Neo League 401 - #415: Makoto vs Dudley

Description: Makoto challenges Dudley to a Neo League fight on the boardwalk (Winner: Dudley)



The Boardwalk in Southtown, at this time of day - early evening, to be precise - is generally reasonably busy. It's warm enough by now that it's a common hangout for quite a lot of people, while being less swarmed by people than the middle of the day.

Part of it is a little more cleared off, though. Makoto pretty much just annexed a length of boardwalk perhaps fifty feet long, claiming it for a public fight (and promising an interesting one to anyone who would stay put long enough for her to do so to). It happens to block none of the shops, which is why she chose it. People can always go around.

... interesting. Well, Dudley of course remembers Makoto; he fought her two weeks in a row, after all, and she made quite the impression each time--almost literally. Then, so did Dudley. So the challenge was issued and he gladly accepted; he isn't worried about any sort of 'standing' in this Neo League, really... his performance concerns are more personal than that. Still... Makoto put up quite a fight regardless, and so he's definitely interested in seeing Makoto's fight again.

Can't drive his Jag onto the boardwalk... so when Dudley arrives, he's arriving in a custom rickshaw, pedaled by his faithful butler; it's all flashy, whitebodied with gold trim and all that... Dudley grins as he hops out, raising his gloved hands.

"So, Makoto, we're to fight one-on-one... let's have at, then! I expect a good fight from you!"

Makoto has a brief surge of jealousy. She wants a butler, or at least to be able to afford one; not that she would ever use a butler, but the money would be well-spent in her dojo. It doesn't fix itself, after all.

It passes, as always. She doesn't care that much about having money. "And you'll get one!" she calls back, pleased with his prompt acceptance. That's two in a row that she's challenged and been taken up on recently; maybe she should do it more often.

Makoto, still grinning, puts herself in a combat stance and prepares herself. Focus is the key; she prepares herself without any further words.

COMBATSYS: Makoto has started a fight here.

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Makoto           0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Dudley has joined the fight here.

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Makoto           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Dudley


COMBATSYS: Makoto focuses on her next action.

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Makoto           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Dudley


"Very well, then!" All too soon, the fight is called, and well... Makoto deigns not to move. Perhaps recalling the first time Makoto fought him, and recalling that hellacious axe kick, Dudley grins, as she continues to prepare.

"You know," he says, almost conversationally, "every girl deserves to get a rose," he continues. And it's true! However, Dudley has different plans, as he produces a rose out of seemingly nowhere. (Parlor tricks -can- come in handy.)

"So here is a rose for you!" And then he's pulling a Tuxedo Kamen, and winging the rose for Makoto's chest. It won't be like throwing a knife or anything like that, but it should serve to disturb her concentration.

COMBATSYS: Dudley successfully hits Makoto with Thrown Object.

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Makoto           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0           Dudley


The rose does not precisely injure her - oh, it hurts, as when Makoto tries to catch it out of the air, she is introduced to the fact that it is not a /thornless/ rose. She yelps and shakes her hand, dislodging the rose from where it stuck her palm. It did certainly disturb her focus, though, both from the surprise and the fact that she now has a slightly bloody palm.

This is actually the first time she has been given a rose. That was a factor in the distraction.

Unwilling to wipe her hand on either her gi or her treasured scarf, Makoto rushes forward toward Dudley. "Polite or not, it's not going to stop the fight!" she calls, reaching for him with both hands. Unlike most of her throws, she does not spike him downward, nor does she grab for the throat; she tries to bring Dudley closer, closer...

...and introduce her extremely hard head to his, her teeth grit.

COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Dudley with Tacchuu.

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Makoto           0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0           Dudley


Well, that certainly hurt; Dudley didn't expect her to hit quite so hard, and the headbutt actually staggers him. But he knew she was tough... and frankly, he's pretty tough, too. That said... he -did- stagger backwards. But he didn't fall; catching himself on his left foot, extended back, he straightens himself, and lunges forward.

The lunge is accompanied with a charging left shoulder, and a deep dip of said shoulder... and as he comes up he's twisting, planting his left foot, and using it as a contact point to transfer his momentum into a punishing right straight punch aimed for Makoto's forehead.

COMBATSYS: Makoto dodges Dudley's Ducking Straight.

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Makoto           0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0           Dudley


The right straight looks perfect, except for the fact that Makoto is not there.

After the headbutt, she actually takes a step back herself to recover from the impact and give her a moment to shake her head to clear it; even her famously hard head isn't invincible. This gives her the opportunity to see the punch coming, and she dips downward and backward, the fist passing above her.

Her left foot comes up as she rises, Makoto putting her whole body into the pivot as she tries to sweep Dudley's feet out from under him. "Ha!"

COMBATSYS: Dudley interrupts Medium Kick from Makoto with Cross Counter.

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Makoto           0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0           Dudley


Ah well. Dudley's punch didn't connect... but in a way, that's alright, see. He's learned long ago that he can't hit everyone all the time. So in a way, the technique he used is intended to help deal with that. Even as Makoto dips down and back--an excellent boxing dodge, if he's correct--he's surging forward. That left foot never has a chance to hit, because even while Makoto's setting up for the kick, Dudley's in her face--literally--planting his leading left fist straight into her mush.

This, of course, is the Cross Counter--one of Dudley's best tools. The crowd erupts with applause as the stylish punch lands, and Dudley actually continues his momentum past Makoto, coming to a stop about ten yards away and turning back to face his opponent.

The Cross Counter is remarkably effective at knocking Makoto off her feet and onto her back from the impact of the blow. She stays there a moment, seeing stars.

While it may have downed Makoto for a moment, it isn't enough to keep her out. She gets her feet under her and rolls toward Dudley in a forward roll. Mid-roll, she recovers into a crouching position almost instantly, rising up only far enough to lever her arm forward and down in a massive crushing overhead karate chop.

COMBATSYS: Dudley dodges Makoto's Oroshi.

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Makoto           0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0           Dudley


An excellent chop, full of power; the arc it traces is clearly fatal. Or if not fatal, then dangerous. To that end... Dudley doesn't want to be there. Heavyweights are not generally known for their ability to move, and yet Dudley is, amongst the heavyweight boxers of the world, somewhat smaller and faster than most. Dancing backwards, pacing Makoto's recovery roll, when the arm comes crashing down Dudley dances to his left, circling around the chop. And he waits--but only a second--for Makoto to begin rising before he steps forward and powers his right hand through a crashing hook punch--not aimed for Makoto's face, but for her sternum.

COMBATSYS: Makoto fails to interrupt Hook Punch from Dudley with Hayate.

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Makoto           1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0           Dudley


Makoto pushes off the ground with the chopping hand - her left, in this case - and back to a half-standing position just in time for Dudley to start to swing. It's lower than expected, and she doesn't even think before she acts; she steps into it, bringing her hand straight in a punch with all her momentum behind it.

It doesn't work. Dudley's fist hits her before her fist hits him, and takes the momentum out of her rushing attack; Makoto seems to fold around the hook punch for a moment before disentangling herself and stepping backwards, now breathing harder than before. Win or lose, she's really working.

Working is the only way to get better. Of course, Dudley knows this; he considers, for a moment, holding back... but that's a showman's idea, not a fighter's. And Dudley is a fighter, not a showman. He has to give his all--clearly Makoto is doing the same, after all. Dudley twists back from the hook punch, transferring momentum from his right to his left.

And as the momentum transfers, Dudley steps forward, adding a bit more to it... and bringing his left fist crashing over and down. It's sort of the opposite of an uppercut--some call it an undercut, some call it a smash, although a Smash can be a modified uppercut as well. Whatever it is... it's actually pretty slow, but if it hits... very powerful.

COMBATSYS: Makoto blocks Dudley's Uppercut Punch.

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Makoto           1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0           Dudley


It does not hit solidly, but it does connect; Makoto wasn't moving quickly enough to get out of the way, and so she brings both her hands up to catch the blow with them rather than have it hit her delicate head. It's still hard enough to make her palms tingle, and to make her very glad she didn't just sit there and take it.

Makoto pushes the fist up and away while moving backwards, just a little bit. She doesn't want to drop her guard, but she really needs a moment to recover; she shakes out one arm, then the other, as she catches her breath while watching Dudley warily.

COMBATSYS: Makoto gains composure.

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Makoto           1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0           Dudley


Hmm. Better defenses than he expected... very well. Dudley, generally, pushes himself until he -has- to take a break... so he respects Makoto's needing to do the same. That doesn't mean, however, that he'll just let her get away with it. Once again, he lunges forward, his arms up as if to punch--because punching is what boxers do.

Mostly. As Dudley performs the same twisting, ducking lunge... he comes up, but -not- to punch. This time, his gloved hands seek Makoto's shoulders, and despite the gloves, if he connects, he will grip, hard, then lift and turn to his left, tossing Makoto in that direction. Just a little somethin' to keep things on the even and up.

COMBATSYS: Makoto fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Dudley with Fukiage.

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Makoto           1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0           Dudley


Makoto has never seen a boxer that chose to throw people around before.

She ducks, expecting a punch as he comes closer, and begins to rise up into a standing uppercut with a yell. Makoto is rather surprised when she abruptly rises up a lot further than she'd meant to, having been thrown up and away by Dudley - right out of, in fact, the cleared area!

Fortunately, this league battle does not have out of bounds, and the fact that Makoto is currently disentangling herself from an ice cream stand (which is remarkably unbroken, although she appears to have managed to dump a tray of sprinkles all over herself) is not a disqualification, just a delay.

A delay that will have to stand; Dudley stands, turns... and clicks his tongue in a tsk. "The fight is over here," he says, mildly... not disapprovingly. Maybe he's trying not to laugh, or something like that... but the fact remains that he will, in fact, wait until Makoto's picked herself up out of the ice cream stand.

That doesn't, however, mean that he intends to just sit there. Testing himself, he finds he's not too winded, or damaged... so he just watches over his opponent as he waits for the finish to this fight.

COMBATSYS: Dudley focuses on his next action.

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Makoto           1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0           Dudley


Makoto ow has sprinkles all down her gi. It's moderately uncomfortable, but Makoto will soldier on regardless! She leaps out from the stand in a long, arcing flying kick at Dudley, but fails to make it there in one jump; she has to run a few steps on the ground in her low, fast dash before taking off again. It is not, at least, her trademark hooking axe kick, but is a straight strike toward the upper torso with yet another mighty yell.

COMBATSYS: Dudley fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Makoto with Jet Uppercut.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Makoto           1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1           Dudley


And finally, it seems, Makoto is getting some back; Dudley's intent is to slip-duck the attack and come up with a powerful uppercut to just end the fight, right then and there. Unfortunately... he misses, and the kick slams into him, forcing him back. For a man who's only taken two hits... that hurt quite a bit.

"Still as strong as ever," he remarks, rubbing his chest where he was hit. In fact, she may even be -stronger- than last time...

"I've been working on it!" Makoto says, having finally managed to catch her breath enough to respond properly (and, equally important, land on her feet again).

She elects not to give Dudley a change to recover, pressing the advantage as long as she has it. Staying close, she attempts to deliver a pair of punches around midlevel, although probably thankfully, she does not follow it up with her trademark Seichuusen Godanzuki's upward smash. Just the fast hits.

COMBATSYS: Makoto successfully hits Dudley with Medium Punch.

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Makoto           1/----===/=======|=======\==-----\1           Dudley


Has the tide turned?!? No! Dudley finds himself peppered by the punches and he staggers again, just a half-step. Yep, just as strong as ever... Hnn. Dudley shakes his head, and gets the cobwebs out. Punching is -his- deal, not Makoto's, despite what she may think, and he intends to prove it.

Lunging forward, Dudley fires off his own combination of punches, a quick flurry consisting of left jab, right cross, left upper--eschewing power for a bit of speed.

COMBATSYS: Makoto blocks Dudley's Medium Punch.

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Makoto           1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1           Dudley


Makoto's response is predictable (for Makoto); she comes out blocking, using her hands and solid lower arms to deflect as much of the impact as she can away from her face and torso. It is at least reasonably effective; she is struck reasonably solidly, but not anywhere vital, although the ache in her arms is starting to tell her that she may not be able to do this much longer.

She does not attack, but braces herself, taking deep breaths to focus and letting them out. It's a different sort of focusing than before: that was accuracy, and this is preparation for power, what she does before breaking breaks or iron plates as part of practice or a demonstration.

COMBATSYS: Makoto gathers her will.

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Makoto           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1           Dudley


An interesting tactic. To let her have the charge, uninterrupted, or to attempt to knock her out of it... an interesting conundrum to be sure. Dudley, however, knows how much power she has, and while he's confident, he's not going to run into the girl's waiting arms. Instead... he beckons.

His right glove is lifted, the fingers twitched toward him, his grin almost wicked. Come, it says. Come and be destroyed...

COMBATSYS: Dudley focuses on his next action.

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Makoto           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1           Dudley


Makoto has a new strategy.

She keeps preparing. Her hands are now near her navel as she goes through the second set of breathing exercises, focusing her power in the chakra point there, the tanden. Makoto can do this all day, or at least for a few minutes more. Her eyes are mostly open as she focuses on Dudley.

COMBATSYS: Makoto gathers her will.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Makoto           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1           Dudley


Hnn. Very well; she wants him to come to her. That's all well and good. However... Dudley smirks faintly. "Excuse me," he says, and turns around, walking away from Makoto. He walks, in fact, out of the 'designated area'... and comes back with a stool, the kind often seen in boxer's corners, about as wide as he is.

"If you're tired, perhaps you should... -take a seat-!" And with that, he puts the stool down on the ground, puts his foot against it, and -pushes-, sending the stool sliding across the ground towards Makoto's legs.

COMBATSYS: Makoto fails to interrupt Large Thrown Object from Dudley with Hayate.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Dudley           1/---====/=======|


COMBATSYS: Makoto can no longer fight.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Dudley           1/---====/=======|


Makoto breaks out of her preparatory stance when Dudley starts to wheel in the stool. She has no idea why he /has/ a stool, but it's an excuse for her to break her defense (which she actually does not like doing very much) and charge, flat-out, with a rushing punch.

It works fine until she fails to jump the rolling stool. Makoto hits it with her shins, changing the dashing Hayate into a rather flailing parabolic arc as it trips her. She lands, face-first, and slides quite some distance along the ground.

This time, she stays down for a few moments.

... hey, he didn't expect that to work. Dudley watches the stool keep rolling along and he just kind of saunters over to Makoto, crouching down. Actually, it's a rather Yakuza position he adopts, elbows on knees.

"Had enough, kid?" he asks, almost teasingly. Actually, he felt that she fought just fine... after all, she only hit him three times, cleanly, and those three hits were quite definitely painful.

Makoto is not /badly/ hurt, just dazed. She pushes herself up to her own knees without any help, although she does grunt once when her back rebels. Her arms and back are going to be sore very shortly.

"I think," she hazards, "that we can call that one a victory for you. But I'll try again, some day!" she adds, waving one finger; she's going to keep trying herself against Dudley, and ONE day she'll get a victory, she's sure.

Haha. Just the response Dudley expected. "Alright, then, kid! I await your next challenge!" The stock line is delivered with a grin and a wink. Surely he doesn't take her as seriously as he probably should, but self-same grin and wink are also intended to let her know that he -is- taking her seriously, in as much as he can be expected to.

"Well then," he says, rising to his feet, "Guess I'd better get back! I've got training to do, if I'm to keep up with you younguns."

Log created on 18:46:59 05/27/2007 by Dudley, and last modified on 20:58:48 06/07/2007.