Description: The idea is to get two Seijyun girls to chain Takuma down and have him dramatically break free to improve ratings. Zaki and Sada manage that much, but they don't manage much else. Together, anyway. Sada gets a lot more done without the gang leader! This all goes down at the Sakazaki dojo.
The Kyokugen Dojo is a place that's seen quite a bit of combat in its time. It's a very -large- building despite the Sakazaki' clan's well-known financial troubles: a massive training yard, cement-poured, fills the space two housing lots might, while the Dojo itself is an additional two housing lots in size. Once inside the building's doors, an impressively large training room mimics the feel of the training yard outside, though the cement of the former has been replaced with more respectable tatami mats. Trophy cases and shoddy decoration line the walls, while folding screens seperate different classes from one another and the occasional hallway leads off to the Sakazaki living quarters(presumably). There are always repairs or modifications going on to the dojo at one point or another - Takuma's students offer him a virtually limitless source of free laborers, and he's quick to take advantage of it!
This is important for today's bout for the following reason: In a fit of kindness, Sakazaki's planned for the match to be held in the large training room within the Dojo proper. Construction is currently being conducted on the roof, some twenty feet up, which means that there are a LOT of exposed odds-and-ends, rafters, hooks, loose materials, and the like. One might say it's a chain-and-hook warrior's dream come true. Think of all the mad tricks you could pull! THINK OF THEM.
They're being stared at right now by the old man himself. He strokes his chin with his fingers in a ponderous, mighty sort of way... those brown eyes of his are narrowed in thought. "Maybe I shouldn't be giving them so much of an advantage... we -could- use the extra money." Takuma's been standing here for the past few -hours- thinking about this. Maybe it's his pre-fight meditation.
Sada Asai has come, and she's come with live steel. (They told her it was okay.) Her lips are pursed as she walks into the main training room, grasping both ends of her chain weapon. The chain itself has been looped around her shoulders, so that it won't get in the way.
She looks around at the half built construction, seeing, on one level, all the things that she could use, and seeing on another level, all the things that could fall down and knock her upside the head. She breathes in and out, evenly.
Then she looks down towards the standing Kyokugen master -- although she doesn't see the dust that may have gathered on him. Her lips thin. "Hello," she says, bowing formally at the waist with a rattle of metal.
Zaki still has yet to arrive as Sada makes her entrance and greets the old man. She doesn't appear for another several minutes in fact, and when she does, for her part, there's no formal greeting whatsoever. She likes to think the rattling of her heavy chains does enough to announce her approach, and on top of that, Takuma Sakazaki most certainly sets off her Stupid Adult-meter. No respect. No respect at all.
"Ha~ah, c'mon let's get this over with. Those cameras running? Someone say the word, dammit! I got here late so I wouldn't have to wait for your asses to make one of those boring introductions!" And also, of course, so she wouldn't have to choke a bitch for saying her last name while she was within earshot.
But yes, about her chains... Along with the usual links that dangle from the lock hanging off the collar of whatever bondage gear it is she's wearing under her modded Seijyun uniform, there's a longer chain wrapped around her waist like a belt, and another going sideways around her torso from shoulder to hip like a bandolier.
Takuma's not looking in Sada's direction right now, as the ceiling is currently holding his entire attention. The way the rafters are sticking out like that... the exposed lighting fixtures, the occasional plank of rotten/half-broken wood. "This might have been a -very- bad idea... Hmm." A rattling chain distracts him from his musings, and he doesn't need to turn around to be able to say:
"That masked girl, hmm? I've heard about you in the SNF circuits. I have to say, I don't know what to make of a pretty girl who tries so hard to deny it! You're going to have to grow up some day, aren't you?" He bellows out a curt laugh, shoulders heaving, and only THEN does he turn around(dust flying everywhere) to feast his eyes on his opponent: Sada Asai.
Sakazaki's face falls. Not necessarily let down, but perhaps upset that he failed to remember he had -two- opponents. A flicker of recognition burns within his eyes, and a smile graces his face. "Oh! You're that young girl who Kirishima thought he needed to protect, aren't you?" A shake of the head. "Terrible things, hormones. Boys like to pretend girls aren't able to defend themselves! Pft!" Hypocricy? Loads of it, but Takuma Sakazaki plays by his own rules!
And it's HERE that Zaki arrives. Her manner of speaking doesn't do much to dispel his attitude, but he doesn't bother responding to her words with any of his own. Sada's given a quick, consultory look, before Takuma falls into a proper, balanced karate stance. "The introductions, little lady, are the most important part of the fight! Everybody needs to know who's about to tan your hide! So you're going to sit down, relax, and wait for the referee to tell us to fight, and -NOTHING BEFORE THAT-, understood?" His eyebrows are furrowed to further emphasize his point, here. "How would you like it if you had a job to do -- introduce the best fight of this SNF! -- and some uppity teenager was -too busy- for you to get your things done?"
Sada's expression seems to flatten somewhat. It does not actually change, but she withdraws behind it. This may mean she's getting angry and doesn't want to show it. "I see," she says, quietly, although she does not speak further because TAKUMA IS TALKING MORE.
She turns her head to look at the semi-mythical Zaki, but not, it must be said, for long. She does seem encouraged when she looks back to Takuma.
She blinks once.
Then she says, "Would... you show us how it's done," while squinting at the bearlike man. She unwraps the kusarigama's chain from around her shoulders as she asks him this; her earlier one didn't involve a lot of formal introductions, after all.
Oh man, when Zaki hears that on the replay she is gonna go nuts. It's lucky for probably everyone present that Takuma said it to Sada instead. The screaming would never have stopped. And it's bad enough what little he *does* say to her masked face when she finally comes waltzing in and bitching about the slow proceedings.
"...are you talkin' to me, old man? Did you just try and tell me what to do? To HELL with that, I'm not waiting for a thing!" she snarls back, pointing to the announcer as soon as she spots them out of the corner of her eye, just thrusting a gloved finger out at them and giving them a deathglare like she's some kind of dark ninja. "You! Skip the intros, you hear me? Otherwise you get my boot up your ass! I'm starting this match right the hell now! Because I *feel* like it!"
He chain wrapped around her shoulder is then jerked on until it comes flipping loose and clatters to the floor of the dojo, and even faster than that it's swung around in a big 180, just barely clearing the top of her teammate's head, Zaki being some several inches taller than her. This motion is only the feint, however, as when, turning at the hip, Aoi comes to a sudden stop and lets the end of her chain slam into the floor, it comes ricocheting back up, glowing with power and snaking toward Sakazaki as if it were somehow alive. "Ora!"
COMBATSYS: Zaki has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Takuma has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Takuma
COMBATSYS: Sada has joined the fight here.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Takuma negates Dokuhebi no Tessa from Zaki with Ko'ou Ken.
- Power fail! -
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
While Zaki rants and raves, Sada is given an almost apologetic look. This goes double for the announcer/ref guy. But then the old man's attention finds itself on Zaki once again... he frowns. "I guess I'll need to teach you how to act your age, won't I?" Sakazaki doesn't have much -experience- with chain-users, but from what he HAS seen(from Jackie Chan movies), they tend to favor the flashy wind-up and fe-
There it is. A sort of elated, 'look what I just did!' look brightens Takuma's face, and his arm whips upwards to catch Zaki's chain on his forearm. Of course, just as he's about to launch his counter-attack: We all know what it is by the way he's lurching forward and muttering "Ko'ou K-UNP!" The Ko'ou Ken turns into a stumble forwards once Zaki's chain -finishes- whipping around his arm and belts him, lightly, in the face. No damage overall, but... Takuma didn't exactly accomplish anything, either.
"Crafty girl! You're -smart-, at least! Maybe it'll make up for your attitude problem?" He releases the chain from his arm, and settles into a combative stance once again, diverting his attention between Zaki and Sada.
Sada thinks fast. The chain didn't clear her head by a whole lot and so it is in her interest to not remain in a completely static position, or too close to Zaki. She runs forwards, twirling around the weighted end of the kusarigama as she goes, heading off towards Takuma's side.
"Go - uhm, go high, miss!" she calls towards Zaki, kicking herself for worrying about social etiquette in a situation like this. She then runs along to try and get behind Takuma, who may or may not choose to focus on her rather than the upperclass woman.
Along the way, she twists the kusari around, flinging it in a looping path towards the great bear's legs -- she grips the kama in her other hand, held with the blade beneath her hand rather than above it.
Ah, lashing out like that always feels so good. It's almost enough to calm even Zaki down. Almost. Her eyes are still narrowed, and no one quite knows if she's frowning or smirking or what have you with the black leather facemask in the way. However, she doesn't seem very put off by the fact Takuma stopped her attack. She didn't get punished for it yet, though the old man did try, and she's not in a bad position to keep the pressure on. Especially with Sada telling her where *she's* going so she can plan accordingly.
"Che! Don't worry about me, just do your thing, Asai!" she calls back. And, she does indeed go high next, as she was politely told. This may be telegraphed somewhat, but that's probably the whole reason why she follows what her fellow student says in this case. Maybe Takuma will be *expecting* her to do the opposite of what she's told. Plus, trying to strangle someone with a neck that big is pretty unexpected to begin with, right? She thinks her chain can handle it, and so she goes for the throat, rushing forward and leaping at Takuma with silvery links stretched and glinting between her tightened fists.
COMBATSYS: Takuma dodges Sada's Odani Foundation Art.
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Zaki 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Strong Throw from Zaki with Zanretsu Ken.
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Zaki 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
Well! Shouting out tactics during a fight is definitely one way to make sure that your teammate knows what's up. The problem is that unless you're speaking in code, anybody else who knows that language is going to be on the ball as well. With a curt laugh, Takuma watches for Sada's incoming length of chain and executes a short, stationary hop at the critical moment - the weapon sails beneath his feet and presumably continues along its path.
As for Zaki's movements, he -did- do a pretty quick hop: By the time she's rushing him with that chain, he's got his bearings and is able to grant Zaki one large, too-confident grin. "LITTLE BIG FOR YOUR BRITCHES, GIRL?" Takuma steps back as she's halfway to him, and -after- she's leapt into the air, he steps /forward/, left fist shooting out in front of him so fast that it's nothing more than a flash, and repeating the process for as long as it takes the masked woman to meet it. When she -does-, Takuma gets a moment of pure, chain-wrapped-round-neck agony(who's to say Aoi Himezaki isn't ferocious? Of course she's going to get her hits in), but it's quickly broken off as he buffets her with those lightning-fast strikes and then, finally, sends her flying with an intense upper-cut.
Afterwards, stroking his neck with a good deal of hidden pain, Takuma adopts his fighting stance again, and gestures both women forward. "C'mon, c'mon! Try your luck again! This time... try not to tell me what you'll be doing before you do it! Work out another way of communicating!"
Sada feels sweat at the back of her neck as Zaki shouts at her. Oh dammit, she thinks, am I screwing it up, as the chain is hopped over by Takuma! Okay, she thinks, that didn't go terribly well, gathering the length of metal up towards her with a sweeping yank of one arm.
God god god, she thinks, how to communicate with Zaki at this point. This is hard enough to do when they're trying to keep on cue at the glee club with all the damn underclassmen and -
That's it! she thinks; Zaki has to have taken the same music classes I did. She sings several wordless notes, a capella, in the middle of the octave, varying slightly between up and down. While doing this, she spins the kusari up and above her head, finally concluding it with a twisting throw towards Takuma's precious, faltering kidneys!
Several grunted curses accompany the pummeling that Zaki takes from the Kyokugen sensei when she ends up falling right onto several of the rapidfire punches already in progress what seems like a long time before her chain has found its way around his neck. She hangs on as tightly as she can, and tugs at the ends of her chain even as the uppercut sends her flipping head over heels into the air, but the steel eventually slips out of her hands and falls away from Takuma's neck just as she herself falls to the mat with a dull thump.
The redhead needs a moment or two after, but it's nothing that interrupts the flow of the battle and she's kicking back up to her feet around the same time that Sada begins to signal her. Aw man... she is so not doing that. You're making Zaki blush. But thankfully nobody can see. She does, check her mask to make sure it's still firmly in place, however, and nod her head once.
"I got you." she says somewhat hoarsely, and then pulls off yet another chain to whip it up high and aim for one of those hanging lightfixtures up above so she can bring it down on the old man's head.
COMBATSYS: Takuma dodges Zaki's Random Weapon.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Takuma counters Medium Strike from Sada with Random Weapon.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 1/----===/=======|
At least -now- it's not the issue that Takuma has any sort of idea what the two women fighting him are up to - he just hears crazy notes and sees people running around, and then there are CHAINS flying at him. Zaki's attack, bringing that light fixture down on Takuma's head, is an attack that he rather very nimbly side-steps, with one important caveat: Just before the lighting fixture hits the ground, Takuma's left arm lances out and -catches- the thing, at almost the same time Sada's chain arcs towards his chest.
So Takuma sidesteps again, grabbing Sada's chain with his free hand, and works quickly: He -pulls- her forward, wrapping himself up in that chain so as to better facilitate the process of gaining proximity to the younger woman. Once he's close enough, he emits a short, barking laugh, and yet MORE advice before slamming the lighting fixture into Sada's shoulder and -hopefully- stepping away. Of course, he -HAS- wrapped himself up in that chain... moving will probably be an issue at least for the next moment.
"You're on the right track! Keep it up and try to get lucky, now! Everybody's got -some- weakness or another!"
Well, with Takuma willfully wrapping himself up in Sada's chain just to drag her in and flatten her with the light fixture that was meant to hit him in the back of the head, it seems like almost the perfect chance for Zaki to rush in and start making it even harder for him to move. While it might not be a direct attack, she makes a show of her cat's cradle skills by lacing not one but two of her own chains with the one now stuck clinging to the Kyokugen beast, and more or less produces what looks like a *web* of the steel links. Hooking parts over the high rafters, holding one steady by playing tug of war with it, standing on yet another, and finally handing the end of one back to Sada and hoping she's got room to do something creative with it alongside the weapon part of what she brought with her. "Go! Now! I'll hold him!"
COMBATSYS: Zaki assists Sada.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 1/----===/=======|
Part of Sada's chain is wrapped around Takuma, and now Zaki's moving to support it. The interlocking network does immobilize the far end of the chain! That's good, Sada thinks, through the blinding pain in her shoulder.
When the lighting fixture had been swung, naturally, she was too close to avoid it, and the sharp end had bit in and left a gash which is already bleeding, the white blouse soaking red with blood. It isn't profuse, but it's there, and the force of it made her arm go a little limp. That's the one holding onto the far end of the chain, which could be bad; it means she can't keep the web of immobilizing chains as taut.
"Y, yeah?" she answers Takuma, as her lips draw back from her mouth in a slightly vicious smile. She lets the kama fall out of her hand, so she can grasp the meter or so of chain. "I guess you're right. Everyone --"
She spins the kama twice before she starts arcing it viciously towards Takuma, the weight of the kama and her own guiding hand on the chain keeping the curved blade aimed downwards towards the veritable mountain of flesh. "--Has SOMETHING!" Sada concludes, her voice raising to a shout! This is not something that requires coordination, at least. Sparks fly from near misses and return strikes, as the steel of the blade strikes against the chains!
COMBATSYS: Sada successfully hits Takuma with Mataemon's Punishment.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
What's this? Takuma finds himself the target of a DOUBLE CHAIN ATTACK, with his two opponents acting as though they were some sort of crazy spider-women, and he a delicious, caught fly. After Zaki's finished spinning him about and hooking her chain-fixtures to Sada's, Takuma quite obviously has a large problem in the sense of -not being able to move-... he struggles a bit, attempts to flex his arms, tries rolling, but the chain-setup is a high-enough quality so that he's ENTIRELY unable to move.
"Ho ho...", he says, laughing to himself. "Here we go, now!" Sada shrieks out her reply, Takuma's eyes widen in an almost masochistic sort of anticipation, excitement -- and that bladed weapon does a NUMBER on him. There's no way around it, he can't move! The blade slashes across his flesh time after time, tearing his gi in several places and slashing him up at least a dozen times, all of them superficial but painful nonetheless. As the assault dies, it leaves Takuma breathing heavily, wincing, but in good spirits overall.
"Well, ladies... See what working together can do for you!? Let's move on! Haaaaaun..." Takuma hunches over, the chains coiled about his body beginning to truly groan from the stress exerted on them. With a grit of his teeth and narrowing of the eyes, along with one intense, "BAH!!", the old Kyokugen sensei -EXPLODES- outwards, forcing his arms and legs free of their confinement and winding up with his fists clenched towards the ceiling, legs shoulder-width apart, and broken chain-links flying about the room in a harmless display of exactly how unredeemable THOSE particular pieces of metal are.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! COME ON, GIRLS! SHOW ME YOUR TEAMWORK!"
He broke the chain! Sada thinks. Now I'm going to have to take apart the practice one!
She steps back quickly after the raw force of Takuma's manly strength forces through the fused and welded steel, sending fragments flying; one goes for her face and she twists the kama in her hand still around, knocking it aside.
"You --" Her eyes go wide, and she chokes up on the kama, which still has a good yard of chain hanging from it. "Fine!" she shouts, before seeing Takuma adopt that stance. She ducks low -
And runs forwards, aiming to get between those horse-stanced legs and slice viciously at the man's thigh on her way down, between, and through! Hopefully, her relative speed and smallness will prevent embarrassing mishaps.
All those poor, beautiful chains. But then, those two were Zaki's spares, and she's still got her more-favored one hanging from her slender neck. This snaps free from its lock and begins to wield, seeming overall unimpressed, and certainly not at all surprised that Takuma was able to break free of her chainweb. It was only meant to hold him long enough for Sada to get her hits in, and it accomplished that.
"Haha, nice. Now how about we see if that slows him down any?" the redhead shouts to her teammate, as she begins to twirl her beloved chain until it picks up enough speed to start humming and whistling, the sound echoing off the walls of the still-under-repairs dojo, starting to tap her foot and try to find her rhythm before she goes in half-cocked and gets herself uppercutted again.
At least, that's what she wants Takuma to think. And however dangerous it might be, for Sada to think as well. She's not going to bother with trying to signal her. She's just going to wheel around and try to bring her heel down on Takuma's shoulder, with a bit of lightning sparking up and trailing behind her foot as the only sign of how charged the falling leg is. And whether it lands or not, the move requires that she glare ominously afterward. Enough to cause the air itself to become electric between her and her opponent.
COMBATSYS: Takuma blocks Zaki's Gankou Geri.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Takuma interrupts Asai Harvester from Sada with Medium Punch.
That is some incredible glaring, Zaki! Yuri could learn a thing or two. Regardless, Sakazaki watches both girls begin their attacks against him - and again, the look of disapproval in his eyes is entirely evident the moment Sada starts running between his legs like that, and Zaki attempts to do her own thing. They'd just been over this! The lesson is more for Zaki than Sada: Teamwork is necessary in some cases! Watch what happens when it's ignored!
Takuma steps back as Sada attempts to run between his legs, and as she's stuck running into thighs that will not give way, his arm is brought high above his head so as to properly deflect Zaki's lightning kick. Electricity crackles along his arm at the same time Sada's blade cuts into his thigh(painfully so, at that... Takuma's gi is bloodied!), and Takuma elects to resolve that situation by bringing the same arm that'd been defending against Zaki's kick down -hard- on the other girl's back, effectively sending her crashing into the floorboards.
Even Zaki has to facepalm at how that whole setup turned out. "Mngh. My bad, Asai. C'mere a sec." the gang leader grunts, and reaches down to pick the younger girl up and set her back on her feet. But she doesn't do this in a gentle way, like say, offering a hand. No, she grabs the girl by the back of her uniform and pulls her aside for a little powwow in that distinctly gangster fashion.
Yakuza sit that way, all squatted down and looking indignant as they plan out future mischief-making with their mates, and this is exactly why Aoi is doing it, with the other schoolgirl pulled down to her level whether she likes it or not. The crimson-haired Himezaki whispering conspiritorially to Sada and giving her several hearty pats on the back while doing so, since, with her mask on there's no need to cover her mouth with her hand to discourage lipreading.
It is of note, however, that the entire time her blue eyes are focused entirely upon Takuma, and she seems to be daring him to come at her.
COMBATSYS: Zaki focuses on her next action.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/-======|
The raw force of Takuma's blow on the back of her head makes Sada's eyes go glassy. She might have keeled over if it was not for Zaki's sudden grab of her and her hauling forwards. The end of her halved kusarigama rattles as she looks at Zaki, breathing heavily.
She listens, staying in a crouch and adjusting the hem of her skirt. She nods, not speaking in reply; she has had to conspire once or twice, if not exactly in this mode. "Right," she says, having been grateful at least for the chance to catch her breath as she rises up again, turning to face Takuma and stepping, carefully, off to the side to split herself away from Zaki.
COMBATSYS: Sada gains composure.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/--=====|
While this is going on, Takuma merely watches the two ladies converse amongst themselves, and even gives Zaki a modicum of appreciation - it's good that she can at least LEARN to be an effective teammate. Heedless of the blood dripping down his leg and pooling on the mat beneath his right foot, the Kyokugen master crosses his arms over his chest, and simply -waits-.
By the time the two ladies have gotten back to their feet, he asks, curtly: "Are you two ready to start up again? Don't need to powder your faces or anything, do you? I can't -stand- it when women have to sit down and make sure everything's nice, tidy, and perfect before they get out and do it! Come on, now!"
COMBATSYS: Takuma focuses on his next action.
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Zaki 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/--=====|
Sada's eyes widen slightly. Zaki was right in her prediction! She didn't even get the details wrong!
"Well," she says, her voice a little slow, probably from pain, concussion, and/or blood loss, "we don't like it when you're in such a rush to finish, that you don't even look around to where you're going!" She raises a hand as if to gesture in the immortal greeting of Seijyun High's refined and caring ladies...
She then lets out a banzai shout - it wants to be a scream but her voice won't let it! She charges towards Takuma, swinging the kama on its chain around in front of her like a miniature version of her previous assault -- of course, now she has much less leverage, so it's likely to carve fewer bloody furrows on its way through Takuma!
In theory.
Aoi has always been a good leader. It's why she has such a large gang. It may not be the *entire* student body of Seijyun, but it's certainly the majority. So no, she's not learning a damn thing here. She already knows it. She just likes being contrary, and hates being old-fashioned, which is exactly what Takuma is.
"Shut it old man! I can't stand hearing you blather on anymore, you're just like my damn grandparents! No wonder Yuri is so friggin' crazy all the time! If I didn't get to move to the dorms and get the hell away from them I'd probably be the same damn way! God, that's really terrifying... I really gotta do something before you end up making me want to strangle mySELF!!!"
And then, she of course attempts to strangle the Kyokugen codger, with not only the chain in her hands, but two that seem to extend from both of her sleeves as if they had come springloaded. And she does this, while attempting to climb up and *stand* on his shoulders, planting her boots and then heaving with all her might.
COMBATSYS: Takuma dodges Sada's Shinryukan Correction.
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Zaki 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Takuma counters Chain Strangler EX from Zaki with Kusatsu Jin.
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Zaki 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Takuma
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Sada 0/-------/--=====|
This is certainly interesting. The two girls sat down, chatted, had some good team-building moments... and now another instance of the same old, same old? It's baffling, really! Takuma, already gouged in the leg and slashed all over the place, elects to take this moment to -avoid- danger in the form of Sada Asai's crazy chain-strikes. With one startled exclamation the old man dives to the side and rolls out of the way, coming up in a relatively wary crouch to find...
Zaki is running straight at him. Now, he's got an issue with the way she's been speaking to him. No respect, is what that is! Those chains - all of them - are caught up in Takuma's right arm as he sweeps it across his chest to capture the weapons. Zaki, in her rush towards him, is PULLED forwards with one mighty, irritated heave of Takuma's forearm, enough so that she's doubled over by the time she reaches him(it's the goal, anyway!). While she's so immobilized, Takuma states, curtly: "You need to RESPECT your elders, girl, 'else you'll never learn a damn thing! You've been getting whipped the whole fight for what? Rebellion? Looking -cool-? Hyeah!" Takuma's left hand slams into the back of her head in one brutal, efficient chop -- and sends Zaki straight for the ground.
Sakazaki steps back and extends his arms to both women. "C'mon now, it's the end of this match! Hurry up and show me if you've learned -anything-! You had it good a while back... what happened??"
Sada twists around to face Takuma again. Her eyes are burning with fury even if her body is not doing as well, all things considered, as it might. "Show you if we've learned anything? We don't have anything to prove to you, old man! This fight is nearly over - because you're gah!"
She says 'gah!' because in the course of dismounting, Zaki has landed behind her and backhanded her in the ringlets. She staggers forwards slightly, but --
COMBATSYS: Sada assists Zaki.
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Zaki 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Takuma
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Sada 0/-------/--=====|
Aoi has the wind knocked out of her for a moment, getting the exact opposite of what she wanted, of course. It's not *she* who can't talk for a while, and Takuma gets to scold and lecture to his heart's content. "S- sonuvabitch... " This is indeed one of those annoying adults she's ever met. Right up there with Hayate and Hideo. 'Teamwork, huh?' she thinks, catching herself on the ground as she's sent crashing into it face first, and pushing herself back up defiantly, completely ignoring the pain and how weak her body is for the sake of taking out her anger on the nearest thing. Which, happens to be Sada. And that would, again, be Sakazaki's fault. He set her right up for it when he smashed her down.
The back of Zaki's fist hits Sada's skull *just so* and she's left dazed, before Zaki begins to amble forward and try to lock the old sensei into a tense staredown, lightning and just sheer *evil* seething from her narrowed eyes as she holds Sada upright with an arm braced behind her shoulders, and starts going wild with stomping kicks at Takuma's toes and kneecaps with her heavy, pointed boots. And whether this amounts to anything or not, she then locks hands with Sada and swings her into him like portable battering ram, feet first. "ORRRAAAA!!!!"
COMBATSYS: Takuma counters Gantsuke Hyakunijuu Percent from Zaki with Mouko Burai Gan.
[ < > /////////////////// ]
Zaki 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Sada 0/-------/--=====|
Takuma, ever a champion of the young and defenseless(well, defenseless against the stronger), is APALLED by Zaki's treatment of her teammate! In fact, even as the Seijyun fighter is punching her companion in the back of the head, Takuma is simply staring at the poor Asai girl, eyes-wide, which means Zaki wins the staredown by default(takuma is def. not paying to Zaki now).
"This..." He speaks grimly, as though his wife had just died. "This is -NOT- teamwork. What about the word don't you get!? In fac-" Zaki does her kick thing - Takuma kind of step/fall/dodges backwards and lands on his ass. It would be thoroughly embarassing if it wasn't for the fact that it saved him QUITE a bit of pain.
And THEN, Zaki swings SADA at him. "Y-!" Takuma raises a forearm and gets to his feet: Sada collides firmly with his forearm, and he reverses his position to grab the smaller girl around the waist and set her on the ground before stepping forward, with a GREAT deal of intent, and punching Zaki soundly in the stomach.
"LEARN HOW TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, OR DON'T PLAY AT ALL!"
One can more or less see the impact of that punch slamming right through Zaki, causing whatever chains she has left hidden in that dress of hers to rattle with the force. But she digs her heels in and wills herself to remain in that spot. She might skid back a bit, but she doesn't go flying away or get knocked onto her back. However, that was definitely the nail in the coffin. The only reason she's still able to *move* is because she was giving more than one hundred percent to begin with, and she's still got the adrenaline pumping.
"h... haha.. AHAHAHAHA!!! I've used this technique for *years* old man! You're the first to complain this much! Not even my girls object, most times!" Sada, of course, not yet being one of her gang members. But that's beside the point. Sada is a special case regardless, because it's almost a sure thing that someone would object after it happened, TWICE IN A ROW. And after the first time was a failure, at that. But she does. She goes right for the other Seijyun student again, this time with a chain, and starts to reel her in for another go at stomping Takuma and slinging a poor innocent schoolgirl into him.
But by this point, she's mad. She's crazed. Maybe it can be forgiven. She's practically frothing behind her mask after pushing herself well past her limits, and she ends up falling with the momentum she's put behind Sada. And she's totally out of it after that, too. She can't even roll over onto her back.
COMBATSYS: Zaki can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Sada 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
COMBATSYS: Takuma dodges Zaki's Gantsuke Hyakunijuu Percent.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Sada 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
Sada can feel the resounding shudder in her legs after they impact Takuma; it HURTS, although it's a passing hurt. "What, come on," she says, before she staggers away, eyes wide as she looks back at Zaki. "What the hell are youAAAAAH!"
She is propelled forwards, ass over teakettle, by the Ladies' Gang's fearless leader. She doesn't hit Takuma, which is probably a good thing, considering. She tumbles, her skirt getting half-stuck in her blouse, and hits the ground, skidding along it until she comes to a stop along a stack of plywood.
There is a moment of silence.
Then Sada rises, eyes wide as she turns herself towards Takuma. She grins, with a little blood in her lips, at the old master. "I GET IT," she says, twisting the shortened weapon in her hand as she shifts herself to extend one arm towards him, the other holding the kama at the ready. "You - were waiting for us to leap at you, so..."
There is a two second pause, in which Sada wobbles, visibly.
"... So you could find our weaknesses and punch us in them!" There we go.
Her eyes narrow towards Takuma, and she concludes, with the expert logic that a fine Seijyun education gives you, "But if I wait for you to attack me, the advantage is mine!"
COMBATSYS: Sada focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Sada 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
"That girl needs a therapist or something," says Takuma as Zaki falls to the ground. He doesn't bother rolling her onto her back or even trying to make her overly comfortable, sprawled out on the ground like that... instead, he brings his attention to Sada. "You're alright though? That's good, I guess. Poor teamwork's the worst reason to lose a fight." Takuma resumes his fighting position, and CONTINUES TALKING. "Why, back in the day, Saishu and I almost lost to a gang of no-good bikers because we were arguing all day long! He kept on trying to tell me that my shoes were on the wrong way, but he didn't realize they were these special Mexican shoes. Got a good price on them, too... I think they were 200 pesetas? I don't remember, ha ha ha!"
The laughter segues into Takuma's next move: He stares at Sada, and listens to HER realization. It, unlike the rest of her 'discoveries', is met with silence.
"So you think you're on to something, hmm?" Takuma tilts his head to the side, and gestures her forward. "Well why don't you show me what you're made of??!" And so he waits. He stands there, watching her, for a good several moments, before yet ANOTHER bit of realization dawns on his features. "O-OH! Right! I'm supposed to come at you, aren't I?" He laughs. "Ho ho ho!", he says. And then he sprints at the other combatant, excitement flashing in his eyes. "WELL I HOPE YOUR LITTLE PLAN WORKS, SADIE!!!" This is where Takuma leaps into the air, halfway through his sprint, and seeks to give Sada one -intense flying-kick to the stomach!
COMBATSYS: Sada counters Strong Kick from Takuma with Mount Hiei Reversal.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Sada 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
Sada tries to remember who Saishu is. Is that her? No, it isn't, that's some old dude related to Kyo Kusanagi! She thinks. Maybe it's just a coincidence, like all the damn guys named Ryu in the TV shows. Her head tilts forwards as ringlets drape down into her face, the curled hair starting to lose its tautness thanks to sweat, blood, although not tears, as of yet.
"What I'm made of," she says, as Takuma leaps in the air, "is DEFEATING YOUR EVERY MOVE!" She lets out a wild hollow laugh, which resonates strangely with her deep voice. She's already turning around, and the kama snaps up to grip, and ultimately, SHOVE Takuma aside! His kicks will be useless if all they can strike is expensive imported plywood!
She steps back, now, moving towards a stack of pre-moulded bathroom tiles for the post-training shower room. "This is the power of-" She pauses, for a moment, so as not to cry out something along the lines of 'Japan's inevitable dominance over the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere', instead concluding with, "Seijyun High School!"
Good one! she congratulates herself.
Takuma strikes expensive imported plywood! Rather than try to shrug the hit off, he is knocked to the side and lands on his back, where he lies for a while, laughing good, long, and hard. "Ho ho ho, that's good! You're doing good! Keep it up, little girl, and maybe this fight will end on a good note!" Takuma kips up, falls back into his standard stance, and narrows his eyes. "But I'm going to stop with the preliminary testing soon, so I hope you're ready!"
"Prepare yourself!" Takuma runs forward again, eyes blazing(with mirth), arms outstretched. "I'm going to end it all right now, unless you've got -MORE- tricks up your sleeve! Ready, lady?" He's anticipating another one of those weird chain-hits again, but when this one comes, Takuma is going to try to grab at the weapon, pull it towards him, and hip-slam Sada hard enough to flip her over his form and onto the mats behind him. Of course, if she DOESN'T try a chain trick, he's going to wind up grabbing for whichever length of chain he can get his hands on!
COMBATSYS: Sada counters Strong Throw from Takuma with Asai Harvester.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sada 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Takuma
The nature of the kusarigama arts is that one attempts to steer the efforts of the sword wielder, so that you may slay him, swiftly, with the kama. That has always been the theory; historical evidence shows it may be deficency. But the stage of history is not static!
Sada shifts around and twirls the stray chain as she watches Takuma come. Her lips purse and she says, or perhaps sings, "Oooo --"
Takuma grabs for the chain and Sada is already moving! She slides to the side and twists around as he carries through into that hip thrust, twisting the blade of the scythe around to try and scratch him a good one over his old man hip! She turns around quickly afterwards, grasping the loose end of the chain and twirling it again. She steps back, tries to skip, stumbles, and stops fooling around. NOW her back is to a bunch of PVC pipes to channel the sewage produced from students' mouths into the public water supply!
"You're fast, old man!" she accuses, "but I'm faster!"
The nature of an old man's back is that it is frail, softer than a younger man's back. The flesh tears a good deal more easily, and scarring is almost a certainty given the body's decaying ability to restore itself. Sada can be certain that as her kama bites into Takuma's back and sends a rosy torrent of blood spurting over the mats of his dojo, that she has added yet another mark to that rich tapestry! The name Sada Asai will be etched alongside such other luminaries as: That one mexican guy who tried to shiv Takuma way back when; Marco's very first Kohou; Yuri scratching him in the back during her days learning the Raiou discipline; Ryo, Zanretsu Kenning away.
CONGRATULATIONS, SADA!
"OK! Now it's time to put this mess behind me! Are you ready to call it a day, little lady?" Takuma reels his right arm around -- there's a distortion in the air about his fist. "Remember teamwork! It'll get you farther along than throwing your teammates will! Ko'ou KEN!"
Takuma shoots his arm forward, shouting, and a WAVE of distorted, chi-loaded air surges from his hand to rip towards Sada, and THROUGH her -- straight to the sewer pipes behind her. Bad times!
COMBATSYS: Takuma successfully hits Sada with Ko'ou Ken.
[ < > /////////////// ]
Sada 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|======-\-------\0 Takuma
As her knifelike weapon tears into the frail, rotting flesh of the half-dead old man, Sada feels briefly vindicated! It does not last, however, and her eyes widen at the sight of the one thing she can't defeat, even with the amazing reservoir of fighting spirit that Zaki seems to have unlocked inside of her.
"We were strangers!" Sada cries. "Our school's spirit helped us to work together!" Even if it meant using her as a blunt object. She tries to leap back, away from the projectile --
It keeps coming! The blast of aerial force slams into Sada's tender and juicy body, sending her flying backwards and into the stack of pipes. "Guh," she groans, eyes wide, swiping at thin air with the kama. Thin air -- and the plastic strap restraining the stack of pipes.
They topple over, past Sada, and begin rolling down towards Takuma, clattering, rattling, and building up speed! Perhaps the surveyors didn't level the building properly?!
COMBATSYS: Sada can no longer fight.
> /////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Takuma
COMBATSYS: Sada successfully hits Takuma with Random Weapon.
> ///////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Takuma
"STRANGERS OR NOT," bellows Takuma, "YOU YOUNG LADIES SHOULD HAVE TRAINED OR SOMETHING! Learned to work together! It's not a hard thing to figure out, is it? Even Saishu and I took a few training sessions together, back after that biker incident! It's a sort of give-and-take that makes good fighters into fantastic men and women, you need to learn how to sacrifice for the sake of you-uraAaaAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
PIPE'D
There is no movement from the pile of pipes after they fall directly onto poor Takuma's body. Students and actual construction workers alike stare at the old man concernedly, while the announcer wonders if, in fact, Sada has managed to DKO the beast!
Seconds past. The announcer begins: "Winner, by double knock-out as per the original rules of this match, Sada Asai and Aoi Him-"
A FIST ERUPTS FROM THE PIPES! They explode everywhere dramatically!
"I AM BEATEN BY NO MERE PIPING! Where's the man who strapped those things together!? That was WEAK TAPE!"
Sada, for her part, either becomes a being consisting of pure fighting energy and techniques represented by a series of dotted lines -- or passes out.
Alright; it was the latter.
Takuma has stumbled off-screen by now. Some obscure shouting and reprimanding can be heard in the distance. A confused referee declares him the winner after seeing Sada pass out, medical teams are called in... and that's that! It's a confusing ending, but the results are clear: Takuma Sakazaki has won again, albeit after a few hurdles towards the very end!
Log created on 18:15:46 05/06/2007 by Zaki, and last modified on 17:40:31 05/22/2007.