Description: Hotaru, in her quest to find the perfect school, comes to Gedo High in order to determine its eligibility, by beating up local students.
It had started with Taiyo High where Hotaru, at Takuma's behest, leaped out of a tree and ambushed Shingo. He was a good kid. Kicked like a mule, but a real gentleman too. She could see attending school at Taiyo. Justice came next where she faced Kurow Kirishima. He was an amazing fighter, but as far as introductions to school go, he didn't exactly exude the type of personality Hotaru would have wanted to attend school with.
Some might laugh that young Futaba was even going to look at Gedo High as a potential place to attend school, but she is being quite thorough in her investigations. She wants to go where she thinks she will grow the most, even if that means transfering to Gedo High. The executor of the Futaba estate would have a fit if he know - but she isn't asking. She knows Acacia attends here, and aside from Sakura, she's one of the toughest girls Hotaru knows. So there must be something to be said about being a student at Gedo.
The time is late afternoon. The sun is still high in the horizon, but shadows are gradually extending their limits. After school, the perfect time to walk about looking for the right person to challenge without disrupting whatever passes as class during the day here.
At a glance, she Hotaru doesn't fit in too well. Clothing clean, pristine white and sharp blues with gold embrodery. The style is traditionally Chinese, though she is clearly a Japanese student herself. She walks around the outside of the large, old yet maintained buildings, eying various students, trying to pick the right one to challenge. Her pace is relaxed, her hands clasped behind her back. If she is at all nervous, she doesn't show it.
Late afternoon was when things got interesting at Gedo High. No longer are there any classes, but clubs are still in full swing, and students aren't yet being kicked off of campus. Which means they basically get to do whatever they want, so long as they aren't vandalizing school property. Or, well, worse. While there wasn't any outright illegal activities going down (that anyone could see), what two particular Gedites were doing at this particular time frame, however, could be construed as 'worse' than vandalism.
Settled out in the front under the shade of a tree, a small gathering of students in uniform sit. One might even look familiar to Hotaru - a certain black haired, white hoodie'd young man, sitting passively under the tree, looking... somewhat serious, actually, rather than his usual spaced-out-ness or general cheerful politeness. In one hand, he seems to be holding a wooden bowl of sorts, and in his other, between three fingers, he holds a pair of dice. Tenma sits next to him, and three other students across from him. While perhaps a little brazen to be doing it out in front, the five seemed to be... gambling. Perhaps it was only tolerated because the stakes weren't very high - they were playing for lunch breads. And, it would seem, just from looking, that Tenma was winning again the other three - Hakuya's part in this seemed to be a 'neutral' dice roller.
"The bet is set at one spicy bread for one yakisoba bread. I will now roll." A deft, dexterous cast of the hands is made, a somewhat showy motion where Hakuya 'throws' or maybe even 'slaps' the dice into the bowl, then quickly slams the bowl upside down onto the grass in front of him. He waits a moment, then looks up to Tenma, and then to the other guy playing. "Even, or odd?"
'Sitting' is probably the wrong word for it; Tenma Kiryuu very rarely sits when he doesn't have to, and instead the taller Guardian King is sitting on his haunches, crouched low with his knees in front of his chest. As usual, his cloth-wrapped bokken is held close as well, one end resting against the ground while the blade leans on his shoulder; also as usual, he's smirking confidently at the other boys, his opponents for this little exercise. Certainly, the weapon isn't meant to be construed as any sort of implied threat... He just always carries it with him!
Anyway, Tenma makes no indications whatsoever that Hakuya might be less than impartial here, even if they ARE teammates, because really... The other boy is clearly too good-natured to do something like /cheat/, isn't he? The only thing that might betray them is Tenma's obvious confidence, but he ALWAYS seems like that. "Even," the Gedo swordsman says, leaving his opponent with little choice but to choose odd. Oh Hotaru, what have you wandered into?
For years she had been a reluctant fighter, but circumstances change... especially when those circumstances happen to be manipulated by the well meaning Takuma and Ryo Sakazaki who seem to have their minds set on sending Hotaru into as many wild and dangerous scenarios as their possibly fevered minds can come up with. This latest adventure is only the next in a long list of many things they've had her done that she would never have dared to do of her own volition.
Many students are glanced over. Sometimes she gives them little more than a sideglance before moving on while others she pauses in her steps to contemplate. It's a hard thing to walk into campus and look for a random fight to pick. If her instincts are wrong and she picks someone who isn't a fighter to begin with, that wouldn't really make a great impression for the transfer paperwork at all.
Finally she wanders near the tree as Hakuya speaks up and she stops walking. A thoughtful look is cast toward the cluster of students. It's easy to pick up on what they're doing with the bowl and dice. It's also easy to pick out Hakuya, the young man she met at the YFCC last week. Huh, she muses, a smile crossing her lips. She had mentioned she'd see him again sometime, but she hadn't expected it to be here. A second surprise is in store as she recognizes Tenma, remembering him well from a SNF match a couple weeks ago.
Ah yes, this looks good. She knows both of them are fighters, so there's no risk of picking on someone who can't fight back! Waiting for the fate of the gamblers to be determined this round, Hotaru immediately steps up to the group, hands still clasped behind her back, "Hello Hakuya. Tenma." she says readily, her expression friendly on the surface, though a certain determination burns in her eyes. "I am interested in seeing the fighting spirit of Gedo first hand. Will one of you fight me?" Straight to the point. At least she didn't try to jump out of the tree at them by surprise.
The fate of the gamblers is all in Hakuya's hands, it seems, as the two cast their guesses. While no doubt the nameless young man playing across from Tenma -could- have guessed even as well, there was really no point to that. So, as Tenma makes his choice, Hakuya nods, and then lifts up the bowl, displaying a pair of threes. "Even," Hakuya states, and unfortunately it takes a moment for the nameless student to register that three plus three does indeed equal an even number. Once he does, he yells loudly in defeat, collasping backwards as he cries out. Hakuya, the keeper of the bets, then passes both the spicy and yakisoba breads on to Tenma, his serious, completely neutral expression only being marred by two blinks in rapid succession, right as he looks at his friend. While it's so subtle that no one would really notice it, Tenma knows exactly what that means. It means the next throw will be even again. The two were cheating!
Yet, the next throw never comes, as Hotaru speaks up, distracting the entire group. Hakuya blinks again, and then turns his body around to look at the blue haired girl, his features momentarily confused, and then brightening as he finally figures out who the familiar-looking girl is. "Oh, it's you," he says, and offers an easy smile, his serious look completely vanishing. A moment is then given for the young man to blink, and look to Tenma, then back to Hotaru. They knew each other...? What a tweest. Smiling a little more, and then nodding his head in a friendly way, the Suigetsu heir says, "Either of us would, I think... but these three..." he looks back to the other three, now almost entirely breadless boys due to Tenma and Hakuya's devious cheating at the bread gambling ring, and then smiles apologetically up to Hotaru, "I think they're a little... um, not in your league." Indeed, the other three seem mostly interested in Hotaru, and not her fighting stills. One of them even speaks up: "Whoa, Kiryuu, you know a fancy lookin' chick like this?"
Chuckling contentedly to himself, Tenma gathers up his winnings. "Too bad, too bad. I'm just lucky today, huh?" he suggests with a broader smirk than usual, because the breads will hit the spot nicely - his grandfather is incredibly stingy with money, and looks down quite harshly on what he perceives as 'gluttony'. "Maybe you guys should quit while you're behind..." But of course they won't. There's masculine pride to be considered! But then, somebody else shows up, and ruins the whole thing.
A slight frown appears on Tenma's face as Hotaru arrives - he does indeed remember her, the extremely strong girl from that stupid circus SNF match - though he's a bit more surprised that Hakuya knows her as well. "Heh... Seems like an awful long way to come lookin' for a fight," he says with some amusement at Hotaru's request. Let's face it; she doesn't look like she belongs around Gedo Street. When the other boy pipes up, though, Tenma shoots him a look. "Watch it. When Hakuya said you all weren't in her league, he didn't just mean fightin'." And that's probably as close to chivalry as anyone is ever likely to see Tenma Kiryuu get. "Hakuya, I ain't seen you fight anybody for a while, why don't you show the little princess what's what?" Because surely, Hakuya wouldn't /lose/ against her, now would he?
A polite smile is offered the three picked out as not being of competative calibur and she seems to pay the flippant remark little attention. She's heard that Gedo high trains almost all of its students to fight, but she's also quite aware that how for one has gone with such training will vary by individual. And then there's those who seem to have learned styles that are not likely to be taught on a school camps at all. *pointed look at Tenma*
She replies to the sword user first, offering a little in the way of explanation. "I'm looking for a school that's right for me. Seijyun... I don't think it's for me." The girls are too prissy and the atmosphere stifling. Unless you're a blatant rebel like Zaki or Akira, getting by at that all girl's school can be a real drag if one is used to being more free.
"Master Takuma has told me that the only way to know for sure where to go is to find out what kind of fighters are at the different schools!" She sounds pretty convinced that it makes sense as there isn't a trace of doubt in her voice at this perhaps unorthodox method of selecting an educational institution.
As Tenma volunteers his friend, Hotaru looks pleased. In just lightly sparing with Hakuya before she determined him to be a pretty tough young man. Definitely more capable than she took him at first glance. Then again, she picked Kurow as being a valid opponent to test herself, so her instincts for gauging fighters don't seem to be the sharpest thing around.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Hakuya," she speaks up, taking a few steps to back away from him. She unclasps her hands and brings them forward to cross her arms in front of her before exhaling slowly, slipping into a stance that suggests she's quite ready to fight.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
Suitably cowed by Tenma's snap, the three back off a little, now content to just gather what little lunch bread they had left, and just... mosey on off and away. Maybe they'll hang around, out of sight, to watch, but it was clear the big kids were talking, here, and they'd best skidattle. This leaves Hakuya looking perplexed. Tenma was passing up a fight in order to watch him...? Huh. Okay. It wasn't like he minded, and Hotaru was suitably strong that it was fun to fight against her. Even Hotaru herself seemed interested in fighting... and it -was- true their last match, even if it had just been for show, had been interrupted by a certain Goblin. "Um... alright," the Suigetsu says, and then sets the bowl down, the dice settling in them. Standing up, he moves across from the pigtailed girl, his arms swinging a bit in order to loosen them up, and then sliding into his own fighting stance, opposite his new opponent. A few other people in the entry to Gedo stop to look, wondering what's going on - a small group of spectators.
Hakuya's stance is as it was before. Legs spread shoulder width apart, hands held up, unclenched, palms facing outwards. Taking a deep breath, holding it a moment, then letting it go, he gets himself mentally prepared for a fight in not much time at all. This time, however, he motions to the girl in front of him, and says: "This time, since I was allowed first strike... I think it would be good manners to allow you the first," he says, and smiles easily. No chivalry here: he'd probably say the same thing to Tenma. Because he's just that nice of a guy.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
Well, Tenma's far too new at Gedo to have learned anything here, anyway! Though he wouldn't mind the opportunity to add a little karate or judo to his moves. "Well, there ain't a lot of girls here, Princess," he replies to Hotaru, though if she does end up not going to Seijyun anymore, he's going to need to come up with a new nickname for her. "Might be more trouble for you than it's worth." And /then/ he snags a stuffed bread out of the pile, opening the wrapper. Perhaps this is the real reason he's letting Hakuya have first dibs: He was hungry.
As Hakuya takes a moment to stretch, Hotaru adjusts her stance such that her side is facing him, as if offering a more narrow target to strike against. Not to mention making it easier to lean and weave out of the way of incoming attacks. The nearer arm is lowered at an angle in front of her, ready for defending, while her other arm is back, upright, ready for striking.
She doesn't miss Tenma's statement as he gets ready to enjoy the proceeds of their school-yard racketeering. She nods, eyes focusing on him for a moment. It's true there aren't many here, but it seems the girls that do tough it out at Gedo are incredibly strong. Probably comes with the territory, she muses.
Once her opponent is ready, her blue eyes focus back on him, nodding as she acknowledges his invitation to start. Fair enough. She switches from standing at the ready to sprinting forward in a blink, running full force at him but not carelessly so. If he tries to attack her first, she'll attempt to weave any retaliation. Not slowing down at all, she tries to grab hold of those forward hands of his and use them for leverage to land a number of kicks against him. She'll release his hands eventually as she tries to run right up the front of him like a set of stairs before flipping backwards off of his shoulder to try and land safely away.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya endures Hotaru's Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Hakuya
Nodding, Hakuya seems to be agreeing with what Tenma says - the girls here were few in number, and they were either 'easy' or they were tough. And given Hotaru's rich appearance, she'd be quite the target - no less so than Hakuya, with his general peaceful demeanor, but fighting against Tenma and putting several holes into the courtyard had won him respect fairly quickly. Who knows how hard it'd be for Hotaru to earn the same? Either way, Hakuya won't decide for her. He's... just pitching in his agreement with Tenma, by way of silent nod. For there's little time for anything else, as Hotaru is attacking!
The attack is familiar to him, though, and much like the first time, he meets the force of the kicks with his 'own' force, shifting his body to take the hits on his body with parts he can more easily take the blows from. Tensed areas, rather than just being struck flat. And because of this, when Hotaru flips backwards, he's once again in prime position to chase after her, moving up to her and striking out with a hand just as she lands, palm lashing to her stomach... and hopefully causing a panicked rush backwards, in an attempt to avoid. He'll then attempt to sweep his leg around, and behind Hotaru's legs, sweeping them out from under her, while pushing her hard with a hand, toppling her to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Hakuya's Waning Dawn.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Hakuya
That attack of hers relies on a lot more brute force than most people take the young fighter for, even though it ends with such an acrobatic flourish in the form of the backflip. Hotaru has knocked grown men down with it before - so to see Hakuya not only on his feet but able to come charging for her even as her feet touch the ground gives her a pretty good indication of how tough the young man is.
While she does land prepared to defend herself, Hakuya leaves no room for fancy footwork on the part of the agile fighter. Both of her arms lower to absorb the strike toward her stomach, deflecting most of the force of the blow. And by the time he attempts to sweep her, the girl has already quickly moved out of position, now standing close at his side.
Her next attack draws upon the same blue manifestations of chi that he saw her produce the last time. Only this time the focal point is her fingers as she rolls her arm behind her then smoothly slings her hand toward him, sending a small sphere of rippling blue force directly toward the fighter's side from practically point blank range. "Ha!"
COMBATSYS: Hakuya fails to reflect Hakki Shou from Hotaru with Full Moon Sunder.
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Hotaru 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Hakuya
Well, that's a first! Someone moving away from his attack by more or less just stepping forward, his side closest to the other fighter being the only open side. And, being that close, it makes it difficult to do anything in a defensive sort of way. That doesn't mean he doesn't try, of course, but it's still very hard. The buildup of chi is familiar to Hakuya, both in that he can guess what Hotaru might be trying to do, and also that he's very familiar with chi buildups in general, given his background. So he takes a gamble on what's going to happen next, and he seems to be trying to adjust his hands to get behind the chi fireball. And while he succeeds in that, it's also true that he's being attacked from the side, and he's never attempted this move from such an angle. Thus, his footing is all wrong, and 'catched' as the projectile might be, he still gets blown right off his feet, the chi exploding on him and his body being forced away from the Kyokugen fighter, tumbling to the ground and away a few feet. "Aghh..." he mutters out, and then shifts to his feet, trying to push himself up. "Heh, getting hit by a projectile from the side... I'll never hear the end of that..." he says, smiling a little bit as he slowly gets back to his feet.
As Hotaru pulls her hand back following the lobbing of the small but potent fireball, it might be apparent to an observer that the attack took quite a lot of effort for her to do. The blue aura around her arm that helped power the attack subsides, fading back into the limb. But Hakuya is probably getting knocked around to discern the soft exhale that follows.
'Pace yourself,' she chides, having started off with pushing for strong but demanding attacks to begin the fight. While that has born her out so far this match, it's at the risk of being worn out before too long.
Hotaru waits for Hakuya to get back up. While she isn't here to pull punches, she's not the sort to attack someone while they're getting to their feet unless she really desperately needs the edge such attacks sometimes afford. She watches him warily now. She isn't entirely sure what he was trying to pull off just before her fireball struck home, but she suspects that he has more experience with dealing with projectiles than many. It's a good thing she caught him at such an awkward angle. "First time, hm?" she asks, blue eyes looking a little amused.
Once she's satisfied he's had his chance to get back up, her amused expression fades instantly as she's once again very serious. Hotaru cuts the distance between the two short with a quick hop, just high enough to try and strike him on the shoulder with a palm press. The angle isn't high, in order to avoid giving him a chance to retaliate easily, but this also means there isn't a lot of momentum behind the attack.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya blocks Hotaru's Quick Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Hakuya
Shaking his head a little, Hakuya continues to give that soft smile of his. "I'm used to people with attacks like that... attacking from the front... it was a little naive of me," he says, but even as he does he's dropping into his fighting stance again, once again ready to do battle... which starts off easily enough with Hotaru charging - or hopping, rather - him, aiming a punch at his shoulder. Rather than blowing through it this time, however, he leans into the attack just a bit, while raising his arms up in an 'X' shape to block the strike with his arms, a less painful experience than getting hit dead on, light strike or not. Once the hand is pulled back, he ducks low and makes his own strike by attempting to wrap his arms around Hotaru's waist, tugging her forward, and then lifting her up, over, and back down again in a simple, though effective suplex, driving her headfirst into the ground.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Hakuya's Strong Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Hakuya
As her hand is blocked, Hotaru's feet come to land on the ground and she's forced to take a step forward to catch herself. The split second to recover makes it possible for the young man to grab hold of her around the waist but he'll find his opponent a squirrelly one to keep hold of. As he begins to pull her forward to drop her back to the ground, there isn't a lot she can do to stop the attack from progressing. But the lithe girl manages to twist herself around in his grip, placing her hands out in front of her to catch the fall, and roll forward out of the grapple all together unscathed, coming back up to her feet a couple of feet away.
She turns back on him quickly, a grin on her face, "I thought you might try something like that," she replies, having been paying a lot of attention to the way he moves, his stance, his build. He's good at handling himself in close.
Perhaps intending to show him that she can do likewise, Hotaru darts back forward and jumps a second time, this time aiming to land her hands on his shoulders and flip up into a handstand on top of him. If she manages to do this, she'll take a quick moment to swap shoulders, effectively turning herself around, then drop down behind him, swinging her legs into his back with the intent to send him flying some distance.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya interrupts Ten Ranku-Tou from Hotaru with Blind Crescent.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hakuya
Wriggling right out of his grasp, Hakuya is left with little reason to go through with his suplex as Hotaru evades his attempt at a throw. Because he was expecting his weight to go a certain way, he's caught off guard, however, with just how evasive she is, and he stumbles a little bit after her, but not enough to grab her again or anything. The comment is ignored, in favor of watching her attack as she moves in to try and strike him with her own version of a throw. Up and over she goes, swapping around and then trying to bring her knees down onto his back. Instead of the intended effect, however, the knees slam into him... and he just rolls his body around rather than flying forward, arm lashing out behind him to grab Hotaru. Once this succeeds, he then continues rolling around, drawing the lighter girl's body into a circular motion, that ends with her on the side, ending up right where she started her attack from. Except, now she's being thrown, Hakuya releasing the girl from his grasp as she comes the full 180. But, that's not all! For as she's thrown, the Suigetsu heir follows it up with a kick, driving her down into the ground faster.
The entire sequence reminds her of why she found the young man a tough challenge the first time. Even in the midst of being attacked he still manages to turn the situation around quickly right back on her. The turning around disorients her, but that's nothing compared to the kick that sends her crashing against the ground, "Itai!" She rolls twice before coming to a stop before pushing herself back up.
The look she gives him then is one of wary respect. He proved he's able to roll with her attacks pretty well so far even though she's managed to avoid most of his retaliation until now.
She's been attacking high thus far, so she decides to mix it up a little, running back toward him and dropping into a low side kick. Not a ton of force behind it, but it might be enough to knock his stance loose for more attacks. Perhaps she's trying to guage how well he can correct for the shift in attack vector.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hakuya with Light Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hakuya
The answer to that is... not very well, it would seem! As he recovers from the counter he makes, his own feet dancing backwards a bit to get balance back. He's just about settled when Hotaru makes her own attack, charging at him and then ducking low in order to make a low side attack with her feet. He's a little surprised by the sudden change in the angle of the attacks, and he attempts to lean into it, doing like he had done to her first attack, but it strikes a little too 'off', a little too fast. Grunting as his footing is tripped up, the Suigetsu heir can think of only one move he can do that would not end potentially badly for him... and so, he uses it. Rather than attempting to get his footing back, he kicks one leg hard enough outwards - not really at the blue haired girl, but more as a maneuver - to make the rest of his body follow, turning his back to Hotaru, effectively. But this also means he never recovers his balnnce, meaning he begins to topple down towards Hotaru. All in the plan, it seems, as he extends his elbow, intending to do a haphazard elbow drow onto her.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Hakuya's Strong Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
Unfortunately for Hakuya, Hotaru has had plenty of experience with opponents stumbling into her. It seems to be a Higashi Favorite. She doesn't end up scooting out of the way though, instead raising her arms to brace herself against the heavier young man, grunting a little as she digs her feet in to avoid getting knocked over by his weight and elbow strike.
So there's a moment where she is bracing him up, his elbow locked against her arms. And then the next moment she is spinning around, launching a strong roundhouse as she leans out from under him, attempting to kick him hard in the side and help him finish that descent that she intercepted with her body in the first place.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya dodges Hotaru's Heavy Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
As his attack is blocked, Hakuya's all too aware that he's not an extremely good position. Were he able to extert more pressure on her somehow, it might be okay... but he's not really the one that goes for brute force, anyway. Sometimes it's good, but usually using his friends gravity, inertia and momentum are the best bet. So, keeping his elbow on Hotaru's hands for only a split second, the young man immediately rolls off the side and away, the foot catching the air where he once was. Rolling back onto his feet, he gets up and ready once more, his breathing coming out in a slight pant for a few seconds, shaking his head a bit. "Ha ha, that was a little close..." he says, his smile returning for but a moment, before he goes back to being serious again.
Waiting until Hotaru is back onto her feet - should she be moving for that, anyway - he then moves forward, moving with urgency, but not quite running. When he gets within striking distance to his opponent, he lashes out again. His front foot 'slips', his body lowering quickly, with all his weight planted on his back foot, supporting leg bending at the knee. His hand goes out to strike at the Kyokugen's knee, then rises swiftly in order to drive another open palm to the girl's chin. Another two attacks follow, a dual palm rush to her middle, and a shoulder rush, each done in rapid succession after the palm strike.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Howling Harvest from Hakuya with Hakki Shou EX.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Hakuya
She returns his smile as he recovers his footing, having already lowered her foot after the missed kick herself. But the expression is fleeting, there's no time for losing track of the fight as she's felt Hakuya's attacks directly before. Though her training of late has been on endurance, there's still the unpleasantries associated with getting knocked silly, no matter how easy Ryo and Marco make it look in her eyes.
When Hakuya advances on her, Hotaru begins to move as if trying to avoid him. And indeed, that's what her instincts tell her to do. It's only by focusing on the things Ryo has been drilling into her day after day that she is able to keep herself from dodging on pure instinct, however. The young man will sense the build up of chi again, like before, as Hotaru pulls her hand back and her arm is literally soaked in a water-like blue aura. The focal point is still in her palm though as she prepares another sphere of force.
When he strikes her knee, she falters a little, bringing her arm forward immediately as she can't wait any longer. Though his palm deals a direct blow to her chin, Hotaru's hand is already slamming the Hakki Shou directly into his chest at point blank range, "Yaa!"
She stumbles back several steps from the two strikes he did manage to land, her hand coming up to rub her chin. Ow, she's glad she didn't have to endure the rest of his combination attack.
Well, at least two strikes land! And no doubt they hurt - a palm strike to the knee followed by one to the chin. However, though his strikes no doubt hurt, the blue sphere of energy Hotaru brings about to train on him and then throw is also pretty hurtful. There was not a thing he could've done with this one, not even an attempt to reverse it, since her hands were already inside his guard. The chibomb hits him square in the chest, and he is forced back again. Though, this time instead of flying, he manages to keep his feet, even though it's still a forced movement. He skids over the grass, and then moves into a crouch to regain his balance. Pausing just a moment, he pants a bit, then pushes himself up in order to launch another attack. It's clear now that, even if he's not fighting like it were a life and death struggle, he's taking it a bit more seriously - he's exerting himself in order to keep up with Hotaru. As he closes the distance with the pigtailed girl, he lashes out with his palms again, attempting to strike her in the stomach and shoulder, two shots a piece, but quick and light.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Quick Punch from Hakuya with Tenshin Shou EX.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Hakuya
Hotaru has prepared herself again as Hakuya rebounds for another attack. But he's slowing down, she can tell. She knows the feeling - often driving herself to exhaustion with a rapid fire execution of attacks until she can push herself no further. There have been fights where she literally exhausted herself out of the battle before her opponent was able to strike her down themselves.
When he comes in to strike her again, Hotaru crouches as if tending to just block and weather the light attack out. But the next instant she's leaping right into him, shoulder first with a rising, spinning tackle. He's seen the move before - last time all she managed to do was jump right into his leg and get herself kicked aside for her trouble. But this time it seems she's either improved her timing or is taking advantage of his slower movements. If she felt his strikes at all, it isn't apparent, as she rises into the air until momentum will carry her no further.
Extending her arms, she drops back down to the ground into a crouching position, waiting to see how her opponent weathered the attack.
Hakuya has indeed seen it before! But this time doesn't quite come out like it did last time. Instead, his light strikes are pushed aside in favor of a rising strike, knocking him up a short distance, and then back, impacting against the ground roughly with a loud 'gruh!'. Though the attack itself was painful, so was the part where he came down wrong on it, which was rather unlike him, but he was pretty tired! Slamming down hard on his shoulder, he grunts and rolls to the side, grimacing a bit. But... he still manages to get up it seems. Panting a bit as he makes his feet, he's already lurching towards Hotaru as she lands. He doesn't really need to attack again... he's already lost, but he feels compelled somehow to give it his all. Hotaru likely wouldn't have it any other way!
So, he tries to get his attack on. Running at her, he attempts to clothesline her, catching her in his arm, and then continuing forward with her in tow, until he raises up and slams her down into the ground, assuming he connects. Once that's done, he leans down, picks up her body, and then slams her down again, over and up behind himself in another suplex. Finally, rising one last time, he grabs her by the feet, and drags her a moment, before spinning in place, throwing her away after a loop or two. Regardless of whether the attack hits, he'll be pausing dead after the miss or the hit, panting moderately. "Ha ha... you took me seriously this time... you're a lot tougher than you look, Futaba."
COMBATSYS: Hakuya can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Hakuya's Last Eclipse.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|
It would appear that Hotaru is spared all manner of final pain and misery that Hakuya has in mind before he can fight no longer. Rising up from her crouch, she studies his advance. As the clothesline comes for her, she takes a step to the side, leaning forward to actually duck under it a second early, his arm hitting nothing but the one stubborn cowlick that sticks up over her forehead. She comes back up standing as he goes by, carried by his own momentum. She's in a position to attack, but stays her hand. Something tells her he's giving it his last shot and there's no need to force the end of the fight at this point.
Exhaling, the girl leans forward, resting her hands against her knees as she catches her breath, grinning toward Hakuya, "Thanks, that was some fight. I'm glad to have had the chance to see you in action again." She glances toward his friend then, still catching her breath. She pushed herself hard, but she managed to weather the fight pretty good all things considered, picking the /right/ moments to evade but also picking the most opportune times to just cast aside her fear and trade hits with her opponent. It's something she never would have done before her recent training sessions at the Kyokugen Dojo.
It's then that the girl glances toward Tenma, leaning her head to the side a bit as she stands up straight again, having caught her breath. "I didn't get to see a lot of your style during our SNF match, Tenma. Perhaps you would do me the honor now?" She remembers /enough/. The weapon, the blood colored energy he did manage to hit her with once. Still, a chance to test herself against an art that she knows little about seems like an opportunity that would be hard to pass up!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru drops her guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|
And meanwhile, there's Tenma, sitting on the sidelines quite contentedly, eating a strawberry bread. He doesn't actually like it that much... But Hakuya deserves it for getting his butt whooped. "Mmph," he mutters irritably as his teammate is defeated by this weird girl, wolfing down the rest of the bread hurriedly and tossing the wrapper aside - litterbug! - before he gets to his feet. "All right, Princess," Tenma says, rolling his shoulders as he unties the cloth sheath for his bokken, drawing the weapon clear. The purple cloth is tossed onto the pile of breads, and he gives a bit of a smirk Hakuya's way. "Siddown, I'll show you how it's done."
OR WILL HE?
Anyway, Tenma bites into the flesh of his thumb, bloodying it, before drawing that digit along the blade of his wooden sword, painting a red line down its length, sweeping the weapon through the air as the chi link is forged, and it begins to glow with a misty red aura. "Let's go, whenever you're finished catchin' your breath, huh? Your type does tend to be a bit delicate." Yes, he's goading her; yes, it's probably a little transparent. But he's also got a canny eye out for her movements, looking for the first opening he can find.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Tenma
COMBATSYS: Tenma focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Tenma
Hotaru breaths in a little, then exhales with a huff. Again with the Princess thing. "My name is Hotaru," she states. She tolerated the nickname at first, but by now she feels like she's demonstrated that she's tough enough to not get lumped in with all the frilly girls she attends class with at Seiyjun.
When he acknowledges it's up to her to indicate when she's ready, she nods a bit, mouth curling out of her previous expression into a bit of a grin. For a moment she thinks about how she'll show him how she's hardly delicate, but at the onset of a little pride, she shakes her head, reminding herself to not get distracted by harmless words. Verbal barbs aren't what's going to hurt here - but that red energy and wooden bokken of his? Yeah, those seem capable of hurting quite well.
"All right then, I'm ready." she states, exhaling slowy as she crosses her arms in front of her, then lowers them back into her ready stance. Once again she turns so that her side faces him, providing a comperatively thin target to aim for.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Tenma
That's Tenma for you, though; there's few enough people that he graces by giving them their proper name, and everyone else he seems quite set on just calling them by some nickname or another. "And that's not the point," is the Gedo swordsman's response, his smirk broadening a little bit. The tall boy's arrogance aside, if Hotaru isn't going to come to him... Then, well, he'll have to come to her, won't he?
Rushing forward at a low run, Tenma holds his sword back and up behind him, keeping it clear of his legs as he dashes. His intent is simply to close with Hotaru, and once he gets close enough he straightens, giving the bokken a flourishing twirl before sweeping it down in a diagonal slash, ideally right across the girl's torso.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru endures Tenma's Ungyou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Tenma
Fine. She'll show him she's tough! As Tenma comes charging at Hotaru, the smaller girl just waits for him, the glint in her eyes probably cluing him in that she's going to let him make his attack without so much as trying to get out of the way.
Which isn't to say that the blow doesn't hurt pretty bad when it lands. Getting struck with the slashing attack by a normal bokken would already be enough to get the blood pumping, but the aura behind it really adds an extra sting and the wince in her expression as she bends forward a little after taking the attack shows it.
But the lean forward isn't wasted on feeling bad for herself as her arms reach out to try and grab hold of Tenma's sword weilding arm. If she can get a grip, she'll pull him forward into a kick against his shin to break his stance a little, then a knee against his stomach intending to crumple him forward enough for her to leapfrog off his shoulders with her hands and land on the otherside.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Tenma with Shin-Jou Tai.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Tenma
The thing is, Tenma KNOWS Hotaru hurts; he's just talking smack! And now he's going to pay for it, as he gets grabbed. "Crap--" is all he really gets to say before his shin is kicked, and then he gets kneed in the gut, and /then/ he gets driven into the ground, despite his attempt to roll with it. In fact, he just plain lands badly, making things even worse for himself.
"Heh... Not bad, I guess," Tenma says as he pushes himself back up, suddenly whirling around, sticking one leg out in an attempt to take Hotaru off her feet... And if he manages that, then his bokken swings in a wide arc aimed right at the poor girl's gut, to drive any and all wind out of her body. "BUT I'M NOT DONE YET!!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Tenma's Heavy Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Tenma
She turns around to watch Tenma hit the ground, her mouth curling into just the faintest little smile. It would be wrong to call her expression smug - perhaps 'satisfied' would be appropriate. "I guess," she replies to his evaluation of her attack as being 'Not Bad.'
She waits for him to get back up, however, and looks about ready to dart back in to keep the pressure on when his leg strikes out at her. Having already started forward, she can't dodge now and all she can do is weather the kick, the blow knocking her into a stumble. But she's still able to bring her hands down to intercept the bokken, pressing aside his swing at an angle, exchanging what could've been a severe blow for just a moderately painful one.
Through it all, she manages to stay on her feet though and she's back on attacking Tenma in short order. The attack is similar to what he saw her strike Hakuya with. A leap made in attempt to plant her hands on his shoulders. But instead of using the momentum to roll up into a handstand, she simply brings her legs down directly for his stomach while trying to fall backwards, maintaining her grip on his shoulders. She's trying to pull him into a rolling throw intended to send him over her shoulders.
COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Ten Ranku-Tou from Hotaru with Initial Breaker.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Tenma
Sending himself into a roll after the deflected attack, Tenma gets his own feet back underneath him... Of course, his confident smirk is unabated, but there's a gleam in his blue eyes that suggests he's enjoying the challenge Hotaru presents - even with the damage Hakuya managed to do to her previously. So, Hotaru's leaping at him... This presents something of a problem, in Tenma's books.
The tall boy's shoulders are caught, and as Hotaru's weight pulls him back, her feet in his gut, his sword arm pulls back, levelling his bokken horizontally - at least, relative to his perspective as he's flung about - at her and at the precise moment she kicks him off, he thrusts his chi-charged wooden weapon out in a stab over her heart, using the added momentum to half-flip in midair, landing with his feet beneath him and skidding along. "Heh... I told you, didn't I?"
Her back pressed against the ground by her own momentum and the force of kicking Tenma over her, there's really nothing Hotaru can do about the bokken stab and the attack earns him a gasp of pain from the girl from the wealthy neighborhoods.
As he lands on his feet with perfect recovery, she's left to roll over onto her side and push herself back up to her feet, her hand rubbing the point of impact a little. Getting hit by that pesky, chi-imbued stick of his is really starting to take its toll on her fast.
"So you did," she replies, returning his smirk with a faint smile of her own. She takes off running at him again, as if attempting to charge him on the ground. It's only near the end that she hops into the air, twisting her body around as she swings twice with her arms before landing, trying to get him on the defensive with two quick jabs. Once her feet touch the ground, she'll unleash several more punches, trying to wear down his defensives in an attempt to deliver a more damaging sequence of attacks.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Tenma with Sou-shou Tenrenge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 Tenma
The second there's a break in his guard, she'll press the attack, striking faster and harder, stepping into each attack as she will no doubt be driving him back some with this assault. Finally, she leans forward and tackles him with a rising shoulder slam that takes her into the air with its momentum. At the height of the jump, she flips once, her body flaring with an aura of the same blue energy that she had been using against Hakuya earlier. Finally, she dives right back into him, hitting him with her knees and the burning chi that surrounds her. In the end, she slides to a stop some feet away and exhales, falling forward to press her hands against the ground. She wasn't holding back on that attack at all, and the end result is that she's quite winded.
Perhaps foolishly, our boy Tenma actually just... Stands there when Hotaru attacks him. He doesn't offer up the slightest hint of resistance, though he's clearly underestimated the force of the combination attack and Hotaru's own chi energy, as he's battered and tossed about, ending up crashing in a heap. Owwww. "Okay... That wasn't half bad," the Gedo student allows, hopping to his feet as spryly as he can under the circumstances, staggering a step or two once he does so. "Looks like I'm gonna havta end this right here."
Swinging his sword arm back, Tenma pushes his free hand forward, fingers lightly contorted in a mudra position as he focuses. Indeed, he seems to focus entirely on a single point as created by his index and middle fingers, and the glow around his wooden blade intensifies, misty crimson obscuring the weapon itself almost completely. "Here it comes!!" he announces, as he starts running forward, swinging the crimson-glowing bokken around in a wide, wild arc at Hotaru's side!
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Hotaru with The Sealing Sword.
[ \\ < > ///////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Tenma
...Upon impact, Tenma's chi actually passes /through/ Hotaru's body, that bloody energy attacking the way her own chi flows through her, disrupting it powerfully, painfully. In its wake, the attack leaves a chilly numbness, and Tenma himself staggers from the focus and effort required to pull off that technique... Maybe leaving him open enough for a potential reprisal?!
This is the second time in as many days that someone has attacked her on such a fundamental level, inflicting both bodily harm as well as disrupting the very breath of life that gives her the strength to move. The girl looks shocked at the nature of the attack as it passes through her in spite her attempts to avoid it, her eyes widening as she stumbles back ward, ready to crumple to the ground.
She does have enough in her for one final attack though, pressing herself off the ground and diving at Tenma knee first, attempting to knock him over before she hits the ground. But she's barely moving now, it shouldn't be too hard to deal with it, in spite the awkward angle behind it.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Tenma dodges Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|
"Hah... Hah..." Tenma breathes raggedly, not because he's tired, but simply from the sheer accumulated damage of fighting Hotaru even this briefly; one thing he's not about to knock is her ability to dish out harm. Her and Miu? They're just /monsters/ in that regard, from his perspective. Still, he's managed to show Hotaru no small amount of the same... Or so he hopes!
When Hotaru comes diving at him knee first, the Gedo swordsman actually sees the attack coming enough to leap to one side out of the way, letting her just hit the ground while he lands in a low crouch, bracing himself with his bokken. "Heh... Whew," Tenma says, giving his head a shake as he stands up... And the glow around his sword dies out entirely, the red line painted on the blade before burned off entirely. "Honestly, when did they start makin' little girls who hit that hard?" he wonders, of nobody in particular.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has ended the fight here.
Her diving attack avoided, Hotaru corrects at the last moment, landing into a stumbling run, unable to stop herself on a dime at this point as her legs feel rubbery and her body unresponsive. Finally she falls forward onto her knees, catching herself with her hands to keep from hitting the ground face forward. She stays that way for a long time, eyes staring at the concrete as she does her best to not subcome to the exhaustion she feels. Fighting both of the Gedo students has pushed her pretty hard. It's the first time she's ever done something like that.
Her pigtails hang over her shoulders and her bangs stick against her forehead and temples where she's worked up a sweat from the exertion. She'll be feeling the blows she took from the two of them later on, that's for sure.
Finally she leans back, slipping into a kneeling position, resting her hands on her lap. "Whew. You guys are tough," she finally says, getting enough of her breath back to converse again. "If there are other students around here like you, then this school definitely has some spirit."
Sitting at the tree they were under, watching avidly, the Suigetsu heir now takes the opportunity to clap loudly, in praise of the two fighters, a piece of melon bread - one of the prizes of the pile they had won! - hanging from his mouth. As his praise dies down, he starts talking, but it comes out muffled. A blink, a perplexed look, and then a gobbling down of the last of the bread later, Hakuya shakes his head and talks again, this time normally. "That was great! You both fight really well," he says, smiling cheerfully. Looking over to Hotaru, the young man nods a bit, and then offers: "There's a lot of strong people at our school, actually. The leader of the students, Daigo, is especially strong, though I've yet to fight him." Or see him. What's their leader up to, anyway? Not that Hakuya really had a burning passion to meet the man, but anyone that strong deserves a look over, at all.
"Yeah... It's not really an easy place to go to school, I guess," Tenma says, shrugging his shoulders as he walks back over towards their ill-gotten foodstuffs, his bokken slung over one shoulder casually. "It's not the best place for a girl either, even as strong as you are," he adds, not looking back as he speaks. "You should check out that Taiyo place or something." His words are, perhaps, a bit harsh... But he's never been good at phrasing himself gently.
Scooping a bread from the pile, he casually tosses it back to Hotaru. "Here," Tenma says, as he does so. "Eat up, it'll help you recover faster. Fighting's a good way to end up with an empty belly," he explains, gathering his weapon's cloth sheath, and sliding it back into place, trying to look as aloof as he can manage.
"Nn," Hotaru nods as Hakuya explains about Diago. The name is familiar to her. Though she never met him before, herself, almost anyone attending school in Southtown has heard the legend of the student who united Gedo. She knows Jiro had dealings with him way back as well.
But Tenma's advice is of the more sober type and the girl takes it in thoughtfully. Acacia has managed to survive an education here, but Hotaru knows she's not as tough as that girl is either, so that isn't a good gauge to go by. As he tosses her a share of the gambling spoils, she catches it and forces herself to get back up. Sitting down like that after such a work out is just asking for her muscles to tighten up too much.
"Thanks," she says with a grin for Tenma before taking a bite of the bread as she walks over to join the two of them under the tree. She turns around to make a sweeping glance over the campus, chewing the food thoughtfully. "You're right, Tenma." she finally states. "This school isn't what I thought it would be. I bet I could learn a lot about getting tougher. But it's not the right place for me, I would never fit in here." She shakes her head and shrugs a bit. "I'd still rather hang out with you guys than attend Justice though," she finishes with a short laugh, finishing off the bread and brushing the crumbs off her hands. "I guess next on my list is Pacific High."
Glancing to Tenma, then back to Hotaru, Hakuya seems to agree with this sentiment, though he doesn't voice anything. Tenma was way better at saying things that needed to be said, and even though sometimes he thought Tenma could get a bit harsh, he knew the meaning of the words was always true. Which is likely why he just let the other teen do the talking. He listens intently to Hotaru's words, and then nods a little bit, seeming both sad, but positive. "I didn't think I would fit in either," he says. There's a pause as he considers, and then adds: "But this place isn't what it seems like... it may be tough, but once you earn other's respect, it is very difficult to unearn it... you know? It's that kind of place." Then... Pacific High is mentioned. A somewhat worried look is adopted, and the Suigetsu heir glances at his friend, to make sure he's not about to do anything rash. Like throw something very heavy.
There's nothing heavy for him to throw! Tenma does up the ties on his bokken's sheath, though he frowns reflexively at the mention of Pacific. "I dunno if you'd like it there either! They're all stuck up and full of themselves at Pacific," or at least that's been his experience, courtesty of their BLOOD RIVALS in the Pacific Resistance. But his bias has nothing to do with this, no, he's just looking out for Hotaru, in his own peculiar way. "I mean, sure, go check it out or whatever, but you gotta watch out for this crazy redhead chick and her two buddies, some dumb monkey who yells and punches all the time, and a big guy with a boat paddle."
One might get the impression Tenma doesn't like that bunch.
"You could probably handle 'em though," Tenma allows, thinking back on Hotaru's obvious power. "An' in the end, it's all up to you to decide, right?" Tenma just has very strong opinions, and absolutely no compunctions about sharing them, even though he barely knows Hotaru!
She listens to Hakuya, hands once again clasping behind her back as he talks about Gedo some more. She can tell that for him it's a good fit, in spite what may have been initial uncertainties. Then her attention is on Tenma as he shares his opinions on Pacific and his interesting descriptions of students she might find there. Hm! She might just have to go looking for them, they sound like a lively bunch.
"I guess we'll see what happens." she replies, her tone amused now though her cheeks blush lightly at the sideways compliment of her fighting prowess. Though he bested her this time, she feels like she made a good enough impression all the same.
At that point, she offers the two young men a more traditional bow, drawing upon the lessons she still keeps from her father. "Thank you both for your time and efforts. It was an honor to meet you, Hakuya and Tenma." She stands upright then, stretching her arms then resting both of her hands behind her head.
"I hope to see you around again sometime," she states before turning to start on her way out of Gedo, offering one last wave by lifting one of her hands from the back of her head then returning it there as she decides to get started on walking off the burn of the endurance match the two just put her through.
Log created on 19:31:42 05/25/2007 by Hakuya, and last modified on 01:44:23 05/28/2007.