Description: A trip to an ice cream parlor, prior to Sakura's Saturday Night Fight, turns totally surreal as Ryu just... walks right in!
Just because there's a war on in Thailand doesn't mean that other pursuits have been dropped, for many fighters; Saturday Night Fight continues as it always does, perhaps in some small measure of spite on Geese's part for Shadaloo's newfound brazenness. For some, this is meaningless; for others, however, this poses a lot of strange questions... like, for example, how to act human again, in at least one case.
For this purpose, Sakura has been invited to a small shop -- yes, an /ice cream/ shop! -- prior to her battle in a less-populated portion of Southtown. It would be best to make sure she can muster something that at least /seems/ like normal human behavior before she returns to see her former compatriots, after all. After all -- they can't seem -too- suspicious, even if a few people already know what's going on. And, if everything looks relatively normal and someone starts screaming about that not being the case, -they- might look a little crazy.
This would be easier, Kurow thinks, if he had a finished flute right now. /So much/ easier.
Ice cream. He took the girl out for =ice cream=. Ice cream is secondary only to cake on Sakura's favorite-foods hierarchy; even though her primary personality is still buried beneath layer upon layer of programming, =some= of her core personality peeks through every once in a while.
... Still. The top layer's crushin' on Kurow somethin' fierce due to his influence, and this is NOT HELPING.
She walks into the store behind Kurow, glancing around from side to side, before centering her gaze back on Kurow. "This location is... not secure," she states. Maybe she needs an adult? She can't deny that her heart is beating just a bit faster. Blame her latent memories of prior dates.
Regardless, she knows =why= they're here. The Saturday Night Fight. Shaking her head, she continues. "... I have... little to say at such festivities. I somehow expect they will not believe me if I were to simply parrot Douyoubi's sentiments from last week's Saturday Night Fight."
"Well, this location doesn't need to be secure -- we're not discussing anything sensitive, after all," Kurow says, gesturing for Sakura to sit down in the booth, across from him. "Before we start talking too much about your coming fight with Hayato, however... what would you like? I haven't ordered anything yet." Aww, how sweet -- he's actually /buying her ice cream/.
This hasn't caught him as anything too awkward yet, strangely. "And, before I forget -- you're right, if all you do is repeat Douyoubi, people will think of you as just another drone." Though it doesn't show through in his voice very much, Kurow is still somewhat irritated at Douyoubi for that Excel-like yelling and posturing the week before; he doesn't understand how exactly that was intended to -help- matters.
What would you =like?= "I do not require..." ... But Kasugano trails off: that wasn't what was asked. Blinking, she looks down for a moment, before wandering over to the ice cream display. Peering over for a moment, she speaks up, "Rocky Road." Personal favorites die hard.
She turns back to address Kurow, shaking her head for a moment. It sure would suck if someone were to see her through a pane of glass as she's talking to Kurow right now in such an 'insecure' location, at least in her estimation, but... hey, whatever. "I do not 'want' to be just another drone," she repeats with all the enthusiasm of a computer. "I would prefer to sound natural and convincing, but I am having difficulty... recalling the proper mannerisms."
Incidentally, it's probably a good thing Sakura won't be making fun of Kurow for teaching those ebullient mannerisms back to her.
That trailing off is a good sign, in Kurow's opinion; she's in a mental 'space' where she can start to think about things like 'personal preference' again, and that's quite a good starting point. He orders as asked; Rocky Road for Sakura, and chocolate for himself.
It doesn't take too long for the transaction to complete, and with that done, Kurow starts walking back to the booth, making sure Sakura follows. "I can't just put those back immediately, at least not now," the young man says, glancing toward that glass window for the tiniest of moments, feeling... almost unusually paranoid about being seen having ice cream with Sakura. "But I can try to help you remember. It may be difficult at first, and you may start to feel -- homesick, perhaps. If that happens, let me know and we'll try something less painful." That said, he takes his first small taste of his ice cream.
It's still an unknown why the Psycho Drive didn't work the first time. Perhaps cooking two strong-willed fighters at once wasn't among Douyoubi's best ideas. But regardless... some 'chinks' exist in Sakura's walled-off memories that make her, and to some extent Akira, a bit... different from the primary thirteen Dolls.
Most notably, she still expresses =some= personality from time to time. Such as the occasional tilt of her head, like a bird, to some expressions. Why would it be 'painful?' ... Then again, she had asked that very important question of Kurow in their first major conversation. "... I... will inform you if that occurs." Nodding quietly, she takes a small spoonful of ice cream, before looking back up to Kurow.
Was that a =smile= just then? Even half of one?
Kurow certainly would -like- to think of it as a smile. After all, that'd mean that she was starting to do what they'd set out to do all on her own -- all it needed, then, would be some prodding to grow and develop. He looks at her for perhaps a little too long without speaking, perhaps trying to figure out if that really -was- what it seemed to be, or just some quirk of the light, some false signal.
Focus, that familiar voice from his childhood reminds him. Don't get caught up in her smile. Focus on what you set out to do. "All right... you said you had, at least, some access to your old memories... that's good, here -- you'll need them." This is actually one of the hardest tasks he's set out to do; he knows how to shut someone /off/, but bringing things back online? That's harder. What does one even -focus- on?
It gets a little less difficult when he finishes flipping through his memories a bit. It's actually as much guesswork as training, but an idea comes to him when he thinks back to that close fight in front of the Taiyo girls months ago. "I want you to try to visualize the way you used to walk, before the treatments. You have to have seen it somewhere -- on Saturday Night Fight footage, in a mirror. It's said that a lot about the way a person is emotionally comes out in the way they move."
Though he doesn't even consider this, perhaps this explains a few things about Kurow's own evasive, guarded stance and precise, crisp motions.
Sakura's got an aptitude for imitation -- that's something that =wasn't= buried in the Doll reprogramming session. She's also good at remembering how people move from watching little more than video footage. It's... probably going to be a benefit here... as it seems she'll have to imitate herself, eventually.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she nods. "Most of them. I do not entirely understand what caused me to retain them." She scratches the side of her cheek -- it seems subconscious, but in reality, it was triggered when the girl sought some answers from her memories, upon Kurow's request. "I should try to... move, then. To become accustomed to it again." She reaches out for the ice cream, dipping in for another small bite. Much too dainty for Sakura's usual helpings -- but perhaps some of Sakura's habits could stand to remain buried.
Still with her eyes closed, she stands up. Slowly opening her eyes, she shifts her weight fully onto one foot, leaning on the table with one arm, head cocked to the side as she smirks, yes, =smirks= back at Kurow.
But her voice is unchanged, still a monotone. "I believe my former self's narcissism may prove advantageous."
While Kurow thinks the 'real' Sakura would have probably already finished her ice cream, he doesn't vocalize that particular thought. After all... he's paying. This is, yes, probably the best for everyone involved.
"Well, well," Kurow says, looking at Sakura's nearly picture-perfect imitation of her old self. "It seems like you're getting the hang of it already... at the very least, you've got some of your old mannerisms back. But that won't be enough." After all, if she moves like she used to but speaks like a drone, has the emotional responses of a mindless automaton, that's even /more/ of a sign something's wrong. It creates a discontinuity. It might even be harmful for Sakura herself, he thinks -- though this is still out of his usual realm.
Continuing to poke at his ice cream as he looks up at Sakura, Kurow deliberates. What he finally comes up with may be somewhat... backward, as an approach, but not entirely a terrible idea. "This may be harder, but... your voice. I know you were taught that Dolls should be precise, but that's not where your strength lies. You're better at improvising. I know you can do that with your body already; you did an excellent job tailoring your techniques to the situation with tha biker, after all. It's the same with your voice -- it has to be fluid. You have to let it react more to the emotions of the other person, to the way you yourself feel..." He pauses. "I can give you an exercise to try, if you'd like."
... Well... okay. Voice might be more difficult for Sakura. The girl has a photographic memory, not an iPod memory.
.... But she is getting the general picture. Whereas she probably ought to sit down properly, she instead reaches over, craning her arm about that styrofoam ice cream bowl, and hooks it closer to her. It's something good ol' Sakura would've done -- eat while standing up, holding the bowl. She even takes a bigger bite as well. "... Improvising. Adaptation." Pause. "But there are patterns to everything. I should be attempting to mimic these patterns =in= my improvisation." She takes a bigger spoonful of ice cream, practically shoving it into her mouth.
On considering that, Kasugano notes, "It occurs to me that my former self is also a gluttonous slob with minimal consideration for her own appearance, despite her constant attempts to improve it."
Squinting hard for a moment, she looks up again. ... And sighs, rather irritably, adopting a much more Sakura-like face. "This =sucks=, y'know? I'm tryin' my..." Another pause, and then perplexion shows upon her face. Back to the monotone. "... I may need additional reference material."
Very carefully, Kurow does not comment on any of Sakura's remarks about her appearance; he knows the game, even if he very rarely plays it. That is a road from which there is no clean way to turn off and upon which there are strewn land mines and sharp rocks.
After Sakura almost has that little breakthrough, Kurow decides it might be time to do something drastic. After all, he might not be the best person to /teach/ fluid mannerisms, given his own tendency toward stilted, formal speech, instilled in him by someone as traditionalistic as they come. On the other hand, he can certainly try to /prompt/ it with just a little push and the right application of his -other- talents.
He tries to call up memories of someone a little less stilted, someone like... Rock, or Roy. They come, even if they're a little incomplete. On the plus side, he picks up Roy's charming Midwestern accent. "Yeah, this is really a pain -- I dunno if I'm the best person to try to teach you to talk the way you used to... but hey, at least we're spending a little time together, huh?" He smiles at her, trying to force a reasonably emotional-seeming response with an appeal to, well, those emotions. "Maybe if you're not too hurt after you beat the crap out of Hayato, we could go do some training, or maybe -- I heard there's a pretty nice garden open for the season, at least for another month or so."
He glances at the window again after saying this; it definitely makes him a little paranoid.
It was odd..so often was Ryu the person being looked for, he rarely had any idea how confounding it could be to try to searching someone out and be unable to find them. Sakura had never been difficult to find..on the occasions she didn't track him down herself, the Wanderer was always almost guaranteed to see her at a handful of choice locations. However, that all changed when she had gone missing, allegedly in Thailand while trying to assist in the are?
A cacophony of questions had rung out in the martial artist's mind when he'd heard, principal among them: Why hadn't she told him anything? Because she knew he would think it a bad idea? Because she knew he would try to stop her, or talk her out of it? Was it because he just wasn't around or...did it not even matter?
That's right. Sakura had turned 18. She was an adult now. She was free to make her own decisions, for right or wrong.
The sobering notion hit Ryu as sure as any fist, and he spent the following days in a quandary over the fact, wondering where all that time had gone, when she had almost suddenly grown to such a point. When last they met, he felt the day he would no longer have anything left to teach her closer rather than further...but had it already come to pass without his realization? Was his concern and worriment for the a teacher and his student..or as one warrior for a comrade and friend? He did not know..and the conflict had affected him enough to even throw the legendary World Warrior off his focus..enough that he may be called as such no longer.
But, defeat on that day was merely the opening of another path, lit by a single and undeniable clue of his student's presence. He'd found it, felt her presence..her chi, different but nonetheless hers. He'd followed it as it came to him on the wind, suppressing his own distinct aura while keeping all senses open, feet turned to goal not as aimless as it was usually. Ryu followed...and now it brought him here, quickly and unannounced.
The scarf she'd left at the site of his fight against Big may bring a suddent mute the conversation of the two as it lays out across the table, tossed by the Wanderer's. It's surprising..how subtle he can be when he chooses it so. One moment there was no one there, presence only enough to create a twinge of paranoia in even the most sensitive of empaths, so fine-tuned was his control over his own chi. The fallen warrior had come, and his expression was decidedly unreadable.
"This is a curious way to get my attention, Sakura." He announces, apparently ignoring Kurow for now, "Especially after everything that has been heard." Curiosity and concern now slightly carve their way into those chiseled features, "Don't you know everyone is worried about you? Just what has been going on?"
Sakura blinks back at Kurow, her smirking, down-to-earth demeanor reset to the neutral, analytical state which she now finds to be the norm. "... Excuse me?" she asks levelly. Kasugano hadn't... really... realized Kurow would be switching over into a casual accent until he actually just up and =did= so. But after he continues, she picks up what he's putting down. And visibly relaxes, even though that takes an effort. Ironic, no? "... Heh, yeah. M-maybe we could do that. There's always room for training, y'know? Why, back when I was tr--"
Pity how things had to come to a screeching halt so soon after that one last hill had been crested. The introduction of a scarf and one perilously serious Ansatsuken master to the conversation is enough to, once more, soft-reboot Kasugano into her analytical mindset. Falling backwards, her fists tighten, her eyes narrow back at Ryu's, her face and muscles pull taut, ready for battle.
And yet, though her body shows every intention of battle readiness, she does not act. She =should= have seen him coming, she knows this. But her ability to read chi... is altogether suppressed, much as her ability to =wield= it. Perhaps that's why it was so hard to actually =find= her -- she's only half =her=.
Levelly, she stares back at Ryu. ... And withers, her stare faltering under the intense, unyielding gaze of the Ansatsuken master. "I--" she stammers, looking away. Why is it so hard to even =look= at him? The memories? "I--" Would it be that she was caught completely unawares, in a state of transition between two wholly dissimilar mindsets? Could be!
... And yet, the Shadaloo agent's primary mission objective is staring her right in the face. Literally, in every sense of the words.
Tensely, she looks back up to him. "Kurow, requesting your assistance in accomplishing primary mission objective."
And they'd gotten so far together, too...
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Yes, he thinks, /yes/, she's starting to understand, she'll be easier to work with, and if working with Vega becomes ill-advised I may even be able to take her with me if things keep going like this, Kurow tells himself, as Sakura starts to speak as though she's herself again. That line of thinking, much like Sakura's own, hits a hard wall when Ryu shows up. No longer does he have the time to entertain the notion of usurping power in Vega's moment of ascendance; he has something more concrete, more immediate to deal with.
Kurow is sitting; this makes it slightly difficult to immediately move into a combat stance, and forces Kurow to slowly shift until he's standing -on- his seat, looking down toward Ryu. "I'm sorry, Ryu," Kurow says, voice suddenly dripping with arrogance and cruelty. "Sakura's starting to realize that she isn't going to surpass you, isn't going to become what she could be by hanging on your every word, trying to emulate every last bit of your style." With a smirk, he finishes, "In the end, she's going to leave you on the scrapheap of history."
Well, he thinks, this at least saves him from having to seriously regard her answer for a little while. Reaching into his pockets, he pulls out a pair of clawed gloves, slowly tugging them onto his hands as he walks over the table, moving around to take a position next to Sakura. "Show him that you're strong enough to surpass him," he whispers. "I'm with you. I'll back you up every step of the way. Remember that -- /feel/ that in every strike. You can do it."
COMBATSYS: Kurow assists Sakura.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
One might -almost- expect that initial reaction out of a girl who just caught on some sort of secret date, but Ryu knows better. Something isn't right...something is different, and not in a good way. Given that she disappeared in Thailand, a part of Ryu may indeed know already just what has transpired..but that conscious self refuses to acknowledge it, denies it until circumstance may force it's way into acceptance.
Kurow? Mission objective? "What mission? Sakura, I know you were watching me back then. Why didn't you come forward? What are you talking abou.." Now, finally, his attentions are drawn towards the young man accompanying her as he throws his own proverbial glove into the fray. If the cruel intensity in his voice was not hint enough, Ryu can feel it overwhelmingly in Kurow's aura as if a poison..the savage battlelust not too dissimilar from that of another fighter favoring the claw.
"Sakura..." He turns back to his erstwhile pupile, ignoring the other's words for now, "Why are you with this person? You know better than to listen to anything he says." He feels the tensity of the situation all too well. He does not prepare a fighting stance, as his intention is not to fight, but he remains on guard.
COMBATSYS: Ryu takes no action.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
No. Not a date. Just the two being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, with Sakura fighting to resolve the differences between her past self, her current Psycho-Power-infused self, and... well, the hybrid, fostered by Kurow's subliminal suggestions, that she'll need to pull off appearances tomorrow. But as the Doll programming has the strongest hold on the young woman, that's the current default state. Cold, clinical, analytical... all of these adjectives apply. This is not -exactly- the same person.
Kurow's words echo in her mind. They're... not far off from how she actually feels, in no small part due to his gentle coaxing, and Vega's own programming. She does no more than nod to his encouragement -- completely focused, totally centered on Ryu. Her number one target, in a much different fashion than the norm.
The wanderer's words are also dull echoes she can only barely hear over the babble of esoteric, analytical information running through her head. But she doesn't need any of that -- she's fought Ryu enough to =know= what he's up to. ... Usually.
If only she could access those memories now, when push is indeed coming to shove.
"You had always told me Vega would be after me... " she states coldly, drawing her hands to one side. The barest, slightest hint of a smirk, a residual effect from accessing her old self, creeps onto her lips, as her hands adopt a familiar position. "You were right."
The hands are shaped the same, but the power... is not chi. It is of an altogether foreign nature. Perhaps Ryu will recognize it when it sears into his soul, lighting him up from the inside unlike any power chi could ever replicate. Yet... it =looks= just like one of Sakura's Hadoukens... aside from the terrible purple aura, the thick black veins running through the energy as she shoves the fearsome, five-foot-wide orb forward at him.
Her voice is not defiant, vigorous -- just offering a simple statement. "Hadouken."
What Kurow's feeling isn't quite the cruel lust of battle -- no, his thirst is not for blood. He isn't Balrog. What the youth wants is to drink in something deeper, something more fundamental -- what he wants is precisely what he's getting: Sakura's total acquiescence to his demands, putting Shadaloo and himself over even her old master. It's an intoxicating rush of power, of a different sort of strength than a fighter's -- and one Kirishima is hesitant to give up.
And part of that, of course, is doing as Sakura asked and helping her achieve their shared objective. He keeps that cruel smirk on his face, one altogether different from Sakura's -- still more self-superior, perhaps a little more cruel -- and, like her, advances on him. Some of the other patrons in the little ice cream shop have scattered; others, however, want to see the resultant chaos. One decides to steal one of the ice cream bowls left behind; perhaps it will end up on eBay, if this fight becomes newsworthy.
Kurow's strike is a quick, nasty thing; as Sakura propels that enormous ball of energy at the World Warrior, the ninja runs just behind it, and when this inevitably takes him right up to Ryu (or at least close enough!), he shoves his claws toward a spot in between the man's ribs, forcefully. "I don't think you understand," he hisses. "She's mine now." Not 'ours,' not 'Vega's,' not 'Shadaloo's.' 'Mine.' It's a small, almost inconsequential difference from the expected norms, but it's definitely something worth taking notice of. If he can keep those claws in Ryu's chest, he then slashes hard at Ryu's side, forcing him into the side of one of the booth dividers.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Ryu with Large Psydouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Kurow's Double Slash.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Even if he could come up with some reason to deny what Sakura says, the slam of that psi-infused mockery of hadouken removes any lingering doubt in Ryu's mind. "Urgh.." The blast hits him full-on, backs and over a row of tables into a tumbling mess from which the wanderer scantly recovers, just in time to meet Kurow's attack. He'll not sink his claws today, as the fighter instead takes a gash across his forearm to catch the strike by the wrist.
"Indeed...so it's as I feared." The change in her chi could leave no doubt. He knew the handiwork of Shadowloo's master when he saw (and felt) it. But he would not succumb to despair.
"Sakura, you must listen to me!" He urges, attempting to wrench Kurow away in an almost flippant toss over his shoulder and into a collision with a nearby booth, "Vega speaks nothing but lies and untruths. You've had your mind tangled and toyed with.." He approaches once more, no effort to fight evident in his steps, "But I know that the true you remains unharmed. You must not succumb to what has been done to you!" He insists, almost pleads at the now emotionless doll, "Awaken, Sakura!"
Kurow's saying that Sakura's his. Normally, this would upset the poster child for the saying 'Anything you can do, I can do better!' But now... she is deluded, much as Ryu has said. Besides, Kurow bought her ice cream. ICE CREAM, MAN. Even though it'll be sold on eBay. Sakura spit, mm, A++ would buy from again.
... C'mon, now, Vega, nothing but lies and untruths? That's kinda hard for to swallow when Vega's programming is the active layer of consciousness here. "Incorrect. Vega has given me purpose, meaning, where I've received nothing but foolish prophecies and ambiguous riddles from you."
But while she speaks, and Ryu focuses on putting Kurow down, the analytical Shadaloo agent simply pulls her hands back for round two. "The 'true' me is the one you see before you now. Nearly perfect."
And if you believe that, there's a shiny new bridge we can sell you.
But in the meantime, have another burst of veined purple energy, just like that last one -- with 50% more concussive force!
"Hadouken."
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Kurow with Medium Throw.
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Sakura 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
As he hears the words 'Nearly perfect,' Kurow cracks an impossibly wide grin -- it's so satisfying to hear his words in her mouth, hear that new understanding come out in front of the one who, emotionally, would likely be the hardest to tell it to. Unfortunately, getting wrapped up in Sakura's words takes his attention off Ryu, and as such gets his wrist caught and doesn't have the time to brace his fall as he hits the booth.
He lets Sakura handle Ryu for now, instead starting to circle around him, keeping his distance, staying careful. He can't take any chances with this -- he knows Ryu is by far the superior fighter, and indeed stands a good chance of taking both of them down, so he has to make sure he capitalizes on every opportunity. The ninja looks that first Hadouken's point of impact over, then looks at the way the warrior's legs move -- he needs to catch him in those small windows of overcommitment, he thinks, if he's to do anything more than flail ineffectually at him.
"That's right, Ryu," he yells, trying to distract him from dealing with Sakura's ball of psionic energy, "you've been holding her back, keeping her from what she could be because you know it's a more powerful, more perfect thing than you could ever hope for! Unlike you, /we/ don't let our vanity get in the way of her potential!" Oh, the irony.
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
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Sakura 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Ryu negates Large Psydouken from Sakura with Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Ryu
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
"That is yet another lie." Ryu responds to his mindwashed pupil's final statement. What she was now was a perversion of her true self, an artificial construct made to serve the will of Vega like so many other innocent girls. A fist clenches in rarely seen anger, rage directed at himself more than anything else. This is the result of his failure to be there when needed, for being lacking as a teacher, for not taking care of the threat Vega represented previously, take a pick. But he refused to believe that Sakura was beyond his help, he -knew- she wasn't. But, he was beginning to see it may take more than just his words to help her.
"The Sakura I knew.." He states calmly in response Kurow's goading, "..Never held anything back. Hadouuuken!" He capitulates with the cry, unleashing a smaller and more conentrated sphere of trademark blue chi to counteract the doll's second attack, which he was now prepared. The energies meet and mingle at first before trying consume one another and in the process coalesce to bright, violet burst of light, dissipating in the same flash.
"Don't call it that." The vagabond says quite simply, brushing some flung debris from his shoulder, "If it does not come from within one's own inner chi, it is not a hadouken." His brow furrows, his eyes grim, "Otherwise, it is little more than disharmonious, destructive power. I taught you this, remember it." Finally, he begins to settle into a proper battle stance, "I had hoped the day I would hold nothing back from you would be a momentous one, Sakura...but it seems that moment has been stolen from us by others with twisted agendas." A brief glance at Kurow, letting the other one know he is not ignorant of his presence, "It is regrettable...but if my actions will reach you more loudly than my words, then so be it." Chi flaring to life, the Warrior's expression is on of resolve, "Come."
Sakura's already been turned to Vega's camp. She's already drunk the kool-aid. Anything Ryu said was immediately suspect, with the base assumptions that have already been made.
Especially ones that start with Sakura's statements being called lies. She can dish it out, but can she take it? "... The Sakura you knew is no more," states the Doll, fists clenching closed. "You only held back because you wanted to protect me. To shelter me from who? Myself? You'd kept me weak to feed your own ego." More lies, perhaps... told to Sakura on a subliminal level. She believes... exactly what she wants to believe.
5tSparing a glance at Kurow, the former Ansatsuken pupil launches into a hop at the former World Warrior. Her arms, each toting 45-pound gauntlets of stainless steel, trail behind her jump, but when she gets within range, both heavy gauntlets scissor forward, aiming to bash Ryu's skull right on in! "Haaaaaaaaa!"
It's such a sweet, seductive lie, isn't it? Leave the established order behind because it's somehow holding you back. It's how so many good martial artists fall into darkness, and how so many bad martial artists delve deeper and deeper into the pool of their own potential cruelty.
When Sakura tells Ryu exactly how she feels now, /screams/ at him as she strikes, for a moment, it seems like she really is starting to become perfect. "Yes, that's it!" Kurow yells at the advancing Sakura, before turning to Ryu. Ryu, who isn't bothered by his taunting, who keeps the full hopefulness of youth while at the same time having the skills that come with age and experience. Ryu, who has nearly every trait Kurow loathes, and who is so much more powerful.
The ninja's ability to worry about collateral damage to the ice cream parlor, to worry about discretion, is gone. If they can take Ryu down, it'll continue to cement that deep-running hold on Sakura, and that's the most important part of this battle. "Your stewardship over this girl is over, Ryu!" he yells, raising an arm over his head. This isn't the way he was taught to perform this move -- it's supposed to be an offhand gesture, something simple, something detached. Here, however, he borders on furious -- and really /commits/ to the strike, making it all the more powerful.
"Your usefulness to her has run out! Kirishima-ryuu..." Mere inches from Ryu now, he slams that arm down into the ground forcefully enough to crack the floor. This, however, is not what Ryu should be so worried about; it's the sudden summoning of hundreds of blades of yellow chi, all of which begin to close in on him in a roughly circular pattern, shifting from yellow to a deep red as they squeeze in. "SHINKUU YAMIARASHI!"
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Ryu with Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu fails to interrupt Medium Punch from Sakura with Joudan Sokutou Geri.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
A simultaneous attack..hardly anything he hasn't dealt with before, and it's a merely instinctual judgement on how he decideds to handle it. Kurow's attack, he suspect, will strike more quickly and also seems to be more powerful judging by the greater chi the ninja is exterting. Bracing himself, Ryu prepares for whatever the young man is going to bring, ready to intercept and hopefully neutralize it in time to respond to Sakura's punch..
..Except he wasn't exactly expecting a bunch of chi knives.
"ARRRRGH!!!" Make no mistake, it definitely -feel- like hundred of blades are stabbing him, cutting him. He may not be bleeding or as several injured as real blades might've done, but the sheer pain is quite enough to disrupt his mind and make those legendary moves uncharacteristically sloppy. Such as the case when he turns to Sakura in the throes of the attack, aiming to strike her before she reaches him with a powerful kick to the sternum...
*CLANG* But the success of Kurow's attack put too great a delay on the response. Sakura makes contact before his foot becomes even an inch withing her, the dull sound of steel upon flesh denoting the trueness of her strike, sending the wanderer flipping over his side into the floor.
"Breathing heavily and seeming quite put out, Ryu rises to his feet with a swagger, shaking his head until his vision falls back into place and he only sees two opponents again. That could've gone better. Yet his stance remains solid, and he seems more than ready to face more punishment. This wasn't about winning..it was about doing whatever it took to bring Sakura back from the depth she'd fallen to...no, not fallen, but pushed. Perhaps by himself as much as Vega, he was beginning to sullenly admit.
"I am stronger now than your student was, Ryu." Sakura may be shifting her strategy around, but she's not quite 'holding back' in the same sense Ryu had declared earlier. In a way... she's actually following his examples =better= than she had as a spunky, headstrong tomboy -- the Doll programming is forcing her to be intentionally analytical, measuring and gauging the situation, much as Ryu had stressed her to do. Channeling 100% into each and every attack is foolhardy without having a proper strategy, or plan of action for it. It can work like a champ, true -- but Sakura's seen the flip side of that coin more times than she'd care to count.
It's with that in mind that the schoolgirl withdraws to a safer distance, locking her elbows by her sides, and drawing a deep, inward breath. Purple energy swells around her, marred by inky black veins, as the young woman focuses on Ryu, determined to make a proper showing.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
That's exactly what Kurow wants to see. Himself and Sakura, able to take on even the toughest of foes, able to fight any enemy if they just focus, just work together as a single unit -- and they really do seem to be working as a single unit for the most part. They move together, they hold together -- they really have remarkable synergy. It is, one supposes, the bonus of being able to tweak the will of another living being... you can generate synergy where there once was complete discord.
He sticks to this particular strategy, and as Sakura hangs back, Kurow does likewise -- though what he does is nothing more than pull out a flute, and -- as would probably be smartest in this instance -- get Sakura between himself and Ryu as he plays a quick, upbeat set of notes. It's not much for most, but for someone like Sakura, already slightly attuned to the music, it'll make her all the more focused, all the more ready to face her former master.
COMBATSYS: Kurow assists Sakura.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
"Strength is not everything." Ryu resolutely answers Sakura's statement. Too many times had the notion of strength above all else fueled the descent of an honorable martial artists into darkness. Analytically, yes...Sakura has improved as a fighter, improved greatly. But the cost, the cost was too steep, too much that she ought have to bear. It was not natural, it was not right, it was not a fair bargain.
Ryu wanted a refund.
He didn't know exactly what Kurow was doing, but he could make the liable assumption that he wasn't going like it. Still, he'd have try and take the opportunity to strike first this time. On the mend from that prior assault, he now rushes forth, leaping through the air with a deftly aimed kick straight at his re-programmed student's head. Perhaps a good wallop would jostle Vega's insidious programming!
Probably wouldn't, but you never know.
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Sakura with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Sakura 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Sakura's normally pretty focused when she sets her mind to it. It takes a great deal of willpower and effort, normally -- but now, infused with the special blend of Doll programming and Kurow's soothing words, she's even more intent on laying the smackdown. Her blood is pumping fiercely, her resolve strengthened -- she's going to show Ryu just how much stronger she's become.
All she has to do is keep focusing on one... subject.
... But there's another sound. A familiar song, she's heard many times before.
A very =relaxing= song.
Relaxation is not quite the same as intense focus -- rather, it very well could be the =exact opposite=. Because with the sounds she's hearing in her mind, Sakura's stance softens, almost imperceptibly. Her hands unclench, her pupils dilate. It's a very subtle shift... but the discordant thoughts in her mind are enough to unveil an opening in her defenses.
One which Ryu's foot takes full advantage of, his bare foot making a dull *CRACK* as it slams against Sakura's unprotected cranium. The girl falls over like a sack of potatoes, loosened up as she was by the interposition of a certain melody.
That was the total opposite of the point she'd wanted to prove, in retrospect.
But the energy, sapped as it may have been, remains hovering over her like a dark cloud. ... Until, that is, Kasugano rises back to her feet, shoulders held aloft as by an external presence. The stance might seem familiar to Ryu -- arms hung low, eyes hollow, skin darkened...
But nah, that's just because those gauntlets are hella heavy.
But that dark cloud gets drawn into the girl's hands, just the same... whirling, swirling into an ever-increasing mass. Until which point the Shadaloo agent suddenly slams her hands forward, mouth gaping wide, with an absent voice. The burst of highly concentrated Psycho Power rushes out towards Ryu, threatening to envelop him whole... and quite possibly blow a hole in the side of the ice cream shoppe.
Perhaps it's time to see whether strength =is= everything.
That was not what Kirishima wanted to happen -- he wanted to /increase/ Sakura's focus, not destroy it. He, too, has gotten the exact opposite of what he wanted... and he reacts to it in a very similar manner. As Sakura crumples, the intensity in his eyes only heightens -- this is their first fight together, and he wants it to go off without a hitch; after all, that impression in her mind needs to be as firm as possible.
Looking at the enormous burst of power that Sakura's trying to bring forth, Kurow decides that the best option would be to give him something else to deal with besides that massive concentration of evil energy. He doesn't have it in him to try something like that bladed tornado again, however -- the youth is a little spent. Instead, he reaches for something far simpler -- a table, to be precise. Hefting the wooden piece of furniture, he throws it from a far different angle to that of Kasugano's show of power, saying nothing.
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Sakura's Psycho Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Kurow's Large Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Feeling the foreign power Sakura has gathered, Ryu actually does not clear the space between them. No, instead he'll stay in relatively close quarters. "Don't do this, Sakura.." He'll implore at first, still not abandonding a sense of diplomacy, "Somewhere you know this is not your own power that you use. It's not the kind you and I are meant to use, it's not the way!" Kurow tries to interrupt this moment with a flung table, but Ryu had been keeping enough of an eye on him that his reflexes allow him to sidestep the object without much trouble, just in time to intercept the swirling mass of psycho power his misguided student has flung at him.
"Strength does not come from the ability to crush one's foes!" He declares, bringing both hands forward to intercept the mass of power, steadily holding it back from progress as his own blue aura flares to life, counteracting the sinister energy with his own natural chi, "Strength is in perseverence, Sakura!" The vagabond grits his teeth, attempting to generate a counteracting energy within the attack, neutralizing it from within, "It's in the ability to endure to trials and obstacles in defeat, to resist the temptation to set upon those paths which seem to offer a quicker way to our goals, but extract far too much in their cost!" Rather than hit him per se, the swirling energy bursts in a bright flash of light, remnants burning him slightly, but no holes have been blown into any walls at least.
"If my words still do not reach you, then I fear we must resort to extravagant methods indeed." His aura remains flaring, absorbing whatever ambient power lies floating aimlessly in the air and channeling it into his next strike, leaping into the air as his spinning motions turn it into ferocious localized whirlwind, pulling anything nearby into its vortex. That includes Sakura, Kurow and anything else not nailed down, "TATSUMAKI SENPUU KYAKU!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Sakura with Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Sure, strength is in perseverence. Sakura is =persevering= to kick Ryu's ass! It just... isn't working as well as she'd expected it to. Her teeth grit tightly as her psycho-powered Shinkuu Hadouken meets an ironclad guard -- clearly, if she's expressing frustration, =some= part of Sakura's core psyche is still alive. It always did frustrate her when Ryu blocked that.
But with her corrupted Hadouken crashing into a ready guard, Sakura's already moving to capitalize on what she =feels= is an opening.
She's proven wrong, just as surely, by the thudding impact of a heel into her ribcage. Juggled about by the blow, she's kicked a second time in the spine, and then a third time in the shoulder, which is enough to send her spinning into one of the chairs which had been drawn into the cyclone. Flipping over top of the chair, she ends up splayed upon the floor, groaning quite loudly in pain.
"Actions... speak louder than words," Sakura states as she returns her feet -- agreeing, but not quite conceding. Unsteadily, she shakes off the pain... and =dashes= at Ryu. The time for action is now, and it's a rapid one-two combo of punches that's being brought to bear upon Ryu's guard. It'd hurt normally, for sure... but Sakura's flinging all of her weight into making those 45-pound gauntlets =work=.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Kirishima listens to Ryu -- perhaps he even listens better than Sakura. The man with the iron will speaks truth, in a way -- there is strength in that limitless perseverance he has, in that undeniable will. But... on the other hand... his isn't the only will that refuses to be denied. He certainly doesn't have the monopoly on perseverance in the room, /that's/ for sure.
"Sometimes, Ryu," Kurow /hisses/ at the man, now starting to build some genuine anger at him, "there's more to life than enduring trials. Sometimes, the gain is far outstripped by the loss -- and if her ascension after leaving you behind is any indication..." Here he stops to breathe, to circle around Ryu, give Sakura time to play her own hand...
... and when she puts her cards down, he does likewise. Now is not the time to throw another table, it seems -- instead, it's time to get up close and personal a second time. The youth picks up a broken section of that table from earlier, and, hefting it high, he aims it right for Ryu's head, away from where Sakura's striking -- best to try to split Ryu's attention, after all.
When Ryu starts to spin, drawing both fighters closer and closer in with that vacuum-like kick, Kurow does the only thing he can do in this particular situation, aided significantly by the fact that they're not fighting on a featureless plain: he improvises, diving for one of the booths and sinking one of his clawed hands into it, anchoring himself for just long enough to weather the storm.
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Sakura's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Kurow's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
By now Ryu doesn't even have the time to concoct a response to what Sakura or Kurow say. His attack was partially successful, and he's already thinking in his mind how to deal with their inevitable counterstrikes. He sees Sakura coming first, and while she may think she's striking at an opening, it's one she saw because he allowed it so see her. Peerless footwork is all it takes to carry him just beyond the reach of those swinging gauntlets. One taste of those things was more than enough, thanks!
Kurow is next, and the fact that he happens behind Ryu doesn't seem to affect much the fighter's ability to see it coming. The improvised club does indeed hit him, and shatter at that, but against the martial artist's blocking forearm rather than his head. A bit a wince; He'd be picking splinters out of that arm for days yet, to be sure.
What comes next is the real concern, and Ryu is already preparing for it, thinking ahead, focusing his mind past all the surface problems here and solely on the mechanical aspect of the fight. He had to subdue them as quick as possible, for even he couldn't keep up a solid defense against this continual assault for long.
COMBATSYS: Ryu focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Sakura's fought Ryu enough times to know when he's up to something. He does his best under pressure. He does his best when he's =quiet=, about to drop the hammer on someone. And when he gets up to speed, he keeps slamming that hammer down until his opponent's seen the error of their ways.
Sakura is not in error, this time. Or so she's convinced herself, anyway.
Which means she will deny granting Ryu the benefit of fighting =Sakura=. She will not be impulsive, and charge him again when he's =ready= for such.
No, she'll be taking a few steps back, raising her hands defensively.
In an Ansatsuken stance, not the evasive stance of a Doll.
Her eyes are cold and resolute, a mirror for the more focused views she remembers of Ryu. She's determined to show no weakness to Ryu.
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
When Ryu hangs back, and Sakura does likewise, the crueler of the pair of young fighters knows it'd be prudent to do the same -- after all... when Ryu doesn't throw himself into the thick of things, it's usually because he's gearing up to absolutely annihilate someone when they try to come in and strike. He doesn't want to have /that/ happen -- as a man even more prone to conservative tactics than Ryu at times, he knows the value of a little patience.
He pulls out that flute again; it's not his conventional one for a few reasons, and the precise construction of the thing makes it difficult to really work with Sakura (as Sakura learned earlier -- ouch!), but it does make a good tool for a few other purposes... including, of course, a weapon. He looks at Ryu, holding the flute in the same sort of position one would hold a sword if looking to parry some incoming strike.
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Well clearly, Ryu is just getting too plain predictable for these youngins! Honestly, he'd have to mix it up some time so people stop getting it in their heads to lay low whenever he starts getting serious. Regardless, if they're not going to bring the fight to him, he really doesn't have much of a choice but to do it instead, eh?
So he does so, leaping forward and going for...Kurow, who's not gotten enough love lately! He'll make an attempt to grab the ninja by whatever he can get, and if successful their go through with the relatively easy process of slamming him into the ground as hard as he can! With any luck, he'll smash that damned flute in the process.
COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Ryu's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/------=|
It's a temporary flute, something imperfect, a stopgap measure while he makes a proper new one -- it'd be a lot like smashing someone's rental car. Or, more accurately, it /is/ like smashing someone's rental car, as Ryu catches him; he uses the flute to break the hard toss against the ground, shattering it but saving his own hide. "Nngh... not bad... Ryu," he forces out, staying low to the ground...
... at least, until he does that oh-so-necessary, oh-so-fast recovery flip. "I see that's not your strong suit," he adds, after a second of firm glaring at him, rearing his claws back. It's not Kurow's, either, of course -- he's never been good at just tossing a man. "I'm starting to grow tired of this, though -- it's time for you to let go of what you cherished."
Forcefully striking at Ryu's gut with a low, deep stab with all five claws on one of his hands, he says, "The things that fed your ego... they aren't here anymore -- not for you." It's almost eerie how /possessive/ his tone is, more than anything else -- aren't the Dolls supposed to be /Vega's/?
Sakura feels some remorse for taking a totally passive approach to dealing with Ryu -- in fact, it =pains= her core psyche to even stand idly by while Ryu is ready to rock! But... really, there's only so long she can wait him out. Especially as he's moving to attack Kurow.
Kurow's words are completely lost on her at this point, really. All she knows is that she's going to try and make good on her moment of planning.
By rushing forward as fast as she can, in concert with Kurow, to try and uppercut the everloving crap out of her dear beloved master, fist roaring with a tremendous torrent of violet Psycho Power energy. No cry of the attack's name -- just one terribly loud shout. "HYAAAAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Sakura's Shou'ou Ken EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Ryu fails to counter Fierce Strike from Kurow with Tomoe Nage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|
That throw didn't connect as solidly with Kurow as Ryu would have liked, but it puts him out of the picture just long enough for the fight to shore up a decent defense against Sakura's strike. His defense is surprising simple; He justs his arm out the meet her first before it find her chin, knocking the blow away but not before sustaining a nasty burn on said arm. See, Sakura? Shou'ou Ken doesn't even work when you're brainwashed and crazy! Regardless, Kurow should be getting up just about now..
*SCHULK*
Except 'now' was about five second ago. Realizing his error, the wanderer tries to make another grab for the ninja before he can strike, but Kurow's speed is not to be underestimated, the claws making a deep stab in their desired target. Instinctually pulling back and way, Ryu's hand clings instantly for the site of the stomach wound, trying to place pressure and hold the blood back. Re-routing some of his chi to aid the process of stopping the blood flow, he doesn't expect to be of too much help in his state now. Things had officially crossed the threshold from bad to worse, "This..is no victory for you, Sakura..." His words come sternly, "Somewhere, you know that."
Kasugano's uppercut was blocked. It's... just not a good year for Shou'ou Ken! But then there's Kurow -- Sakura knows to get out of range of the young man's claws. She leaps back to a safe distance while the carnage unfolds.
But... then Ryu gets hit. Which is surprising to Sakura -- she'd expected the wanderer to block Kurow as well. Eyes widen for a moment, her mouth gaping open...
And then Ryu speaks. No victory for Sakura.. she knows this? "... Affirmative."
She can still sense him moving. Plotting. Planning something. The Shadaloo agent has sensed weakness... and wants to put an end to it. Her emotions, suppressed for so long, are entering a feedback loop, her feelings of inadequacy, her every move stopped solidly by the first World Warrior... are all coming to a head. She's convinced herself, bolstered by Kurow's flute... that she needs to end this chapter of her life.
Her aura flares, hideous black veins spilling across the violent, violet energy wafting from her form as she walks steadily towards Ryu. She fully intends to finish him off. "It is not a true victory. Yet."
But really, Ryu is still a threat. It's =preposterous= to approach him... but the Doll programming is of no use right now. She's determined.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|
Kurow breathes a sigh of relief as Ryu pulls back rather than finishing the grab and giving him a solid toss, and scrambles away -- while Ryu is on the ropes, at the same time, that really is enough... after all, Sakura has other business to attend to, and so does he. Better to make sure that can be done in a particularly expedient manner than end up getting both of them too beaten up to do anything. Even a weakened Ryu can put some serious hurt out.
Kurow moves back behind Sakura as her aura flares, and... wraps his arms firmly around her stomach. "Remember... you've still got to show that man our power, too -- you can't handle him if you're spent." ... /and/, for that matter, Kurow wants Ryu alive and well -- for now, at least; Sakura is easier to work with if she has him to focus on, for better or for worse.
His hands glow red for a split second before he says, "It's time for us to go. Farewell, Ryu!" And with that, he whisks Sakura off, out of the room, in an instant, leaving only a few blurry afterimages for a second as proof they were ever there.
COMBATSYS: Kurow takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|
"Wait!" Ryu shall urge, trying to reach out before Kurow can make off with his student, "Don-ergh!" Unfortunately, the stomach wound inflicted on him was severe indeed, causing him to double over in his tracks. Even if he wasn't in such a poor state, he might not have been fast for Kurow anyways. "This isn't the end, Sakura!" He cries out to the departing pair, gritting his teeth through the pain, "I will not allow Vega to do as he pleases! I will bring you back, I promise!"
And for a while, just a while, the vagabond stands bleeding in the destroyed ice cream parlor, left to wallow alone in both his defeat and failure. What can he do? Who could he turn to? It only takes a little while for him to find the answer to those questions however, and the most important one of the moment was getting these wounds patched up. Beyond that...he at least knew where to find Sakura now. If she was with Shadaloo then was no question..he had to go to Thailand. Go to Thailan and pit himself against the entirety of Vega's 'secret' society, if need be. This time, it might be enough just himself.
This time, he was going to need some help.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Ryu has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-----==|
Log created on 21:31:34 06/15/2007 by Sakura, and last modified on 11:24:15 06/30/2007.