Description: Shingo's here to fight ninjas. Ninjas are here to fight each other. Hilarity ensues! (Winner: Kurow)
A secluded village in Japan. Just like from the days of old, as there are no big skyscrapers or cars here. All of the houses are done in a traditional Japanese style, with traditional decor and things of that sort. People can be seen wearing traditional Japanese garb and greeting each other in a very formal manner. You can even get training in martial arts in a true traditional style at various dojos. But even the most traditional village is always willing to set up a spot for a weekend martial arts exhibition (their way of saying, 'Saturday Night Fight!')
A special ring has been set up using traditional materials, giving it a more unique feel than most of the modern rings that people are used to. Various onlookers are kneeling or sitting out of the way, waiting intently for the fighters to take their spots.
One of the first fighters here is none other than Miss Maki Genryusai. In fact, it seems like she's been here for awhile actually, as she's apparently kneeling off to the side in a meditative manner. After a moment, though, she opens her eyes and proceeds to stretch out, preparing herself for the fight at hand. When she finishes, she heads towards the ring, pausing to bow to all of the onlookers with a polite smile. "<I appreciate all of you going as far as to accomodate us for this event.>" She says in fluent Japanese.
Of course, as this is SNF, the fight is highly unlikely to stay contained to the ring alone. After all, both of the 'active' combatants are quite agile -- while the fight is quite likely to start in that well-prepared arena, who's to say it'll stay there for more than a little while? After all, sometimes the high ground is a tremendous advantage.
Whatever the case may be, however, Kurow Kirishima is -- as always -- looking forward to examining yet another style he might have to combat someday. It is, after all, why he participates in sanctioned matches. Striding into the arena, as cool and calm as always, the youth rolls his neck a little, flares his claws out once, and takes up a position opposite Maki. Not spending any time talking to the spectators, he just makes a quick 'come on and fight me' gesture before settling fully into his stance.
Maki shrugs at the gesture from Kurow, and simply bows quickly and says, "I look forward to taking you on in battle." With a nod and a smile to the others, she gets into her fighting stance and gives a quick nod to Kurow to indicate that she's ready for this fight to get underway!
COMBATSYS: Maki has started a fight here.
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Maki 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
"Very well. Try to make it interesting," Kurow replies to Maki smoothly, as he takes a breath. He doesn't know where the third party is, though -- he knows there's one /coming/, but the fact that he can't see them at all puts his guard even farther up than normal. Moving very slowly from his starting position, Kurow stays on the defensive -- there's not a lot else he can do until he can see /all/ the variables, after all!
Speaking of unforeseen variables...
As is always the case with these sorts of tournaments, invitations to matches are sent out to combatants. In some cases, invitations are as cryptic as can be, and in other cases the invitations are quite simple to understand. When Shingo Yabuki received was ambushed by a gaggle of ninjas (because ninjas are kind of like geese - the animal, not the Howard), and was handed a small envelope bearing the mark of the SNF, he hoped beyond hope the invitation would be the latter 'simple' type.
Unfortunately for Shingo, such a thing was not in the cards. Upon opening the envelope, Shingo's only indication of what he was being invited to was a poorly scrawled out map to some small village in Japan that may or may not be on any maps, and a small note that simply said 'You'll be fighting ninjas.'. That's it. At first Shingo thought perhaps he was meant to fight the messengers, but 1) they had disappeared before he finished reading the note, and 2) it wasn't Saturday when he received the invitation.
Of course, without having much else to go on, it stands to reason that Shingo would be running late to the mystery match. After taking a cab to a few miles outside of the village outskirts, Shingo began his moderate jog to his destination, his focus intently put upon studying the poorly scrawled map and figuring out where the match should be. Jogging slowed as he reaches the inner parts of the small secluded village, Shingo, somehow oblivious to his surroundings, ends up pushing his way past the crowd surrounding the arena (apologizing for the intrusion), and ends up at the edge of the arena, face still buried in the map before coming to a full stop.
Looking up momentarily, Shingo assesses that this MIGHT be the place, what with all the SNF signage, the crowd, and the requisite cameras, not to mention that the nifty little 'x' on his map corresponds to where he happens to be. Only thing missing are the supposed ninjas he's meant to fight. Making note of the two combatants in the arena who have yet to actually engage in combat, Shingo smiles his sweet little smile, and curtly waves to them before calling out. "Pardon me, don't mean to intrude! My name is Shingo Yabuki, and I'm not sure if I'm in the right place. I'm here for a Saturday Night Fight, to fight some ninjas." Shingo pauses as he shoves his fingerless gloved hands into his pockets, clearly looking for something, and extracts his SNF invitation, holding it up for both combatants to see with one hand, his other hand pointing to the text. "See? It clearly says 'You will fight ninjas'. I don't really see any around...so, if you see any ninjas, could you do me a favour and let me know? I'd very much appreciate it."
Shingo's smile still glinting in the light, he bows slightly to both combatants so as to respect the village's traditions - and in fact apologizes to the crowd as well, bowing as much as he can to them before re-checking the map and the invitation.
Interesting? Kurow wants an interesting fight? Well, Maki's not the only one who has a role in the result of this match. Kurow himself also has a role in it. It all depends on how they fight and how they handle each other. Of course, no two fights are ever the same, which is why they're always exciting.
Off to the side, an elderly man rings a small chime, as if to signal the fight has officially begun.
And with that, Maki's the first one out of her post... or corner, or whatever! With a few running steps, she's almost upon Kurow, and that's when she lifts her left leg up with a swift kick aimed at his stomach.
COMBATSYS: Kurow parries Maki's Light Kick!
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
When Shingo Yabuki finally arrives after all the myriad trials he's had to go to to get to this isolated little village where he must fight ninjas, Kurow looks over toward him very briefly. "You're in the right place; I believe the two of us are the ninjas you're supposed --" He suddenly stops as he sees Maki come in toward him with a quick little kick.
Evidently, the Kirishima-style ninja's spectacular beatdown last night hasn't at all interfered his ability to fight today, as he brings his hand up and actually grabs it, redirecting her movement and likely leaving her unbalanced for a second. "Is that the best you've got?" he asks of her, sounding almost disappointed -- usually Howard gives him fights that at least strike him as even, if not outright /difficult/.
Leaping up toward Maki's shoulders, Kurow tries to dig his claws in as deep as he can; if he gets them in, he then kicks off the ground, giving himself enough momentum to go around her body one and a half times. When he finds herself behind her at the end of it, he plants his feet squarely on her back and pushes off, sending himself into the air and her down toward the ground.
COMBATSYS: Maki endures Kurow's Circle Slash EX.
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Kurow 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Maki
For an attack like that, you'd have to be on your toes to know what to do properly. But unfortunately, even though Maki is alert and ready, the arrival of Shingo distracts her for a split second. She turns around to look in his direction, and that's all it takes to have Kurow get the better of her. As a result, she finds herself on the receiving end of his surprise attack.
Even though he got her, though, doesn't mean she's going to let it succeed. As soon as she comes down towards the ground, and when the moment is right, she rolls away from her attacker. The impact hurts a little, but it could've been a lot worse. No sooner is she back on her feet than she looks around for a second, and then jumps off of a nearby tree branch, and flies towards Kurow, intending to strike him with a fast flying kick!
Ninjas! They're both ninjas! Shingo should've known. There's no way he'd have been sent to an SNF where he merely fought a bunch of non-descript dark garbed ninjas. Noooo. That'd be toooooo easy.
Having gotten his response on his purpose for being here, Shingo quickly seeks out the nearby cameras, smile and waves for them quickly, and reaching yet again into his pockets, Shingo produces what appears to be a very long rolled up red scarf of sorts, and wraps it around his face, covering it as a ninja might, with enough extra fabric to spare to allow the cloth-like scarf to billow in the wind. If there were any wind that is.
Deftly pulling out his handy-dandy notebook from within his school jacket, the Taiyo High student very quickly flips through the pages, notes if there's anything about either him or Kyo fighting ninjas (beyond Kyo perhaps fighting Eiji during one of the King of Fighters tourneys), and just as quickly as it was removed, he returns the notebook to his inner jacket.
With a hearty nod towards both combatants, Shingo looks over at the male ninja and calls out a quick 'thank you', before readying himself in his standard Kusanagi-ryuu stance. He's not going to attack just yet - in Shingo's mind, he'll merely strike the first of the ninjas to land a hit, and then go from there.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Maki's Hassou Kyaku.
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Kurow 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Maki
Though Maki's positioning does a fine job of giving her the ideal window of opportunity against Kurow, and Shingo continuing to address the fighters forces Kurow to split his attention a little, that doesn't mean he isn't one of the most powerful 'conventional ninjas' in the world -- and, for that matter, one of the fastest. He slides under Maki's flying kick with a certain casual grace, and whirls to face her as soon as he's standing again. All the time, he keeps his eyes on Shingo -- he seems like he could definitely be dangerous as a Chaos Agent, under the right circumstances.
However, the focus of the match is indeed the Bushin ninja, and Kurow doesn't give Genryusai a moment's rest. In the very moment her assault ends, Kurow's on top of her again with those nasty, vicious claws of his. This time, he goes for a series of quick, brutal swipes; the first is aimed high, trying to get Maki to shift her center of gravity. The second is a quick strike at her legs, testing her reaction time in tricky circumstances. The final attack is a hard forward jab, with no greater purpose than to injure.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Maki with Yami Kagura.
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Maki
Apparently, that distraction was almost like a curse to Maki, since not only did she miss with her attack, but those swipes got her good. And they really hurt. When she recovers from the impact, she looks down and notices that her right leg is bleeding from the swipe. She doesn't know about other parts, but it's obvious that Kurow is playing for keeps here.
But ninja or not, Maki has no time to rest. Her adrenaline is going too fast for that, and her senses are at maximum speed. Which is why it's only natural that Maki drops to one hand and spins around with her leg outstretched in a full circle!
Okay, so Shingo didn't INTEND to distract the fighters this much. In fact, he didn't intend to distract them at all. Still, once the male ninja (aka Kurow) actually slices into the female ninja (aka Maki), ninja cosplay Strider Shingo decides it's time to enter the fray, and thankfully be chivalrous all in one fell swoop. Time for Shingo to get in on the action, and he's got just the move in his arsenal to start off his barrage. Sprinting towards the fighters, Shingo angles his run to aim more towards Kurow, and when he closes the gap to a good three feet, leaps into the air and spins around...his red scarf trailing behind him in a swirl as the only student of Kyo Kusanagi lets out a battle cry. "SHINGGGOOOOOO KICKKKUUUUUU!" is exclaimed from the young man as his twisting in the air seems to come to an end, the last spin as you will, one of his legs extending out into a deadly arc that at his current angle would be aimed directly for Kurow's head. Of course, he's attacking a ninja, so lord knows if it'll connect, and if it does, where. Or if at all.
COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Maki's Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
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Maki 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Kurow with Shingo Kick.
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Maki 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Kurow leaps up and back as Maki drops to the ground, knowing full well that'll take him well out of the way of the Bushin-ryu signature technique. What he does not count on, however, is SHINGO KIIIIIIIIIICK. It catches him out of the air, though it hits him in the back rather than the head; the quick jump had /some/ purpose, at least, other than dealing with Genryusai's assault.
As Kurow comes back down to the ground, lightly injured but still just fine, he advances in on Maki again -- he is a little more wary of Shingo now, at least, but he doesn't focus too much on it. Rearing a hand back, Kurow suddenly dashes in at the kunoichi, trying to position her between Shingo and himself as he goes in for a vicious whirling slash. Evidently, he's more interested in efficiency in taking down his primary opponent than minimizing the trauma the secondary one might cause him.
COMBATSYS: Maki blocks Kurow's Fierce Strike.
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Maki 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Raising her arms, along with her tonfa, to absorb the strike, Maki feels a little pain in her arms, but it could've been a lot worse had she not blocked. In fact, it could've left her dazed and confused. Oh, and Maki's not a kunoichi for the record. She's trained like one, but when was the last time you saw a kunoichi who wore sneakers?
Whatever you want to call her, Maki's coming back at Kurow, attempting to grab him and throw him down with a swift throw technique.
And so Shingo connects. Not exactly where he was aiming, but he wasn't even expecting to hit. In fact, he figured he'd miss, the two ninjas would glare at him, and he'd let them do their thing.
Regardless, Shingo hops back from his connecting strike, and gets right into the Kusanagi-ryuu groove - namely, he doesn't let up on the attack. Unfortunately, there are two things standing in the way of him continuing an assault on Kurow. 1) Technically according to SNF rules, if neither of these combatants was aware that he's involved, that technically means that he can't focus on just one of them and give an advantage to the other. Especially since the invitation said ninjaS not ninja. 2) Maki. Yes, Maki is literally standing right in the way.
Letting out a wistful sigh, Shingo steels his resolve and pulling back his right arm, thrusts it towards Maki's general direction with all his might, putting everything he's got in the strike and being that their ninjas, hoping he hits. Of course, whether he hits or misses is irrelevant to the force he's putting into the punch, and more than likely he'll stumble for a few steps afterwards, almost falling over, but not quite - regaining his balance at the last moment to spin around and towards the general direction of Kurow (aka next target).
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Kurow with Quick Throw.
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Maki 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 1/-------/=======|
Though careful positioning, Kurow manages to mitigate some of the damage that being tossed to the ground could do to a man -- he's one of the better men for doing something like that. It does at least hurt, however -- and Maki /has/ actually scored a touch on him! That's definitely /something/.
He stays down for the briefest of moments, and rather than aggress, he actually starts to back up. It's not for too long, however; all he's doing is giving himself enough room for quite a spectacle. Blood-red chi begins to collect beneath his entire body in little waves, all of which converge on him, snaking up his legs and toward his hands. "I find myself... bored by your tactics," he says, with a little smirk. "So I'm going to end this."
When the Kirishima ninja finally moves again, it's like his feet never even leave the ground. He seems to /slide/ toward Maki at an almost inhuman speed, those clawed fingers of his aimed toward her stomach at a sickening speed. Kurow's put the ball in Maki's court with this attack -- it's all up to how she handles this. ... or /if/ she handles this.
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Maki with Fierce Punch.
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Maki 1/=======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Maki endures Kurow's Kinki Chikarasui!
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Maki 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
What Maki finds a second later is that Kurow's dug his hand deep into her gut, and actually lifted her several feet up in the air -- there are plenty of ways which she can use this to her advantage, of course, if her timing is just perfect, but she may not /want/ to use it to her advantage after he gets through with her. As he holds her there, he starts to rip the chi from her body -- it's not a clean rip, either, it's a forceful, disturbing feeling, to put it lightly.
"You don't deserve what little power you have," he hisses at her, as he keeps those claws deep inside her, her chi coursing down his arm in reddish waves and eventually being vented out into the air. "I've taken it from you." As soon as he says those words, the feeling... stops, suddenly. "Goodbye!" he declares, as he flings her to the ground as hard as he can... but leaves himself open.
Attempting to take on a double team is not always easy. Just ask Genryusai Maki, as she can tell you first hand how it feels. She attempts to dodge the first attack from Shingo, but that backfires on her, which leaves her not only fairly injured, but also vulnerable to Kurow's attack. In spite of her injured state, she manages to brace herself for impact again, but even then the injuries are too much for her. It looks like she's down for the count.
Or is she? Just as Maki looks like she's about to go down, a sudden burst of energy emenates from her. And without warning, she rushes at Kurow, attempting to deliver a rapid flurry of tonfa strikes and kicks. Once it's over, though, Maki's probably down for the count.
COMBATSYS: Maki has reached second wind!
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Maki 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Of course Shingo surprises himself yet AGAIN, by hitting the other ninja full on with his mighty fist punch. Alas, as he assumed would happen, he stumbles, his red scarf flopping around as he does so. Still, with un-ninja like agility, Shingo recovers from his faltering, and turns his sights back to Kurow...unfortunately a moment too late, as the male ninja with claws gores Maki and thensome. Thankfully, Shingo is quite observant, and notices that the other man has left himself open. QUITE open. Open enough for Shingo to take advantage.
Grinning underneath his red strider-like ninja-scarf, Shingo makes a mad short dash to get right next to wherever Kurow might be, and pulling back his right fist yet again, addresses his target with a slowly rising crescendo of a voice. "Your body is..." Shingo starts to say, and then with even more effort than the punch he threw at Maki, attempts to pull off a very close range right hook into the side of Kurow's head.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Kurow with Bushin Gou Rai Ha.
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Maki 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Shingo's Aragami Mikansei.
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Maki 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
"...wide...open...??"
Shingo flies right past where he thought Kurow would be, and this time due to the force involved, actually does fall down, a very confused expression on his face. Taking a moment to collect himself, the Kusanagi-ryuu student quickly hops back on his feet, dusts himself off, and with his scarf billowing in the non-existent wind, reassumes his fighting stance.
The enormous outburst of energy from Maki is more than enough to throw Kurow off his game, and the fluid series of strikes stings him no small amount; it's not nearly as bad as some of the things he's faced down recently, and the bruise from Rose's immense kick at the back of his head has stayed with him, but it's something. He's not left reeling, though, as Shingo completely misses him -- evidently, the young man still needs more training.
Stepping in toward Maki again once she finishes her assault, Kurow briefly examines her or any openings; the best one he sees, at least in his mind, is a hole in her defense around her gut. Very much the type to capitalize on any hole he perceives, Kurow takes two quick steps forward and aims a lightning-fast kick toward the Bushin ninja's stomach. His goal is to finish her cleanly -- at this point, he's done just about all the showing off he could ever hope for.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Kurow's Light Kick.
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Maki 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
Wow, where did that sudden burst of energy come from? And furthermore, how did Maki dodge that attack so swiftly? Apparently, the mind is stronger than the body, and when used right, it can-- Oh, you get the general idea.
Maki's back on her feet, albeit still a bit worn out. She's surprised her last ditch effort actually worked to her advantage, but it's left her out of breath. Which is why she takes a moment to catch her breath.
COMBATSYS: Maki gains composure.
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Maki 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
At this point, Shingo feels a little bad. The female ninja seems to be taking quite the beating, but due to the rules, he can't very well focus his attacks on just one of the ninjas. Well, he can if there ends up being only one ninja, but with two ninjas still on the playing field, ninja/strider cosplayer Yabuki needs to continue the alternating of the blows.
Much like every other time during this fight, Shingo runs towards his opponent, this time Maki, all for the express purpose of gaining a bit of momentum, and adding to the weight behind his strikes. At the last moment before collision, Shingo spins half way around, brings up his right elbow and aims it at the female ninja. Should that connect, his other elbow comes down in a similar fashion. Should THAT connect, Shingo ends it all off by pulling his hips away from the girl, and then thrusting towards her with all his might with the express intent of knocking her either back or down.
Of course, if Shingo misses, he'll merely look like a dancing fool...but that's a risk he's willing to take!
Maki takes a minute or two to put herself back together; this is, of course, /just fine/ with Kurow, who likewise could probably use a little time to get himself in order. However, a greater calling reaches out to him as he sees a nearby weather vane. Howard Enterprises often covers the damages that result from their unique choice in venue, and any dollar Kurow can kick out of Howard Enterprises is a good dollar.
Leaping up, out of the ring, and to one of the rooftops, Kurow picks up said weather vane, severing it from whatever building it was once atop, and gives it a good, hard fling down toward Maki! It's pointy! It has lots of bits that might be really painful!
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Maki with Nie Togi.
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Maki 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Maki endures Kurow's Large Thrown Object.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|
Again, Maki's caught off guard, and despite her best efforts, her dodges fail, and her efforts to endure the other attack just don't work out as planned. And this time, there will be no more hidden surprises. Instead, Maki just falls to the ground unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Maki takes no action.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Maki has reached third wind!
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Maki 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|
Or does she? As soon as she hits the ground, she rolls forward and gets into a fighting stance again. Albeit a weak one...
Shingo connects on his attacks, and still surprised he's able to hit ninjas, spins around to track Kurow once more. This is around the same time that a very large weather vane sails past him and hits Maki...who still manages to get up despite the brutal attack. Thinking on his feet, and not really seeing how he could leap out of the ring and on to one of the rooftops, Shingo shrugs and picks up the weather vane.
While Shingo might not be on Taiyo High's baseball team, or any sports team that would require a good throw, he does know how to throw a fighter. He's seen Kyo do it all the time. So, without a moment's hesitation after picking up the Slightly-Used-Weather-Vane (tm), Shingo aims towards an area around where Kurow is, or could be (anticipating for movement, and doing some mental calculations for trajectory as quickly as he can), and with all of his throwing might, hurls the weather vane back to where it originated.
"Hello there! Looks like you dropped something, so...here you go!" Shingo shouts out, cupping his hands over his scarf-covered face as the weather vane goes hurtling through the air.
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Kurow with Large Thrown Object.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
The weather vane hits Kurow square-on in the face, and actually /breaks/; he winces, and blinks a few times as he tries to regain his balance on the roof. Damn you, Shingo Yabuki, he briefly thinks as his vision swims a little; he has the good grace not to yell anything at him, however. When he regains his balance, seeing those broken pieces, he finds the 'arrow' of the vane, and gauges its weight briefly. It's actually not bad -- and he /is/ a ninja...
He jumps down into the ring again, and with a quick flick of his wrist, flings the improvised weapon at Maki's neck as hard as he can.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Kurow's Thrown Object.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Nice try, but Maki's still not out of this fight just yet. She swiftly sidesteps the attack and shakes her head while tsking at her opponent. "I'm sure you could've done that a lot better." She says, before rushing at Kurow and swinging her tonfa at him in a rather swift manner with a little more oomph added to it.
DIRECT HIT! Score yet another one for Shingo! Maybe him half-cosplaying as some sort of strider-like ninja is making his attacks more effective against ninjas! Maybe he's blending in! Maybe he could /BE/ a ninja! ... or maybe not. Best to stick with his Kusanagi-ryuu...especially since it seems to be doing quite well...and at least the scarf is stylish and in fashion for this battle.
Sadly, Shingo must turn his attentions back to Maki. Every time he's about to launch another attack at the woman, he ends up feeling a tinge of guilt inside because he really doesn't want to. Still, as soon as she rushes at Kurow, Shingo sees his opportunity to strike and running towards her to yet again gain momentum, scarf flying too and fro behind him. As soon as enough momentum as been gained, Kyo Lite pulls back his left leg, and tries to kick near Maki's legs in the hopes of perhaps tripping her, or perhaps just slowing her down somehow. Should he miss, he'll merely hop back a few feet and position himself to face Kurow. Either way after the attack, he'll be pulling out his notebook and jotting down some VERY hasty notes.
COMBATSYS: Kurow counters Genkou from Maki with Random Weapon.
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Maki 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Shingo's Medium Kick.
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Maki 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
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Kurow 0/-------/---====|
Kurow looks Maki dead-on as she rushes at him; he closes his eyes for a second, and thinks back to his fight with Cammy. That, while it was a horrific abortion of a match, it at least taught him a very useful skill -- albeit one which he leeched off of someone else. He opens his eyes again, and Maki's even closer still.
"You shouldn't have fallen for it," he says with a little smile, bringing his hands up. One hand catches Maki's tonfa neatly, stopping her assault cold; the other catches Maki's head. Holding her there for the briefest of moments, Kurow turns that wide smile into an enormous grin as he whirls with the tonfa, strikes the Bushin ninja on the back of the head with it, and drops it.
The tonfa strikes Maki hard in the head. She catches it and then falls to the ground. Nothing more to hear.
COMBATSYS: Maki takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Shingo
COMBATSYS: Maki can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Shingo
And then ninjaS became ninja, and in a way, Shingo became happy. Partly because he didn't have to harm the female one any more, and partly because he can go for a full out assault on the male one now - and that's where the Kusanagi-ryuu style shines!
Delighted to now be fighting more on his own terms, Shingo looks over at Kurow, his eyes shining full of life. "So, my friendly friend ninja, looks like it's just you and I...and if that's the case, it's time I show you the burn!" Go Shingo! That's totally something Kyo would say, and quite frankly, it's not something Shingo'll back down from! Oh wait. Yes it is. With a small laugh, one of Shingo's hands moves to the back of his head to scratch it sheepishly as he follows up, "Hehe...just kidding. Better get ready though, because I'm giving this one my all!"
With his 'taunt' said, if you could call that a taunt, Shingo leaps towards Kurow and pulling back his left fist, attempts to get a quick jab in on Kurow, followed by a slightly harder punch from Shingo's right fist, both aimed at Kurow's mid-section. Again, while Shingo isn't expecting miracles in so far as his aim being true, what with Kurow being a ninja, he can at least hope to connect in some way, some how.
COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Shingo's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Shingo
"If I understand the terms of the fight correctly," Kurow says, taking a breath, "your role is merely that of a chaos agent -- a third party who serves to make fights more dynamic than a mere clash of individuals." He brings his arms up to block Shingo's hard punch, noting the youth's strength; he then says, "This fight is over. However, if you insist, I will gladly challenge you to a Neo League match... /later/. Goodbye, Shingo Yabuki."
He starts to step away from the ring as quickly as possible; evidently Maki put a little more of the hurt on him than he was hoping for, and retreat seems like a /very/ good idea.
Shingo understood the rules correctly as well...but it'd be hard for him to not avenge the fallen female ninja. While he didn't know her, it would've been the right thing to do. Then again, Kurow made a valid point. The fight wasn't with Shingo.
Shingo bows slightly as an apologetic gesture towards Kurow, even as the other man starts to step away. "Then we both understand the terms correctly. I've just been in situations where odd things happen, even being a chaos agent as it were. Still, it was an excellent match, and while I wouldn't necessarily assist, it would be my pleasure to fight you again. One on one. Of course, another time." Shingo waves a little towards the departing ninja, before something hits him - he never really asked anyone's name. Not wanting to necessarily follow Kurow and seem hostile, Shingo, in his best cheery voice calls out after the departing ninja. "I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't quite get your name, yet you got mine. Might I ask who I had the pleasure of meeting? If not, well, I again thank you for your time. Safe journey home!"
Smooth Shingo. Really smooth.
Shingo lingers in the ring a while. Even after Kurow has left and the crowd disperses. Looking at his invitation once again, hoping to glean some indication of who the heck was fighting in the match today, the young Kusanagi-ryuu student begins wondering if those two really were the ninjas he was meant to fight. Perhaps the real ninjas are watching Shingo for the shadows, waiting to strike. Not wanting to take that chance, Shingo tightens his make-shift ninja scarf, and begins running off into the night, back the way he came. Scarf trailing behind him.
SHINGO VANISH!
Log created on 22:10:10 05/25/2007 by Kurow, and last modified on 09:41:09 05/27/2007.