Description: With her newly recruited partner, Kenji, Hotaru tries to take on the mighty Hayato-sensei of Taiyo in answer to his Burning Challenge. The fight gets close, but the teacher prevails. All this means is that Hotaru will be back next week with a new partner to try again!
Ah, Friday afternoon. The weekly commencement of that time beloved of all students world-wide: The Weekend. But this isn't just any ordinary Friday. This is BURNING CHALLENGE FRIDAY! Almost immediately after school had let out, Hotaru was at Gedo high looking for Kenji Ashima. She had gotten a taxi to avoid risking the loss of precious time due to travelling via the more conventional method somewhat less beloved of all students world-wide: Walking.
Dragging the young man out to the waiting taxi if necessary, Hotaru didn't really give him much time to explain to his tough Gedo peers why he was being hauled off by the invading Seijyun student. "Come on!" she had urged, "We have a fight to get to!" She had been eager to take up the challenge the minute she heard about it after getting back from Thailand. But having already tested herself against the Taiyo instructor, she knew she would need a partner for this one. Hence lucky young Ashima's involvement in this adventure!
And now the two have been dropped off at Taiyo, the taxi fare readily covered by Hotaru without leaving room for debate on the matter. Resting one hand at her hip, her other hand points into Taiyo proper, "Yosh! Now we just need to find Hayato-sensei."
Krizalid heads out into the village.
But hey-- he walks everywhere! It keeps him in shape!
The matter just doesn't seem to be up to Kenji Ashima today, pulled almost four feet from getting into the sanctuary that was the student council office by the arm by a little girl from Seijyun High, an invasion that merits enough rumors and talk than what the Osakan brawler already gets and deserves.
He's much more relaxed than his impromptu partner for this situation, lazily climbing out of the taxi while folding his wallet back up-- Darn it, he's supposed to be paying! Or at least splitting the fare. Sticking out pretty hard for the fact he's wearing the -Gedo- uniform, he shifts the backpack over his shoulder and walks after the spirited private school princess while digging for his cellphone. "I don't imagine it'll be too hard," he remarks, flipping it open and checking his messages. Snapping it closed and tucking it back into his pocket, he grins. "How many people here carry weapons, anyway?"
... Well, considering his school of origin, that's a pretty stupid question...
Where is Hayato? Why, he's doing pull-ups. From the railing around the roof of the school. One handed. And hanging down the front of the building. "98... 99... 100!" As he grunts out the end of his count, Hayato plants his feet against the wall of the school before flipping off the side of the building. He doesn't just drop the entire distance, of course... He manages to leap away far enough to grab a nearby flagpole with one hand, spinning his way all the way back down to the ground. He lands, snatches up his shinai from its spot on the ground and immediately begins walking away without skipping a beat.
That is, until he spies the approaching non-Taiyo students. Hotaru he's met before, but not Kenji, though he does recognize the boy from his performances on SNF. He grins widely as he watches them coming nearer to the school. What possible reason could they have to be here but for his challenge? Well, plenty of other reasons. He's been frequently wrong about that, but he's just eager! "Ah, Futaba-kun! Haven't seen you in a while. And you brought a friend. Here to take up my challenge? Excellent!" And then he's silent for a moment, so the kids will actually have a chance to get a word in edgewise.
Hotaru spots Hayato in the midst of his rather impressive dismounting from the side of the school building. Grabbing Kenji by the arm with one hand, she tugs, pointing toward the PE instructor with her other hand, "There he is. See? He's not just any normal teacher, this one!"
And then it's back to dragging the poor young man along as she approaches the shinai-weilding towering teacher. When he spots them in turn, Hotaru's eyes widen as he correctly identifies the reason that she and Kenji are there... How did he KNOW!?
"Yeah!" the girl replies with vigrous enthusiasm, clenching the fist of the hand that isn't occupied in making sure that Kenji isn't slacking behind. "Hayato-sensei, this is Kenji Ashima. He's a SNF champ, so hopefully you're ready for a tough fight!" the pig-tailed warns.
The dismount-- annnnnd-- the look of slack-jaw awe! Kenji's backpack drops from his hand as Hayato snags the flagpole and swivels his way down in a most creative way, and if he had managed to get that curry bread out of his backpack and started snarfing it down in the taxi, it'd probably be on the sidewalk around now.
This guy is jacked. This guy is massive. This guy is--
"THIS is the guy?!!" he exclaims at Hotaru, clear as day caught in shock. "Y-- Wh--" Sitting somewhere between horror and awe, he's pulled along before Hayato and half-bows, still trying to rein in his emotions. "H-Hello!! Uh, ... wh--"
R-Rose colored... student... l-life...
Marise heads out into the village.
One of Hayato's large hands reaches out to firmly smack Kenji on the shoulder as he starts to stand back up. "Good of you to come! I've seen you fight on SNF. Always good to see kids getting the most out of their youth! Maybe this'll help you get fired up to defend your title this week." He grins widely, tapping his shinai against his shoulder as he turns and takes a few steps away from Hotaru and Kenji.
The teacher then suddenly spins around, leveling his shinai toward the two of them. "Are you ready? Remember, if you win then dinner is on me. So don't hold back and let's all have a good time!" He pulls his arm back, letting the shinai rest against his shoulder as he spreads his legs into a ready stance and flexes the fingers of his left hand a few times. "No sense in wasting time, right? Just come at me whenever you're ready."
COMBATSYS: Hayato has started a fight here on the right meter side.
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Hayato
"Yosha!" Hotaru exclaims, clearly fired up about this whole burning challenge thing. When Hayato backs up, the Kenpo artist breaths in, crossing her arms in front of her, before exhaling, turning such that her side faces toward him as if to offer a rather narrow target to poke that Shinai at. Not that that helps if he comes in /swinging/, of course.
Excending her arms into a ready stance, she takes on a serious expression now, ready to do her training proud, either that provided by her father years ago or by Ryo-sensei now. "Okay. We came ready!" she speaks for the both fo them, though at the moment Kenji looks suspiciously /unready/. In fact, she does glance at her side to make sure her partner in this endeavor is good to go. "Right, Kenji...?"
And then, she's off! Charging toward Hayato, attempting to weave around any counter-offense he might use against her, in an attempt to get a tight grip on his arm. If she can get that hold, she'll deliver a rapid sequence of stomps, each higher than the previous, making up for power in each hit by just making sure to hit him a /lot/, running right up the front of the tall man. If she reaches his shoulders, she'll back flip off of him into the air to come down a little ways off.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Hand slapping against his face as he rises, the young man stumbles as Hayato claps his hand against his back, his smaller-by-comparison frame sent into a momentary tailspin. But by the time Hotaru speaks to him, he's cleared himself of his trance-- and he's started taking off the ring perched on his right thumb. Fixing the collar of his jacket, he works his hand in and out of a fist and tucks the silver accessory away in his pocket and lowers his center of gravity just a little bit.
As Hotaru charges in, Kenji darts in toward the left and whips his right hand around for a hard, fast punch-- much less showy than what Futaba has to offer, but his lack of finesse is made up with in guts... and power! "HAA!"
COMBATSYS: Kenji has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Hotaru's Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Kenji's Strong Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Hayato's arm is gripped by Hotaru, although actually /moving/ the large limb may prove a bit more problematic. And when Hotaru starts running right up Hayato's body he's not able to do much, but he /is/ able to put his other arm in the way of some of the more potentially painful kicks. "That's the spirit!"
And it seems Kenji's got some spirit, too! Ashima's fist comes swinging in but Hayato is a bit too quick on the uptake for Kenji's tactic to work. "Almost, but you're gonna have to try a little bit harder!" He swings his shinai down toward Hotaru, not actually trying to hit her but instead trying to hold her off for a moment. He's got a lesson about punches to teach to Kenji. "Try this!" His left hand swings up, trying to drive a rising punch into Kenji's ribcage.
The girl comes out of her backflip with a graceful landing on two feet as Kenji's attack seems to have kept Hayato too busy to take advantage of her moment of vulnerability from having opened with such an aggressive attack. As she gets her footing, she lunges forward again, only to find his weapon blocking any easy access to striking him head on.
But that doesn't mean she's without options. She's starting to learn how to deal with fighters that come at her with strong hitting weapons. Get their weapon away from them! And with the wooden sword, it's a lot easier to get away with a more brute forced attempt without risk of cutting herself.
One hand lashes out to try and grip the weapon just above the hand that weilds it. Her other hand swings in, aiming to strike him in the elbow in order to bend his arm into a quick but effective armlock from which she can twist him down to the ground without having to pour a ton of strength into it. In a test of brute force, there's no question she would be outmatched of course. As part of the arm-twist, she'd push hard on the shinai, aiming to force it out of his hand at the same time he drops. "Ha!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Kenji with Fierce Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-======|
Air is cut as his fist speeds by, though the only thing his knuckles meet is thin air. Though surprised, there's still something the young brawler has to remember: He may be a League champion, but he's the -Junior- League Champion. It's also made abundantly clear as a meaty fist collides with his ribs! Kenji's eyes widen and his voice is caught deep in his throat, skidding back hard on his heels and dropping to one knee. "Goh--"
His hand slaps the ground to support his weight for a moment's time. Defiant in all respects, the student steps up from his momentary near-loss of all conscious self and lunges into the air with his fist drawn back. "HOW ABOUT THIS?!" And with a snap of muscles and a whole lot of crazy in his swing, his fist arcs down again for a straight shot to Hayato's head without entirely comprimising Hotaru's ability to fight with the giant of a teacher-- but this time, his fist moves a little faster, and has the potential to strike harder.
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Kenji's Missile Fist.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hayato counters Strong Throw from Hotaru with Counter Thrust.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/--=====|
Shenwoo goes OOC.
Hotaru's plan is a good one... but Hayato has a great deal of experience with avoiding being unarmed. The last opponent who successfully unarmed him actually found holding on to Hayato's shinai to be a liability, rather than an advantage. In this case, Hotaru doesn't even manage to get her hands on it. Hayato swings his arm up and out of the schoolgirl's reach, then quickly brings it back down. In this case that means bringing his fist and the hilt of his sword right onto the top of her head, possibly with enough force to send her crashing to the ground.
Hayato can't completely follow through on it, though, because he still has to deal with Kenji. The boy's punch comes flying in, and Hayato lifts up one of his thick forearms to intercept it. There's a dull thud as fist hits arm, and the blow fails to penetrate the teacher's guard. "Not bad, kids. Come on and show me everything you've got!" He lets his shinai settle back to his shoulder, grinning widely. It's not that he necessarily wants to /win/, though. He's more interested in giving Hotaru and Kenji a goal.
As his arm raises way out of her reach, Hotaru realizes that she's taken a big risk over extending herself like that. And she ends up paying for it with a sound knock to the top of her head for her trouble. The force behind that powerful arm of his is enough to drive the Seijyun girl to the ground, managing to catch a bit of the face plant by slamming her palms down fast enough, but it still clearly dazed her for a second. "Oof." /No/ student could take too many hits like that!
Rolling over to the side to get back up to her feet, she shakes her head, bringing her hands up to slap her cheeks twice as she goes back to focusing on the PE Instructor. Hopefully by now Kenji is starting to see why she considered this a serious challenge rather than just some amusing joke! This guy isn't messing around! "We will!" she promises, not about to hold back!
When she attacks again, she decides to bring the fight up more to Hayato's level by leaping into a forward flip through the air and converting her fall into a forward knee dive toward his shoulder. If she can get the leverage needed, she'll swing her other foot around, aiming to give him a sound kick to his head in exchange for the thumping he just gave hers, and then push off into another backflip through the air.
This guy isn't messing around, no... and his strength is a lot more than he had bargained for initially. A joke? No, he can't call him that anymore. But now they've got a prize to win, no matter what the cost is!
Standing back after his attack seemed to be only like the buzzing of flies, Kenji looks to Hotaru on the ground-- and then back to her feet and preparing to renew her assault. He wants it all...? "Futaba-chan, buy me a few seconds!"
His hand draws up high, then-- "Ghhh... fhhh... HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!"
His fist strikes the ground, a burst of bright light beginning at his knuckles and blazing up the length of his arm. Engulfing it to the shoulder, the core of the light-- the light sticking to his hand-drawn fist-- is as absolutely -bright- as daylight, though with a slight blue tinge. "I'll give you everything I got, don't you worry about that!!"
COMBATSYS: Kenji gathers his will.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Hotaru's Rengeki Shuu.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
Hayato's legs tense up as Hotaru flips through the air, and once he sees the angle of her descent a quick leap serves to take him back and out of her range. His feet kick up some grass as he briefly skids back before firmly planting his feet on the ground. "Good! That's exactly what I like to see!" The gym teacher draws his arms down to his sides, elbows bent as he tenses the limbs up. The grass by his feet begins to wave and then waves of fiery orange chi begin flaring out from his as his spirit ignites.
COMBATSYS: Hayato gathers his will.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
Her dive attack is avoided entirely, but Hotaru is able to correct for that on the fly, snapping her feet down quickly to land into a slide that lasts a couple of feet. She heard Kenji's call while in the middle of the air and after hearing that yell of his that she's getting used to, she knows that if she can just buy him a few seconds, the Gedo student will be in a better position to unleash something potent.
As the two other fighters put on a light show, Hotaru keeps her focus on Hayato. He's fast. Fast enough to keep pace with some of the fastest things she can dish out. Time to try for something a bit more risky. "Okay, you'll get your seconds," she states tersely for her partner before leaping at Hayato once more.
This time she jumps at him with a lower hop, spinning in the air to pick up momentum for the two rapid strikes she whirlwinds toward the teacher's chest. He'll probably remember the feint from before though, as the much stronger attack comes in the form of a powerful palm press aimed for his stomach into which the girl leans hard, giving it her all. "YA!"
Timing isn't his greatest strength, but Kenji's got more than enough sense to know when to move in and assist Hotaru-- or at least ready himself to deliver a decisive blow. Using it this early wasn't part of his plan originally, but something like this requires him to pull out all the stops and go full bore for the victory. Twisting his hand hard to the side as he charges in after Hotaru, Kenji extends his left hand with a finger pointed at Hayato's body-- though positioned to be more of a shot to the gut than the intended target, the chest. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
A light extends from Kenji's glowing fist-- one that does no damage, but lances through Hayato and trails behind the Gedo student. Centered on his fist, it becomes clear what the purpose of this thin beam is: A guide. His fist hurtles forward along that 'track' at high speed, the energy on his hand balling up at his knuckles to slam into Hayato and deliver him unto a whole lot of pain-- as well as a hard, pressing force with designs of blowing him away from the pair.
"RAIL GUN!!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Hotaru's Soushou Shin.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Kenji's Rail Gun.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Once again Hayato's arms come into play. Perhaps there's a reason he keeps them wrapped up in athletic tape. He certainly seems to put quite a bit of strain on them. The first two strikes are deflected with his forearms, but for the final palm strike Hayato makes use of his right fist. Hotaru's palm slams right into a punch from Hayato. He doesn't press it hard enough to continue forward into an attack, but it does serve to stop the blow.
That still leaves Kenji, though. Hayato's eyes widen as the beam of light pierces him... but it seems to do no damage. This manages to startle the gym teacher momentarily, but it's not enough to completely through him off his guard. He twists to the side and drives his left arm in between his torso and Kenji's fist, taking the blow squarely in his upper arm. Hayato then takes a quick hop back, shaking both of his arms out for a moment. They're getting a wee bit sore.
Hayato rolls his neck for a moment, then grins at the students. "Not sure how much longer I can keep this up, so maybe it's time to bring out the big guns. HYAH!" With that spirited cry he takes several running steps toward Hotaru, then suddenly leaps into the air. He extends his arms out in front of his head, shinai snapping out at an angle perpendicular to his body as he begins to spin rapidly. Waves of orange chi flare up around the weapon as he shoots toward the schoolgirl, turning himself into a human missile.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Hotaru with Burning Windmill.
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Hotaru 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/-------|
The sight of the incoming mass of spinning, chi flaring Taiyo instructor is something to behold. Hotaru isn't quite rooted in her spot as he barrels toward her, but the speed that she moves is nothing compared to the surprisingly fast incoming package of pain.
Struck dead on, Hotaru finds herself knocked for a loop, smacked by the whirling shinai in passing and sent tumbling head over heals over the grass until she comes to a completely uncontrolled stop, back flopping to the ground, arms sprawled out at her sides. Okay, /that/ hurt. Rolling over to her side, she presses her hand against her rib where she got whacked something fierce, wincing and gasping.
This guy is a MACHINE. It's clear to her how much he was holding back the last time she challenged him. It takes herculean effort to force herself back up to her feet in spite her instincts telling her to just stay down after something like that and spare herself any further hurt or injury. But giving up isn't keeping to the spirit of the challenge, now is it!
She remains standing, propping herself up with one hand against her knee while her other hand presses against her side, taking a moment to center herself. She probably only has one attack left in her anyway.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Hotaru 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Even without dealing the damage of the Rail Gun, the energy is still transmitted-- at least, the visual effects related to it. Grass billows, Hayato's jacket may ripple, and god save any bicycles that may be parked at a nearby rack and aren't chained down. And with shock written on his face, the young man has a whole other problem to deal with-- now Hotaru has become the target of the gym teacher's attack. Watching her sprawl around and land in an ungraceful heap, something he hasn't had time to ever witness, Kenji's jaw goes slack. "Futaba-chan!!"
Even -if- she's getting back up to her feet, Kenji decides to be the one to continue the assault and lead off-- this time sprinting in as a gutteral scream accompanies another burst of light upon his hand-- and then he jumps, reaching for the PE teacher's neck. "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--!!" The energy is transmitted through his grip and used to try to send Hayato flying -up-, but with no real plan for landing.
COMBATSYS: Kenji successfully hits Hayato with Sky High Rocket.
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Hotaru 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|
And up he goes! The blast to the throat launches Hayato up, up into the air. He's already shown today that he's not hugely bothered by heights, however. It takes a moment for Hayato's head to clear, but he manages to get a hold of himself before he starts coming back down. Hotaru's still got some fight in here, but it's Kenji who happens to be right below Hayato as he starts coming back down. That makes things easy enough.
The P.E. teacher flips around in mid-air, coming down head first toward Kenji. How is he gonna land? Hasn't thought about it. All he knows is that when combined with the energy from his own momentum, the slash with his shinai that he's aiming for Kenji is probably gonna hurt. And then Hayato crashes face first into the ground, whether or not he hits. But he's quick to pop back up, pushing off with his hands to flip back to his feet.
"Keep it up, Kenji, I'm not done yet!" Hotaru calls back at his exclaimation of concern. But she is waiting for a long moment, giving the other student plenty of time to attack Hayato and for the Taiyo instructor to actually get struck with a clean blow. "Yosh," she murmurs to herself, finally standing up straight, fists clenching with determination.
Right as Hayato gets back up after his aerial assault on her partner, Hotaru runs for another attack, hopping into the PE teacher a second time, her movements similar to those that lead to her palm press.
However, once her feet touch the ground, she continues to swing with rapid strikes, small blue flashes of chi sparking from where her fingers strike out for him. She's probing with each swing, looking for an opening in Hayato's defense with the hopes of being able to press on into a stronger attack. "Ya, ya, ya!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Kenji with Scolding Slash.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/=======|
Into the air he goes, and -- back down he's coming! Hayato's shinai rips across Kenji as the phys ed teacher descends, cracking him painfully hard and letting the whole block know that Nekketsu just -beat the hell- out of someone... albeit -again-. Kenji's hand grabs his chest as he nearly falls flat on his face alongside Hayato and stumbles a few steps off not back, but to the side! Far enough out of Hotaru's way to not be a detriment to her attack, then a lackluster attempt at stopping while his hand clamps down on the point of impact. That -hurt-.
In an almost tag-in, tag-out manner, Kenji steps back and allows for Hotaru to lead off with her attack before deciding on his next move, since charging in blindly and attacking seems to not be working that well for him. Then again, he -is- a Guardian King, so ... strategy? What?
Leading off with a few slow steps before breaking out into a full-force run, Kenji moves to get himself behind Hayato for a pincer-like attack. While Hotaru goes for chipping away at his defenses, he goes for a solid, single hit to the teacher's back in an attempt to slow him down just enough to give his partner the time she needs to rip him a whole new one.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Sou-shou Tenrenge EX.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Kenji's Quick Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 0/-------/=======|
The moment the aggressive girl believes she's found an opening, she strikes harder and faster, each individual hit not dishing out an incredible amount of pain, but all together they do add up, small flares of chi accompanying each strike. "Sou-shou..." When she can't swing any longer Hotaru lunges into Hayato with a rising shoulder slam - the force would be enough to knock most opponents clean off their feet, but not THIS man.
She can account for that though as she flips into a forward, chi-infused, knee-first dive right back into his chest as she dishes out the last of her assault, having spent all she had on that attack. "Tenrenge!"
Hayato just barely manages to ward off Hotaru's feinting strikes, but that does him little good when the real blows manage to slip through. The teacher is forced back as the chi blasting blows slam into him, followed by an explosive shoulder charge which sends him staggering, attempting to regain his balance. He's not quick enough to be ready to avoid Hotaru's final attack in the combo, however, and the knee to the chest sends him falling over onto his back. This does have one upside to it. Namely that falling flat on his back enables Hayato to avoid the punch Kenji throws at him by virtue of no longer being there. There's not much also to recommend it for, though.
But even after all that Hayato still doesn't stay down for long. He sweeps out with his right arm, attempting to clip Kenji in the legs with his shinai and knock the boy off his feet. While Kenji is falling Hayato is rising, and he attempts to hasten the Gedo student's fall with a downward arcing strike to the back.
It took everything she had to knock over the Taiyo teacher and when she finally slides to a stop some distance from him, Hotaru is panting, pushing herself back up into a standing position slowly while turning around to follow his next attack on her teammate.
She won't be able to get there in time to stop him, but she can at least hope to keep him from following up with another attack immediately after in case Kenji needs a split second! Leaning forward, Hotaru charges at the PE teacher again, leaping at him from behind while his attention is on the current Junior League SNF champ.
Reaching out for his arm, Hotaru attempts to pull it wide and press her elbow down on his forearm while lifting her feet off the ground in an attempt to deadweight him a little. It's a simple, effective focus of weight that can make even a girl as light as Hotaru seem to weigh a lot more than she looks.
COMBATSYS: Kenji blocks Hayato's Medium Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 1/-----==/=======|
He dodges-- sort of! But he can't stop to congratulate Hotaru on dropping the phys ed teacher to the ground, what with him turning around and trying to hook his legs out from under him. One of Kenji's feet snaps upwards with the sweep and drops him into a squat that's better suited to a sumo wrestler, but then the smack across the back is taken with a grunt and a sharp hiss between his teeth. PAIN.
Riding the high of the pain that rips across his back now, Kenji's counter is quite simple-- without using his brilliantly-colored energy now, too! He stops, jumps, and thrusts out both of his legs, heels together, for a powerful dropkick to the rising Hayato's chest. "THAT STUNG!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Hayato
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Kenji 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato counters Heavy Kick from Kenji with Counter Thrust.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
[ \\ <
Kenji 1/=======/=======|
Hayato's pretty strong. The weight of someone Hotaru's size isn't going to slow him down too much, or for long... But it's enough to make a difference. He's certainly not going to be able to easily leap aside from Kenjis incoming kick with a girl hanging on his arm and twisting it into a painful position. But he'll have to deal with dislodging her later. Kenji is a much more pressing concern.
One of the many things Hayato has going for him is a reach advantage over the majority of people. He's got long limbs, and his shinai extends his reach even further. So even though Kenji is flying through the air toward Hayato at high speed, the gym teacher is still able to use his free arm to swing his shinai down on top of the Gedo student, knocking him out of his kick and sending him crashing to the ground.
Well, she gave Kenji what time she could but in the end she couldn't stop him from striking out at the young man with same incredible force she got hit in the head with earlier. Wincing at the sight of the Gedo student getting thwacked hard, Hotaru releases Hayato's arm, dropping back to the ground.
"Ashima-" she calls out with concern. But she can't stop now, not when she's standing right /next/ to this incredibly powerful teacher after all. Digging deep to find more strength, she leaps up, driving a quick heel kick toward Hayato's shoulder in an attempt to hop right over him all together. "Ya!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Hotaru's Light Kick.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
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Kenji 1/=======/=======|
Hotaru manages to drive her heel into Hayato's shoulder, but the teacher is braced for the impact and ready to move with it. He winds up providing Hotaru with a platform to leap off of without taking much damage in the process. Even so, he's getting worn down. He can't keep up with these kids all day long! It looks like Kenji's had most of the fight knocked out of him, but it looks like it's going to take a bit more before Hotaru's ready to give up the ghost.
As she's landing from her hop off of Hayato's shoulder the gym teacher spins around, shinai at the ready. He aims to slap the weapon across Hotaru's back as she's coming down, something which will likely upset her landing. Although the actually fact of getting hit will probably be more unpleasant.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Strike.
[ \ < > ////////// ]
Hotaru 1/--=====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
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Kenji 1/=======/=======|
The brief moment in the air gives Hotaru enough time to see that the fight has been knocked clean out of Kenji. Gritting her teeth, she realizes that she's left on her own to finish this. But that's okay - he did his part at least, taking some of the hits that would have demolished her and getting in his licks as well.
But Hayato's speed is more than she can take. She realizes that he's stepping forward to swing for her before she even touches the ground and makes a desperate attempt to twist to the side with a swift whirl if her body, but it just isn't enough to escape the range of the mighty instructor's swings. *THWAK* comes the sharp sound of wood against student, "AH!" comes the gasp as she lands on her feet, barely able to keep standingl. Whirling around, Hotaru lunges back at Hayato with the same attack as before, digging deep into the strength she has left to try and bring him down with her. But she's already poured everything she had into her previous attacks, which means she doesn't have much left to give.
Still, that's what a Burning Challenge is all about. Fighting on in spite the pain. Gritting her teeth, her face flush with the pain she's fighting through, young Futaba tries one last attack.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
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Kenji 1/=======/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Sou-shou Tenrenge.
[ \\ < > //// ]
Kenji 1/=======/=======|=======\====---\1 Hayato
The rest of the attack comes just like before. Swing after energy-imbued swing until she lunges her shoulder, a final discharge of the rest of her reservoir of chi unleashing with a burst of explosive blue energy from the collision. But that's all the girl had. She doesn't even land well from the lunge, rather just tumbling forward, falling to the ground with one last cry of pain, landing face down in the grass.
And now is finally the time where Hayato's defenses are pretty much demolished. He's sent staggering back from Hotaru's last ditch attack, but he's still on his feet as the schoolgirl collapses to the ground. For a moment it looks like Hayato is also going to collapse, but then he leans forward, thrusting the end of his shinai into the ground and leaning on it slightly for support. "Ha... A valiant effort. With a little more training I think you two will be able to win!" He should probably go get the school nurse now, to give these two a look. He'll go in just a minute. Just needs to catch his breath...
COMBATSYS: Hayato takes no action.
[ \\ < > ///// ]
Kenji 1/=======/=======|=======\====---\1 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Hayato has left the fight here.
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Kenji 1/=======/=======|
Log created on 21:49:00 07/06/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 03:17:29 07/07/2007.