Description: Sakura shoulda drunk a bit less Hawaiian Punch, as Juli seems to have no problems kicking her. Or much else, for that matter. (Winner: Juli)
Hawaii in the winter, can anything be better? While most of the civilized world, including Japan, Juli's newly adopted stomping grounds, there's nothing but beach and waves and fun under the sun for the inhabitants and the gazillion vacationers it draws at times like these. On the beach, it's a dazzling display of flesh, a variety of bodies decked out in one form of swimsuit or another.
Even Juli's gotten into the act and while some concessions have to be made for modesty during a fight, she's wearing a style of clothing she hasn't in a while, a one piece swimsuit of a deep blue shade. If one were to mistake it for a matching piece to the leotard she wears while on 'official' business, they wouldn't be too far off the mark. Low cut on the thighs and strapless, it shows off a large amount of Juli's body--a body that doesn't look bad at all shown off like this.
Now if only her stance and facial expression would be as relaxed. Not even the warm Hawaiian sun can melt this icegirl however, and she stands in the corner of a part of the beach cordoned off for this fight with her typical stare. Concentrating inwardly rather than outwardly, she runs through the last time she faced her opponent in combat. Two against one, the odds were, and it didn't last very long at all for her. Even worse, she made the mistake of thinking Sakura was out for the count. Today, Juli's determined not to make the same mistake.
One might expect Juli to be punctual. And if so... one can equally expect Sakura Kasugano to be running late! The reasons are too numerous to count, but at least -two of the reasons are being carried on the Taiyo student's person as she comes dashing in from town. A tall glass of pineapple juice is in her hands -- half empty, and showing signs of spillage -- and an overly ornamental lei jostles about as she dashes in. Like Juli, she's wearing a swimsuit, but this one's only slightly less modest: a two-piece racing suit, colored royal blue with yellow trim. There's no -chance- that she'd be fighting here in her usual uniform -- even that's a bit too hot!
She still bears the marks of her trade though -- a long white headband that trails along behind her, and matching yellow fighting gloves. No shoes this time, however, as she steps into the sandy area, drawing peals of applause from the assembled crowd. "Ahhh... sorry to keep you waiting!" Only five minutes late... "Guess it's time for our rematch, huh? Fair and square this time, I hope!" Grinning brightly, she bows to her opponent.
Late. This makes Juli's stare a little more sterner as she considers her opponent. Being tardy in general is almost inexcusable, but to be late for a fight? Because you wanted to goof off and act like a tourist? It makes Juli's brain hurt thinking about it. So after a disapproving stare, and a slow intake of breath--all signs of irritation undoubtedly lost on the school girl, Juli returns the bow. "Fair and square," Juli repeats, a promise that could mean any number of things depending on Juli considers 'fair'.
At least the fight can start now, and Juli makes her way towards her opponent, bare feet leaving its pritns in the sand. While they're nice and neat now, an indication of how perfect Juli's posture is, and only a little mussed from the light side to side bouncing motions Juli makes as she nears the ring, the feetprint will undoubtedly turn into a chaotic swirl as the match progresses.
COMBATSYS: Juli has started a fight here.
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Juli 0/-------/-------|
Hey... you only live once! This is Sakura's first foray outside of the Hawaii airport, after all, so she's living it up! Pausing for a moment to give another long draw of her pineapple juice, she steps over to an official and hands her drink over. And then, after a moment's thought, she tosses the lei over to him as well. Never know if that ornament might become a liability, after all!
And... as usual, Sakura's either completely oblivious to Juli's glaring, or else she's willfully pretending to be so -- as there's nothing but an exuberant smile on her face. Juli might not -think- so, but fighting really =is= the pinnacle of the fangirl's life -- it's just that she can't help but be late to... well, darn near anything!
"Heh... I've been wanting to see what you're capable of!" She pauses to lace her fingers together, stretching both arms high overhead for a moment as she keeps her eyes on Juli. Wow, she's not budging at =all=, is she... "Mmm... okay! Let's do this!" She slips into her fighting stance, left hand balled into a fist before her, right hand hovering by her jaw. And when the official sounds the word 'Fight!', Sakura breaks into a run for Juli -- starting off with a simple punch to the sternum! "Hii-yaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Juli
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Sakura's Jab Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Juli
Oh, but the girl can most definately move if she wants to. Kicking up a puff of dust as she sidesteps to the left, Juli's foot scuffs the print it left beyond recognition, the first casualty in the fight. It's all worth it though, as it gives Juli the leverage she needs to get out of the way of the girl's jab, Sakura's fist left to punch the defenseless air an inch away from Juli's side.
Making a grab for that arm, Juli hopes to keep the school girl off balance, too focused on protecting the limb from being grabbed that she fails to notice the fast elbow Juli's free arm is swinging to the school girl's head. As quiet as ever, Juli lets her body do all the talking she needs. It's a rather striking contrast between the taller icegirl, and the very vocal, and easily excited, Sakura.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Juli's Fierce Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Juli
Juli's able to keep Sakura off-balance with that grab, but the Doll may soon learn that Sakura's not quite so easy to contain. She manages to pull away juuust far enough that Juli's punch only grazes her moppish hair, before giving one more jerk to finally pull herself free from Juli's grasp. "Hey... that was close!" she comments, hopping away to brush her hair from that close contact. "You better be careful with that, you almost hit me!"
She keeps her distance for now, though... it's plain to see that Juli's =quite= a bit quicker than her, and she flicks her hand across her hair to knock some of the stirred sand out of it. "Don't you ever smile or anything? You seem sad..." She may be talking, but the girl's coffee-colored eyes are narrowed upon Juli all the same.
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Juli
Deprived of the prize of Sakura's head, Juli takes a few steps backwards to get some distance between her and Sakura. The first blows have shown the speed difference, so best to keep some distance between the two and force the slower girl to chase after Juli.
While the taunt is ignored, Juli does have a response for the more serious question. "Only when I feel like it." It's a cold statement said in Juli's monotone, an answer that suggests that no, she really doesn't smile all that often at all.
Blood red eyes focus on Sakura's for a moment, studying her thoughtfully... though it's not the deliberate calculation of Sakura's stare, rather an idea of how to best get this foot to smack squarely into Sakura's overly concerned head.
With that in mind, Juli doesn't keep the distance between the fighters for too long. While Sakura's busy trying to figure out how to hit by squinting at her, Juli hopes to show the girl how to hit by delivering a psychopowered leaping kick.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Sniping Arrow from Juli with Shou'ou Ken EX.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Juli
No, Sakura didn't expect to make a miracle happen -- Juli still ain't smiling. But in some sick way, Sakura's pleased that the other girl is coming her way. Saves her the trouble of coming to -her-, right? So all Sakura would have to do is crouch down, ball up a fist, and sock the psycho-powered fighter when she comes close, right?
Wrong! Sakura =tries= that, but Juli's much, much quicker than she'd expected, and ends up nailing her square in the midriff, sending her flying back, tumbling head over heels through the sand. Don't mind the craters and gullies she's churning up, a good rake will patch them up just fine. Sakura rolls back to her feet, wobbling a bit dizzily, but she assumes a shaky variant of her stance just the same... "Wow, you sure don't hit -light-, do ya..."
Juli feels a bit bad about that kick, she really .was. aiming for Sakura's head. As a concolation prize, however, it seems to have knocked the stuffing out of the girl. Juli'll settle for that--perfection is, after all, rarely found on the battle field.
Keeping the pressure on Sakura as she tries to recover from being blown away like that, Juli asks. "Why would I bother fighting if I didn't hit hard?"
It's a question Sakura will likely have to answer later. As soon as Sakura finds her feet again, Juli's there to grab onto the girl. If the school girl's unlucky enough to end in Juli's clutches, she'll find her back bent the entirely wrong way as Juli drops the girl on her knee. Of course, there's always the possibility that Sakura'll avoid further damage like that.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Juli with Medium Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Juli
Slapping her cheeks lightly to shake the numbing sensation away, Sakura renews her focus upon Juli. Bobbing lightly upon her feet, she intends to keep moving... well, that's the goal anyway, but she finds Juli right up in her face again. Hopping backwards, Kasugano curls her hands to the right, a blue flower sprouting from her palms. It spins, rapidly, the petals whirling about and coalescing into a solid, blue-white sphere. "I'll..."
She doesn't get to finish, because it doesn't seem Juli's much one for power-up sequences -- and instead just bends Sakura over her knee like it was nothing. The proto-Hadouken, forgotten in the turmoil, spins out of control and dissipates before hitting the sand -- while Sakura herself tumbles to the side. "Guh... I guess I'll have to start hitting you, sooner or later!" Not looking good for the Ansatsuken prodigy today!
Apparently, Sakura will stop talking--or at least asking Juli odd questions. This suits the girl quite nicely. If Sakura wants to probe her with questions, wait for a time when Juli isn't trying to beat her head into the sand. Say, after this fight. For the moment, the girl .really. should concentrate on trying to do something with that chi she keeps summoning only to have it fizzle out on her.
Now that Sakura's not trying to stand up, Juli can get back to what she was trying to do before--knock the girl's block off. Swinging a foot back, she lets it swing forward nice and strong. It's a kick that would do pro-bowl punter proud, the sort that would stand a good chance of removing a lesser girl's head from their shoulders should it connect. Fortunately for Sakura, she's made of sterner stuff. So it will likely just hurt--a lot--if it her bare foot finds Sakura's head.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Juli with Shou'ou Ken.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Sakura 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Juli
Right between the eyes! Sakura can't catch a break today... well, aside from possible bone fractures. Never mind that she was almost able to punch the girl, but this ain't horseshoes, and 'almost' just ain't cuttin' it.
Once more with the falling into the sand. But at least she won't be place-kicked again, Juli's gonna have to reach to hit the girl's bloody nose. "C'mon, Juli! You wanna try that again?" Sakura's =mad=... but then her mouth opens in a wide 'O'. Covering her mouth -- partly to wipe the blood off -- Sakura starts giggling madly and picks herself back up, practically shaking from all the damage she's taken in such a short amount of time. "Oh, =I= see how it is... you got dropped on your own head too much as a child, didn'tcha?" She points at her head, grinning... "Thaaaaat's why you keep hittin' me there, same's last time... what's the matter, huh? Too much dain bramage?" Sticking out her tongue, she twirls a finger by her forehead. "Cuckoo for cocoa puffs, or something like that, huh?" Grinning, Sakura ... really doesn't seem to mind that she's at a severe disadvantage here... but really, given what's already taken place, what's the =worst= that can happen from getting Juli upset?
Despite Sakura's best taunting, the most she gets from Juli is another stare. Either her insults are failing miserably, or Juli's the sort to seeth inside, wrap all of her agression up in a pretty ball of hate, and let it explode all over her intended target. What did Sakura expect? For the Icegirl to melt down in an unbecoming temper tantrum of violence and forget her purpose? Maybe if Juli wasn't so brainwashed and detached from her feelings it would have a chance.
As it stands, all it really does is make Juli's left eye twitch once or twice. "I really dislike it when people make noises rather than trying to hit me during a fight. You're finding new ways to test this dislike. Perhaps you would be less useless if you concentrated on fighting me rather than insulting me." At least Sakura has that to work with, she got the girl speaking again... and not in her usual monotone but a tight, strained voice. Focusing on the girl, Juli tchs. "I'll stand still for you if hitting me when I'm moving is too hard."
COMBATSYS: Juli focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Juli
Au contraire... if the insults were failing miserably, there wouldn't =be= so much of a twitch. It's not gonna happen overnight after all. "Dislike? I happen to =dislike= getting hit in the head, but you don't see =me= complaining about it. Must be nice to be all prim and perfect like you... I bet you probably get your gears oiled about once a week, huh?" Cocking her head to the side sharply to knock some sand out, Sakura is subtly walking over towards Juli as she speaks. Maybe it's not so subtle to the tactical mastermind, but she is working her way over. "I mean, seriously... if they =weren't= the mechanisms would just lock right up y'know? But I guess that's just the price to pay..." Scratching her cheek for a moment, she hops a bit closer all of a sudden, one finger raised. "Oh, I know! If you talk to the wizard of Oz, he might just give you a heart if you ask him nicely!" Clasping both hands over her heart, she draws in a deep breath. "If only..."
Sakura doesn't finish her monologue, though -- instead waiting to see if Juli's =serious= about standing still. Never hurts to try, try again with her famed leaping uppercut -- this time, offensively rather than as a pitiful defense! "SHOOO'OU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Juli interrupts Shou'ou Ken from Sakura with Cannon Spike.
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Sakura 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Juli
Good, good .. the school girl keeps her mouth opening and closing, tossing out a nice monologue of insults. Juli'll just stand there, soaking up the abuse like a cadet during bootcamp, face forward, body straight and rigid, her blood red eyes never leaving the face of her abuser.
And then Sakura moves to attack, having figured that Juli's gone as stiff as the woodman Sakura's trying to link her too. It was a mistake, hopefully, Sakura's last mistake for the fight; the first, of course, being in the ring with Juli in the first place.
Maybe Sakura's forgotten how fast Juli moves when she does move, but jumping upper cut is met with Juli ducking down, just in time to catch that fist in the chest. No matter that one, even her swimsuit holds up against the abuse. Waiting for Sakura to come back down, when she's fully exposed, Juli returns that attack, pushing herself up in a sort of backflip that sends her foot crashing into Sakura's jaw with a small explosion of psychopower.
When she lands on her feet, Juli goes back to an offensive posture, her body rocking slowly from side to side. Her steady gaze falls upon Sakura again, her body ready to pounce if it needs too--she's taken Sakura for finished once only to have it end badly for her... damned if she's going to let Sakura get the drop on her again.
Well... really? At this point, what's left to do? Sakura's been absolutely =annihilated= by Juli. What should have been a fairly even-handed fight has turned into a complete disaster for the plucky schoolgirl. All that's really left is for her to just fall over.
Nah. She's not ready for that just yet. Nope. The schoolgirl lands hard from the crossup, but at least she's quit running her mouth. She's mad... and her eyes are filled with bloody rage now, as well. So much for the intimidation tactics. "..." She approaches, but there's only a slight warning between her pause, and the rocketing forward. When she rockets forth this time... well, it's an uppercut, but she's glowing a bright blue in the process. And she's keeping her mouth shut.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Juli
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Sakura's Midare Zakura.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Juli
Now this is a fight Juli can work with. Quietness replaced with rage, the girl's making sloppy mistakes in her techniques, ones that Juli has no problem avoiding. Sidestepping quickly around Sakura when the girl launches upwards, Juli waits for her to come back down again to deliver a round house kick to the girl's exposed back. At least Juli's not taking the girl out .right. away--though to be honest, that blue glow around Sakura's hand looks definately like something Juli doesn't want to handle improperly, and with the one sided route this fight's been, Juli still doesn't have the energy to counter it directly.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Juli's Light Kick.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Juli
That trick never works.
No, really, it hardly ever works. Maybe it's just too close to her normally-lucky Shou'ou Ken, but whatever the cause, it's a clean whiff in Juli's favor.
One good turn deserves another though... and as Sakura lands on her feet, her dogged determination pays off. Leaping once more as soon as she hits the ground, the kick narrowly misses her by fractions of an inch. But then Sakura sets her feet down, springing =off= of Juli's leg and catching just a bit more air time. Gritting her teeth as she twists around to face Juli again... well, Juli might just see a bit more of that blue energy Sakura had whipped out before. This time, though... this time the bloom of energy is just a wee bit bigger -- and Sakura's just a weeee bit more serious when she shouts. "HADOOOOOOOOOOOUKEN!" 'Wee bit bigger' in this case happens to mean about six feet wide -- plenty large enough to swallow Juli whole if she's still around for it.
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Sakura's Large Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Juli
No, Juli really doesn't think she'll stick around for that, that looks like it might hurt quite a bit. So instead Juli jumps up and over the fireball, leaving it to annihalate an icecream cone stand behind her in a rather nice explosion that's enough to send a few onlookers scurrying for cover as debris falls about the field.
Some of that shrapnel manages to make its way into the cordoned off area the two are fighting in, and Juli reaches down to grab a plank. Not that she's really paying attention to it, aside from a brief glance to make sure it's of appropriate size and weight, nor does the large nails sticking out of the end of it really matter .. she's just looking for something to swat Sakura with.
COMBATSYS: Juli successfully hits Sakura with Random Weapon.
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Juli
Ooh, nailplank, that'll look good on the schoolgirl. Especially when the rusty nails drive into her and leave all kindsa icky wounds that are sure to fester and such.
But really... Sakura's not of a mind to let that stop her. She pulls the board back - since it's stuck a lot further into =her= than it is =Juli=... and has every intention of slamming it right back into the girl. Payback! "NNNNGYAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Juli interrupts Random Weapon from Sakura with Light Kick.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Juli
The girl can keep the board. The girl can even get away with the privilege of watching it crack as it hits Juli's thick skull. The problem is, with such a wild swing, Juli's free to do what she wants with the girl in return. Ducking down with the impact still ringing in her skull, Juli sweeps out with her feet, sending the girl sprawling to the ground.
Staying there in a crouch, Juli starts to breath hard--so Sakura's starting to wear her down a little after all. "... Stay down."
Hopefully, Sakura's in a mind to pay attention to Juli. It seems that along with simple commands like 'die', some people have a hard time realizing they've suffered enough damage, and keep springing back up.
Listening to Juli's advice would imply that Sakura is, indeed, useless. But the fact that she's pushing Juli harder is enough of a sign that she =really= doesn't care. And she's not gonna quit fighting until either Juli's down, or she's absolutely unconscious. Anything less would be someone else's strategy!
Oh, right, the kicking. So Sakura finds herself kicked into the sand again! It's gonna take forever to get the sand out of her bathing suit, but little things like that aren't quite as bothersome as the head wound or the tetanus-breeding gashes across her shoulder and back. But who lets little things like that get in the way of doing her best?
"I'll... never give in to you!" Clearly, what's needed is good ol-fashioned fanservice, as the girl leaps back to her feet and twists into one seriously vicious roundhouse kick. And if that lands, she'd continue twisting around for the haymaker to end all haymakers -- a wicked fist slammed right between Juli's blood-red eyes. That is... if the fates are done toying around with Sakura.
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
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Juli 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Juli dodges Sakura's Strong Kick.
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Juli 1/-----==/=======|
Sakura might be determined, but she clearly has nothing left to fight with. Those clumsy attacks, fueled by what little is left of the rapidly dwindling energy that keeps Sakura going, would have a hard time hitting anyone with an idea of how to attack, let alone stand a chance of connecting with the girl who's been dominating the entire fight.
She makes dodging that desperate roundhouse kick almost look effortless, the girl simply leaning backwards to allow Sakura's foot to miss her chin by inches. It's close enough that Sakura could feel Juli's breath on it, but... close doesn't quite cut it, and once again Juli keeps herself from out of harm's way.
Much to Juli's relief, that seems to be all that Sakura can muster, and she goes down in a final blaze of fan service, the only bright side for Sakura's supporters during this route. Still keeping Sakura's remarkable tendancy of getting back up long after she's been beat in mind, Juli keeps a leg back so she can kick the girl at the first sign that Sakura's about to get up again adn do something stupid. A few tense seconds are spent like this, then finally Juli lets her foot fall again--the girl's down, and frustration is no reason to kick an unconscious foe in the head.
COMBATSYS: Juli has ended the fight here.
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 14:58:20 12/20/2005.