Description: At Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Shen and Sakura slug it out for a spot in the World Warrior tournament. It's like they brought punch and pie BUT THEY'RE ALL OUTTA PIE. (Winner: Shenwoo)
"The Great Barrier Reef is home to a diverse population of unusual creatures, many of which are vulnerable or endangered. For today, though, the only endangered species in this Australian coral reef system is humanity! Two specimens are gathered here for possible extinction upon our observation walk today... In this corner... we have a young schoolgirl from Japan. But not just any schoolgirl -- she's a member of the winning King of Fighters 2005 team, the Rising Dragons... Miss SAKURA KASUGANOOO!"
The announcements get old after a while. Sakura doesn't even hear the individual words any more, so used to being in the spotlight. But that's not to say the Southtown native doesn't enjoy the attention -- nor relish it! Once her name is called, the subject rushes out to the boardwalk, waving cheerily to the number of tour boats gathered to observe the fighting festivities at a safe and comfortable distance!
The Land Down Under is in the prime of summer; the midafternoon sun coupled with a light breeze -- setting the colored flags of the 'arena' and Sakura's skirt and headband swishing into motion -- makes for perfect weather. No blaming the poor fight conditions for the outcome of this battle!
Sakura motions enthusiastically to the onlookers, pumping her fist in an attempt to get the crowd fired up! "Yeaaaah!" She glances over to the opposite side of the boardwalk; she can't help but smile knowing her opponent likes fighting almost as much as she does -- if not more!
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-------|
See, while crazy multi-fighter matchups with elaborate rules and all that jazz are fun... To Shenwoo, there's nothing quite like a straight up, one on one match. No teammates to get in the way, no having to worry about anything aside from the skill of the person you're facing directly. It's classic for a /reason/, you know?
Anyway, the brawler from Shanghai might not have quite as impressive a resume - having never /competed/ in a King of Fighters tournament, much less been on the winning team - but he's looking to start changing all that today. The wind moves the tall, lean young man's unbuttoned shirt and his messy blond hair in the same way as the multicolored flags, while he pulls his leather gloves tighter, dark eyes watching his opponent, and a wide, wolfish grin on his face. Oh, he /knows/ Sakura's strong, which makes him anticipate the fight all the more
"And in this corner," continues the announcer. "Her opponent, from the mean streets of Shanghai, China. He calls himself the 'God of Battle', and lets his fists do the rest of the talking... SHENWOO!"
For his part, Shen just looks in the direction of the nearest speaker, and gives it the /oddest/ look. What the hell? "You ready to do this, Sakura?" the brawler asks, looking over at his opponent. Slipping into his casual boxing stance, leading with his right, he extends his right arm and turns his fist to give the fighting schoolgirl a nice thumbs down. Oh no, dissed! "Don't feel too bad when you lose, huh?"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura likes putting on a good show for the audience! And the =best= way for her to do that, she feels, is just kicking butt, one-on-one!
Kasugano grins back at Shenwoo as he strides out, mocking her relentlessly! She simply rolls her shoulders back, crossing her arms over once another with a smirk. "Heh, same to you! 'Cuz I don't plan on losing!" She extends her pointing finger at Shenwoo, still grinning up a storm: "Get your swimsuit ready, Shen, cuz you're goin' for a swim!"
Sakura likes to trash-talk, but no one ever said she was any good at it. But she =is= good at fighting, and there's independent verification there... even if her opening moves leave quite a bit to be desired. Once the announcer shouts "FIGHT!" -- y'know, the only word Sakura even listens for any more -- the schoolgirl takes off like a rocket, tearing off toward Shenwoo with a raging punch to the sternum! "HYAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Shenwoo with Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Sakura
That is indeed a raging punch. Shenwoo sees it coming a mile off, so telegraphed it is, but... His overconfidence doesn't really pay off, as the tall blond man tries to lazily slip out of the way at the last moment, and instead he gets punched in the sternum. "Keh," coughs the brawler, stumbling back - good punch! - but he's certainly not done yet. In fact, his grin doesn't falter for more than a moment, before he takes a step back.
"Hey now," Shen says, shaking his head. "Here, lemme show you how that's done." Just what he means by that is going to become immediately obvious, as he lunges right at Sakura, twisting to throw his beringed left fist forward in a rushing punch of his own, aimed right at the girl's sternum in turn. "GRAAAH!!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Sakura with Gekiken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura's opening moves don't =normally= connect, as they're more intended to get her up close, and test the opponent's defenses. So when she =lands=, she's rather surprised! Pulling her fist back, she can't help but grin. "Hee!"
Of course Shenwoo has his =own= retaliation in mind, and suffice to say Shenwoo packs a whee bit more of a punch than Sakura can! The girl's padded handguards flick up to block the move, but they're a split-second too late to prevent Shen's fist from slamming into her! And... well, she flies back a few feet. She's quite a bit lighter than him after all!
Sneakers squealing against the pressure-treated hardwood, she nonetheless shakes off the attack. Something like that isn't gonna put her down for the count... by itself, anyway! "Heh, I'll figure out how to punch like that some day!" she comments, dashing in close once more. But she doesn't intend to punch him this time -- rather, she'd aim to plant her hands on his shoulders, and her feet on the sternum she'd just punched -- and just =spring= backwards, making the most of her opening move! "Yut-taaah!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Shenwoo with Sailor Shoot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Sakura
This is perhaps 'one of those days'. Shenwoo stands his ground against Sakura's grab, and she kicks off all according to her plan... But the /brawler's/ plan doesn't really pan out how he'd been planning, miscalculating and end up knocked back off of his feet. Well then! "Hahaha!" he laughs, rather than getting upset or frustrated over it. Reacting like that would just be silly! But of course... He's not so easygoing as to just let the schoolgirl win with that.
"Keep it up!" Shen shouts at Sakura, getting to his feet and lunging directly at her once again, more subtle tactics generally not being his style; instead, he reaches out, trying to grab the schoolgirl by her hair, and then... Smash her face-first into the boardwalk, hard. Not much finesse, and not particularly nice either, but there's plenty of power behind it!
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Shenwoo's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura's had plenty of days like that. See also: her fight against Maki and her fights against Juli. It just happens like that. But Sakura also knows that overconfidence hurts her more than getting punched in the face.
Okay, maybe it doesn't *really* hurt more and that's just an expression. Whatever. The Taiyo student backflips away from Shenwoo, landing in a low crouch as she watches Shenwoo's reaction. "Heh..." she laughs -- his adrenaline-charged attitude is one of the reasons she has so much fun fighting him! "Okay!" But when the Shanghai brawler reaches out to grab her by the hair, Sakura... well, she jerks sharply to one side to avoid him! Her hair slips right through his fingers, so she's mostly home-free...
... except for the fact that her jerking out of his way only meant she'd planted her =own= face into the boardwalk. Doesn't hurt quite so much, as she's rolling out of it, but it's still better than having =Shenwoo= do the shoving! "A-ta-ta-ta..." she complains, tumbling twice before springing back to her feet!
Rubbing her reddened cheek, she flashes a weak smile at Shenwoo. "Well... guess it's time to get serious, huh?" The schoolgirl pulls her palms back, bathing them in a bright blue light. "Haaa..." she starts, narrowing her eyes slightly -- she's half expecting him to jump towards her! But it doesn't deter the girl from forming a brilliant blue orb of chi, nor from thrusting it forwards at him with a grin: "--HAAAADOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo dodges Sakura's Medium Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
Sometimes, it's bewildering to Shenwoo how many people out there can throw energy around like it's nothing... Of course, the brawler himself has no such skills, and really... He'd rather do things 'his way', anyway. "Too slow!" Shen calls out, not a little smugly, rolling /under/ the blast of chi, easily regaining his footing on the other side. So, it seems, he's not /completely/ helpless when people start lobbing thigns like that his way...
Continuing forward, Shenwoo aims to get right up in Sakura's face... By, once he gets closer to her, suddenly hopping off the ground, raising his knee up in an attempt to strike her right in the chin with it! "HORA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Light Kick from Shenwoo with Shou'ou Ken.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Well, it's not nothing! Sakura has to eat twice the amount of food any other Taiyo track student would just to maintain her Hadouken capabilities! That adds up, you know!
But yes. Sakura's just... extremely lucky in the chi-tossing category. It just comes naturally to her! Just like the natural reaction for her to want to punch someone in the jaw whenever they start infringin' on her personal space. She leans back as if to sock Shenwoo when he approaches, but ... heck, she never expected him to come flyin up with a KNEE. Seriously, who expects that? He's not Adon or Sagat or anyone...
Needless to say, she goes *flying* backwards from the knee strike, her back slamming up against the handrail and generally making a bit of a ruckus on the elevated boardwalk! The coral reef keepers might get mad -- but they can swallow their pride as they've already attracted more visitors from this fight than they got all last month. Whoops.
Sakura rubs her jaw, her smile vanishing for just a moment before returning in full force. She supposes she deserved that! "Heh... nice one, there!"
Landing back on his feet, Shenwoo brings his fists back up, ready, but... There goes Sakura into the railing, huh? He wasn't expecting it to work quite /that/ well! But you know... The brawler's not going to let an opportunity like that pass him by, either. "Oh... I'm just getting started!" he replies to Sakura's compliment, and then he advances again, trying to get in close before the fighting schoolgirl can properly recover, grinning from ear to ear. Uh oh.
Once he /does/ get in close, Shenwoo twists around, trying to keep Sakura trapped against the railing as he thrusts one long, black-clad leg in a straight kick right at the schoolgirl's face, with that startling speed he uses so well at times. "EAT THIS!" he shouts as he does so, and who'd have thought, two kicks in a row from a supposed 'boxer'!
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Sakura with Tenrenshou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Sakura
Normally... Sakura would be more than happy to continue charging forward, and getting right in Shenwoo's face! It's hardcore! And she knows her opponent would appreciate the tenacity! But the fact of the matter is -- she's up against the railing, and she's getting =railed= on. An attempt to bring her arms up to fend off the rapid kicks comes a split-second too late, and the schoolgirl's nose gets bloodied in the process! Brutal!
But there comes a time in every girl's life when she realizes getting socked in the face isn't a good thing, and this sort of thing has gone on far too long -- it's time for a change. And this particular time, after getting rammed in the face, Sakura swings herself out of the way, putting herself back in the middle of the walkway, and *sprints* to a good distance. Brushing the back of her hand against her nose -- it's a good thing those handguards are already red -- she meets Shenwoo's gaze with a desperate look in her eyes. She's not out, not just yet... but this fight has her on the edge. Maybe after a moment to collect her senses she'll be better off? At least... that seems to be her hope, as the girl pants for breath a few feet away.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Well... That's unexpected! Shenwoo watches Sakura take off a bit curiously, one brow arching as she tries to catch her breath. And here he would've thought she'd go straight on the attack again! And then, perhaps showing off for the camera a little, he shrugs helplessly and shakes his head with a sigh. Oh, Sakura. Whatever is he going to do with you? The answer most likely involves violence, of course... This IS Shenwoo we're talking about.
"C'mon, Sakura, you're not scared, are you?" Shen demands, before rushing foward at the girl with blurring speed, throwing his right hand out in an attempt to grab her by the throat, and lift the smaller fighter right up off the ground one-handed. "Show some more spirit!" he'll then declare, his hand squeezing the schoolgirl's esophagus with a creak of leather, before finally slamming her into the railing again.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Shenwoo's Kyakuten Touchi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Sakura
Show some spirit? ... Well, Sakura has plenty of spirit! She just needed a breather, that's all! Just a ligh-- hey, why does she need to justify herself? THIS IS A FIGHT!
Brow wrinkling as Shenwoo -- expectedly -- calls her for wussing out, the girl shakes her head. "Hey, sorry bout that, Shen..." she apologizes, wincing as he reaches out for her throat! This time, she's able to snap her left handguard into his path, letting the brawler grab her fist instead, and slam =that= into the railing instead! "Figured you needed a break from me--"
But while all that's going on, Kasugano's been holding her other hand behind her! Not that it'll be hard to see the brilliant flare of chi surging in her palm as it's easily bright enough to cast both figures into silhouette for a moment -- that is, before the Taiyo student slams that palm forward, a brilliant blossom of chi opening up right at Shenwoo's chest! "HADOOOOUKEN!" Let's see if he can dodge a point-blank blast!
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Shenwoo 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
Nowhere to go, no time to dodge... Shenwoo has to face down the enormous hadouken somehow, though, gritting his teeth against the pain as he steps /into/ the blast, getting hit full in the chest! It hurts, the energy burning and searing, but it's certainly not enough to stop the self-styled 'God of Battle'. No, as a matter of fact, this is all going according to plan... Or at least, whatever counts for a plain when it forms in the brawler's mind. He's not exactly Mr. Strategy, here.
But suddenly, there's /another/ blast of chi, a blue-white shockwave of energy that envelops Shenwoo before the hadouken has even finished dissipating, centered directly on the berserker's left fist as he suddenly moves with all the speed and power he can muster, attacking Sakura at point-blank in return, his fist and the energy focused there blurring towards the schoolgirl's face. "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" he roars, because what good is a bid goddamn punch if you don't shout when you do it?
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Sakura with Zetsu Gekiken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|=======\=======\1 Sakura
Oddly enough, Sakura -expected- the berserker to run smack dab into her point-blank Hadouken. She's fought him plenty of times, and out of the possible options... she kinda figured he'd prefer jumping right through it to any of the other options!
But knowing that there's a freight train about to run over the tracks you're crossing matters little if you haven't the ability to get out of the way. Such is Sakura's face, in the way of Shenwoo's freight-train fist! Her face hurt before -- but it's *nothing* compared to the impact of the Shanghai brawler's ultimate attack. Kasugano's arms and legs flail uselessly to either side as she goes flying down the wooden walkway! Bouncing once, twice, then thrice, she finally thumps to a stop a good hundred yards away, shaking her head dizzily. That... is some serious pain.
"Now I know how Yuri felt..." she mumbles, reaching up and rubbing her nose, hoping it can stop its merry gushing of blood. Kinda distracting, that! But it wouldn't be World Warrior if there was no work for Nintendo of America's motherly censoring board to do. Drawing in a deep breath, Kasugano curls her fists... and starts walking back to Shenwoo. She knows she could collapse at any moment... but she has a long walk ahead of her, after all! "Is that all you GOT?!" she hollers back, before spitting a nicely-sized gob of blood into the reef. That'll make the reef-keepers happy, right?
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|=======\=======\1 Sakura
Man... Sakura really must be light, to get blasted back so far! Shenwoo rebounds from the impact of his own strike, but he only goes back a few feet... Certainly not the impressive distance the schoolgirl bumped and rolled along the boardwalk. That... Looked like it probably hurt, you know? So while the schoolgirl makes the trek back, Shen straightens up, and tugs his gloves tight again, making sure they're just right. It'd be pretty annoying if they slipped too much during the fight, after all.
"What, you want another one? Geez, you're tougher'n you look, Sakura... 'cause you look like you're about to fall over!" Shenwoo calls back to her goading, raising his hand to beckon her onwards. "Come on, gimme your best shot! Show me the power of a King of Fighters winner!" As it happens, he's been burning the candle at both ends over here... So he's actually taking advantage of the chance to catch his breath too. How unusual of him to not just charge in headlong!
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Sakura
Unusual indeed! ... Though, all things considered, Sakura's glad for these moments of respite! Even if it does screw with her hastily-formed strategy for the moment. (Fat lot of good it's done her!)
But even still, she can't help but talk trash back to Shenwoo after =that=. "Yeah? Well, maybe I am!" ... Not her best moment, but she has been majorly hit in the head a few times. "But yeah, don't worry! Just 'scuse me if I don't get all up in your face though." She wrinkles her nose, sniffling with a most distasteful sound as she curls her hands to one side, a familiar blue glow forming in her hands. "When was the last time you took a shower, anyway?"
And then the girl just throws caution to the wind, her proto-fireball tossed to the winds as she leaps forward in a drop kick! ... Though she's aiming to miss! She's actually going to try and clothesline Shenwoo around the neck for a flying lariat takedown! "WHOOOOOOO!" Talk about breaking expectations...
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Shenwoo with Strong Throw.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Shenwoo 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Sakura
So, Shenwoo really saw this whole thing going differently in his head, you know? This was not at all in his plan. With the girl rushing at him, he gets ready, but it seems her sudden changes in apparent tactics put him off balance enough that he's soon smashed hard into the boardwalk, his head bouncing once. And yeah... He totally saw Sakura's panties there, but by now, who /hasn't/?
"Hahahahaha!!" laughs Shenwoo from his position on the ground, apparently finding that... Totally hilarious? He keeps right on laughing, loudly, as he sits up, rubbing his neck, and then very suddenly lunges /right at Sakura/, trying to tackle the fighting schoolgirl to the ground if she's not there already, and then punch her in the head a few times. "Ha ha ha ha ha!!" the berserker keeps laughing as he attempts to totally violate Ralf's copyrights.
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to counter Saikouhou-Geki from Shenwoo with Haru Ichiban.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|
They're GYM SHORTS! Gym shorts. Geez.
At least she got points for effort there! And the fanservice, but obviously that didn't help =too= much. The fact of the matter is... she hit him! And she springs back to her feet afterwards.
It's funny, now, is it? Sakura laughs a bit nervously, for when Shenwoo leaps back up, she really doesn't know what to expect! She does drop low to the ground, and even starts to glow a bit blue in the process -- but what she didn't know is that Shen was gonna tackle her to the ground anyway. Whoops.
WHAM, WHAM, WHAM. Let's review, class! Punch to the nose + Zetsu! Gekiken to the head + Several punches to the head = OMG PAIN. Moreover, with Sakura being held down, there's nowhere to run! The blue aura fades out with each successive hit... but really and truly, she's taken way too much of a beating to stay conscious through all that! Seems Shen was right about her condition, after all!
"And the winner is... Shenwoo!"
Gym shorts, panties, whatever; the point is, Sakura should really try fighting in pants or something! Though that would probably cost her that legion of fanboys around the world. Shenwoo, of course, has forever earned that fanbase's enmity for straddling Sakura like that. Not to mention punching her in the head a lot. When Sakura ends up unconscious, and the brawler ends up declared the winner, he can finally relax a little; he slips off of his KOed opponent, and sits back on the boardwalk beside her, propping himself up with his arms while he tries to catch his breath.
"Heh," laughs Shen, looking down at the unconscious Sakura. "As usual, you're tough to fight. That was fun!" The fact that he gets to advance in the tournament and fight some more strong people, well, that's just icing on the cake!
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has ended the fight here.
Log created by Shenwoo, and last modified on 02:37:50 03/01/2007.