Description: Under the big top, two teams of fighters face off for Saturday Night Fight! Hotaru and Soma clash with Miu and Tenma in a crazy battle, which is also full of clowns. Horrible, horrible clowns. (Winners: Hotaru and Soma)
"LAAAAAAAADIEEEEEEES AND GENTLEMEN~! THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!"
At least, that's what was initially advertised-- before the circus decided to agree to host one of the illustrious battles of the televised Saturday Night Fight! Now, on stage and backstage, it's utter pandemonium-- the camera men set strategically around the arena, the ringmaster making loud and random boasts as the events go on throughout the show. In a fight like this, under the circus tent, it's sure to be migranes for both the show's producer and the circus manager.
So-- with the announcement of a special event for all the lucky folks in the audience tonight, a clown car veers out into the open floor of the demi-arena, brakes screeching to a halt as men and women of various heights in colorful costumes spill out of the vehicle in excess-- and then, one more.
A small hand grabs the frame of the door and pulls the rest of their body free of the confining space-- Seijyun's own Miu Kurosaki! Looking rather uneasy as she stares around at the people, the student tugs on the edges of her armwarmers and stands with her hands folded behind her back.
The ringmaster leans in and thrusts the microphone in the girl's face. "And how do YOUUUUUUU feel about tonight's events, miss?!!"
"... S-Swell."
And what about Miu's teammate? Well... He didn't get into the clown car. In fact, he thinks this whole circus thing is pretty much completely ridiculous! Which is why, despite the best efforts of the promoters and so forth, Tenma Kiryuu just stalks out from the back on foot, though his attempt to be all aloof and removed from the circus nonsense is spoiled by all the clowns, well, clowning around. Dressed in plain green cargo pants, sneakers and a black t-shirt, the Gedo High student hardly looks like a very spectacular fighter at all, though he has a small bracelt of prayer beads around his left wrist and, held in his right hand, his bokken, the wooden blade resting against his shoulder.
"Tch, what a bother," Tenma grumbles, looking around at the clowns, and forced to duck and weave between them as he tries to get over to where his teammate is. Of couse, it would have to be the girl he fought the other day, wouldn't it? That gets a laugh out of the boy, who looks down at Miu. "Well, Princess. Between you an' me, I almost pity whoever they got us fightin'." Well... At least he's confident?
A spotlight shifts high up one of the main supporting pillers of the tent to focus on young Hotaru Futaba standing on a platform, her hands tightly gripping a trapeze bar. Taking her cue, she steps out into the air, freefalling into a swing across the open ring. She lets go at the low point of her swing, flying forward just far enough to grab hold of the feet of another swinging acrobat also swinging by via trapeze. This gives her the leverage she needs to jump free again, grabbing hold of a handlebar suspended from a pulley. Her weight causes the pulley to drop swiftly, but not dangerously so, to the side of the open fighting area where she lands in a crouch before standing upright.
Whew, she thinks to herself. That was a little scary, but it beats getting shoved into the clown car... As the ringmaster leans a mic toward Hotaru, asking how she feels about the event, she pipes up, "This is pretty exciting!" A passing clown attempts to dab a splotch of red paint on her cheek but Hotaru deftly leans aside, causing the paintbrush to land on the ringleader's jacket instead. Without missing a beat, Hotaru adds, "I've been looking forward to this all week!"
She turns to study her two opponents, not having been able to learn a whole lot about them. While Hotaru attends Miu's school, she hasn't actually been given a real course schedule since her return to Southtown. They both look like serious contenders, she muses. Which is good. Leave the funny business up to the clowns. It's their job after all.
Circuses have never been a favorite of Soma's; he prefers entertainments that are a little less... well, the arrogant word to use would be 'pedestrian', but the word Soma himself might apply is 'psychotic'. Still, there is a certain similarity between a circus and an organized fight. They are both high-energy bundles of motion and excitement, and so the undercover Interpol officer didn't bother to argue when he was told the venue. However, there's no reason to get himself involved in the floor show until it's absolutely necessary.
When he sees Hotaru's entrance, Soma -- sitting in the audience and finishing the last bite of some cotton candy -- suddenly stands up and apologizes to the people next to him. "I guess that's my cue." Figuring he can spend the energy to showboat a little bit before the fight starts, he flips up onto the ledge of the retaining wall at the bottom of the stands and then... disappears? Maybe. It's certain that he's moving so fast the human eye has trouble following, until he comes to a stop at Hotaru's side in a blur of black and silver, bowing as he does so. "Hmm. Sorry if I'm late," he says, although the wry smile on his face makes it evident he's not sorry at all.
It would seem as though Miu drew the short end of the stick in this whole matter. Miu dusts off her maroon skirt and waves to the driver of the clown car-- who promptly sends the vehicle careening around left and right before disappearing into a space toward the back-- not unalike the sort her partner for this battle arrives from. As Tenma stomps out from the back with what seems to be his usual expression, Miu's small shoulders slope back and her hands come to rest on her hips. "I wonder," she replies, expression neutral.
But who can't be a little awestruck by an acrobatic and dangerous entrance such as Hotaru's? Watching the display intently, her mouth opens slightly and her eyes widen a bit-- wh-- wh-- did that girl just practice that over and over for one day of activity?! At least Soma's entrance is somewhat more discreet, what with that burst of movement and what would probably be called 'teleportation' by the normal folks. Still, as Hotaru speaks to the ringmaster and dodges face paint, the (in)famous crow girl of Seijyun rolls her wrists around and tilts her head from side to side. "Which do you want?" she asks of Tenma, though her eyes are locked on the opposing pair. Regardless of the answer, her voice rises to call: "Being late just means no overly dramatic introductions. Let's do this!"
"I've fought enough little girls lately," Tenma says disdainfully, shrugging a bit at Miu's question. "Let a Princess fight a Princess, I'll take the other guy." This decision made, he takes a step away from Miu, and lifting his left hand to his face, he... Bites into the flesh of his thumb, drawing blood. His wooden sword is unshouldered, and he draws his bleeding thumb along the blade to complete his link with it, sweeping the bokken through the air, the weapon suddenly alight with an aura of misty red energy.
Nevertheless, Tenma stands quite casually, smirking a bit as he looks over at Soma. "Ready to get your ass beat, gramps?" he wonders of the slightly older fighter, waiting for the official call to begin.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tenma takes no action.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
Well-- at least he gave her a response. Still, as Tenma bites his thumb and drags the blooded digit across the blade of his wooden sword, Miu cringes. It's just ... gross, no matter what form of energy it is.
Turning square to Hotaru, Miu brings up her hands and whips them down hard to her sides. Glowing black and white feathers burst out and away from her arms in a spiraling mess, floating on the wind until they suddenly vanish. Still somehow maintaining her composure even as the elephant in the background stands on it's hind legs and clowns juggle on unicycles, Miu steps away from Tenma and ducks low, sprinting in at the fellow Seijyun student. From the back of her right hand bursts a large white feather, bleeding out of her knuckles in a position that looks much like a katar. Spinning on her heel and rotating to the right, Miu unleashes a rather large slash at Hotaru!
COMBATSYS: Miu has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Soma has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
If this were an anime, Soma's eyebrow would probably begin to twitch at being accused of being an 'ojiisan' at age 22. As it stands, he just gives Tenma an amused smirk, getting into a fighting stance and limbering up a bit, shaking his arms out to the sides and then circling the singularly tall Gedo kid. "You laugh now, but you'll be 'old' someday too." And if he knew Tenma was 17, he might add: sooner than you think.
With a flick of the wrist, the two bright, oddly-shaped daggers Soma uses to fight with drop into his hands, held blade back like a ninja, and he salutes Tenma with one, hilt first held at the forehead, before diving in and swinging a clean swipe for the boy's tummy. He's got a weapon too, he can handle it. "En garde, brat!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Miu's Shubatsu.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
As Soma takes to her side from seemingly no where, Hotaru glances at her partner with a smile. She did find that his last fight found him partnered with a girl her age. Hopefully he doesn't mind such an arrangment a second time. "Well, now the show can go on!" she replies to his subdued greeting before turning her attention back toward the other two.
Tenma's preparations earn him a slightly concerned expression from Hotaru, but it passes shortly. This match will help show if his antics are for show or actually dangerous. She slips into a ready stance, curbing her anxiousness now that the actual fight is about to begin. One hand is held forward, bearing a black leather handguard. Compensating for an injury she received on it earlier in the week. Her other hand held back and her side turned toward the other two. It's clear that their opponents have already picked targets, so she waits for them to make a move.
The wait isn't long as Miu makes her first attack. But as the dark-clad girl heads for her, Hotaru sprints right toward her as well. The white slashing energy is dodged in a heartbeat and the Kenpo artist continues with her momentum by trying to grab hold of Miu's arms. If she can get a hold of her, she'll continue to stomp the poor girl with a swift kick at a shin, another at her knee, a kick for her stomach, and then Hotaru will flip backwards, using Miu's shoulder as a launchpoint.
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Soma's Medium Strike.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
Daggers? Okay, why not? Tenma swings his wooden blade down, fast enough to knock Soma's strike aside, but not quite enough to completely negate the damage, as the dagger instead scrapes against his side, however shallowly, drawing a hiss of pain from the Gedo student. But hey, if he wants to play like that, who is Tenma to complain?
"Gettin' a little sloppy in your old age, huh?" Tenma wonders, continuing along his 'ha ha, 22 is /old/' theme, just before he too goes on the attack. He whirls his wooden sword through the air, that misty energy following the blade as he does so, and then it comes across in a sharp strike aimed right at Soma's head. "GO TAKE A NAP ALREADY!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Miu with Shin-Jou Tai.
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Miu 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Soma
Miu's deft slash misses-- and the annoyance is noted in a short, angry "Tch!"
As the first stomp on her leg lands, Miu turns to arch her back and smack down Hotaru's attempt to run up the front of her body, but each vicious stomp is more than enough to stun her long enough for the next blow to land. On the last kick-slash-jump away, Miu sprawls backward rather ungracefully and lands on her backside, rolling from her back and shoulder and into a kneel, shoes grinding against the ground.
'Can't get hit like that again, that's for sure.'
Shifting from the kneel and up to her feet, Miu takes a step ahead and snaps her right arm out at Hotaru, casting ahead a solid black feather with a light glow-- then spinning around and following it up with a second!
COMBATSYS: Soma endures Tenma's Light Strike.
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Miu 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Soma
Tenma gets the satisfaction of hearing his wooden sword sling into the side of Soma's head with a resounding *CRACK!* sound. What he does NOT get is the pleasure of seeing the undercover agent fall over or stumble back from the blow. "Nice try, anyway," he offers, bringing his hands up and letting the daggers disappear into his sleeves... only to let his hands drop and two 'daggers' of silver energy, lined with crackling black light, form in each palm. "Soul Fencer, set..." he mutters, before looking to drive both 'knives' into Tenma's stomach at point blank range. "Go!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Miu's Kakure Amagakeri.
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Miu 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Soma
The time it takes Miu to recover is the time Hotaru needs to come out of her aerial backflip, land, and recover her footing. It would appear that her acrobatic entrance wasn't just for show. Upon touching down, she crouches for a moment - a split second to brace herself, before she charges back toward Miu again. A high speed, intense fighter, Hotaru appears not likely to give her much room to breath.
There's something odd about Miu's energy though and Hotaru senses it again as the black haired girl throws another two feathers her way. Reacting on instinct and a vague sense that getting hit by those deceptive looking projectiles would /really/ hurt, Hotaru takes to the air, avoiding them entirely.
Flipping at the apex of her jump, her trajectory shifts into a knee-first dive directly for Miu's shoulder, hoping to catch her before she can recover from launching her last attack. If she connects, her other leg will swing around to deliver a second kick roughly toward her head, then Hotaru will spring off her just like she did from her last attack.
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Soma's Gemini.
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Miu 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Soma
Well, two can play at that game, mr. agent guy! Tenma sees those 'daggers' of energy coming his way, and rather than trying to avoid them or block them, he instead... Steps right into them. Getting well and truly shanked with energy. "Soul Fencer? Man, that's lame," the Gedo High delinquent grits out, shaking his head a little, crouching briefly...
And then throwing himself into a whirling leap right in front of Soma, swinging his chi-empowered bokken, still alight with that bloodlike energy, in a rising strike aimed to lift the older fighter up and knock him away. Hopefully no clowns get in the way, but it doesn't count if they only get hit on accident, does it? "EAT THIS!!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Miu with Rengeki Shuu.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Soma
"Guh!!" The knee collides with her shoulder, and the next thing Miu sees is a knee wracking across the side of her face. Her feet plant, albeit roughly, and the girl stumbles hard to the side. Sprawling forward, she nearly falls flat on her face-- one hand slapping hard on the ground to keep her balance-- and her long, side-set ponytail settling in the wake. Vision clouded for a moment, Miu pushes herself back up with the advanced leg, turning around to get a brief glimpse over her left shoulder of the positioning between herself, Hotaru, and how much of a gap is between them.
Twisting back around to the right, Miu sprints hard for the few steps of space that still exsist between them, the small Seijyun student reaching out to grab Hotaru by the shoulders-- and get a firm grip of her clothes-- and then add in a hard shove as she kicks at the student's ankles. That strange energy Hotaru sensed is likewise in her grip, even in the sweeping leg that dares to knock the girl off her feet, a feather or two trailing away from her foot in the peak of the motion.
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Soma with Vajra.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Soma
[OOC] Soma yays i can suck in every fight i'm in
Lifts *AND* separates. Well, apparently just lifts in Tenma's case, as his strike carries Soma up and away, the undercover agent landing against the very wall he jumped from moments ago with a loud CRASH. When he gets up, it is only with great effort, blood running down his face from a rather large gash in his forehead. More than enough reason not to attack, right? "The attacks I can deal with," he mutters. "The irritating arrogance of high school students, not so much."
COMBATSYS: Soma focuses on his next action.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Soma
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Quick Throw from Miu with Tenshin Shou EX.
- Power hit! -
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Miu 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Soma
Once again Hotaru lands safely, this time even more smoothly than her last landing as the knee dive took a lot less dexterity to pull off. The girl has seconds to prepare herself as Miu gets up again, arms extending, she crouches just slightly, adopting what looks like it might be a stance intended for swift evasion. But rather than roll out of Miu's path, the Kenpo artist holds her ground.
As Miu's arms reach for her, Hotaru uncoils like a spring, launching right into her with what could only be described as a rising shoulder tackle, trying to make up for her dimunitive size by putting all of her strength into slamming directly into Miu's chest or chin, depending on how the girl was positioned.
Miu's leg sweep does strike Hotaru all the same, but in the end, the girl seems to weather it mostly unphased, her momentum carrying her up into the air at an angle.
Landing in a low crouch after that attack, Tenma smirks over at Soma. Arrogance? Well, yeah; the Gedo swordsman is probably worse than a lot of his fellows in that respect, though /he/ hardly sees it that way at all. "C'mon, gramps. Better liven up or this won't be any fun for the folks watchin' at home, right?" he says, moments before he hears the distinctive sound of a squeaky shoe beside him. "...The hell?" Tenma wonders, glancing over just in time to see... A pie.
However, his reflexes are a /bit/ better than some clown's, so the Kiryuu scion is able to dodge out of the way at the last minute and batting it away with his wooden sword, with the end result that the pie instead goes a-sailing, over... Towards the airborne Hotaru, who seems to be walking all over Tenma's poor partner for the fight. "Crazy-ass clowns!" Tenma declares irritably, though of course he can't hit the bastards back.
Ow-- Ow, ow ow ow ow ow ow ow -ow-.
Rocked into the air with the force of Hotaru's attack, Miu flies back and drops to the ground with a distinct *thuwmph*. Fingers curling and digging against the ground as she starts to sit up, the crow girl of Seijyun Academy for Girls is left at a bit of a crossroads: None of her assaults thusfar have actually succeeded, and what's more, this stranger's doing an awfully bang-up job of smacking the sense out of her.
Sitting up, Miu shifts her legs underneath her and rises to one knee, breathing deep and hard-- ignoring the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. 'Ugh, I bit my tongue...' she thinks to herself, getting a little more than pissed off.
For the moment, she remains on bended knee, considering her options-- and even gawking as Tenma's antics sends things flying all about the circus.
COMBATSYS: Miu gains composure.
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Miu 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Soma
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Tenma's Thrown Object.
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Miu 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Soma
There's gotta be some way to work the surroundings into the fight. Soma might not be strong, or fast, or in fact very good at anything, but he *is* clever and perceptive, or at least that's what his performance evaluations say. Glancing around the circus, he bites his lip, trying to think of some way to work this into the fight, to do something unexpected that will give him the advantage he needs.
A trapeze artist flies overhead.
"...hahaha." Hopefully only the audience hears that, as the Fighting Novelist springs to his feet, vaults off a nearby barrel of water, and snatches the trapeze on its next pass with one hand. "S'cuse me," he offers to the startled acrobat as the two swing toward the fight. Inverting himself and hanging by his knees, Soma waits until Tenma is in reach and then snaps out a hand, looking to grab him, drag him along... and then drop him.
Reaching the height of her leaping attack, Hotaru raises her arms and prepares to drop to the ground again. Only to barely catch glimps of an incoming pie-tin. One hand flicks to the side, sending the projectile careening off to the side into the audience. Free desert!
Landing again, she has a moment to take stock in the situation, eyeing Miu thoughtfully. It's impossible to determine if she shifts tactics out of pity or because she doesn't think the other schoolgirl will be a danger for a little bit. Either way, Hotaru turns her attention toward Tenma, having been vaguely aware of how the fight has been faring for her partner so far. She gets the gist of what Soma is trying to do and opting to team up on the arrogant fellow teenager, Hotaru shifts into a dead sprint directly for the bokken weilding young man. Once close, she'll leep forward and twist mid-air, her arm out to her side. She's attempting to land with a flying clothesline against Tenma, potentially after he's been snagged by Soma. One can blame Jiro for inspiring this particular attack.
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Tenma with Quick Throw.
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Miu 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Soma
COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Strong Punch from Hotaru with Head Breaker.
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Miu 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Soma
Well, okay, so that got Hotaru's attention, did it? Tenma doesn't mind too much, though, it keeps things interesting! With Soma on him, he actually lets the grab happen, hoping to end up in a more advantageous position, but... Not so much. Instead, he drops, and it kinda hurts, and also Hotaru is trying to clothesline him. Rather than let /that/ just go how the girl wants, the Gedo High swordsman instead lunges /into/ the attack, smashing his head into Hotaru's face and instead of getting clotheslined, he kind of gets tackled.
"GET OUTTA MY FACE!!" Tenma bellows at her, rolling on the ground and kicking Hotaru off and away, using the momentum to roll back onto his feet. "Tch... If it isn't one of you, then it's the other, huh? C'mon Princess!" he calls over to Miu. "Get your head in the game!!"
Lost in her thoughts, Miu keeps trying to play out the next action she takes like it were life and death. She's trying to calculate it-- figure out where Hotaru could go on her next attack and how she could rightly deal with it. Still, with that girl's agility... it's just too tough.
And that's when she hears Tenma's voice. Not what he's actually saying, but what he said once before-- what Marisol said, too: "You hit like a truck," she repeats aloud, a certain glint in her eye.
Closing her left hand into a fist, Miu charges at Hotaru after Tenma's skull-smacking counterattack in hopes of catching the girl even -remotely- off-guard. Her left hand pitches back as black feathers suddenly burst out in front of her fist, breaking away and forming into a massive, drill-like 'lance' of energy feathers, seeking to slam right into her fellow Seijyun student-- and if it connects, force her to fly away. Hard.
Admittedly a little amazed that his impromptu highwire act managed to catch Tenma by surprise, Soma continues to ride the trapeze all the way around. After all, he's gotten some use out of it already, why not keep going? As the thing comes around for a second loop, however, Soma is carefully working his way up onto the trapeze, secretly glad that Varma Kalai includes no small amount of balance and acrobatic training.
With a flick of the wrist, Soma's 'real' daggers reappear in his hands even as the trapeze swings back down for arc two. "Hope this isn't getting too 'old'," he remarks, before diving off the trapeze and looking to simply LAND on Tenma, swinging one dagger in a very wide arc at the end of his dive and intending to really put the hurting on the Gedo fighter.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Yomosugara from Miu with Kobi Kyaku.
- Power hit! -
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Miu 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Soma
When Tenma just up and SLAMS his head into hers, Hotaru completely loses control of her mid-air clothsline attempt, unable to do anything besides land on the ground with him, a dazed look in her face as he flat out brained her. When he kicks her off, Hotaru lands hard, but pushes herself back to her feet. One hand raises to press against her forehead.
Which would have seemed like a great chance for Miu to land her attack on the reeling girl. And were it not for having one strong option to deal with the incoming energy lance, it probably would have, as Hotaru wasn't looking like she was up to playing the avoidance game at the moment. It's the sense of Miu's power firing up that warns her of the incoming attack, even though she isn't facing the other girl.
The reverse-roundhouse, from low to high, comes out as part of Hotaru's turn toward Miu, but the kick itself is only the means to raise her defenses, as a reflective swath of chi trails behind her foot, ballooning outward. There's a moment where it seems like the lance of feathers will drill through it all the same, but in the end, Hotaru's Kobi Kyaku saves her hide in the face of what was going to be a painful onslaught. "Whew," she murmurs to herself as she regains her footing. That attack did not look pleasant.
COMBATSYS: Soma successfully hits Tenma with Fierce Strike.
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Miu 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Soma
With his footing underneath him, surely Tenma can easily deal with Soma's attack, right? Apparently not though, as he brings up his arm to try to block the slash with his bokken and instead gets his arm cut open, blood streaming in a way other than how he generally perfers it to. This of course sends him staggering back, holding his injured limb a bit gingerly as he watches Soma, eyes briefly glancing over to Hotaru. "Heh... This doesn't seem to be goin' too well for us, huh?" he wonders rhetorically. But you know what? He's gonna take a second to catch his breath, watching his opponents warily.
COMBATSYS: Tenma gains composure.
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Miu 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
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Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Soma
Feathers drill ahead-- and collide with a shield of energy that seems as thin as paper, a harsh glow of blue that takes the lance of energy head-on. A good majority of them scatter from the collective mass as the hit first connects. Miu's tenacity refuses to let her leave this be, planting her foot and pushing it further even as Hotaru's kick reaches the full extension-- and in the end, she feels a strange sensation as her own power rebounds back at her, blasting her back and sending her sprawling and rolling along the ground until she slides to a halt-- amusingly enough, just past Tenma. "Oogh..."
Rolling to her side and getting up on hands and knees, Miu looks carefully at their situation-- their opponents. Eyes narrowed, she spits blood on the ground and settles into what seems more like a sprinter's stance than anything. She's looking at Hotaru, getting a good grasp of timing... and then she starts to sprint. Not at the girl she's fought the whole time, but at her own partner. With a burst of feathers from her feet, the small girl suddenly jumps up and sticks out her hands, grabbing onto Tenma's shoulders and hovering over his head for a moment. In one of those rare moments she'll even make eye contact, her tone is completely calm and neutral-- even as black feathers seem to start growing out of her left arm.
"Switch."
Continuing her unusual hurdle over the Gedo student, Miu uses the momentum built in this action to slingshot directly at Soma, her right hand raising high over her head. Her left hand grasps her wrist as a large white feather bursts out of the back of her fist-- and in one massive swing, the blade comes down at Soma's body.
COMBATSYS: Soma endures Miu's Psychic Secrets.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\=====--\1 Soma
The first slash is but a prelude-- With force unknown and speed much faster than what she's pulled out thusfar, Miu begins to rapidly hack and slash as she turns in circles. Swipe after swipe, though the more observant eye would note the growth of those strange black feathers out of her left arm-- through skin, through clothing, emerging whole rather than growing out like it were a bird's wing. Landing that last step, her left arm lists -way- back, the feathers suddenly exploding into a -massive- cone of glowing feathers, thrust ahead to slam viciously into Soma's body and-- in a perfect world-- throw him off his feet, -hard-.
In the afterswing, the cone of feathers burst out into a spiral, the excess drifting to the ground and fading from sight-- but still leaving the air heavy with that power. And one could swear it sounded like a flock of birds just blew through here...
The world is rarely perfect.
The speed and intensity of Miu's attack certainly catch Soma by surprise, but it doesn't necessarily mean he can't do anything about it... quite to the contrary, in fact. It does limit his options, true... but not eliminate them. Miu may be able to sense it, expert that she is; during the entire affair strikes hit home but they don't seem to hit home *quite right*, as if Soma is twisting so that they strike all the wrong places instead of all the right ones. The aggregate is still the same: a brutally intense beating that leaves Soma teetering on death's door. It just... fails to kick him over it.
Case in point: as the feathers clear, Soma has NOT been thrown off his feet, but has instead slid back, trails from the force of the blow dug into the dirt of the center ring from the force of it. There's a bit of blood coughed up as the agent nods at Miu. "Not bad at all." And that's all he says, before whipping around one hand. The blade of that hand's dagger detaches, connected by a length of wire to the hilt in Soma's hand... and it's the wire that attempts to latch onto Miu's extended arm and, if Soma can get that grip, simply flings the girl away with a snap of the wrist.
Repelling Miu wasn't easy for Hotaru and it takes seconds for her to recover her footing afterward. By the time she is even ready to act again, the world seems to slow to a stop as she watches the brutal attack befall her partner, as if Miu had stored up all the energy and frustration that was failing to hit Hotaru and decided to cut Soma to pieces with it.
That didn't look good. At all. It is with quiet marvel that she observes that Soma is still on his feet after that assault. Watching his trajectory of attack, she decides to back him up, once again running toward Miu. They can't let her do an attack like /that/ again. Leaping into the air, she attempts to strike Miu with just a simple jump kick. A distraction at best, perhaps to help Soma's retaliation hit home.
Hey, that's not fair, double teaming like that! Did Tenma and Miu do that to anybody? No sir they did not. But the Gedo High swordsman is forced to watch as the other two go after Miu in the aftermath of her crazy huge energy blast - which having been on the receiving end of, he's somewhat amazed that Soma is still standing - and he grits his teeth. Switch? Not this time. If they're gonna play that way... Then who is he to do any different?
Giving his wooden blade a quick twirl from his wrist, Tenma gets a two-handed grip on it, raising it quickly over his head and then sweeping it downwards in a broad arc... Except he's way far away from the others, so what's he doing? That particular question is answered when from the arc of the blade a crescent-shaped wave of pure blood launches out, tearing through the air towards Soma's back in all its macabre glory. "Hope you've got eyes in the back of your head, gramps!"
COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Hotaru's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Soma
COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Soma's Eclipse.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Soma
"What--" Miu's statement cannot be finished, the girl left in total shock. How in the hell did he just -take- that?! But the fight continues even while she takes pause, suddenly finding her arm wrapped with wire. Shaken free of her train of thought, Miu is flung into the air-- and right on course with Hotaru's incoming kick. Using the wire and the angle to her advantage, the smallest Kurosaki pulls her ensnared arm until the wire goes taut, cutting down the angle and room she has to swing. Her body goes horizontal and her legs drop, body backarched as the jumping kick sails over her body in a distance measurable only by the half-inch. Miu lands on her knees with a thud, gripping the wire and untangling her arm from the mess as quickly as possible.
Stepping back as Tenma comes to her rescue in the meantime, Miu brings up her left arm in preparation of defense and breathes heavy and hard, shoulders rising and falling as her injuries start catching up to her body. 'Slow down-- take it easy. Don't get caught up in their pace. Catch your breath.'
COMBATSYS: Miu gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Soma
COMBATSYS: Soma negates Dharmapala from Tenma with Nova.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Soma
Eyes in the back of his head? Maybe. Or some sort of sixth sense. Even as he snaps back the wire from his failed attempt to hurl Miu, the Interpol agent's other hand is calmly reaching inside his jacket. When the crescent wave of creepy red chi nears him, Soma smoothly turns and hurls a silver-black glowing... something, it's small enough so the glow eclipses any good view of it... at the incoming attack. Both collide, and then vanish in a burst of red and silver. Despite the blood matting his hair and face, he has time to smile faintly at Tenma. "That's not really a sincere hope, I'm guessing."
Her own attack avoided by Miu's quick thinking and reflexes, Hotaru lands easly on the ground, her mouth curling into a bit of a smile. She had underestimated the fellow student's ability to avoid her attacks, having grown confident in her string of successes early on. There is a glance toward Soma as the agent handles Tenma's incoming attack with one of his own. She's worried about him, but he seems to be weathering on in spite the devastating attack Miu dealt him.
Turning her attention back to Miu, Hotaru grits her teeth. Their last duo attack didn't do the job, and now Soma is busy with Temna for a moment. She can't back off and give her too much time to recover herself though. She can tell Miu is tough enough to keep going for a long while if left alone, and Hotaru is starting to feel the burn of pushing herself so hard during the front end of the match.
Another sprint forward is made, then a short hop to give herself quick momentum, then finally a jab extendeds roughly for Miu's shoulder.
Well, that's new and exciting! Tenma's never actually seen that happen before, as his attack is dispersed pretty much harmlessly by Soma's own energy blast. "Heh, not bad," he allows, shouldering his wooden sword once again before he charges directly at Soma, for the moment apparently ignoring both Miu and Hotaru entirely. The 'old man' has proven to be pretty tricksy, so why not keep fighting with him until he can't fight anymore?
As he gets closer to Soma, Tenma's attention shifts somewhat to his footwork, as he tries to herd the other man into a better position, his free hand lashing out in a series of bare-knuckle strikes... But they're more than just normal punches, instead designed to disrupt the flow of energy through his opponent's body. "But can you keep it up?!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Miu with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Miu 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Soma
What -was- it with her tonight? Many can attest-- her partner tonight included-- that Miu is much more 'with it', more alert and much more adept at dodging or even taking blows than this. Has the intensity of the last couple of weeks gotten to her? The back to back fights, so many days in a row, without rest? In the wake of all this, one more attack is heading her way-- one more punch, one more swing at her.
Miu leans, but her dodge is too late-- knuckles smack square not into her shoulder, but right into her forehead. As tired as she is, as angry as she is, the Seijyun crow girl still hasn't given up yet! Grabbing at that hand, the littlest Kurosaki aims to fling herself over Hotaru's back in a manner much like Tenma-- but her legs hook forward, toes seeking to plant on the other student's back. Her fist rears back with a white feather atop her knuckles, and one solid wound-up punch is thrown at the back of her head. The force, strangely enough, has enough push to it to throw the black-haired girl through the air even though the more painful effect is only set to introduce itself to Hotaru...
COMBATSYS: Miu can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
> /////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Soma
COMBATSYS: Soma blocks Tenma's Flow Breaker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
> ////// ]
|=======\=====--\1 Soma
Unruffled despite Tenma's raging aggression, Soma goes through the motions of blocking each punch in turn, pressing the hilt of his dagger into the blow to suck up physical force, his own hands flickering silver-black to deal with the incoming energy as well. However, he's not really feeling the need to attack just now, and kicking off the ground, he backflips away and drops back into stance, collecting himself. "Not bad, but... not great either."
COMBATSYS: Soma gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
> ///////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Soma
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Hotaru with Psi-Launcher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Tenma 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
> ///////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Soma
She hadn't expected to be so fortuitous as to strike Miu right in the forehead, her knuckles striking harder stuff than the shoulder she had aimed for. Landing on her feet, she is surprised by the way the other girl flips over her, normally able to slip free from tricky attacks like that.
With Miu on her back, Hotaru is in no position to get her off or wriggle free. All she can do is panic for a split second, before Miu's fist crashes into the back of her head, sending the Kenpo artist stumbling forward, dropping to her hands and knees while Miu falls off her in another direction. Shaking her head, her pig tails flailing, Hotaru pushes herself back up to her feet, turning back around to brace herself, expecting a follow up from Miu. But she had underestimated how solidly her last blow had hit and it looks like Miu is out of the fight. Well then... The young fighter glances toward Tenma next, then toward Soma. Having pushed herself hard in running around so much, but she can't slow down now. And besides, Soma seems to be catching his breath for a bit. Endurance, that's what her training all week has been about. She won't let down her new sensei's by slowing down when she hasn't been hurt all that bad! Running toward Tenma, the girl leaps into the air, flips, and dives toward him with her knee in much the same way she struck Miu earlier. Perhaps familiarity with the attack will improve Tenma's chances of reacting to it...
COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Tenma 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
> ///////// ]
|=======\====---\1 Soma
With Miu down, Tenma knows exactly what has to be coming next, as Hotaru turns her attention towards him. It's pretty clear that she's most likely the single strongest individual in this fight, and honestly... He'd probably like to fight her one on one, but somehow he doubts Soma would be so nice as to just sit the rest of the fight out. Plus the clowns might interfere or something. STUPID CLOWNS. Anyway, as it happens Tenma does have a good idea of what to do about Hotaru's flying knee attack, as he... Stands his ground against it?!
Yes, Tenma gets hit, but he doesn't let himself react to it any more than he has to, actually leaping /into/ the attack to reduce the damage somewhat, and focusing his chi, the apparent young thug performs a rather remarkable feat as he uses Hotaru as a point of leverage, vaulting himself /over/ her and arcing through the air towards Soma in a slow flip. His /plan/ is to hook an arm around Soma's neck as he falls and take the other man down with him, driving the back of his head into Tenma's own shoulder, but... It's kind of a tricksy situation, and the move itself is almost distressingly sloppy.
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Soma with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Tenma 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
> ////// ]
|=======\=====--\1 Soma
Soma had PLANNED to walk right into Tenma's attack in the hopes of landing one of his own. Perhaps to Tenma's credit, his ghetto-fabulous way of doing a quick throw works better than expected. After all, if it contradicts fighting science, typical ways of dealing with the technique aren't going to work, right? With a loud *CRACK* Soma's head hits Tenma's shoulder and, stunned momentarily, the undercover agent stumbles away, clutching at his skull. That kinda hurt. A lot.
Looking up when his vision clears, Soma frowns at the Gedo student, barely even aware that Miu is down. Flicking his daggers back into his grip, he sets his jaw. It's... his greatest technique. He studied long and hard to perfect it. And so far, it has yet to connect. In fact, it's been shut down fantastically every time he's used it. Which might be why Soma can be heard to mutter, as he tenses, "This time for sure."
Then he disappears.
Moving faster than the eye can track, the Fighting Novelist only becomes visible again as he drops *past* Tenma in a crouch, his daggers crossed in front of him and the wires, hopefully, locked around the boy's legs in tight loops...
COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Orihime's Loom from Soma with Dead End Breaker.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
> ]
|======-\-------\0 Soma
It's hard to imagine Hotaru's surprise as Tenma leaps into her attack, meeting her half way. Her knee strikes home, but the rest of the attack is completely fumbled as the girl is used as an impromptu polevault. The result is her falling out of the air, landing off balance enough for her to end up just opting to roll out of it instead. Coming up to her feet, she whirls around to see Tenma and Soma exchanging attacks. For the moment? She stays back. She has no idea what they're about to do to ecah other, and jumping into the middle of that just isn't high on her list of things to do.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hotaru
> ]
|======-\-------\0 Soma
That kind of speed just isn't something you can deal with easily, is it? Instead, Tenma once again chooses to stand his ground, and he suffers for it, his legs bound in wires... But with a bellowing roar, the Gedo swordsman forces his legs apart, painfully, feeling the wires cut into his flesh as he breaks free, lunging forward to lash at Soma's exposed back with his blood-charged bokken. "Weak!!" he shouts, which is entirely untrue, but he's an arrogant little bastard; he launches into a brief combination of strikes with his free fist and feet after the initial weapon-strike, and ends it all off with another fantastic headbutt, which leaves him bloodied and battered and breathing raggedly, barely able to stand...
Yes, it's true. Soma is weak. He also goes flying across the center ring from the force of the combination attack and doesn't get back up again.
COMBATSYS: Soma takes no action.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Soma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hotaru
The attack Soma decided to use is too fast for Hotaru to really tell what he's going for, until she sees the glint of wires snaring Tenma and she thinks it is pretty much over. But the sword-fighter has another idea in mind, lashing out with everything he has to weather the pain and barrel on all the same.
Marveling at the outcome of the exchange, Hotaru leans her head to the side, looking torn. She should give Tenma a second to catch his breath and she almost does. But this is a tournament fight, and all it takes is the slightest hesitation for a strong fighter to turn the tide.
She casts a worried glance Soma's way, that final assault looked brutal, but in the end her attention is on Tenma. There is a slight nod his way, an acknowledgement as it were. He fought well, but she is going to try and finish it now.
Sprinting for him, she hops a foot off the ground a couple yards out, spinning her body to build up momentum as she swings her arms toward him, one after another, as her feet touch the ground. Then she swings again and again, trying to wear his defenses down, looking for a weakness, before pushing the attack further.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Tenma with Ten-ren-ge.
[ < > /////////////////// ]
Tenma 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
Once his defenses fall, Hotaru will jab a few more times, before leaping into him, attempting to launch him into the air with the same style of shoulder tackle she used on Miu. After that, it's simply a matter of her doing a strong, spinning kick in mid-air to send Tenma flying before dropping back down to the ground with a huff.
In retrospect, Tenma would probably have preferred the chance to catch his breath, you know? Of course, he doesn't get it; what he does get is very little time to get out of the way. And he does actually try to avoid Hotaru's attack, but he's not fast enough, and the girl batters right through his guard, catching him with every strike and finally sending him flying, so he crashes into the wall and then onto the ground, rather painfully. He is, in all honesty, done... Except for one little thing.
"Hah... You're pretty strong, ain'tcha?" Tenma wonders of Hotaru as he pushes himself up to his feet, shakily. Oh yeah, he's only got enough left for one last trick... Which is why he raises his bokken up and then drives it down, point-first into the hard packed dirt. "TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE!!" he shouts, and cracks spiderweb out from around where his sword is embedded in the dirt, red, bloodlike chi erupting out of them in waves as they race towards Hotaru, converging on her!
Of course, whatever happens, Tenma then slowly flops over onto his front... But one of the clowns sets a pie down first to 'cushion his fall', which he lands facefirst in with a quiet *splut*. So much for looking cool.
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
> /////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Hotaru with Hell of Blood.
> ///////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
This has been the best Hotaru has managed to do for quite some time and even after the attacks she's landed, she's avoided driving herself to exhaustion like she normally does in matches - fighting like a match with only a small amount to fuel to burn before it runs out. But careful pacing and a few tide-turning opportunities carried her through. Ryo-sensei should be proud, she thinks to herself. Maybe all those laps and situps and pushups ARE paying off.
The problem is, she's thinking about all this when the match /isn't/ quite over yet. Tenma is still getting up, commenting on her strength. Slow to take him as a serious threat, she looks back toward him just in time to see him launch a final attack her way.
The bloody chi is startling, the girl realizing that there's more to his attacks than she had the chance to notice during the fight proper. Not really sure of the angle best to dodge them, she tries to brace herself for impact instead, raising her arms to cover her face. But that's not really enough and the wave knocks her clean off her feet and back down to the ground with a gasp.
Thinking the fight still on, she rolls back to her feet frantically. But the lights in the tent have gone out and for the moment, the spotlight rests alone on young Hotaru Futaba with her first SNF victory to date. Relaxing, she leans forward, resting her hands on her knees and sighs with relief.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:18:36 05/12/2007 by Tenma, and last modified on 20:06:01 05/16/2007.