SNF 2007.05 - Eh? Roberto/Joe vs Hotaru/Miu

Description: Kaiwei tricks Joe into showing up in his place. Hotaru gets mad and Joe and Hotaru completely wreck each other while Roberto and Miu spend most of the fight missing their attacks on each other. Eventually they start wrecking each other as well. (Winners: Joe and Roberto)



It wasn't like Joe to be tricked so easily... Well, maybe it was, but usually the tricks were a little less obvious. A suspicious phone call from a familiar-sounding voice claimed that Lilly had been kidnapped, and the only way for Joe to get her back was to go to the Southtown Boardwalk, right outside the funnel cake stand next to the bait and tackle shop, and wait for further instructions there. Had Joe been more on the ball, he'd have realized that the familiar voice was that of Kaiwei, the vicious old man with twenty children that had drained his bank account and sent his reputation spiralling into the gutter. Lilly wasn't answering her phone, and Joe immediately believed the entire story, so off to the boardwalk he goes!

It was a beautiful day in Southtown, except for on the Boardwalk, where a rather powerful storm just off-shore was pouring rain down upon the usually packed waterfront property. It had only just started, so there was still a decent crowd meandering about, hoping it would just blow over, but most were scrambling for cover and making their way home. All the shops were still open, and Joe briefly considered stopping in to win some tickets at the 'Throw a baseball and dunk the scantily clad lady' booth, but the scantily clad lady was on break, and the man with the bubba nametag had taken her place. Besides, there was more important business to attend to! Lilly was in trouble!

And so it came to be that Joe ends up standing in front of the funnel cake stand next to the bait and tackle shop, his hands in his pockets and his eyes scanning the crowd for dangerous people. Unaware of yet another scheduled fight that was about to happen upon him, Joe waited patiently as the rain soaked through the new outfit that Lilly had purchased for him. She said it made him look dignified. Joe just thought he looked like a pastel banker.

After the disaster that was her last SNF, Hotaru was looking forward to tonight's fight. She knew all the players involved and in fact had faced each of them in a prior match. Kaiwei, the eccentric but honorable old man. She was looking forward to seeing him again, even though his evil trick of bringing his kids to watch really put the orphen girl at a disadvantage. She just found it really hard to attack the elderly father in front of his children.
Roberto she had faced in a high profile match. She knew him to be a tough fighter even if his style was unorthodox. Another chance to test herself against him after her training lately was something Hotaru could appreciate. Last time he had worn her down, but maybe this time would be different?
And then there's Miu, a fellow Seiyjun student. Hotaru remembers her from another SNF bout with her strange energy that felt unlike anything Hotaru had faced before. Fortunately, this time she wouldn't have to worry about getting /hit/ by it for a change.
Puctual as ever, Hotaru has been on site for a little while ready. She was eying the storm clouds dubiously as they began to build up, and now that they're finally overhead and dumping water on the setting for tonight's match, she looks just a bit less perky than she might otherwise be. Her pigtails flop down as they get wet, even though she's trying to do her best at staying out of the worst of the deluge by standing near a wall for the time being. Well, what a way to ruin a fight she was looking forward to, she muses, folding her arms and tapping her foot idly. She has no idea about the casting change underway though, or 'looking forward to' would not be her current thoughts on the fight to come.

Joe Higashi-- a legend in his own time.

Or at least, as Kasumi had described him. Infamous for his habits, his pants-dropping and his lewd speech habits! What a surprise it'll be when she realizes that he's here. And the other name on the list, 'Roberto'-- this would be a first for her, but she's met plenty of folks thusfar that attend the other local schools in Southtown. Like say, her partner for tonight's event. Miu Kurosaki remembers the last time she had encountered Hotaru Futaba quite clearly, a prior Saturday Night Fight encounter alongside one of Gedo's Guardian Kings. She remembers getting -hit- more, and how much she would like to avoid having it happen again.

Wise enough to have checked the weather in the morning, it looks like someone's at least dressed for the weather. Miu is wearing a long, loose hooded jacket that keeps her out from the rain. The sleeves nearly overtake her hands, and the draw-string bottom is long enough that it nearly covers all of her clothes to mid-thigh! Holding a plastic bottle of juice with a bendy straw, she takes the occasional sip while staring with half-lidded eyes at the ground in front of her. When were they getting started, again...?

And then Roberto arrives at the boardwalk wearing a plain white t-shirt loose enough that it wouldn't constrict his movements and tight enough thatit wouldn't get in his face which with rain coming down would make fighting unbearable. and black soccer shorts and carrying a mesh bag filled with soccer balls. In the other hand, the soccer star is carrying a fairly large bottle of sports drink. Roberto doesn't quite understand why he was paired up with Kaiwei in the first place, however seeing as SNFs are what they are, it's to be expected.

As far as his feelings on the rain it's not something that changes his feelings towards the fight. He's practiced in the rain, played in the rain so while it's less than ideal condition he's not overly concerned by it.

His feelings towards the cast members on the other hand is a bit of excitement at not only facing Hotaru, an opponent he knows is quite evenly matched with him but also getting a chance to face a new opponent in the form of Miu. Also Roberto has a bit of curiosity at seeing his team mate's style. If Roberto only knew that the script was flipped, he'd be mildly concerned about who his team mate was... But a fight is a fight and scholarship money for his brothers is still scholarship money.

COMBATSYS: Joe has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Joe              0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Roberto has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Hotaru
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Roberto          0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Miu has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Hotaru


'Those funnel cakes sure smelled good, and all that powdered sugar... No, Lilly is in trouble, concentrate Joe!' This internal monologue repeated itself every few minutes as the hungry Higashi waited in the rain, unaware that danger might be lurking right around the next corner. Eventually, Joe decided to wander a bit further down the boardwalk to see if he could find what it was exactly that he had been sent here to locate, be it Lilly, someone to punch, or something else entirely. Strangely enough, as he walked, Joe noticed a disturbing trend. There were multiple funnel cake stands located next to bait and tackle shops! How was he supposed to located his kidnapped girlfriend now?! With a heavy sigh, Joe trudges onward through the rain, his bright pink polo shirt and khaki pants taking the brunt of the rain's fury.

Eventually, Joe finally spied a grouping of suspicious people standing outside of yet another funnel cake stand located next to a bait and tackle shop. With a frown, Joe prepared his scariest intimidation face. Who would he have to hurt first, the man with all the soccer equipment that looked awfully out of place, the hooded little girl who was diligently drinking from a bendy straw, or the girl who looked like a completely drenched version of Hotaru that was standing against a wall? Joe's eyes pass over each potential victim until his brain finally clicks around to what everyone else already knows. He should have known she'd be involved in this somehow. Joe rolls up his nonexistent sleeves and charges forward along the slick boards, his powerful right fist coming up in an effort to strike the evil ruffian down once and for all!

COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Strong Punch.
- Power hit! -

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Hotaru


After a while, Miu is eyed somewhat jealously. Hey, that's not a bad idea. She should probably get a rain slicker, no doubt someone has to be selling them around here. Pushing herself off the wall, Hotaru steps around the funnel cake vender and bait 'n tackle stand to check out the wares of a nice, honest, entrepreneur who has set up a display with umbrellas, jackets, and other gear perfect for inclement weather. Perfect! That is, until Hotaru eyes the entirely unjust price tag on the stuff and her eyes widen with dismay.
She doesn't want to press the point, but at the same time, she doesn't have all that much money on her, and the prices really are extortion level. Hotaru is a quick thinker though. "Excuse me," she speaks up for the vender. "You may or may not recognize me, but I'm about to participate in a Saturday Night Fight here. And I was just thinking that perhaps you would like to have the chance for me to showcase your rain-protection wear during the fight. Like, say... maybe this coat here?" she asks, gesturing to a nice, blue, waterproof overcoat.
"Yeah, right. Move along kid. You don't look like you've seen a day of fighting in your life," comes the flippant reply.
Hotaru frowns at the brush off, raising her hand, "No, really, I'm serious. I'm in the fight that's scheduled to start in a few minutes!" But the vender won't be swayed. Leaning forward over his counter, he shakes his head, "Yeah, I don't think so." He even patronizingly pats her on the head. "You're too cute. No one would hit a face like that. Now move al-"
Hotaru never hears the rest of his sentence as Joe's fist comes crashing into the side of her face from out of nowhere. Not expecting any kind of attack, she isn't even ready to brace herself for the blow and the strong punch sends her tripping sideways, falling over someone's empty baby-stroller, and then landing upside down, plastered to the side of the bait and tackle stand, only to slowly slide down the side and plop onto the ground. Wow, that was some bouncer, she fumes, getting back up to her feet, fists already clenched, eyes coming to rest on her assailant. Wait, that's no bouncer. "JOE!" Hotaru yells, charging back toward the kick boxer, swinging out with her foot to shove a vicious chi-infused kick into his pink polo-shirt covered chest.

Of course, Miu's heard the same lecture before-- more often, even, what with the amount of times people have asked her if she was actually in middle school. That and comments about her height, since apparently she looks taller on the 'tube. Sipping quietly at the plastic bottle, she spies Hotaru's movement toward the stand and shows no reaction toward the owner's doubt. 'Oh well,' she muses to herself, 'I guess that means she'll have to dry her hair off as soon as we get back.'

Watching as Roberto arrives, she doesn't catch the actual strike from the charging Joe Higashi-- but her head snaps around as she damn well hears the resulting calamity. Cringing and wincing until her schoolmate comes to a halt, it looks as though the young martial artist has her hands full. Though she looks at a crewman filming the boardwalk and shrugs, eyes wide. Turning toward Roberto and his gaggle of balls, the tiny girl walks out from her quiet little spot, rain pounding down on her jacket and sliding off harmlessly. "Are you Roberto?"

Casting her bottle of juice to one side, the girl's arms drop to her sides, hands disappearing within the long sleeves-- though glowing black and white feathers start to spill out from where her hands vanished, her eyes narrowing and alert. "Prepare yourself."

COMBATSYS: Miu focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Hotaru


When Joe decks the living hell out of Hotaru, Roberto's trying to figure out what the hell happened to his team mate however he doesn't jump the gun just yet. First thing he's going to do is shout, "What the hell are you doing? This is an SNF!!"

If that vendor didn't believe Hotaru before Joe tried to cold cock her, he probably will believe him now.

That's all digression right now. Getting back to the topic at hand, the second thin he's going to do is dump his soccer balls on to the ground... And if he doesn't like the answer the soccer ball might be flying his way very soon.

He rises back to his feet just in time to see glowing black and white feathers spilling out. "Yeah, I'm Roberto Miura. And you're Miu, I presume." And he's all for complying with that command that Miu utters but for what he doesn't quite know yet.

COMBATSYS: Roberto focuses on his next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Joe blocks Hotaru's Kobi Kyaku.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0           Hotaru


The raincoat vendor still hadn't registered exactly what had happened. One moment, a rather nice girl was standing in front of him. Then suddenly, an angry looking man with really silly hair had replaced her almost instantly, and he didn't look like he wanted to buy a raincoat either. The nervous man, drops the umbrellas he was stocking and hides behind a display of silly hats as Joe stalks forward toward Hotaru, he was still getting up from the rather nasty punch to the head.

Roberto's voice causes Joe to stop in his tracks for a brief moment, causing him to ponder the meaning of the man's words. It is about this time that his cellphone begins to ring, which he answers, since it looks like Hotaru is taking her time in getting up. "Hello?" He turns away, his face becoming quite pale, "Lilly! Where are you?! Where did that hellion take you?!" He turns around again, glaring at Hotaru, who had gained her bearings now and was looking quite angrily back towards him, "What... at home? Got my messages... not kidnapped?" Joe is silent then for a long moment, his face going completely slack as he turns away in shame. "Right... bread, milk, and some cheese. See you soon..." He hangs up and turns back towards Hotaru, honestly intending to appologize for ramming his fist into her face like that. Unfortunately, Hotaru's kick had other plans as it slammed into Joe's arm as he was bringing it upwards to put his cellphone away. The rather sparkly device bounces away from the blocked attack, slipping through the cracks of the boardwalk and into the sea. Well, Hotaru may not have kidnapped his girlfriend, and he may have hit her in the face, but that was no reason to destroy his cellphone!

Joe nods curtly to Roberto, not yet realizing that he was actually supposed to be in this fight, but intending to join in anyway. "I paid two hundred dollars for that phone, and it isn't even under warranty anymore! Hotaru Futaba, prepare to die!" Joe raises both arms above his head and roars like a bear. He saw Raiden do this once, but it is definitely more impressive when the big guy does it, Joe just looks silly. However, when he lunges forward and begins to throw a flurry of punches towards Hotaru, he looks a lot more serious, and a lot more dangerous.

COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Bakuretsu Ken.
Glancing Blow

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Joe              0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0              Miu
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Roberto          0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0           Hotaru


She really was pressing her attack too fast to see that Joe was on the phone. And frankly, it probably wouldn't have caused her to slow down anyway. What's he calling for anyway? He just punched in the face out of the blue. Does he now need to call the last friend he has in the world and brag about it or something?!
She comes to a stop after his arm ends up taking the kick intended for his chest, her eyes following what would be the final flight for the kick boxer's cell phone, blinking at the spectacle. *rattle rattle* ... *splash* The girl looks back toward Joe, raising her eyebrows with a questioning look as Joe becomes enraged. Her hestitation fades though as he roars like a beast uncaged. When he charges, she steps to the side, her foot coming down on a dropped icecream cone which leaves her no traction to work with under that shoe. *slip!*
Fortunately for Hotaru, even that failed dodge takes her out of the worst of the attack and only one of Joe's flailing punches manages to strike her. "Why would you jump on the phone after punching me anyway?!" she challenges back, feeling a little guilty about the lost device, but yesh. /Really/. Attempting something a bit more accrobatic than brute force, Hotaru tries jumping at him instead, her arms reaching for his shoulders. If she gets a grip, she'll flip right over him and spin around in mid-air, driving both of her feet into his back to send him flying... right over to where Roberto and Miu are. Welcome to Front and Center on SNF, Mister Higashi.

"Yes. Miu Kurosaki, Seijyun Girls Academy, first year student."

The feathers cease their own small rain, though none of them ever actually touch the ground-- fading into small bits and pieces of energy that evaporate into thin air. Tugging on the edges of her hood, Miu turns square to face the soccer player and give him ample time to set up his to-be-kicked projectiles-- and waiting. Waiting for a cue, a signal-- hopefully not a Joe.

Her knees bend and her toes grind against the slick deck, heel lifted and setting to charge forward. And with a swift sprint, the jacketed crow girl of Seijyun High is off like a shot-- even kicking up small splashes of water in her wake. A glow emerges from the cuff of her jacket, a broad white feather extending from her hand and set almost like a katar. Stopping short of Roberto, she skids on the Boardwalk and swings her arm in a high, up-and-outward angle at Roberto, seeking to slash him with that strange force...

COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Miu's Shubatsu.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Joe              0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0              Miu
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Roberto          0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Hotaru


Looks like Miu just inadvertantly saved Joe from getting a soccer ball toe blown into his head. With Miu in his face he has to put aside dealing with Joe for later. His quick hands move to stop Miu's feather Katar and then upon impact he feels a strange feeling wash over him as he tries to figure out what he just got hit with. And while it didn't hit cleanly, it definitely made an impression.

The soccer star decides he wants to make an impression of his own, though normally he doesn't open with this move he's extremely willing to make an exception and so he swings a glowing foot upwards towards the crow girl's chin which ideally will allow him to knock her up into the air with it.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Ten Ranku-Tou.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Roberto          0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Joe Toughs Out Roberto's Thrust Kick!

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Joe              0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Roberto          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0           Hotaru


Joe had seen this move a few times already, and he knew exactly how to deal with it! His eyes shut tightly and he grunts right at impact as he attempts to just take the damage like the tough guy he is. Unfortunately, Hotaru's feet have a way of digging against his kidneys and Joe goes flying forward in pain, stumbling directly inbetween Miu and Roberto just as the soccer player is bringing his foot upwards to slam into Miu's chin. Unfortunately for both Joe and Roberto, Joe is now in the way, and once again donning his manly grimace, Joe takes the kick right in the side. The kick itself didn't do as much damage as it could have if it hadn't been interrupted on its way upwards, but this did little to console Joe as he stumbled in a completely new direction now, his direction aided by the force of Roberto's kick.

Unfortunately for Miu, this left Joe nowhere to go, and on this slippery surface, he could only hold up for so long while being tossed about between different people. So, with as much grace as a flailing Higashi can muster, Joe begins to fall towards Miu. "Augh! Dammit!"

Fortunately for Hotaru, Joe deals with her acrobatic flip and kick pretty much the same way he always does. He gets hit by it. Using her own momentum to carry her through the motion, Hotaru leaps against the stuccoed wall of one of the store fronts, then presses off that wall to jump against another, which leads to a final jump that puts her up on the roof of the buildings.
From there, the young fighter runs along the roof top to the edge of the building and jumps out into the air over the fighters below. The long jump gives her time to see what's happening to Joe as he nobly intercepts the kick Roberto had aimed for Miu. What a guy. In fact, seeing Roberto and Miu reminds Hotaru that she was supposed to be having a SNF in the /first/ place. Getting blindsided by an angry Joe tends to make her forget details like that.
At the apex of her jump, Hotaru flips once, correcting her trajectory into a knee-first dive towards Joe while he's flailing around in the air. She can't really tell that he's falling towards Miu, all she knows is that she wants to strike him while he seems completely unable to react. "I'm not going to have you ruining yet another fight of mine!"

COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Miu with Quick Throw.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Joe              0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0           Hotaru


The swing of her arm-- the force behind it. There's a complete lack of hesitation there, making it a smooth manuver even as the soccer-playing student blocks it with nimble hands. Her shoes squeal against the wet ground as she comes to a complete halt, even giving her enough traction to arch her back and dive. The motion is awkward, what starts as a handspring turns into a break-fall that rolls the student onto her side and rides the momentum on her shoes to skid a healthy distance from Roberto-- and apparently Joe, as he's caught between them!

From her low posture and the rain pounding down on them, Miu finds it difficult to get an evasive motion going-- and ends up with a bristle-headed kickboxer sprawling out and slamming into her.

Landing with a crash, her hand slams down to the ground to cut her potential slide short and rises to her feet. Ponytail fallen out of the hood of her dark rainslicker, Miu looks down at her lengthy hair and clicks her tongue in annoyance-- then looks back to Roberto even as Hotaru lunges in to dish out more punishment to Higashi. "Futaba-senpai, the fight is already ruined. Just kick him off the pier and be done with it."

Moody in the rain, isn't she?

Hurrying in an arc around the incoming Hotaru and the fallen Joe, Miu spins around hard on her heel, whipping up her arm and casting ahead a black feather at the visored soccer player-- and then a reversed spin, arm lashing upward to cast a second!

COMBATSYS: Roberto reflects Kakure Amagakeri from Miu with Shining Clutch.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Joe              0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Roberto's Reflected Kakure Amagakeri.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0           Hotaru


As his foot catches the kick boxer he grunts in disappointment and surprise. The combination of impact taking place before he could truly bring the force of the kick to bear and the fact that the kick boxer is heavy enough to blunt the impact of his foot on the Seijyun student gets to him.

Soon the disappointment gives way to being pleased because he ends up getting a twofer out of this. He got to nail Joe with the kick, and the result is the kick boxer dropping right on top of his intended target. Sure, he didn't hit Miu as hard as he could've hoped but the fact that he ended up using Joe as a weapon by kicking him must've made an impression.

Then he watches as Miu rises to her feet and begins her attack. First one feather then the next come at him only to be met with one glowing hand for one and another glowing hand for the other and flinging them both back at her.

COMBATSYS: Joe endures Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0           Hotaru


Joe didn't intend to fall onto Miu like that, and he kind of felt bad until she mentions how he'd already ruined the fight, then he just rolls over in a huff. He's about to sit back up to give Miu a piece of his mind when he suddenly realizes that up in the sky, there is a rather annoyed Hotaru heading straight for him. He brings his hands up to block the attack, and they do a pretty good job of doing so. However, the force of the blow drives his arms back, slamming them into his face where they give Joe quite an impressive bloody nose. The rain helpfully washes the blood down his face and stains his new shirt, which only serves to annoy Joe even more. "Dammit Hotaru, this was a new shirt! Are you just out to destroy everything I own now?!"

Joe Higashi had had enough of people pushing him around today. He rolls backwards before hopping quickly to his feet, his back right up against the railing of the boardwalk. A hand comes up to wipe away the blood before even more can stain his new shirt as he quickly calculates his next move. As always, it comes up as 'Hit Hotaru'. Joe lunges forward a step, his right shoulder dropping quickly before he brings his right arm upwards in an uppercut. His signature tornado forms quickly behind it, the water and rain making it into more of a waterspout than a tornado, but it will do all the same. The vortex is sent on its way towards Hotaru, with Joe following closely behind it. At the last moment, he leaps over both whirlwind and blue-haired girl to land behind her, where his arms and legs begin striking rapidly, hopefully catching his opponent off guard.

COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Exploding Hurricane Tiger Heel.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|=======\======-\1           Hotaru


When her knee drives his hands into his face, Hotaru brings her other leg around, using it to kick back off from his shoulders as he stumbles back, flipping into the air and coming down on her own feet some distance from the kick boxer. She actually winces a little at the sight of the bloodied nose. "H-hey," she starts to speak up, extending her hand, palm first, a universal sign for 'Hold on a second!' "I don't have some kind of vendetta against you. You're the one that punched me out of no where! You're not even supposed to be here-" What happened to Kaiwei anyway? she wonders for a split second as Joe winds up for his next attack.
When he creates the water-flury whirlwind, Hotaru just braces herself, pulling her arms up, intending to weather it out. Which means she unfortunately doesn't notice Joe as he ends up on the other side of her, making the young fighter an easy target. When he first starts kicking and punching her from behind, she thinks it's Roberto - the two having teamed up to take her down while distracted. But she manages to half turn around after taking a couple hits, completely forgetting about the incoming hurricane. Pulling her arm back with the intent to sock Joe right in the face for this, Hotaru is struck by the hurricane and knocked up into the air by the twisting vortex.
As the whirlwind vanishes, having run its course, Hotaru twists around into a dive right back toward Joe, her body flaring with the blue energy that she so often manifests with her attacks. Right now, she's bearing in on Joe, a, young, frustrated, teenaged chi-missle of wrath.

COMBATSYS: Joe fails to interrupt Ten-shou Ranki EX from Hotaru with Hiza Jigoku.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Hotaru


When she crashes into Joe, the momentum of her plummet back into him is unabated by anything like 'concern for personal well being.' There is an explosion of steam from off the wet pavement as the pooled water around the two evaporates in an instant from heat created by the aura around the girl. She's got Joe pinned to the pavement, sitting on his stomach, her feet on his arms, clearly not intending to let him budge an inch.
There is a build up of energy around the two as Hotaru channels every last ounce of chi she can command all into this next attack. Pulling her hand back, a whirlwind of blue and yellow energy begins to collect around her fist, her other hand pressing against his chest. When she can build it up no further, the girl brings her hand down, punching Joe right in the chest, discharging all of that built up energy and frustration into that single blow. The explosion that results knocks her completely off of the kick boxer, Hotaru tumbling a couple of times before coming to rest a few yards away. Ow. That hurt. And it completely drained her. But really, it was worth it.

As the second fight rages on-- Joe's outcry to the damage of his property and all-- Miu continues to move, breaking into a forward jog. Much to her surprise, Roberto's hands stop her attack with that odd glow. They even rebound and fly back at her! The energy distorts and bends in the air, the sharp appearance distorting into a blur-- a vaguely feather-shaped object. Miu thrusts out her hands, turning out her palms to catch the feather back into her hand and absorb it with a visible flinch, her other hand swiping up to do the same. Though it's her own powers, it still hurts-- and it leaves her with that same painful sensation like that massive attack Tenma launched on her once before.

Using the rain and the slick boardwalk to her advantage, Miu stomps her feet and leans her weight back a bit. Hydroplaning on the soles of her shoes, she uses the vaguely out-of-control momentum to fuel her forward jump, spinning sharply in the air to send a sturdy kick at the center of the soccer player's chest. Oddly enough, feathers trail from her leg and foot as she strikes...

COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Miu's Medium Kick.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0           Hotaru


With relaxed ease, the soccer star manages to get his foot on one of his soccer balls only to notice that there was a flying Miu heading in his direction. He takes note of the feathers however when he considers his options, the best one is to get out of the way which he does by performing a quick cut followed by a spin to face the crow girl again.

After that he attempts to break into a fast dribble to catch her before she can recover from his evasion. He moves towards the Seijyun student and once he's close enough he performs a hop off of the soccer ball using it as a make shift trampoline as he flies knee first at the smaller of the two girls.

Hotaru was bearing down on him, and instead of getting out of the way, Joe gets a bright idea. Sadly, most of Joe's bright ideas end up with him in pain, this time is no different. He reaches out towards the approaching Hotaru in an attempt to grab her and slam her head down into his knee, but instead of grabbing on, he ends up giving her a big Higashi Hug as she releases a huge amount of chi into him. A surprised squeak is the only noise out of Joe as the force of the impact drives him to the ground on his back. His arms fall to the sides as Hotaru pins him to the ground before unleashing a huge torrent of chi into his chest, ruining the shirt almost completely now and stunning Joe into a stupor. His brain is screaming at him to get up before something even worse lands on his chest, but his body is content to just lay there and smoulder a bit in the pouring rain.

Finally Hotaru gets back up to her feet, looking a complete mess of dirty water, bloodstains, drenched, matted hair... She glances toward Roberto and Miu, her expression shifting from focused anti-Joe fury to one of apology. She really should be helping out her partner in this fight instead of carrying out what she sees as very overdue justice against Joe Higashi.
"Sorry, Miu!" she calls over to the dark clad girl. "Just had a little... personal business to take care of. You can take care of yourself a little longer though!" she encourages. And frankly, compared to Hotaru, Miu is doing an excellent job of not getting obliterated by her opponent.
Leaning forward, Hotaru rests her hands against her knees, her eyes watching Joe. She'll be ready if he decides to get up again. If he doesn't, then she can shift into helping her partner like she should be.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Roberto          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Roberto's Heavy Kick.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Hotaru


Her eyes narrow under the shadow of the hood as Roberto makes his deft and agile evade. Dropping to land on the ground once again, she sees a rather impressive manuver in his attack, using the surface of a ball in this weather in that way. As he flies in with his knees extended, Miu turns to stand aside, arms thrown out to her sides to provide a bit of momentum and to keep her body balanced as her opponent flies by.

Encouragment reaches her ears-- and it gives her ideas. Her left arm reels back as feathers suddenly burst out of the sleeves of her jacket itself. Stomping her foot as she swings her fist ahead, the feathers surge outward in a blur, crafting a massive feathered drill of sorts, though one could abstractly see it almost like a massive lance. The strike is brought with a loud gust of wind, strong enough to even fling raindrops horizontal and ripple the settled water at their feet. "EAT THIS!!" she yells, sounding more like some of the people she hangs out with.

COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Miu's Yomosugara.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Joe              0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Hotaru


Roberto spins, fast and it's just in time to see the feathered drill attempt to impale him but he maintains his poise in the face of it to side-step the attack. The gust of it passing by has the unfortunate side effect of blowing rain into his face. He brings a gloved hand across his eyes just under his visor before engaging Miu in a dramatic stare down.

After that, he begins to close his stance up and forms what looks like a boxer's stance instead of the normal goalie's ready stance easing himself in before snapping out a boxing style jab. Maybe a change of tactics will allow him to move the fight along.

Joe eventually pulls himself up, leaning heavily against the railing of the boardwalk as he eyes the scene. He was apparently not dead yet, Hotaru was looking pretty bad, and the other two fighters were diligently trying to hit each other. The crazy-haired man rolls his neck slightly to loosen the muscles. He steps away from the railing, facing Hotaru like he has so many times before. He begins to concentrate, trying to pull his strength together for one final strike that will hopefully end this feud once and for all. It isn't likely to play out that way, but Joe does hope. He reaches up and wipes the blood from his nose again, "How come you look worse after your own move than you do after any of mine? Sounds like weak training to me!" Even battered and beaten, Joe can still taunt with the best of em.

COMBATSYS: Joe gathers his will.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Joe              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Hotaru


Slowly catching her breath, Hotaru watches as Joe manages to get back up to his feet even after she tried to dish out everything she could in her last attack. Grr. And then he has to go and talk about her training!? That's something she takes very seriously - quite proud of her training both with her Kenpo arts as well as the rigerous Kyokugen training she's been taking in recent weeks.
"How come you looked worse than you showed up than I do now?!" she calls back, hands clenching into fists as she sprints over the wet surface toward him. Really, that outfit was terrible.
A few yards out the young fighter hops, twisting around in mid-air to add momentum to the two swift swings she aims toward Joe's shoulder and chest - an attempt to get him to block high - a feint to hide the real strike, a powerful palm press toward his stomach. He missed that incoming attack the last time they fought. Perhaps Hotaru is counting on him not having remembered it due to banging his head against a cauldron seconds after she hit him with it...

COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Roberto's Quick Punch.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Joe              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0           Hotaru


Too fast-- and lucky for him, it looks like. With feathers swirling out and falling around the pair, Miu meets eyes with Roberto for just a split-second-- her face is calm and betraying a sense of neutrality, but her eyes have a dangerous focus to them. It's the sort of focus you need when you desire victory! The sort of focus that comes when Miu watches his fist sweep in with wonderful timing.

The crow girl of Seijyun again steps and leans to one side, reaching up to grab Roberto's arm. If she manages contact, the sizzle of that strange energy radiates again from her hands, black feathers bleeding from her hands as she puts her weight into the move-- and perhaps a little inventively due to her size, throws her backside right at Roberto's body while pulling to swiftly counter-throw the soccer player over her shoulder. Fly, goalie, fly!

COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Miu's Quick Throw.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Joe              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0           Hotaru


But Roberto's arm isn't there when she reaches out for it. That's because after the punch is thrown he side-steps it moving himself in ideal position to move to one of his soccer balls and then he begins to put some distance between himself and Miu in a burst of speed and then after he is far enough away, he performs a quick cut which has the effect of bringing him to dead stop but also allowing him to see Miu.

Once he has Miu in his sights he kicks the soccer ball at her. As the ball travels through the air, it swirls around subject to factors such as the wind, the rain's effect on the kicking surface, and the amount of spin he put on the soccer ball. It will be interesting to see how the crow girl handles it.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Soushou Shin.

[                          \\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Joe              1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0           Hotaru


It was a slow attack, at least to Joe's viewpoint, and one that he could easily deal with. It did seem a bit familiar to him, but he's fought Hotaru a few times now, and all of her moves seemed painfully familiar. Unfortunately, Joe's memory only extends so far, so he brings his arms up to block high, his voice raising as if to taunt until the palm strike slams into him. He doesn't stumble backwards or fall over, he just kneels down at Hotaru's feet, breathing heavily. He was done, the little miscreant had beaten him down again. "Dammit!" He shouted to the wet planks of the boardwalk, but they did not flinch. Joe's disappointment in himself quickly turns to anger at allowing Hotaru to once again escape after having humiliated him in public.

Fueled by anger, Joe begins to growl deeply. At first he doesn't move, but then he stands straight up quickly, his arms flinging above his head as he shouts incoherently to the pouring sky, his power manifesting itself in the form of two giant tornados swirling around his body, engulfing anything that dares to get close, including life-ruining little girls.

COMBATSYS: Joe can no longer fight.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Hotaru


COMBATSYS: Hotaru endures Joe's Double Cyclone.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu
                                  >                                ]
                                 |=======\-------\1           Hotaru


Hotaru holds her palm in Joe's stomach for several long seconds... not out of any deliberate attempt to inflict pain via pressure but just because she's really that worn out and doesn't even have the strength to stand back up effectively to prepare for the inevitable retaliation.
When she finally does manage to stand up straight, Hotaru rests her hands at her hips. "Serves you right for attacking me like that," she states, shaking her her head, wet pigtails flapping back and forth. "Maybe next time you should try talking to me instead of punching in the face for no reason," she counsels. Because yeah, that's likely to happen. Ever.
When Joe actually does get back up, Hotaru's expression of triumph changes into a bit of an uncertain frown. He can't possibly have anything left in him after what she's put him through, can he? But just to be safe, Hotaru takes two steps forward, attempting to push Joe right back over into a particularly large water puddle. One might as well be thorough in making sure he NEVER has to wear that outfit again. Consider it one small act of mercy after a long sequence of pain.
But she never quite gets there, disappearing into a pair of cyclones that Joe unleashes with all of his fury. The girl's world disappears into a vortext of debris, flying objects, and rainwater. She was already on the verge of falling over as it was, so this final assault is enough to finish the job. Left to fall back toward the earth, the least she can do is try to actually help her partner out down there with one last attempt to actually strike Roberto.
Thus it is that she adjusts her crash course with the ground just enough to steer her toward Roberto, intending to come down on the soccer player with a series of rapid, random, and sloppy kicks before she passes out completely. Call it the Shin-jou Tai Flail.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0              Miu


COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Roberto's Long Shot.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0              Miu


Ka-BOOM. Two massive tornadoes crafted from energy explode upward to the heavens, taking with them the hopes and dreams of many-- including that of little girls who ruin his pink shirts. "Futaba-senpai!!" she exclaims, watching the display with wide eyes. And helping out against Roberto? Well, thank god for small favors there...

Leaning forward and charging ahead, Miu starts ducking and weaving left and right before arriving in front of the soccer player, springing into the air over his head-- and likely Hotaru's at the same time-- and reaches out to grab onto Roberto's back. Her fist draws back to slug the young man in the back of the head-- with enough force, strangely enough, to send Miu -flying- on a successful hit...

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Roberto with Shin-Jou Tai EX.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Roberto          1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0              Miu


COMBATSYS: Roberto dodges Miu's Psi-Launcher.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Roberto          1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu


Roberto is paying attention to Miu and not exactly watching his back which is why Hotaru managed to get the jump on him. Sure the fact that Miu uttered 'Futaba-sempai' and looked up into the sky clued him in but it happened to quickly to sidestep the wild flailing of feet right before he's kicked away and iadvertantly saved from Miu's attack.

When he gets up, he sees Hotaru's body prone on the ground and he begins to get an idea from earlier in the fight. He did have a bit of success using people as soccer balls. With this in mind, he slips his foot under Hotaru's body and doesn't quite 'kick' her in Miu's direction but rather, gently lifts her with his strong leg to send the small girl into the air to drop right on top of Miu.

COMBATSYS: Miu negates Large Thrown Object from Roberto with Amagakeri.
- Power hit! -

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Roberto          1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0              Miu


So much happening at once-- her partner going down, his partner going down, being assaulted with a soccer ball itself...

All of it adds up to a massive problem. Everything rode on her, the one and only person with no emotional attachment to the place in the first place. Digging deep, hoping for a break, Miu lifts her arm and sweeps outward, casting a feather that smacks into the soccer ball threatening to drop on her head. "You'll have to do better than that!" hhe calls out.

Better than that she wants? Better than that she shall have. Roberto moves to a soccer ball... A real soccer ball this time. He begins dribbling the ball and he begins to go into a series of intricate soccer moves complete with step overs and double cuts until he moves into range with quick spin move which would ideally disguise that kick he throws at the last possible moment before dribbling away with the soccer ball in a quick hit and run.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Miu with Light Kick.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Roberto          1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0              Miu


COMBATSYS: Miu has saved the state of this fight.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Roberto          1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0              Miu


COMBATSYS: Daedalus restarts a saved fight.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Roberto          1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0              Miu


The deft manuvers-- the basics, the 'foundation'-- and then he cuts one way and another, keeping her eyes on his legs. And like the saying where one can't see the trees for the forest, she looks too hard for a complicated kicking attack that involves the ball-- before the ball stays low and his foot comes up.

Taking the kick with an 'oomph!!', Miu staggers backwards on the Boardwalk, adjusting her footing for the rainfall and continuing to back up further and further away from the young soccer player. Steps become hops, hops become bounds. Clearing a healthy distance of thirty feet or so in a mere few moments, Miu pants and holds her stomach-- mostly because that hurt a bit. Though her face is partially veiled by her bangs and the slope of the drenched hood, her open mouth and slack jaw are the dead giveaways as to her condition.

Squinting, the crow girl of Seijyun flips her wet ponytail back around her neck-- cold, but the chill helps get her mind in focus and catch her breath. What's next...?

COMBATSYS: Miu gains composure.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Roberto          1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0              Miu


When his foot finally lands he smiles a bit. Finally receiving proof that she truly isn't untouchable. Of course he knows he's not exactly untouchable either which drives him to pressure her with more attacks before an attack is landed on him in a way that isn't on his terms.

After the fancy footwork from that landed attack, he assumes that she'll be on the look out for that type of trickery. He decides on going at her slowly at first, dribbling the soccer ball deliberately before suddenly picking up speed as he darts in with a couple of touches and raises a knee towards her torso as he moves to pass her.

COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Roberto's Heavy Kick.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Roberto          1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0              Miu


Fool me once... well, you know the rest. With the distance between them, it takes Roberto a moment to start slow-- and advances slowly herself. But unlike the visored youth, Miu keeps moving at her slow and steady rate. It keeps her in line, steady, and aware of the attack soon to come at her-- in the form of a knee, this time!

Cutting the opposite direction of Roberto's movements, it gives Miu more than enough room and time to prepare a counterattack. Still standing laterally to him for the moment, Miu jerks back in with a quick step, her open hand reaching out to quickly palm strike at the footballer's jaw-- feathers trailing from her hand and everything.

COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Roberto with Jab Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0              Miu


You'd think with all the dodging the two were doing up to now, that Roberto would try to move out of the way but he doesn't. As a matter of fact the body language gave a full indication that he going to take the shot to set up his own attack however he doesn't get the ideal positioning to carry out his plan and goes spinning out of control. By some miracle he still maintains ball control.

He then moves in. With no artifice involved, he just steps forward to return the favor with a sweeping palm strike of his own that looks as though he knocking away a shot on goal. Soccer ball will be Miu's head.

COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Roberto's Quick Punch.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0              Miu


It's like an echoing slap-- with a hint of that strange power she emits, a stinging afterthought that'll probably make that little hit more memorable later on. But the close proximity puts her right in line for being on the recieving end of Roberto's next attack, the head set to just about smack her head clean off her shoulders. Again, the best defense for the girl is to simply -not- be there.

Miu's small body shifts left and right with a series of smooth steps-- one to step back from the student, a second to dodge behind him, a third to move to his opposite side. Her ponytail flips and flops around from the hood of her jacket once again, the small girl's knees bending slightly as she makes a small hop-- and then sends a jackknife kick right at Roberto's side. A little more forceful than her slap, maybe, but so far a pick-and-run strategy has been working for her...

COMBATSYS: Roberto endures Miu's Medium Kick.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Roberto          1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0              Miu


In this match, Roberto has proven that he's relatively evasive. Now he shows that he can take a hit. Once again he doesn't move but this time he takes the impact on his own terms. Spinning with the strike he gracefully rolls away with the attack and from Miu until he and the soccer ball he was holding on to slide to a halt on the rain slickened surface.

Because of the kick and his own personal momentum puts a good amount of range between them he's set up perfectly for his next move. He swings his foot back and slams it hard into the soccer ball, sending this soccer ball at her. As the ball travels towards the crow girl she'll notice a few differences. For one thing that soccer ball is on fire. For another, the soccer ball has no confusion spin and is traveling much faster. The final difference is that once it comes into range, it cause a massive explosion. Of course, the star striker has made sure that the boardwalk and whatever people in the audience who decided to brave the rain won't get caught up in it.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Miu with Blazing Strikers.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Roberto          0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1              Miu


The forward thrust of her foot strikes Roberto's side-- better than she had hoped, but taken entirely the wrong way. Her heel rolls against his side, and the soccer player is put into prime position to counterattack at a near point-blank position. Her eyes are lit as the ball bursts into stubborn flame amidst the rain, her expression one of shock and a little bit of horror-- and with her small frame still a tenth of a second from touching the slippery deck of the boardwalk, the explosion briefly engulfs the crow girl of Seijyun. Blasted backwards with smoke and steam trailing from her dark rainslicker, the Kurosaki girl hits the ground -hard- and sprawls along in a roll until she stops, face-down and nearing the edges of the beach a stone's throw away.

Is it over?

Not quite. A heavy gasp blows out of Miu's lungs, rippling the water and shifting her back. Dragging her legs forward and pressing her palms to the wet boardwalk, the small girl slowly rises to her feet and simply ... breathes. "That... really hurt." Not exactly a linguist, eh?

Energy begins to rise in the small girl-- and while she shows no outward physical effect, the feeling is still certainly there. That unusual power surging within her, enough now to make feathers continually bleed out of her left arm from her knuckles to her shoulder. "Miura-san, this is..." Leaving her sentence at that, Miu suddenly charges across the length of Southtown's Boardwalk, a broad white feather bursting out once more across the back of her right hand. The feathers continue to grow from her left arm-- in preparation for something... And once she reaches Roberto, the girl's 'bladed' hand swings up for one massive swing at his chest.

COMBATSYS: Roberto blocks Miu's Psychic Secrets.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Roberto          0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0              Miu


The swing is the starting point-- and with a flurry of motion, Miu's small frame spins once, twice, three times-- the number becomes difficult to correctly ascertain. And even still, those feathers in her left arm continue to surge, grow in number. Bringing her left arm around, -hard-, the feathers explode out of her arm in a massive blast of energy-- a drilling lance not unlike the smaller one before... just much larger, much louder, and much -harder-. The rain scatters in the wake of the strike and the force carried in it-- as well as the sound of dozens and dozens of wingbeats. Her vision obscured by her hood and the swirl of feathers, she cannot see what's just on the other side of that strike, even as the 'lance' of energy spirals out into a massive amount of feathers-- and one girl standing still with a shaky fist and breathing hard.

As Miu closes in, Roberto shifts himself into a goalie stance as the rain beats down on him. His body relaxes and he begins to focus on the girl as if a penalty shot was coming in. From this focus, time begins to move to a crawl.

The first slash of feathers meet a pair of open goalie glove clad hands. Then the next and the next after that, with Roberto not bothering to count the times his hands meet those feathers. To do so would disrupt his focus.

When the drilling lance comes he grits his teeth trying ready himself for the final impact of the series of attacks. The energy feather lance collide with a pair closed fists. Sliding back as he growls from the impact and then it ends.

"Wow... That was amazing." He then takes a few steps starting from a slow walk gradually building into a run as a goes for a dramatic run that seems more fitting for a Kurosawa samurai movie than a street fight. He stops right in front the crow girl with a glowing foot swung up into the air held high. If the kick hits there will be a short dramatic pause before she flies up into the air.

COMBATSYS: Roberto successfully hits Miu with Thrust Kick.
Glancing Blow

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Roberto          0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0              Miu


As the energy disperses, feathers fly and scatter to the winds. Miu gets control of her own body once again once the cloud of glowing black disperses and the energy evaporates into bits and pieces of light and energy all around. Gritting her teeth, Miu's eyes narrow as Roberto stands firm-- and surviving that assault. Her dismay and annoyance bleeds into her expression, teeth briefly bared and jaw tight. Still working her left hand in and out of a fist as her fingers feel tingly and numb, Roberto's swift kick slams into her gut and pauses-- then rockets upward into the air, arms and legs limp.

Eyes clamped shut and gasping for air, she's still in the midst of her ascent before she realizes-- she can still move. She can still get one more hit in-- if she's going to go down, she can take him with her...!

Feathers again explode out of her left hand as she starts to fall back down to earth, legs snapping upward to flip her upside-down and slowly glide her body horizontal. The feathers surge out again into a lance-- smaller, mind-- and her fist is angled to drive the swirling power down at Roberto in a ditch attempt to bring him down. "EAT THIS!!" she roars, eyes wild.

COMBATSYS: Roberto reflects Yomosugara from Miu with Shining Clutch.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //                            ]
Roberto          0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0              Miu


The golden goalie, barely has time to bring his leg down before she comes down upon him. His hands still are up though and he manages to desperately intercept the feathery lance in glowing hands. He slides back as the impact bears down on his hands. After a few moments the feather lance formation bursts apart giving a dazzling display before dropping to his knees desperately gasping for air.

He stands up slowly, his legs wobbling standing while looking at the official to declare his team the winner while he stumbles over to the wall of one of the many funnel cake shops on the board walk and uses it for support. The declaration never comes. He says in almost a whisper as he looks at his opponent, "Man... That was intense."

No, judges-- it isn't over yet. Miu still stands and Miu still has the strength in her to keep moving. The Yomosugara's energy again scatters into a burst of feathers, though the girl lands in a crouch before her fist strikes the ground. On one knee, her feet slip and slide against Southtown's boardwalk as she makes one final lunge.

Her knees seek to find the soccer player's chest, her fist cocked back for one last punch. Grabbing at the collar of his shirt, a white feather emerges from the darkness of her sleeve for one last, finalizing punch-- a driving strike jabbing at his head.

If it connects, it will more than likely draw blood as well as give Roberto a massive headache. It'll also add momentum to her small body-- a -ton- of it, enough to send her sailing back through the air and landing on her feet, sliding backwards and dropping to her hands and knees.

COMBATSYS: Miu can no longer fight.

[                        \\\\\\  <
Roberto          0/-------/-======|


COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Roberto with Psi-Launcher.

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


Leaning against the wall was a big mistake and while it kept him upright, it also limited his options as far as getting out of the way. He's caught and driven headfirst into the overhang before he's unceremoniously driven to the ground. There's doubt of whether or not he's getting up.

For a few moments he's down and then he begins to twitch as he reaches out for that same wall that he used for support before pulling himself up to his feet. He thought he put her down before but he still a bit weary about counting her out. He takes a wobbling step breathing heavily. He doesn't think he could stop another assault if she gets up again.

The flight is impressive-- one that causes the cameras to have to turn and adjust quickly to follow her progress, even as she flips backwards and comes down. Her rough landing is captured, the gritting of her teeth and her slump to her hands and knees.

"I can still..."

Feathers trickle and bleed out of her arms, her body jerking rigid for a few moments. "Ugh-!!" Slumping a bit, the crow girl of Seijyun Academy for Girls coughs and gasps, the fatigue of the battle at last catching hold of her. Her small frame shifts backwards, her legs shifting out to the sides as she sits on her rear end. Looking up toward the sky, the rain dribbles from the hood of her rainslicker and on her face.

"I guess ... I lost..." she murmurs, eyes closing.

COMBATSYS: Roberto has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:23:33 05/28/2007 by Roberto, and last modified on 21:55:45 05/31/2007.