Description: Yurika meets Kurow again.. This time in the field of battle. The younger brother manages to harden the musicians soft nature in battle.. For the time being.
Yurika doesn't *mean* to be a pain in the neck. But sometimes the girl just has such difficulty dealing with being seperated from her brother that lately she's been finding herself happy being about him even when he's doing 'not so nice things'(tm) to others.
But as the days move on, Yurika has found herself coming to a both delightful and alarming conclusion: That she needed her brothers help if she were going to improve in her training. Sure, fighting others helped her better what she currently knows, but a lot of her style was made up of inspiration of the younger boy.
The good news is, her cover up was that she had wanted to compare herself to Akira's level of skill. Which brings us to here and now, as it's falling toward night time and fairly deep in the woods off of Justice High campus. It would seem somehow Yurika talked Kurow into agreeing to meet her to fight tonight and there she stands, dressed in a midnight blue version of her usual attire, her hair pulled up into a large ponytail. The wanna-be is definatly ready!
Kurow has both been drilled more thoroughly on fighting and has more practical experience. He's a relatively good trainer, even if he really finds the whole business a little frustrating -- he'd rather have people train /themselves/, but Yurika's still too green for that. She doesn't have the capacity a more experienced fighter does to analyze not only an opponent's moves but their own as well -- she isn't sufficiently combatively self-aware.
He arrives in the woods in relatively short order, wearing -- well -- what he always wears. It's good enough for training, he thinks. Giving a little wave to Yurika, he says, "All right. Show me what you've learned since we last did this; come at me as though you wanted to kill me. You know I won't do any less for you." Harsh words, to say the least... but then, perhaps he just thinks that Yurika won't go anywhere near all-out on him unless he tells her that.
COMBATSYS: Yurika has started a fight here.
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Yurika 0/-------/-------|
Were this some sort of strange Manga, the moment Kurows first words are spoken, Yurika would be shown in the next panel with sparkling eyes and flowers littered all about the boarder as she cries, "Yes, dear brother!"
Oh, the days of the past, long looong gone. Instead the graceful student keeps a serious face, and nods her head. She doesn't want to be a burden, in fact she's scared to death of being a burden to her brother; she's known for a long time she'd been walking on a thin line and one wrong move could cause him to leave her. It's a frightening thing, no knowing how to tighten ones relationship.
"Yes, I understand," she replies, and straightens her mindset a bit. If anything, Yurika has always taken her fights seriously, now she has to take it to the next level. It's not as difficult as one might think, really. Her violin raised to her shoulder, the hand holding her bow raises pointer and middle fingers to her lips, eyes narrowing in concentration. It's going to be all or nothing!
COMBATSYS: Yurika focuses on her next action.
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Yurika 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yurika
Unlike Yurika, Kurow doesn't spend time putting his combat style 'together' in his head, but then, he's not training -- he's just giving Yurika an obstacle to throw herself up against. That's all he's doing, in the end -- his intent is not particularly to give her something to learn from, but rather to smack her around a little under the /pretense/ of giving her something to learn from. It keeps him from getting more frustrated with her than that -- everyone wins!
His first move is quick, direct, and to the point -- he dashes in at full speed, dropping down a little at the last possible second. His actual /move/, however, is comparatively slow -- he reaches down, and does an enormous slash in the general direction of Yurika's legs, hoping not only to hurt her but to send her tumbling down to the ground. It'll hurt, but only if it actually connects -- it's not that fast.
COMBATSYS: Yurika blocks Kurow's Circle Slash.
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Kurow 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika has learned a couple of things since their last fight, such as... Not taking uneccessary risks. But in this case, perhaps Yurika is headed toward making a poor decision. As she had remembered, Kurow starts off immedietly as overwhelming, as he rushes forward, her eyes widen a little in shock, but her body on the other hand does move. Her bow is tapped along the strings of her violin, whipped downward and comes in contact with Kurows slash attack, seeming to stop the attack dead cold for a moment.
And then like a delayed reaction, Yurika is tossed off to the side, tumbling along the grass, a terrible ache in her arm. Somehow she shakes it off, running back to Kurow and after drawing back her arm, attemps to smash her bow into Kurows chest with somehow clubbing force. Should that connect and cause him to stgger, it's followed by two more strikes, chopping toward the neck and then a final thrust into his gut.
COMBATSYS: Kurow interrupts Tragic Minuet from Yurika with Double Slash.
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Yurika
Like Yurika, Kurow meets the attack head-on, he with his claws rather than a bow -- there's just one thing that's different about the way they handle it, though. Yurika tries to be defensive, and parry -- Kurow is all vicious aggression, as he powers through the strike at his chest with a swipe that ends up glancing off Yurika's arm, then another much deeper tear with the other arm aimed for his sister's stomach.
"Your instincts aren't bad," Kurow says, "but you're weak! You're afraid -- you don't /push/, you just defend!" he scolds, saying, "When someone comes at you, it's not enough to throw something between you and the assault -- you have to take a little initiative!" And that's never been her strong suit, he thinks -- she's never been one for initiative. It's not the worst thing, though, at least for Kurow -- it makes her easier to control.
Even if it's a small one, compliments mean all to the world for Miss Kirishima. But the rest of the comments, while they hold true, she's uncertain how to respond. At least, uncertain verbally. The two slashes, all too familiar to her, land swift and hard, sending her twisting into the air frmo the impact and as she lands on her back with a grunt, she immedietly favors her hand onto her tummy as she raises up to a knee.
"I- I'm sorry," Yurika says, full aware of her weakness. But she's also aware it's too difficult for her to overcome so.. How can she work *with* it? Pain in her eyes, Yurika comes at Kurow again, and hops slightly into the air. It looks like she's going to fall short of Kurow, however she leaps off of seemingly nothing to flip over the assassin. And as she does so, she strikes at the back of his neck, the moment she lands is followed by a jab right at the small of Kurows spine.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Yurika's Medium Strike.
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Yurika
This one's much easier for Kurow to dodge -- he ducks and tumbles forward, not letting Yurika get him in the back -- her attack is good, but he's fast. "Part of the problem here is that really, you're outclassed," Kurow says; part of this is to encourage Yurika to do better, of course. The other part is merely to assert his dominance over her -- he's better. He knows this; he wants her to know it, too.
"What you need to work on primarily is speed -- strength is a secondary thing. If you're really having trouble, go for something quick -- even if it'll just glance off, if you're personally fast enough, you can give them the death of a thousand cuts." Speaking of a thousand cuts, Kurow steps in and starts slashing at Yurika repeatedly this time, indeed going for a myriad of glancing blows at different angles.
COMBATSYS: Yurika dodges Kurow's Fierce Strike.
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Kurow 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Yurika
This time no apologies, lips sealed tightly, Yurika gives a nod of her head. This is almost like how her training had went in the past as far as she remembers, it makes her feel warm inside, despite the complexity the relationship actually is for her. Because despite his words being.... Helpful? He's not holding back in the least, there's no doubt in her mind he's looking to end this quickly, and probably very painfully.
Speed defensivly at least doesn't seem to be a problem, with the repeated slashes thrown her way, Yurika sways this way and that, just barely dodging each blow that ends up cutting at her dress instead. She wanted to stay close, but eventually she's forced to leap upward and make distance between the two, landing atop one of the trees bare branches. It looks like the fight is being taken to the sky, her breathing picking up as she lowers her brows in concentration again.
COMBATSYS: Yurika focuses on her next action.
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Kurow 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Yurika
Kurow smiles as he sees Yurika weave out of the way of his attack -- this is good. She won't do it again, but it's a good sign -- he's always been fast, and having her evade him says much about her ability -- and her potential. If she could focus that, make it repeatable, quantify it... it might be enough. What he doesn't like, however, is the fact that she so often takes time to concentrate -- and moreover, she doesn't spend it doing the right things.
"Not bad," Kurow says, "but you don't want to spend so much time on analyzing your opponent! Make it second nature to do so -- do it on the fly!" He takes a series of long steps toward her, going in again for a quicker attack, something she'll have a harder time pulling out of the way of. He takes a quick swipe with one hand to get her off her balance, then -- if he's lucky -- proceeds to dig his claws into her back and slam her down toward the ground. He fights the same with her as anyone else; the fact they're related doesn't enter in.
COMBATSYS: Yurika dodges Kurow's Double Slash.
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Kurow 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika cringes slightly, Kurow is again right- In a fight like this, it isn't a very big advantage for her to keep stalling and figuring out her situation. How does her brother do it?
No, this time she's got to figure out her own way. Her eyes seem to narrow, as Kurow attempts another slash not only does she leap upward to evade the first strike, there's nothing for him to grab with the second because she's standing on his arm!
Somehow portraying herself light as a feather, she completely disrupts that vision by hopping off, and jabbing the toe of her black mary-janes at Kurows throat as she leaps to the side and drop to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Kurow with Light Kick.
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Yurika
Yurika's really getting vicious. This brings a smile to Kurow's face, even as not too far below said face, a toe strikes his trachea. This could easily crush the trachea of a lesser man, but for Kurow it's just a glancing wound. "You're getting faster," he chokes out, trying to clear his airway a little -- it shows, and he's a little raspy. "You're really improving." His tone is faintly grudging, but it's probably covered up by the rasp factor.
His main tactic seems to have switched from 'put her down quickly' to 'put her down reliably,' which is arguably the better method -- this time, he just goes for a quick swipe toward her with his claws shortly after she lands. This is better in almost all respects than any other training round he can remember. She hasn't surpassed him, but she's becoming stronger -- which is, of course, exactly what Kurow wants, in the end.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Yurika with Weapon Jab.
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Kurow 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Yurika
The tactic shift doesn't go unnoticed by Yurika, but it doesn't ease the pressure off of her in the least, if anything it just adds more to the situation. But while his are faster, her own strikes are more surgical in targeting.
She tries to fight it, but the small, somewhat creepy smile she had been trying to hide starts to form from Kurow's comment, which is quickly wiped away when the strike she was trying to knock away from herself from meets its mark, slashing across her ribs and the dark material darkens. Yurika staggers a bit offbalance, wincing in pain, then raises her bow toward her instrument as she somehow manages to press forward instead of hanging back again.
The bow sweeps over the strings, playing a pleasent melody that unleashes anything but pleasent power, as her bow sweeps to the side, the music takes physical form, a ring of notes fly toward her brother, in an attempt to return the favor by cutting him across the chestand stomach. Yes, with sound.
COMBATSYS: Yurika successfully hits Kurow with Tragic Serenade.
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Kurow 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yurika
Kurow tries again to pull himself out of the way, to remove himself from the attack's path, but it's to no avail -- the musical notes knock into him, and he gets pretty soundly smashed. "Yes -- keep that up!" he says, smiling. "But at the same time, you can't let your guard down..." He considers his options -- a fairly significant amount of power has built up in him now, and he has two options if he wants to use it to overextend.
He picks the more conservative one. Stepping close to Yurika but not getting all the way into her face, Kurow rips his hand through the air. For a second, nothing happens... but a second later, Yurika may meet with an all too familiar tactic, as a column of whirling chi-blades whips up from beneath her, carrying her into the air and slashing her all the while. If it connects, all Kurow has to do for a second or two is stand there and smile.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Yurika with Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Yurika
"Very well," Yurika finally comments, almost as if she's even expecting what's to come next. The prissy student in a slightly defensive position with her bow to instrument, her hair blows back from Kurows strike, causing her to blink at first in confusion, but then she remembers.
It's just unfortunate that she remembers a half a second too late rather than a quarter of a second, the razor like chi effortlessly carries into the air, and proceeds to deliver a nightmare of cuts and slashes, in short she is torn up in a way that can only be seen as artistic by the most sadistic of individuals. Yet no cries or yelps pass her lips, even as she smacks into the tree nearest her with her back and collapses to the ground face first, pillowing up a small cloud of fallen leaves.
And upon closer inspection, all that's laying in the fallen spot is her cut up and blood stainded dress, Yurika standing presumably at Kurows blind spot, adorn in the black catsuit worn underneath, that's similarly nearly shredded, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. But she's exhausted, she's in so much pain that she can't deliver her final blow without a noticable amount preperation, but she's determined to somehow take Kurow down with her.
Bow raised to her violin, another melody is played as she leaps up into the air, the string of musical notes following her technique that, should it hit, similarly lifts Kurow into the air while assuaulting his body with slicing force. But toward the peak of it's execution, the girl spins out of the air and crashes back to the ground like a downed airplane.
COMBATSYS: Yurika can no longer fight.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kurow fails to interrupt Fatal Rondo from Yurika with Circle Slash.
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
Kurow steps in as Yurika lands in a heap, expecting her to just be done -- but naturally, he's not quite that lucky. When she goes in for her fial assault, sending a string of musical notes around her and lifting the both of them up into the air, he tries to just cut her out of it with a whirling slash that would send her flying like before... but he isn't fast enough. She's much, much faster than he is for a second, and he's hit with note after note after note.
It's not enough to take him down, though, and whereas she crashes down, he just lands neatly on his feet, beaten and a little bloody but not that bad off. "... Good," he says. "You're learning how to be more vicious. Soon you'll be past what I can teach you -- the biggest thing you could stand to work on is probably raw physical power. You're just not strong enough." He braces himself on a tree, panting -- this took a lot out of him.
COMBATSYS: Kurow has ended the fight here.
The musician can hear Kurow quite quickly, but is just in so much pain she can't even respond properly at first, hoarse coughs escaping her throat as she raises her dirt stained face from the ground.
She's good with her weapons, but even still she's left with food for thought. Unlike in her previous matches, she's actually learned from this defeat, painful as it was, and after a moment, finally utters a, "thank you." She doesn't pass out or anything, but it will take her some time to get up, having not really learned any sort of 'neenja vanish' tricks. But wow. Yes, that was quite a pain train.
Log created by Yurika, and last modified on 15:49:03 04/26/2007.