Description: Hotaru and Joe's ongoing sequence of grudge matches continue in this Birthday Bash!
'Don't worry Joe, what's the worst that could happen?' Even though she had said it with that beaming smile of hers, Joe Higashi couldn't shake the fact that there was something ominous about Lilly's words that morning. He didn't want to be here, doing this, but what choice did he have? All of his money was locked up in accounts while his accountant was under investigation for being a big flaming moron. This left Joe with barely any cash to live with, and he wasn't about to ask Lilly for help. The past few weeks have been spent doing random exhibition matches with anyone and everyone who would pay him some money. Some of them had been fun, a few of them interesting, and at least one of them had been totally humiliating. Last week he'd spent his afternoon in the local Circuit Buy, promoting some sort of sale while a little girl pounded the crap out of him. When he woke up, Lilly had bandaged most of his head out of concern and most of his paycheck for the fight had been eaten up by damages. Ah well, at least he got a stereo out of it! However, he didn't think this week's fight was going to have such a happy ending.
This week he was doing an exhibition match for a client at Lilly's laundry business. Joe didn't know anything about them, but he knew it was a bad idea as soon as Lilly described the job to him, but he had bills to pay! So here he was, in the middle of little Johnny Preston's 10th birthday party, one-half of the main event of the day. He didn't know who his opponent was going to be, but he hoped that their outfit wasn't nearly as horrifying as his. For some reason, Johnny's parents didn't think that real fighters should be at their son's birthday party, but after some kicking, screaming, crying and general asshattery, they gave into their son's demands after putting in a condition of their own. The fighters had to be fully costumed in something a bit less offensive.
So here Joe Higashi stands, in the middle of a raging birthday party for some brat who's currently throwing cake frosting at the girls while screaming 'Cooties!'. His outfit for the day? A giant raccoon outfit, completely with large, unwieldy tail, and too big head precariously balanced on his shoulders. It was horrible, demeaning to everything he had ever worked for, but at least it paid really well and he could be totally anonymous in here. However, the torment didn't stop there. Today's fighting ring was a little unorthodox, but when someone is paying you that many zeros for a birthday party, one does not argue when the fight is taking place in a giant inflatable castle that all the kids are currently using to jump around in. Joe waves a sad paw to Lilly as he begins shooing the little rats from the castle, "Come on. Get out already! It's time for the show you little animals! Go sit down outside and pay attention!"
Lilly beams brightly at Joe, he was really quite adorable in his little raccoon suit! She waves back happily, knowing that this couldn't possibly be nearly as dangerous as some of the previous matches Joe had taken on. Although the costume idea seemed a bit iffy, it only served to ease Lilly's concern, knowing full well anyone fighting in costumes like that couldn't possibly do much damge to anything, right? Well, that was the hope anyhow. She calles to Joe, "Do your best! Your look great!"
When Hotaru had received the invitation in the mail, it had taken her a only a few seconds to remember the Prestons. A charming, well-to-do family with ties to some big businesses in China, their home had not been far from the Futaba estate the girl spent many of her years growing up in. Mr. and Mrs. Preston were friends of her parents, and while they never had children exactly her own age, Hotaru could at least remember Johnny from back then... of course everyone called him JJ at the time, for Johnny Junior, named after his father. The invitation brought back memories the girl wasn't sure she wanted to reflect on for long, and at first her inclination was to ignore it. Going to the party might involve her having to explain about her mother's death, her father and brother's abandonment... It really didn't sound like much fun at all. But then she got to the last paragraph, explaining their very specific request in how she should attend and she couldn't help but reconsider. It was thoughtful of them to think of a way for her to have fun at a younger kid's party after all, the least she could do was go along with it.
The costume shopping was quite the experience and not something she had ever actually done before. She had explained she wanted something that provided some protection, and she was shown aisles of suits of leather armor that would be great if she was going to a dominatrix party, but that weren't really what she had in mind. She asked for a something kids might like, and was shown a costume cake, complete with a candle hat with a burnable wick, but it didn't look like something that would hold up in a fight, nor did the fire hazard factor seem like a good idea to her.
When Hotaru's eyes came to rest on the perfect costum for her, she knew it immediately. Thus it is that the girl shows up at the party dressed in a full-sized bunny suit, half-off the price due to Easter Clearance! The suit is all white, except the pink inside of the perky ears that flop unnaturally about as Hotaru moves. It looks a bit big on her, making it quite a sad, saggy bunny, but she doesn't seem to mind. Her first stop at the party is to talk to the parents, and that's what she's doing while Joe shoos the kids out of the inflatable stage. Mrs. Preston mentions the racoon is quite the crank and she's not sure that it has been worth the money to have him here, but Mr. Preston waves it off with a laugh, commenting that watching the children abusing the guy is worth every penny. Hotaru, meanwhile, walks toward the castle, trying to get rid of the foam carrot that is velcro'd to the white fluffy mits she has on. Unfortunately, prying the stupid thing from one hand just means it is stuck to the other hand. Eventually she just waves her hand rapidly to try and shake it loose, only to have it fly up and stick to the side of her arm where she can't even reach due to the constraints of the suit. Oh well, she tells herself as she tries to step onto the castle. It's all in good fun anyway. The identity of her opponent is a complete m
The identity of her opponent is a complete mystery, that detail never came up.
The inflatable, bouncing castle was almost clear, Joe was trying to usher the last little girl out, but she was having none of that! The little rugrat would run left whenever Joe would reach right, and she was constantly circling around him to pull on the big, fluffy raccoon tail, which would then throw Joe off-balance, eliciting another high pitched giggle from the girl. For all he knew, this could very well be his opponent for the afternoon, she certainly was enough of a pain in the ass. Joe finally grabbed the little hellion by the shoulders and picked her up, kicking and screaming. He sets the girl down right outside just in time to see a giant bunny walking up to the castle. Seeing someone in an even more ridiculous costume made Joe feel a little better about being dressed as a giant woodland creature... a little.
Joe tries to give his opponent a thumbs up, but the giant furry paw doesn't exactly have opposable anything, so all he does is wave like a complete buffoon before stumbling back into the castle, teetering back and forth as the empty inflatable ring tosses him back and forth. It was bad enough having to fight in this giant suit, but having to do it while bouncing around in this stupid ring was going to make it even worse. He'll be lucky to even hit the other guy! With a heavy sigh, Joe adjusts his big, furry paws and waits for the bunny to enter the castle of death. As he's watching the bunny fight the evil velcro carrot, another child sneaks back into the castle, its horrible bouncing sending Joe tumbling forward in surprise. "Augh! Dammit!" Joe Higashi, with all his dignity still intact, spends the next minute or two chasing a six year old around once more.
COMBATSYS: Joe has started a fight here.
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Joe 0/-------/-------|
In the near distance to the assembled Birthday Party, a pair of young women wanders along one of the beautiful paths in the park. Having recently meandered in from Chinatown, Elena chitchats at length with her compatriot, Arika.
However, the Kenyan pauses in mid-speech.. rich blue eyes immediately moving over to the joyous party at large. Certainly the merriment earns a smile on it's own.. But the giant Raccoon and Rabbit are more than enough to pause her wanderings. Wordlessly signalling Arika to wait and watch, she settles her hands on her sides. Hmm.. That Rabbit seems to be moving with a familiar stride.. Perhaps someone she knows?
An 'appointment' indeed.. Hee! How very Lewis Carroll!
Getting into the castle seemed like an easy enough proposition at first, but Hotaru ends up finding it to be tricker than anticipated. "Ano," she mumbles to herself as she tries to find the lowest point of entry. In the end though, the best she can do is just sort've jump forward and flop face down on the inflated flooring. From there, she's able to push herself back into a standing position, having successfully entered the 'arena'. When the bunny hat is in perfect alignment, she can see somewhat out of its permanently gaping maw through a black screen. "People at the fair make this look a lot eaiser than it is," she comments cheerfully enough toward her tanooki-tailed opponent. That is until he starts carrying on though and she finally takes a closer look at him for the first time, "What's this? M-Mister Joe?" she stammers from behind her suffocating rabbity helmet, one ear flopping down over an unblinking eye. The girl spends the next several seconds trying to figure out how the fates could have possibly conspired to bring the two of them together again here, one week since their last unintended match.
Right down the bloody rabbit hole, or so it would seem. Figuratively at least. Not spying any odd tea parties or queens screaming 'OFFFF with your head!', Arika simply nods to her companion. A single eyebrow is quirked up at the entire scene, and while she feels somewhat out of place in the mixture of children and bouncing castles, she's been in far more awkward situations. Hands cross over her chest as she drinks in the surroundings and tries her best not to snicker at the costumed people.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Joe
The final child is handed off to a helpful parent finally, allowing Joe to wobble carefully to the opposite side of the ring from the rabbit, who seems to have just said his name! Oh man, how did they know who he was already? His hands quickly begin moving to each part of his costume making sure it's all intact. He adusts the giant head to facilitate his sight and then strikes a pose, his left hand on his hip and his right pointing to the sky at nothing at all. His voice booms out over the gathered audience as he tries to make it sound deeper and more dramatic than normal. "Who is this Joe you speak of rabbit?! Surely you recognize me, for I am Tom Tanuki, the most Magical Raccoon in this 'forest'!" His hands change positions with his left hand now pointing at nothing at all. "It is good that you have finally rabbit, for I have decided to show my true power to the gathered children!" He puts both hands on his hips and begins to laugh, which causes the entire costume to shake, making it look like some sort of horrible spasm.
Hopefully that speech was enough to throw the rabbit off his trail. It just wouldn't do for it to get out that Joe Higashi was fighting on the Birthday Party League. Without really thinking about it, Joe launches immediately into his signature move, which is sure to give away his identity to anyone watching. He steps forward and wobbles from side to side as he ducks down in the raccoon suit, his right arm dipping low to bring the giant, furry paw up in a horribly violent uppercut! With the rabbit still standing four feet away, no one is in any immediate danger, especially since that signature whirlwind never appears. Joe just stands there, hand raised to the sky in mid-uppercut, waiting for the WHOOSH that never comes. "Well... then. With the ceremonial uppercut out of the way. Let's get started." He steps back slightly before leaping forward, his right paw coming up in a powerful, but soft and fluffy, punch!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Joe's Strong Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Joe
Tom Tanuki? Oh dear, no one told Hotaru that there was a play script to go along with the play fight. She's never had much success with pre-memorized lines to begin with, which means she'll have to make it up as she goes! "Tom Tanuki, I, Becky Bunny, have come on behalf of all the children who believe this castle should be theirs." She rests a furry mit at her waist and wags her other hand at Joe. "The children tell me that you've chased them all away and I have come to deliver a helping of justice for your misdeeds!" Hotaru nods her head once in affirmation, feeling pretty good about this. Well, inside she does. On the outside, the rabbit head just slips forward some and stays there, giving her a permanent view of the floor through its mouth. Erk. Bringing up both hands to try and steady the hat, Hotaru steps off to the side just in time to miss Joe's incoming strong paw. The girl stumbles some as the unstable inflatable floor rocks beneath Joe's movement. It's all she can do to flail her arms to regain her balance, kicking out one leg to offset the direction she's starting to tip in.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Light Kick.
Glancing Blow
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Joe
The children have erupted into cheers after Hotaru's speech, which ticks Joe off just a little bit. How did he suddenly get turned into the castle snatching bad guy here? That's just not fair! Thankfully, his opening punch would put that stupid rabbit in its place, or at least try to. Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out as planned, and while Joe was trying to figure out where the rabbit had disappeared to when she 'dodged' to the side, the sudden movement of both parties had made their footing unstable. Joe starts hopping to the right on one leg just as Hotaru's leg comes up from her own stumbling, barely striking him in the side. The contact sends Joe stumbling into the inflated walls of the castle, his giant raccoon head twisting around from the impact. He pushes off of the wall a little harder than he should have an is sent stumbling back towards the rabbit, his head twisted around to the side, obscuring his vision completely. "You'll pay for your treachery Becky! Pay with your precious carrots!"
The kids were roaring with cheers and laughter, and even the parents couldn't help but laugh at the clumsy pair as they stumbled into each other ineffectively. In Joe's plan, his next attack was supposed to be a spectacular kick to the mid-section, but The Plan had already taken a wrong turn when the tanuki suit became involved. So rather than his powerful kick to that damn rabbit's stomach, Joe 'Tom Tanuki' Higashi stumbles backwards blindly towards Hotaru as he begins to lose his balance and fall backwards!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Joe's Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Joe
The Champion of the Children gets her balance thanks to the support provided by Joe's proximity. Her rabbit hat now properly repositioned, balance restored, Hotaru is once again ready for the play to continue! But then he has to go and make threats like that, "Hey... leave my carrots out of it," she replies, sounding somewhat hurt by Tom's implied bullying tactics. She'll show him! ... Whenever he gets done bouncing off the walls that is. As he stumbles back toward her, his twisted racoon head making him look like some kind of zombie road kill coming back for revenge, Hotaru simply crouches down, covering her own furry head with her paws, allowing Joe to bounce off the wall above her. Standing back up, keeping her footing this time, she glares back at the the villainous tanooki. "I don't know what you think you're doing, twisting your head around, but it isn't very funny making fun of dead racoons like that," she scolds. From the outside, the chiding comes from the vapid, always happy face of the bunny, both ears now having assumed a rest position right over the staring eyes. Marching over toward Joe from behind, she prepares to manipulate his limbs in order to force him into a tumble, using his own awkward suit to her advantage. But with the paw mits, all she can really accomplish is trying to shove him right over. "Hmph!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Strong Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Joe
The Horribly Evil Tom Tanuki finally stumbles backwards into a fairly stable standing position just in time for that damned bunny to come up and shove him right in the chest. He doesn't stumble backwards this time, instead he just falls flat on his back where he stands. The shove itself doesn't hurt, but the way his head bounces around the giant cartoon raccoon head leaves a few cuts and scrapes on Joe's relatively healed face. It takes a few moments for Joe to figure out how to stand up from this position, which gives the audience a good long show of his arms and legs flailing above him like some poor turtle who has been turned over onto his shell. Eventually Joe finally pulls himself up into a crouch right in front of his arch-nemesis, Becky Bunny.
"I was hoping to solve this in a friendly manner, but you had to go and shove a raccoon around some didn't you?" The children boo loudly at Tom's threats, some of them having moved right up to the edge of the castle for a better seat for the altercation. "Well that's it Becky! No more Mr. Nice Tanuki!" Joe pushes up from his crouch quickly then, his left leg propelling him upwards as his furry, right knee comes upwards in a strike! "Tiger Kick!" is what he shouts out loudly, which confuses the heck out of the entire audience. Why is a raccoon shouting something about tigers? Either way, the children only boo even louder. Isn't he great with kids?
COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Tiger Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Joe
Becky Bunny, for all her ire, still can't bring herself to kick a racoon while he's down. So she just waits. And waits. Foot tapping impatiently as Joe flails uselessly for a long moment. After a while she starts to fidget, glancing back toward the kids with that insipidly happy rabbit hat with what looks like it might have been some kind of stiff shrug. Maybe she should help him back up so this can continue...
But Tom finally gets to his feet with a vengeance, his rising knee connecting solidly with the chest of the rabbit, sending Bunny-Hotaru flying up and backward, bouncing her off the castle's wall and causing her to land face down on the inflateable floor with a few more bounces. Ugh, even through the padding of the two silly suits, she felt that one and it takes a bit before she even begins to struggle to get back up. What she couldn't notice is the rogue carrot that was knocked loose that falls right back down toward Tom's head. Being a solid, plastic, velcro'y carrot, it isn't exactly impending doom.
COMBATSYS: Joe blocks Hotaru's Thrown Object.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Joe
The giant raccoon holds both paws above his head in some sort of bizarre victory pose that makes him look like a bear about to maul someone. "Take that Becky! This castle is mine!" He turns towards the crowd and roars loudly, causing the children at the front to step back slightly in shock. "No one shall claim this castle from....!" Tom's monologue is cut short by a plastic carrot covered in velcro impacting his giant cartoon head with a loud thunk. It sticks there, straight up on the top of his head like some sort of vegetable antenna. The entire crowd goes silent before erupting into laughter. It only gets worse when Tanuki-Joe grabs the carrot with his paw and tries to throw it to the ground. He tosses it down... but the carrot goes nowhere. He grabs it with his other hand and tries to toss it out into the audience, but it has firmly latched onto that hand as well. Tom finally gives up his arm flailing and points the velcro carrotted hand at Becky, "Curse you Becky Bunny! Your carroty curse will not save you!"
Joe twists about inside of his suit, trying to will it to spin about with him. In some sort of miracle of physics, Joe's tanuki suit does spin about in an agile fashion as he turns about, bringing his leg up as he launches himself forward towards Hotaru, his raccoon leg extended about as straight as could be. However, somewhere in his twirling and flailing, the velcro carrot has ended up on the bottom of the extended leg heading right for Becky!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Joe's Slash Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Joe
It takes the duration of Joe's postering for Hotaru to finally get back to her feet and fiddle with her rabbit hat to get it on straight again. By now it's looking a little worse for wear, the two large, white front-teeth of Becky Bunny having been knocked askew, like they might detatch from the suit at any moment. Her carrot chewing days may be numbered! "You won't get this castle that easily, Tom Tanuki!" Hotaru replies, clenching her fists behind her useless paws. As he kicks toward her, she blinks, noticing the carrot attached to his foot, "Hey, give that back!" Stepping aside to let him fly harmlessly by, she deftly paws the carrot, allowing it to stick to her bunny glove, returning it to its rightful place. "Thanks." Well, sort of. The carrot is stuck sticking out beyond the center of the 'fingers' of the paw, which really makes it look like she's engaging in non-child-approved sign language to let Joe know he's Number 1 in her book. "What the-" she murmurs, stepping back to try and manipulate the stupid prop into a more proper position, but in the end, she ends up pulling her glove off all together. "Whoops." Realizing that the nefarious racoon will have had plenty of time to recover by now, she quickly takes advantage of the situation to focus a small ball of blue, glowing chi in her now uncovered hand and lob it right for Joe's chest. "Ya!"
COMBATSYS: Joe Toughs Out Hotaru's Hakki Shou!!
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Joe
With Becky having stepped out of the way of his kick, Joe's costumed foot slams into the side of the inflated castle, causing a rip in the fabric from which all the precious are begins to whoooosh out of. Joe just stands there staring at the damage through the mouth of his mask, blinking and confused about what he should do. He turns around just in time to see the bunny fire a familiar blue chi ball at him. The realization of just who his opponent is hits him instantly in an uncharacteristic display of quick thinking. Tom Tanuki raises a paw to point accusingly at Becky without realizing that his hand is about to take the full brunt of the attack. So much for that quick thinking. The ball of force slams into the paw, knocking it clean off, causing more than a few kids to scream in sheer terror at the sight. Joe grunts as he pulls the other paw off and throws it into the crowd, eliciting even more screams of toddler horror.
"That's it Becky. Now it's serious. I remember you now... and I believe we have a bit of a debt to discuss..." It's hard to take a giant raccoon head seriously, but the sentence is about as ominous as can be under the circumstances. With that, Joe stands there in his suit, trying to focus his strength even has the entire castle begins to sink beneath his feet.
COMBATSYS: Joe gathers his will.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Joe
Lilly frowns, suddenly realizing who's in the bunny suit as well. This was certainly an awkward situation to say the least... on one hand, Joe is fighting a little girl, which is wrong! On the other, this little girl badly injured Joe in the last battle they held. Lilly was conflicted as to what to do. Her cheers for Tom Tanuki (in spite of the childrens' booing) cut off almost abruptly, changing to a more concerned, "Joe, be careful! You're not fully healed! And don't be too rough with her!"
She knew it! Elena's eyes widen with clarity from their usual smiling cresents. While she does not recognize the Thai fighter, at least not immediately, she does recognize the diminutive bunnygirl's style. She continues to watch the ongoing battle with rapt attention, her grin unabaiting as she gently nudges Arika's shoulder with her elbow. As if to wordlessly question if her newfound friend has caught on to who they're actually watching yet.. She does not cheer or jeer eitherside, simply appreciating the spectacle for what it is! Even if it's taking all of her Earthly power not to collapse into a heap of laughter. XD But NOW? Now the fight is getting intense.. How fun! Those two must be such good friends.
Drawn out of the strangeness of the fight by that nudge, Arika turns to Elena and blinks. Slowly. Very slowly. A small nod is offered, since the voice had been recognized, but other than that she's at a loss. Costumed fighting? Well it is a children's birthday party and it is great entertainment, but... she's a little worried about the wee bunny-girl. Biting on to her lower lip she tilts her head and simply turns back to the fight, trying to pick up on fighting styles through the suits. Not that it really matters one way or another. What are the chances she'll run into a suited fighter like this in the future? They'd have to pay her a lot of money to costume herself like that.
Ooo, the paws are coming off now. As Joe ditches both of his gloves, Hotaru shakes her hand free of her last remaining paw too. At long last, actual finger movement and opposable thumbs! It's on! At the mention of debt, Hotaru gulps behind her protective rabbit hat. "The only debt I would be worried about now is what you owe the children for destroying their castle," Becky Bunny replies chidingly, wagging a now visible finger at Tom. She remembers well what happened last time Joe said he was getting serious and that didn't feel good at all. Slipping into a rough approximation of her normal fighting ready stance, this bunny looks about ready to dish out some martial arts all up ons Tom's face now. Literally hopping forward once in order to close distance, she abandons kicks and punches in favor of a rising rabbit-head-butt of doom, "Tenshin Shou!" she calls out, launching herself spinning into the racoon pretty much head first.
COMBATSYS: Joe endures Hotaru's Tenshin Shou.
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Joe
What the... The bunny was charging! Well what harm could she do with a headbutt like that? Well, as it turns out, plenty. Joe was just going to stand there and take it right in the chest like the Super Awesome Tough Guy he is, but the quickly deflating castle had other plans. The floor sinks beneath Joe's furry feet, causing him to lose his balance just as that bunny head slams into his chest. The force of the attack knocks him against the sinking walls of the castle, causing them to fall outward, depositing the now rolling raccoon right in the middle of the birthday buffet. The handless Tom Tanuki staggers to his feet, head askew. He adjusts his head back to the proper position, still unready to ditch this charade. "So the bunny has some claws I see!" The rest of Tom's exposition is interrupted by a cute little girl walking up to him and yelling 'BOOOOOO!' as she proceeds to pelt Joe's rented costumed with the remains of her birthday cake. Before he could do anything in response, the girl runs off giggling madly, leaving a now fuming Joe Higashi behind. If raccoon costumes could turn red in anger, this one would be.
Once again not thinking about his surroundings, Joe lunges forward a step, his fist dropping down into his famous hurricane uppercut move. Everyone in the audience who knew about fighting suddenly recognized who Joe was, and so his reputation was tarnished forever. That didn't matter to him now. Even as the first vortex spun away from his powerful fist, Joe spun about in a flourish and unleashed yet another tornado. The two powerful gusts spin through the buffet, scattering food, drink and random children into the crowd even as it picks up all sorts of projectiles inside of them. This was going to be a messy hit.
COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Double Hurricane Upper.
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Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Joe
The crashing dive that sent Joe flying off the castle left Hotaru face down on the floor afterward. Normally she doesn't land that way, but she normally doesn't fight in a giant costume either. This time she gets back her feet a bit slower. Trying to perform attacks with all this extra weight is getting to be tiring. The castle walls are coming down though, the stage of this epic battle being reduced to nothing but a big, deflated, plastic lump. Slippery bunny feet make it hard to get off the frictionless plastic and Becky Bunny does a piteous job of trying to get out of the way of the incoming whirling foodfight. What was white becomes cake and punch colored very quickly as she desperately blocks the first tornado, stumbling backward from the force. But by the time the second one strikes her, she doesn't have any staying power left in her and the girl is knocked right off her feet, adding grass-color to the now multi-colored suit from the landing.
"Ugh..." Hotaru is slowly to get up again, her own hat somewhat caved in from the fall. Poor Becky Bunny looks like she might've taken some buckshot to the face with the new rips and tears from Joe's attack. "Now you've gone and made a real mess of things. Not only the castle, but now the party treats as well! Is there no low you won't sink to?" Reaching for a cup atop the table at her side, the multi-colored bunny throws a large glass of punch right back at Tom.
COMBATSYS: Joe blocks Hotaru's Thrown Object.
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Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Joe
Tom Tanuki raises a single hand to block the incoming punch-filled projectile, and he succeeds in blocking the cup without much trouble at all. However, the punch inside doesn't stop at Joe's hand and splashes right up onto the raccoon head and into its mouth where Joe begins to cough and sputter in surprise. After his bout of choking on punch, Tom exclaims "DAMMIT!" much to the surprise and shock of the entire crowd. Parents gasp. Children giggle. A lot of the audience has been lost to playing in the giant mess of food that is scattering the battlefield, but there's still enough watching for Joe to continue the show, even if the two players are looking a little worse for wear.
Joe wasn't about to let Hotaru win a second time though, especially since he had to foot the bill for the last fight. Oh no, this time he'd be the last one standing while Hotaru had to pay for the mess. Tom cackles insanely at Becky Bunny... for no reason at all. He may very well have snapped inside that costume, but there isn't enough time to ponder his actions as begins to rush the giant rabbit in an attempt to tackle her to the floor, "AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Strong Throw from Joe with Ten-ren-ge.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 Joe
She would suggest that Joe has finally cracked, if she wasn't already convinced he was like that all the time anyway. She can tell she's ticked him off completely this time though and were she to overhear Elena's comment about the two of them being such great friends, she would probably try to set that record straight. Something tells her he isn't going to give her any free hits this time around. And as the crazed animal comes charging toward her, the racoon seems more like a punch-faced covered rabid grizzly bear than the dastardly but still fuzzy Tom Tanuki he started out as. Well, as much as she doesn't like to think about it, there's only one thing to do with an animal at this point, and that's to put it down for everyone's safety. Bracing herself for his tackle, the girl leaps forward to meet him mid-attack with a shoulder strike, then another strike at his stomach, followed by several more rapid strikes. The final blow is a backhand intended to send Joe reeling off and hopefully out for good.
The crazed shout is cut off when the giant bunny crashes into his chest, briefly knocking the wind out of him. The rest of the strikes drive the raccoon backwards until the backhand knocks him over a discarded seat, sending him tumbling to the ground. A few children throw their plates of cake down onto the already agitated raccoon, sending him into a fury of arm flails and chair kicking to drive the tiny invaders away from him. Most of them just laugh and go back to reload for their next assault, but Joe doesn't care about them right now. His pride is on the line, what little there is left after being manhandled in a giant raccoon suit. His hands move to either side of the comedically oversized head and he lifts it up carefully, trying to avoid scraping it against his already damaged face as he pulls it off. Once clear, he throws the head down next to a child that will forever have nightmares about her favorite raccoon pulling his own head off.
"You cost me an awesome set of speakers by running out last time!" Joe flails his arms about for emphasis, "This time, you're getting what's coming to you!" Parents begin pulling children out of the way as if they expect what's about to happen. The only one left near the battle lines is the birthday boy. Littly Johnny is just standing there, covered in cake and miscellaneous birthday splatterings, crying his eyes out while his parents just look on in shock as the birthday entertainment tears up the entire event. This doesn't phase Joe. He's focused on his target now. He lunges forward, his right arm dipping down into that familiar uppercut. The speed and power of it brings up a much larger vortex than before, one that sucks in even more party debris as it just stands there. Without missing a beat, Joe lunges forward again, his fist coming up to form another tornado that crashes into the first one, sending a vortex twice the original size towards Hotaru-Bunny.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Joe's Double Cyclone.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Joe
Ash heads south to the river.
As the battlefield clears, the two warriors are left facing each other, a stiff wind blowing the shattered remains of the party about their feet. The sounds of people panicked fading into the distance as everyone backs away from the combat. Hotaru focuses on Joe as she feels the build up of anger and power within him. Here it comes, she tells herself. This will be a big attack. She's seen it before, she thinks, the incredible vortex of power and force that buffetted her in their last fight. She's ready this time. It's then that another sound catches her attention. Little Johnny's crying his ten year old birthday boy heart out, right off to the side. If Joe's attack is anything like she remembers from last time, that's not at ALL a good place to be. "Wait, wait!" she calls out, running forward to try and move the boy. Revenge for lost stereos are all fine and good, but not at the expense of JJ's health!
Lacking the time to actually scoop him up and move him to safety, all the girl can do is hunker down, her back toward the incoming, super-charged tornado, as Becky Bunny covers the little boy beneath her to protect him. She loses the hat in the wind, and a sleeve is ripped free, the flimsy fabric flying off to who Kansas for all she knows. But when the hurricane passes, Johnny is safe, and Hotaru is still standing, though barely, her hair a tousled disaster. Turning around she clenches her fists and glares at Joe, "Hey, you need to be more careful, you know!" She looks fired up now, in spite looking just about out of strength. Charging foward, she reaches for Joe, trying to kick him, climb him, and in the end, hoping to stomp his head before leaping away.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Shin-Jou Tai EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Joe
In his vengeance-clouded fury, Joe doesn't notice little Johnny, and all he sees when his tornado slam into Hotaru is a little girl hunched over in fear! He turns to the already horrified crowd, his arms above his head in victory as he begins to claim the fight in his name. It's right about then that the first foot slams into his back as the girl in the mangled bunny suit begins to climb up his back. He stumbles forward from the contact, his arms bracing against a table just as the final kick slams into his head, driving his face right into the remains of the birthday cake. After a few tense moments of silence, it seems like the villain has been defeated, at the cost of the entire party. It's a shame really, it was a good party too. But now, there's raccoon hair in everything and all the children are crying at the sight of the two animals having been torn apart by each other. Parents are angry, demanding some sort of explanation for it all, and with Joe being unconscious, they're turning to Hotaru for answers.
COMBATSYS: Joe takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Joe can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Lilly lowers her head and just sighs. She stands and moves to Joe's side, and whispers something to him in a low voice, "Joe, dear.... have you considered maybe a new line of work..." before trying to help him up. x.x
As the fight winds down and the party pretty much ruined for the poor little birthday boy, Arika turns toward her companion and mumbles something about the time. Not that it's particularly -late-. Really it's more that the crying children are grating on her nerves and she'll pull any excuse out of the air before she tries to tell them to grow up and realize that it was -people- in the costumes. Oh! And that the tooth fairy isn't real. Or any number of things that would only just cause them to cry harder. Silently, she slips down a path and out of the park, mentally cheering for Hotaru's win.
Landing after stomping Joe flat, Hotaru turns around to see if Mister Tough Guy is still standing after all that, barely able to stay standing herself. Incredibly worn out, she just wants to go home and get out of this costume. It was fun at first, but you throw two fighters at each other and things are bound to get charged up! At the looks of reproach from the two parents, she cringes, feeling terribly guilty. "Ah- ah, it wasn't my fault, I- see-" Johnny's father, notably Johnny Senior, clamps his hand down on her arm and begins to drag Hotaru off away from the disaster-zone party. "We're going to have to talk to your parents about this..." he growls as she gets dragged off. A dejected look crosses Hotaru's face at that point, she can already see where this is going to go and by now she almost wishes she had just gotten KO'd instead. *SIGH*
Log created by Hotaru, and last modified on 12:35:28 04/01/2007.