Description: Haggar, unwilling to accept his defeat by Zero, charges the radio tower again. Kurow meets him and finds that sometimes the wrestler /will not relent./ (Winner: Haggar)
It's pretty much exactly as it was before. Haggar creeps through the underbrush near the radio tower of Nong Bua Lamphu, his bandolier (shut up Takuma) minus a few bricks and knives from the general fighting he's had since Zero blew him away. His remaining pipe has also seen some use, a few dents in it, with any blood or other fluids that found their way onto it washed off.
The mayor already has a brick in his hand as he levers himself up a tree, patting the side of his pants until he comes up with a pair of binoculars that look pretty ridiculous on his large head. They were made for a far smaller Shadaloo soldier - they are basically a monocular for Haggar. He squints as though to push his eyes closer together as he surveys the area, taking note of where his foul foes lounge this night - and making especially goddamn sure he knows if a tan guy with white hair is around.
Kurow isn't tan, but he does have white hair, so at least one of these various qualifiers is fulfilled! Specifically, he's surveying the radio tower of Nong Bua Lamphu, and precisely /because/ of the fact that Haggar and Zero scuffled near here. After all, it's mostly secure now, but it could use some followup work -- just to be safe and all, right? After all, things aren't exactly perfect for Shadaloo -- every little bit counts right now, in this, their moment of triumph.
Kirishima converses with a guard briefly. It's almost impossible to hear what they're saying at the distance Haggar no doubt is at, but they appear to be gesturing toward the tower, then out, then back toward the tower again. It doesn't take long for him to convey whatever point he'd intended to, though; the guard continues on his patrol. Kurow, on the other hand, starts heading away from the tower... and, unknowingly, closer to Haggar?! Oh shit?!
Last time, Haggar lured - well, 'lured' - Zero out into the jungle. Perhaps this is where the wrestler went wrong. He works best in an open space. So, Haggar decides he's going to do this one /completely/ differently. After all, most of the Shadaloo guards around aren't very heavily armed, and Haggar knows that he is... resilient.
Shff. Shff. Haggar takes two more bricks out, holding them in his left hand, and pauses just long enough to note the locations of the three guards nearest to Kurow. Haggar's logic in going for him is simple - he is not in a uniform, and looks distinctive. In this world, important people usually look distinctive! It's perfectly logical. The big man takes one long breath to steady himself...
...and bursts out of the underbrush, flinging one brick to his left with more force than most cannons back in the day could fire cannonballs. The brick shatters on his head, and he goes down. The process repeats twice more, bricks zipping right over Kurow's shoulders to take the guard he was talking to, and another one near him. Haggar does not draw another brick, now committed to running at Kurow.
The Shadaloo soldiers react quickly, pulling up their guns and spraying fire at him - but Mike Haggar has come to a level of physicality beyond mere guns. Bullets all but bounce off of his frame, putting holes in his tanktop and tights, making tiny, barely-noticeable bruises and occasionally drawing small amounts of blood. It feels like a hundred insect bites, just without all the swelling and itching.
COMBATSYS: Haggar has started a fight here.
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Haggar 0/-------/-------|
Who would even use those as weapons?! That's Kurow's first thought when he sees some of the Shadaloo soldiers cut down not by mortar fire but brick and mortar, falling one after another as if they were nothing whatsoever. He finds out just who would use those as weapons a second later, as Haggar runs out of the brush.
It's going to be a long night.
As Haggar keeps on rushing in toward Kurow, the young man decides it might be an excellent time to use that momentum /against/ him, knowing that the first shot may be the best one he gets with someone like Haggar. You can't wear someone like that down -- you have to take a decisive first step.
And what a decisive first step it is. Kirishima leaps up toward the mountain of meat, trying to catch him by the bandolier and plant his feet into him with such force that it's likely to, if Haggar doesn't brace himself, knock him to the ground. "Well, well -- Michael Haggar!" the young man says, a smirk crossing his face. "My /sincere/ apologies -- there's no /script/ here," he taunts, before trying to launch himself back off of Haggar with another forceful kick.
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
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Haggar 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Haggar with Strong Kick.
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Haggar 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Kurow
"Hng-- Good to see even kids like you still know my name!" Haggar's hands come up to grab Kurow's ankle - but the kick was hard enough to kill his momentum. He still gets a grip, it's just not enough to swing Kurow around before he even realizes what's going on. Bullets bounce off of him up until Kurow leaps right into the fray - of course they're not going to risk hitting him, instead bending themselves toward securing the area against threats they can actually do something about.
Still, Haggar did manage to get a hold of Kurow's ankle, and his grip tightens as he tries to yank him forward. "Too bad for you I'm one hell of an improviser, punk!" His other arm comes around at Kurow's neck, like it's going to knock his skull right out.
COMBATSYS: Kurow full-parries Haggar's Quick Punch!
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Haggar 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
Kirishima looks that vicious punch straight-on, not even moving. The attack is too fast for him to truly weave out of the way of, he knows that much... ... which is precisely why he doesn't try to weave out of the way of it. Bringing a clawed hand up, he uses his chi to extend the blades farther, /slapping/ the punch away with the blunt side of the claws, and letting Haggar's momentum carry him to just the perfect distance.
"So am I," he says, before suddenly lunging forward, tucking his body into a ball and flailing those already-extended claws around all sides of him, with a series of forceful, gleaming claws of chi whirling around the rest of his body as he starts to float, legs a few feet above the ground, directly into Haggar's gut.
A few of the Shadaloo soldiers just stop completely, watching the fight between the commanded and this enormous mountain of meat. Some of them recognize this for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it is.
COMBATSYS: Haggar blocks Kurow's Yasha Guruma EX.
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Haggar 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Kurow
The moment Haggar feels his punch deflected, he's already assuming Kurow's going to follow up immediately - arms cross up in front of him, feet planting solidly. The blades dig into his forearms, lashing open skin and flinging blood around, but it's nothing Haggar hasn't felt before - just a lot faster than normal. "You don't even know the meaning of the word!"
Haggar illustrates this by moving before Kurow is completely done with his floating nonsense, a huge hand coming around to try and grab the back of the far younger fighter's head, and force him down, hard, to the ground, and repeatedly. But what's this?! Haggar has left a surprise - a pile of bricks! Go say hello to the pile of bricks, Kurow! "So who are you supposed to be anyway, kid?" The wrestler's tone is oddly conversational, as though he wasn't trying to slam Kurow into the ground in a rough approximation of...
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Kurow with Repeated Headbutts.
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Haggar 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
Kirishima has a hard time answering Haggar's question immediately. The reason for this is, of course, that he's been slammed forcefully into a pile of bricks a good ten or so times; that puts a damper on his ability to answer basic questions, what with the moderate blood loss. With a hard whip of his entire upper body and one last loud crack, he pulls himself out of Haggar's hands and rolls to the side, out of the way. "My name," he starts, knowing full well that Haggar spends most of his time on the other side of the world and his identity is already a little compromised besides, "is Kurow Kirishima."
Springing back to his feat, Kurow grabs at the mayor's arm, then -- if he gets a solid hold on it -- spins around behind the enormous fighter, keeping that arm well in hand. In a show of superhuman strength, Kurow then tries to flip Haggar /over/ his back, and slam him into the ground by that arm. "So, who sent you?" he asks, maintaining a similarly conversational tone. "Your government?"
COMBATSYS: Haggar counters Strong Throw from Kurow with Power Swing.
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Haggar 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Kurow
Haggar doesn't react fast enough to the grab, Kurow spinning around and then just /flipping him/ up and over. But... this is something that Haggar is familar with. He turns in the air as Kurow flips, and just lands hard on his feet - and now his hand is gripping Kurow's arm. "I sent me. I saw what was going on--" The mayor breaks off into a grunt as he goes into a quick spin, ripping Kurow right off his feet, whipping him in a circle above his head like a goddamn lasso. "--and I just couldn't sit around anymore!" He releases, flinging Kurow toward a group of lazy-ass spectating Shadaloo.
The Mayor, after his fling, puts his left hand on his shoulder and rolls his neck and arm. Crrr-k-k-k-k-k.
The Shadaloo guys know when to scatter and start doing things, even if it may be a little late for them /to/ start doing things; they run like hell when they see Kurow's body flying at them. He crashes into the ground, rolling with it as best he can but still quite thoroughly swung -- come on, it's /Mike Haggar/, that dude can thoroughly swing anyone.
Pulling himself up, he, likewise, rolls his neck. "So you're saying," he says, looking Haggar squarely in the eyes, "that you just decided that things were /so bad/ suddenly that they needed your attention." He doesn't buy it -- there's always some small starter force. Hotaru didn't come until Sakura was captured. He doesn't think too hard on it, though, instead locking his eyes right on those enormous muscles and suddenly /sliding/ back toward Haggar, extending those claws with his chi and trying to sink them directly into his chest, likely disrupting the flow of Haggar's own internal energies. "... Interesting."
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Haggar with Roppu Zuki.
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Haggar 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Kurow
Mike Haggar staggers back as Kurow just kinda zooms up and puts himself inside him. His chest is thick enough that he's not in any actual /danger,/ but it hurts like hell. As far as all that energy nonsense, well, Haggar doesn't notice it. "Hngh-! ...yeah, that's it. What can I say... I'm a decider."
Then, Haggar /flexes/ his chest, teeth gritting as he forces the claws out of him by sheer strength of muscle. Blood runs freely through his tanktop as he surges forward anew, doing what he was hoping to do before the claws got too deep to impede things. He slams bodily into Kurow first to jar his balance, and then tries to lock both of his arms around him.
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Kurow with Screw Piledriver.
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Haggar 1/-----==/=======|=======\====---\1 Kurow
Haggar, having secured Kurow, leaps high into the air. "Hooyeah!" He launches himself spinning at an amazing rate, twisting Kurow upside down and thrusting the far-smaller fighter down as far as he can below his body, pulling his legs up for Maximum Earth Contact. Kurow is like a tiny penny in a ball of muscular Silly Putty as Haggar crashes back to earth, releasing Kurow and leaping away.
Kirishima /tries/ to whip his body out of the way, back away from Haggar's smash-and-grab. Something stops him; specifically, the enormous, crippling damage to his back from a split second ago stops him. Something locks, and Haggar has no trouble whatsoever getting his arms around him and slamming him full-speed into the ground, and forcing him to roll back; he gets his back in order in the process, at least, but that is at best a small consolation.
He doesn't let Haggar have a lot of room to breathe, though, moving back in to strike again, inspiring the Shadaloo men to new heights of... not... quite... failing. Some of them are stupid enough, unfortunately, to go back to watching. Oh, Shadaloo -- when will you learn.
"Well, at least you have -that- to your credit..." Kirishima hisses, presumably at the man's mention of being a 'decider.' Diving in, Kurow tries to approximate a trick he learned from Rock, slamming both hands into the ground as he lands, digging them into the ground with a cry of, "SHINKUU YAMIARASHI!" What happens is, in a way, not that different from a similarly named move usually known as the Raging Storm, as whirling blades of chi form a pillar in front of Kurow -- and dangerously close to the mayor of Metro.
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Kurow's Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Kurow
Haggar reflexively pulls his arms up as Kurow flips the hell out. Chi whirls around him, slicing his skin and basically throwing a fine mist of blood out all around him. Damnit! Last time, he could pin it on fighting outside of his element... but here, after the initial dash, nothing was in his way. The power tries to throw Haggar back, but he digs his heels in and just /takes/ it, tilting his entire body back. "Hnnnnraaah!"
The huge wrestler then drives himself forward hard, fighting for every step, powering through the whirling maelstrom. He grits his teeth as more skin is sliced away from him. Another step... another... and... there! "That's not going to... finish me!" Haggar drops to a crouch, suddenly, and dives the rest of the way through the student's power, trying to bring his head perfectly in line with his chin.
COMBATSYS: Haggar has reached second wind!
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Haggar's Strong Punch.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|====---\-------\0 Kurow
Whirling and staying low, Kirishima narrowly avoids Haggar's forceful headbutt, keeping his eyes locked on the wrestler at all times. "/That/ isn't going to finish you, no -- I knew that going in," Kurow says, with a smirk. "However... you're forgetting something." Moving a few inches toward the wrestler, Kurow swings a hand upward, moving exactly the way he was trained. The Shadaloo goons begin to cheer, loudly, in the background; they've seen this before, or at least a couple have. They know what's coming.
Once again, that pillar of chi bursts into the sky directly in front of Kurow, following the ascent of his hand almost perfectly. He doesn't cry out the name of the strike this time, though, doesn't 'commit' to it the way he did the first time. It's almost an off-handed, effortless gesture. As the pillar continues to move just a few inches out toward Haggar, the boy just affirms, proudly, "That's not all I have in me, Michael Haggar!"
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Kurow's Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Kurow
Haggar hits the ground hard after Kurow dodges under his headbutt, landing in a kneel. It should be done here. Blood drips from all over Haggar's body - that'll leave a few scars for a while - and his shoulders slump. Haggar's vision splits, and starts to fade...
...and then snaps into razor-sharp clarity as a surge of adrenaline pours through Haggar's body. He hurls himself to his feet and whirls around even as Kurow slams down again. Haggar does /the exact same thing,/ wading into it like it's a heavy breeze instead of a maelstrom of power. "And if you think you've seen all I have, punk... you're goddamn wrong!" Bellowing, Mike Haggar shoves through the last of the storm, slamming his right hand out at his chest and shoving up. "HURRRAAAAGH!" He leaps up after this, far higher than he should be able to, trying to plant both hands on the back of Kurow's head. This is like the biggest bulldog in the history of fighting.
COMBATSYS: Haggar has reached third wind!
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Haggar's Strong Throw.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
Kirishima braces himself as Haggar comes in /again/, showing the tenacity of some sort of horrible, superhuman monster from hell; the shove doesn't even knock him into the air, just far back enough to let him roll the rest of the way. It doesn't even hurt that much, really -- though Kurow's /pride/ is likely knocked around just a little more than it should be.
Reaching into his pocket, Kurow pulls forth his brand new flute, lovingly carved with a solid week of work; this one is, of course, a little sturdier than the last one, and most assuredly makes a better /weapon/ than the last one. Moving around to the side of the barely-coherent Haggar, Kurow takes the small, pipe-like weapon and introduces Haggar to a technique he is no doubt extremely familiar with:
SMALL CYLINDRICAL WEAPON TO THE HEAD?! USED /AGAINST/ HAGGAR?! OH SHIT WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Kurow's Random Weapon.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Kurow
At this point, Haggar really only has the one reaction to whatever Kurow throws at him - get super-pissed and try to power through it. He's quite simply in outright denial that he's going to be thrown back from this radio tower again. Another surge of adrenaline rushes through him as Kurow brings the flute down, and Haggar just slams his head forward at it.
It's really a fine piece of worksmanship. The flute is made of a nice, solid wood, made of a single piece. The polishing is immaculate and nothing about its construction will hamper the sound. The flute is made as a master would.
The flute shatters, splinters of wood flying everywhere, more than a few of them sticking into Haggar's head and hanging out like it was a party. The mayor simply grunts at this, too beaten to speak, and keeps charging through at Kurow. He crouches down, attempts to hook the younger fighter's legs with his arms, and then stand up. The net effect is that Kurow will be flung behind him quite unceremoniously.
Afterward, the mayor wavers on his feet. Will he stay up? CAN he stay up?!
COMBATSYS: Haggar has reached fourth wind!
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Kurow with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Kurow
Kirishima doesn't even have time to react, too stunned by the loss of yet /another/ flute -- and by Haggar's ungodly stamina. Grabbed by the legs and tossed, Kurow's body is sent flying directly into a tree.
He peels off the tree like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, slowly falling forward into the dirt. He can't say anything. He is way, /way/ too unconscious. His grip on the remnants of the flute loosens, and he stays down, barely breathing.
COMBATSYS: Kurow takes no action.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
The wrestler's leg loosens, and he drops to a knee, breathing heavily. His back slumps, and now he has to have another hand on the ground. He looks about an inch away from just slumping over and /dying,/ what with the small pool of blood forming under him from just charging through two of Kurow's massive storms of chi. After a few moments, and Haggar shows no sign of moving anymore, some Shadaloo soldiers approach him cautiously, guns trained on him.
But their caution will not serve them well this day. Haggar's other fist drops heavily, punching the ground. Dirt blows away in a small wave as he just shoves himself back to his feet AGAIN, arms wide, head tilted up, to bellow a warcry of men: "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" The Shadaloo soldiers - new ones, really - spook just enough for Haggar to whirl toward him, grabbing him roughly and bodyslamming him to the ground. The other guard goes the same way, and then Haggar just sags. He can't keep pushing at this, he's too tired. Most of the soldiers are too damn scared of the big man to stop as he throws another look at them and retreats into the jungle.
Not even once does he look back at Kurow.
Log created on 21:25:07 06/20/2007 by Haggar, and last modified on 15:08:47 06/21/2007.