Description: Youth versus experience! Sakura takes on Mary in Chinatown. (Winner: Blue Mary)
For some older fighters, taking a beating by a little schoolgirl is something that hurts one's pride a lot. Blue Mary happens to be one of those 'old' fighters. While she's at the very blossom of womanhood, it doesn't change the fact she's two years short of reaching her thirties, and that's generally around the age where one's physical strength starts to decline fairly easily if training's lacking. Considering she went from criminal and thugs fighting to being a unfaithful husband/wife hunter? Definately, she has dulled her edge a little.
A reality check, but Mary's moral isn't too affected by all of this. In the end, she still gets paid. She'll have to get back into shape -- not to actually beat those schoolgirls. Nah. She isn't that prideful. Just to actually make sure once she'll get to the real thing, she'll be at her best. Fighting real criminals is an everlasting job after all. She's just been taking an extended break of it...
So... Mary decided to go at the gym. Unfortunately, she couldn't affort to pay for it. Solution? Let's pick up someone else and have a fight. After all, they do get a little pocket money for battles, they don'T do it for free, right? Right? Mary needs to make a living, she's not one of those fighters who do it just for fun.
And China Town is the spot for this fight. People are gathering and officials are getting ready. Mary is here, clad in her leather jacket. It's still a bit cold outside after all. The blonde woman performs some stretching before the battle begins. She's not in her teens anymore, she can't shrug off the strain of some intense physical activity after all.
On the other hand, Sakura Kasugano =is= in her prime, and the cold doesn't really bother her all that much. For the most part, the lights of Chinatown are enough to keep her nice and warm, despite her choice of attire for this fight: her standard Taiyo sailor uniform. She's wearing a thin track-and-field jacket when she arrives, though she's in the midst of pulling it off as she strides up to the ring. Smirking faintly, she tosses it aside to one of the officials. Cocky, brash... yep, that's Sakura!
She knows a little about Mary -- mostly her involvement in the King of Fighters tournament a few years back. It's enough to say that Sakura's looking forward to the fight.
She's also mindful of the audience -- mostly male, of course, if the wolf-whistling is any indication. Tugging on her handguards, she flashes a smile back to Mary. "Guess this is it, huh? Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!"
Oh yeah. She =is= a few minutes late, isn't she...
The wolf-whistles pretty much sells off Sakura's arrival to Blue Mary. After all, the blonde woman's been here for some time, so the crowd's must have gotten tired by now. Not that she minds the little fan-base she has, though she's been so inactive that only the diehard fans she used to have are still coming up to cheer on her. Unfortunately, she's probably the least favorite for this fight but it's not affecting her psych.
"You're late," Mary says, turning on her heels to face Sakura. The smile she flashes though seems to be enough to bring a faint one to Mary's lips, "Doesn't really matter..." She adds, resting her hands on her waist. Aside from the little earning this little fight will give her, Mary definately won't mind the extra exercise. She takes a moment to assess Sakura and her attire. Her choice of cloth for the season definately reveals a lot about her opponent.
Mary takes a moment to strip off her leather jacket and she simply throws it off in one of the corner -- the jacket being so precious to her, it's not left unguarded, of course, and Mary's canine is watching it. It may be cold, but Mary knows, by experience, that things will heat up pretty fast and she doesn't need to sweat up in her leather jacket, "Are you ready?" She asks. No formalities, nothing. Pretty foward, huh?
"... eh?" Sakura cocks her head to the side at the muted reaction from Mary. Kasugano always gives 110% in her fights, and a lot of people seem genuinely interested. Mary... well, her apparent ambivalence seems to be troubling the energetic schoolgirl. "Doesn't seem like your heart's in the fight very much, here..." she notes, hopping back and forth from one leg to the other. "But, yeah... I'm ready! Are =you= ready?" It's a simple enough question.
Kasugano steps into the area marked off for the fight, skirt and headband fluttering with the pint-sized Ansatsuken dynamo's bobbing motions. Clenching her fist, she turns her left side towards Mary, grinning. "I hope I can make this fight worth your time!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: BlueMary has joined the fight here.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
"I've got a lot on my mind right now," Mary admits, waving one hand up in the air, "But let's say it's nor here, nor there." The woman adds. After all, she's not about to say her personal life's problem to just about anybody she encounters, no? While she doesn't seem like she'll put all of her heart into it, Mary has to -- it's an obligation to the few fans she has. Not to mention that she's here to give a show. She'll give her best nonethlessly, even if it doesn't look that way.
Blue Mary cracks her knuckles and her legs spread slightly, her arms moving to her side as she leans over a little, getting into her combat stance. "I'm sure you will. Let's get this started then," With those words, Mary decides to show Sakura just how much she can give herself to the task at hand, even if she doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about all of this.
And so, Mary dashes toward Sakura with a rather hasty pace and as soon as she gets close enough to Sakura, Mary lunges foward and she reaches out for Sakura's shoulders, only to force drag her right into her knee to deliver Sakura a pretty nasty knee shot to her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks BlueMary's Combo Throw.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Sakura
Mary simply tries to perform the same move again and again. Twice, but unfortunately, Sakura might give her too much resistance for her to even hope to finish this combo with the ippon seoi nage.
Whatever Mary's going through sounds pretty serious. And Sakura? Well... as she said, it's neither here nor there, so she faces Mary with a grin. "Alright then! The battle is =here!=" There's a reason Geese calls the Taiyo schoolgirl 'Almost Philosophical.'
And when Mary closes in, Sakura grins back. She's pleased the older woman has decided to bring the fight to her -- she'd hate to hit a reluctant opponent! At first, it looks like Mary might snag the schoolgirl, but Sakura backs out of it, brushing her hands to the side to free herself before the knee closes in. The second time, she's not so lucky, taking one to the stomach, but she's quick to dive hard to the side before she can get brought into anything more painful.
"Heh, not bad!" she comments, hopping back to her feet, once more turning her left shoulder to the woman. Smug? Just a bit, but she's got plenty of reason for it -- namely, that bright blue fireball swirling around in her hands. "Got a present for ya..." And she presents the ball of energy for Mary's appreciation, slamming a concussive wave of cerulean blue energy towards the Sambo expert, shouting loudly, "HADOOOOOOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
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BlueMary 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
What's with those schoolgirl and those energy projectile? They're spreading like a plague or breeding like rabbits? Seems like it's the new trend around. What about those old school fighters? Being too close to Sakura, Mary's options are fairly limited and considering her past experience with those, Mary comes to the safest way to deal with this -- protect her vital part by lifting her arms up to intercept the incoming ball of energy. The azure sphere dissipates against her forearms, however, not without dealing it's part of damage. It knocks the blonde woman back, destabilizing her and leaving her open as she tries to regain her balance.
The pain she feels after the hit isn't all that bad considering what it could have done if she hadn't protected herself. While Mary should probably take the time to get back into her fighting stance, she'd much rather not leave the crowd hanging and stop the action right at the beginning. As of sort, she opts for a counter, even if she's not in her an advantageous position. "What's with you girls and stuff like that?" Mary asks idly. Alas, Blue Mary isn't known for long conversation in the midst of battle...
She lunges foward and she attempts to drive her elbow right into Sakura's midsection, "Kyaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Quick Punch from BlueMary with Shou'ou Ken.
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BlueMary 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Sakura
Hey, it's not =Sakura's= fault she was born with the innate ability to chuck fireballs around like they were nothing. She's just lucky! And, really, wouldn't it tend to follow that schoolgirls in a fighting league would be a little unusual to start with?
And while it might be =usual= for her to fall back on her tried-and-true fireball techniques, the Taiyo schoolgirl thinks she sees an opening when Mary lunges forward with an elbow. Sakura tries to meet that elbow with her own, while stepping around to to slam an uppercut into Mary's ribcage.
She is not successful in that, with Mary's elbow clipping her just enough to send her spinning down to the asphalt instead. Planting her palm down, she flits back to her feet, facing Mary again while rubbing her skinned elbows. "Hee. You've got better moves than that, though, dont'cha?
That was a close call -- Had she been just any slower and she would have taken a rather unpleasant hit. Blue Mary's lips curl into a smile as Sakura rises back to her feet. At least, she allows her that much time. While Mary doesn't directly answer to Sakura's question, she lets her action speaks louder for her. She wants something better? Well Mary'll try to give her.
Just as Sakura gets back to her feet, Mary takes a step back and she uses it to give her a little boost to perform a somersault toward Sakura. "Spin Fall!" She shouts as she flips on herself in midair, her leap bringing her closer to Sakura. Mary's coming down, her right leg is descending down right for Sakura. It might seem like an axing kick, but Mary is hardly going to even hit Sakura with it -- she's simply trying to land on her shoulder, quite literally, with her leg spread over it. And if she manages to do so and get her hands on Sakura's arm, the schoolgirl might find herself flung about and thrown to the ground rather quickly... And if she's not fast enough to react or retaliate, the real pain will begin straight after that.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Sakura with Mary Spider.
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BlueMary 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
And using her weight, Mary forces Sakura down to the ground and in her fall, she readjusts herself around Sakura's arm, legs holding it cross-scissor while she holds it with her hands around her wrist. With her forced down to the ground, face toward the ground, Blue Mary actually pulls and she forces Sakura's arm to bend in a rather uncomfortable positon, one that may break a normal human being's arm or at least dislocate a shoulder. Thankfully though, Mary lets go and she rolls backward to a safe distance, just a few feet and she gets back to her feet.
Sakura's strategy is largely focused upon reading her opponent's moves and figuring out what they're about to do, whether by bluffing them into a particular course of action, or just not being there when they strike.
It's kinda hard to do that when she can't read her opponent's body language. And considering how perplexed Sakura was by Mary's apparent ambivalence towards the fight... well, it's just not working out for the schoolgirl yet.
Kasugano swerves to the side, but it's unfortunately the =wrong= side, as Mary closes in for the kill. Caught in the hold, she's forced to the ground, there's little for Sakura to do but kick and shout as Mary wrenches her arm in a direction it's really not supposed to go! But, lucky for her, she's set free before long, and allowed to pull back to her feet with a smirk. "Heh... that's more like it!" she notes, taking a few steps back. Kasugano needs to get her head in this fight, and all things considered... well, it's just not working at the moment, is it? Rubbing her arm sorely, she nods back to Mary. "It ain't over yet though, Miss Mary!" Seems like Kasugano's =trying= to get Mary ticked off...
COMBATSYS: Sakura gains composure.
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BlueMary 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Hopefully, Mary isn't too much for Sakura. There's not an ounce of guilt or worry in Mary's features though. Nor the hint of a smile after she suceed to perform this rather spectacular and fairly technical combo. She's pretty certain if she's too rough for Sakura she'll forfeit before she gets hurt for real. After all, it's not like she's fighting criminals. This is a friendly fight and her objective isn't quite the same as what commando sambo's designed for.
"I'd be pretty disappointed if it was over already," Mary answers, "We're just getting started after all," She admits. Blue Mary doesn't give Sakura too much time to regain her composure and she rushes toward Sakura. She attempts to get a hold of Sakura's other arm, give her a break from the rather nasty arm-breaker she gave her. Her right hand reaches for her wrists and her left one goes right for Sakura's armpit. She quickly spins around on her heels and presses her back to Sakura's waist, bending over and forcing her off her feet. In just a second, Mary uses her hips to throw Sakura off from her and right over her, slamming her down in front of her.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges BlueMary's Medium Throw.
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BlueMary 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Or... Sakura could just use the opportunity to spring backwards to safety, letting Mary's grabby hands catch nothing but the air in her wake. "Yeah, we sure are!" quips the schoolgirl, sticking out her tongue at the older lady. "Don't go thinkin' I'm gonna just =hand= the match to ya!"
And as soon as she hits the ground again, she takes off in a rapid dash for Mary once more. Though, she's not playing around -- she just thrusts herself into a rapid dashing punch, aimed at clocking Mary hard in the chin. "HYAAAAAAH!" Plain, direct, and powerful -- just the way her master taught her!
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Sakura's Medium Punch.
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BlueMary 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Despite Sakura's quick recovering, Mary manages to keep her guard up and she quickly raises her forearm up to actually 'catch' Sakura's fist that's coming right for her chin, deflecting it away from her face. That's a close call. "Nah, I wouldn't have fought you if you didn't stand a chance to win this one, I know you can perform well," Mary says.
With a shout, just as Mary deflects Sakura's punch while still taking the hit on her forearm, Mary lunges toward Sakura and she turns on her heels slightly, spinning her right leg up and going for a quick kick right to her midsection, into her flank.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Sakura with Light Kick.
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BlueMary 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura can tell Mary's up to =something=, but again, her inability to read the blonde's moves results in the schoolgirl taking a hard kick to the side, staggering sharply away. It almost knocks the girl over, but a shuffling of feet allows her to regain her balance.
This match may not be going the =best= for Sakura, but that's not to say she won't be =trying= her best! Smirking faintly, she nods back to Mary, "Good! Just keep it up!" Not like Sakura =needs= to give the woman much encouragement, considering the progress of the fight so far.
Now's as good a time as any for Sakura to try a more direct confrontation -- while her last punch may have been a bit more direct, the one that follows is one of Sakura's specialties. She leads a dashing charge with her shoulder, but the true power is packed into her right fist -- one she rushes forward, hoping to catch the woman in the ribcage as she leaps into a fierce rising uppercut. "SHOOOOOU'OOOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: BlueMary counters Shou'ou Ken from Sakura with Head Buster.
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BlueMary 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Sakura
There's some good sides to being an old seasoned fighter. While the physical shape may be declining, Mary actually has the experience on her side. Of course, Sakura might have just as much if not more fighting experience than Mary does, but Mary's way of dealing with her own fights is definately quite different than Sakura's one. Seems like it'S giving her an extra edge in this whole fight. Though the only way to learn how to defeat a certain kind of opponent is by fighting them, no?
And Mary is definately up to something here. Her facial expression may not show it, but she's got a few aces up her sleeves. Just as Sakura dashes at her, Mary counters -- she quite literally lifts her foot up and she plants rather roughly her boot into Sakura's abdomen. The hit is enough to slow Sakura's incoming uppercut, it seems, and before the girl even knows it, Mary's hands reach out to hold Sakura's shoulders and Blue Mary throws herself backward, to roll on her back.
Just as she rolls, she uses her foot to shove Sakura right above her head and she goes flying a short distance as Mary finishes her fall. She then rolls back and forces herself up to her feet.
Wha? Where'd that boot come from? Oh, right, Mary actually =knows how to fight=. Sakura can forget these things when she's being tossed around a bunch! She hits the ground hard, rolling sharply to the side.
But... she's quick to spring back to her feet! "Alright, the gloves are off now!" Actually Sakura's still wearing them -- it's just a figure of speech! Rolling to the side, Sakura's been burned =far= too much to risk another head-on charge against the woman... which can mean only one thing.
Bright. Blue. Energy. Attacking the woman directly has gotten her nowhere, so she feels she's got no choice but to curl her hands behind her, drawing on her immense reserves of energy. Her headband kicks up as her face is backlit by the intense light forming within her hands. The shadows shift rapidly as the girl thrusts her hands forward, loosing the blast of energy at her opponent. "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: BlueMary dodges Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
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BlueMary 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Thankfully, this time, Mary seems to have a good control of the situation. Unlike her previous fight with another schoolgirl. This time, she has plenty of time to see Sakura's ball of energy comes at her and Mary opts to shift to a more evasive stance not to get hit by those. The last one hurt pretty much even if she shielded her body from the kinetic blast. Just as the ball of energy comes her way, Mary ducks and she moves aside swiftly, avoiding the incoming blast of energy.
"Give me your best, girl," Mary adds, trying to shift from her previous stance right back into an offensive one. She attempts to perform this as quickly as possible, closing in with Sakura so that she stops hurling balls of energy at her. Once Mary gets close enough, she attempts to get a hold of Sakura'S arms, initiating a grapple -- however, she doesn't plan on throwing her. It's a simple distraction so that Mary can actually sweep Sakura off her feet and use her grasp over her to slam her down to the ground.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Sakura with Fast Throw.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Her best? Sakura is trying her best... it's just not working out too well for the girl. She frowns as her Hadouken sails right past the woman, just a weeee bit frustrated by her performance in the fight thus far.
And she'd just have to let that tweak her out to the point that she'd miss an attack she could have easily blocked, wouldn't she? A delayed snap of her arms to her face may have been enough to ward off a punch or two, but not a grapple of that nature -- Sakura finds herself once more introduced to the asphalt.
It could have easily been worse though, she realizes upon rising to her feet again. Mary =is= going easy on her, isn't she? And if that's the case... "Hey. I'm all for a free lunch and all, but don't feel you have to ease up on me or nothin'." Once more, she sticks her tongue out -- fairly confident for someone having their butt kicked, isn't she? But she's also pacing away, favoring one side... she's got an uphill battle, and she needs another moment to collect her wits!
COMBATSYS: Sakura gains composure.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Going easy? Nah. Blue Mary learned from her previous fight that hitting schoolgirl hard doesn't suceed in getting what you want done. It merely results in getting trashed. So far, it seems that Mary's careful battle tactic has proven to be quite successful.
At the very least, Mary gives Sakura a few seconds to get back to her feet and take a few steps away from Mary. However, it's not like her to actually give her opponent time to recover too much. That would make a very poor show for the fans, after all, and they're screaming for more action. "See, girl, you'll learn this pretty quickly, I'm sure, but in life, things are always better when they last longer. No need to make it end too quickly, no?" Mary smiles and she adds, "Beside, I'm expecting for a rather violent come back," She admits.
Sakura is away from her? No problem. Mary knows a fairly good way to close in. She takes a step back and she gives herself a swing, performing a somersault, "Spin Fall!" She shouts once more, flipping on herself in midair as she goes flying straight for Sakura, her right leg out-stretched and extended, descnding down to deliver a powerful axing leg drop on Sakura's shoulder. However, unlike last time, she's not going to cling to Sakura and do something else, this is just pure physical strength applied into one painful hit.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges BlueMary's Spin Fall.
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BlueMary 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Sakura =is= working on a comeback of some kind, but it'll take a while before it gets to be truly =violent=. She'd like the fight to be quicker though, against Mary's advice. Be careful of how much one is willing to trust the opponent, after all.
%When that kick chops down like a guillotine at her, =this= time, Sakura's able to throw herself to the side, diving out of the way of the strike and tumbling to safety. "Heh... personally? I'd just be happy if I can hit you!"
And with Mary nice and close, Sakura won't want to waste an opportunity -- she forces her hands forward, shouting out "HADOOOUKEN!" Not only is it significantly =larger= than her last blast of energy, the six-foot blaze of blue energy is also significantly =faster=, materializing near instantaneously as it threatens to engulf the blonde.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Miss. Ahhh. Mary thought Sakura wanted something more hardcore? Well it's a shame she actually didn't get hit by that one, Mary definately gave all she had into that attack. Unfortunately, it leaves her into a rather bad position to actually avoid the next incoming ball of energy. She's close to Sakura and she barely has the time to rise to her feet that the large azure oval about her size is coming at her.
All Mary can do is brace for impact and she moves her arms to actually block the blast of force and hold it off the way she can. She's more or less successful in doing so. At least it's less painful than if it would have caught her totally off guard. Mary staggers back a bit due to the kinetic blast and she has to give herself a slap to try and regain her focus, "Huh... With something that huge, pretty hard to miss..." She smiles and then adds, "Like I said... You girls definately have the most special attacks I've seen.."
Mary just takes her breath back, getting back in the groove of things and resuming her combat stance.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary gains composure.
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BlueMary 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Sakura tried hardcore earlier in the fight. It kinda hurts.
But at least Mary seems to be cutting the girl even =more= slack -- not only by throwing weaker attacks, but by not attacking =at all=. Conservative strategy, that.
And Sakura's eyebrow twitches, at that. She =ought= to be hitting harder than she is, and she knows it.
So... if at first you don't succeed, try, try again! Sakura steps forward again, leading with her elbow. "Hey, what's wrong? Don't y'wanna put me down and out or something?" Smirking, she snaps her wrists forward again -- hopefully her luck improves! Besides, what's Ansatsuken without fireballs? "HADOOOOOOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits BlueMary with Large Hadouken EX.
Glancing Blow
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BlueMary 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Sakura
At this rate, there's one thing that's a certitude. If she stays away from Sakura and doesn't keep the pressure, she'll just get shelled by a bunch of Hadoken. Definately, Blue Mary is going to develop some kind of hate toward those energy projectile. Despite the distance she has this time, Mary attempts to move out of the way but the ball of energy is simply too big for Mary to completly dodge it.
In the end? Well Mary's body only gets partially hit by the ball of energy. Her right shoulder and flanks take the hit and that's more than enough to destabilize Mary. She spins on her heels not to lose her balance and she's a little unbalanced by all of this but she doesn't take the time to regain her composure this time -- it's critical, she has to get to Sakura quickly before she throws off more of those. "If you insist..." Mary says with a snort before she dashes toward Sakura.
And just as she gets close to her, Mary lunges foward and she dives at her, shoulder first as she attempts to perform a low shoulder tackle. Low as in she tries to ram her shoulder right into Sakura's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Fierce Punch from BlueMary with Strong Kick.
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BlueMary 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Sakura
Well... if Mary puts herself on the offensive, Sakura can at least tell =something's= coming, and can prepare accordingly. In this case, Sakura hops backwards, clenching her fists in anticipation. She's definitely feeling the battle, from the numerous bruises and abrasions littering her frame, but the true battle transcends the physical realm!
And in this case -- when Mary rushes forward with that shoulder charge, Kasugano whips around into a fierce roundhouse kick, aimed at crashing into the woman's side! Sure... the blonde's shoulder still strikes Sakura in the stomach, but the kick seems to have been enough to dull the blow. Sakura leaps back from the kick, coughing weakly -- and just to =ensure= she gets away, kicks Mary one more time on the way out. "Yuu-taa!"
She manages to connect her shoulder tackle, but it comes to quite a price. One that Mary pays dearly but at the very least she's gotten right by Sakura's side, no? She's not quite in front of her due to the kick she managed to deliver to Mary's stomach but still. Mary loses her footing slightly due to the impact. One arm wraps around her side and she growls a bit, forcing her back to her feet. She pants softly and her eyes narrow at Sakura, staring at her for a moment to assess the situation.
The conclusion's a pretty easy one though -- Mary figures she has the advantage now, even after her reckless charge. She's close enough to Sakura and now she can get physical with her without fear of those energy ball. With a snort, Mary dashes toward Sakura and she rushes at her -- She smashes Sakura, with her fists, then comes back and smashes her again, this time with her elbows and she goes back and forth around her, sprinting at a rather quick pace back and forth as she delivers her a flurry of blows just from all around.
And to finish all of this, Mary leaps up and gives a powerful knee shot that is meant to send Sakura flying, only to swing her arms about to smack her a few more time and sends her flying even higher.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges BlueMary's Splash Rose.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Sakura
That sounds good on paper, really it does! But Sakura was already quite far on the defensive by this point. Her body may be weak, but her resolve is stronger than ever! And it's that resolve that explains how the girl can back away from each strike, her reflexes top-notch for one rare slice of time as she weaves deftly back and forth, strikes missing by no less than a hair's breadth as the schoolgirl evades flawlessly. When the knee strike comes, though, a sharp pivot to the side carries her out of harm's way -- bringing a relieved and refreshed smirk from the schoolgirl. "This fight's =full= of surprises!"
And ... what was that? No more energy balls? There's =always= room for energy balls when you're dealing with a student of Ryu. Sakura's hands flash forward with a brilliant blue glow, sending one of the art's signature moves flying at Mary from behind. "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Sakura
Looks like what Mary called off a little bit earlier on is becoming a reality. Blue Mary has to admit, she's fairly impressed Sakura managed to avoid all of her rushing attack. That one took a lot out of Mary and it's definately one of her best move. And hardest one to parry too. "Huh, seems like it... Told you, you were gonna make a come back." Mary says, taking a few steps back to try and get back her output on the battle. The tide has turned out rather quickly it would seem.
Alas! That was a deadly mistake! Not keeping Sakura close enough means she goes into throwing off more Hadouken her way. Mary's eyes widen and she growls a little. Such a large ball she has not much to do against it aside from bracing for the impact and using her forearms to take most of the blow. The force of the impact causes her to stagger back and Mary shakes her head a little, trying to shrug off the dazing effect of the blast.
Still, she can't affort to regain her bearing. She has to press on the attack and close in Sakura. Mary frowns and she dashes at Sakura, she leaps at her and attempts to drive her fist right into her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Quick Punch from BlueMary with Medium Kick.
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BlueMary 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura was pretty happy about turning another Hadouken on the woman -- though it seems it wasn't enough to knock the fighting spirit out of her! And it was blocked, too, what's up with that? "Tch..." mumbles Sakura under her breath -- she can keep smiling, sure, but it's a disappointment just the same!
Much like the threat of Mary closing in would be a bit of a surprise. She'd =wanted= the Commando Sambo fighter to strike, just not... quite so soon. Maybe next Tuesday would be nice, but unfortunately for Miss Kasugano, time is =not= a luxury. She tries once more to snap a kick into Mary as she closes in, but the fates aren't with her this time -- Sakura eats the blow before her kick can connect, and she's subsequently knocked to her rear upon the pavement, arms and legs flailing uselessly to either side.
"Guh..." mumbles Sakura, pushing back to her feet. "Let's finish this, then!" She might not have a whole lot left in her, but that's no call for her to just sit down and concede defeat!
Saved by a feat of speed. Just enough to actually prevent Sakura's kick to connect with her. Now that Sakura failed her counter, Mary has her right where she wants -- close to her. Now that means that she'll be able to react much more easily to Sakura's hadouken, or rather, just prevent her from flinging off those things at her.
"I'm with you on that, let's give it a blast for the end," Mary comments. Might as well give the fans what they want for a finishing move, no? At the very least, Mary supposes that, in Sakura's current condition, it might just be the best way to end all of this. She reaches out for Sakura's arm as she gets back to her feet and she attempts to shift her about forcefully, using joint-pressure-manipulation to get give her a painful armlock and force her down to the ground in a submission, if Sakura doesn't struggle too much, that is.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Sakura with Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
BlueMary 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Sakura
Well. Sakura's a teenager. Saving... isn't really in her repertoire yet, she's more of the 'spend 'em if you got 'em' school of thought. She tries to back out of Mary's grasp, and for a moment, it looks like she =might= succeed in jerking her hand free -- but nevertheless, Mary lunges just one bit further and snares her. Pulled by the arm, she's slung to the ground, and quite possibly pinned with her arm behind her back.
But... Sakura does =not= want to give up. Struggling is her last resort, really, and with her brought down to one knee, that leaves one last-ditch option for the schoolgirl -- reversing her leverage sharply as she attempts to get one more hit on Mary.
With the =back of her head=. "NGYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
BlueMary 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: BlueMary counters Strong Kick from Sakura with Reverse Facelock.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
BlueMary 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Come down, down now... Easy, easy... Good. If things go that way and she lets herself be brought to the ground, Mary will immobolize her. Probably a poor way to finish things up, but it's the least painful way for Sakura. Though the schoolgirl hasn't said her last word and she attempts to give a powerful smack to Mary with her head...
Well, Mary just changes her submission to fit all of this. Her hands move up and she clings them to Sakura's face, pulling it backward. Sakura's arm is freed but now she has her face caught and Mary presses her knee into Sakura's back as she tries to guide her to the ground while she maintains the facelock, "Easy, easy there.." This is almost the end... But who knows, Sakura might struggle some more!
Nope, Sakura's not down yet. The fact that Mary has not only -taken- the last-ditch hit, but reversed it is a bit troubling. Not to mention, the fact that she's basically being caught in a wrestling move is =really embarassing= to the schoolgirl. Maybe Mary can feel the girl's face flushing to a red-hot =rage=. Maybe she can sense the tightly-wound muscles tensing beneath her knee, or the sudden rush of energy as Sakura surges back to her feet.
Or maybe the telltale signature of blue chi swelling within her as Sakura grabs Mary's hands, thrashes sharply to one side, and attempts to sling her off and to certain doom! "NGYAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits BlueMary with Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
BlueMary 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Can't blame Mary. The blonde woman is trying to finish this safe and easy, without too much pain involved there. Mary figures it's a good way to go down, no? Though Sakura's just like a wild boar, she won't give up as long as she still has a bit of life left in her it would seem. Mary tried her best to guide Sakura down and pin her but unfortunately, before she can before it fully, Sakura manages to grab Mary's hands and reverses the whole situation.
Mary's eyes widen and she attempts to pull back but alas, Sakura slings off Mary to the side, forcing her off her back. Mary growls a bit and she winces as she falls on her back. The woman shakes her head a little and she lifts her gaze up to Sakura and she narrows her eyes. What to do at this point? Try to hit her? While she's down, it may be a little dirty. Mary rises to her feet and she simply charges on Sakura, trying to run her over and force her back to the ground just as she gets back up. Her subtle way to pin her down might have not work, but this sudden charge might!
COMBATSYS: BlueMary successfully hits Sakura with Fast Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
BlueMary 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
Well... Sakura could probably knocked over by a stiff breeze at this point, so Mary has little trouble in just, y'know, =shoving= the girl over.
But even though she's knocked to one knee, she still somehow lands with one foot on the ground -- and it's with that foot that she sharply kicks back to one knee, her other folded beneath her. She, uh, could stand, she just, er... doesn't feel like it! Yeah, that's the ticket.
Kasugano just feels it's better to give than receive. The gift is 'damage' in this case, as she holds her hands in front of her, smirking broadly. "Once more for the road..."
Then the storm starts -- a crackling fury of lightning and thunder forming right between her palms. It's nowhere =near= as fast as it could be, but Sakura won't go down without offering her own farewell. "Shinkuu... Hadoooouken!"
The four-foot-wide surge of electrical chi blazes out to crash into Mary's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
BlueMary 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: BlueMary blocks Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
BlueMary 1/-------/=======|
And then Sakura flumps over to one side, drained.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
BlueMary 1/-------/=======|
Mary's eyes lift up and she blinks as Sakura gathers power and forms this electrical ball of chi. She just blinks a few times and mutters, "God damn, not one of those again..." Definately, she'll develop a hating to those energy ball. Not out of jealousy because she can't do any herself... Well, maybe a little.
Mary takes a step back and she rises her arms up to shield herself from the wide ball of energy. Mary winces and she grunts, her arms twitching even after as electricity course through them. She shakes her head a bit and pants, holding still on her feet and finally... Finally at long last, Sakura finally goes down. Without forceful submission. Looks like the official declares it a win on Mary's part as well.
The blonde woman strides over toward Sakura and she glances down at her. Mary rests her hands on her waist for a moment and her lips curl into a smile, "Well," She says, extending her hand to try and help Sakura get back to her feet, at least to help her get a seat so she can rest, "I hope this was as good for you then it was for me," Mary says, "You did well.. Rest assured, you were definately worth my time," She says, all of this answers to some of her early, early, early statement.
COMBATSYS: BlueMary has ended the fight here.
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 15:46:09 02/27/2006.