Description: Iori and Yuri battle Kain and Hinata in... the LOUVRE. (Winners: Kain and Hinata)
Today's venue for Rugal's tournament is an unusual one, even for the likes of the already unusual people involved in it. There's no way the French government would ever have allowed a fight to take place where it's currently scheduled, but there it is. The Louvre Museum in Paris, world famous home to equally world famous art collections whose value goes beyond estimation. Whatever strings Rugal pulled to arrange this, they were very big strings indeed.
So on a somewhat warm Sunday afternoon, the sun reflects off the building's iconic glass pyramid structure. Inside, a different war is already taking place. Fight coordinators are still arguing with museum staff, who despite being told that the fight is scheduled to take place here and is *going* to take place here are putting up one hell of a fight of their own. Many of the Rodin sculptures on display are reproductions, but even reproductions run into tens of thousands of euros each. They've seen fighters from the tournament before. It's rare that the arena escapes unscathed.
"Man, all this fuss! I'm not going to break anything!" Hinata scowls, lacing her fingers behind her neck and rolling her eyes. Well, she won't break anything on *purpose* anyway. Pert and perky in her standard Taiyo High School uniform, Hinata Wakaba's spirit is undefeatable, and she hopes her fighting skills give a similar performance today!
"So big.."
Yuri Sakazaki has wide open eyes to match with the surprised expression on her face. This is amazingly giant and colossal, and she and Iori are going to KICK ASS and hopefully not break any of those super-expensive pieces of art. As far as she knows, she's going to be paying for anything she breaks, so there will be much, much caution indeed! She's trying to make an entrance, to surprise and perhaps throw Hinata off kilter with a display of acrobatic flexibility.
As such, Yuri enters.. from above, having found a way to the pyramid itself, dropping down to the area where the fight will be with a tumble, a flip, and then a thumbs-up. "Hinata! Are you ready to face the Sakazaki might?!"
Despite his emphasis on human strength, Kain R. Heinlein does have some appreciation for the finer things in life. As a cultured gentleman, he is quite aware of the vast cultural wealth contained in the arena for today's match. Indeed, he finds the combination of art and violence to be an amusing one. It'd be a pity if some of the priceless works contained here are destroyed, but not so much of a pity that Kain will make an effort to avoid doing so. He's not going to compromise his fighting ability in such a fashion. Of course, it's always possible that a painting or two might go 'missing' and be presumed destroyed during such an exhibition, and a few well priced payments to people in the crowd may yet prove fruitful.
For now, though, Kain is going to focus on the fight. A little mix-up between schoolgirls is of little interest to him, but Iori Yagami... Now there's a capable fighter, and with more than a few interesting aspects to him. It's amazing what one can learn while researching genealogy and mythology. Of course, just how accurate the information Kain has managed to learn about the Yagami and Kusanagi clans is currently in question, since discussing the matter with the surviving members of either family would be troublesome, to put it mildly. Still, there's plenty of time for that later. For now, what's important is preparing to give Iori a thorough thrashing.
While the officials argue, Kain walks a slow circuit of the room it seems the fight is to begin in, observing the artwork. There won't be much time to look during the fight, and chances are that the view will be somewhat less ideal afterwards.
You break it you bought it? Feh. It wasn't very long ago at all that Iori and Vice had destroyed a brand-new motorcycle out of sheer neglect. But really -- collateral damage is mostly replaceable. The works created by Rodin and other artists will live on, if not in the physical world, then surely in the hearts and minds of the people; their legacy is not bound to the real world. What matters is the onward march of humanity these works inspire.
And if you believe that, we've got a bridge to sell you. The excuse works for Iori, though, who was browsing through the Dada Period room when he was politely nudged by the fight staff. See, he was laboring under the assumption that the fight venue had all been taken care of. Out of sight, out of mind and all. And Dada art, being most recently in sight, is on his mind. Most likely, it explains the visceral displeasure upon his face. Logically, he can represent the motivations behind the work... but the finished product repulses him.
One thumb hooked in his pocket, he emerges in the doorway, glancing about with that mildly unsettled look. Yuri, he expects, and gives a brief nod -- as respectful as in their last meeting. Hinata... oh yes, =that= young woman brings a cruel smile to his lips. And as for Kain... his perusal of the artwork amuses him. The pair has fought before, but he's hoping this particular fight will bode better than the last. He knows =exactly= who he's dealing with now, and plans to make good on the knowledge.
He takes a spot by the side of the room, largely unconcerned with the art in this room.
"You know it, Yuri!" Hinata trills back, flexing her arm and putting a hand on her bicep. "Are YOU ready to face the... uh..." She falters but points a finger at Yuri anyway. "Taiyo High School stuff like you said?" So the girl's bravado is in need of a brush-up. But still, point well made.
The fight coordinators seem to have quelled whatever lingering doubts the museum staff might have had, though it looked like a few manilla envelopes filled with uniformly printed pieces of currency were handed over more than once. Wonder what all that was about? Paperwork, no doubt. Very important papers.
So, Hinata and Kain will be facing off against Yuri and... Iori. A little shiver of cold runs its way down her spine. Iori. She only hopes a certain mean streak is directed at Kain instead of her. She'd only ever squared off with Iori once, and even then she had help. She still lost. A little shake of the Sunshine Girl's head whips away the thoughts like dull storm clouds.
"Are you ready, Yuri?" Hinata says, snapping back to the present troubles rather than those past. Hinata raises her arms over her head and limbers up with some leg stretches. "'Cause I won't go easy on you!" A quick glance to either side confirms that the coordinators have everything set, cameras placed well back from the fight and with adequate zoom lenses. They know better than to get too close.
COMBATSYS: Yuri has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hinata has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
COMBATSYS: Kain has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
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|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Iori has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Yuri 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Ready? You bet! Here we go!"
Yuri leaps into action without a moment's hesitation, ready to lay the giant smackdown on Hinata Wakaba of Taiyo. There will be smackdown aplenty - in fact, there will be so much smackdown that people won't even /care/ who ultimately wins. That's how much smackdown there is going to be!
Yuri rushes Hinata, juking left, dodging right, and then bringing her left foot back to whip it around at Hinata's face. Sadly, this means her right foot has to brace, and just happens that it is caught in the loops of some cameraman's video cable. There's a horrified AUGH! from Sakazaki as she finds herself with no footing, and she comes crashing to a stop at Hinata's feet, camera dragged along with for the ride, ripped from the cameraman's grasp. It's in the exact same position, looking up from Hinata's feet. At least till Yuri notices!
"Aaaa! Sorry, Hinata!"
Seeing Yuri is likewise ready and absolutely itching to get things started, Hinata starts to rush forward to attack simultaneously. But things don't quite work out the way anyone plans here. The Sunshine Girl braces for an incoming kick... that misses completely, leaving her perhaps just as stunned as Yuri is. To be fair, probably less so.
She blinks when Yuri falls and the camera skids along with her, sliding to a stop just between her legs. There is a long moment of silence, Hinata staring down at Yuri first, then noticing the camera. Okay, so maybe a lot of people say she shouldn't wear the short skirt all the time. But in this instance, a camera. Right between her legs. Pointed up. Hinata's face starts to flush bright red like a kettle on the boil.
"Y-... you..." In a single motion she kicks the camera aside, spoiling the audience at home's untoward glance of that forbidden white beneath the skirt. Then she reaches down, siezing Yuri's right wrist with both hands to literally yank the girl to her feet. Except she doesn't let go of the wrist, pivoting in place to haul Yuri along with her in a spin and hopefully segue into a flying hip toss in a graceful, textbook parabolic arc. "THOSE ARE PRIVATE!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Yuri with Strong Throw.
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Yuri 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
Up into the air! Flying, flying!
The lucky thing about the locale here is that the pyramid gives lots of upwards space for Yuri to sail. She's surprised by the sudden fierceness, but in the end, accepting of it. After all, she /did/ just do something that she wouldn't want done to herself. Of course, that's why /she wears pants/! Yuri tries to catch herself when she comes down, but there's a crunch as she lands awkwardly, and falls backwards onto the floor, bouncing a few times on her rear before she comes to a stop. Kathump. Kathump.
Getting back to her feet, she marches in again, very deliberately - and as she gets in close, she whips her hands up and around in a a double-fisted strike. Gold chi flares out around them, and she tries to pop the girl right in the chin.
"RAIOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata blocks Yuri's Raiou Ken.
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Yuri 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
Yuri's chi-laced strike pops Hinata, but not in the chin. It hits the palms of the Sunshine Girl's hands and veers off course as she slaps it aside, the attack cutting a nice pyrotechnic swath through the air. It's pretty!
Hinata still doesn't look entirely amused. It's really kind of a first for a lot of people to see it. Red-faced and jaw firmly set, it's not the fresh-faced and adorable Hinata that everyone knows and loves. She looks a little... mad.
A fist balls tightly at her side, igniting with chi very similar to Yuri's except bright red-orange. A bright dragon-like spiral starting at the fist and encircling her arm all the way up to the elbow. "Shooou-" Hinata leans in, putting her upper body closer to the ground before jackhammering the fist upwards. A chin for a chin. "Youuu-KEN!" A rising dragon punch, inspired by more famous fighters but a Wakaba Original! She's got a patent pending, y'know. As soon as they get back to her about it.
COMBATSYS: Yuri fails to reflect Shouyouken from Hinata with Saiha.
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Yuri 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
This may have been a bad day to have this fight. In fact, Yuri's pretty darn sure of it right now - she's gotten her attacks slapped aside, and all of the sudden, there's a very very angry Hinata about to lay the smack down on her! The giant fist of energy comes in, and Yuri deals with it the one way she knows how. Her hands come up, spaced evenly apart, and a red-gold shield blazes into existance.
If Yuri was mad - if she had as much invested in this fight as Hinata did, she would have bounced the fist away without a second thought. However, she doesn't, she isn't.. and that fist smashes through her shield and hits her in the chin, sending her back and into one of those expensive pieces of art from Qatar. The pottery animal smashes and shatters as she rattles against it, and she's probably going to take a minute to get back up.
An angry Hinata in the wild is surely a creature to be feared. Few people have witnessed it anyway, so perhaps the legends are a bit overblown. A spiralling uppercut takes Yuri clean off her feet. Seriously, Hina couldn't have done better if she'd planned it that way! Which she sorta did, which is why she did it. So, good for her.
Oversized cross-trainers squeak on the highly polished floor of the museum floor when Hinata lands from the spinning uppercut that also took *her* off her feet, but in a more controlled manner. She wastes no time, immediately breaking from the spin and putting her hands together and drawing them back and to the side. A twinkle of bright yellow energy surges, flickering at first but growing with concentration to a basketball-sized orb with flaring, fluttering petals of energy around the edges. That is the glowiest sunflower ever. Really.
It's still sportsmanlike to hit Yuri while she's down, technically. It's a tournament fight after all. So Hinata justifies the move in that all's fair, et cetera, et cetera. "Hwaaaaaaa!" The Sunshine Girl thrusts her hands forward, bumping the energy sunflower from her hands and throwing it forcefully at Yuri's point of impact before the dust even settles. See? She didn't break anything. It was all Yuri's body that broke it!
COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Hinata's Kikou Shoutei.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
Yuri wasn't up yet! Like - not at all close to up, in fact. And while it may be sportsmanlike, it's certainly not nice! She's not able to do more than to get her head out of the way within the dust cloud, catching a fair chunk of SunflowerPower. She's dizzy, having gotten worked over super-seriously bad, and she's completely unsure what to do. In that case, she's going to swallow her pride, and.. well, send in the cavalry. She crawls out of the plaster, and works her way towards the rehead, tapping him on the foot.
"Just.. gimme three seconds. I'll be up and back then.."
COMBATSYS: Yuri drops her guard to recover.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Yuri takes no action.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
Iori had a lot of faith in Yuri after their last fight. When Iori first learned of his assigned partner, the fact that she was 'just a girl' was initially met with disfavor. She =has= proven herself capable of kicking some serious boo-tay when the situation called for it -- heck, they've made it =this== far.
So he was a bit rankled to see her =current= performance, against someone he'd judged to be of equal caliber. One could call it an unlucky performance -- and against the Sunshine Girl turned Angel of Death, well.
He's expecting a tag, to say the least. Glancing down at Yuri with a marked lack of sunshine in his expression, he nods abruptly. "Rest."
And then he surges forward at Hinata, roaring as he thrusts an uppercut into the girl's jaw, clearly intending to make up for lost time. "GUWOOOOOH!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Iori's Strong Punch.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Crap!" is Hinata's instant response to Yuri tagging out and Iori stepping in. Her feet shuffle backwards, obviously intimidated into retreating and breaking her stance when the red-haired Yagami stalks forward. Iori doesn't walk towards her, he doesn't run. He STALKS. And it is fearsome.
The fist is fast and powerful. The Taiyo girl's eyes barely remain fixed in her head, they're open so wide at the incoming punch. What was it Dan had said about times like this? 'When you're in trouble, keep your head. Then... something-something or you'll be dead!' ... Not exactly helpful right now. Hinata bends backwards over herself, crumpling like a limbo dancer who lost their footing. The fist grazes her chin, but just barely. She lands on her back on the ground, staring up into the face of rage itself.
Skittering backwards like an insect, she turns over and *hauls* towards her own partner. This is no longer a fair fight for her. "Tag me!" she shouts as she runs. "Tag me! TAG ME!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata drops her guard to recover.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Hinata takes no action.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
When Iori lunges forward to attack Hinata, it's not hard for Kain to guess that it'll be his turn to fight soon. Just as well. Watching her get smashed into a red paste wouldn't be all that entertaining, anyway. Fighting Iori, on the other hand... Kain steps forward as Hinata dashes toward him, although he doesn't immediately reach out his hand for the tag. Instead he simply puts his hand out at the last moment, grabbing her shoulder and then giving her a quick shove away from the fight. He doesn't need anybody getting in his way.
And now... The fun can begin. The moment the tag is made, Kain suddenly begins dashing forward, an eager grin on his face. His arms spread out to either side, purple fire pouring from his hands and running up his arms. As he gets close to his opponent, Kain sweeps his arms forward, sending the flame rushing toward Iori in a large cloud.
COMBATSYS: Iori blocks Kain's Schwarz Cutter.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kain
Hinata runs. Iori does not think this unusual, or unexpected -- in fact, it's one reason he =did= tear after her so fast, knowing that Kain would be right there in the wings. Of course, he wouldn't have particularly minded if he'd =hit= her either, but that's beside the point.
Kain, on the other hand... demands a wholly different strategy. Especially since the tall German is starting things off right with a vicious gout of flame.
Iori turns his shoulder into the blast, letting the violet flames singe the moon emblazoned across his back. "As expected."
Though he can't see =quite= as clearly from the heat, he nonetheless charges forward at Heinlein, lashing out with a raking slash across the upper torso. If nothing else, he hopes to at least bring the battle into melee range. "GUWOOOH!"
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kain with Quick Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kain
As Iori comes bursting out of the fiery explosion, Kain sees him twisting around in preparation of an attack. He sees the slash coming in and attempts to block it with his arm, trying to catch the blow on a spot less dangerous than Iori's raking fingernails. Unfortunately he aims a bit high, leaving Iori free to dig into his chest. Yagami's nails tear through Kain's clothing and rake the flesh beneath, drawing long bloody furrows across Heinlein's chest.
Kain's not one to flinch back from an injury, however. Even as Iori's swing is finishing up, Kain has drawn back the arm he failed to block with, gathering flame around his clenched fist. He swings forward, lunging at Iori as he tries to slam his fist head-on into the redhead's face. A moment later the flames flicker for a moment, then explode outward in a small but powerful blast.
COMBATSYS: Iori fails to interrupt Fierce Punch from Kain with Yumebiki.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kain
Iori chuckles faintly, smirking at his luck. A straight punch would have been blocked, easily -- so it's possibly a good thing that Kain doesn't fight =quite= like most other fighters. "Getting sloppy," he notes.
Hubris has a way of turning on Yagami, though... for instants after his comment, Kain's closing in. Iori already has his hand extended, so it should be a simple matter of sweeping his hand up to knock Kain's aside. It's not -- as Kain's precisely targeted punch meets its mark, flames searing into Iori's face as he reels back from the blow. Staggering, he tosses his arm out for balance -- a desperate flail for one brief moment before he regains his footing. Scowling, he wipes the flames from his face, returning to a defensive posture as he returns his glare to Kain. Perhaps the strategy he's devised needs some revision.
The flames around Kain's hand shrink down as he unclenches his fist, straightening out his fingers as he draws his arm back. They don't completely vanish, however, continuing to crackle and spark even as more flame sprouts up around his left hand. "Hardly. If one doesn't pay attention, one can fall prey to the unexpected."
As he speaks, Kain thrusts his hands out, parallel to the ground and at a 45 degree angle to his body. The flames in his hands flare up for a moment, then shoot forth, twin balls of fire flashing through the air. They come around in arc, leaving Iori to deal with flames coming at him from two different directions.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Iori with Schwarze Flame.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kain
Kain appears to be making good on his predictions thus far. And Iori, had for the most part been attempting to =follow= his advice -- whether it was offered as such or not -- and pay attention to what's going on. It just doesn't seem to fall out that way in practice, as Iori attempts to fall back a moment, raising both arms overhead to fend off the blazes. That's when they do the arc thing, veering around and sailing -beneath- his guard to crash into his ribcage.
Staggering back, Iori scowls at Kain, "Sage advice." And when he charges this time, it's a low dash, with Iori's head kept low. He doesn't plan on punching Kain this time -- rather, he intends to rise just quickly enough to smash his head into Kain's head. Hard. "GURRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kain with Light Kick.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Kain
Unorthodox attacks can be rather difficult to deal with, can't they? And a blow with the force of a person's entire body behind it can be rather hard to block effectively. They also tend to be easy to read, however, and it's no different in this case. Kain sees the strategy Iori is taking. Just... Not quickly enough. As Kain is leaping back from the blow Iori's head slams into his jaw, causing the blond's head to snap back with a grunt of pain.
Kain continues with his leap, however, opening up some space between himself and Iori as he recovers from the blow. The moment he hits the ground he draws his hands back and to his left side, a spark of blue light appearing between his cupped palms. The light rapidly expands into a ball of swirling blue flame and raw chi, which continues to grow as Kain sweeps his hands forward and points his palms toward Iori. Some of the security guards are looking /very/ nervous. This is exactly the kind of thing they were afraid of. There's not much they can do, though, as the now massive sphere launches toward Iori. They can only hope that Yagami gets blown up, instead of something valuable.
COMBATSYS: Iori endures Kain's Himmlische Seele.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Kain
Iori does not, in fact, get blown up. He's engulfed by the rapidly expanding blast of chi, definitely. But does he explode? No. Does he even attempt to dodge? No. He just chuckles, tempting fate as it were, a smirk on his face at the last instant it remains in view.
But when the white, searing light begins to subside, Iori's right there on top of Kain. Not trying to mask his intentions, or hide his attack. It should be plain as day to the German -- Iori plans to punch the man as hard as he can. And all the statues in the hall can blow up behind him, for all he cares.
COMBATSYS: Iori successfully hits Kain with Ya Otome.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Kain
Yagami doesn't care, because that punch is the first of a series of successively more terrifying attacks. "CRY!!!" Kain can destroy the Louvre with his overblown chi attacks -- but savagely beating the crap out of people is a Yagami tradition. Overhand slashes, underhand slashes, shoulder rams, gut punches, uppercuts, knee strikes, headbutts... if one can still =see= after that blinding light, one =might= be able to spot the individual blows as they're dealt out to Kain, one rapid-fire after another.
"SCREAM!" And just when things couldn't get any more brutal, Iori clamps down both hands onto Kain's face, a feral, demonic grin lighting across his features as he... just... pauses for a moment, basking in the glory, making sure he has Kain's full attention. "... Die."
At which point, Iori finally unleashes the purple flames he's been withholding for the bulk of the fight. A fiery explosion erupts between his hands, the purple flame a slightly different hue from Kain's own, but no less severe. Iori's jacket was already tattered -- the sleeves are literally blown off from this final strike. And Iori... just erupts in mocking laughter, shoulders rocking forward as his hands hang limply before him as he exults for the moment.
The remnants of Kain's attack sweeping past Iori cause a fair bit of structural damage to the wall, as well as causing a few valuable paintings to combust from the heat. And that's only the start of the destruction and violence in the next several moments. Iori's onslaught is a bit more localized, but it manages to do a fair bit of damage to the floor... To say nothing of the injury inflicted upon Kain. And when the flames clear, Kain is slumped forward on the floor, his clothes shredded and blood dripping from too many wounds to count.
But dead? Not quite. Heaving himself up onto his knees, Kain spares a quick glance up at Iori, one eye held shut as blood drips down from his scalp. So, Iori thinks he has time to laugh? Kain cups his right hand, another spark of blue flame appearing there. He then surges upward, trying to drive his palm up into Iori's chin. Even as he does so, that blue flame is expanding outwards. And if it hits? Well, the combination of searing heat, and being blasted into (and maybe through) the ceiling should give Iori something to really laugh about.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Iori with Himmlische Seele.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
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Iori 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kain
Honestly, who can do something like that twice in a row? C'mon, let the bassist gloat for a moment. But noooo, Kain's gotta be the bigger bastard about it and just =fire torpedo two=.
Iori won't be quite so lucky this time. He's already chanced fate once this time... so instead of enduring the attack, he moves to get the heck out of the way. It would've worked if he'd done so a split second before, too... but the fact that Kain's palm hammers not into the Orochi halfblood's throat, rather than his chin, seems to be a critical point. That is, Iori goes flying back, the world spared from yet another of the man's infamous feral howls as he's rocketed up into the ceiling. He's not so lucky to be slammed through it -- rather, he hits it cold, stopping dead in the air before the expanding orb of chi crushes him into the stonework =again=.
On the plus side, he starts falling after the brunt of the flames pass.
And he juuuust so happens to be falling towards Kain, making one last-ditch series of slashes with his hands as he falls, bits of ceiling showering down beside him. If he's =lucky=, his falling momentum would add to his impact against Kain.
Still, no screaming. His throat kinda hurts, there. Lucky audience, too.
COMBATSYS: Iori can no longer fight.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> /////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Iori's Yumebiki.
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Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> ////////// ]
|=------\-------\0 Kain
Kain's not so foolish as to ignore Iori after he gets launched into the air. 'What goes up must come down', and all that. And although Iori's got some good momentum going, he's also in a position where manuevering for position is pretty much impossible, making it easy for Kain to chart his path down. And so Iori's fingers only get to dig into the backs of Kain's forearms, adding some more slashes to the wounds already there. Then Kain makes a quick twist with his arms, to send Iori sprawling to the ground rather than having him collapse on top of the already injured Heinlein.
Pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath, Kain sweeps his hair back out of his face, wiping away some of the blood on his face in the same motion. Despite his injuries and the condition of his clothing, he still manages to give off an impression of dignity. And his current condition only helps to make him seem more dangerous. Sliding his left hand into his pocket (which luckily didn't get torn open in Iori's slashing), he gestures toward Yuri with his right hand. "I'll let you girls get back to playing with one another in a moment, but... I'm not /quite/ done yet." Security guards are desperately trying to save the paintings from the fire and rubble, but there's a few who aren't carrying the works of art quite to where they're supposed to go... And Kain doesn't want even a short pause in the fight for a change of both fighters until they're out of sight. Got to keep people's attention.
COMBATSYS: Kain gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> ////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> ////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"IORI!"
Yuri watches in surprise, having seen her teammate bounce off of Kain's might in a most impressive way. She knows he did well - but now, well - the truth comes out. She's been riding on his coattails, letting him finish folks off and end the fights while she took a breather. But here, that backfired - Hinata's barely been touched, and Kain.. well, he's probably hurting - but he's in a league far above her.
And this, well - this is where Sakazaki spirit will shine through! This is where she will prepare for giving her utmost. When Kain gestures towards her, Yuri bursts into action, giving out every bit of speed that she can as she picks her way across and through the rubble, until she closes in. When she hits grappling range, she ducks down and skids inwards, much like a person stealing a base - trying to get under Kain, her hands going for his jacket. If she can get a hold, well - she's going to boot him up and over her!
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Yuri's Silent Nage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> ////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
It's a valiant effort, but by quickly sidestepping Yuri's slide Kain manages to avoid having his jacket grabbed, and leaving her with no target. This also reveals a weakness in the technique. Unless you are an extremely skilled grappler, you do /not/ want to be on the floor while your opponent is still standing. "I've heard your teammate has some anger management issues. You might want to make yourself scarce after this match is over."
Any thoughts that Kain might actually care about Yuri's well being are quickly dashed, however, as he moves to deny her a chance to get back to her feet. His right foot goes up, blue energy swirling about his shoe as he slams it back down, attempting to drive his foot into Yuri's chest and pin her to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Yuri stops Medium Kick from Kain with Saiha.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> ////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"SAIHA!"
Around Yuri, a giant globe of orange energy forms. The blue chia of Kain's kick meets it, bows it in - almost to the breaking point, but then she pushes back, and manages to get it to an even keel. The titanic pressure builds - Yuri's in a desperate strait. And then, well.. It hits the angle of the bubble she has created, and she gets shot out the side like a jellybean being squished between two fingers till it shoots off. Waugh!
There's a thumping, a rolling.. and Yuri gets back up, wobbly but still standing. "Try... Try that again, and you'll be eating your foot." Sure, tough talk...
But can she back it up?
Kain laughs for a moment, then shakes his head for a moment. "It seems I underestimated you. It appears that your father has taught you well." And Takuma is definitely up there amongst the fighters Kain has some actual respect for. Kain glances away from Yuri for a split second, noticing that the majority of the salvage work seems to be done... Whatever's left is probably destroyed, anyway. "I think I'll bow out after all."
And then, showing little sign of the pain he must be feeling, Kain strolls over toward Hinata, reaching out to tag her in. He seems to be fairly unconcerned by the possibility of Yuri attempting to attack him while his back is turned but before he tags out. I wonder why that could be?
COMBATSYS: Kain drops his guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
Hinata bounces back into action. Literally. She is so ready to spring in and finish this now that Iori isn't there to rip off her head and do something unpleasant to the rest of her body. She knows he'd do it, too. Or something worse that she just doesn't have the mental faculties to imagine. The man's just... creepy.
"Yuuuuuuuriiiiiii!" she yells, shoes skidding on the formerly polished floors which are now desperately in need of a good cleaning. It's not really a battle cry. It has more of a similar tone to what you'd cry if you were seeing an old friend who just got off an airplane. Except Hinata leads the cheerful greeting with an attack, skipping and wheeling her right foot up in the air to take her entire body into a slightly off horizontal spin, legs splayed. A faint glowing trail of energy wisps from her feet. If one were inclined to tell her, it looks a lot like *another* Ansatsuken move, but sort of tilted off balance. But again, she would say it's a Wakaba Original. Because it is, fool! Oh yeah, and she's trying to collapse Yuri's skull with her right heel. So there. "Orrrrrya!"
COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Hinata's Enbukyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Okay. TWO of that Ryu's guys moves, sure, you can hit me with. THREE? Not /EVEN/, Hinata!"
Yuri is, after all, the premiere 'get out of the way' artist in the world, yes she is. Or she's the premiere 'copy someone else's style' artist. She's something. And whatever she is, it lets her duck under that swinging attack, and lets her keep her footing this time. She's learned her lesson from running in - this time, she's all controlled movements!
"I won't let Iori down!!" she says, more to herself than her unconcious cohort - and just tries to latch onto Hinata's shoulders. If she can, well, she's going to give the other girl a giant heaping helpin' of forehead! GYOOOOO!
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Yuri's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Ryu?" Hinata sounds, at first, a little offended. "Hey! These are original creations, you know! I may have been... inspired, but these are my moves!" The Sunshine Girl contests Yuri's title for 'Dodge Queen' as well. 'Ripoff Artist' is a title Yuri can keep.
And as Yuri tries a forehead smash? Yeah, Hinata's totally not there anymore. She's dodged Xiangfei's forehead before, and Yuri, you do not have Xiangfei's strength of forehead. Not even close. "Woo!" Hinata ducks low, purposely letting her feet slide out from under her and makes no effort to shrug off Yuri's hands on her shoulders, instead using them as a pivot point and sliding down and straight through Yuri's legs. It's like one of those awesome dance moves that nobody does anymore. Hinata slides down, breaks free of Yuri's grip and pops up again with surprising speed, right behind her opponent.
"Peekaboo!" Standing for a split second, back to back with Yuri, Hinata reaches over her head to lace her fingers around the younger Sakazaki's throat and use her own shoulder like a fulcrum, wrenching hard to shoulder toss Yuri up, over, and down to the ground again. By the throat.
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Yuri with Shoulder Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
Where'd she go?
That's right! Yuri closed her eyes when she went for the headbutt, and totally missed the sliding motion of Hinata - all she knows is that suddenly, well.. she's gone. Missing. Poof. Vanished! She does, however, find her quite quickly again. She doesn't even get to turn about and try for anything, instead being chucked unceremoniously over and down into the ground with a fair amount of ease.
This would be less annoying were it like, not onto more of the pottery shards and the sculptures that had been damaged before. She'll be picking grit out for weeks afterwards. Ahwell, at least she's in front of Hinata again. She scrambles her hands around the area again, and comes back up with a piece of pottery, what looks like a dog's leg. Holding it in both hands, she winds up, and ... well, takes a swing that would make that Batsu kid proud! The only thing she doesn't do is point towards the left field fence first..!
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Yuri's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Swing and a miss!" Hinata announces, doing her best to sound like a voice echoed through a stadium's public address system. She dances back lightly from the swing with an almost nonchalant ease, letting the impromptu dogleg bat swish by her face. "Strike one!"
The Sunshine Girl skips back a few steps, tapping the tip of her right shoe on the gritting floor of the museum. "But if you really want to play, try to hit this one!" Hinata whirls in a quick circle, right leg extended. She's not about to hit anyone with a roundhouse from that distance, but in a sudden move she slaps her own knee with her left palm, halting its motion and letting something white, laced, and definitely shoe-shaped rocket off her foot and straight at Yuri's midsection. Let's hope she's a good batter. "Fastball on the outside!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Yuri with Renkyakudan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Yuri 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
Drat!
Offbalance, Yuri is going to take a second to regather and recuperate. She pulls back her bat and sets it on her shoulder as she sees Hinata start to spin. She nods her head in time, to keep the movements in check, fingers tensing on the leg made out of plaster. And when that shoe comes blazing in, Mighty Casey is not just standing at the plate, no sireee! She digs her foot in, and takes a wild swing, in an attempt to knock it right back at Hinata.
Sadly, there will be no joy in Mudville, for Mighty Yuri just ducked into the ball, and managed to get Hinata's heelmarks all along her face, mushing her nose and sending her reeling. She lands in some more rubble, and crawls her way back up, holding her gi over the injury. "I gib! I gib!" She hates to say it, but fighting in a red gi and purple suit is certainly not her idea of a fun time. To say nothing of what would happen were like, Kain to step back in. Eeesh. So instead, she'll live with how far her and Iori got in the tournament - and well, pray that Iori doesn't kill her for screwing up.
COMBATSYS: Yuri has left the fight here.
> ////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Hinata
> //////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kain
"Yuri! Yuri! I didn't mean it! Are you okay?" Hinata rushes forward, unaware that it might be a ploy to get her in close. But Yuri wouldn't do that to her. It wouldn't be fair! "It's not broken is it? I'm so sorry!" Yeah, Hinata. Apologize after you smash her in the face with a shoe, slam her into the ground, punch her in the chin and throw fireballs at her. Way to go.
"You give up? Really?" The judges seem to agree, having already raised their flags. Yuri's admission of defeat is good enough for them. "I won? I mean... we win!"
Log created by Iori, and last modified on 12:19:37 09/10/2006.