Description: Hinako and Alma face off at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. Despite recovering from injuries gained in a previous fight, Hinako shows that she's not going to let a little pain slow her down as she takes the best Alma has to offer and keeps on pushing forward. The battle is almost resolved in a single clash of epic proportions, but manages to hold on long enough to wind down to a draw. (Draw Match)
It was to be his greatest challenge yet.
Alma Towazu, psychic fighting model extraordinaire, has a very specific goal. This is something of a change of pace for him; normally his life is so eventful as is that he can afford to put all his effort into simply engaging wholeheartedly in all the situations he finds himself in. It's worked out rather well for him so far. Passionate and dutiful about his various labors and activities, the good-natured and normally rather mild-mannered youth has been quite successful in most of what he's put himself towards. Though his quiet, natural poise and elegant modesty can disguise it, he really is a success story in many respects, and he's achieved this with no other ambition other than to be himself -- as best as he possibly can.
Fair enough. But a man can only go with the flow so far. Alma has people to seek out, tasks to complete. It's not that he has to step outside his comfort zone; it's just that it's about time that he tried something unusual for him, something more active and assertive. That feels right. New, certainly, and a little weird -- he's not a man given to goal-setting or ambition -- and maybe sometimes uncomfortable. But still right. And so, one step at a time...
...he's going to fight to the top of the League, and find that ninja.
And in the process-- he knew he had to, again, do something new. Something unique, something dangerous. Pushing his limits yet more. It was only right; it was only fair. Although he had never done it before, he knew, deep down, that doing this sort of thing is part of what makes him who he is. That it was the right thing. And so he struggled, and he strained, and with all his focus and all his ability--
He baked a petit four.
I mean, surely the poor girl could use a gift, after an injury like the one she sustained. He sent it to her while she was recuperating, along with a polite handwritten invitation complimenting her on what he had heard of her ability and expressing interest in seeing her take on sumo in action. It was all done quite tastefully. He put a lot of effort into those candy roses on the frosting, too.
The location wasn't his idea, but he's appreciating it while he waits: he's back in Seattle, the hometown of Neo League owner and operator Ken Masters, and at the very top of the Space Needle, in the midst of the famous (and expensive) rotating restaurant. Standing admist a cleared area, gazing with serene patience out the curved bay window and unheeding of the curious stares of their dining audience, Alma's dressed rather nicely just to suit the place. Dark slacks and jacket stylishly cloak his frame, pale tie contrasting with dark buttonup underneath. Dashingly unkempt blond red-tinged bangs obscuring one hazel eye, the handsome youth just stand quietly, one hand slipped into his pants pocket, looking contemplative.
~ I hope she liked my cake. ~
Although she's had some time to heal up since her last SNF fight, Hinako still isn't completely recovered. The bandages around her torso aren't visible, thanks to her purple dress, but the wounds she received still hurt a bit. Broken ribs and stab wounds will do that. Still, she's not one to turn down a friendly fight, and her doctors said she was fit; she's just going to be a bit sore.
It's been quite a while since she's fought in the Neo League, so getting an invitation to a fight is as good a reason as any to step back in. And judging by what she knows of Alma, fighting him won't be as unpleasant as some matches she's found herself involved in. Besides, he made her a rather delicious cake. <3
This is Hinako's first trip to Seattle, but the fight coordinators are quite helpful in locating the place. And thankfully there's an elevator up to the top. Trying to walk up to that height would be a bit much; Hinako's going to need to reserve her strength for the fight. Once she arrives, she bows to Alma, although less deeply than she might. She doesn't flinch, though. "Thank you very much for the delicious cake, and the invitation to fight!"
Alma smiles at his opponent's greeting, eyes softening, but for a moment he is inwardly troubled. She's obviously taking care not to show it, but maybe she's not as fully healed as he thought she was...
...but that worry quickly turns to heightened resolve. If she's here in spite of an injury, then she must be especially determined. He can't dishonor her efforts by holding back against her; he should be flattered that she accepted.
"It's an honor, Miss Shijou," the young man murmurs as the cameramen finish arranging themselves. At this point just about everyone in the restaurant that can see is watching and whispering amongst themselves, looking forward to the display that's surely to come. As the SNF representative announces to the diners what they have already perceived is about to take place, the Hiten-Ryu fighter straightens his posture and relaxes his limbs, shifting his feet slightly and slowly turning his gaze to take stock of his surroundings one more time. The only way to really tell that floor is slowly turning is by looking out the window and seeing the rotation; the motion is very gradual. But even though the addition is slight, Alma appreciates the interesting circumstance, and for a moment considers how he might incorporate it into his own use of momentum. But there's little time for that, so, relaxing his consciousness and letting spirit and reflex ascend, the tall young man smiles again and bows one more time to the blonde girl.
"Please..."
'FIGHT!'
"...do your best."
The last words are spoken even as he lunges forward, body blurring slightly and knee lifting as he surges through the air toward her, right hand trailing wispy purplish energy. As he approaches her, the energy intensifies until finally bursting into what looks just like fire, only white and purple and traced with vibrant lines of pink and gold. He lashes out, seeking to begin the match right off with a powerful expression of his manifest fighting spirit.
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Hinako has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinako
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Hinako with Self Expression.
- Power hit! -
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Alma 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Hinako
Hinako stands her ground as the energy from Alma's hand washes over her, although she wobbles for a moment as the blast fades away, her knees trembling slightly. She also loses a good deal of color from her face, as the pain floods through her system. That... That wasn't good. But she stayed on her feet, just like a sumo should!
Shaking her head quickly, she reaches out toward Alma. "Th-that's right! I won't hold back!" Grabbing for the model, she attempts to get one hand on his shoulder and the other on his back, then twist her body around quickly to slam him down against the restaurant's floor.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinako's Kake Nage.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Hinako
Alma's momentum carries him forward, and with Hinako startlingly able to remain on her feet despite the powerful strike, there's not much he can do to evade her counterattack. Yet though his lunge takes him right into his opponent's arms, Alma retains control of his body's movement. The sumo girl's throw seems to successfully pitch Alma to the ground, but having thrown himself completely into the attack, he's fully prepared to roll with the motion -- and roll he does, quickly and gracefully right back up to his feet in a crouch. It can't have been a painless process, but he pulls it off so that it looks as though it might have been.
Taking advantage of the suddenness of his recovery and his gathered momentum, the tall youth twists in his crouch and strikes out with his leg, aiming to immediately follow up his last attack with a sweep kick. He knows it'll be tough to knock the girl off her feet; but he also knows that if he /does/, she'll be in a position her fighting style shouldn't have prepared her for.
...If only she weren't wearing a dress. Avert your eyes, Alma.
COMBATSYS: Hinako blocks Alma's Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Hinako
Hinako sees Alma's leg sweeping in, and she tenses up her legs, preparing for the impact. His leg strikes, but she doesn't budge, instead letting the kick bounce off of her. It's not going to be /that/ easy to take down this sumo wrestler! And while Alma is recovering from that, Hinako lashes out with her own attack. She starts with a fairly basic palm strike, aiming to drive her hand into the center of Alma's chest. At the same time, her other hand is reaching up for his shoulder, and she attempts to follow up the strike by grabbing Alma by the shoulders and hurling him straight down into the floor.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Hinako's Combo Throw.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Hinako
Mission objective: failed! Okay, no problem, he can deal. Alma's kick bounces off of Hinako's sturdy stance, but keen instincts allow him to reverse his momentum as he's pushed away, and he twists the failed sweep kick into a backwards tuck and roll that manages to take him out of reach of Hinako's initial palm strike and any further attacks. The closeness of his improvised escape kindling his fighting spirit, Alma again attacks as he rises into a crouch -- but this time, hazel eyes flashing with mingled pink and purple, with a spiralling gout of Psycho Power.
"Hmn--!"
Slicing his hand through the air like a backhanded chop as he rises to a poised crouch, Alma's the swirling crest of energy cuts like a blade toward Hinako's upper torso, hopefully able to keep her at bay while he gets to his feet.
COMBATSYS: Hinako endures Alma's Sacred Wave.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hinako
Hinako stands her ground as the wave of energy lashes out at her. Her eyes go wide when it hits, and she has to stifle a cry of pain, but she stays on her feet, and even takes a few hesitant steps toward Alma before the energy actually fades away. And as soon as she's not being forced away by Alma's psi energy, she's rushing toward him. She's a bit more unsteady than normal, but all she has to do right now is slam into Alma with a shoulder charge...
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Oo-ichiban from Hinako with Divine Intervention EX.
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Alma 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Hinako
Hinako's shoulder connects with Alma's chest, and then she explodes into a little ball of blonde sumo fury. Her arms become a blur as she hits Alma with a blindingly fast series of palm strikes to the head and torso. She strikes again and again, before suddenly hurling herself full on at Alma and wrapping her arms around Alma. It could almost be pleasant, except for the astonishing strength in her arms as she begins to squeeze tightly. There's not really enough room in her for the traditional followthrough on this move, and Hinako doesn't want to break anything or hurl Alma out a window... So rather than launching him into the air, she yanks him around and just slams him down shoulders first into the floor.
It might have been the decisive move.
But Alma didn't give Hinako's resilience enough credit. Few people plow so mightily through projectile attacks the way she does, and it's only after he's committed himself to his follow-up 'ambush' that he realizes she's moving much, much faster than he anticipated. It's too late to take it back, and it's too late for regrets-- completely unbalanced, Alma faces the oncoming onslaught as stoically as he can.
And hey, at least he gets a hug out of the deal.
Along with possibly a cracked rib or two.
The slam to the ground stuns and disorients the tall youth, and though he again tries to roll away, his grace is severely compromised, and his normally bright eyes are clearly hazy. He might be able to escape her reach, but he's far from prepared to launch a counterassault.
Hinako's not in the greatest shape herself, but that's not going to prevent her from keeping up the attack. To do anything less would be an insult to Alma! Of course, dealing with people rolling around on the ground isn't something that sumo really deals with a lot. Kicks aren't really used a whole lot when your center of gravity can very quickly become your worst enemy. But Hinako isn't that heavy, she has strong legs, and somebody on the ground is a relatively easy target.
Rather than an actual 'kick', though, Hinako goes for an attempt to stomp on Alma with one foot while he's rolling around. Not with all the force she can muster, but a good blow to the torso wouldn't be a bad idea. Between legs that can support the weight of extremely heavy men, and boots that weigh a good ten pounds each, having even someone as small as Hinako step on you is no laughing matter. Although some people would consider her rather short dress to make it a fair tradeoff.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinako's Light Kick.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Hinako
Heh, she isn't holding back at all. Suitably impressed and even inspired by the ferocity of the girl's attack, the tumbling Alma finds his resolve and recovers from his daze in time to see that Hinako is pursuing him with foot upraised. Twisting into a more defensible crouch as quickly as he can, the young fighting model lifts his hands, judging from what he knows of the girl's strength and the current intensity of her aura that he can catch her stomp attack and somehow reverse it.
Okay, so, he didn't count on the boots.
Gritting his teeth with the unexpected overwhelming effort of lifting those heavy boots, Alma and Hinako are frozen in struggle, a bead of sweat forming on the tall youth's brow. He can't spare the effort to speak, but he does raise one eyebrow slightly in his puzzlement, glancing upwards with a questioning expression--
...
*u_u*
Never mind. Just-- heavy boots. Fine. No problem.
Now with eyes averted, eyelashes lowered, and cheeks tinged a mild rosy tone, Alma shoves the girl's leg to the side as he twists in his crouch and lashes up with a fierce high back kick, soulfire exploding around the limb as his leg pumps up in an effort to strike the girl under the chin.
...sheesh.
COMBATSYS: Hinako blocks Alma's Rising Fury.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hinako
Hinako crosses her arms in front of the rapidly rising leg, but there's only so much she can do to stop the attack. Primarily because that soulfire isn't something she's very well equipped to deal with. Still, at least it doesn't hit her in the jaw. And it does present a bit of an opportunity. As soon as she's stopped Alma's kick, Hinako reaches out in an attempt to grab him by the leg, ignoring the stinging in her arms.
Should she successfully grab him, Hinako follows up by yanking straight upwards, trying to send Alma flying up toward the ceiling in what will probably work out to be a fairly undignified position.
COMBATSYS: Alma endures Hinako's Tasuki Nage.
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Alma 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Hinako
"Hrrn--"
Now.
Realizing his leg is trapped, Alma doesn't try to reverse or struggle to escape the hold. In fact, he puts his efforts toward quite the opposite: with the one leg still grounded he pushes off fiercely, just as Hinako heaves up to release him into the air. Her attack still wrenches his leg painfully, and for a moment it seems as though she's gotten the better of him as he spirals loosely through the air above her--
--but then he twists, and eyes gleaming, reveals the burning brightness in his cupped right hand.
"HyaaaaaaAAAAAHH!"
Trailing plumes of white, dark purple, and pale magenta spiralling behind his falling form, Alma descends like a furious phoenix, bending down to strike first with a blaze of white light -- and potentially plow his opponent into the ground with an overwhelming blast of raw Psycho Power.
COMBATSYS: Hinako Toughs Out Alma's Absolution!
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Hinako
Now how's this for a dramatic moment? Alma falling through the air like a blazing angel, ready to strike Hinako down with his righteous fury. And Hinako...? She's not moving. Oh no. She crouches down slightly, but makes no attempt to get out of the way, even as Alma's psycho power begins to wash over her, sending stinging pain through her body. She just grits her teeth, stands her ground, and begins pulling her hands back...
Becuase as Alma continues on in his attempt at driving her right down into the ground, Hinako strikes back. No fancy tricks for her. She just thrusts both of her hands at Alma, palms out, with all the strength she can muster. And that... that's a lot of strength. If the roof of the Space Needle isn't strongly reinforced, this could wind up being unfortunate.
COMBATSYS: Hinako successfully hits Alma with Morote Zuki.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hinako
Impressive.
The mighty clash shocks and awes the audience, who witness both Alma's burning descent and his opponent's unrelenting defense. The two of them are held in place for a few breathless moments-- and then the sumo girl's powerful palm strike blasts Alma out of the crackling field of battling energies, the tall young man seeming to trail smoke as his still-manifest aura leaves a streak of blurry light behind his limply falling form. His arc is such that he doesn't hit the ceiling, but he hits the ground hard, and he doesn't stir.
...for a moment.
Laboriously, face a picture of serene composure despite the pain evident in his eyes, Alma struggles patiently to his feet. When he finally rises, the battered youth lifts his gaze to Hinako's again -- and inclines his head slightly, in a show of respect.
Then he lunges.
Blurring forward in one last attempt to penetrate the girl's defenses and finish her, Alma closes in quickly and lashes out with a rapidfire series of quick jabs, what's left of his psychic energies fuelling his momentum... and alleviating his quickly accumulating fatigue.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Hinako with Spring Shower.
[ \\\\ < > /// ]
Alma 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hinako
Hinako tries to stagger out of the way of Alma's assault, drained as she is by fending off his previous attack. But it's to no avail. She gets knocked back by the series of jabs, somehow still barely managing to stay on her feet, but by the way she's wobbling it's not going to last for much longer.
Still, she's got just a little bit more strength in her. As she starts to lose even the strength to stand, she reaches out for Alma, attempting to grab him by the shoulders. She doesn't have the strength to actually /throw/ him down, but she can still try to drag him down with her, and try to aim for a painful landing on his part.
COMBATSYS: Hinako can no longer fight.
[ \\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hinako successfully hits Alma with Fast Throw.
- Power hit! -
[ \ <
Alma 0/-------/=======|
Contact. At least he made contact.
But Alma's strength fails him there. Feeling his vigor fade just when he needs it most, he tries to summon up the strength to get out of the way, but even in her weakened state Hinako is too quick. Her hands grab hold of his shoulders, and the fighting model is borne down to the ground with the blonde girl.
...there are far worse ways to be incapacitated.
Chest heaving with deep, quiet breaths, too weak to move but at least able to maintain consciousness, Alma politely averts his gaze from his perilously close partner-in-proneness, without actually attempting to remove the hands that still grasp his shoulders. He's flushing slightly again... well, it was quite a workout.
"Well fought... Miss Shijou," he murmurs between breaths. "I think... we have a draw."
COMBATSYS: Alma takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
Log created by Hinako, and last modified on 17:00:24 02/12/2007.