still crouched in the follow-through from her sweep kick, Acacia aims one of her own. Snapping her own booted foot out, heel driving toward Juli's face.
"And they call -me- a soldier girl?" Acacia snorts.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Acacia's Light Kick.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Juli
And another save for the doll. It seems that she has no problems avoiding the girl's attacks when she isn't running into that brick wall of Acacia's defenses. It's another point for the 'wear the girl out' tactics. Slow though, and unsatisfing as it may be, it will have to work.
No more comments out of the girl though, Acacia's rebuke has hit a little closer to home than she wanted .. and she's already been warned about her. She's more concentrating on that kick, really. As that leg goes sailing by her side, Juli makes a grab for it. Should she succeed, Acacia'll likely find herself being hauled over Juli's shoulder to hit the ground behind her.
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Juli's Medium Throw.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Juli
Sure, Acacia hits the ground. But she manages to break her fall, diffusing the impact. She rolls to the side, coming back up on one knee. Eyes narrowed, the full force of her piercing stare on Juli. "What, no more comments?" Acacia shakes her head. "Not used to being the -talkative- one."
Fight banter has never really been her thing, really. She's always gone for the punching people direct route. That's why Acacia rises from her crouch, swinging. Springing towards Juli, leading with her fist.
COMBATSYS: Juli interrupts Quick Punch from Acacia with Cannon Spike.
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Acacia 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Juli
Fist, meet leg. Foot, meet chin. The girl gets a wicked idea, a truly, nasty little idea as she watches Acacia charge in like that. If Acacia's leading the attack, she can't very well turn the tables on Juli and throw her off like that can she?
And so timing her counter properly, Juli launches herself upwards at the last moment to deliver another psy powered kick at Acacia's chin. As she'd expected, this one hits.
"Stop talking and fight. You're losing." Juli drones after she lands on her feet again.
Losing? Acacia chuckles. "The fight, maybe," she replies, an undercurrent of perverse amusement shining in her tone, "but - I claim moral victory."
The corner of her lips quirk up in a small, knowing smile as she gets off the ground, rubbing her chin with the back of her hand. Propping herself up, half-crouched, half-kneeling, eyes regarding Juli.
COMBATSYS: Acacia focuses on her next action.
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Acacia 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Juli
And then Acacia stops to gather her will again, to prepare herself for something .. undoubtedly that brick wall that she's been dropping on her. Juli'll allow her thos, for now.
As the girl isn't doing anything, Juli focuses on her psychopower, letting its small spark in her soul to grow, fill her with fighting strength. Just standing and staring at Acacia, a red glow envelopes Juli's form -- and when it's gone, Juli feels far stronger for it.
COMBATSYS: Juli gathers her will.
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Acacia 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Juli
But Juli's wrong. Acacia's doing something, alright. She's gathering her own energies, in much the same way Juli's doing. With one critical difference, though. The power welling within Acacia, building up in her body...it's purely destructive. She remains where she is, bent over, low to the ground...
Ground that -shatters-. The floor of the basketball court caves -inward-, a dish-shaped crater cracking beneath Acacia, bits of debris cascading into the air...the result of a wave of pure concussive force ripping free from her body, expanding in all directions. A blast like a thunderclap, rattling the audience...even shaking the windows of the nearby buildings.
Through it all, Acacia keeps her eyes fixed on Juli, meeting the other girl's gaze. Communicating without words.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Juli with Irresistible Force.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|=======\======-\1 Juli
And destroying her. As Juli tries to bear out that ripple of energy, Juli realizes -- far too late -- that she hasn't in her. Being thrown backwards is an unfortunate enevitbility to failure, Juli soon realizes, so pours more of her self into blocking it. Chi vs Psycho, it's a horrible combination, and Juli loses.. badly.. as she expected.
And finally, thrown backwards like a rag doll, her body slammed against a wall with a loud *THUD* the impact shatters even the concrete behind her, causing rain of small debris to land on Juli's head, further adding to the humility.
There's only one thing left for Juli now. Psychopower's once again channelled, positive energy rippling through her as it hurries to repair the damage done to the woman's battered form.
Acacia grits her teeth, grimacing. She hauls herself upright, body trembling from the strain. It's clear that the blast took a lot out of her, as well...unleashing that kind of power isn't the easiest thing. But...her eyes are still locked on Juli. And she doesn't miss the surge of energy from her opponent's fallen form.
Acacia doesn't fully understand -what- Psycho Power is. She only knows it feels...and fundementally -is-...different from chi. But she's intimately acquainted with what it can -do-. She's felt and seen the healing touch of Megumi's power many, many times. And so, when Juli begins to heal...Acacia's determined to -stop- her.
She leaps, throwing herself -into- the air. One arm bracing the other, aiming to come down on the fallen Juli...elbow-first.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Acacia's Quick Punch.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Juli
COMBATSYS: Juli successfully hits Juli with Psycho Charge Beta.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Juli
Juli was almost down. Surely, the woman as battered as she is is moving slower than she should be, and a seeming helpless target for what damage Acacia has to dish out. And that's when sheer, raw luck interferes.
The wall behind her was already rumbling, ready to lose more of its weight as Acacia charges her, and when Acacia's just about to deliver the killing blow, a large chunk of rock falls from the damaged wall, clipping Acacia on her shoulder.
There's no real damage done, but even properly braced Acacia's leaping punch is thrown off of target. Enough for Juli to evade .. enough for Juli's psycho healing to finish its job on her. As the red glow disappates from Juli's form, its work is revealed .. cuts closed, livid bruises already healed, and the stiffness in her abused muscles warmed and soothed away.
No hesitation, Juli leaps back for the girl, grabbing her by, and trying to pull her over her shoulder again in an almost text book suplex.. one that should sent Acacia slamming against the wall behind Juli should it succeed.
's"
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Hooligan Suplex from Juli with Icon of Stone.
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Acacia 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Juli
Acacia's grabbed, and Acacia's hauled off her feet. But she doesn't seem inclined to go willingly. Not at all. With chi pulsing through her veins...well. Acacia's a small thing, five-foot-nothing, slightly built. That's especially evident here, now she's clad just in a T-shirt and jeans, without the normal bulky coat she usually wears. Of course, Juli's light as well...but the Shadaloo girl's strong. She's probably used to slinging people around.
And thus should immediately realise...for -whatever- reason...Acacia seems a LOT harder to move than she SHOULD.
A fact that gives her more than enough time to twist round, and drive a powerful knee into Juli's ribs.
And back down again, Juli snarls under her breath as she feels that impact, the knee sending waves of pain slamming through her entire body. For someone as emotionless as Juli, the fact that she's letting lose expresses just how infuriated with this fight she truly is.
Nothing has worked. It's almost maddening.
Allowed to go back to her feet again, Juli stares at Acacia with heaving breath and wobbly feet. Damned girl go .down. Realizing she has little left in her, Juli goes back for an old standby. There's little distance to close between her and her rock steady opponent, so Juli simply spins on her heels to deliver a crushing backhanded fist towards Acacia's chest.
COMBATSYS: Acacia interrupts Axle Spin Knuckle from Juli with Quick Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Acacia 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Juli
A fist that never lands. At least not in the way Juli intended it.
Glowing energy -sparks- between Acacia's fingers, as she -catches- the punch, stopping Juli's fist with her palm. The raw psycho power scorches into the leather of her glove, sending nasty vibrations into her arm. But Acacia ignores the pain. Instead using her grip on Juli to -drag- the other girl in, her free hand also closing round Juli's limb, near the elbow. Into the path of...Acacia's forehead.
Let's see who has a harder skull, Juli or Acacia?
Pain. The consequence of fighting against Acacia, and the frustration of seeing everything she has to offer being thrown back at her. With the *crack* of Acacia's forehead against Juli, the girl staggers backwards silently. More power is needed, and Juli's running out of it. Quickly.
Staring at Acacia even as blood starts to seal an eye shut, Juli considers her options. There aren't many of them, to be certain. psycho energy hurts the girl, Juli realizes.. but she's fast running out of the internal strength to effectively use it. Never mind, Juli doesn't care -- she really doesn't. Again she charges with another backhand fist, this one towards the girl's head.
COMBATSYS: Acacia fails to interrupt Axle Spin Knuckle from Juli with Negative Torque.
- Power hit! -
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Acacia 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Juli
Acacia replies with a wordless snarl - a snarl that cuts off as the blow strikes her across the face, crashing through her guard. She wasn't...-quite- fast enough. The flare of energy blinds her, but that's the least of her worries. Her head snaps back, twisted by the sheer force behind the blow...and Acacia falls backward, hitting the ground, spine arching in agony.
A trickle of blood works its way from her mouth as she opens her eyes, staring through a haze of red.
Some satisfaction from that.. it will have to do, Juli's too weary to continue fighting as she's been. At least they're close now, and Juli finally bows to the inevitable. She needs to rest.
Warily eying Acacia, Juli lets her guard down, stooping down to rest her hands on her knees as she struggles to catch breath. "It is almost over. Stay down."
COMBATSYS: Juli takes a breather.
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Acacia 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Juli
"Stay down?"
Acacia's face goes still.
"Screw that."
She moves. Pushing herself off the ground, -kicking- herself off. With pain clouding her vision, Acacia's no longer capable of complex moves. The look of strain and effort on her sweat-slicked face bears witness to that. But she's still determined to -win this fight-.
And so, she throws herself bodily -at- Juli, aiming to crash into the other girl...and hoping she'll end up better off in the exchange.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Juli with Immovable Object.
[ \\\ < > /// ]
Acacia 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Juli
No, of course she wouldn't, and Juli's in too much of a compromised positoon to do anything about it. Bringing her arms up to block only gives Juli a chance .. and a small chance.. to take the girl down with her, her body twisting even as she feels her legs grow weak and vital parts of her body starting to fail to check in.
But try she will, and if she succeeds in getting the better position on Acacia, she'll drive an elbow into the girl's chest. It's all she has .. hopefully it's enough.
COMBATSYS: Juli can no longer fight.
[ \\\ <
Acacia 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Juli's Fast Throw.
[ \\ <
Acacia 0/-------/------=|
But it isn't. Not quite.
Acacia interposes a hand at the last moment, knocking aside the incoming blow, pushing it away. The clash leaves her gasping, panting for breath. But it leaves her -standing-...and in that, she is the victor. Disengaging, Acacia steps back, lowering her arms. She watches Juli for a long moment, warily...before letting her guard down completely. She only lets the tension drain from her muscles once she's certain the other girl isn't able to continue the fight.
As mixed cheers - and jeers - sound from the students watching, Acacia intones, in a flat voice, "I -never- stay down."
COMBATSYS: Acacia has ended the fight here.
All too slowly, Juli starts to stagger to her feet. Sure, the fight's been beat out of her, but to lay down for long and acknowledge it would be worse. The closeness of the fight means nothing to her, of course.
After a long stare at Acacia, time spent assuring that she won't embarrass herself by wobbling as she tries to limp off of the field, Juli heads .. out.
Acacia stands on the ruined basketball court, watching Juli go. Her eyes trace the other girl's retreating back for several long seconds, before she folds her arms. Mumbling something under her breath, Acacia shakes her head.
Turning to her schoolmates, the students gathered to watch the fight, Acacia growls, "Alright, -show's over-."
Stalking towards the edge of the court, Acacia grabs her fallen jacket in passing, then heads towards the gym. Shower first. She'll figure out the puzzle named Juli...later.
Log created by Acacia, and last modified on 07:52:25 12/04/2005.