Description: Hotaru and Tenma face off against the girl's Kyokugen sensei, Ryo Sakazaki. In the end, the two kids manage to put up a strong enough fight to defeat the powerful instructor while also managing to keep the damage to the temple to a minimum! (Winners: Hotaru and Tenma)
A golden temple in a sea of green trees, tonight's SNF stage is as picturesque a place to meditate, ponder, relax, sleep, read, study, or just contemplate the nature of the universe. This cloudy afternoon, however, it will serve as a place for three combatants to show their stuff on national television.
The fight will start within the circular center. A round opening in the floor space has been cleared, making room for the fight to start. But there are several exits out to a circular walkway outside as well. As the temple is elevated, getting knocked off the walkway would result in a bit of a fall to the forest floor below. It'd take running back up a long flight of stairs to return to the fight then!
Dressed in her traditionally Chinese styled white and blue outfit, Hotaru stretches, eyes wide with anticipation. Entering a SNF with a Gedo High student she respects in order to team up against her powerful Kyokugen instructor? Matchups don't get much better than that! "So," the pig-tailed fighter asks the young swordsman that is to be her teammate, "Would you ever think about letting a girl into your gang?" The grin on her face suggests she's probably teasing. But maybe not? Besides, she knows to Tenma and the other Gedo boys he rolls with, it isn't precisely a 'gang' in the traditional sense of the word.
For Ryo Sakazaki, this setup is rather...familiar.
Let's see: two novice warriors, one a girl that is his student and another some highschool kid, both against him, on national television, surrounded in a crowd of people inside a golden (and terribly nice) temple court.
Hopefuly for the Invincible Dragon, it wont end up like that Todoh/Sumo Girl fight of a month or so back. But, it should be an perfectly interesting fight to kick out! Not to mention a golden opportunity to test out the progress of his tiny little student.
The Orange Gi clad warrior is in own side, stretching out his limbs and mostly warming up for the fight ahead. Giving off the right example: always warm up before you fight! Or at least, try to. Kinda hard when a psychopath jumps you in middle of a street.
Somewhere, without a doubt, back in his hometown, Tenma's family is watching this. His mother and father, his aunts and uncles and cousins; in Southtown, his mad old grandfather too, and they're almost surely, to the last, filled with nothing but embarassment and mortification. That the black sheep of the family, the disgrace that is Tenma Kiryuu, the supposed heir to their ancient and well respected traditions would be bringing violence to a pristine place of contemplation, a peaceful temple that represents the origin of the faith from which they, ostensibly, derive their own superhuman abilities.
And the thing is, Tenma is well aware of this fact. He even has the grace to seem a little uncomfortable. A little.
"Huh?" he wonders aloud as Hotaru speaks to him, drawing him out of his reverie, full of the image of his parents shaking their heads in disappointment. The wooden practice sword he always carries is already unsheathed, tapping lightly against his shoulder as his swordhand fidgets. "Well, the gang's Daigo's, so it'd be up t' him. As for the Guardian Kings..." trailing off, the Gedo student looks pensive. It's true, the team IS kind of a sausage festival. Still, he doesn't seem to have noticed the possibility that Hotaru might just be teasing. He IS distracted. "...I dunno, Ashima would probably just hit on ya the whole time."
"Ashima..." Hotaru muses, thinking for a moment, "Oh! Yeah, that guy. I dunno, he seemed like a perfect gentleman to me when I beat him in a spar," the girl replies, laughing lightly. "Punches like..." No metaphors come to mind as she taps her cheek, "... like something that punches really hard!" she gives up, giggling almost sheepishly.
But as the fight gets ready to start, she crosses her arms in front of her then exhales, turning her side toward her instructor and raising her arms to ready positions. "All right, well, let's show Ryo-sensei what we can do!" she chirps with confidence.
COMBATSYS: Ryo has started a fight here.
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Ryo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Ryo
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryo
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
By that time, the Kyokugen Instructor has finished warming up for the battle and was making his way toward the opposing team as well, a stern, neutral expression on his face. He stops a few paces away from Hotaru, flexing down his knees a bit and thrusting out his arms toward them. His trademark combat stance.
"OKAY KID!" He booms out loudly, his face turning on an huge grin on his face. "Let's see what you two can do! Hotaru! You do your best, you hear me?"
Of course, Tenma snorts faintly at Hotaru's assessment of his teammate... Well, if Kenji weren't good, he wouldn't have recruited the guy, right? But it seems like Ryo is ready, which means it's about time they got on with it. "Yeah, just watch the property damage, huh? This place is a cultural artifact, not a buncha boards t' break." Alas, it seems like his thoughts about his family's reaction to this fight have actually... Tempered Tenma. At least a little bit.
His left hand raises to his mouth, and he bites into the flesh of his thumb, drawing blood; Tenma then runs his bleeding digit down the blade of his wooden sword, completing the chi link between himself and the weapon. It's quickly swept through the air, bringing forth the misty red aura of blood and chi around the bokken. And then?
"Let's go, Karate Kid!" Tenma announces, proving that he's still bad when it comes to giving people their proper names, as he rushes directly at the waiting Ryo, slashing twice, wildly, with his chi-charged weapon. "YAAA-!!"
"I will!" Hotaru replies to Ryo, focusing now as she tries to put out the distractions in her mind about Tenma and his crew of tough kids. She doesn't watch him as he prepares in his own way - much like most others that face him, she doesn't much care to see him actually BLEED as a precursor to the fight itself.
But as he charges in, making the first offensive, Hotaru hangs back, letting the two males clash for a moment while she centers herself. Tenma is right, this place should be taken seriously. A place with this much history... she needs to do her best to honor the chance to fight here!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Tenma's Fierce Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
Ryo's bushy eyebrows lifts up dramaticaly as he watches the blade being drawn. "What's this!?" The Raging Tiger belows. "Red Blood Chi!? What kind of man are you, kid! Where are you from!" Thoses are not questions. They are demands.
Either way, the Kyokugen Master takes several steps back, narrowingly evading out of the furious slashes' paths, reeling back a fist as he adds in. "Because that's some really intruiging technique you've got there! Not everybody can DO that, you know! Also, 'Karate Kid'?"
He springs foward, rocketing his fist aimed for Tenma's face as he shouts. "THAT'S AN OLD ONE!"
COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Tenma with Fierce Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 0/-------/=======|
Sometimes, Tenma should really lay off the nicknames thing. It always seems to get people really pissed and then they hit him really, really hard. Case in point... Ryo's demands fall, seemingly, on deaf ears as the Gedo gang member watches the Kyokugen fighter dodge his barely-controlled strikes, and then here comes Ryo's own attack. Figuring he's rather clever, the arrogant young man actually /stands there and lets himself get punched/, figuring he can attack while Ryo recovers from the punch; nobody, no matter how good they are, presents /no openings at all/. However, he kind of, er, underestimated how hard Ryo was going to hit him. Instead, young master Kiryuu gets punched in the face really, really hard, which sends him flying back. Ow.
"Ghhk," Tenma mutters, coughing up a gob of blood onto the floor. That sucked a lot! But he's getting back to his feet, at least. "'least you can dish out the hits," Tenma allows, which is high praise indeed from the overconfident teen. "But can you take 'em?" He rushes forward, closing with Ryo again, throwing his weight forward as he slashes diagonally down with his chi-empowered bokken, and then at the bottom of the slash he twists the blade around, immediately slashing back upwards. "EAT THIS!!"
O-ouch. Hotaru cringes at the blow Ryo delivers to her teammate. Okay, that might be partially her fault. She needs to get in there and put the pressure on the Kyokugen master, herself. She knows that on on one, he way outclasses them, but maybe they can get a little synergy going and make things a bit harder for him!
Rolling her eyes, she remarks, "Please stop trying goad Master Ryo like that..." And with that, Hotaru sprints forward, running in right after Tenma makes his attack. She'll try to snag a hold of Ryo's arm and use the leverage to stomp and kick her way right up the front of him, only to backflip through the air if she manages to pull it off.
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Ryo with Ungyou.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Ryo with Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
As a result, Ryo is kind of slight overconfident in this battle right now. He has every rights to be: he IS fighting fighters that are not quite as experienced as he is. As such, Sakazaki decides to be slightly on the cocky side -- or perhaps, just giving them a chance.
First, the chi-empowered blade slashes the Raging Tiger, the first hit almost throwing him to a knee and the second flinging him upward. He don't have time to fly though, as Hotaru immediatedly grab his arm and kick the living crap out of him.
This leaves the Sakazaki on the ground, immobile for a few precious moments. Then:
His head lifts up, grinning brightly at the teenagers. "That was incredible! Keep that up, and you could beat me!" Ryo kicks back to his feets swiftly, his grin turning wolfish. "But this is far from over -- heads up! RYEEEEEEAH!" He screams, leaping HIGH up in the sky and crashes down toward Hotaru, lifting an arm to deliver a crushing overhead karate chop.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru fails to interrupt Mouko Raijin Setsu from Ryo with Tenshin Shou EX.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
Really... Tenma not goad someone, outside of a bare handful of people who've gained an exemption by some unknown means? That's not particularly likely. That'd be like, Bizarro Tenma. Nice to everybody. Actually, Bizarro Tenma would just be Hakuya. The satisfying feeling of his attacks hitting home on Ryo draws a faint nod from the Gedo swordsman, and then Hotaru does her thing... And then in comes Ryo with a big ol' airbone karate chop right at the schoolgirl. Should Tenma just be glad it's not aimed at him?
"Man," Tenma mutters, watching what is sure to be a lot of pain descend right towards his partner... Before he takes a few rushing steps forward and leaps into the air as well, right at Ryo, aiming to land on the Kyokugen fighter sword-first, to add his weight to the momentum of the weapon. "HEADS UP!!"
Landing from her backflip, Hotaru changes her stance to a more defensive, evasive style. Crouching down, she extends her arms out at her sides as if for balance. She's watching every move Ryo makes. And when he takes to the air, she remembers having to deal with a similar attack from him when they spared so many weeks ago.
She also remembers just how /hard/ that hurt last time too. Which makes her a bit nervous to carry through with what she feels she must do. "Tenshin-..." Squinting her eyes, Hotaru unsprings, lunching into Ryo's chop with great force. But his downward momentum powers on through the small girl's attack and she finds herself smashed back down to the ground by the flying karate chop. "Sh- ow!" *crash* It takes her a bit to peel herself off the floor. She shouldn't have hesitated, she chides herself. A split second sooner and maybe she coulda pulled it off.
COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Tenma's Deep Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
As soon he lands, Ryo frowns faintly as he watch Hotaru crumble down from his blow. "That was better than last time, but remember -- do not hesitate, Hotaru! Go forth! Strike with all your hear--"
Having nearly forgotten Tenma, Sakazaki interrupts himself to look over the strange swordman coming down crashing at him. He reacts swiftly, leaping backward and narrowingly evading the rather painful-looking strike. THAT one would have stung if it landed.
"Hrrrrrmph! You still have not answered my question, Tenma!" The Raging Tiger shouts, spreading out his arms. "What kind of sword technique do you use!? HRAAAAAAH!"
Ryo execute a fairly complexe arm spinning movement in front of himself, resulting in what can only be called a /BOOM/ of energy, a wellspring of golden chi erupting from under the young man's form and surrounding him completly.
COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
Instead of his planned attack though, Tenma ends up landing in a low crouch, the tip of his bokken resting against the floor underfoot. "Family secret," he says mildly, glancing back over his shoulder at Ryo. Is he telling the truth? Maybe! "'s been passed down from my ancestors for centuries. 'course, I've made my own additions here'n there." As far as he was concerned, the traditional family style was too staid and stagnant... It needed some innovation! But only time will tell if his opinion will be vindicated.
Rising to his feet in a quick twist, Tenma sweeps his bokken through the air, seemingly harmlessly; but from the arc of red energy that follows the wake of the swipe, a crescent of mingled blood and chi launches forth, roiling and macabre as it tears through the air towards Ryo.
Back on her feet again, Hotaru's blue eyes lock on Ryo. She may feel a bit disappointed in not being able to connect with the attack, but at the same time she knows that the young man she just attempted it against is one of the best fighters she ever has the chance to compete against. "Nn," she nods at his mid-fight instruction. So he saw the hesitation too. Next time, she must be more certain of herself.
Finally feeling ready to get back into things after the very jarring blow she had taken, Hotaru rolls her arm to her side, her forearm bathed in a glowing, blue aura as she digs deep to create a small sphere of shimmering force. It takes a second to build up, but when she finally swings her arm forward to fling it from her fingertips, the sapphire blue projectile moves with respectable speed. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Ryo blocks Tenma's Dharmapala.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Ryo
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Tenma 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Ryo endures Hotaru's Hakki Shou!!
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-------/=======|
"Ahhhh! A family style!" Ryo lets out, appreciatively, bobbing his head up and down as his chi aura seems to dissipate. Look at that! The sheer strength of the spiritual spring caused some cracks under the Kyokugen Master! Poor floor! "The Kiryuu style! Now I'll have to remember that for later!" For what purpose? Always good to be well informed of others styles, of course!
Now, however, is not the time to be a scholar about martial arts. Both projectiles seems to crash straight into Ryo, who have not even tried to dodge either one of them. First, the blood-red wave is dissipated by the blond man's forarms and Hotaru's blue projectile is taken dead on! Worse, the chi just seems to wash over the older man, as if he was.../absorbing/ some of it. Freaky!
"Hrrrrmph. Fireballs, now, hmmm? Well, have a load of THIS! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOH!" The Raging Tiger booms out, crossing his arms with his entire body crackling with bright blue energies. "SHO KO KEN!"
Hotaru should know that one. Tenma, less so. Oh well. Tenma, meet the Haoh Sho Ko Ken: a bright blue fireball/wave of chi easily as tall as a fully grown man.
It's eager to meet you.
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Ryo's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Ryo
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Tenma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has saved the state of this fight.
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Yes, that poor floor. It must be a Sakazaki family trait, the little regard they show for buildings around them... Must be the real reason their dojo is so ramshackle. However, it's still impressive the way Ryo deals with the incoming attacks, and then he... Launches one of his own. A massive blast of chi, rocketing right towards Tenma. He can feel it, he can almost TASTE it, the short hairs on the back of his neck standing right on end. That is a lot of chi. So, naturally, the Gedo swordsman does what any sensible person would do under such a circumstance.
He runs right into it.
Through the blast, in fact, erupting through the Haoh Sho Ko Ken knocked off balance and rather severely harmed by the overwhelming force of the more experienced fighter's chi, stumbling but nevertheless still continuing forward, wisps of chi clinging to his body as he keeps running, careening out of control, towards Ryo. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!" Tenma bellows as he rushes forward, his sword arm swinging all the way back, while his free hand is pushed forwards, palm out, fingers contorted slightly to help his focus. And focus he does, bringing all his bloody chi to bear on his bokken, the crimson glow obscuring the wooden blade entirely as he gets closer to Ryo. Finally skidding to a halt when he gets within striking distance, Tenma twists around, swinging his bokken in a wild, massive slash at Ryo's side... And if it hits, beyond just the obvious effects, Tenma's strange chi will pass through the Kyokugen fighter, disrupting the flow of energy through his body on a grand scale, robbing vitality and leaving behind a numbing chill of weakness...!
Lesson to be learned: you don't play fireball wars with Ryo. The Haohshokoken is kind of a trump card when it comes to those. Hotaru lucks out in not being the target of the massive wall of explosive chi that her teammate decides to up and charge right into.
Cringing, the girl almost covers her face for a moment, expecting to lower her hands and find that the swordsman has been smashed right throguh the wall and perhaps right off the temple all together.
Thus it is that she's nothing short of amazed when she hears him continuing his determined charge for the Kyokugen master. She's seen his style in action before. And she's seen that attack. That might just end up doing quite a number on her instructor if it connects. But that doesn't mean she can let up!
Running forward, Hotaru jumps at Ryo with a low, mostly horizontal jump kick, her foot snapping out straight in front of her. "Ha!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Ryo with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Ryo fails to interrupt The Sealing Sword from Tenma with Jab Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
The funny thing is that Ryo is actualy pretty mediocre at fireball wars. Sure, he can throw GIGANTIC WAVES OF DEATH at his enemies, but in normal, everyday fireball wars? He's kind of suck at them.
Also, to be honest, the Raging Tiger kind of expected for the Haohshokoken to finish that wierd swordman, but to his surprise, the crazy kid is rushing THROUGH his blast and charges in! Hotaru's kick is critical: it distracted Sakazaki long enough to be impaled and slashed by the wierd-chi empowered slash. It completly ruined his attempt to simply PUNCH Tenma in the face, to stop him straight in his tracks. "GRAAAAAAH!"
Ryo stumbles back, holding his wound, gritting his teeth for a few seconds and look up at the younger fighters.
Is that a tear coming out of his eye? A tear of /pride/. They're growing so FAST!
What's so crazy about that? Yeah, sure, it kinda hurt a lot - like getting hit by a big truck, full of smaller trucks - but it seemed like a perfectly sensible tactic to Tenma. "Hah... Hah..." the sword-wielding teen breathes out, raggedly, after hitting Ryo with his most powerful attack... And seeing the Kyokugen fighter /still standing/. That doesn't happen a lot, you know? But then, he doesn't fight people this far above his level that often.
"Damn... Pretty tough," he allows, weighing his next action for a moment. The aura around his bokken dies down to normal, so much energy expended in that last attack, before Tenma swings it back up to a ready position, and he lunges forward, fully extending his weapon at Ryo, trying to catch the Kyokugen fighter right in the sternum with the tip of it.
Landing in a bit of a quick run after her successful flying kick, Hotaru whirls around on her toes, feet sliding a yard or so along the wooden floor before she comes to a stop just in time to see Ryo recoiling from the powerful attack from Tenma. Ow. She knows how that one feels from unfortunate first hand experience.
She needs to do her best to keep the pressure on though, since she knows that while she was unable to fight after Tenma struck her with the debilitating attack, the same won't be true of the Kyokugen master. Sprinting back in, continuing her somewhat hit-and-run style of fighting, Ryo's student attempts to snag a tight hold of his arm as she runs by him. If she can cinch a grip, she'll twist his arm up and around behind him while kicking his feet out from under him to try and send him forward.
It's a simple move, taking advantage of the limits one's limbs can extend, but the Kenpo artist performs it with all the precision that a veteran of Kung Fu would be proud to demonstrate.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Ryo with Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Ryo with Weapon Jab.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
Of course he's pretty tough! He's Ryo fuggin' Sakazaki! He's not going to fall down from a simple breeze, you know! The Raging Tiger roars out -- LITTERALY -- as the jab of the bokken strikes true and he is immediatedly fired foward by Hotaru's quick little throw.
The orange gi wearing Kyokugen master is now on the ground, face first, and incredibly immobile. His body does not even move up and down from what breathing would easily cause. His limbs aren't even twitching. Nothing at all.
For a good minute.
Until;
"OOGA OOGA OOGA BOOGA!" Sakazaki shouts up suddenly, kicking back to his feets and flinging off YET another GIGANTIC FIREBALL headed straight for Hotaru this time!
That's... Kind of a weird thing to shout. For a minute there, Tenma was wondering if, somehow, they'd won already - 'already' being a relative term, since he looks like he's gone twelve rounds with a really angry gorilla after just two attacks from the Kyokugen master - but then Ryo is suddenly up on his feet and chi blasting poor Hotaru. And really, he knows that hurts. He was on the receiving end of it.
Swinging his bokken back again, Tenma puts his other hand on the hilt to brace his grip, and then he rushes right at Ryo again, apparently content to keep going toe to toe with a guy who's proven able to do some serious damage to him; getting closer, he throws his full weight behind another wide slash, this one with both arms, aimed right at the side of Ryo's neck... If it were a real sword, somebody might get decapitated! "HAAA-!!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru stops Haoh Sho Ko Ken from Ryo with Kobi Kyaku.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
What the... he's going to be able to throw ANOTHER one of those? The incredible amount of power manifest in the human-sized wall of chi that she just saw him hit Tenma with is more than the girl thinks she could ever create with her own strength. But Ryo is able to do not just one, but another one again in such short order?
It's a demonstration of Ryo's power and a chance for his student to show what she can do with chi in return. Showing no signs of trying to avoid the attack, Hotaru kicks out in a reverse roundhouse, her leg moving from low to high as she turns around. It's a blue swath of chi trailing behind her foot that is to be her desperate defense against the incoming Haoshokoken.
The chi itself would be blasted through like it was nothing if it were not for the change that occurs suddenly. In an instant, the swath of chi shimmers, solidifying as if made of blue, shimmering steel. "KYYAAA!" And in that instant, the incoming chi blast that would've floored the girl splashes against the barrier she raised.
Bringing her foot down, Hotaru cringes as the two powerful sources of energy collide, not quite certain that her own defense will be enough. But in the end, the two cancel each other out and the air is filled with scattered, crackling risidual chi for several seconds before it too dissipates. Hotaru relaxes a little, looking quite relieved.
COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Tenma's Heavy Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|
So many things at once happens at the same time, that I feel the need to go over them in close detail:
First of all, Tenma closes up on him while he's still recovering from firing off a second Haohshokoken in such of a short order. The Master briefly give him a glance, eyes bursting wide, eyebrows raising sky high! Reacting quickly, he drops to the ground, arching his back to barely evade the would-beheading attack. Then, taking advantage of his position, he kicks back up, way up, throwing an flying uppercut at Tenma's chin. "KOHOU!"
But all this made him forget to watch the result of his own Haoh Sho Ko Ken! In mid-air, hit or miss, Ryo stares in disbelief as Hotaru manages to dispell his gigantic fireball. It was a close one -- a very close one -- but she managed to do it
This girl sure is getting better. That was amazing!
COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Ryo's Kohou!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Ryo
[ \\\\ <
Tenma 1/------=/=======|
That is a lot of uppercut. Tenma's bokken whips through empty air, and the swordsman lets his weapon reach the natural end of its swipe before he does anything else, starting to pull it in even as Ryo is leaping up with a devastating rising punch, and really... There's no time!!! ...So rather than even try to avoid it, the Gedo gang member just grins from ear to ear, and lets himself get blasted up into the air, up off his feet, and flies back like a ragdoll...
But he twists in the air, landing on his feet, skidding to a halt. Tenma's eyes are dull and unfocused, that punch having dealt him the head injury that's bound to knock him out in a moment or two, but he's got just enough to force himself into one last attack. UNFORTUNATELY, he's actually forgotten where he is, and thus is about to do... Exactly what he was trying to keep Ryo from doing, as he raises his bokken in the air, point down, and drives it into the floor underfoot.
Back in Japan, his father and mother facepalm in unison.
For a long moment, nothing happens, Tenma crouched there braced on his bokken, driven into the floor... Until cracks begin to spiderweb out around the blade, widening as gouts of what appears to be blood start rising out of the crevices. The blood and chi mingle together, racing forward from those cracks as a series of linear waves of crimson, each one serpentine, like a dragon, the whole lot of them converging on Ryo!
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Ryo
It takes Hotaru a moment to recover from her defensive reaction. It was a close call, but effective enough to do what it needed to. The effort it took was intense though and she finds herself starting to feel a bit winded. Which is why when Tenma goes in again, the girl hangs back. Her vantage point lets her watch Ryo's famous uppercut strike the young man soundly and the pig-tailed fighter winces, certain that's the last hit Tenma can take.
When the swordsman lands, however, the girl looks duly impressed. And when he launches out his attack, she smiles faintly, remembering it from when she was on the receiving end a long while back. She waits to see the course the unsettling bloody-chi travels before she runs in toward Ryo and attempts to deliver a simple sliding kick to knock his feet out from under him. Timed right, it might make dealing with Tenma's incoming attack difficult to pull off even.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Ryo with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Ryo
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Ryo with Hell of Blood.
Glancing Blow
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Ryo
Theses are, too, the last few hits that Ryo can take right now, despite his best efforts of surviving them. Definetively, either Sakazaki is going easy on them, or he is really in a bad shape today. Whatever the reason is, the creepy bloody-chi courses through the Raging Tiger, only to be snapped out of this painful predicament by Hotaru's sliding kick, sending him on the floor.
"Grrrnngg..." He grunts out, pooling himself back to his feets, staggering there as he looks around. Tenma is down, good, that much is good. Hotaru, however...still seems to be up. He remains silent, staring quietly at his student before he declares:
"Hotaru...you have done well earlier. That was an impressive display! You have grown much since you have first arrived at the dojo. But you still have a long road ahead. Also, stay sharp! KO'OU KEN!"
Look, Hotaru! Another Ko'ou Ken heading your way!
COMBATSYS: Ryo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Kuuchuu Ko'ou Ken from Ryo with Kobi Kyaku.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|
As Ryo gets back up to his feet, Hotaru slips back into a ready stance, arms raised, side facing toward the young man. His student may look a little worn out, but she's weathered this fight without getting hit beyond the crushing karate chop from before, so at this point it's pure effort that leaves her seeming a bit winded.
When he addresses her, the girl's face lights up, his every word sinking in as if they were the most important things she had heard all night. She nods about the long road ahead. It will be tough, but she's determined. Even in the month and a half of Kyokugen training she's received, she's seen how it has made her better and there are not a lot of things that matter more to young Futaba than improving and refining her abilities. Now days she fights not only to honor her father and hopefully impress her brother, but also to honor the lessons Ryo Sakazaki has provided her. For his student, her victories are partially his victories, even if they come about as a result of his defeat in a SNF team fight. "I will- oh!"
When the Ko'ou Ken comes at her, Hotaru braces before reacting the same way she did with the Haoshokoken. "KYA!" The wall of chi that just barely held up under the massive chi wall from before handles this smaller fireball readily, causing it to bounce off and go flying back. That Ryo might not actually be ready for it hadn't occured to the girl, since she wasn't sure if he was done fighting yet! Oops.
Leaning forward, now having pushed herself very hard, Hotaru props herself up with her hands on her knees, glancing over to see how Tenma is faring after the abusive attacks he got struck by this fight. "Hey, nice work. Even if your style is still pretty freaky... Maybe think about what I asked though?" she inquires, a slightly hopeful expression on her face before she turns to deal with the officials entering the temple room to wrap up the fight, declaring Hotaru and Tenma the victors of this event. At least the damage to the building didn't end up being /too/ severe, the girl muses, rolling her eyes to glance at the roof as she rests her hands behind her head.
Think of it this way: you two were used as meatshields to prevent horrible damage against this monument.
As for Ryo, no, he probably was not ready for a fireball being reflected back at him. BANG! Hits him dead on.
Flump.
Log created on 03:37:30 06/19/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 15:18:39 06/21/2007.