Description: Sakura has trouble fighting ninjas, especially ninjas who don't *look* like ninjas, or *act* like ninjas. Y'know, except when they do. (Winner: Maki)
It's a nice day on the boardwalk, as the sun is shining but it's not so hot that it's unbearable, and it's not too cool either. Just somewhat above mild. People are enjoying this nice day by sitting on the beach and relaxing or going in for a dip. Others are walking along the boardwalk, stopping at the shops to enjoy whatever they have to offer. Either way, it's a great day to be out.
Sitting cross-legged on one of the benches, her shoes and socks sitting beside her, Maki is finishing off an ice cream cone, and as the last of it is eaten, she tosses the paper lining around it off into a nearby garbage can, licking the remaining ice cream off of her fingers. "I doubt anyone would ever make tapioca ice cream, but one can always dream," She says to herself as she runs a hand through her blonde hair, brushing it back a little as she leans back a little, enjoying the warm day.
Truly nice days are rare in the middle of a Southtown winter! So... fortunately Sakura Kasugano is in the mood to be out in the middle of one!
But more to the point -- the Neo League fight coordinators had gotten in touch with her a little while ago to inform her of a potential battle! Accordingly she'd gotten into her usual battle outfit, intending to put on a good show for the folks, and headed on out to the Boardwalk with the three cameramen and the League official! If it weren't such a nice day, her school uniform and skirt would be COLD! ... As it is, maybe she won't notice.
She is rather chilly though, just the same.
Spotting the blonde, she jogs on over with her fight card in hand. "Hi there! I... I hear you're my opponent for this, um, Neo League match thing!" It's pretty easy to spot a woman with long blonde hair in the middle of Southtown, after all. Bowing before Maki, she thrusts her tiny hand out to the woman. "Sakura Kasugano, a pleasure to meet you!"
At first, Maki is taken a bit aback by the sudden greeting, but when she sees the Neo League card and realizes what's going on, she quickly uncrosses her legs and gets her socks and shoes back on, before shaking Sakura's hand gently and replying with, "I'm Maki Genryusai, a pleasure to meet you as well, Sakura." She politely returns the bow and smiles. "So this is a Neo League match, huh? This should be very interesting."
"Yep, pretty much!" Kasugano gestures to the officials, quickly going about their business of roping off the area around Maki and Sakura, shooing other people away for their own protection, and the cameramen moving into position. "Ken Masters runs it! He's a pretty cool guy, y'know! He just wants to make sure fightsy people like us get an opportunity to prove ourselves without havin' to put up with the ridiculous stuff Geese Howard puts us through. Just one-on-one, chica e chica!"
Let it be known that Sakura's command of the Spanish language, quite frankly, sucks.
But she takes a few hops backwards, grinning. She'd already had her bright red handguards on when she'd walked up, but she checks the fit on them anyway. More of a nod to her master's habits, of course! "Hmm... hey, do you know Guy? You kinda remind me of him for some reason..." Mostly the sneakers. Silly sneaker ninjas.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
"Guy? He was a training partner of mine. He's also a good friend," Maki replies to Sakura. She does a few quick stretches before stepping back a little as the area is roped off. She looks to Sakura and says, "I look forward to meeting you in battle, and may the best fighter win." She smiles and bows as a gesture of respect towards her opponent before assuming her fighting stance.
COMBATSYS: Maki has joined the fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
Good friend? "Oh... yeah?" She was right! Then again, with her nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the fighters she's already encountered, the fighting fangirl was bound to pick up on =something= about Maki! "Great! Then this =should= be fun! Guy kicked my butt last time we fought!"
She takes a step back, clenching her fist for a moment. The officials move into position, and Sakura nods her assent. "I'm ready when you are!"
And with the drop of a hand, the official shouts "FIGHT!"
And Sakura's off like a rocket, dashing forward to fire a rapid opening punch at Maki! Nothing serious -- just a first tentative test of her opponent's reflexes! "Hyaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Sakura's Medium Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
It was a good attempt for Sakura, but Maki manages to dodge out of the way of Sakura's punch. "Not bad, but you could've done better," She says as she decides to test the girl's reflexes as well, this time by using a fairly strong kick aimed at the girl's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Maki with Medium Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Maki
Sakura certainly could have done better! ... But she traditionally =sucks= at opening up a fight anyway. The spunky tomboy usually prefers fights at the end, where she can really turn things around!
... Which might explain her preference to throw caution to the wind when Maki closes in with that kick, her hands flickering with a brilliant show of blue chi! ... Unfortunately... well, she can't shift her momentum around that fast, and the schoolgirl gets =slammed= in the stomach by the kick, flying backwards a good dozen feet or so! "Kyaaa!"
Rubbing her side, she nonetheless springs back to her feet. She's not upset -- hardly! She's grinning! "Hey, that kinda smarts! You're not half bad..." She's ready for more, though!
Sakura could've done that better if she'd just timed her attack a little more carefully. As it stands, Sakura ended up getting a kick in the gut from Maki, which will serve as a reminder that she's not one to be messed with. But neither is Sakura, as she seems to have quite a mastery of martial arts herself.
"Years of training, that's all it is..." Maki says as she goes for Sakura with her trademarked (well not exactly, but you know) dashing punch attack, the Genkou!
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Maki's Genkou.
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Maki
Sakura is =quite= versed in martial arts! ... Trouble is, she learned by imitation and picked up some *terrible* habits in the process, only some of which have been smoothed out by her master's tutelage.
But... many times her remarkable instincts cover the slack. Dropping low, Kasugano whips one handguard up to accept the blow, bracing her wrist with her opposite hand! Maki's overhand punch slams into the handguard as such, forcing Sakura's arms to quiver -- but her guard holds! "Mmm... yeah!" She pushes back to her feet, inquiring, "How long have you been at this, anyway?" But she says that in the midst of whipping around for a decently powerful roundhouse kick at Maki's midsection -- not unlike the one Sakura received moments before! ... Well, except Sakura's swishing skirt provides a bit more fanservice for the camera crews!
COMBATSYS: Maki interrupts Medium Kick from Sakura with Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
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Sakura 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Maki
Maki sees the kick coming, and realizes that she isn't going to have enough time to avoid it. So she decides to do the next best thing: Respond with a kicking technique of her own. She gets down on the ground and literally spins around on one hand with her foot outstretched like a whirlwind kick of her own. Of course, Sakura's kick hits her just as she finishes, so she's knocked backwards a little on her seat, and she finds herself having a little trouble upon getting up.
Oof! Yeah... Sakura's got a lot to learn about fighting Maki! She may have thought she knew how to fight a ninja... but some of her tricks only seem to work against the less-muscled ones like Seishirou! Maki, on the other hand, is hardcore! Sakura at least knows that her kick =landed= ,if nothing else... but it's little satisfaction as she's flung once more to the boardwalk, a fair distance away.
Clucking her tongue for a moment, Sakura's nonetheless emboldened by the solid rebuff! "Ah... you're quiet like him, too?" she asks, smirk solidly cemented in place as she curls her hands back to her side. As before, a brilliant, shimmering mass of chi swirls about between her palms -- but this time, she's able to throw the four-foot-wide orb of chi at the kunoichi! "HADOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Maki with Medium Hadouken EX.
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Sakura 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Maki
Maki isn't exactly a kunoichi, but who's counting? What matters, though, is that there's a big energy blast coming her way. She decides to stand up strong and try to endure the attack instead of moving out of the way. Unfortunately, she underestimates the attack, and is knocked back quite a bit by the attack from Sakura.
"So you know a lot about harnessing your chi, huh? That is impressive," Maki says as she jumps into the air and does a half somersault, intending to grab Sakura by the shoulders and administer one of her favorite techniques.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Sakura with Tengu Daoshi.
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Sakura 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Maki
Maki grabs Sakura by the shoulders and does the other half of her somersault, literally lifting Sakura up above her shoulders, and then tosses the girl to the ground while yelling, "TENGU DAOSHI!" Maki lands on the ground easily, while Sakura might find the ground coming up rather fast.
"Well... yeah!" Sakura admits, scratching her nose with the back of her hand. "I don't like to brag, but I think it's probably what I'm best at!"
Bragging, though... is something Sakura not only does... but does =frequently=. And it's in the middle of her self-aggrandizing talk that Maki's able to close in, grab her by the shoulders, and flip about in mid-air! Sakura finds herself on an express trip to the boardwalk yet again -- this time face-first! Bouncing up off it with an unwelcome *CLONK-clonk* sound, Kasugano shakes herself off. This... is getting frustrating!
But she's not about to be deterred! "Well... yeah. I think I could =definitely= do better than this!" she comments, taking a few quick steps away from Maki. She doesn't plan to attack, though -- instead moving to curl her hands before her defensively, and focus on the tasks at hand. She's been much too headstrong... it's time to calm down and assess her situation!
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Maki
Maki watches Sakura get into more of a strategic mode, and she smirks a little, as the young street fighter is apparently making a wise move right now. Maki decides to take a moment to do the same as well, since being as focused as your opponent is always a good thing.
COMBATSYS: Maki focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Maki
Sakura could definitely be more focused than she is now, that's for sure! But she has to make do with what she's got. And what she's =got=... is Hadoukens! It's pretty well-documented that the schoolgirl has tons of variants on Ryu's plain-vanilla specialty -- and Maki stands a pretty fair chance of seeing quite a few of them now as Kasugano's just a little bit spooked about coming anywhere =near= kicking range of the quick ninja! So while Maki prefers to keep her range, Kasugano narrows her eyes. Tricky ninjas...
And then curls her hands to one side, lighting them full of the brilliant, cerulean-blue energy, forming a blast almost twice as large as the last, only to send it rocketing Maki's way! "HADOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Sakura's Large Hadouken.
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Sakura 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Maki
Apparently, keeping a clear mind is what really helps in a fight, and that clear mindedness helps Maki to dodge Sakura's large hadouken. It may have been big, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And that's why Maki chose to avoid it rather than take it head-on. She shakes her head at Sakura and says, "Your focus wasn't enough. Maybe next time you'll concentrate less on your attack and more on your opponent? Otherwise, they might take advantage of you and do something like this!" With that, Maki rushes toward Sakura and attempts to deliver a medium strike with her fist.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Maki with Shou'ou Ken.
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Sakura 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Maki
Folks quite often tell Sakura she's being too rash and headstrong in her attacking style. Only two people can really tell her such a thing without her =completely blowing her stack=, though.
Maki is not one of those people.
Needless to say, Kasugano =snaps=. "Hey, why don't you just shut up and FIGHT, okay? I don't need that kind of--" She doesn't have time to finish, though, for Maki's already closing in with a punch! The formerly-cheerful tomboy steps aside at this point, clearly intending to take the punch on the shoulder as she rushes up with an uppercut square into Maki's stomach...
But Maki's quite a bit stronger than the Taiyo student expected! She gets knocked aside quite handily before that uppercut can even land true. Once more, Sakura becomes intimately reacquainted with the boardwalk, face flattening against it.
Picking herself up, she brushes her face off with the back of her thumb. "Tch, whatever, okay? I'll fight like I *wanna* fight!" Curling her fists again, she adopts her former defensive stance. "Bring it on!" Defiant much?
Maki shakes her head at Sakura and says, "Defiance will get you nowhere, I'm afraid." She pauses for a moment as she assesses the situation, and then literally jumps into the air and rebounds off one of the ropes, aiming to deliver a flying kick at Sakura!
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Hassou Kyaku from Maki with Midare Zakura.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Maki
Maki sees the moment and delivers a kick aimed at Sakura's head while yelling, "Hassou Kyaku!"
Au contraire! Defiance gets Sakura lots of things -- just not in this particular fight! Sakura, already shaken beyond belief at her inability to avoid Maki's attacks, second-guesses herself yet again as she sees Maki hurtling towards her. She thinks she can nail the blonde as she nears, hoping to tag her with another uppercut -- but she's unfortunately mistaken yet again, taking the kick squarely in the shoulder, and flying back into the tension barriers!
She takes out a trio of the things, knocking them all over, but she isn't about to mind that just now. Kasugano's hurt, and her pride has been all but stomped upon! But she's not going to let down her fans! Curling her fists up yet again, she springs back to her feet. "Hey, c'mon now... I'm still standing! Is that the best you've got?" She's a bit ticked off, but she forms a smile just the same! "I still got somethin' to show you!"
Actually... she probably doesn't.
Maki realizes that the girl is still trying to fight in spite of her wounded condition, and while Maki would consider this to be a feint, there have been cases where people like that have been underestimated, and they find themselves getting beaten by the opponent they thought they had taken care of. As a result, Maki carefully watches Sakura, waiting for her next move.
COMBATSYS: Maki focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Maki
... And... Maki totally calls Sakura's clearly-transmitted bluff, here, much to the schoolgirl's dismay. Sakura stands there waiting -- and Maki totally doesn't approach her. "I--" she stammers, narrowing her eyes at the blonde.
Sakura -hates- fighting ninjas, and it's for reasons =exactly like this=.
"Y...yeah? W...well... I'm not gonna show you unless you come closer, so... uh... yeah! So =there!="
That was quite possibly the =lamest= thing Sakura Kasugano has ever said on camera.
But she =does= start glowing a rather bright shade of blue, just the same.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Maki
Well, it looks like Sakura is focusing for something big as well, but Maki's decided that enough is enough, since she knows the girl is readying something big, and the best way to counter that is with something big of her own. Maki rushes at Sakura and then literally flies through the air at her with a powerful flying kick while she yells, "Tesshin HOU!"
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Sakura with Tesshin Hou.
- Power hit! -
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Sakura 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Maki
Sometimes, Kasugano's tendency to study her opponents' moves goes a =little= bit overboard. "Wait, how's that different from--" Partly because she's trying to associate an opponent's stated attack name with what actually happens -- and it's in the midst of =staring= at Maki's kick that she somehow =doesn't remember to get out of the way=.
At least this kick hits her soundly in the sternum rather than anywhere else she's been nailed any number of times! The Taiyo student's heart skips a beat as she flies backwards, time all but freezing as she hovers, weightlessly considering what just happened. It'd be like a nightmare, if it didn't HURT so frickin' much!
But no, reality keeps continuing on without any lost time -- Sakura finds herself deposited on the boardwalk yet again!
... But she's not =totally= without tricks. "... Heh..." she notes, one eye shut from the pain as she raises her hands, curling them about one another from her position flat on her back. " -- I almost forgot to show ya this!" Suddenly the ball of energy crackles with a bright flash of lightning! "Shinkuu----" And then she shoves the fireball at Maki with her last ounce of strength! "HADOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Maki
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Maki
The girl has a lot of spirit in her, Maki will give her that, and she will admit that she goes for a last ditch effort to take down Maki really impresses her. But then, just when she thinks it's all over, Sakura somehow gains an extra burst of energy as she sends the Shinkuu Haodouken from the ground towards Maki.
Maki steps out of the way casually, and shakes her head. But she does not attack, since she does not believe in striking a downed opponent. Instead, she simply focuses on waiting for Sakura's next move.
COMBATSYS: Maki focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Maki
Sakura... gets a bit fired up sometimes. Like... when she's about to do something cool. And that =could= have been cool, if it hit. But it didn't. And somehow Sakura's =still conscious= despite all that.
"Y...yeah!" She flips forward, tapping the boardwalk with her fingertips before rising -- shakily -- to her feet. "S-so... uh... what'd you think, huh? Pretty cool, right?" Her feet slide apart for stability, her fists clenching tightly once more as she renews her resolve against Maki. Blue flames ignite once more, wreathing her form as she stares defiantly back at her evasive opponent. Maybe... she just shouldn't go down without a bit =more= of a fight!
Maybe... she can stop being emo!
NAAAAAH!
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Maki
Maki sees Sakura gathering her power again, and she decides to take advantage of this to strike again, since she's up again. But she's not going to resort to anything big, just a simple quick kick that would strike in the stomach.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Sakura with Light Kick.
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Sakura 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Maki
One would think that Sakura would be prepared for a kick to the stomach. One would =certainly expect= her to be able to see it coming, considering that Maki telegraphed it pretty wildly.
One would also be wrong, as Sakura has her hands out to either side, and her stomach just hasn't been hit enough times this fight! WHAM.
But ... true to form, Sakura just won't give up! She isn't knocked down this time, as Maki seems to have been taking it easy on her! She does slide backwards along the boards, though, gritting her teeth from the pain. "H...hey, did I tick you off or something? You got all quiet on me..." But Sakura opts to give her the benefit of the doubt, charging forward with a rather blunt, yet direct, punch to the sternum! "Hyaa!"
COMBATSYS: Maki endures Sakura's Fierce Punch!
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Maki
Maki tenses herself up as she sees Sakura's punch coming at her, and even though it hits, it doesn't hit as hard as it could have. She barely stumbles backwards, and smirks at Sakura. "That was pretty good actually. And you didn't tick me off, I was just taking a slight breather." With that, Maki tries to administer a swiftly-executed throw on Sakura that won't do much damage, but it is fairly speedy.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Maki with Haru Ichiban.
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Maki 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
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Maki 0/-------/--=====|
Maki gets Sakura by her shoulders and quickly administers the throw which will send Sakura down to the ground again. Nothing fancy, just a simple quick throw.
A simple quick throw is all it takes to, uh, knock Sakura out! Yeah. The stress of... falling.
Or, truer to form, Sakura had been pushing herself way beyond her limits just by simply =standing up=, so it should come as little surprise that the fighting fangirl is out when she hits the boardwalk for the umpteenth time! ... She does =not= get up this time, though, as her eyes are quite blissfully shut at the moment.
The league official in charge of announcing walks up and shouts, after a suitable delay, "AND THE WINNER IS... MAKI GENRYUUSAI!"
Maki should be striking a victory pose and celebrating her victory, but she is not doing such a thing at all. Instead, she is rushing over to the girl she just threw down and reaching an arm out to help her up, but when she does not respond, Maki kneels down and checks for vitals. It looks like the girl is still alive, just knocked out. Still, Maki wanted to help the girl up and compliment her on such a good fight. All she can do for now is just nod in acknowledgement of her victory, and then wait for medical assistance to get to Sakura.
COMBATSYS: Maki has ended the fight here.
Log created by Sakura, and last modified on 18:50:10 02/23/2007.