Neo League 251 - #255: Sakura vs Jiro

Description: Jiro and Sakura have not had a bout in a long time. So what better way for a fight than to be in Rome? Contains overacting, wrrryying, and kicking to the nads. Oh, and the Hadouken is Right! (Winner: Sakura)



Ahh... Rome.
The sun shines crisply in the air and the humidity is quite thick. The heat gives off a wash of intensity as there is a frantic cheer. The cheer resounds through the air as the people call for a battle to take place. The location is the monolith that is the Collossium. This large stage is where gladiators and other warriors were ordered to fight to the death.
Here? It's just a friendly match.
Within the middle of the arena is none other than the Stray Dog, who is rubbing the back of his head, glancing about. He eyes around just to make sure that there are no caged lions or tigers roaming around. But other than that, he's just waiting for his opponent to show up.

The Colosseum has numerous features which made it the most technologically advanced arena of its time: angled bleachers allowing everyone an excellent view of the carnage being the most widely known. Rumor has it that the Colosseum could be flooded to provide an aquatic battlefield for the combatants, though there has been some dispute over the engineering involved for such.
One feature that cannot be disputed, however, is that the floor was not flat. There are numerous pits throughout the Colosseum floor, which had been covered by wooden panels in the times of old, and have been restored in recent years to provide the full experience to visitors.
One such wooden panel slides open. And Sakura Kasugano is raised into view, directly opposite Jiro on one end of the arena, by a system of pulleys and ropes very similar to that two thousand years prior.
It's doubtful the ancient Roman gladiators wore a sailor-style uniform or a long white headband. Nor was the typical gladiator female. But the terribly self-important smirk that Sakura's got on? Yeah, they probably had those back then.
"Jiro Kasagi!" shouts Sakura, her voice carrying easily along the expanse of the massive Colosseum as she unfolds her crossed arms, pointing to the Stray Dog. "Thou hast called me here... now we shall finish this!" Smirking like crazy, she looks up to the royal booth -- from which an acting "emperor," seated there by by Sakura's request, gives a hearty nod -- and then strides towards Jiro.
Stopping, she nods, "I'll grant thee a boon, challenger! Thou canst go first!" And with that, Sakura punches her hand into her fist, slipping into her standard Ansatsuken stance. She seems to be enjoying this, to say the least.

COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.

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Sakura           0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here.

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Jiro             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Sakura


Awesome....
With the ground suddenly making some sort of rumble from the pulley lifting up the school girl up the surface, Jiro merely lifts an eyebrow at the antics and then he has a feral grin on his face. This is very amusing and he feels that he's going to have so much fun with this. With Sakura in place at the ring, Jiro stretches his feet by kicking both off to the side. Then, he shifts his gaze at Sakura.
"Heh heh." He may as well play along just to be in the spirit. "Alrighticus." He slides his right foot forward, then he extends his opened right hand out in a fighting stance with his left fist casted back.
He looks over towards the acting 'emperor', giving him a nod, then he shifts his gaze back at Sakura. He starts the fight by sprinting straight towards Sakura. Like the strong gladiator, the warrior extends his right arm out, aiming to clothesline Sakura to the ground.
Just to start things off.

COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Jiro's Strong Punch.

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Jiro             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Sakura


Grinning brightly back at Jiro, Sakura's pretty sure =she's= gonna have fun with this match too! Heck, the two haven't had a good knock-down drag-out fight in a while, what better place for it, right?
That doesn't exactly mean that she's gonna stand still and =take= his abuse! Eyes narrowing at the running lariat, Sakura vaults backwards, arms spread wide to either side in an ultra-dramatic pose -- an effect which is likely diminished by the distracting fluttering of her skirt as she sails backwards. Not that she notices! Alighting on the ground, she reverses her momentum with little delay, charging back at Jiro with a little hopping spin kick! Well, the 'little' spin kick that keeps on giving, as she hopes to nail him three times before touching ground again. "SHUNPUUUU KYAKU!"

COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Jiro with Shunpuu Kyaku.

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Jiro             0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0           Sakura


With the charge coming forth against Sakura being unsuccessful, the Stray Dog pivots his feet to change directions of where to face Sakura as she recovers to her dramatic pose. The Stray Dog extends his left fist extends out as his right leg plants deeper against the ground. "HA! Is that all you got, Sakura?!" He grins, then he runs forth to meet with Sakura as she spins around with the kick. He tightens his body, ready for the impact.
*WHAM!* The first kick, needless to say, catches him offguard to where his heel reels back. "Egh!" Then, the next kick strikes him against the cheek once more, and then the last time. That last strike sends Jiro flying off of his feet, spinning like a top until he lands on the ground roughly across the floor.
Skiidddd.... "Egh...." He lifts his head up, giving his feral grin. He extends both of his hands downward to his side, his elbows locked to the waist. He looks like he's going to use the advise that Sakura gave him.
"Hah! Not bad!...." Or not quite. The white flames ignite into life as blade-like entities. With the flame-blade come forth, Jiro sprints towards Sakura, swinging his right hand against her side. "SHINING FANG!"
Should the first dash-strike be successful, he'll launch upward with the other hand to send the next chi-blade up against her chest.

COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Jiro's Shining Fang.

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Jiro             0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Sakura


Sakura brushes her thumb across the bridge of her nose as she lands from her kick, smirking somewhat. "You can't =handle= me at full power, Jirocles!" Winking back at the boy, she seems to make good on that assurance, twisting the back of her padded handguard down at the initial strike, the white chi flames splashing aside as Sakura backhands Jiro's hand away. "Haaa!" The followup strike is a bit harder for her, as she basically slams her palm down =onto= the blade to stop it from driving in further... but the flames spill out of the way in similar fashion.
Gritting her teeth from the mild pain, Sakura takes a step back. "Better! Keep it up!" But rather than give him another free chance to do so, she lashes back with a quick, decisive cross punch to the jaw. "HAAA!"

COMBATSYS: Jiro blocks Sakura's Medium Punch.

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Jiro             0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0           Sakura


After the follow up is done and Jiro lands on the ground, the Stray Dog has a wide grin on his face as he leaps away from the schoolgirl. He tucks his head back and he sees the incoming fist drawing towards his face, he holds his right hand outward to shield against the impact of the cross. He shifts his weight over to his front as to keep her from completely demolishing his guard.
"Sakuranople! While your art is strong..." He clenches his fist tightly, stepping forth with his left leg aiming to strike Sakura out against her exposed rib-cage. "I am bettericus!" He then attempts to wind his left leg back to the back of her head.

COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Jiro's Light Kick.

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Jiro             0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0           Sakura


Exposed ribcage? What, he didn't hit her that hard, there's still a few dermal layers concealing the bones from view! "Bettericus?" she queries, snapping her right knee high in a Muay-Thai inspired defense, preventing Jiro's kick from landing true. It won't be much good against the follow-up, though, which is why Sakura snaps her forearm up for that kick. "Almost!"
But while Jiro's still got his foot in mid-air, Sakura reaches out to grab it! "Hyaaa!" And if she's successful in doing so, she'd kick outward at Jiro's grounded foot, falling onto her side and twisting. This might be painful!

COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Jiro with Quick Throw.

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Jiro             1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0           Sakura


With the foot coming in towards Sakura, she manages to capture the foot to keep him from escaping her. But, it does not stop Jiro from trying to break free from her grasp. Unfortunately, he fails as Sakura manages to kick at Jiro's grounded to the foot, falling onto her side and twisting quite painfully.
"...Damniticus..." He groans in pain, grumbling to himself. He grits his teeth...
Then, he sees a good opening for the strike.
... Jiro spins his body around, aiming to perform a break-dancing like kick to push himself up off of the ground, then he launches his right leg against her side to throw her off balance.
He doesn't plan to stop there either.

COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Jiro's Public Execution.

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Jiro             0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Sakura


It's a valiant effort! Unfortunately, it seems that Sakura already had the upper hand here, having continued the momentum of her takedown move and sprung back to her feet. She's twisting back to face Jiro when that kick rockets towards her side -- and Sakura's spine jacknifes sharply as she's thrown backwards!
But what the audience sees isn't the same as what Jiro or Sakura know -- and that's that she'd actually thrown =herself= backwards to avoid the kick, her arms trailing behind the movement only because the girl's reflexes are sharper than even she realizes! Chalk it up to the prodigy's talent for fighting, since she could never do that if she'd =tried= to -- which is why she's a bit confused, sitting on the ground without having taken a kick at all. "Huh, awesome. I'll take it!" she muses aloud.
Just before capitalizing on her position by tilting to one side, balancing on her palm as she delivers a quick sweep kick to take Jiro's legs out from under him again. "Hyaaaa!"

COMBATSYS: Jiro counters Light Kick from Sakura with Backlash.

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Jiro             0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0           Sakura


Amazing! Too amazing!
This is where Jiro is starting to snort after he gets up, "Not bad.... very unexpected..." He tightens his fists as he recovers, leaning forward to Sakura as she attempts to give a quick sweeping kick over towards his legs.
He's not going to let that happen. So instead, Jiro reaches out to grab Sakura's ankle, then he pivots his right leg to draw his form out, aiming to have Sakura spinning around repetedly. The young man is spinning Sakura around and around with the giant swing.
Around and around, Sakura goes.... Where will she stop? ....
On the ground.
Jiro turns Sakura over to where she's upside down, one arm supports her shoulder while the other supports her stomach. Until he jackhammers her to the ground, head first.
After that, Jiro walks around with a smile on his face, "Victory is mineicus!" And just to -show- that he does have a sense of humor.... He'll follow Sakura's advice to impress the fans and just for fun.
Jiro brings both of his elbows to his waist and the fists hang outward. He hunches backward and lifts his head up.
Clear throat.
"WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" He shrills.

Ooh. Impressive! Sakura's arms and skirt flail out from the centrifugal force of such a rapid whirl! (The color of choice today is blue, for those of you paying attention to that sort of thing.)
It's a pretty wild ride, but it's over shortly, as Sakura gets faceplanted into the Colosseum floor! Oof! Luckily, she's let go shortly thereafter, her face red as she springs back to her feet.
And she's forced to stifle a giggle, hand over mouth, as the boy follows the advice she'd given him on an online forum a few days ago.
"You didn't stop time, so you know what's next!!" she howls, charging forward and firing off a good, solid place kick at Jiro!
Right to the nads!

COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to counter Medium Kick from Sakura with Bull Fist.

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Jiro             0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0           Sakura


TIME STOOPU!!!
... Not quite.
See, when Sakura gets up, she gives him the warning for what was next.
He knew what was next.
He was prepared for what was next.
He winds himself back, drawing his right fist backwards in preparation to strike her in the gut. "SEI!---"
He lunges forward, aiming to slam his right fist against Sakura's stomach. "DO--" His voice suddenly starts to become a shriek, "--OOOOOO!!!" His eyes widen.
...Her foot strikes him hard in the nads.
- DESTROYED! -
Jiro collapses on the ground, holding onto his crotch. "Owww... ****..."
...So much for being prepared.

Clasping her hand over her mouth as her widely-telegraphed attack actually =does= land, Sakura seems... well, kinda embarassed actually! "... Ah, Jiro, you goon!" she chides, rubbing the back of her head as the boy collapses to the ground. "Now, you can't =possibly= say I didn't warn you!"
=Every= man in the crowd is groaning in sympathy, so Sakura makes a big show of covering her mouth for a yawn to lighten the mood. "Honestly, I can't take you anywhere!"
Taking a few steps back, the girl shrugs her shoulders to Jiro. "Ah well. It pleases the court to allow thee a few moments of adjustment! Thou sha'n't waste mine offer of generosity!" Extending her left hand to Jiro in a ready position, she focuses her will, a light wind sending her skirt cascading into motion as she centers her eyes upon the collapsed Jiro. "Whenever thou art ready to proceed, prithee bring it on!" Cocky much?

COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.

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Jiro             0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0           Sakura


"Damn... damn... damnit..." That was the sad thing.
He -KNEW- it was coming. And it still struck him. Yeah, that really sucked. The Stray Dog groans a bit, taking a deep breath and he tries to get himself to where he can readjust, "Gotcha.." He snorts a bit, then he rubs his shoulders. "Woo... Ow..." He walks about for a few moments, then he glares at Sakura, "Alright then...." He lifts his head up, "I'm ready."
He extends his right fist out, allowing for the white flames to ignite to life. Raw power flourishes about the hands as he channels his chi.
Feral grin.
"Let's go."

COMBATSYS: Jiro gains composure.

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Jiro             0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           Sakura


Grinning faintly, Sakura nods her approval to Jiro. She doesn't give breaks often, but that's what good guys do, isn't it?
Winking back at Jiro, Sakura curls her hands to her side. "And now, the moment thee hast been waiting for!" A brilliant blossom of bright blue chi erupts from her palms, swirling about like a spawning tropical storm. Nodding once more to Jiro, Sakura sweeps her palms forward, unleashing the fiery blue orb at Jiro with a cry of, "HADOOOOOOOOUKEN!"
If the track record's any indication, this might hurt too.

COMBATSYS: Jiro blocks Sakura's Medium Hadouken.

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Jiro             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Sakura


Hadouken Is Right!
...However, Jiro is -NOT- going to open wide for that.
With Sakura channeling the powerful hadouken, the Stray Dog narrows his eyes at the young girl and he tightens his stance. Stepping his right leg downward, he plants both feet to the ground and he lifts his arms up to help guard against the impact.
"I don't think so!" He hisses out, feeling the impact of the powerful energy blasting him. He roars out from the feeling of pain. "Egghh.... HAAAAA!!!" He expels his arms out, releasing sparks of the hadouken deteriorate from his grasp as his white flames ignite with vivifying essence.
His eyes widen, then he grits his teeth with a feral smile. He cocks his head to the side, "Hah! I am not done yet! Not by a long shot!" Jiro lifts his hand in front of him, flames igniting as his feral grin does not fade away. The Stray Dog brings his body downward, then he leaps forward to meet with Sakura. Winding his fist back, the white flames burn with raw power.
Should his fist strike Sakura, there will be an explosion to send Sakura flying far. "HA!"

COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Jiro's Exploder Knuckle.

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Jiro             0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Sakura


Smirking back at Jiro, Sakura nods her approval. "You're learning! Er, I mean, thou hast learned well, my student!" So Sakura's attempt at replicating Old English sucks!
It's good to know he's not done yet, though! But, likewise, Sakura's not done yet either. The blast is pretty noticeably telegraphed, and it's not too much of a shift for Sakura to interpose her forearm into his way, greeting the blow with her padded handguard. "Ha!" she shouts, the explosion washing over her arm with only mild discomfort to Sakura.
She =is= forced to take a half-step backward from the transferred momentum, though. Kasugano may have blocked, but Jiro's no weakling! ... Or maybe it's just that Sakura needed to regain her balance in order to raise her leg overhead, and bring it down like a scythe onto Jiro's shoulder. Also, cue the return of the obligatory bloomers shot, as her skirt lags behind the movement by a second or two. "Hriiii-HAA!"

COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Jiro with Flower Kick.

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Jiro             1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1           Sakura


After forcing Sakura to take a step back, Jiro is charging straight onto Sakura. His body is being worn for worse by the fighting and perhaps his actions in this fight. Although Jiro is tired as hell, he isn't out. The Stray Dog is sprinting forward as Sakura prepares to launch a high kick. He lunges right towards the woman. "Arrrggghhhhh!!"

He sees London.
He sees Paris.
Hey, Jiro can see Sakura's under---

WHAM!

The foot strikes Jiro off of the ground, spinning and flipping over violently before he slams to the ground with a crunch. "Argh...." He growls, his body being totally worn. His eyes shut, and he merely staggers back up to his feet.
Blooddrop.
"Not... doooonee..." He tightens his fists, channeling for the white flames. "Haaaaaa........." Flames ignite with life once more, then Jiro winds the white flame engulfed hand backward. His eyes focus at Sakura, then he lunges forward.
"REBEL....!!!!"
Time Stop!
Not quite.
But when Jiro launches the fist outward, Jiro aims it to strike Sakura's gut. "SPIKE!" And following that punch will be a multitude of white gysers exploding in contact to blast Sakura from where she stands.
Otherwise, it'll just hit the air.

COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sakura           1/----===/=======|


COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Rebel Spike from Jiro with Shou'ou Ken.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Sakura           1/-======/=======|


Maybe it wasn't the =best= front to present to a teenage boy, but Sakura only tends to think of the =impact= of her attacks, rather than the side effects! And perhaps it's a good thing, then, that her foot cracks home, rather than, er, something else!
Squaring her shoulders with Jiro, Sakura seems to be ready for Jiro to pick himself up. She raises an eyebrow at the nosebleed, but she attributes that to the sudden velocity with which Jiro was sent to the ground! ... The attack, though? Sakura smiles at that. Her love for mocking his white flames is eternal, it would seem.
Such that she actually turns sideways again, accepting the first stage of attack, as she's still relatively 'fresh' in this fight.
But when Jiro's close, and unleashing the white geysers? That's when Sakura quits playing a victim, and hauls off with a rising uppercut to the chest. "SHOOOU'OU KEN!"
He's a guy, he can take it, right? Leaping into the air as her fist propels Jiro even higher, Sakura smiles faintly. She gave the fight no less than her best, after all -- no regrets!
Aside from maybe kicking someone in the nads. Maybe just that one.

When Sakura launches up with the fist sending Jiro sailing higher, the flames die away. The Stray Dog flies high in the air, then he collapses on the ground with a heavy thud. "Erghh..." He laughs once as he tries to stagger up.
Then he collapses.
The acting emperor lifts a hand up into the air while the fans cheer. And through all of the cheers, he gives the thumbs up.
The announcer says, "And the winner of this League Fight... Sakura Kasugano!"

When in Rome, do as the Romans.
... a lot of the Romans are applauding though, and that seems a bit gauche for Sakura to follow suit with. Landing from her uppercut, she turns back to face Jiro with a faint smile upon her face. Faint... because she feels she'd taken advantage of Jiro's eagerness! But in another sense -- she knows the boy -has- claimed victory over her in the past, even when she was trying her best. So that, in itself, settles the matter. Hence the faint smile.
The fist, raised to the heavens? =That's= what she does for the Romans, smiling as the breeze picks up, rustling her headband and skirt into motion once more.
But for Jiro... well. After a moment or so, she wraps her arm around his waist, lending the Stray Dog her shoulder as she helps him to his feet -- and wherever! There's no honor in being hauled off in a stretcher, after all. "C'mon, tiger. I'll lop off your head off =off-stage!=" she comments with a cheerful grin.

COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.

Log created by Jiro, and last modified on 17:26:02 05/14/2006.