Neo League 151 - #167: Makoto vs Adelheid

Description: The mysterious fighter Adel faces another young girl -- though he'll find this one packs a much more powerful punch. It's a close fight, but Adel edges out in the end. (Winner: Adelheid)



The Neo League has its share of talent, both old and new, and some faces the fighting world as a whole really hasn't caught too much of a glimpse of. One such warrior is the young man known only as 'Adel'. Sure, he's had somewhat mixed results in his debut fights... but that's pretty much what he came here for. Challenge, education. When one is raised entirely with the day-to-day travel of a globetrotting crime syndicate, often on their battleship... well, worldly knowledge and insight into other fighters doesn't exactly come firsthand.
And so here he is, up against... yet another young girl. Someone must be interpreting his name wrong, or his face wrong, or... something. Not that he's going to complain, not after the run Sakura gave him a few days previous. A pair of black jeans and a sleeveless shirt in matte silver both hug skintight to his lithe frame, though the slender Bernstein certainly doesn't lack his genetic gift of muscle. He's just not the wall of sheer meat that his father is. Still, it helps him maintain his anonymity! ... a little bit. Adelheid flexes one fist into his opposing palm, black leather meeting black leather before his gloved hands fall to his side, and he walks into the marked-off 'arena' on the beach, booted feet rather inappropriate for the sand, but it doesn't seem to hurt his footing.

The girls are always the scarier ones. People should know this by now!
Makoto is, at least, larger and older-looking than a lot of the teenage girls, mostly due to her height and surprisingly solid build. She is also at least a relative unknown, and there certainly aren't any league records for her; she hadn't managed to find time to sign up until just a day or two ago. As almost always when there is a scheduled fight in the offing, she is very early, pacing around the indicated spot in the sand with bare feet and learning the slope of the area. She stops this only when Adelheid actually steps in with her, apparently designating this spot as hers. "You're Adel?" she has to ask, looking up at the taller man. Despite the fact that he is not at all late, she adds, "About time. I thought you'd never get here! Let's get this done, okay?"

COMBATSYS: Makoto has started a fight here.

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Makoto           0/-------/-------|


A nod answers Makoto's inquiry first, "I am." the young Bernstein answers in a calm tenor. Of course he's not /late/! That would be improper! And his upbringing, while not exactly /proper/ by normal standards... certainly has its roots in tradition and propreity, at least from Rugal's perspective. The announcer and crowd are largely ignored, save that the second Makoto's invitation... it's time to begin. Adelheid doesn't hesitate to answer that challenge, either, suddenly leaping forward and landing in a sprint that seems a half-glide thanks to the youth's lightness on his feet, feinting in at Makoto and thrusting a palm towards her face...
Quite simply, he looks to close that hand around her skull, and simply /lift/ his opponent up, as a sudden surge of silvery chi erupts in a gout of shearing winds from his hand, seeking to envelope her head and blast her back into the sand, "Let's get this done /right/!" he clarifies, or perhaps encourages.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Adelheid         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Makoto


COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Makoto with Scorpion Deathlock.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Adelheid         0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Makoto


It isn't that Makoto was caught by surprise. She, after all, asked for the fight to start as quickly as possible. As soon as Adelheid starts moving, she immediately stops paying attention to either crowd or announcer, bringing her hands up into her accustomed fighting pose; as she often does when someone grabs for face or hair, she ducks and steps backwards.
What she did do was misjudge Adelheid's reach. The chi explosion sends her back some distance, but she manages to keep to her feet; they dig into the sand, leaving furrows for a few feet before she finally brakes, shaking her head rapidly to clear it and get the spots out of her eyes. That doesn't take long. "Ha...that was /fast/!" Taking two quick steps forward and rearing back, Makoto brings her left hand down in a massive overhand chop. It's slow. It's obvious. It's also powerful, and has enough follow-through to let her hand touch the ground as she goes to her knees, if it wasn't interrupted by hitting someone.

COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Adelheid with Oroshi.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Adelheid         0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0           Makoto


Seeing the attack coming, and getting out of the way of it prove to be two very different things, in this case. His sidestep coming too late, Adelheid takes a potent chop to his shoulder, enough to drop him to his knees as he moves, sliding aside in the sand, teeth gritted, "That hurt." Not that he seems to mind. His response is, if anything, pleased. Suddenly lurching forward out of his forced crouch, both hands seek out the front of Makoto's gi. Should he find that grip, the young Bernstein whips his opponent around, and suddenly launches right off the ground, literally flying forward, his feet floating a few inches above the sand. With alarming force, Adelheid would simply hurtle forward, looking to pin Makoto between his grip, and the large dune behind her, the impact intended as a substantial /slam/.... probably enough to destroy a bit of the natural beauty. Ah well.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Makoto with God Press EX.

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Adelheid         0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1           Makoto


Once again, Makoto is helpless to get away. Recovering from unbalancing herself with that massive swing, she's not very fast on her feet yet by the time Adelheid charges forward, and she'd misjudged what he was trying to do in any case; although a punch would have missed her, it's easy enough for him to grab her oversized gi and swing her around. Before she manages to respond, she's unceremoniously plowed into a rise of sand; predictably, it sprays loose sand everywhere, and collapses inward slightly.
When Makoto slides back down onto her feet, a fair amount of the dune comes with her, dislodged by the force of her impact. The footing is a little treacherous now, but bare-foot, she can compensate for that. Taking a deep breath to focus herself, hands at about navel height, Makoto holds the breath for a split second before launching into a furious flurry of punches, trying to drive Adelheid backwards and give her more room to maneuver. "Haaaa!"

COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Makoto's Tanden Renki.

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Adelheid         0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0           Makoto


Adelheid's boots aren't exactly the best choice for sliding back down the dune under a hail of punches, but the youth nonetheless holds his footing steady, aligning a guard with that brutal flurry, time and again. He's driven backwards, yes... but not quite as forcefully as she might have liked, the stinging impacts deflected on quickly aligned forearms, each bruising strike defended, albeit painfully, "You're strong." Adelheid observes, voice still calm, pleased, "But it will take more than strength!" A bit of his own comes into play once more, the young Bernstein's left fist snapping up and in with a sharp jab, one that's quickly followed up by a sharp counterclockwise twist, and the swing of a right uppercut directly for his opponent's jaw.

COMBATSYS: Makoto endures Adelheid's Strong Punch.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Adelheid         1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0           Makoto


Of course I'm strong! Rindoukan relies on me!" Makoto steps forward to follow Adelheid, pressing him now that she thinks that she can; she's already seen him use obvious chi displays, which means he might be able to do one of those fireballs (or whatever) she hates so much.
She actually stays close enough that there's no way Adelheid could possibly miss his jab, moving into position and tensing when she sees the uppercut telegraph.
The uppercut catches Makoto solidly on her jaw, and she chooses that moment to act, leaping up into the air with Adelheid's fist giving her a bit of a boost upwards and backwards; she must have a seriously hard head. Her foot snaps out as she turns the launch into a backflip, trying to catch Adelheid under /his/ jaw with one of her solid feet. Her landing is a little awkward, but nothing too bad.

COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Adelheid with Tsurugi.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Adelheid         1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0           Makoto


CRACK! That's the sound of Makoto's flip-kick catching Adelheid under his chin, and sending him flailing backwards into the sand. The stuff erupts outwards under the potent impact. He's felt worse.. but not often, and it draws a quick line of blood from his erupting lip. Spitting that excess crimson to the beach, Adelheid is nonetheless quick to tumble up into a crouch, apparently not shy about maintaining close proximity with Makoto. In fact, he's hoping her own landing was awkward enough to leave her exposed...
For what? Well, the young Bernstein launches himself upwards, the first instants of ascent accompanied by a sudden twist, his right leg swinging up and around, an aerial roundhouse aligned to drive Makoto skyward, this time. It's not the booted foot that's the only danger here, though... a massive charge of energy accompanies the path of that kick, an arc of silver wind-chi drawn through the air, intent on cleaving through Makoto as surely as the roundhouse strike... which repeats, and then comes again, and again, each potent rotation ripping ragged gouts of potent energy through the air, intent on driving Makoto higher and higher.

COMBATSYS: Adelheid successfully hits Makoto with Omega Genocide.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Adelheid         0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1           Makoto


Makoto has never been noted for her extreme speed, and that had been a particularly awkward move she'd just pulled off. She's still straightening when she first sees the foot flying toward her face, and rather than try to leap back - she'd probably just hit the dune anyway - Makoto brings both of her arms up to cover her torso in a practiced gesture.

It doesn't help. The foot catches inside Makoto's guard, launching her into the sky despite her attempts to stop it and leaving her more or less helpless to deal with the rest of it except by a shout of surprise. When it's all over, she lands on the same dune on her back, slowly sliding back down to her feet. She looks dazed and more than a little beat up; when she steps forward, it's a little unsteadily.

That doesn't stop her from giving her best one last time, though! Taking a reinforcing breath (and only coughing once, probably on sand that went up her nose) Makoto steps forward, delivering a series of rapid punches at mid-height, followed by one massive strike at an upward angle to launch Adelheid into the air...if it hits. "SEICHUUSEN GODANZUKI!"

Hit or miss, Makoto holds the pose for precisely two seconds before stepping out of it, failing to get her left foot under her, and landing on her rear, the next thing to unconcious.

COMBATSYS: Makoto can no longer fight.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Adelheid         0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Adelheid blocks Makoto's Seichuusen Godanzuki.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  <
Adelheid         0/-------/----===|


Adelheid defends against this flurry much like the last. Landing with a slow, seemingly wind-supported descent out of his brutal ultimate technique, the young Bernstein brings a guard in-line with the dazed Makoto's assault, defending his chest with his forearms. He shifts his body with each strike, trying to absorb some of the impact as he backpedals, crossed arms absorbing most of the force of the finishing blow as he hops backwards a short distance, his breath coming in a deep, tension-releasing sigh, "Well fought." He half-murmurs, steadying his footing a moment. He took quite a beating there, not to mention delivering one, in a rather short time, and he certainly feels it. Releasing a second deep breath, the young Bernstein similarly lets a charge of gathered chi dissipate, a silver-grey aura trailing the downward motion of his fist, which relaxes as his arms hang to his sides. He waits long enough for Makoto to be declared 'out', before offering simply, "My thanks." Boy has an odd idea of what constitutes a favor, it seems.

Makoto does not seem in any particular hurry to get up; she sits more or less right where she fell, still trying to catch her breath. This takes a few moments. "Yeah - you did - really well," she manages to get out, when she finally pushes herself back up to her feet, rubbing the side of her head with one hand. "Not too many people can kick like that."

Log created by Adelheid, and last modified on 17:56:16 01/27/2006.