Description: It's a Neo League Charity Event! When Gedo High needs a classroom refurbished, they know one fun way to get it done: call in some fighters and bust it up for fun and profit! With Acacia fighting for the home team and Alma always willing to break things for the common good, this super-dramatic fight ends up being worth its weight in cash. Seriously. (Winner: Acacia)
Ah, Gedo High. Bastion of education, learning, and gratuitous violence.
Hogwarts, eat your heart out.
Given the number of martial artists in the student body, it's no surprise that Gedo's played host to many fighting events. Tournament matches, Saturday Night Fight episodes...and with the advent of Ken Masters' latest thing in the fighting world, Neo League challenges. More than a few League fights have taken place on school grounds since its formation. Hell, the very /first/ official Neo League match was in Gedo's front yard, between Sakura Kasugano and the school's own Acacia Gillespie.
And with the Gedo girl now high in the rankings...well, the League TV folk know a good feature when they see one. Capitalising on her popularity, and the reputation of her school.
Hence today's event. Between two fighters currently near the top of the League table. TV cameras rigged round the inside of a Gedo High classroom. Now, putting two fighters in a crowded room like that is asking for trouble - massive collateral damage the school's heavily stretched repair budget wouldn't be able to afford. So why did Gedo agree to this?
Because this fight? This fight's different. Sure, the classroom's gonna look like a war zone after the fighters are through. But the Neo League has pledged to renovate and refurbish the place /after/ the fight, as a new computer lab for the school. Giving back to the community - and a nice bit of public relations to boot.
Good for the League. Good for the school.
Mind, Acacia's not entirely comfortable with this. She certainly doesn't -look- like she wants to be here, scowling as she tugs on a pair of fingerless motorcycle gloves, tightening the straps across her wrist. She's dressed in her usual fighting gear, a bulky jacket - this one an Army surplus job covered in mottled jungle camo - jeans, and boots. Leaning against a desk near the back of the room, Acacia shakes her head, exhaling a breath. No, not happy at all. She doesn't -like- publicity stunts like this, they go totally against her grain. But her school's getting a good deal out of this...that's why she's going along with it.
She doesn't have to /like/ it, though.
Alma Towazu, highly uncharacteristically, is a bit uncomfortable with this himself. But it's for different reasons. And unlike with Acacia... it doesn't show.
Blond red-tinged bangs shifting over his coppery-skinned youthful features, the tall fighting and modeling prodigy seems perfectly relaxed in the face of the public attention as he walks down the main hallway to the classroom. This in and of itself isn't particularly notable, given his professions; what's impressive in this case is that by "public attention" we mean Gedo students shouting and jeering loudly, one or two kids even throwing a few things at him before they're stopped by their peers -- but even then, only things like crumpled up papers and empty paper cups. Nothing conceivably dangerous. After all, they're not unhappy he's here. This is just what they did to him the last two times he's fought here, though, so it's probably just a habit of theirs. And who wouldn't want to throw something at a prettyboy like Alma? It's not that his clothes are particularly expensive, but he's just so... neat.
And perhaps it is with this in mind that Alma, usually not particularly good at hiding his emotions -- not that the mild-faced youth is particularly expressive either -- seems completely unworried as he walks toward the classroom. When he sees his opponent, the young model's serenely low-lidded eyes open to more normal levels as his face is warmed by a genuine smile, and he approaches Acacia, reaching up to run his hand through his dashingly unkempt blonde locks and thusly dislodging a thrown candy wrapper.
Everything about this fight strikes him as extremely worthwhile, which is why he accepted without too much deliberation. But they're going to expect him to break things... which of course he'll do once he gets into the spirit of the fight, he's confident of that. Just... oh, dear. Couldn't they be giving these away?
"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Gillespie," he says, his low baritone the tone of the instinctively polite. "I've heard rumors of your skill. I'm honored to be able to challenge you." And he bows his head respectfully, although his eyes continue to make contact through his long lashes.
Behind him, the cameramen begin to take position, and the hubbub of the kids gathering outside and around is joined by the shouting of an announcer.
Under other circumstances, Acacia would probably glare at her schoolmates. She's not naive enough to expect them to stay quiet, much less show Alma any respect...jeering's part of the Gedo experience, after all. But actually /pelting/ the guy with garbage, that's a step too far. Normally, Acacia wouldn't stand for that level of nonsense. And she'd have the power to stop it, too...being one of the best fighters in the school gives her a certain status she isn't afraid to use.
But...
She doesn't seem inclined to step in, today. She doesn't glare at the crowd, doesn't order them to behave. There's no silent threats of violence, nothing. She just remains where she is, adjusting her gloves. Standing by, while Alma gets showered in rubbish. While she doesn't /seem/ to be relishing in his...misfortune, she's not stopping it either.
Maybe she wants to see him squirm.
Acacia raises her head, returning Alma's bow with a raised eyebrow. "Hn," she muses, "Alma."
A pause, as she makes a deliberate show of looking him over.
"Jiro's boyfriend, right?"
Ah, she wants to see Alma squirm?
"No," says Alma mildly and evenly, completely deadpan, "he's playing hard to get."
She'll have to do better than that.
Then that smile returns, naturally gracing his features like a flower booming in time lapse, or the coming of spring. "But I thought he might have mentioned me to you. I assume he's said nothing but good things." His soft-spoken words are as calm and serious as ever, but his eyes reveal what his face does not as they begin to twinkle merrily. The combined effect is usually heart-warmingly cheering in its elegant simplicity, though of course, its effect on Acacia is up for grabs. Still, he doesn't look bothered in the slightest, by her comments or by anything else.
As such, when the announcer turns to face them, the tall young man seems perfectly prepared to step back a pace, body relaxing and posture growing more poised as his feet shift. "Please," he says to his opponent, inclining his head to her again, "do your best, Ms. Gillespie."
There is a pause of surprising stillness, then, as though someone has hit the Play button but the music has yet to begin.
"FIGHT!"
And then Alma starts the beat. With a quick tempo he skips forward, loose body weaving in an unpredictable but highly precise sort of dance as he bobs, pseudo-staggers forward as though to lunge in sneakily... and then with a flash of his suddenly narrowed eyes, leans back and slashes out with his right hand. Summoning up a halo of pale rosy light without warning, the result is a gout of white pink-tinged soulfire that aims to catch Acacia and knock her back and away right from the start.
He doesn't know much about this fighter... better to take the advantage now, and give himself some space to think.
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Acacia has joined the fight here.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alma
COMBATSYS: Acacia overcomes Sacred Wave from Alma with Mass Breaker.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alma
From across the classroom, Acacia regards Alma with level eyes. But while her gaze is hard, intent, the corner of her mouth quirks up in a tiny little smile. The expression is brief, fleeting, involuntary...quickly replaced by an intense frown, as Alma moves, releasing a blazing wave of energy.
Once, such a thing -would- have caught Acacia off-guard. For a long time, a major weakness of her style was her inability to retaliate against such long-range techniques.
The smile returns.
That was then. Things change.
Acacia raises one booted foot, still leaning against a desk at the back of the classroom. Raises a foot...then -slams- her heel down. Shards of concrete rise into the air, as a blast wave ripples forward from the impact point, cracking the floor. The linear ground-blast of chi-force is near invisible, save for the destruction it leaves as it races forward, and the shimmer as it distorts the air. It meets the psionic energy...and engulfs it, tearing the soulfire to shreds. And splintering a hapless desk or two in the way, as it continues to race towards Alma.
"Depends," Acacia says, "on what's best..."
She tilts her head. Alma said he hoped Jiro told her only good things about him. In a laconic voice, Acacia adds, "...or what's good."
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Alma with Mass Breaker.
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Acacia 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Alma
"Hrn--"
His first instinct is to roll under any counterattacks and continue his assault. It's only /after/ he has that instinct, inspired by the sheer need to keep attacking and establish his momentum, that he actually realizes that the attack is a ground-blast, and he can't roll under something like that...
He doesn't roll headfirst into it, of course. Thank goodness. But he does hesitate instead of hurling himself to the side, and so the blast ends up plowing into him, sending him rolling backward instead. Yet despite the power of the attack, when Alma rises he appears mostly unfazed, shaking his head lightly as the energy crackles around him. He has nothing to say in response to her comment, although for a moment a look appears in his eyes that seems to say, 'Well, that seems a fair approximation.'
So, point Acacia. Looks like his strategy wasn't a good one this time. So instead, Alma settles down a little, eyes narrowing slightly as he takes deep and quiet breaths, gauging not his opponent's stance but her aura. If he can extrapolate from that what her fighting tendencies will be...
But more than that, he just needs to establish himself. Emptying his conscious mind and letting the purity of his fighting passion fill him instead, Alma gathers his will.
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Acacia 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Alma
Acacia meets Alma's gaze. She recognises his look for what it is - a fighter's stare, sizing up an opponent, trying to find their measure. It's a look that Acacia returns in kind, as she pushes off from the desk she was resting against, stepping over the little crater left by her boot heel. She steps into the aisle, the centre of the classroom, facing Alma straight on.
She nods, once.
"Been wanting to meet you too," Acacia says.
She clenches her right fist, muscles tensing. As her fist balls, a shimmer of chi explodes round her arm, a pattern of pure concussive force, radiating like a heat haze. A shrieking whine eminates from her aura as the vibrations distort the air, a whine overlaid by a bass roar as she charges forward, swinging a powerful dashing punch at Alma.
"Weren't properly introduced, last time."
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Bonecrusher from Acacia with Divine Intervention EX.
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Acacia 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Alma
[OOC] Alma flinches.
[OOC] Acacia says, "Sorry. ._."
[OOC] Alma flinches a few more times before posing.
[OOC] Acacia says, "Well, look at it this way... if you fly through a wall, the Neo League folks will have an easier time putting the new electric outlets in when they renovate."
Now... what just happened?
Alma's stance was set. He was perfectly prepared for this eventuality. His fighting spirit was screaming to be released. His perception was at its keenest, really. And all he had to do was parry her punch, absorb what force he needed to, and lash out with his psychic blast. It's a textbook example of his technique.
Maybe it was the way he had to shift his stance to get around the objects littering his path, so that in the process of readjusting his foot positioning he ended up unbalancing himself. Maybe it was simply the sheer power of her strike that bulled its way through his attempt to block it. Or maybe... maybe it was something about the vibrations in the air from her aura... because even as Alma lunged forward in his aggressive attempt to interrupt her, just as the moment of the collision came, he seemed to /wince/...
And then he's simply flying backwards, the young man's large frame hurtling through the air as he spirals away, crashing through tables and desks and leaving nothing but dust and splinters in his wake. Once he finally reduces altitude enough to hit the floor, he continues to roll, even bouncing occasionally and leaving /cracks/ in the floor as he does so. The only thing that stops him is the wall -- and even that only barely. Alma ends up hitting the side of the classroom mid-tumble, sprawling with his back on the ground, legs flat vertical against the wall, and arms akimbo. Paint chips shower around him as the Gedo audience howls its approval.
That was badass, after all.
Alma is seriously stunned for several moments, but slowly, methodically, he rises, sweeping the larger chunks of wood and paint chips out of his hair before regarding his opponent, still looking a bit dazed for several seconds.
"Not bad," he finally says, sliding smoothly back into his relaxed fighting stance.
Violence and destruction. That's something Gedo students can /really/ get behind. And the contractors coming in to renovate the classroom after the fighters might well thank Alma - his body's done half the work in pounding through that wall. It'll be easier to put in the new wiring now.
Not that Alma appreciates that, though. Acacia's expression is almost sympathetic as she watches him get back to his feet. That hit obviously took a lot out of him...but he's standing, with almost no signs of pain or complaint. She respects that.
"Thanks," Acacia replies, echoing Alma's motion. She falls into her own stance in the centre of the room, feet apart, hands raised in a guard position.
Her words are almost completely drowned out by the noise of the crowd, the Gedo students packed into the corridor outside. Acacia doesn't raise her voice, though, confident that the other fighter understands her sentiment. To her, that's all that matters.
"Your turn," she says, simply. Waiting for his move.
COMBATSYS: Acacia focuses on her next action.
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Acacia 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Alma
Alma Towazu is here to make a good fight, and that's what he's going to do. He can't give up yet, even though he already feel his body protesting these excesses. He has to make this good. It's the Hiten-Ryu way! So shaking his head, Alma emits a quiet "Hff!" and bounces on his toes once, and then, shifting his arms--
--he backflips with startling acrobatic ability, defying air resistance by outstretching his legs completely and then equally defying gravity -- just for the shortest of moments -- by planting his feet on the side of the wall he's hit and coiling up for a moment, light tan Timberlands pressly firmly against the disintegrating wall--
--and the wall /explodes/ out as Alma roars in gathering fighting spirit, blasting off the crumbling plaster and hurling himself headfirst towards Acacia, only flipping around once he nears her to lash out with a series of flaming roundhouse kicks.
"Urrryaaaaaahhh!"
His eyes blaze, face serene yet set firmly.
COMBATSYS: Acacia fails to interrupt Rising Fury from Alma with Quick Punch.
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Acacia 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Alma
[OOC] Alma says, "What're you trying to do, make me cry? ;)"
[OOC] Acacia says, "Yes. ._."
[OOC] Alma says, "Tsk, tsk. That's bad karma."
Acacia's fought Fei Long. She knows how this goes. She can see the same power and speed in Alma's movements, the flaming light as his feet whip towards her, descending with the weight of historical inevitability...
...she sets her jaw, throws herself forward. Set on breaking the attack, throwing an arm up...but no. Too slow. Alma's first kick crashes into the side of her head, knocking her over. The second meets her torso... and Acacia meets the ground, smashing earthward. Ripping into the classroom floor as she tumbles.
Wincing, Acacia hauls herself up, rising on her hands and knees. Half-kneeling, she regards Alma, then frowns. Huh...that energy hurt, but it didn't /burn/, for all it looked like flame. Odd...but then, Acacia's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, she's lost track of how many jackets she's destroyed fighting freakin' flame users.
"Hn," she snorts.
Consumed by battle fury -- which in his case has nothing to do with anger, rage, or frustration -- Alma continues his assault, momentum gathering as he rushes. His feet barely touch the ground, both literally and figuratively: he feels his fighting spirit lifting him up, making his body feel light as a feather, as physically his continued lunge only skims the ground. Are the two related? Well, this /is/ Psycho Power we're talking about.
He's got to give his all. He simply can't stop. He's asking nothing less of her.
And it is because of these reasons that Alma, gentle and good-hearted Alma, doesn't even stop to think before he winds up and aims a fierce forward snap kick right under the half-kneeling Acacia's chin. The strike, reinforced by surging spiritual 'flame', is powerful enough to literally pop the girl into the air if he connects...
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Destined Duel from Alma with Unyielding Stance.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Alma
[OOC] Alma figured, but it was too sweet not to try. XD
[OOC] Acacia laughs.
...if.
...if wishes were horses...
...But they're not.
Acacia's eyes glint, cold and implacable, gleaming with reflected light. Staring at her opponent, framed by a fall of silver hair. A harsh stare, giving no ground, no quarter. Not a stare of malice, though, not one of evil intent. Merely the same look of the warrior, the same steel running through Alma.
His foot, wreathed in flame, lies motionless, inches from Acacia's head. Stopped dead, all power and momentum snuffed like a candle...by the small gloved hand gripping his leg at the ankle. Acacia's arm is steady, showing no sign of strain. It must have taken significant effort to just -catch- the kick like that. She betrays no sign of exertion, though.
Releasing her grip, she stands, taking a step back. Giving Alma a small nod of recognition.
...Incredible.
It's almost the exact /opposite/ of Alma's fighting style. She didn't flow at /all/. She just /took/ it. And she's /fine/. And Alma... Alma can only withdraw.
Taking a few steps back, arms still in their relaxed guard position but flames extinguished, the handsome youth's eyes regard the young woman with respect, and even a certain amount of awe. Not worshipful awe, surely -- his expression remains too calm and mild for such an interpretation -- but the awe of someone seeing something he thought simply couldn't be done.
The crowd is silent, stunned and impressed by this climatic finish.
His instincts tell him... nothing.
He runs a hand through his hair, takes a breath, and waits to see what she will do.
COMBATSYS: Alma gains composure.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Alma
Another waiting game. Once again Alma's turn to watch, to observe. Normally, it's Acacia who likes to hang back, to wait for her opponent to come to her. But increasingly...she's been faced with situations like this. Faced with far more careful, more cautious challengers, fights where the onus is on her to take the offensive.
All this flashes through Acacia's mind in an instant, barely registering in the realm of conscious thought. Her eyes remain firm, her expression a mask.
Well then. If that's the way it has to be, that's how it is. Acacia's certainly no stranger to the concept of attack. She regards Alma. Unspeaking, still, just as silent as he.
But then, words aren't needed to communicate. A shift in her body language, in her stance. A decision made.
A half-smile. Movement.
Acacia lunges forward, driving a fist towards Alma's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Alma with Quick Punch.
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Acacia 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Alma
Alma attempts to parry the strike again, but he's not having much luck still -- Acacia's sheer power blows past Alma's more flowing attempts at guarding, and she strikes solidly against... well, against a veritable wall of muscle. There's something to be said for being a model /and/ a fighter. Alma doubles over slightly from the attack, but although she's hit hard, his movement has more to do with going with the force of the blow rather than him losing control of his body. She's not giving him enough time to get his edge back, she's too fast... is he simply outmatched?
Possibly. But while Alma recognizes this as an aspect of his strategy, it has no effect on his faith in himself, nor in his effectiveness as a fighter. Sweat beading on his forehead from the sheer effort of concentration, Alma's right hand ignites even as he's struck, and he draws it back--
--and then chops down, apparently aiming to strike Acacia on the top of the head. Only instead, a foot or so before he actually impacts, a sudden explosion of soulfire-esque energy balloons outward, in an attempt to engulf Acacia in a fierce mental barrage to wear down that iron will of hers.
"Hou!" Expression of power or pain? Hard to say.
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Alma's Self Expression.
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Acacia 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Alma
The hiss Acacia makes in response is a lot clearer, though. It's definitely one of pain, as the unleashed power meets her body. But thankfully for Acacia, she manages to throw her arms to shield her head. Alma's soul-forged fire washes over her sleeves, stirring her hair. Acacia stumbles, flailing backwards. She crashes into a desk, knocking it over. She nearly follows...but only nearly.
Acacia still has her balance. She parts her arms, head rising, shifting...still on her feet. She blinks, clearing spots from her eyes, dancing flecks of light left in her field of vision from staring Alma's energy straight on. Her vision, though, is clear enough to focus on Alma. Clear enough for her to throw herself forward, again. Lashing out with a punch, a vicious left hook to the jaw. Acacia's attempt to see whether his face is any less hard than his gut.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Acacia's Strong Punch.
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Acacia 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Alma
Which is the superior defense, muscle or beauty? This question must remain unresolved for now, for Alma's head snaps back and out of the way of the fierce punch, causing the middle school girl population of Japan to breathe a collective sigh of relief. In fact, his evasion isn't done yet, for he continues to lean back after evading the strike and ends up falling neatly into a back-handspring, hurling himself back a startling way and soaring over a couple of the remaining desks before flipping neatly near the end of his arc and landing poised on top of the final desk in a row. It's an odd sort of crouch, perhaps, but the way he coils in on himself, face calmly set but eyes blazing, keeps him from looking awkward at all. Quite the contrary. For the moment, he looks almost like a... a hunting beast, still yet poised to pounce.
It's his first genuine bishounen look of the night.
And apparently, the pose is dramatic enough to be worth staying in, because he remains there in this ready-to-lunge state, eyeing his opponent inscrutibly, just radiating force of personality.
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Acacia 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Alma
Acacia snorts, nostrils flaring. Not very ladylike of her, but then she doesn't care about such concerns. She's got no need - or desire - to look beautiful. Her livelihood doesn't depend on her appearance, and she couldn't care less about fans.
(The fact that she /has/ fans, simply by being a fighter, is a source of some bewilderment to Acacia. She ignores it best she can, as something she truly cannot comprehend.)
She shakes her head, making another small sound. She mumbles something under her breath, too soft for the TV microphones to pick up. Though from the movement of her lips, they aren't coherent words, anyway. More emotion.
"Cute," Acacia says, finally, a critique on Alma's little display.
Then she charges forward, leaping over a desk and the chair behind it. One hand slams into the tabletop, a pivot for her body as she twists, turning her flight into a flying kick at her neatly perched opponent.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Acacia's Light Kick.
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Acacia 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Alma
Cute, maybe. Conscious, no. Because you see, that's what makes a true bishounen. It's why Benimaru will never be anything more than a prettyboy. Because true bishounen... don't have to try.
Alma crosses his arms and actually half-snarls, although in what seems to be sheer effort rather than any sort of anger, and throws himself forward. He's able to guard against the full power of her flying kick simply by jamming it with his body, as it were; he moves forward fast enough that he's hit in the side by the hammer of her leg rather than the concentrated force in her foot. But at such close range, colliding in midair, there's not much he can do...
...except attempt to grab her by the face, bowl her over with his greater bulk, and slam the back of her head into the floor. If he can just disorient her enough to throw her mentally off-balance...
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Acacia with Quick Throw.
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Acacia 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Alma
Acacia expels her breath a second before Alma's move hits. She sees it coming, and -knows- she can't avoid it. But if she's going to lose the air from her lungs, she's damn well going to do it on her own terms - and avoid the pain of having it forced from her. Acacia growls, a wordless snarl tearing free from her throat. The gutteral sound expressing pure emotion...and iron resolve.
A constellation of stars shatters in her head, dizzying pain as her skull crashes into the classroom floor, courtesy of Alma's grip on her face. Her vision blurs.
But she doesn't need to see.
With a sudden flash of movement...Acacia claws free. Slapping Alma's arm away. And before he can break off, before he can put distance between them, Acacia strikes. She's prone, her back to the ground. But in an explosive whirl, she finds her feet. Kicking off the flooring, pounding it so hard it sends shards of concrete spinning into the air. Arcing along with Acacia as she rises, a human missile. Powering an upward tackle -into- Alma's body, with one rigidly braced forearm as the attacking element.
[OOC] Alma :|
[OOC] Alma says, "So should I go for the 0% dodge chance, the 0% block chance, or any of my 0% interrupt chances?"
[OOC] Acacia is sorry. ._.
COMBATSYS: Alma endures Acacia's Stonewall!
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Alma
[OOC] Alma says, "...sweet."
[OOC] Alma says, "15% chance."
[OOC] Acacia says, "It earned you an exclamation mark!"
[OOC] Takuma says, "Hahahahahaha."
[OOC] Acacia says, "The CSYS has a sense of drama."
Imagine an explosion without any flame. A sudden rush of air, a convulsion of space, and the result: a spreading wave of force that carries dust and debris and shrapnel in its wake.
Now imagine that... with two people in the middle.
Alma, held in midair sheerly thanks to the fact that he's still holding on to Acacia's face and pressing her head against the ground, has no chance to react when she literally flips out. /She/ is his balancing point. In defiance of all normal human limits, Acacia is able to bust out and take advantage of that, and strike Alma in midair with such a fierce stiffarm that nearby chairs overturn and desks shift their positions. The concussive sound of the impact is so audible that all the background noise after it seems muted in comparison.
It's a fantastic end to a fight.
But it isn't.
Because Alma is only sailing back limply for a split-second, the split-second where the echoes fade and the two fighters almost hang in midair... and then, as though suddenly put in fast-forward instead, he flips once, and slams against the ground with his hands and feet in what looks like a sprinter's starting position. His head snaps up, and his eyes... his eyes...
His eyes are fields of light.
With a howl of purest fighting spirit, fuelled only by the most deepest human desire to make his presence known and understood, Alma rears back, punches the ground, and unleashes an enormous geyser of white and pink and purple roiling Psycho Power at his opponent.
And then...
...he rises.
"Hmph."
COMBATSYS: Acacia blocks Alma's Full Confession.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Alma
"Hmph yourself," Acacia retorts.
Her fingers part, wisps of smoke and fading energy rising from the abused leather of her gloves - blasted by the primal force of Alma's retaliatory strike. She blocked...but only barely. Acacia's ribs heave, as she draws a breath. Truth be told, she's surprised Alma's still able to fight. She'd -expected- him to be finished with that last move...
...huh. Well.
She smirks. Even if she's surprised, she's not going to show it. Instead, she quips: "Sound like -Jiro-."
Acting like him too, if that bloody-mindedness is any indication. But then, hard-headed suicidal overdrive is probably a requirement for being a fighter in this age group.
COMBATSYS: Acacia gains composure.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alma
Shoulders heaving with every quiet panting breath, exhausted yet clear-eyed Alma regards his diminuitive and powerful foe without any malice. He seems only barely able to stand, the tall youth swaying subtly but visibly on his feet, but stand he does, his lips parted slightly but handsome face appearing otherwise calm.
"He and I," he manages after a few moments, "have more in common than one might think."
~ But that's more a question of how well one knows Jiro... ~
The thought is, of course, not broadcast for anyone else, but it's the reason for the otherwise inexplicable fact that he smiles slightly then, almost peacefully. But it's the peace of a warrior, not the peace of a man done fighting. It's the peace of a man who doesn't know what his fate is about to be... but who knows what he's going to do about it either way.
He's going to give his all.
Slowly, methodically, purposefully, Alma shifts back into his relaxed fighting stance, letting the elegant golden silence hang in the air.
It is, after all, all he has to give.
COMBATSYS: Alma gains composure.
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Acacia 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alma
"Thought it's opposites that attract," Acacia shoots back, a grin still on the edge of her face. She drops her guard, letting her arms hang by her sides. She rolls her shoulders, tense muscles shifting beneath the thick fabric of her old Army jacket. "Mmn, well..."
Acacia trails off, letting the thought go unfinished. Then she takes a step forward, debris crunching beneath the heavy tread of her combat boot. She takes another step, kicking aside the shattered ruin of a chair, the twisted frame blocking her path. A third stride, a fourth...
...then a run. Full tilt, with deceptive momentum behind the charge. Falling on Alma, pistoning an arm out in a brutal spinning backhand.
COMBATSYS: Acacia successfully hits Alma with Icon of Stone.
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Acacia 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Alma
No luck at parrying attacks today. No luck at all. But at this stage of his competence, it's only to be expected; Alma's frankly too exhausted to keep up with his opponent. The spinning backhand strikes his cheek and snaps his head to the side, basically bowling him over--
But Hiten-Ryu never stops. Every attack, every defense, every miss and every blow you are struck by, is part of one long seamless combination. You make it that way. The fight is your creation. Your work of art.
Alma wouldn't've ever kept up learning martial arts, even before his psychic days, if he hadn't believed so firmly in that philosophy.
And he demonstrates that firm belief by, as he's in the middle of sprawling to the side, swinging his right heel up and with a final shout of effort -- "Haaaahh...!" -- igniting his leg and aiming to heelkick Acacia in the side of the head. Physical and spiritual force combine in one last strike.
And Alma collapses on his side, breathing heavily, body numb from exhaustion.
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Acacia 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Acacia counters Shooting Star from Alma with Unyielding Stance.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Acacia 0/-------/----===|
A final strike, a flaming heel. A kick that slams into Acacia's temple with a crack of bone against bone.
The impact skews Acacia's head to the side...
...and nothing else.
The blow didn't glance off her skull. It connected solidly. A direct hit. But despite the sheer force of impact...it barely knocked Acacia's head and neck off-kilter. Raising a hand, she brushes the foot away. She turns her eyes back and down, as Alma crumples. Unfazed by the attack, not even moving from her spot.
For if Alma's philosophy is the endless art, every movement flowing seamlessly into the next...
...Acacia's is the Icon of Stone. Unyielding, unmoving, unchanging.
Drawing a breath, Acacia releases the gathered chi suffusing her sinews, allowing the energy to escape into the air and earth. She lets the power go, no longer requiring it to renforce the iron bastion that is her body.
And she looks silently on Alma, waiting, watching.
Seconds tick by, with Acacia still quiet. The only sound...the roar of the Gedo crowd. Then, finally, the announcer's voice, cutting in, declaring Acacia victor.
She nods, once.
COMBATSYS: Acacia has ended the fight here.
Log created by Alma, and last modified on 04:15:44 03/21/2006.