Description: ITT: Sakura reveals her total allegiance to Shadaloo! Sakura not only makes Hayato mad, but goes for the KO! Vega shows up! And SPECIAL BONUS: Kurow vs Gan/Edge and Rock Howard! All in this special edition of SNF! (Winner: Sakura)
The news media is really distracting, at times. If someone 'disappears', or someone is 'murdered', the news stations are quick to air five-minute long exposes, several times a day. If someone is found, or exonerated, it might get a passing mention just before a newscaster signs off for the night. So it was with the announcement of Sakura's disappearance -- widely publicized, cross-posted to internet bulletin boards, the whole nine yards. But when Sakura was walking the streets of Southtown for the past few hours, who was there to squeal to the masses? No one.
Part of that is because Howard Entertainment took advantage of the spotlight to sell an SNF match here in the Taiyo High auditorium. It's primarily a graduation gala, a special sendoff before the girl goes off to college -- and to those who paid attention, it's also a sign that things with Sakura Kasugano are a-okay.
Miss Kasugano is... surprisingly on-time, actually. She's been waiting in the back room until air time, for maximal impact on the crowd. Her parents are in the first row, center stage, her little brother Tsukushi and best friend Kei Chitose right beside them. None of them have seen Sakura for over week. For all they know... this was one gigantic publicity stunt. Though, rumors have been passed around, such as the one stating she was involved in last week's SNF ruckus involving Kurow and Shadaloo's latest addition, Akira Kazama.
The schoolgirl makes her appearance, heralded by twin spotlights on center stage. She waves cheerily to the crowd, striding confidently right up to the podium provided for her. But of course, she'll stop to pump her fist and rile up the Taiyo students in the crowd. "Go Taiyoooooooo!"
Her attire matches Taiyo standards as well, though... the gym class standards, not the usual. Kasugano's wearing a track jacket, and what seems to be a volleyball outfit, with shorts and long boots, not unlike Natsu's. Most students write this off as Sakura just being eccentric, of course -- she wears her seifuku every =other= SNF, after all!
High school graduation is a major step toward adulthood, for most students. Time to put away childish things and start a job, or buckle down and study in college. This is precisely why Hayato encourages students to enjoy their youth to the fullest, squeezing every last drop of experience so they don't wind up regretting it as adults. And to see a spirited young student make that transformation into a strong willed adult, well, it's almost enough to bring a tear to a teacher's eye. Not that Hayato will be doing any crying today. This is no time for tears, it's a celebration!
Dressed in his usual red track suit, Hayato stands up at the auditorium's podium, gripping it with one hand while his other clutches his shinai. "Welcome back to Taiyo one last time, Miss Kasugano! You will be missed, but you've made this school better through your contributions, and we're going to give you the send-off you deserve!" The gym teacher smiles broadly, but not quite as broadly as usual. Something feels... off. But there's nothing he can put his finger on, so he's not going to let it ruin this great celebration.
Ohhhhh, something's definitely quite off, but Sakura =can= be a good actress... when she puts her mind to it. There's a bit too much applause for most people to tell, but it's Hayato's =job= to keep an eye on the students...
The schoolgirl bows back to Hayato, grinning like mad. "It's great to =be= back, Mr. Nekketsu! I gotta tell you, everything here at Taiyo's been absolutely =awesome=. I'm just totally =floored= at how many people are here! Thank you so much for putting this all together!!"
She takes a step back, rubbing the back of her head with a hand. "Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! Hi, Tsu-kun!" Grinning, she sure =seems= normal enough.
"Anyway, I, uh... hope you don't mind if I chat for a bit, teach?" She laughs, turning back to the crowd, speaking more than loud enough for the mic to pick up. "We're STRONG here at Taiyo, we're different from every other high school, here and around the world, because we =care=. We have goals, we have desires, and most of all, we FIGHT for what we believe in!" She pumps her fist into the air, grinning cheerily to thunderous applause.
"We fight," she continues, "Because we're totally convinced we can make this world a better place. We might not always know =how= -- and that's where our teachers come in. You give us the tools, so we can go out and build. I gotta admit... just two weeks ago, I had no idea what I was gonna do. I was losing fights like crazy -- it =sucks= not having any ambition, any =goals= in life. I had no purpose, no drive."
"Then... it was like a switch, I kinda made up my mind... I like teaching... I even got accepted at Seijyun University for the Physical Education program." She beams, swelling up for a moment as the applause rolling in -- at least a third of the students here were trying to get into college, themselves, so they can appreciate the achievement. Not the least of which are Kei and the Kasugano family. They may have been worried for their little girl, but it seems they're... placated? Sakura looks back at Hayato for a moment, grinning.
Didn't she get a C- in Public Speaking class, though?
Sakura's going to college for Physical Education? Now that /is/ enough to bring a tear to Hayato's eye. Wether or not he's actually the inspiration for such a decision is irrelevant; the world which Hayato Nekketsu's mind inhabits and the real world touch in many places, but they aren't exactly the same...
Hayato has to reach up for a moment, running his sleeve across his eyes before he beams at Sakura once again. "That's so touching! Beautiful! Every school should be so lucky as to have a graduate like you, and any teacher would be proud to have you as a student! Your college professors should look forward to a great performance!"
Hayato nods firmly for a moment, then looks back out to address the crowd. "I hope all you students out there are paying attention! Every one of you can achieve great things, if you only put your mind to it! These years are your perfect chance to try out many different things, and find out just what it is that you want to do with your life!"
There's still that nagging feeling that something is amiss, but Hayato's too caught up to let that slow him down now. "And never forget those people in life who can help you out. This celebration is for Miss Kasugano, but it's also for her family." Right on queue, one of the theater club students helping to run the lights shines a light down on Sakura's family out there in the stands. "Everyone give the Kasugano family a big round of applause. I'm sure they're all very proud of Sakura right now." That's about as far as Hayato got when he was writing down his notes for a speech today. He's enthusiastic, but he can sometimes get distracted. Luckily this isn't the only aspect of this performance, so hopefully he won't have to ad-lib too much.
Mr. and Mrs. Kasugano were holding steady throughout Sakura's speech, until Hayato burst out with his own declaration. Oh, dear, Mrs. K just broke out into tears!
Sakura smiles back at Hayato. Such a =winning= smile she has, really, as she nods back at the man.
She's a quick learner, and Kurow's taught her well.
"But it's time for me to make my own choice," smiles Sakura, shaking her head. "I changed my mind, though. I'm not going to teach." Gasps can be heard from the crowd!
"I found out... I can do so much more. You see... it takes a true leader to bring people hope. To not just lead... but to lead by =example=. To not just let people live their lives, but to give them =meaning=, give them =purpose=. By this point, Kasugano has decided to remove all doubt as to her particular affiliation... pausing, to unzip her jacket.
Underneath is a dark grey Shadaloo uniform, marked upon the back by the distinctive death's head and wings. It wasn't for volleyball at all, as it's plain to see now.
"You see, I went to Thailand. I saw what Lord Vega was doing there. I came to show him how wrong he was... but he showed me how right =he= was. He gave me reason to =exist=. He gave me =purpose=."
The audience likely seems... less than amused, but she continues. "You gotta know, folks... the news broadcasts, all they showed in Thailand is people getting hurt. They're fighting for what they believe in. They're right to fight for it. But now... now that I've seen what Lord Vega's got in store... man. It's just mind-blowing. It's beautiful..." she continues, holding the mic close, and pointing to a few specific people in turn, grinning enthusiastically. "He's got a plan... for each and every one of you."
Some audience members clap nervously. Most remain in utter, jaw-dropping silence. Kei is now absolutely =red= with fury, as the Kasugano family struggles to process what's going on.
"I know, you're all nervous!" She laughs at this, shaking her head with a grin. "But don't be! He'll prove he can do things right with Thailand now. You'll all see how awesome things can be there. Then we'll be practically =begging= to bring him to Japan." Snickering confidently to herself, she steps back from Hayato and the podium, casting her jacket aside. Likely... she needs the extra space.
"I wanna thank you all for supporting me. Really! Thank =you= for helping make the world a better place, and showing me the way. But enough of me runnin' my mouth, I'm here to fight! Last week, Akira showed you how Lord Vega can make a difference... and I'm gonna show you more =right now=." So much for those rumors -- they were right after all! Grinning, she balls up a fist, pointing to Hayato with her free hand. "So yeah. Mr. Nekketsu! It's 'bout time we called each other by our first names!"
And on that cue, even in the blinding spotlight, her form is silhouetted from the awesome power of a bright purple aura, lines with ink-black veins. If there were any doubt to her allegiance to Vega... it's been utterly annhilated now.
"I just can't thank you enough!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Hayato has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hayato
*Crack!*
That's the sound of the wooden base of the podium snapping from the sudden tension that goes into Hayato's arms, tightening his grip. His jaw drops open in surprise, a reaction that seems to be fairly popular with the audience as well. There are a few people who think it's just a publicity stunt, but for the most part people are starting to get /extremely/ nervous. One girl actually shrieks, but for the most part the audience maintains some semblance of calm. Nothing could happen to them /here/, right?
Hayato takes a deep breath, then grits his teeth for a moment as he leans back from the damaged podium. It slowly topples over, hitting the stage with a dull thud (and a loud squeal from the microphone) as Hayato turns to face Sakura. He's not beaming now. No, he's not happy in the least. And as a number of students have found out over the years, an angry Hayato is not a fun thing to be around. The microphone still works well enough to pick up Hayato's voice as he addresses someone out in the audience again. "Mr. and Mrs. Kasugano, I'd like to apologize in advance for this. But I assure you, what I'm about to do, I do for the good of your daughter." Not that Hayato was planning to pull any punches in even a friendly fight... But before this he wasn't planning to beat Sakura into unconciousness. Right now, that seems like it's probably the best idea.
"I don't know what that bastard did to you..." There's a soft creaking noise as Hayato's grip on his shinai tightens. "But this will not stand." Hayato's not particularly familiar with Vega, but he knows enough. And he /does/ have some familiarity with the idea of people being brainwashed. He'd prefer not to see that again, but he can't imagine what else this could be. Hayato has very good relationships with most of his students, and he knows them well... And he /knows/ this is not like Sakura at all.
Waves of red and orange energy begin to rise from Hayato's body as he points his shinai directly at Sakura. "Sending you here like this is an insult to this school and everything it stands for. I may not be able to go off to fight him in Thailand, but you can be god damn sure I'm not letting him have you back." The energy flowing off Hayato explodes into a full-fledged aura, matching the burning conviction that shows in the teacher's eyes.
COMBATSYS: Hayato gathers his will.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Hayato
No... it's unlikely that anything will happen to the audience. Sakura may be filled with Psycho Power, but she is not actually =psychotic=. This is a Saturday Night Fight... and now a promotional vehicle for the Shadaloo propaganda engine, it would seem. From the screaming, perhaps it isn't working as well as hoped.
But it's still by Sakura's own choice that she's here though, that she's said what she's said. She may be =deluded=, but she, at least on one level, meant it. The notion that Vega's 'done' something to her actually irritates the girl. The thought that Hayato's treating her as a child in need of punishment irritates her more!
"I'm ashamed of you, Hayato Nekketsu! After all that we've been through, after all your teachings, after your =wonderful= speech just now, you =still= think I'm just a child?!" Snarling, she curls her hands back to one side. The accursed Psycho Power ebbs with her motion, swimming to her hands as easily as chi had, just a week and a half ago. "You didn't listen to a single thing I said!" she shrieks, slamming her hands forward, the awful Psycho Power taking shape as a malformed mushroom cloud, clearing the gap between herself and Hayato, racing in with every intention of plowing his own burning aura right off to the side. "HADOOOOOOUKEN!"
She was told not to call it that, but old habits die hard.
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Sakura's Large Psydouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato doesn't flinch as the blast of evil energy comes racing toward him. He lifts up his right arm, hand clenching around the clutched shinai, then plows the back of his fist through the incoming Psydouken with a long sweep of his arm. The explosion causes his clothing to flutter, but aside from some smoke rising from the back of his hand, the teacher appears to be fine.
"For someone who isn't a child, you're certainly acting like one." Hayato's expression doesn't change from a stern frown as he begins moving in toward Sakura. Considering that he believes Sakura isn't even in her right mind, saying anything to her probably won't do much good... But it's force of habit. And then Hayato runs at Sakura, leaping feet first toward her. He strikes out with his right foot, then suddenly flips his body around in mid-air and follows it up with another kick, intending to other push off of the girl, or land facing her if she should step out of the way.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Sakura with Second Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Hayato
"Then let me respond in =kind!=" shouts Kasugano, shifting her stance to the side. There's plenty of room to fight on this auditorium stage, and it =is= an SNF, so it's more or less expected anyway, right? Right!
Just when Kasugano expects she'll be able to block Hayato's kick with a raised forearms, she missteps upon a shard of wood, splintered off from the podium. As such, she takes the first kick full on, and the second one is enough to bring the girl to her knees. Er, knee-guards. Whatever!
She was scowling from the blow, but it's not long before her face returns to... normal? No, that's not right -- devoid of all expression. That's it. "So you seem to be saying, Hayato..." she states, her voice controlled, level... practically mechanical. "... that we're adults if we agree, but children if we disagree?" Rising to her feet, she suddenly =leaps= forward, her two standard-issue Shadaloo gauntlets launching forward with an aim to snag onto Hayato's jacket. "How self-serving of you!" If she manages to do that, a planted heel and a quick twist to the side ought to be enough to spin him about, and slam him into the auditorium floor. "HYAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Sakura with Devastation Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato hits the ground on his hands after springing off of Sakura, quickly flipping himself up and around to get back on his feet again. Listening to her, he opens his mouth to make a point but gets cut off when she leaps at him. The gym teacher shifts his left leg backwards, preparing something, but he's not quick enough. His jacket gets grabbed, and he's now off balance enough that it's a fairly simple task to swing him around and send him crashing down to the floor.
Keeping Hayato down is a bit more tricky, however. He rolls when he hits the ground, quickly popping back up to his feet facing Sakura. He looks at her for a moment, then shakes his head sternly. "I was mistaken. You're not acting like a child. You're acting like a mental patient! Look at yourself, Sakura. You can't seriously believe this is really the kind of person you are, can you!?"
Mental patient, eh? The newly-revealed Shadaloo agent has no remark for that one, her cold, coffee-colored eyes defiant as they stare back at Hayato's. Look at herself, eh? There's actually three layers to her psyche... one, the harsh, misleading surface layer, has already been discarded. Right now, the =core= layer is in operation -- cold, clinical, precise, and surprisingly even more annoying than any other form put together. Her original psyche, the one Hayato knows, and may even respect, lies beneath them both, buried under the weight of her Shadaloo programming.
Right now, Sakura understands this trinity of conflicting psyches much, =much= better than Hayato does. "What you or I believe is completely irrelevant," responds the psycho-powered Sakura as she curls her hands to her right, inky veins and brilliant orchid hues swarming back towards her. "You should worry more about what =is=." And with a faint frown, she thrusts her hands forward again, aiming to give Hayato another taste of her Psycho Power -- this time at much closer range, and just a little bit faster. "HADOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Hayato with Large Psydouken EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
Shorter range and higher speed seems to be just what Sakura needs. Hayato's eyes widen as he sees the flare of purple energy so close to him, and he attempts a somewhat unorthodox method of escaping it; falling over backwards. Not completely, of course. Hayato is quite capable of bending completely over at the knees without hitting the ground. He doesn't get time to get that far, though, as the explosion goes off before he can get low enough to avoid it. The teacher is sent tumbling backwards across the stage, but he manages to be in a crouching position when he finally skids to a stop.
"A good point." Hayato frowns as he eyes Sakura warily. He's not in a mood to joke around right now, and it doesn't seem likely that talking will get him anywhere. Hayato tenses his legs, then suddenly springs forward, racing in toward Sakura. He leads in with a low left hook, but that's just meant as a feint. His right arm is swinging up to bring his shinai crashing down onto Sakura's collarbone, giving relatively little concern for not falling in exchange for getting more power behind the blow.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Hayato's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
At least the two aren't bickering any more, right? On the front row of the audience seating, Kei and the Kasugano family breathe a sigh of relief for that much at least. "Is it really her, though? She..."
Kei gets an instant reply from Tsukushi: "It's her," he answers with a nod, "Just watch."
Sure enough, if there's one thing the schoolgirl's at least halfway decent at, it's getting herself out of harm's way. Pivoting to the side, the former Ansatsuken Angel narrowly dances out of the way of the raging shinai, and may even be heard clucking her tongue in disapproval -- but only because, in an analytical sense, she sees what Hayato sacrified in the attempt.
That is to say, she whips around into a spin kick, on the chance that the Burning Phys-Ed Teacher overcommitted himself to that attack and might just find himself at a loss in returning to his feet. Counterbalancing herself with outspread arms, the Taiyo graduate hopes to deliver one big steel-clad thrust kick to the head! "Hyaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Sakura's Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
Most of the spectators here are Taiyo students, Sakura's friends, Hayato's peers -- but at least one, one who is a little late and only now walks through the doors to the auditorium, is none of those things. ... though he certainly spends a lot of time lately playing at being the second.
The doors to the auditorium are opened carefully, and Kurow Kirishima slips in, giving a small wave to the pseudo-Doll that's more intended to catch her attention for a split second than anything else. The Justice student doesn't make a big deal of himself, however; he just takes a seat a fair distance from the fight itself, and gets ready to watch. He's been careful to pick a seat with another open one right next to it; this is a perfectly logical choice, when one considers that he's brought someone with him... someone who's been unusually scarce lately, at that.
With Sakura stomping down toward him, Hayato is quick to bring an arm up in defense. Sakura's foot slams firmly into Hayato's bandaged forearm, but the limb holds. And then the gym teacher starts pushing back against Sakura's leg as he continues to rise. It's going to take more than Sakura's weight to hold Hayato down.
Hayato's a bit too busy at the moment to notice any newcomers in the audience, what with wanting to not get his face kicked in, and then trying to take advantage of the possible opening made by shoving Sakura's leg back. His left arm may be busy holding off Sakura's leg, but his right is still free. Throwing out a hook punch, Hayato attempts to drive his fist into Sakura's side just below the ribcage, since the quarters are a bit too tight to effectively swing his shinai.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Sakura with Medium Strike.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sakura 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Hayato
Nah... Sakura wasn't intending to =keep= Hayato down. Just kick him once, hop back, and huck more psycho-laced fireballs at him. That's the proper, analytical course of action.
Maybe she would have, too, if Hayato hadn't lashed out his fist to her ribcage.
He must've hit =something= right, for Sakura yelps out in pain, her body ratcheting upward from the blow, as she's forced to backpedal a few steps to keep from falling. Hissing out an irritated breath through clenched teeth, she nonetheless gathers her wits quickly... rushing forward and spinning a steel-lined backfist at the phys-ed teacher's skull! "HYYAAAAAH!" A bit more brutal than usual!
"See? She's even shouting like always..." notes Tsukushi to an aghast Kei Chitose.
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Sakura's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Hayato
Auditoriums are generally designed to amplify sound from the center outwards, not the other way around. Which means the telltale percussion of high-heels can go mostly unnoticed. A hand swipes along the back of a long white coat as a seat -- the very seat left empty at Kurow's side, even -- is occupied. One leg folds over the other, a clipboard placed atop the hem of the woman's miniskirt. And at last, a brief gesture to adjust glasses with a flash of lenses.
It seems Kirishima's company is a certain teacher from Justice High. Kyoko folds her arms, settling in to observe.
Again Sakura's attack meets the firm barrier of Hayato's forearm. In a contest of raw physical power, the gym teacher has got Sakura beat. Of course, physical might isn't always the deciding factor in a fight... But Hayato's going to do his best to make it count here. If he's going to knock some sense into Sakura, he's going to have to try a bit harder. Perhaps do something she's not going to expect.
Hayato's foot bumps into the broken podium, and a plan immediately springs to mind. He doesn't take long to think it through, but it /is/ still a plan. He ducks down, grabbing the broken end of the podium with his left hand. Hayato then swings with it as he rises, trying to finish the job of shattering the podium to splinters, with Sakura's help. He doesn't bother to hang onto it after his swing, stepping back whether it hits or misses, to avoid either flying shards of wood, or Sakura attempting to capitalize on the opening.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Hayato's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Sakura 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Hayato
And so, the court would like to call Kasugano to the stand. Or the stand to Kasugano. Whatever. The point is... Sakura's getting beat up with what's left of a podium. The Doll programming pieces together the clues for her, her muscle memory doing the rest as she leans to one side, bringing her steel vambrace high, splintering wood flying every which way as its shattered into pieces. She can be pretty resilient herself, even though she doesn't hit quite as hard as Hayato. Even =with= the 45 pounds of metal helping her.
But there is one thing she's always been good at -- learning and adapting. If her fists aren't even =starting= to wear down the teacher's guard, the girl may as well focus her energies elsewhere. Gritting her teeth, she continues walking toward Hayato. "Running away won't help you," she states calmly, even as her frame is lit with a wreath of that accursed black-and-purple energy from before. Thick, inky-black veins of energy spread from her palms as she curls them by her side, "Shinkuuuu..." but it's not long before she hurls her hands forward -- this match is less about theatrics than it is about proving a point, after all. "HADOOOOOUKEN!" Even though there is still quite a bit of dramatic license imparted to the roaring energies, loud enough to deafen people in the front row for a moment.
Indeed, the Kei and the Kasuganos are the first to clamp their hands over their ears. Ouch!
"He overcommits," Kurow says, almost off-handedly, to his companion. "He's got a lot of power, but --" The youth is given pause when Hayato actually picks up the broken end of the podium and gives it a good, solid swing. "... definitely overcommits. And overestimates himself. He certainly seems to have quite remarkable stamina, though..."
He stops speaking when Sakura summons forth that ball of pure Psycho Power, however, preferring just to watch.
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to interrupt Psycho Hadouken from Sakura with Burning Cross Counter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Hayato
While Sakura is gathering a massive charge of Psycho Power, Hayato lunges back in towards her, right arm drawing back. Planting his foot right in front of her, Hayato swings his arm forward, fist bursting into flame. He's just in time for his hand to slam into the blast of energy that leaps forth from Sakura, and for a moment it looks like his plan is going to work. His hand blasts right through the Hadouken, knuckles just inches away from Sakura's face... But the Hadouken is faster than Hayato's fist.
Hayato is blasted away from Sakura and sent flying back across the dais until he finally crashes into a wall, then finally falls to the floor. He manages to catch himself on his hands and knees when he hits the floor, but he's obviously not in very good shape. His right hand is dripping blood, and breathing appears to be causing him some pain.
There's a quiet laugh, not throaty enough to be a chuckle and not nearly a giggle. Kyoko slides her gaze from the continuing battle to regard Kurow past a stray lock of dark hair, "Neither seem to be holding back." Her attention returns to the fight, although she resumes her own quiet commentary. "But this hardly seems to be a normal farewell."
Kasugano rises back to her full height. If it weren't obvious from before, there's Something Wrong(tm) with her. Her stance is backwards from what it was -- upper torso in the same stance, feet positioned to be more evasive than defensive. But even =aside= from her spectrum being shifted from blue to malevolent purple, the girl is just carrying herself all =wrong= from before.
Mind... she had lost a lot of fights, these past few months. Her small Taiyo fanclub is probably the only group of people cheering outright for her here, prizing her new tactics to the ones which had been letting her down lately. Everyone else... well, they're pretty spellbound!
Ms. Kasugano is unaffected by the chilly reception though -- emotionlessly, she walks towards Hayato, seeing him battered and dripping blood. She's no spring chicken herself, a bruise quite evident upon her exposed midriff, scrapes and tussles here and there. But all in all, she's doing alright in comparison.
Hopping down from the dais to follow Hayato, she offers the faintest of faint smiles as she reaches for the man's throat with one hand, his belt with the other. "It's time to return to the stage, Hayato." And if she'd manage to grab him this time, she'd lift him up and half-toss, half-slide him back onto the stage, like a 170-pound bag of rice. "Hnnngh!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Sakura's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Hayato
"... You're right, it's not," Kurow says; he missed the speech, but then, he has several other ways of knowing just what's up with her. His voice drops to a whisper as he explains to the older woman, "You'll likely be working with her soon enough."
When Kurow sees Sakura put Hayato squarely on the ropes, just moments away from the finishing blow by his estimation, he half-wants to call to her... but he can't keep calling attention to his relationships to the new Dolls in situations like this. It's too risky. Doing it once has some deniability; unfortunately, people tend to notice patterns.
He settles for moderately enthusiastic cheering, for now.
Hayato would be happy to get back up on the stage, but he'd prefer to do it on his own terms. There's not really much room to avoid Sakura with the wall behind him... But his fallen position means there is /some/ room. So with Sakura reaching down for him, Hayato evades her grasp... by standing up. It hurts to get up so quickly after that blow, but Hayato's been in worse shape before. And Sakura likely wasn't expecting him to still be this agile.
Still agile enough to press the attack back to Sakura, too. Hayato slides his left foot back to the corner of the floor and wall, then drops and twists his body, fiery orange chi flaring up over his legs. He shoves off the ground with both hands, aiming to slam both of his feet into Sakura's chest with a rising kick that will send her sailing back up onto the dais, and leave him following a moment later.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Devastation Kick from Hayato with Small Psydouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Hayato
So Sakura missed reaching with her left hand, as Hayato jumped right back to his feet. That's bothersome, she considers, narrowing her eyes as they track up to follow Hayato's new position. ... Anytime someone's =that= close, they're a viable threat -- so it's only appropriate to prepare oneself for the inevitable counterattack.
Sure enough, here it comes. For some reasons, Sakura isn't quite as hardy as she used to be regarding a flaming kick like that, but she has compensating provisions like Psycho Power to cover up the slack. By the time that kick reaches her, the girl's caution has manifested in the form of a small ball of violet energy -- a ball the girl's more than happy to palm-punch up into the phys-ed teacher's back as she's pivoting to one side. Sure, she gets nailed in the shoulder, flung back onto the stage -- but Hayato's just as likely to fly back, in direct contradiction of her earlier request for him to be on the stage as well.
Bothersome, again, but the girl figures she can hang with it for now. Plucking herself back to her feet, she keeps her eyes on Hayato. He's up to something, and she's got to remain alert to the end. Even if her keeper is trying to send notes to her across the auditorium. Would you care to share it with the entire class, Mr. Kirishima?
Hayato's red jacket is pretty much in tatters by this point; luckily he has plenty of spares. That blast of Psycho Power destroyed most of the garment's back, along with sending Hayato flying away, but he manages to land on his feet once again. Standing back up straight, Hayato rolls his neck for a moment, still frowning at Sakura. He hasn't flown into a rage at getting beaten up... He's already angry enough at this having been done to Sakura in the first place.
Taking a deep breath, Hayato launches himself up into the air with a mighty leap which takes him sailing back up toward the stage. And as he comes down, he grips his shinai over his head with both hands. This could be considered a warning sign... Hayato generally sees fit to wield it with just one hand. And despite being made of bamboo, Hayato still gets enough force into his overhead strike that if Sakura should avoid it, he's likely going to put a crack in the dais.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Hayato's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Hayato
Frowning. Normally Sakura'd be worried that she'd annoyed Hayato. That stage would have past long ago, in this fight... if it were even an issue.
But as Hayato leaps into the air, Kasugano calmly steps to the side. Nothing showy about it, nothing fancy -- just a simple sidestep carries her out of harm's way, as the shinai plows through the wooden stage, wood splintering every which way as a deep crevice is blasted into it.
"Impressive, but useless," notes Sakura, holding her position. But while Hayato is extricating his shinai from the floor, the girl winds back her leg and delivers a rather rapid place kick, aimed at planting her metal ankle-guard right into Hayato's ribcage. "Hyyyyaah!"
Tsukushi notes to Kei, "I don't think I'd ever seen her do =that= one before, though..."
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to counter Light Kick from Sakura with Counter Thrust.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-======|
As Sakura's leg sweeps out, Hayato's hand is already balled into a fist and swinging down toward the top of her head. The aim is to drive Sakura's chin all the way to the floor, thus making it rather difficult for her to connect with her kick... But it doesn't quite work out like that.
When the leg slams into Hayato's ribcage, there's no cracking sound. But that's only because he already broke a rib when he was slammed across the room and into the wall by the giant blast of Psycho Power, something which he comes to regret even more at this moment. No, this just looks like a fairly ordinary kick managing to knock the wind out of someone. Which is an apt choice of words. Hayato's eyes widen and his mouth opens, but no sound comes out. He then slowly collapses to his knees, clutching his side. A punctured lung does wonders to take the fight out of someone. And when the shinai drops from Hayato's hand and rolls away, that's a pretty good sign that he's out of this fight, even if he hasn't yet lost conciousness.
Punctured lung. Sakura ought to feel guilty, resorting to callous thug tactics in a more-or-less fair fight. ... But the fact of the matter is, the notion of 'fairness' doesn't matter quite so much to the girl any more. Fairness is predictable: If you know the white knight won't get the lady in danger, grab the lady. It's not the best analogy, but the usual notion of 'honor' just doesn't hold water to Sakura now.
Coldly, she leaves Hayato right where he is, with nary more than a, "You fought admirably, Hayato." She has no idea what to do with him anyway, but she does motion for the medics to sweep in; she's not =entirely= heartless. And... no more than a dozen people begin applauding for the decisive victory.
And meanwhile, she reaches down to pluck up the microphone. The schoolgirl smiles, a bit more like her usual self -- though the credibility of that singular smile is, of course, questionable. "Like Hayato, I'm gonna have to offer an apology," she notes. "I didn't want to have to hurt him like that, but... man. Property damage on =that= scale?"
Sakura shakes her head, still grinning. "Nah. I'm kinda sad you folks weren't cheering as much... I guess you just don't trust me. I was kinda afraid of that. But you know... all of you... you're all friends. I'll still be here when you change your minds. Peace out!" With a mild shrug, she moves to place the microphone back in its proper slot on the podium.
Yeah, she did that on purpose, moving to the podium that doesn't exist. "Ah, right, that time it wasn't =me= tearing down the school." Shaking her head, she glances back at Kurow, and Kyoko, with a broad smile. =Very= much Sakura.
... But then she looks to her right, mic dropped to her side, heels snapping against one another, offering ... a stiff salute?! But no one's even =standing= there!
COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.
<<And as you see - with purpose, drive and the correct leadership, you can also topple institutions, challenge what you have been told all your life, and be one of the leaders of a new world.>>
The voice isn't spoken, no - Vega /could/ use the auditorium's sound system, but the podium seems to have been a little beat up early on in the fight, and who wants to risk making a dramatic speech and having feedback! Instead, Vega simply uses one of the 'special' tricks of PsychoPower, to speak directly into the minds of everyone within the hall. It won't transmit over the TV, but those in the control booth are busily subtitling the words, thanks to the help of some 'helpful' Shadaloo operatives. The guns are just for show, they'll be let go without harm afterwards. Really!
Vega crosses the stage in a deliberate fashion, cape waving behind him from the strength and purpose in his stride. He stops near Kasugano, as if to take in the salute, the offer of loyalty she shows, and his smile is both terrible /and/ proud. She's no Killer Bee - but she's also a sign of something more, something new to come. A future without end, without limit, and much different than those that rail and rant at him about how he will so soon fall can understand and see.
"You have fought admirably. You have learned much under our training - and we will make certain that the world understands that your wants and desires will be protected from interlopers. You have.. done well." With that, he looks towards the crowd, taking them in - just how many are out there, ready to speak up?
For the record, no, Kurow would not like to share it with the class. It's a secret, personal thing, and how dare you even consider sharing it out loud without his permission!
As Vega speaks first to the entire assembly, then to Sakura, congratulating her for the successful match, he decides to show some quiet solidarity in the form of a gesture that -could- just be that of an innocent spectator. He stands up slowly, looking from the leader to the pawn, and begins to clap. It does draw a little attention to him, but on the other hand, he might just seem like he's the sort of person who likes to lead the applause rather than join in later.
Sakura's knees get weaker as the unmistakable voice of Vega rumbles through her mind. It's a voice she's heard only rarely this past week, with Kurow personally taking the reins of her tutelage, but it's still ingrained in her mind as the voice of her own true Master.
But falling down now would be the ultimate disrespect. "Welcome, Lord Vega." she announces, just before his own quite dramatic entrance, her saccharine, smiling facade utilized to full effect. One of Taiyo's heroes... swearing fealty to a lord known best as a violent dictator and destroyer.
... And oddly, Kurow's not the only one clapping. The ten members of the Sakura Kasugano fanclub join him in applauding -- mostly guys, including at least two badly-costumed ones.
There are times where it's good for Sakura to be faking her emotions -- and seeing those cosplayers is one of them.
But regardless, she drops her hands to either side at Vega's compliments, inclining her head politely. And then she addresses the crowd. "And with that... with no further ado, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out to this special Saturday Night Fight bout! Especially the =wonderful= folks at Taiyo High for giving me support all these years!" And then... well, she'd take Vega's side, walking out with him. Unless someone would like to stop her from leaving peacefully, of course.
Lack of oxygen? Internal bleeding? Bah! These are nothing when one has a Burning Spirit! (The capital letters are important.) Hayato shoves off one of the medics who's moving in to treat him, lurching unsteadily to his feet. He'd shout out something right now, and from the anger on his face he really wants to. But he only has enough breath left to stay up for a few moments longer, and he's not going to waste it by shouting.
What Hayato does next is an incredibly bad idea, but Hayato Nekketsu doesn't tend to think things through when he's dealing with something as vile as what Vega has done to Sakura. Leaping at the dictator, Hayato attempts to drive his fist straight into Vega's head at full force. The back of his head if he just continues to walk away, or right in the face if he should turn around... But this assumes Hayato can even make contact in his condition.
It's always something if it isn't anything else. That's rule number one of street justice. And Justice High has been needing some sort of that for a great while. But now this. Out of everything, this Shandaloo stuff seems to be mainstream lately, and rightfully so. Thy haven't been a big deal to Gedo, or at least most of Gedo High as they themselves aren't really looked upon all that good.
But then this Kurow fellow goes and 'teaches' Akira some new tricks. If that isn't the biggest bull that Edge had ever heard, well, he'd have to be book smart. But, being booksmart is for suckers. So there.
And now with this up and coming star Sakura having some ties with Kurow and Vega, well, that's it. Edge travelled to Justice High with an accomplice, because, obviously, they are a gang. And, as he moved into the room, it was relatively easy to see who he was. At first with the spectacle of Hayato, he might not have been noticed, but to Kurow, he might notice them first as a knife, suddenly, finds its way into the ground before him. Wonder how that could happen.
"HEY! You there!" Edge calls to Kurow without real fuss or muss, "You wouldn't know anything about Akira, would you? Because if you do, please say you don't so we can get straight to the violence! Hehehehehehe!" Edge is presently at the doors, hands in his pockets, moving forward. Some one else is coming as well. Can you guess who?
Perhaps broadcasting this was a bad way to do it. So close to the other schools, you'd see at least a few trouble makers. With a situation that vaguely reminds a few students of a past happening, around the same pattern of quick changes, it was a gut reaction for at least Gan that someone who had happened to be on the last Saturday night fight with Akira, may have something to do that guy as well.
That's about when a pair of Taiyo High Auditorium doors give way to the torn outfit of Gan, the Gedo giant plowing right through them and into the Auditorium. He wasn't here before to watch it, but he certainly is now. WIth his hands clenched, the muscles prominant, there are few times that Gan would be so angry. Just like before, and the same idea. Except now they're in it to recruit others to the war. And who's the first person who Gan would suspect? Simple. The one from Justice High.
Although Edge makes 'the point' first, Gan moving behind Edge to back him up, almost looming over him. "I don't care what he says. He's going to get what's coming to him all the same." Gan would be that accomplice that Edge brought.
"Ahahaha! Do you think you'd just get away with it?" Gan's a bit on the angry side, where as Edge is probably on his normal, violent side. But this time, with reason! Cracking his muscles and slamming a sandled foot into the ground, Gan lets Edge do most of 'the talking'.
Vega has his back turned to Hayato. After all, Sakura's battle is won, the match is set - and now he plans on returning to Shadaloo and Thailand, to deal with the interlopers that threaten his paradise and joy every single day that he is elsewhere. He's let others take the blows for him recently - but that changes.
Now.
As Hayato lurches and leaps towards Vega's unprotected back, the Shadaloo leader seemingly fades, a purple aura surrounding him in much the similar fashion that it surrounded Kasugano earlier in the fight - and he's now facing the incoming attack. Blindingly fast, his hand wraps around the incoming hand, stopping it /short/ - holding on to it as he looks Hayato in the eyes with his own white gaze. His emotions seem to focus, and for just a second, for a brief, brief moment, he seems like he may just explode with power and attempt to destroy the teacher who so blatantly challenges his authority.
But no - no, not here. Not like this. Here, he is something more than what people would expect from a terrorist thug. He is a leader, a warrior, and an 'honorable man'. He pulls Hayato close, whispering something, and speaking into his mind at the same time. His voice too low for any but Sakura and Hayato to hear. "... What you have lost today is more than a match. What I have gained, so much more than a student. Do not forget this." He lets go then, and turns to Sakura, raising his voice for the auditorium to hear. "This day marks a student's graduation into a larger world. It is ... difficult to give those we have trained the ability to move on. I am certain that your teachers will larn to do so, given time, Kasugano." With that, he gestures.. and grins. It seems Kurow's been noticed - but is Vega going to help? If he does, does the links betwween himself and the DSC fall into the open?
Sorry, Kurow... Today, you're on your own.
Hayato glares at Vega with silent rage, but his eyes are starting to dim. He makes a choking gasp that would likely be words not fit for television, if he had the breath to say them. One hand clutches at the dictator's clothing, but before long Hayato's fingers go limp, and he collapses in a heap on the stage. He won't be fighting off the medics this time. A good thing, because he definitely needs medical attention.
It would have been appropriate and proper for Sakura to leap forward and intercept Hayato before he lays a hand on Vega. Indeed, Sakura had even heard the tussle with the medics, and was about to move.
But then she felt the surge of Psycho Power in the air, and thought better of it. Moving rapidly towards Vega is not something one should =ever= do, even if you are trying to help stop an aggressor. So she's content to reach her hand out before stopping dead in her tracks.
And... Hayato is taken care of. And then dropped, so the medics can resume taking care of him.
With that, Sakura Kasugano turns her brilliant smile back onto the crowd before her. "Well, thanks again to everyone for coming out! Though, really, guys, c'mon. =Brawling?= Can't you guys at least take it out back? Knock it off, or I'm gonna have to lay a smackdown on ya myself! There's families present, y'know!"
And with that, Kasugano... no longer seems concerned about Kurow. She takes a huge leap down from the stage, running towards her family. Hugs all around! ... At least for now. Gratefully, the microphone doesn't follow her. Private, y'know!
[The normal SNF broadcast rolls credits over the aftermath of the battle. Special-edition DVDs and premium Pay-Per-View audiences, however, are entitled to the following!]
As the Gedo thugs walk in, Kurow doesn't seem to pay them much mind -- at least, not until a knife finds its way into the seat in front of him. He immediately whirls around, still listening to Vega and Hayato's exchange but not giving much consideration to looking back. After all, he can't associate too closely with Vega, even though he's now in such danger of being associated with him -anyway-.
He turns, regarding Edge first, then Gan. "Well, well. I make an offer to help her find strength in the new world she's chosen to explore, and you suddenly decide that it's something sick and wrong. You know, you Gedo thugs have always been such a disappointment. You care /so much/ -- and yet all it does is make you that much more stifling." He starts to weave his way out of the auditorium seating, walking right up to Edge and Gan. "Listen. Are you really going to strike me here based on your unsubstantiated claims?"
Edge could pay attention to the strong Vega and Sakura, but he couldn't care less. Like his math teacher, he's learned to zone some people out. That wasn't his fight. That was Hayato's. His fight was about to begin as Kurow finally notices them.
And he comes towards then, even speaking to them. Edge grins, looking back towards Gan as the man approached. Oh this seems to be their lucky day. They struck gold, twenty four carrot even. And they weren't going to back down now.
Edge swings his head around lopsidedly back to Kurow, his hair almost taking out some of the crowd. "All you had to say was yes, man, no need to monologue- or whatever. Either way, wrong answer." Edge states, beginning to head towards the center to escape as many civilian's in this fight as possible. "We'll get those answers out of you one way or another." Edge turns, and begins motions towards Kurow. C'mon. You know you want too.
It's not about Vega, and associations now. It's about what Kurow confirms. He did offer her something. And then Kurow goes on to badmouth Gedo as well as tell them it's all worthless. It's enough for Gan to take action on Kurow, even if he hadn't done anything. It's a real brave move for Kurow to move up close like that. Gan's pretty simple at times. So when Kurow actually asks, Gan wants to answer in the simple way.
"I won't be striking you based on any claims." Gan simply responds. He'd rather have a good enough reason. "I'll be doing it because you seem like the kind of person who deserves it." Standing already tall, Gan stretches a bit, arms craising and being held as he stands near Edge. "Maybe we'll get something else out of it too." Kurow seems to be one of those guys who just plain deserves it. And they're pretty sure he's messing with Akira.
Gan looks up to Sakura for a moment but doesn't respond. Even with her odd actions, she's got a point. But that doesn't stop Gan from positioning himself near Edge in the same stance he had already taken. Let them think they're a bunch of punks. Then this won't seem too odd. It'll just be in the nature of the thing. And Gan advances towards Kurow, as Edge stays back, the wooden sandals against the floor making distinct sounds with the heavy Gan.
While his large size won't be too menacing to the Justice High student, this means things are about to heat up whether he likes it or not. "Now stop trying to get out of it!" Now he's just playing mindgames with them!
COMBATSYS: Gan has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gan 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Edge has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Edge 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Gan
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Gan 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Kurow keeps an eye on Edge and another one on Gan, evidently worried about having to deal with both of them, here; while he doesn't mind, he is a little loath to have to fight off Gedo thugs in public, especially now that they're so close to the truth. "You two really are thugs, aren't you? You've got one little assumption and you're willing to beat a man for it. Fine -- come on. Take the first shot." He spreads his arms, as if to say, 'Come on, come at me.'
All the while, though, he's keeping his eyes out for other threats. He knows how Gedo works -- they're gangsters, and gangsters often have insurance. After all, they do need to maintain a certain appearance of strength for the gang to continue to function. "Why are you two so angry, anyway? Those girls have made choices," he says, drawing his arms back upward as he continues to survey the new 'battlefield' with an almost paranoid frequency of back-and-forth looks. "You should respect that." He doesn't aggress. He can't let himself be the aggressor.
COMBATSYS: Kurow focuses on his next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Gan 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Edge keeps an eye on Kurow. He doesn't look worried. He doesn't look mad. He doesn't look anything other than a little too happy. His tongue even seems to hang out of his mouth a little as he looks over to Kurow, trying to keep the mans attention on him. Kurow seems to be ready to fight them both, and that's a good thing. Edge wants to fight Kurow with Gan. It'll work out like you wouldn't imagine.
For now, Eiji keeps his hands in his pockets, looking over the other man he terribly despises. He had so much hope for Akira, but this man keep flaunting that she herself made that choice completely. To throw away everything and join these psychos? Yeah, sure.
"Hehehehehehe." Edge responds to Kurow, "We beat people for less than an assumption before. I don't even care if you have any answers at this point. It's just going to be real fun doing this." Edge contiues, just standing back and waiting for the man to make his move. He doesn't answer anything about 'respect'. Respect in a gang, you have to earn. There's no respect for Kurow.
COMBATSYS: Edge focuses on his next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Gan 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Gan's mostly silent as he walks across the makeshift battlefield, letting Kurow talk. He doesn't interrupt him, but as Kurow talks, Gan speeds up. But as Kurow looks around, he would perhaps catch a Gedo student here and there. Gedo may be a 'gang' as people see it, so he's right to assume it. Even if this fails, they're interested in the fight that'll be put up, and how well they'll do. Gan is always hard pressed not to get caught up in it.
"You can say all you want." Gan says as he begins to speed up, "But I'm not going to listen." He's already decided this guy is bad news. And the only answering Kurow will have to be doing is to Gan's massive body as he keeps charging forwards.
Gan does respect Akira. She's gone through so much and has done way more and accomplished beyond whatever Gan could have. But still, he's not interested in listening to Kurow's words. Edge makes it already clear. From what Kurow has already said, Gan's charge has become a full out rush, sandals slamming against the ground as he pulls a hand back. But what he brings forwards is his shoulder, to plow straight into Kurow, even if he's preparing a response.
Gan won't let anything like them being READY for him stop him!
COMBATSYS: Gan successfully hits Kurow with Gedo Tackle.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Gan 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kurow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Gan comes in toward Kurow, with Edge staying back, and Kurow thinks he's got the handle on the situation. He can handle one of them at a time without any problems at all, he thinks, it'll be so easy to --
Thud. He miscalculates, and gets tackled into the side of a seat. "Nnghh..." he groans, pulling himself back up to a full standing position. He's not sure how to keep the pair off balance, how to keep them from tossing him back and forth between each other... and then he gets an idea.
Reaching down, the youth pulls out a pair of clawed gloves, which he tugs onto his hands. "Fine. If you two /insist/," he says, "I'll humor this." As soon as he finishes speaking, he lunges right for Gan's enormous, meaty throat, trying to wrap his claws deep into it; if he can get a solid hold, he'll kick off of Gan's chest, sending himself spinning around the gentle giant, leaving cut after cut in his body. If that wasn't enough, when he gets around behind him at one point, he suddenly kicks off, likely sending him to the ground forcefully.
As Edge watches Kurow get bowled over by Gan, he thinks to himself, is he gonna be this easy? Well, he won't be able to know until later. Sometimes you can't really tell unto the end. Still, watching the man get bowled over was pretty funny. But, now he has a pair of clawed gloves. Now this might be a little harder.
Long as it isn't knives.
"Hehehehehe." Edge echos, almost like before. He watches, waiting for a time to actually strike, and when Edge things he can, he kicks off the ground, not answering Kurow at all. There's a time to talk, and there's a time to do. Now's a time to do for their friend Akira.
Half way through the rush, Edge stops, turning quickly towards the audience. A single blade quickly floats out of his pocket, and suddenly, through the air with the momentum from the rush and turning, aiming right into Kurow's exposed side. Edge really thinks he can pull this one off.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Gan with Circle Slash.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Kurow miscalculates. THat certainly costs him. However, Gan doesn't miscalculate what the guy can do to him. And when Kurow rush towards him, the clawed gloves lunging for his throat, all Gan can do is ready himself to take the blow, the claws drawing blood as they rip into the meaty throat. It cuts, blood spilling as the claws rend him. But what seems to do it is not the slashes, but the kick off, that slams Gan toppling over, off of the podium and towards the ground. Slamming heavily, the Gedo giant bleeds for a moment, before a single hand reaches up to pull himself up.
"It won't be humoring .. not for long at least." Gan states, getting back up, wobbly, before pulling back a fist, and leaping back up. A simple meanuever would follow.
He would do the exact same assault as before, bringing the arm back.. but this time, the arm would actually aim to connect with Kurow, albeit with a lot more blood and with a wounded Gedo student behind it. But wounds wouldn't deter him. Even if the blood was starting to flow more than he would have liked.
His heavy physique at least stops the blades from getting anywhere that would be vital. Kurow would have to do far more to stop him permanantly.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Edge's Reversing Blade Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Gan successfully hits Kurow with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/-------|
Knives always put Kurow on the defensive, even moreso than usual -- even though he uses claws himself, he hates having his defenses pierced. It's one thing to feel a little blunt trauma, but it's something else to have a weapon sink into you -- it's the one thing that makes him take slightly stupider risks in battle. Fortunately, here, it pays off -- the knife digs into a seat as Kurow rolls forward and --
-- right into Gan's fist. It brings him out of the roll, but that's about it; Kurow does know how to brace himself quite well, after all. "You know, you do a lot of giggling, Yamada," Kurow says to the smaller of the two fighters, before deciding to switch targets; Gan is tough. It'd be easier to handle him when not being simultaneously harassed by Edge, whom Kurow thinks he can put down more handily. Deciding to borrow a trick from a certain other famous clawfighter, Kurow does a quick hop toward Edge, followed by a roll; he then thrusts a hand out full-force, trying to sink his claws into Edge's stomach with the full momentum of that roll behind them.
Some of the audience members -- those not frightened off -- have started watching; after all, this is two fights for the price of one. In a world where fighting is so popular, that's at least as good as an NFL double-header.
COMBATSYS: Edge fails to interrupt Deep Strike from Kurow with Brainbuster.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
"Sure do." Edge answers rather handelly. And he's trying to ake sure everything pays off, here or there. Gan strikes again, even though his blade goes right off. But then Kurow gets up and comes after him without a moment too lose. The claw aimed right for the stomach of Edge, and Edge, well, he tries to catch the claw, and goes right for trying to follow up into an overhead throw, ending Kurow into the ground.
Instead, Edge finds a large claw in his stomach farther than he expected. Wordlessly, the fighter falls down, a few knives sprinkling around him before he lays down at the edge of the field. It's up to Gan for this one. Edge is going to sit here and take a breather.
He sure needs it.
As Kurow goes after Edge, Gan is less than please. Especially when Kuro doesn't seem to get the picture. You can ignore Gan all you'd like, but he's going to go for you anyways. "Don't just turn to him. You started on me." Gan says, stomping closer as Kurow hops towards him. THe fight isn't going so hot for the Gedo boys. At first glance. It's not like Gan expected to be ending up like this so early. But he's been in worse positions, faster.
Hayato did a number on him, probably far worse than Kurow. ANd then there's Hagger. Gan can soak up the abuse. But to see him going after Edge... Well, even when Kurow stabs the blades into Edge's stomach, there won't be much time to celebrate.
Because Gan rushes forwards, grabbing for Kurow's leg. If he gets ahold of it, he'll be at Gan's mercy, and that involves being pulled by the leg into the air, whipped upwards, and then used as a sharp clawed doll. He'll whip him around in the air, turns that should not be meant for the body done quickly in air, before slamming him straight into the ground with both hands.
"I'm not going to just wait for you to get to me either!"
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Gan's Giant Storm.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
The Kirishima ninja, unfortunately for him, is pretty easy to distract with the right prompts; when Gan comes in for him, it forces him to reprioritize. He's hurt Edge enough for now; Gan can definitely have a little more of the attention that that grab at his foot and those forceful words seem to indicate that he wants.
Kurow has always been adept at weaving his way around people; as Gan grabs, even with the full speed he can muster, Kurow pulls his foot away and whirls to one side, focusing on the man's wounds. "You know, you really do have guts... it's almost a pity you're putting them to use improperly. If you're so worried about those two, take it up with /Vega/, not me," he spits. Things are finally going exactly the way they should, and yet, people just keep getting in the way -- it's enough to make even the most controlled of men mad.
Retrieving one of those thrown knives from before, Kurow leaps up toward Gan; he realizes that these two really do intend to hurt him in Akira's name, and that means they've signed something of a social contract for a beating. After all, it's only acceptable human behavior to defend one's assets and interests, and for property defense, Kurow chooses the time-honored method of driving a knife for the space between Gan's ribs.
Edge finally gets back up, slowy, very slowly. At least, he can stand still. And looking towards Kurow, he can tell the man is fast. And what's that, he's going back for Gan, using his own love of his life, a knife. Right into the chest of Gan. Or at least trying. Well. Seems like Edge has to finally do something.
So, without much flair, Edge edge's forwards towards the edge of where the two are, and slowly reaches into his pockets, each hand grasping onto a knife each. This isn't for violence anymore, that time passed. This was for Akira, and the two would put their all into it to deliver it towards him. Because if there is one thing in Gedo, it's that they're going to try their hardest for their fellow students.
This includes loosing a lot of blood over it, or getting your but kicked. It doesn't matter, in the end, you have to give it your best.
"HEY!" Edge interrupts. "Over here pal! I've got something for ya!" Hopefully, this can give Gan the change he needs.
Edge follows up with the two knives, hurling them through the air towards, one over hand, and the other while ducking. Both fly through the air with obvous skill on them. But, most importantly, REVENGE.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Gan with Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/------=/=======|
This time Kurow manages to avoid the strength of Gan. But Gan doesn't mind so much. As Kurow pulls his fut away. "But I thought you wanted to help them.." Gan says, angrily. Kurow had said alot of things. And now he makes Vega come into it as well. "You're just going to keep lying." That's about when Kurow takes the weapon and then shoves it straight towards the space between his ribs. Gan readies himself as the knife goes to slip into his ribs.. but stops against the massive wall of flesh. Grinning a bit, Gan is almost too happy about the turn of events.
"Using Edge's weapon against me." He breathes in heavily, making sure nothing vital was struck. Gan looks angry, and the answer will not be a vocal one. Instead, Gan thrusts a palm towards Kurow, attempting to just square on strike him in his own chest, a gun shot like quick thrust, before grabbing the clawed monster and slamming himn into the ground.
But he would not let go, and hopefulyl would toss him straight into the thrown knives that Edge hurled at Kurow. It's a plan of teamwork. Even if it may fail. Their hearts are in it. Even if they'll be known as just a gang. It's for someone. And reputation be damned if that meant going after Kurow.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Edge's Double Blade Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Gan's Combo Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
Kurow finds that even a good, solid stab at Gan's chest doesn't do anything; this puts him on the defensive, which is a much better place for him to be. As Gan tries to strike him and then throw him into the path of the knives, he weaves down and /under/ the street tough, moving neatly through the space between his enormous legs and also pulling out of the path of Edge's knives. "You know, you two have a remarkably simple worldview -- just because I want to help them means I'm responsible for their initial choices?"
He rolls his eyes. "You two have a lot to learn about the way the world works!" Keeping his distance, Kurow takes that knife that he's still carrying, looking Edge dead-on in the eyes; it seems the youth has gone back to targeting the smaller of the toughs, and -- perhaps in a somewhat mocking 'I can do anything better than you' gesture -- leaps backward onto the stage, trying to get as much distance as possible between himself and his opponents as he flings the knife at Edge. Strangely, his technique with the knife is the opposite of what would be expected -- his throw is slow and forceful, almost like a baseball pitch.
COMBATSYS: Edge dodges Kurow's Large Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
Edge finds himself that the offense is just not for him. So in this case, he's going to stick to the defensive. After he throws the blades, he just tries to back up and let Gan follow. That's always been a good plan, so he's going to help it go on ahead. But, even if he back up, it looks like Kurow caught the knives just right, because at that moment, he feels kind of... edgy.
"Hehehehehe..." Edge just answers Kurow, giving him all the answers of the world, the cure to cancer, and the middle finger all in one. It's part of his style.
"We know enough to tell when a friend needs help." Edge just answers as he backs off, and just tries to get his head back in the game. He's been trying to force this guy down way too fast as the start of the match. He's gotta pace it. Then his own friend turns on him -- the knife comes right back. And Edge hurls himself to the floor, the knife striking right above his air, impacting on the top. "H-HEY! Watch the hair, jerk!" He just lets Gan take care of this.
Knock him outa' the part, big guy.
COMBATSYS: Edge gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-------/=======|
You bet little buddy, Gan will do just that. And as Kurow weaves under him Gan is struck with large syndrome. As, he can't really do much about it. He's rather large which allows Kurow to go rather easily through his defenses.
"She was never like this before you." Gan responds with an almost equally simple answer. It's all he has to tell himself, or think about, and it's enough for him. He, after all, grew upon a farm. He doesn't know much about the outside world, but he knows about people. He knows he doesn't like Kurow, or what he's done.
So while Kurow is busy assaulting Edge, taking the time to heavily pitch the knife at him, Gan slowly, and heavily, moves over to Kurow, raising a sandaled foot when he gets in close.. and thrusts his sandaled foot at Kurow, to have a wooden kick meet his rear. It's a heavy kick if only because of his weight and build. But it's also just a bit faster than it should be.
A kick out of the park is good enough, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Gan successfully hits Kurow with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Gan 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-------/=======|
The lumbering Gan clears the distance, and somehow catches Kurow with a big, wooden sandal in the back; it's extremely painful, especially coming from someone like Gan who just has so much size on him, but he handles it. "Nnghh... I offer to teach her how to harness herself, and you two..." He breathes in and out, trying to catch his breath... he tries to analyze just what's worked and what hasn't.
Stabbing Gan didn't work in the least, though it certainly worked on Edge. Sending him rolling /did/ work, though, and it's that that Kurow attempts to do again. Whirling around to face Gan again, he tries to grab him by the leg. He can't quite lift Gan directly, but he can unbalance him, and then use that lack of balance to suddenly force him to the ground and toward the ruined, pointy remains of the podium. "You two are just all too suspicious. Really -- I attempt to do something nice to make up for our little scraps all those times, and this is how you repay me? This is such typical Gedo behavior." Deny, deny, deny -- even if it isn't really sticking.
Seeing Gan kick... it was ultimately inspiring. Very, very inspiring actually. But mostly a home run kick is better than a home run punch, so it is, after all, acceptable.
Still, Edge continues on, moving and groving and pulling the knife out of his hair and placing it back into his clothes. He'll need that one later for revenge, Gedo style. The mentality is still there, even if the school is about a billion times better -- at least fighter wise.
You hear this, Kurow? "Hehehehehehe." You like it don't you. "Hehehehe..." Because you're going to learn to enjoy it, haunting your nightmares as you try to sleep, try to eat, try to look at another knife. And all you'll hear is "Hehehehe." Because that is it Kurow, that is the secret to success. Your laugh, and if you can't do that, what can you do?
Still, Edge can't fool around that long, getting up and coming in rather suddenly towards the 'self claimed helper' of Akira. "No man, you don't get it. That ain't the Akira I know. And we're beating the answers out of you. Stop feeding us this trash. You'll just end up getting hurt worse!" Edge calls, vaulting forward while trying to aim a single kick against the man's legs. IF GAN CAN, Edge should be able to as well.
Or Gan is just that awesome.
COMBATSYS: Gan blocks Kurow's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Gan 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-------/=======|
Gan can see what's coming for him. Unfortunately, he cannot really stop it. But he's been targetted with such a weakness, like Hayato and Haggar, that they have taught him, through pure abuse, how to take such assaults and thrive through them. Even Hotaru, who got him back into activity, had also targetted this. But still. As Kurow attempts to grab him but the leg, he does unbalance him, but Gan has the final say, and as he's thrust towards the ruined par tof the podium, Gan slams into it.. but his hands hold him up, and his frame had been ready. This time, Kurow's attempt did not work.
But Gan is too winded to go back into it, immediately, and takes a breather. He will only allow himself one. As he hefts himself out, he stands, but a bit wobbily.
As Kurow asks if that is how they repay him .. it's unfortunately not, actually. How he'll repay him? That will be still to come. "I have another way in mind of repaying you. AHahahah!" Gan is grinning too wide now, even as he is battered. THe bleeding has stopped to be such a problem, though.
COMBATSYS: Gan gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Edge's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Edge 1/-------/=======|
Unlike Gan before him, when Edge comes in with a forceful kick to the legs, Kurow's ready. Perhaps he's used to being kicked; whatever the case may be, he leaps /over/ Edge, just this once, and lands squarely behind him. "Your laughing bothers me," he says, starting to build up a little more arrogance and pridefulness in his tone; the Gedo gang has always been a thorn in his side, and now is no different.
He locks himself onto the knife-fighter, letting Gan catch his breath; the thinner man has surprising tenacity, even greater than Gan's, and that's a problem. It's something that he'll need to correct here and now, with as much force as possible. "I'm sorry, you won't have time to beat anything out of me. And after this... you may not want to."
With sudden forcefulness, Kurow lunges down toward Edge's legs with a cry of "Kirishima-Ryuu...", trying to slip between them and unbalance him with a hard clawing at both of them that /should/ bowl him over Kurow's back, leaving him just behind him -- only to get dragged along right behind by a series of nasty chi claw marks left in the air, trailing him, as he finishes, "Kyoujuu Reppa!"
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Edge with Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\ <
Edge 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
As Kurow leaps over Edge and assaults him, Gan has moved around. He can see what Kurow's doing, and as Kurow finishes his trail of slashes, chi claw marks and all, Gan will be there infront of Kurow. And while Kurow is 'catching his breath', Gan, still grinning, will be there. "You forgot about me again. That was a bad idea."
His large arms move forwards to hold Kurow in place as he takes Kurow, and attempts to prevent him from doing any of that unneeded dodging anymore. Here comes something they waited for. Did you expect the Gedo Gang to go in without a plan?
Latching onto Kurow, Gan will at least, if he doesn't directly touch him, distract Kurow enough so that Edge can get his licks in.
Kurow's not going to be happy though. Pincushions rarely are.
COMBATSYS: Gan assists Edge.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\ <
Edge 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Now, that really hurts. Something like that just seems to burn him terribly. Edge really wasn't expecting an attack like that off a light kick, but hey, you don't know what to expect sometimes. Life is funny like that. And here is the man's true power unfolded right before Edge. But this was right after her jumped over him and landed behind him. "Hehehehehehehe," Edge counter retorts, "because you enjoy it so much..." Edge states. He is rather cocky, but violent as well.
What comes at Edge isn't what he expected, Kurow locking himself to Edge before the knife fighter even can tell. And that's a pretty serious thing there! And when it comes, it sure comes. When Kurow lunges down towards Edge with rather hard claw, unbalanceing him while he tries to block high, and then his feet get taken out from under him, bowling him over the mans back, and then dragged along a series of nasty chi claw marks. Edge feels as if a thousand knives had been driven to him at once, and then left for dead. Shredded and bleeding, Edge gets up slowly, like a zombie no less. This isn't damn over. Not at all.
But it seems Kurow is going to have a little problem with this one. "Y-you underestimate Gedo High... and if you think we're unhappy... think about Daigo... anyways..." Edge begins, straighting up with a glint in his eye. "Hehehehehehehe!" With both hands in his pockets he grabs two knives each, running towards Kurow before his hand literally explode out of his pockets and fly towards Kurow, four knives each trying, begging to imbed themselves into this guy.
Edge isn't going to let them down.
COMBATSYS: Edge successfully hits Kurow with Stake Out EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\\\\ <
Edge 0/-------/=======|
The power of teamwork always catches Kurow. Gan gets his hands around Kurow for a second; he weaves out quickly, having little problem moving around Gan's ham-fisted manipulations -- but by the time he's done dealing with Gan, he's moving right into Edge's knives. Two of them sink into his chest, one hitting his arm, with the final one hitting him in the shoulder; he cringes, actually starting to hurt at this point.
"Daigo... will likely have more important things to deal with than me," he growls, looking between the Gedo fighters. He wants to finish this fast, at this point; he needs to get out of here, as his wounds actually are starting to mount, and being grilled for information by the gang is not his idea of a good time.
Reaching up, he starts to pull the knives out of his body, one by one. It hurts, and leaves him bleeding, but he advances forward just the same. "Take a message back to Daigo. He's already heard it, so it won't matter -- but he needs to hear it again anyway. Tell him, once again, that because he cares about her so deeply... he's incapable of doing what's really best for her." With that statement finished, he drives a clawed fist with lightning speed for Edge's gut.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Edge with Weapon Jab.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
[ \\\\ <
Edge 1/-----==/=======|
Edge watches as Kurow begins to become a pin cushion at this moment. And then, once more, the Gedo fighter finds himself on the recieving end of the blow. And that's alright for him. That's alright. Perfectly fine actually. At least if Gan can keep it up, that's all that matters. He's throwing all he's got at the man, and that's just it.
The clawed fist comes right at him, and Edge tries to endure it, to live past it, but not this time. It just strikes into him and right through his defense. Rather odd actually, as one would think the projectile would slow him down more. It didn't to his dismay, but now, he can't fight any longer. One the clawed fist is pulled out, Edge finally falls forward, "Hehehe...hehe...he..." Down towads his knees, and finally, hits face first towards the ground, out for the count.
Seconds go by, Edge hasn't made any movements except for the light escape of breath as blood coats his figure. And then, well, Edge comes back at the 'spur' of the moment.
With his last once of strength, the Gedo High student takes out what he can of his 'Gedo Justice' by trying to stab once last knife in the back of Kurow.
"Hehehehehehehe...."
COMBATSYS: Edge can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Gan 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
He's unable to hold onto Kurow as much as he would like, but Kurow is still caught by the knives. And even worse, Kurow is able to get away from Gan. For the final time, Gan is fed up with Kuro moving away from him. "More important things...?" Gan asks, half winded, half full of anger. And what Kurow says next does nothing to help it. "I'll take the message back.." Gan says, almost complacent. His insistance on going after Edge is bother, and as he jabs a clawed hand lightning fast for Edge, Gan winces a bit. He knows what happened. Yet he can do nothing. Nothing except continue what the two had worked for. Silent for a moment, Gan stands in place, his muscles rippling in his anger, the Gedo giant breaking out in a straight run towards the claw weiliding man.
His breathe is short. The battle wears on, but for Edge is must be worse. As he runs, his arm slams forwards for Kurow, planning to grab him and thrust him towards the knife that Edge attempts to stab Kurow with, but if he gets ahold of the man, he knows he will unleash all of his hatred towards this small, frailer man. He specifically grabs for the leg.
"Ahahaha.... I'll tell him.. and I'll bring back your limp body as well!"
It would be the beginning of a very, very, painful start of lashings. Kurow would be used as a simple doll, his body flailed around in the air, twisted and contoreted in ways it shouldn't, and then he would begin the actual point of the assault. Grabbing Kurow and slamming him into the wooden podium, his strength flowing freely through him as he attemtpts to take Kurow and make him meet every single square inch of the stage, whipping the smaller man around like a rag doll.
And he would laugh. "Ahahahahahha!" All the while a grin would be on his face. And then the assault would only end as with both hands he leaps and then slams the man through the podium, or into the buildings cement or brick wall.
Gedo Justice, all the way.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Edge's Sneak Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Gan 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow counters Concrete Smash from Gan with Yami Kake.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Gan 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Edge comes in first, which is no surprise, considering he's the one who Kurow just slugged in the gut with those claws; all he does to pull himself out of the way of this one is a quick whirl to one side, bringing him just to the side of Edge's knife. "Close," he says, looking to Edge... and then, as Gan yells and stomps toward him, Kurow doesn't even look. He just focuses his energy for a split second, drawing one leg up...
And then, just like that, he's gone. He disappears out of Gan's path, leaving the enormous sumo warrior to catch only empty air with his enormous hands. "Come on, Gan, you can do better than this," he says, gesturing for the man to come in a second time. He seems to have pulled himself back to that rigid, businesslike demeanor now, something completely different from how furious he was not long ago. Why does he keep shifting demeanors that way?
As Kurow gestures again, Gan was sure he got a hold on him. And yet, Kurow just vanished. But this doesn't bother Gan. Not at all.
He just has to keep going. Not listening to Kurow, Gan rushes again towards Kurow, and attempts something he had tried in the past. But first he has to turn towards Kurow. "No matter what you do. We will get her back. EVen if you succeed today, I will not stop until I see her safe."
Charging towards Kurow, blindly, he whips out his hands again, attempting to this time get a grip on his arm, before spinning him in the air and then just slamming him straight into a wall. Gan isn't going for style. Nor is he going for surprised.
A full forced attempt to just deal with Kurow. He doesn't care for caution. Not anymore. The man would need to go down at any length. And Gan was prepared to give his all. Edge had gave it all. And now it is his turn.
COMBATSYS: Gan successfully hits Kurow with Giant Storm.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Gan 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kurow
This time, Kurow gets caught; while he's usually quite adept at weaving around people like Gan, this time, he just gets dead-on caught, grabbed and tossed into the wall. "You know... you really don't listen, do you? But that's all right -- I see I can't break you of your delusions." He pulls himself up, breathing hard, and decides, in the end, not to aggress immediately. He knows that he can't quite take another hit in a situation like this. Even though he wants to just cleanly destroy Gan, he's starting to have trouble breathing and keeping himself up.
So, naturally, he hangs back, leaning on the edge of the auditorium stage. "I'm giving you one last chance. If you try to strike me, I'll cut you down at the knees here and now. Take your friend and go." Big words for such a wounded man -- but then, Kurow never quite stops talking big.
COMBATSYS: Kurow gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Gan 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kurow
As Kurow talks, Gan doesn't listen. He doesn't bother to. There's no point. All he would say is the same thing. And really, Gan is rather tired of hearing certain things come out of Kurow's mouth. He's patient. But yet, Kurow is not even acknowledging his presence. Well. Gan will not stop his own assault.
"I don't have to listen to those who try to use others. But I know what I have to do to them." The same attitude that gets Gedo the reputation of being an area full of punks. It's with Gan as well.
As he hangs back, Gan moves forwards, advancing on Kurow. In a response to his chance, Gan takes a single palm, brings it back, and slams it forwards with the force of a gun, but in a much more effective area. "I'm not going to fail. I won't back down for Akira."
COMBATSYS: Gan successfully hits Kurow with Quick Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Gan 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Kurow
Edge is on the ground.
He's not unconcious, but he would love to be.
"Hehe..."
"I know you won't; that's what --"
Gan gets a reprieve from being browbeaten and borderline ignored by Kurow. This is because Gan's palm hits him so hard in the stomach that he almost, /almost/ loses his lunch. Sometimes, Kurow is stupid and overconfident and gets punished for his arrogance; this is perhaps the paradigm case of as such.
He doesn't go down, though, just slowly pulling away from Gan, bloody and bruised, but still going. "You think that's it, do you. You think that you have it all figured out -- that there's some strange connection between me and Vega and Akira and Sakura in all this, that I'm using them." The youth declares this as if it's impossible, rather than precisely the case; after all, he has to keep up the facade. "You seem to be so insistent on it. You're so scared that maybe, just maybe, those two might have found something better than you can offer them."
He closes his eyes, then opens them again; he then comes in quick, knowing full well that this strike is likely to just glance off of the enormous wall of meat. All he does is snap his foot up once, aiming it for Gan's well-protected gut.
COMBATSYS: Gan endures Kurow's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Gan 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Kurow
As Kurow gets slammed, Gan had been practicing. He knew where to strike right. And now was just another time of some sort. So when Kurow is pulled away, bloody and bruised. And as Kurow speaks, trying to explain, cause doubt, Gan stands just as still as the wall of meat really does. The foot that comes at him, Gan endures the assault. "I am not sure of any connection. I just know you being nearby her is unhealthy. If she found something better, then it would be like the school she now attends."
The kick is taken full onm, but Gan barely flinches. It hits him heavy on, but he doesn't have time to do all that much. He bleeds yet, but he continues forwards, attempting to grab that leg that's coming down to him and wrench it into a throw, to slam him against the ground.
"You being nearby her is what I care about. And I am sure that whatever she finds in life. You will be one of the many things that will make her worse off." If he catches Kurow's leg, he'll whip Kurow into the ground, before throwing him against the wall.
COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Gan's Medium Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Gan 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Kurow
Kurow lets himself get grabbed; it brings him in closer to Gan, at least, and it also makes it easier to deal with the strike without having to try to -avoid- Gan's enormous hands. "I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about," Kurow says, as Gan starts to swing him; he braces his back against the impact, and then as he's tossed, he digs a clawed hand into the stage, preventing his impact with the wall itself.
Breathe in, breathe out. "You have no right to cut her off from her own choices," Kirishima says, walking toward Gan with cool, crisp motions. "If she's chosen to aid Vega, that's her right. If she's chosen to accept a little help from me in harnessing her strength, that's her right." His footfalls pick up some speed, and he locks his eyes squarely on those wounds from his first strike, which seems so long ago now.
"The /real/ fight here -- before you and your friend decided to attack me over some mistaken assumption," he continues, "was about growing up. And part of growing up, Gan Isurugi, is learning how to detach from people when they want to take a chance, even if it's something you don't like." When he says this, he suddenly reaches out, forcefully, for Gan's breastbone with those nasty claws.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Gan with Kinki Chikarasui.
[ < > /////// ]
Gan 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Oddly enough... most of the people had left already. A lot of the Taiyo students in attendance weren't =real= huge fight fans, and really weren't interested in watching an impromptu brawl between... a Justice High student and two Gedo punks. Just more evidence that TAIYO RULES, according to them!
But Sakura... well. Vega did that whole teleport thing out. Man it's so freaky when he does that stuff. And Sakura, after she leapt off stage, went to go chat with her folks for a bit. Serious family stuff. Icky.
Long story short, she's all by herself again. And a mite... irritable, it would seem. As much as someone who's stopped actively playing out her emotions =would= seem.
"... I thought I told you guys to get out of here," she states, resting her hands along her hips.
In spite of the fact that Kurow doesn't -seem- nearly built enough to do it, once he gets those claws around Gan's breastbone, he starts to -lift him up- by it, in a rare display of raw strength. The real pain of the attack comes not with those claws sinking in, though, but rather when the youth begins to suck the chi from Gan's body, bright red energy coursing down his arm and then venting out of his body, into the air around them.
"You /wretched/ thug... You don't deserve your power," he hisses, suddenly as quiet as can be. Even the Saturday Night Fight cameras (no doubt still running) might have a hard time picking up just what he said. As Sakura begins talking, though, he decides that's been quite enough; with a sudden burst of vocal force, he finishes, "I've taken it!" Evidently done with Gan for now, he starts to walk toward Sakura, noticeably dropping his guard. "I'm done here," he says to her. "I apologize for that -- you know how thugs get. Shall we go?"
As Kurow moves closer, Gan had seen it coming. The claws come towards Gan's breatbone. He can't prevent it. He attempts to endure, but it doesn't work that way. As Sakura comes in, Gan is still there. But not for much longer. And if it comes to Gan.. Kurow won't be for much longer, either.
"I don't think I'll be able to..." Gan says, breathing heavily.
As as Kurow slams the claws in, Gan's energy vents out of his body.. Gan only kneels for a moment. His energy, gone? Gan is on one knee for a bit. Bleeding heavily. But he would not let it just end. He would not let Kurow just walk away.
As Kurow walks towards Sakura, Gan stands up once more, stumbling towards Gan first, before grabbing the man that had taken Akira. That had downed Edge. And now had hit him. The meaty arm of Gan does not aim for a specific part of Kurow.
No. He attempts to just grab Kurow, grab for Kurow. Rushing towards him. The last chance that he has.
And if Kurow doesn't manage to get out of the way this time ..... there would be a few other problems.
COMBATSYS: Gan can no longer fight.
> /////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Gan's Concrete Smash.
> /////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Gan could not get ahold of Kurow. And collapses forwards, bleeding. The Gedo giant slumps to the floor, bleeding yet. He would get him another time, but now, Gan is unable to continue, the last of his strength gone.
As the darkness comes to claim him into unconciousness, Gan tries to push himself forwards. He falters, and there is nothing left. He collapses to the ground.
He would not give up in his attempts, even if for now he is silenced. His final 'words' are the heavy slamming of Gan against the already beaten up wooden floors.
It's not hard to hear Gan coming, especially when his footfalls are intentionally made that much faster to try to make it as likely as possible that he'll catch him. That massive strike he just tried always takes it out of him, makes it harder to capitalize on his superhuman reflexes... whatever he does, he knows it's going to be sloppy. ... and not only that, there's the nearby Sakura to worry about -- after all, he'll lose so much of his work if he lets her get barreled into by an enormous wall of meat.
So he decides to go for something that is both very likely to get him out of the way /and/ very likely to actually /win/ him some points with Sakura. "... Watch out!" he yells to Sakura -- after all, they're pretty much on a line, if Gan charges he could very well be going for either of them! -- as he dives ahead, trying both to jump out of the way of Gan /and/ get the new Doll out of the way.
"Certainly, you may go. The sooner the better." Sakura swore allegiance to Shadaloo, not Kurow -- officially, anyway. If Vega had wanted association with the DSC, he would've said something when Kurow was =first= attacked. He didn't -- that in itself is an implicit order. So she can't be =too= buddy-buddy with him when other people are watching. That would be bothersome.
But it's kind of hard to maintain dissociation when someone's =jumping at you=. Once more reverting to her default programming when challenged, she stammers, "Un-unnecessary!" as she was already in the midst of avoiding Gan with a fairly strong leap. ... And now Kurow's =weighting her down=, in her own estimation.
... A moment later, she finds herself on the ground. The Doll narrows her eyes down at Kurow. "Highly unnecessary. Now get off." The Doll's expression is neutral, save for the slight red tinge across her cheeks.
It's only marginally better than getting a knee to the groin -- which is what Sakura probably would have done without the programming.
The Taiyo High Auditorium is a spacious and very well designed area of the school. It's meant to hold a myriad of events. Everything from (apparently) Saturday Night Super Fights, Gang Warfare, and maybe the occaissional school assembly or High School Drama Society production. Tonight, it's been through a war. It's been fueled by the furnace of Kurow Kirishima and the Rival Schools. It's been an epic fight, broadcast across the seven seas on live international television.
The fight had many fans. Some were content to watch on their television sets. Other Taiyo high students packed the auditorium to watch the series of fights go down. But one man stood high above. He watched from the lighting catwalk. He stood near one of the huge spotlights, fingers rapping against one of the steadying sandbags that keeps the lights and the curtains in place, shroud in the darkness. He watched and he waited. He didn't need to do anything else. Not yet.
He really wished that Edge and Gan could have done the job. They seemed like well intentioned men. They were the type of people he could appreciate on even terms. They believed strongly in one thing and they strove, with blinding drive, to see it become reality. They knew a quintessential truth and, in the music of their fight, were determined to ring it's undeniable knowledge to the rest of the planet: Kurow Kirishima is a bad, bad, man.
Gan makes his last valiant effort. He feels for the kid, but it just isn't enough. There just isn't enough left there. It's all up to him. The injustice, the truth, it needs life. He can feel his blood burning red.
Rock Howard turns and slowly moves along the lighting catwalk. His gloved hands curl around one of the spotlights as he begins to untying it's support pulley. Below, Sakura and Kurow start conversing. It's an unsettling and terrible conversation; the type that you imagine lions to have after making a fresh kill. His fingers do their work fast, knowledge of what he needs to do giving them haste. The knots bend to his twists, the rope uncurling and the spotlight jarring loose.
It's descent signals the start. A second after the huge light tilts and then breaks away from the walkway on a crashing path for the center of the auditorium, Howard is over the edge of the catwalk. He swings down on his improvised bungie cord, his voice screaming, "KUUUUUUUUUURRRRROOOOW!" Releasing his grip, he flips up through the air, and then descends on a trail of flowing chi and a promise of an exploding fist.
COMBATSYS: Rock has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Kurow with Rage Run Dunk.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Rock 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Kurow
Kurow pulls himself back up, saying, "... My apologies. I thought after your fight it'd be best to make sure you didn't get further injured," he says, pulling himself up -- and then, as soon as he's up, Rock drops down, screaming his name. He probably found out about the impersonation, he thinks, and that's the last thought he has before --
-- bam. The sudden strike catches him directly in the head; it's something he can't even react to. There's one loud, sickening crack; with that, he goes straight down, like a ton of rocks. Amazingly, the youth maintains /consciousness/, but that's about the full extent of what he keeps; he rolls over onto his side, clutching his head in pain.
Yeah, it would have been a good idea to just go.
Lions. After a kill. Sure. Despite the fact that in an earlier time, Sakura had gotten along great with Gan and Edge for a while. Despite the fact that Sakura's obsessively objective-oriented personality would not allow her to admit that she's even connected to Kurow, in this, her home base of home bases, Taiyo High.
And then Rock just bungee jumps from the ceiling like he's the friggin Demolition Man.
Sakura's in the process of picking herself back up when that happens, mind. So she was able to see it all happen right before her eyes, in vivid color.
Edge, Gan, and now Kurow lay on the Taiyo auditorium floor, if not unconscious, then pretty darn close. And Sakura... and Rock... are standing.
Oddly enough, despite the Shadaloo wings, she still has the most right to say this.
"Get out of my school." She levels her finger towards the nearest emergency exit (there's two in the front, and four in the back). "Now."
Sakura has rarely looked as serious as this. She doesn't see any need to explain... limiting damage to this auditorium should really be reason enough, especially after =Hayato= was done with it, let alone anything out here.
Out of the best peoiple on the ground, Edge can only know one truth.
He has the best hair.
Hah.
Knuckle on bone. One of the best feelings Rock Howard's ever known. /His/ knuckles on /Kurow/'s bone might be /the/ best feeling he's ever known. Satisfaction dawning in his heart, he pulls his hand back as Kurow's body bends from his hyperaccelerated strike. Normally, he'd never resort to such a cheap tactic. He'd never divebomb the guy from the rafters like he was Sting and Kurow was the nWo. But in this case?
He's pulling a Yamazaki. He's making an exception. There's too many pieces in this house of cards that are pointing back at this punk he just laid out. Rock stares at Kurow, as the guy clutches his head, and he looks like he's about to press on. Like he's about to run forward and kick the guy in the jaw, or the ribs.
He settles for just firing a spitting, squinting, stare at him and taking a step towards him. He resists that blood boil. He doesn't give in to the red monster and the fire in his chest. He settles for a promise, his voice cold and direct. "Kirishima... If you /ever/ pull that shit again, I'll make sure you're dead."
Sakura's words ping on the back of Howard's head like a pair of tossed stones. Breaking his frozen glare on Kirishima, Rock twists to look at her sidelong over a shoulder. He hesitates when he realizes the source. He thought -- well -- he wasn't sure what to think about that girl. Fingers flexing and unflexing, he breaks his gaze from her, too, and looks back at Kurow. One last temptation to kick him in the face is resisted.
"Fine," he finally says to Sakura, turning from Kurow and starting for one of the exits. "Keep running with that guy and you're gonna end up dead, Sakura. He's a bad man. Bad as Geese."
If Geese were so terrible... why would he throw her a farewell party, hmm? But no, the thought doesn't come to mind -- rather, the suggestion that Sakura's doing this for Kurow's benefit rankles her. "'Run' with him? I'm requesting that you, colloquially, 'get the hell off my lawn,' Howard. Do not mistake my words for charity. This nonsense was 97.5% irrelevant before and it's even more preposterous now."
See, Sakura's not running with Kurow. She's running with Roget's Thesaurus.
But as far as she sees it, her mission was successful as soon as Hayato lay on the ground the first time. Any further... well. Talking to her parents was most likely unnecessary. It hurt. And she'll probably need assistance afterwards. Kurow's, potentially.
But right now, she's concerned with getting Rock off her lawn. And with him walking to the exits, it seems that's been accomplished.
Kasugano waves the SNF medics over -- technically, this is none of their business, these guys weren't even combatants. They hold up their hands, to indicate that! But then Kasugano points to the cameras, =still rolling=.
Here come the stretchers.
Kasugano looks down at Kurow, her expression bland, yet her eyes still somewhat concerned. She looks down at Gan as well, and Edge. But after a moment she just shakes her head. "Meaningless."
And walks off to the medic van, tapping her foot anxiously.
If anyone asks, it's because she's waiting for aspirin and some gauze, and she's =certainly= not waiting for that Kurow guy.
Kirishima looks up toward Rock, still clutching his head; he doesn't respond to his words. He can't muster the strength to. His head is splitting, blood dribbling down it a little; he can hear Sakura's words, both to Rock and to him, but they seem so hard to make out over the ringing in his ears. That last one, however, rings clear. "... Meaningless," he nods. Gedo is beneath his notice most of the time; she's right, that is precisely what it is.
The stretchers bring Kurow to the medical van soon enough; fortunately for the medics, none of his wounds, individually, are too bad. In a situation that would no doubt give Edge cause to giggle yet again, Kurow really has received the death of a thousand cuts.
There is a lot of trouble on Rock's mind with what Sakura and Kurow have done tonight. Just Sakura's words alone have him worried. But Rock is a teenager. Worry and uncomfortable situations net irritation, sarcasm, and indifference.
"Whatever," Rock says, while marching towards the door. Reaching it, he smashes his palms against the emergency exit door. It swings all the way open and clangs against the side of the building on the outside before springing back to slam shut. In the auditorium, the echoing clang is pretty loud and obvious.
Log created on 15:31:16 06/16/2007 by Sakura, and last modified on 12:12:11 06/17/2007.