Description: Wherein Sakura is an adorable schoolgirl, Haggar mostly frowns and feels bad about himself, and chins get the holy hell punched out of them. (Winner: Haggar)
Metro City has seen better days.
It's seen worse days, too, but that's not the point.
Gangs are slowly beginning to creep back in around the edges, more than just Mad Gear. Southtown Syndicate. Mephistopheles. Some too small to name. Crime is finally beginning to seep back into the jewel of the US in earnest, and the one man everyone expects to stop it is sunk into a deep depression, convinced of his own essential weakness and inability to do anything significant anymore. In short, Haggar is in a mid-life crisis.
So the form pacing in front of the City Hall is not that which most people immediately associate with Mayor Mike Haggar. His hair isn't precisely groomed, his clothes are a bit wrinkled, and he's grown a full beard which really looks a bit ridiculous he should just stick to a mustache. Instead of the usual confident face of stone, he glowers out at the world through bleary, shadowed eyes, lips heavy with a frown.
In contrast, Sakura Kasugano is energetic, bright-eyed and genuinely looks forward to each and every new day. She had been in a depression of her own some months prior -- struggling to find purpose in a world focused entirely upon exams and cramming as much meaningless knowledge into her skull as humanly possible -- only for it to be largely forgotten after graduation. Her time with Shadaloo was filled with atrocities, many of which she's only started to repay back to society... and yet, she gained one thing from it all. Purpose.
She had purpose a few years ago, helping the Mayor fight to rescue Metro City. She didn't even know what she was doing, but she was helping people, she could see that, and she loved it. She knew Haggar was the same, albeit =much= more experienced in these matters: a kindred spirit.
To see him like this is akin to driving a knife into her heart. "... Ugh..." gasps Kasugano, a hand going over her mouth as she emerges from a nearby bakery, first catching sight of the man. "What's wrong with him..." she mumbles to herself, snarfing down a bite of omelette bread.
She manages to gulp down both her emotions and the omelette bread by the time she gets to City Hall, though. Forging a bright smile, she calls out, "Hey, Mr. Mayor Haggar!" Yes, she knows she can pick one of those two honorifics to call him by -- that's not the point. In some twisted sort of way the girl's actually trying to cheer him up. "I heard there's s'posed to be an =awesome= fight comin' up here, you know anythin' about that?"
Considering Kasugano's tightening up her gloves, and there's a couple camera crews positioned on opposite sides of the city hall steps, well... maybe she's on to something?
The humor doesn't even make a dent in Haggar's glower. He turns to regard Sakura, his opponent, and has no interest in exchanging some lighthearted pre-fight banter. Inwardly, he would've rather not been put against Sakura - he entered SNF to get someone to pound into a mulch, to let some of the anger at himself out, and it's regrettable that the organizers have unwittingly offered up the young girl to the slaughter.
But those flashes of conscience are just that - tiny flickers of a candle in Mike Haggar's darkness. He turns to face Sakura, putting one hand on his shoulder and rolling his neck with a series of pops. Then... it's on.
Wordlessly, Haggar comes down, taking five steps at a time. The announcer rushes to finish the pre-fight announcements before the fight actually begins, and as a result, his shout of 'FIGHT!' is punctuated immediately by Haggar's booted feet flying right for what amounts to Sakura's upper body - he launched himself down the last flight of stairs, legs locking together like a sledgehammer and driving downward.
COMBATSYS: Haggar has started a fight here.
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Haggar 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Haggar
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Drop Kick from Haggar with Quick Throw.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Haggar
Hey, Sakura can take a beating! She wouldn't be up here in Saturday Night Fight if she couldn't, after all. ... Nor would she be quite so brash in challenging the mayoral mauler. She's fought Haggar before, after all: she knows most of what she's up against.
Or at least, she knows more about his -usual- mental state. This guy, wow. She'd just gotten to the front steps when the word 'Fight!' was announced, and... well, the thought of a flying dropkick isn't really one she was quite ready for! She swerves to the side, hoping to grab onto those flying feet and give him some of his own patented Giant Swing medicine, but to no avail -- she gets clocked in the shoulder, and sent skidding to the concrete about about twelve feet back. Ouch! If she were wearing her Taiyo outfit instead of this long-sleeved gi, there'd be a bit more road rash, but... well, even still, it looks like it hurt!
And yet, Kasugano springs back to her feet with a smile. "Heh, not much for one-liners, eh? C'mon, lighten up a bit, Mayor, it's all good..."
Haggar drops down onto his hand, swinging back to his feet instead of bouncing off of Sakura - not quite enough mass on her for him to do that. He can tell that Sakura left herself too open for a counter-attack, so he goes flying right back in, reaching for her arm to tug her off balance enough to drive an elbow into the side of her head.
It should be clear by now that Haggar isn't really /seeing/ Sakura. He hardly looks at her more than he has to, and his expression still hasn't changed from that bleary frown. Even his outfit is darker than usual - black tanktop, dark brown pants tucked into black, laced-up boots, and the addition of some fingerless leather gloves. The leather strap is still there, of course.
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Sakura with Strong Punch.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Haggar
... Yeah, maybe if Haggar saw Sakura as the 5'3" Japanese girl she really is, she might catch a break! As it is, well, she just catches an elbow to the ear, which would stand to hurt enough on its =own=, but wow, are they at a streetlamp already? *CLANG* Sakura's head resounds upon the metal streetlamp pole, the loud metallic sound rivalled only by the church down the street. The audience gathered here for this momentous occasion gasps in fear! Haggar's tearing this girl apart!
Well... Kasugano's been hurt faster. No, really, she has. Not =often=, but the sensation of having absolutely no control over her wits is... well, familiar! Falling to the ground, she's able to catch herself on one hand, blood dripping down her forehead as she looks up to her opponent. Yeeeeah that kinda hurt. But if Haggar's not seeing her, Kasugano has one very simple way to make sure he =does=.
Pushing back to her feet, she wobbles unsteadily... but still manages to curl her hands around one another. A brilliant blue orb of energy curls in her hands as she narrows her eyes, trying to figure out which of the multiple images of the Metro City mayor is actually him. After a moment, the blue turns a blazing orange, flickering in tune with the intensity of Sakura's eyes. And once she focuses... she hurls her hands forward, hoping to knock his sanity meter back to the green side with a hunka hunka burning fireball. "Shakunetsu... HADOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
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Sakura 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Haggar
Unfortunately, beating sense into Haggar is going to take a hell of a lot of effort. The man is far-gone, what can I say?!? As Sakura started to gather all that energy, Haggar reflexively jumped back, setting his feet wide apart and just waiting for the inevitable fireball. And then... there it is!
Bootlaces flapping (as much as bootlaces can flap) in the wind generated by the oncoming wave of chi, the mayor just strides right for it. "HOOYEAAH!" His feet come together, his hands lash out, and he just blasts on through it, spinning at incredible speeds like some kind of meat tornado, blowing the chi blast apart with sheer power, flames clinging to most of his body. With another few spins, they blow off from him, and he continues his spin right on across the sidewalk toward the young fighter. His feet are pumping so rapidly, the pavement cracks in his wake. Incoming!
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Sakura with Spinning Clothesline.
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Sakura 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Haggar
Kasugano hadn't come alone -- a handful of her classmates from Taiyo had come to watch. And they're seeing the Ansatsuken Angel get =mauled= here by the one and only Mike Haggar. Kasugano was so excited to see the mayor -- all this time, she'd never once got to just =talk= to the man, or tell him how much she looked up to the guy: not only a mayor, but a professional wrestler and a hero to boot. Instead, she gets to share scintillating dialogue consisting of grunts, grumbles, and howls of pain as the man spins his fists into her skull, rocking her backwards with the successive blows. Perhaps it would've been easy for her to scramble out of the way if she hadn't been absolutely =ravaged=, but hey.
All she can think of as she collapses to her knees is: well, if Haggar liked that last fireball, he'll =love= this! One eye squinting shut from the pain, her hands extend up at the man. "C'mon... mayor... SNAP OUT OF IT!" Her hands surge with power, her innate blue chi flaring into a furious sphere... and then she thrusts her hands forward with a shout. "Shinkuuu HAAAAADOOOOUKEN!"
Perhaps it's a bit lame, she considers, to be throwing two in a row, but Sakura's got a lot of ground to make up here!
COMBATSYS: Haggar blocks Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Haggar
Perhaps in more whimsical times, the Mayor would have gone into a comical panic and attempted to reflexively dive out of the way of the incoming Giant Wave of Chi, like he usually does when these things come at him. Instead, he merely slams both feet down, anchoring himself in shattered pavement, and crosses up his arms.
And it sucks. The huge blast skids him back, cutting twin trenches in the sidewalk, until eventually it's all spent out. Smoke rises from Haggar's forearms, and the pain loosens Haggar's self-rage just a bit. His arms droop, and he breathes heavily. Instead of ripping his feet up out of the ground and moving back in toward Sakura, he just stands there, letting his thoughts catch up. It's not like in Thailand with the Ikaris... Haggar has been aware of everything up to this point, he just hasn't let himself think about it.
COMBATSYS: Haggar takes no action.
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Sakura 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Haggar
Sakura doesn't really... know what to make of that. Sure, she's glad her super-awesome fireball was able to make its mark on Haggar, and she's very glad it seems to have knocked the man out of his berserker raaaaaage. So that's good, she considers, wishing her head would stop pounding with the pressure of MASSIVE HEAD WOUNDS. Rising to her feet, she rubs the side of her head sorely, her smile mostly gone, replaced with grit teeth of determination.
Any sane person would just give up at this point. Keep going, or risk permanent injury? Well... as much as her teacher might prefer she keep her distance for a moment and collect her wits, she's determined to at least make Haggar =pay attention= to her.
Which would be why she plunges herself headlong at Haggar, hoping to catch him in his moment of thought with a leaping uppercut to his bearded jaw! "SHOOOOU'OOOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Haggar counters Shou'ou Ken from Sakura with Power Swing.
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Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Haggar
Only decades of experience keep Sakura from truly catching Haggar off-guard - even if he's dragging himself up, he's still in a fight, and will comport himself as such. There's just enough time before the fist drives at his chin for Haggar to react, his great gloved hand suddenly lashing out to grip Sakura's little schoolgirl wrist with a flare of blue.
The Mayor plucks Sakura into the air as though she were a child's toy, stepping forward and making one complete turn, whipping her over his head and tossing her away - but not toward anything cruel like a streetlamp, but rather, one of the thick stands of bushes lining the streets to City Hall, so the landing will PROBABLY not break anything. He takes a deep breath after the throw, and reaches up to dash sweat from his face. The sounds of the crowd only now actually crash in over him.
Sakura had been working on her attitude towards defeats of this magnitude. Really, she was doing marvelously! ... But every so often, a day will come along where she finds herself in a situation like the one which has just unfolded. It's tough to deal with.
( But =you're= tougher! ) Sakura reminds herself as she's flying through the air, just before she gets snared up in the bushes, limbs flying every which way. She really did pick the =worst= time to bring friends to Metro City, didn't she?
And how does she deal with this? By =laughing=. Springing out of those bushes, she's already... pretty close to just =falling over= as it is. She's gone beyond feeling pain, though: it's just some vague sensation now, drowned out by adrenaline. Flight isn't an option, on the world's stage that is a Saturday Night Fight. Fighting is the only way out.
Which would be why Kasugano grabs the metal trash can nearest to her, and rips it from the ground. "Hahaha... guess it comes down to this, huh?" And with that, she charges at Haggar, hoping to bash him across the head with one wide swipe, caring not that she could be about to keel over afterward. Good ol' Haggar would appreciate that sort of tenacity, right? "NGGYAAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Haggar
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Sakura's Random Weapon.
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Haggar
Haggar seems to wind himself up as Sakura comes at him with the garbage can. His arms come back, his knees bend, and his neck tilts. Then it all snaps out as the can comes whipping at him, his skull just battering right into the thing, almost /shearing it in half/ and tearing what's left out of her hands, and presumably taking her right off balance. The simple fact of the matter is that Haggar is starting to really pick himself up, and nothing hurries that up like a little blunt force trauma.
Shrapnel from the can slices Haggar's scalp, sending trails of blood down his face, waking him up just that much more. As odd as it might be, the schoolgirl reminds Haggar of himself - maybe not when he was that age and focused on other, more selfish ambitions - but definitely himself of a few decades past, entering the world of wrestling with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Her just being there is helping to drag Haggar up. His eyes are a little brighter, the frown turning into his more commonly seen stern line. While Sakura's off-balance from the trash can, Haggar knits his hands and makes one quick spin, trying to drive both meaty forearms into Sakura's torso like a baseball bat. He stumbles a few steps to the side after, a ringing in his left ear. It's never a good idea to headbutt a trash can.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Haggar's Double Lariat.
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Haggar
Perhaps Sakura noticed a difference in his expression just then. Maybe, just a bit? ... Or maybe she's so hopped up with adrenaline she's HALLUCINATING. ... Well, whatever the reason, it seems Sakura's starting to hit her stride. ... About time. Maybe the blood dripping down her forehead has awakened her secret fangirl powers or something!
Regardless, she was only hoping to land the initial impact of her trash can -- whatever Haggar does with it is his own prerogative. And now that Sakura's unlocked the Dodge ability, she's able to leap out of the way of those meaty forearms, half-skipping out of the way. "Oh, hey, welcome back, Mayor. Glad you could join us!"
With Haggar swinging high... well, she figures the best thing to do is strike low. "But, it's so close to the end, though! Here I come!" Dropping low to the ground, the adrenaline-fueled warrior swings her leg into Haggar's shin, lit by a blue glow of her own. Her goal here is to =keep= swinging that foot around for a series of four leg sweeps, before rising to deliver one =hellacious= barefooted boot to the torso. Can she make Ryu proud of her? "HA! HA! HA! HA! HAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Haggar blocks Sakura's Haru Ichiban.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Haggar
But now, as the pendulum starts to swing against Haggar... well... it all starts to crumble back down. Look at yourself, Mike. You're being beaten by a kid. You were fighting when she was /born,/ and in a few years, she's going to be better than you'll ever be. You're done. You're washed up. You've hit your peak, and if you can't improve yourself... well, what's the point? Might as well retire, get a dog, and fix boats.
His arms swing wide, nearly over-balancing, but he manages to pull his arms back away and cross up, dropping to a knee to soak up those kicks, each one driving him another foot back. His heart is fast draining out of the fight, that darkness he was just starting to shake pressing back in. He almost half-heartedly steps forward to catch that last kick in his hands, trying to just twist Sakura off-balance to plant her down on the steps.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Haggar's Quick Throw.
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Sakura 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Haggar
But Sakura's not just =any= girl, she's... she's a supergirl! Yeah! ... Okay, really now, Kasugano is pretty excited about this fight now, and with Haggar starting to droop back into his own malaise...
"Ugh, c'mon, now!" She can tell that catch was the bare minimum needed to knock her foot away, and the follow-up... well! She just plucks her foot out of the way.
"Hey, Mikey, I dunno about you, but I came here for a =fight!=" ... And Sakura already =got= one, sure, but common sense has already been knocked to the curb! Which is why she has no qualms about stepping in close, capitalizing on the close quarters as she slams in a right jab to the abs! She follows that with a harder left to the sternum, and if she should be so lucky, she'd follow through with a solid uppercut to the jaw! Wham, bam, bam! "Haa! Yaa! HRAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Haggar with Fierce Punch.
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Sakura 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Haggar
"Yeah? Well..." Finally, words from the Mayor! They are however cut off by Sakura's punches, which drive him up a few steps. The uppercut staggers him back even further, and he drops to a knee, chest heaving. He spits out blood and a tooth chip, and wipes his gloved hand across his mouth. "...I don't really know what I came here for." Even if he takes this one home, it'll be a near-miss, and even though it's ridiculous in today's world to worry about getting owned by a young fighter, Haggar's state of mind just wasn't ready for it. Kurow gave him hell... but Kurow was one of those ninjas. That's a documented weak spot for the Mayor. Sakura's formidable, but she's straightforward, and the already-frustrated Haggar can't justify having a hard time to himself.
He lurches back to his feet, and further on, just leaping into the air, locking his hands together over his hand. Part of him wants to just lay back and give Sakura the match, roll over like a good wash-up, but that goes against his core nature. "HRRRRAAAAAGH!" There's a blue flash of light around Haggar's hands as he hangs in the air for the space of a heartbeat, then slams downward at Sakura like a meteor, slamming both hands down. Hit or miss they're impacting the ground, shattering most of the expanse of stairs, a shockwave of dust and rubble spreading out a goodly distance. A bird goes 'oh screw this' and departs the nearby tree.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Violent Axe from Haggar with Shou'ou Ken.
[ <
Haggar 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
[ <
Haggar 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Haggar takes no action.
[ \\\ <
Haggar 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Haggar has reached second wind!
[ \\\ <
Haggar 0/-------/----===|
If Ryu were here, he'd no doubt be trying to stop Haggar. Maybe he'd just whip out the most badass block ever, maybe he'd get out of the way and sling him to the ground... or maybe he'd just use the Force. WHO KNOWS? He's not here, though, so Sakura can fight Haggar however she likes!
And that means rushing =right into Haggar=, capitalizing on that one moment of his hanging in the air as she rushes forward, hoping to get just far enough under him to ruin his trajectory. And it looks like she's able to, in some measure, as she comes up =beneath= Haggar, rushing an uppercut into his grill!
... Not that she can just =stop= the massive wall of meat flying at her with such a gesture, oh no! She may have knocked him off-course, but she's tiny -- Haggar's momentum is =more= than enough to keep the two of them plowing forward into the ground...
It's almost impossible to /halt/ the Violent Axe, all of Haggar's explosive physical power just focused on a single spot, like a freight train that is a meteor on crack. He's not /invincible,/ though, and Sakura's Shou'ou Ken shoots up and cracks into his chin audibly. That's one for the highlight reels - it's one hell of a dramatic shot. He keeps going, though the blow is less than it could be.
The Mayor still bears Sakura down to the ground, impacting hard enough to shatter concrete, though much less than he would have if he had hit clean. Nor does he just land in a kneel, overbalancing and rolling his way down the stairs. He sprawls out at the bottom, on his back, chest rising and falling. It looks like it could be over.
Slowly, however, Haggar starts to pick himself back up. The announcer cries his victory, but Mike doesn't really listen to him. Slowly, he picks his way back up the stairs, only giving the downed Sakura one more glance before vanishing into City Hall, the weight of the world on his shoulders.
COMBATSYS: Haggar has ended the fight here.
And Sakura... lying on her back, bones likely broken from being suddenly crushed into the concrete =again=... can only say five words before passing out, leaving herself to the care of the medics who rush up. With a faint, half-formed smile, she says simply, "Thanks for the fight... Mayor."
Log created on 15:28:35 08/05/2007 by Haggar, and last modified on 19:18:42 08/07/2007.