Description: Kurow's machinations have been on Hotaru's mind for some time since the end of the war in Thailand but it took a little provocation to finally get her to decide to do something about it. A message delivered and a message sent back - poor Momo stuck being the messanger both ways.
A lazy Friday afternoon at the Seijyun High campus. Fridays are always more lax at High Schools anyway, and considering this one happens to be during a week of summer school means things are even lower key than typical. Unfortunately, taking a year to travel around the world has put Hotaru behind in her coursework and thus it is that she has been stuck in summer classes this season while so many other students have enjoyed their time off.
But now the weekend is nigh and the girl has a busy schedule full of training and competing to look forward to! Walking slowly out of the flower garden where she had spent the last half hour relaxing in. Still dressed in her Seijyun High school uniform, she's carrying a brown leather bag over her shoulder. If being full of books wasn't bad enough, Hotaru's Kyokugen instructor insists that the bottom of the bag be lined with lead bars as part of her endurance training. Getting home and ditching the bookbag is definitely one of the highlights of any school day afternoon!
She pauses once to glance over her shoulder toward the main buildings of the campus while enroute to the front gates. Completely alone at the moment, much like usual it seems. The girl has a bit of a reputation for being nice, but much to aggressive for most of the prissy Seijyun High students. "I never thought it would be so hard to make friends at school," she murmurs before turning back toward the gate, stretching her arms idly. At least this is the end of yet another school week! Fridays make everything better.
At least there's one girl interested in Hotaru here today! It's a shame that she's not interested in being friends, though. No, Momo is here on a mission, and undercover to boot! Somehow, the littlest tennis player has aquired a Seijyun uniform, and has her long hair tied back into a braid instead of her usual pigtails. Even her tennis raquet is AWOL, replace by a badminton raquet held lightly in one hand, though the frame looks a bit thicker than your typical raquet.
"Excuse me!" she calls, running down one of the concrete paths. "Excuse me! Are you Hotaru?" Momo asks, matching the girl's features to the physical description she's been given.
The cheerful voice calling for her brings Hotaru's progress to a stop. At first there's the moment of panic that maybe she dropped something or left something behind and that someone is just flagging her down to let her know that her book is still sitting on the bench in the flower garden or something.
Turning around, her eyes sweep over the shorter, younger looking girl, mouth curling faintly into a smile that blends uncertainty with natural friendliness.. She doesn't recognize Momo from anything. The change in appearance is really helping. A careful student of all televised fighting matches, she would have possibly recognized the small fighter from her disasterous bout against the infamous Doctor Tran... or, no, wait, they were supposed to be partners... Erm. But as it stands, she isn't sure who Momo is.
"Yes," she answers. Maybe the girl recognizes her and is a fan? Hotaru has gained a small amount of notoriety lately with her successful matches. "That's me," she adds, head canting to the side just a little, one hand coming up to adjust strap of the heavy backpack. "Is there something I can help you with?" she offers. Maybe she wants an autograph? Hotaru shakes her head, squinting a little. She really shouldn't let her rise in popularity with the public go to her head like that.
Of course she's unrecognizable! Momo is about to do something which could be extremely damaging to her reputation, so she's got to be careful about how she presents herself. Thus the uniform, the hair, the lack of signature weapon, and the altogether demure facade that she's presenting right now.
"I've got a message for you," Momo says shyly. "From an old friend. He wasn't sure if you remembered him or not, though." She rocks back and forth slightly and averts her eyes, clasping her hands behind her back, the badminton raquet sticking out to the side. If it wasn't for the uniform, it would be easy to mistake the girl for another student's younger sister, embarassed about talking to the big kids.
With Hotaru approaching her last year of High School this fall, the best she can make of the shy posture of the smaller girl is that she's probably a freshman. Maybe she hasn't even had a year of high school yet and is eagerly looking forward to starting up classes in the fall?
"A message?" she blinks as the subject is brought up. An old friend? A boy at that? The confusion is easy to detect in her eyes. "Well, if it's a friend, then it's nice of you to help him out with this," comes the eventual grin as she in turn clasps her hands behind her back, adopting a rather patient demeanor herself. After all, no reason to get overly excited and worry the seemingly nervous younger girl!
"I'm pretty good at remembering people though. I'm sure I'll be able to give you a message to send back to him if you don't mind." she states with a wink and a nod.
Glancing around to see if anyone is nearby, Momo takes a step forward, to better keep it between the two of them. "He wanted me to ask you," the little badminton player says, an air of nervous conspiracy about her. The slightest of blushes tinges her cheeks, and her eyes dart left and right one more time before deciding it's safe.
"Have you recovered your memories of... Kurow?"
As Momo takes a step forward, Hotaru leans down just a little, herself, helping keeping it just between the two of them. There's really no one else around anyway. Having spent time in the famous Seiyjun flower garden, she's among the last to leave this Friday afternoon. But still, if the little badminton player wants to keep it hush, hush, the pig-tailed student is happy to assist.
At the blush on her cheeks, Hotaru blinks a little. Just what kind of message is this? Maybe it is from a boy she won't remember. Some poor classmate that held a crush on her and she never even noticed his existence, and now this poor child has been sent to bear his message of confession to Hotaru... But then comes the question and she blinks, standing up straight, visibly recoiling.
Momo is studied carefully, a lot of the friendly disposition beginning to fade quickly from the girl. "Kurow sent you then," she states, her lips tightening into a neutral expression. No one else could possibly know to what Momo was referring besides someone the Kirishima boy had told. "Yes, I remember him. The real him... not the fake memories that he gave me in order to make me forget all of the horrible things I knew that he had done. I remember everything." One hand still rests on the strap of her backpack, but her other hand tightens a little, a small fist hanging at her side. "So now you know."
If one thing can be said about Momo, she knows how to stay in character. As Hotaru's pleasant demeaner fades, the badminton player's expression turns fearful. "D-did I do something wrong?" she asks, taking a step back and averting her eyes. "H-he did, but you don't have to look so angry... I was just told to send a message." Her grip tightens around the raquet's handle, but it seems to be more of a stress response than preparation for an attack.
As Momo backs off as well, Hotaru breaths in, the space between them giving her time to compose her thoughts, supressing the quiet ire that the subject had brought to the forefront for a moment. "No..." comes the reply, accompanied by a slow exhale as the girl visibly calms down. "It's not your fault."
She looks unprepared for anything resembling an attack, herself, clearly dismissing the shorter girl as being very non-threatening. "I'm sorry that you were used to ask his question. He's probably just using you like he uses everyone. Kurow... Kurow Kirishima doesn't care about anyone but himself."
Her expression saddens slightly, shifting even a little to concern. "Why, you might not even be yourself right now. I-... I hate to be the one to mention the posability, but that boy has ways of forcing people to do things even if they don't want to. In your mind you might think he considers you someone to be trusted with doing favors for him, but it could just be memories planted by him, by that flute of his."
Hotaru remains rooted where she stands, moving neither away nor aggressing on the smaller girl. "I wish I could help you. If you think what I'm saying might apply to you then I could assist you in trying to find someone to help get your memories back too..."
Momo's fearful face softens a little with Hotaru's words... but inside, she's raging. How DARE this girl suggest that Kurow would screw with her mind!? Momo's emotions are her own, not planted! Oh, she's not going to stand for such an insult.
"Do... do you think that could be it? I don't think I remember anything that didn't happen. But... maybe, just in case... I guess it wouldn't hurt to be looked at... if you can show me where, anyway..." The tiny girl twists one of her feet around nervously, pivoting on the ball of her foot. This persona, it seems, fidgets when on the spot.
Yes, better to be safe after all, Hotaru ponders. This girl seems far too nice to be someone who would align herself with the likes of Kurow willingly, after all. It must be like with Sakura Kasugano, the poor Taiyo student manipulated into cooperating with the Justice High boy.
"Well," murmurs Hotaru thoughtfully, "If he does it right, you won't remember anything out of place. That's how it was for me at least... Some things were a bit fuzzy, especially when it came to events in Thailand, but I never would have connected them to him. He's very good at what he does. He... he visited with me like a friend. He was so genuine. I- I wouldn't have known it wasn't real if others I knew hadn't helped me realize that the events I remembered from Thailand didn't play out how I thought they did."
She gives the shorter girl a sympathetic look, completely unaware of the rage that burns within her. "But... hm..." She lifts her hand to the side of her face, her finger lightly tapping her cheek. She had offered to help, but she got her memory back via very unconventional means and she can't offer the same for the poor girl. "Maybe we should find you a doctor to help. A psychologist. I admit I'm not an expert when it comes to matters of solving this. But surely there are people that know."
"O-oh..." Momo says, a hint of disappointment in her face. There's triumph in her heart, at least, if Hotaru doesn't know how to break the flute's song. It must've been a fluke that she was cured, she'll have to report that to Kurow later. "Well, if you don't know how..." the girl trails off, shoulders slumping. "I guess I can just try to stay away from him... he did seem a little creepy. Always so calm and collected, unnaturally so... like the regular going-ons of the world don't matter to him." One of many traits that actually attract Momo to the boy.
"Um, I guess that's everything," she says, taking a step back. "I... I think I should be going." Before giving Hotaru a chance to respond, she quickly turns and begins to hurry away.
"Yeah..." replies the other girl. Her expression looks apologetic, clearly not happy that she couldn't be of better assistence. Her mind races, trying to think of something else to offer. Another way to help the poor girl out. At least she seems to have given her a warning. If the young Seijyun student is wary of him now, that's a start, right? But then Momo turns to hurry off and young Futaba blinks, letting her go. "Okay..."
She can understand. Surely she's given her a lot to think about. That was a lot of information to take in. It was hard for her to cope with at first herself! "Mou, I didn't even learn her name," she ponders, shifting the heavy backpack one more time before she breaths in, exhaling slowly, and turns on her feet to face toward the protective gate of Seiyjun High. She has to admit, while she isn't entirely comfortable with most of the girls at this school, the campus at least feels very protective. It's not hard to feel safe within the well guarded walls of the all girl's school.
After a dozen steps, the young girl with the badminton raquet stops, pivoting on one foot as the other reaches into her blazer. When it's withdrawn, a shuttlecock is clutched firmly within her fingers and tossed lightly into the air in a single motion. Momo says no words as the feathered projectile comes back down, the raquet swinging past in a gentle arc.
Hopefully, Hotaru's senses are developed enough to notice the incoming birdie and get out of the way. If not... well, she'll quickly discover that the ball on the tip is made from something a lot harder than cork, when it impacts the back of her head.
COMBATSYS: Momo has started a fight here.
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Momo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Momo
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Hotaru with Whale Serve.
Glancing Blow
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Momo
Incoming shuttlecock at six o'clock! It's the sound of the racket striking the small object that alerts her to anything going on at all. But besides the brief moment where she had clenched her fist earlier, she hadn't had her guard up at all. But the feathered projectile does whistle through the wind, driven with a lot more force than one would expect from such a small statured player. "Huh?" comes the blink of surprise.
The unfortunate target is slow to move, weighed down as she is by the heavy back on her back. On the other hand, the attempted sidestep leaves the brown leather bag, thick with heavy books and lead bars, taking the direct hit instead of the back of her beribboned head. It still strikes with enough force to cause her to stumble forward a step... causing her to be all the more relieved that she has that bag /on/.
Turning around, hand clenched tightly, she spots the strangely silent attacker, "What's that for?" comes the demand as she takes a step forward before shrugging her bookbag to the ground at her feet where it lands with a weighty thunk. Having not been hit directly, she isn't aware that that was no ordinary shuttlecock. But she /does/ know that it was traveling with a ton of force, which is already an unfriendly enough thing in and of itself!
"What's your problem? I was just trying to help you... I see, so you're not so unsure about Kurow after all!" Hotaru frowns, hands tightening in fists even as she tries to calm herself. She's a terrible fighter when angry, but unwarranted, mean attacks like this just have a way of getting her worked up in spite her efforts to the contrary. "Was beaning me in the back of the punctuation for your message? Hmph."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Momo
"N-no," Momo stutters, still in character, clutching the raquet close to her chest. "But... I can't let you insult Kurow that way and get away with it! He's not a bad person!" Another shuttlecock is drawn from her blazer and tossed into the air, and there's a brief pause in the action as it hangs there for a moment thanks to the wonders of physics.
And then the raquet is swung once more, the motion gentle but the effects frightening. In a fraction of a second, Hotaru will find another hard-tipped projectile bearing down on her at ludicrous speeds-- it's pretty clear that she's either got the devil's right arm or loaded birdies. Perhaps even both.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Momo's Whale Serve.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Momo
Facing the other, the heavy weight of the backpack now offloaded, Hotaru is a lot more prepared now. At the stammering reply, she looks conflicted though. "It must be just like Sakura then... She was just like you. So protective of him, thinking there's no way he would ever have anything but her best interests at heart..." states Hotaru, her words laden with sympathetic concern. "...! That's it! I could find out how Sakura got better! Maybe whoever helped her could help y-"
Erk, no time to chat apparently. She watches the next shuttlecock get picked up and then struck hard, the *thwack* of the racket against it louder than even seems remotely proper at all. But this time she's facing the same direction, so she's not being blindsided. The speed she so heavily relies on kicks in now, the girl turning to the side, allowing it to flying harmlessly past.
"I'm sorry I have to do this - I'm sure you'll be sorry for your actions when this is all said and done... you can't help it after all!" And with that, she darts forward toward Momo, both of her hands reaching out to try and grab hold of her by the lapels of that adorable matching blue blazer of hers, intending to heft her up and off her feet... This is about the first time she's ever fought anyone where she had a prayer of accomplishing something like that!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Momo with Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Momo
"Don't compare me to her!" Momo says, her demure voice tinged with just the slightest bit of sharpness. "She just didn't understand his-- eep!" With that gasp of surprise, the badminton player finds herself hoisted off the ground. This is so embarassing! "Ahh! Let me go, let me go!" she squeals, flailing around and kicking at the air ineffectually.
Finally, a good idea seems to dawn on her. Since she's being held in midair, her foe couldn't very well dodge anything coming at her! Of course, it's a little difficult to properly lob a shuttlecock from this distance, so Momo will have to settle for stoutly thwacking Hotaru about the head and shoulders with her raquet. Whackity whack!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Momo's Flip Flap Racket.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Momo
If there's one thing Hotaru has trouble with, it's people that bring deadly accoutrements to fights! Holding Momo aloft, her fingers clenched tightly, Hotaru looks her in the eyes as if trying to discern just what the younger girl is thinking. Perceptive yet guilible at the same time, the pig-tailed girl's ability to see through deception is spotty at best, which is why she was so caught off guard to begin with.
"Sakura is a good person... she's better now. He changed her with what he did. The fact that she's back to who she was before should be proof alone of that!" And then all the sudden there's a racket being swong at her. Frantically, Hotaru releases her hold on the jacket, letting Momo drop back to the ground. Raising her hands, she strikes back to intersect the weapon a couple of times, but eventually she gives up and just bunkers down to weather out the attack while stepping back rapidly in hopes of putting her out of range.
"You're not leaving me with a lot of choice here," she frowns, planting her back foot down so that she can now retaliate rather than losing more ground. It's hard being pressed by a small attacker and not having the heart to hurt her in return. But that racket isn't something Hotaru wants to get hit by again. The moment she sees an opening, she steps forward, swinging her hand out - a quick slap for the cheek, "Snap out of it!"
COMBATSYS: Momo fails to interrupt Quick Punch from Hotaru with Quick Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Momo
"Kurow is a good person, too, he's just doing what needs to be done!" Momo counters as she continues whacking away. She's getting a little annoyed that Hotaru is defending against all of the raquet thwacks, however, and decides something a little different may be on the menu. Without warning, she pivots on her heel, aiming to spin around and jab the raquet's handle into Hotaru's gut, hard.
Unfortunately, the maneuver is performed at the worst possible time. The taller girl's arm is extended for the slap at just that moment, and the pivoting motion sends Momo's head straight into it in an accidental clothesline. With a yelp of pain and surprise, the badminton player falls to the ground.
Poor girl. It's quite possible Kurow mentioned nothing of Hotaru's record as a fighter when sending Momo out to do this task. Though incredible far from his calibur, the girl has managed to weather some pretty tough battles of her own, pulling off upsets no one would have expected of her. And now Momo's been sent to harass her so, but did Kurow expect her to be up to it? Or is he just having his usual malicious fun with those who will do anything for him?
Hotaru isn't entirely sure, herself, blue eyes coming to rest on the girl that's been knocked to the ground by her swinging arm. There's reluctance to act, but at this point she really feels she needs to restrain the kid for her own good. Maybe forcibly drag her off to get the mental help she so clearly needs... maybe there's a padded cell next to Roberto's!
Though she waits a bit before acting, she eventually reaches down to try and grab hold of Momo's arms and wrest them behind her back. It's a rather painful manipulation of limbs, but Hotaru would never go so far as to endanger joints or ligaments. All the same, the smaller girl might find herself very much pinned in place, face down, her arms twisted behind her if the Kenpo artist manages to get a grip.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Momo with Strong Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Momo
Momo shakes her head to clear it of the stars she's seeing, then quickly tries to recover from the fall, but there's no escaping Hotaru's ninja-like reflexes after wasting that break in the fight. In a matter of seconds she's pinned to the ground, arms back and unable to lash out with her raquet. "No! Get off of me!" the girl pleads helplessly, trying and failing to squirm away. "You just don't understand! There's more to him than you think!"
It's about this time that Momo begins to kick as well. The angle is pretty bad, but she can get a lot of force in those little legs of hers, and she's got a child's flexibility working in her favor. Hopefully she'll manage to catch the taller girl with her toes or something
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Hotaru with Light Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Momo
The grip in place, Hotaru is about to drop her knee down on the girl's back, intending to secure her for good. But Momo's reflexes have something else to say to that and she proves to be incredibly squirrelly to keep in place. Her legs kick out swiftly and while Hotaru attempts to step around them swiftly, it's to no avail. A firm strike to her shin teaches her just how hard the smaller statured girl can really hit, her foot being knocked out beneath her, causing her to lose her balance and fall forward. "Ack!"
She ends up flipping in mid-air as to avoid landing right on top of Momo, only to not be able to pull it off completely, causing her to plant right on her back in the grass, gasping at the ungraceful landing, eyes blinking with some surprise. Okay, that kid has some real fight to her!
Sitting up, Hotaru is back on her feet quickly enough, turning back around to face the girl. "I thought maybe there was hope of redemption for Kurow, but... the things he's done... he needs to be held accountable. And that is something I intend to make sure happens," she snaps, finally starting to get flustered with Momo's constant insistence that the Justice High prodigy is a good guy, just a bit misunderstood.
But now that she knows Momo can actually hit pretty darn hard, the pig-tailed girl decides to strike back harder, gritting her teeth as she steps forward, leaping into the air in order to plant her heel against Momo's shoulder in an attempt to keep her grounded. "YA!"
COMBATSYS: Momo endures Hotaru's Koushuu Da.
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Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Momo
Momo gets up just as quickly as her foe once the weight of Hotaru is off of her back. The badminton raquet is quickly slung behind her waist, attaching to a harness hidden beneath her blazer. "Redemption?" she says, her voice a mixture of confusion and scorn. "Kurow doesn't need the forgiveness of anyone!" She sees the incoming jump kick, and could probably shove it off easily enough, maybe even dodge it.
But instead, the little girl just takes it. Leaning into the blow and bracing herself, the girl doesn't allow the strike to take her down as expected. The action probably hurts her even more than getting knocked down may have, but it leaves her right where she wants to be. Namely, with Hotaru's legs at arm level.
Nimble hands bolt to her shoulders, attempting to grab the ninja of a girl by her ankle before she can leap away. And then... she spins. Faster and faster, with the Seijyun student firmly grasped by the leg, building up momentum with every rotation in a fit of strength which easily explains the physics-defying shuttlecocks from earlier. "You're the one who should be asking forgiveness, getting in the way instead of helping Kurow to fulfill his dream!"
And with that, Momo lets go, letting Hotaru go rocketing off a distance which can only be summed up as 'helluva far' for a simple throw technique.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru full-parries Momo's Giant Swing!
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Hotaru 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Momo
Hotaru would be offended if she knew Momo thought of her as a ninja. She HATES ninjas! Pesky ninjas are always going out of their way to make her life difficult. But right now, it's a pesky freshman making her life difficult!
Momo's plan is a solid one. Hotaru had intended to use the leverage of planting her foot into her shoulder to leap off to safety, giving her time to think of how to deal with this girl that seems to have decided to leave more than just a /verbal/ message from Kurow. But then she finds her ankle grabbed, nixing that plan entirely. "Eep!" Finding her leg held in place, her attempt to jump is stopped short and the girl falls forward, never quite hitting the ground as Momo begins to spin her around rapidly.
At first, Hotaru has no control over the situation, arms flailing helplessly as tiny Momo demonstrates strength that is just mystifying to her. But all those sit ups Ryo puts her through have given her tough abdominal muscles and she puts them to work, slowly bending herself against the momentum, her hand lighting up as she focuses a pool of blue energy into her palm. There's a certain spark of determination in the girl as she fights against the powerful throw, teeth gritting.
And then Momo lets go. In the same instant, Hotaru sends a shimmering, pulsing blue sphere of force her way, discharging the projectile from the end of her hand... and then? Having regained control of her own trajectory, she flips through the air to land on her own two feet several yards away, no worse for the wear except for feeling just a little winded by the effort. If Momo thought of her as a ninja before, that little demonstration probably didn't help.
COMBATSYS: Momo reflects Hakki Shou EX from Hotaru with Rocket Return.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Momo
It was a good idea, really. Fighting against the force of the spin, getting upright enough to launch an attack while Momo is distracted by the act of throwing. Really, had the situation been any different, Hotaru may very well have ended the battle right there.
Unfortunately, in her last 'bout, Sada reacted to the throw in the EXACT SAME WAY. Needless to say, Momo is prepared for it. It certainly didn't help matters that the taller girl's attack is highly telegraphed, what with the tell-tale blue glow in her hand. Momo's release is premature, getting far from the distance she would have desired and none of the damage, but it was a necessary loss. Instead, one of her now free hands darts down to her waist to draw the badminton racket, swinging it forward in the same motion as she draws it out, all of her strength and what little non-physical power the girl can control bringing it to bear against the point blank blast of energy.
Somehow, the raquet manages to hit the blue light in the split second between leaving Hotaru's palm and impacting Momo's body. Even more incredibly, the raquet isn't shattered by the blast. And perhaps most surprising of all, the sports equipment, somehow, manages to TURN BACK the energy bearing down upon it, greeting the not-a-ninja as she lands with a taste of her own medicine.
Does such a feat come with a snappy comback? A witty remark of any kind? No, merely an insinctive cry of effort. It's a good thing it's so late in the day, or surely the light show and yelling would have attracted quite a crowd by now.
COMBATSYS: Momo successfully hits Hotaru with Reflected Hakki Shou EX.
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Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Momo
Considering the things Momo has been able to do to her so far, Hotaru has changed to taking the girl a lot more seriously now. Given how fast her reflexes are, she's actually surprised she hasn't seen her in public fighting circles before in fact. Her feet are planted squarely on the ground, so she should really have the wherewithall to cope with having her projectile sent flying right back at her.
A few problems, though. First, she's still recovering from the strain of fighting back against the powerful swing. Secondly, she's amazed the small girl was able to get her racket in hand and strike the Hakki Shou with such flawless timing. Third? That thing is just SCREAMING back at her. Though she attempts to hop to the side, Hotaru ends up just getting struck all the same, the pure force behind her own technique splashing against her side, blasting the blue fabric of her jacket, leaving a noticeable hole in the side, her white shirt visible beneath it.
Hotaru winces, managing to recover her footing with a stagger rather than getting knocked clean off her feet. Noticing the damage to her uniform, she fixes her eyes back on Momo, hands tightening a bit. It seems these things are always getting messed up with fights on campus! She hates having to wear it in the first place, but the only thing worse is having to pay for replacements. "You didn't even give me a name," comes the reply, a certain amount of temper to her voice now. It isn't a polite inquiry to merely sate curiosity at this point. But she isn't waiting too long for it, either, running forward instead, her leg swinging out with a mean roundhouse toward the other girl's head. She's not fighting completely clearly though and the attack is kind of predictable. Mad Hotaru needs to compose herself better to use her abilities properly! If it does hit though... it's packing a bit of anger behind it, combined with raw leg strength.
COMBATSYS: Momo dodges Hotaru's Heavy Kick.
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Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Momo
Unlike Hotaru, Momo is completely within her element, and knows it. Her entire being is centered around carefully controlled emotions and actions, almost every mistake an intentional one, naivety nurtured to foster an image of helplessness, anger carefully managed to channel into the most potent effects. Very few things can drive her into actually losing her cool, and an angry girl in a burned coat isn't one of them.
Ducking underneath of the roundhouse kick, the little girl quickly snakes her way behind Hotaru while the girl is recovering from her extreme attack. A flash of black and silver will pass in front of the eyes as the badminton raquet comes down over her head, before quickly pulling back into her neck.
"Why should I give a traitor my name?" Momo asks as she tugs her hands back, though the question is a rhetorical one. After all, it's hard to respond when you have a length of metal crushing your larynx.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Throat Racket from Momo with Ten-ren-ge EX.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Momo
Her foot wooshes through the air, missing the small, quick girl by a mile. The momentum of such an over-extending attack turns her all the way around in a complete circle, her kicking leg finally coming down to the ground with a stomp. And then the next thing she knows the shorter girl has pulled the racket around her neck, catching her in a very uncomfortable hold, causing the girl to choke, eyes widening just a little.
Attacks like that can be troublesome and if one doesn't break free swiftly, being trapped in them for a prolonged amount of time can take down just about any fighter eventually. But Hotaru has some strength advantage on Momo, being a couple years older, a bit taller, and having been undergoing strength training extensively as of late. Momo will probably feel Hotaru's body flex as she begins to retaliate.
Backing into Momo forcefully, she manages to buy just enough space to turn around completely, putting the poor smaller girl in close proximity to a sequence of swift but strong palm strikes at her stomach, sides, chest, and shoulders, "Ya, ya, ya!" In the end, Hotaru turns around to land that kick that she missed before, this time hitting the girl in the stomach instead of aiming for the head.
The sequence was vicious, the palm strikes precise. The only indication that she was holding back at all was the lack of small sparks of chi that would otherwise have accompanied each swing if Hotaru was going all out. "I didn't betray anyone," she whispers, her voice horse from the racket having applied pressure to her throat. "Kurow Kirishima betrayed all of Japan to obtain his goals. He would turn on anyone. You are no different than anyone else in this country in his eyes. A tool, something to be used, bent against your will as he claws his way down the path he has chosen... Kurow is the traitor, not I. And I will do something about it."
Choking someone is pretty easy with the right tools. Unfortunately, due to Momo's height, the banminton raquet just isn't the right tool. The backstep is more than enough to break the girl's grip, leaving her wide open to the sudden reversal and flurry of palm strikes. She cries in pain, attempting in vain to block the blows with her raquet, but only serving to present new openings for other assaults.
Finally, the kick strikes home, and boy does it strike. Light as she is, Momo is picked up off the ground and hurled away, tumbling through the grass before eventually splashing down in a koi pond, where she flails for a bit in the shallow water. Finally regaining her composure, the badminton player sits up, sniffling meekly. "You..." she begins, trying to find the right words. After a moment's stuttering, she finally decides on, "You're a horrible person!"
As quickly as she can, Momo trudges through the water to shore, and runs off down one of the campus' side paths. All the water that's soaked into her clothes is weighing her down, she can't fight like this... she's certainly not running away because she just had her rear end definitively handed to her, not in the slightest! Meanie!
COMBATSYS: Momo takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Momo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
Hotaru pauses, standing on one leg, her kicking leg retracted, bent at the knee for a long moment before finally coming down to the ground. As Momo gets back up out of the water, the Kenpo artist braces, preparing for further attacks perhaps. But it seems the smaller girl has dished out all she cares to for now and is high tailing it out of here.
"Well, that should be a message to send back," the pig-tailed girl muses quietly, folding her arms behind her back as she simply lets the girl go. She clearly doesn't want her help in dealing with whatever brainwashing Hotaru is convinced Kurow has done to her. So that means there's nothing left to do besides let her run. "I wonder how many others like her..."
No matter, Hotaru resolves, turning to walk over to her backpack and heft it back onto her shoulders. Maybe it's just Kurow and Momo and having dealt with Momo handily enough means the only threat is the Kirishima boy. Maybe he has more help though. But Hotaru can't stand idly by now that she remembers full well the atrocities commited by that single individual. Someone has to take a stand and right now, all thanks to Kurow sending someone to provoke her, Futaba is convinced that she can be that someone.
"What am I getting myself into... I better tell Ryo-sensei," she comments, rolling her eyes as she heads toward the gate that guards the campus exit.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:47:36 08/10/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 04:22:20 08/11/2007.