Description: Ninja versus fanboy! Now that's what we like to call "big damage!" (Draw Match)
The sun hangs low in the sky, painting the walls of the wash red and stretching shadows toward the horizon. There aren't many people around: the occasional Gedo student and a few others, but it's relatively quiet. Just the way a ninja likes it.
The ninja in this case, Daisuke, hangs out in a tree overlooking the wash. Laid back, back up against the tree trunk, legs crossed. No hurry or tenseness here. He's just waiting for a particular fighter to show, one who's been doing well in the leagues so far. Shingo had received a formal challenge, but all it specified was where and when, not who. Can't be shinobi without at least a little mystery, after all.
An anonymous challenge was sent to him via the proper league channels. This is how Shingo knew for certain that at least it wasn't some sort of trap or ambush set for him by whatever enemies he may have, if any at all. He took the time to go throughout the list of currently signed up fighters but none of the names stood out to him as being the unknown challenger. It would've been nice to at least know who he was going to be up against in order to check his notes, but it seems it wasn't meant to be.
Given that it is the winter season, the Taiyo student arrives wearing a thick winter jacket and accompanied by someone one can only assume to be a part of the Neo League staff. If anyone observing didn't already notice his uniform for the occasion. Obviously he's here to make this sort of thing official. Otherwise it'd just be a prearranged street fight. Other than not knowing who his opponent is, the only other difference between this and Shingo's previous matches is the lack of fanfare, cameras, and crowd. It's nothing really big to him, though. It's just another fight to test his skills in and continue on his quest to unlock the secrets of Kusanagi-ryuu flames.
Looking down at a piece of paper in his hands he turns to the official, "Excuse me, mister. But this is the correct place, right?" He asks this since after taking a look around, he hasn't been quite able to see who he is fighting. And no one else is paying them much attention either. Shingo scratches his head quizzically.
Time for a Cool Ninja Entrance:
The tree Daisuke had been resting in shifts lightly as he gets up. He peers through the leaves to the ground, confirming Shingo's identity, and with a rustle of leaves he leaps up into the air. No branches in the way. He checked.
Daisuke sails through the air down to the wash, landing hard in a crouch in front of Shingo and the official. A hard shudder runs through his bones at the impact (despite all the milk he consistently drinks, Dai's still his stick-thin self), but otherwise he appears unphased. He straightens slowly, giving both people an impassive look. "Right on time."
Another look is given around the river bed to search for this other person involved in the Neo League. But it's the same as always. Just random people walking by and not even gibing Shingo nor the official a second look. The leaves rustle in the trees. Shingo thinks nothing of it except that it's probably the wind. So when Daisuke suddenly appears out of the sky and lands before them the boy instinctively gets in a defensive-shocked stance on one leg while the rest of his body is pulled back. The official on the other hand simply stands there cooly before taking several steps back to allow the two fighters room.
"Right on time?" Shingo blinkblinks at the almost skeletal, dark-blue clad young man. "Ohhhhh!" A revelation hits him. "You're the guy that sent the challenge to me, right?" He grins widely and starts chuckling, "For a second there I thought we were at the wrong place! Ha ha ha ha!" A second revelation hits him. "Hey, wait a minute. I know you! You're that ninja guy from before at the Howard Arena!" Before being waaaaaay earlier this year when Shingo got himself involved in a 4-way FFA fight. Yabuki flashes a thumbs-up Daisuke's way, "Ready?"
Daisuke gives a little shrug of acknowledgement as Shingo recognizes him. "You've been doing well in this league. Thought I'd see if I was up to par." He takes a few steps backward, sliding his sword noiselessly out of its sheath. Gripping the hilt in both hands, he assumes a perfectly still stance, the wind ruffling his garb. "Ready when you are, Yabuki."
COMBATSYS: Daisuke has started a fight here.
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Daisuke 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here.
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Shingo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Daisuke
"All right then!" Shingo replies back nice and clear to the ninja after giving him the thumbs-up. Almost instantly he gets into his fighting stance and waits for some sort of ninja trickery. After fighting that Seishirou guy he knows he has to watch himself around these pesky 'shadow warriors'. Especially this one with the sword. And if he's not really mistaken this guy for someone else, there's a couple or more tricks to that sword besides just being able to slice things. He's going to have to be careful.
"Let's go then! And with that the boy hops from side to side as he moves in at Daisuke with fists held high. Shingo ducks in low from the right but then shifts his body to the left as he goes right in and hopefully past Daisuke's defenses to come up with an uppercut right to the ninja's sternum. "Teya!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Daisuke with Medium Punch.
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Shingo 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Daisuke
Thud. Daisuke'd been watching, but the feint was just quick enough. The hit is solid, slamming into his already-shaken body and sending him flying up into the air. Daisuke shakes the pain from his head, twisting around midair. Fine. Guess this'll be a quick fight one way or another. As he falls to the ground, Dai slices his sword in a horizontal arc in front of him. Crackling blue chi sweeps out from the tip of the sword, a giant crescent of energy cutting through the air. The ninja lands on the ground, again in a crouch, ready for Shingo's next move.
COMBATSYS: Daisuke successfully hits Shingo with Solar Wind Dance.
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Shingo 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Daisuke
Ugh. Almost forgot about that attack. Shingo makes a hop to the side to evade but like most of the times when he takes a gamble on his foot speed, he kind of doesn't quite make it. The arc slices through the space between ninja and puncher and catches Shingo dead centre on his body, knocking him to the ground. Fortunately like most other times he's able to get a hand down to collapse right into a recovery roll back up. Shingo winces and grunts. "Ow...that hurt." Yep, that sword is definitely going to be his downfall if he's not careful.
Watching Daisuke stand there and waiting for his next move, Shingo figures that it would be impolite to keep him waiting for long and then launches himself through the air at the shinobi, "SHINGO KIIIIIIIICKU!" This doesn't have a good track record against ninja or much anyone else lately, but hey. Maybe if keeps using it luck will eventually shine down on him. That or his skills will really show through!
COMBATSYS: Daisuke dodges Shingo's Shingo Kick.
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Shingo 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Daisuke
The time it takes for Shingo to deal with the attack gives Daisuke the chance to regain his breath. He holds his sword tight in his right hand, the tip pointed backward to keep it out of his way. And as Shingo runs into his leaping kick, Daisuke is ready this time. He dives forward himself, tucking into a roll that takes him underneath the schoolkid. Once the danger is past, he uncurls, sweeping his sword up in a sift slash, trying to catch Shingo across his back. Simple, smooth, and painful.
COMBATSYS: Shingo fails to counter Medium Strike from Daisuke with Tsuki Hiji.
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Daisuke
The thing about fighting ninja is that they tend to be quick and fast things. Especially when it comes to combat. This is typically not a good thing for Shingo given that his agility and nimbleness isn't exactly what he is known for in the realm of street fighting. He's known for hitting others hard until one of them falls down from exhaustion or getting smacked around too much. So it's no surprise he's catching his tail at the moment. The sword slices right through his winter jacket, his shirt, and his skin. "Gaaaaah!" It causes Shingo to stumble forward and drop to one knee. Though this is also in part to him attempting to swing around with an elbow strike to stop Daisuke before he could do any damage and failing. Yet he still has a grin on his face.
"Man, you're quick. This is way different from fighting that other ninja guy. I think you're faster than he is." Shingo stands and faces Daisuke taking a couple of deep breaths. "But as long as the fires of Kusanagi-ryuu still burn within me...I can go on!" He gives the ninja another thumbs-up. It isn't over till it's over.
Daisuke remains where he is on one knee, holding his sword out protectively in front of him. He nods at Shingo's comment. "Last time we fought, I defeated him. It's been a while, though." He makes a face behind his mask as Shingo gives the thumbs-up. Well, if he wants to attack by posing, that's fine by Dai. He'll stick to conventional methods. Sort of.
Daisuke shifts his grip on his sword to one hand again, holding the other in front of his chest. He concentrates for a moment, and in the air before him, four sparking blue silhouettes, all looking vaguely like Dai, come into existence. They hold still for a moment, then as one they bumrush Shingo, all four seeking to slam into him one after the other.
COMBATSYS: Shingo blocks Daisuke's Half Moon Dance.
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Shingo 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Daisuke
This trick again. Almost a year has passed between the time Shingo last fought Daisuke. THe Taiyo students has been involved in tons of fights since then. They almost seem to blend together. This fight, however, is starting to refresh his memory on his previous fight against the ninja. He realises that he can't win this by just using brute force and plowing through the competition. Or can he? First thing's first though. As the energy clones rush Shingo all he can do is raise his hands defensively and weather it out. Which isn't as bad as it looks.
Shingo takes to the air with a powerful jump up and forward at the real Daisuke. He's a long way off from attacking with poses like Dan Hibiki can. So he guesses he'll have to use his legs instead. A powerful jump kick angles in at Daisuke's head attempting to knock the sense and ninja out of the other fighter.
COMBATSYS: Daisuke dodges Shingo's Strong Kick.
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Shingo 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Daisuke
Sure, the various tricks Daisuke have are mostly the same. But in the intervening months, a refocus of his philosophy and slight changes in training have led to some marked improvements. Still takes hits like a 7 year old girl, and that damn cough is never going to go away, but as long as he avoids getting hit in the first place...
Still crouched, it's easy enough for Daisuke to throw himself to the side, twisting and rolling along the ground. He unfolds, sliding across the ground for a moment, and as he does his hand flicks out, sending two sharp shurikens whipping through the air, the light of the setting sun catching on the metal. They're little more than nuisances, but aimed right they can still cause a booboo or two.
COMBATSYS: Shingo dodges Daisuke's Thrown Object.
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Shingo 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Daisuke
Sure they can still cause a booboo or two. But that would mean they'd have to hit Shingo first. Something that doesn't happen this time! Shingo's been hit enough times this fight so far and he would like to avoid being struck any more, thanks. His eyes go wide when he sees the shuriken thrown at him and he eeps quietly to himself. Got to move fast. He turns to the side and makes a hasty leap in that direction. Almost...humoursly. If you could only see the look on his face. It comes from when of the shuriken just narrowly misses nicking his rear end. That would've been pretty uncool had anyone seen it.
The Kusanagi-ryuu fighter slides along the concrete ground of the riverbed as he quickly changes directions to come back around at Daisuke. Ok, hrm. Time to put his plan into action. First thing to do is to attack Daisuke again with an attack he should be familiar with. "Let's give this another shot, okay?" Shingo grins widely and leaps in with his leg once more coming down at Daisuke's head, "SHINGO KIIIIIICKU!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Daisuke with Shingo Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Shingo 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Daisuke
Daisuke was counting on that bit of time the shurikens would have bought him. Unfortunately, Shingo slipping away from them forces him to react quickly. Not quickly enough, unfortunately. Unable to run, Daisuke tries to throw his arms up to catch the kick coming down at him, but the power behind it is too much; his arms give way and Shingo's foot slams squarely into his head.
The ninja crumples to the ground, his expression of pain hidden once again. Unable to d anything fancy, he reaches into his tool bag, drawing out a kunai. Holding it in a stabbing grip, he tries to bring it down on Shingo's foot, to...convince him to get away from Daisuke.
COMBATSYS: Shingo counters Weapon Jab from Daisuke with Tsuki Hiji.
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Shingo 1/----===/=======|=======\=====--\1 Daisuke
As previously mentioned, Shingo isn't all too fond of getting hit any more this match. This would also apply to getting stabbity-stabbed in his big toe. Which really does sound more physically painful than it should be. So what does Yabuki have to do in this situation? First thing is to kick the blade out of Daisuke's hand with a swift boot to the wrist and then immediately following it up with an elbow slam, no, an elbow drop right on top of the ninja. "ELBOW DROP!" Shingo just simply falls with the joint hopefully hitting a nice vulnerable spot, looking like he might have a future in profesional wrestling before rolling off and back to his feet. He takes a deep breath and waits for what's coming next.
Daisuke barely has time to curse before the elbow lands on him, and then it's lost in a sharp *CRACK*. Shingo did indeed land in a very vulnerable spot, earning a shout of pain from the ninja. Have to get away...Daisuke begins to roll away from Shingo, and even as he does, chi begins to flicker along his sword, occasionally hidden by his body. This isn't going to happen; a few hits aren't going to drop him out of a fight he was winning just a few moments before.
When Dai gets a couple feet away from Shingo, he pushes himself to his feet, holding up a sword that's now glowing with a thick blue light, sparks of white dancing up and down the blade. He holds the blade back for only a split second before he throws it forward, almost like a fisher casts his pole. He's nowhere near Shingo, but there's no need; the mass of chi he had built up goes flying off the blade, a localized electric storm in a vaguely oblong shape which crashes through the air with little of the crescent's grace, but twice the deadly power behind it.
COMBATSYS: Daisuke successfully hits Shingo with Ion Storm Dance.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Shingo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Daisuke
So this is why he's always been told never to go outside and play during a lightning storm. It was always common sense and logical to heed such warnings, of course, but he always wondered what it would be like. Lucky for him he got the opportunity fight Daisuke straight up in a one-on-one fight and find out. It stings. A lot. It was almost foolish of him to think that he could protect himself against such a massive build-up of power. It didn't hurt to make an attempt though. No matter how fruitless it is. The lightning dances around him and surges through his body forcing Shingo to grit his teeth hard and cry out, dropping to the floor on his hands and knees.
"...Dang," Shingo starts to say in between gasping for breath. "I didn't think it would hurt that much." He pushes himself up to his feet looking very ragged. "It was a really good hit." Fists are raised. "But Benimaru is more shocking than that! Come on! Let's go!" Just like the electricity that was coursing through his system scant moments ago, Shingo surges forward at Daisuke with determination set in his eyes. "If you don't fear the shine of this sun! Then feel the Burning..." A fist whips out to strike Daisuke hard in the head and continue to pummel him for several more hits before a hard shoulder check sends him tumbling along into the side of the river bed, "SHINGOOOOOOOOO!" Hopefully ending this here and now.
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Daisuke with Burning Shingo.
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Shingo 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Daisuke
Daisuke narrows his eyes. "Still standing? I put everything I could into that." No time to reflect on it now; he tries to leap away from Shingo, but a twinge in his foot sets his timing off, leaving him unable to get away from the vicious combo. One hit at a time is bad enough; multiple hits damn near shut his body down. With the final shoulder check, Daisuke goes flying backward, rolling along the ground once more.
And yet...Daisuke has apparently not fully given up. Though he lays on the ground on his back, barely breathing, his form blurs slightly. And then he gets back up. But he's still laying down on the ground. Two Daisukes are here now, swiftly followed by a third standing up from where he lay. One on the ground, two holding their swords at the ready. Which is the real one? Shingo should probably find the answer soon, as the two standing leap off their feet, swords held high to slash hard at Shingo on each side.
COMBATSYS: Daisuke can no longer fight.
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Shingo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Daisuke successfully hits Shingo with Crescent Moon Dance.
[ <
Shingo 1/------=/=======|
Yep, still standing. That's definitely Shingo. After someone uses some of their more powerful attacks he's still manages to refuse to get knocked down. Though he'll have to thank Sakura too for assiting in upping his energy defenses from the amount of hadoukens she throws at him in any given point of time. As soon as he wi...oops. Spoke too soon.
Next thing he knows he's surrounded by a lot more Daisukes than he was previously facing. "Uh-oh..." Weariness from the fight, getting confused by the multiple images, or just wanting this to be over already. Whatever the reason is, Shingo doesn't take the time to think things out and pays for it. Sure he could've made an attempt to see if his 'Moon Elbow' is strong enough to stand up to the multi-ninja. Instead he was so focused on not getting it that he actually attempted to jump out of the way. So he totally deserves getting double slashed by twin swords. And in a very dramatic way, blood sprays from his injuries and he collapses to the floor, spent.
The official has no choice but to declare it a draw match. He turns to walk away just as Neo League medical specialists come out from where they were waiting to take care of the fallen fighters.
COMBATSYS: Shingo takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Shingo can no longer fight.
One of the copies was a fake; the other was indeed Daisuke. Both the fake attacker and the decoy left of the ground fade away as Daisuke slumps to the ground; not unconscious just yet, but fading fast and in no condition that could be considered still healthy. He wipes the blood off the blade on his sleeve before returning it to the sheath, then lies back to patiently wait for the medics.
Log created by Shingo, and last modified on 13:01:20 12/18/2005.