SNF 2007.08 - Old Times?! Tenma/Ryo vs Kain

Description: The unlikely team of Tenma Kiryuu and Ryo Sakazaki face off with Kain R. Heinlein in Howard Arena! The younger fighters put up a spirited fight against their red-eyed opponent, but even their best isn't quite enough to topple Kain, who is some kind of force of nature or something. (Winner: Kain)



Where is there to go after defeating the very man behind SNF? Well, Kain could try to take back his championship title... But really, he cares little for such things. It's the fight that he's interested in. The opportunity to give Geese a beating in front of a large audience was certainly a nice bonus, however. People might wonder if this next match for Kain might not be a little anticlimactic, but Kain intends to take it just as seriously as any other match. Underestimating a Kyokugen fighter can be a dangerous mistake, for one.
Kain strides into the arena with little fanfare aside from the cheers of the audience. He's sure that sooner or later Geese will probably come up with some humiliating audio or visual display to be a 'theme' for his entrances, but he'll deal with that annoyance when the time comes. For now, though, there's nothing but cheers (and a few boos) as Kain takes his position on the stone fighting floor. Heinlein stands patiently as he waits for his opponents, ignoring the audience with that aloofness that some people are for some odd reason so enthralled with.

Well, you know who this ISN'T anticlimactic for? Yeah, Tenma Kiryuu, that's who. The Gedo Gang member isn't exactly a complete unknown, but he doesn't have the fame of the likes of Kain, or Ryo, either; it's not often that he gets to play in the big leagues like this, after all. The last time he really did was as part of a virtual army of fellow newcomers, facing off against Geese himself... But this time, there's no chance Tenma's going to get lost in the shuffle. This time, there's a lot fewer people in the match.

Emerging from the opposite side as Kain, the leader of the Guardian Kings is wearing his not terribly uniform school uniform - stalwart and unbending in his refusal to wear the actual Gedo one under any circumstances - and his bokken is still wrapped in its blue cloth sheath, resting on his shoulder with one hand grasping it. His other hand is tucked in his pocket, and he looks quite casual. Internally, though, he's anything but relaxed.

The teenager all but saunters his way up to the elevated stone ring, radiating confidence like a shield against the knowledge of what he's facing, and once he's on top of the slate and granite surface, he looks across it at Kain with a big smirk on his face. "Heh," Tenma chuckles, removing the weapon from his shoulder and untying the cloth to free it, and moments later he's holding the bare wooden blade in his right hand. "Man, where's the Karate Kid? I'd hate for him t' miss out on the fun," the Gedo swordsman says, and just as casually as everything else, he bites into his left thumb, breaking the skin. Crimson flows down his digit, before he draws it down the blade of his bokken, painting a red stripe and forging the chi link. Then his right arm moves, taking a single swipe at the air with his practice blade, setting it alight with a red, misty aura of blood. Ready as he'll ever be.

'Karate Kid' do not make himself be waited on for long. A mere minute later after Tenma's own arrival, Ryo Sakazaki steps out into the arena calmly, with a big grin on his face, throwing a wave there and there. He's not TOO huge on fame, but it's good to make your fans feel recognised now and then!

Sakazaki's gaze is fixated ahead at their opponment, setting himself a few paces away from his, apparently, new young teammate. That little kid with a sword and strange blood-colored chi attacks, at that. At least he know he's not with a pushover. "Watch yourself," He throws aside to Tenma, not leaving his gaze away from Kain. "This guy wont be a joke."

Kain watches curiously as Tenma spreads his blood across his wooden sword. Interesting. He'll have to pay some attention to this. Of course, he was going to anyway, but seeing unusual applications of chi is always a worthwhile usage of time. Kain forms a fist with his right hand, resting his left palm over that and cracking his knuckles. The SNF staff is springing into motion, getting all of the cameras and the acoustics ready for the fight to start.
A quick flick of Kain's hand sends black sparks flying out as he extends his hand toward Ryo and Tenma. "Let's have a good fight, shall we?" Kain's clothing flutters for a moment, despite the lack of a breeze in the arena as he draws on the room's ambient chi. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the official call to begin. Not that Kain /always/ respects that...

COMBATSYS: Kain has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Kain


COMBATSYS: Ryo has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Kain


COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


Little kid?! Tenma's taller than Ryo is! Okay, sure, he's also like seven years younger, and yes, technically a kid. But /little/? "A joke? Man, wouldn't be any fun if he was." Because, having /fought/ Ryo before, he knows full well how hard the half-Japanese fighter hits. And that's pretty freaking hard! And Kain, well, he's pretty infamous as being monstrously powerful, so... Maybe it balances out?

There isn't a moment, however, in which Tenma has anything less than absolute confidence in himself. No matter how unrealistic that confidence might be at the moment. "Right, let's show ol' red eye over there who's boss," the Gedo swordsman directs at Ryo, tapping his chi-emanating bokken against his shoulder twice, and then a voice echoes throughout the arena, the preamble introducing the fighters having finished in the background; that voice says a single, ever so important word.

"FIGHT!"

Immediately, seizing the initiative as best he can, Tenma takes off like a shot, rushing right at Kain at full tilt. Getting in close, he drops low, twisting around to sweep one leg out, aiming to take the taller man right off of his feet. If at all successful, he continues twisting, regaining his own footing with great speed and then swinging his bokken down in a two-handed slash, following up that sweep with a strike to help knock Kain to the floor all the faster. Maybe! "GRAAH-!!"

Watching Tenma rushing in forth, Sakazaki also charges in -- but he's slower, much slower at it. There is a pretty good reason for that, to be honest:

He's waiting a split second to see just how Kain will react to Tenma's hot blooded attack. As such, for now, the Invincible Dragon stops a few paces away and start circling the flame-using red-eyed warrior, his gaze focused on every movement.

Just what kind of fighter is he...? He heard a few things, but there's nothing better than seeing it yourself.

COMBATSYS: Ryo focuses on his next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Deep Strike.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Ryo              0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


When Tenma comes sweeping in low, Kain makes his escape by going high. He plants a hand on top of the Gedo student's head, vaulting up and over him as the kick is swept out. Ryo may have been hanging back, but this quick movement from Kain means that it may not help him very much. In the process of leaping over Tenma, Kain sweeps out with one of his legs in a kick aimed at Ryo. He's not nearly close enough to actually hit the Kyokugen fighter, but that doesn't matter much.
Black flame flares up around Kain's leg as he lashes out, then leaps forth. An arc of dark fire slices through the air, shooting toward Ryo at high speed. Kain, meanwhile, lands smoothly on his feet a short distance behind Tenma, his back facing the student.

How embarassing! Tenma is vaulted clear over by Kain, and so he completes his whirling motion to see Kain shooting dark fire stuff at Ryo. In a way, the student is kind of glad; in another way, his feelings are hurt. Though, objectively, he IS kind of chopped liver in comparison. "Tch," the dark-haired fighter mutters, but since Kain is presenting his back to him... Who is Tenma to refuse such an invitation? After all, this is a fight, not some church social. No such thing as 'unfair'.

So Tenma rushes up behind Kain, and raises his bokken over his head. As he gets close enough, the younger fighter aims a diagonal slash across the taller man's back, to strike with the blunt force of the wood and the cutting sting of his blood-chi; if the first slash hits home, then at the 'bottom' of the slash he reverses the blade, quickly swinging it back upwards in a shallow V-shape. "HEADS UP!!"

COMBATSYS: Ryo blocks Kain's Schwarze Flame.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Ryo              0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


It was nowhere in Ryo's imagination that he thought himself /safe/ from any attack from that seemingly high-rank flame-wielding maniac. He simply didn't expected THAT kind of attack.

Then again, why is HE surprised? This guy has shown he could make flames from the start. Of course he can shoot them!

Sakazaki brings his arms in front of himself to block the incoming infernal attack. His gi took the brunt of it and he has some slight burns, but he's fine.

"So you're one of /thoses/ guys, aren't you!" The Raging Tiger shouts up, spreading out his arms and crouching down his knees, taking his trademark wide fighting stance. It dosen't last long -- he soon charge the remaining distance bettewn him and Kain, reeling a fist back and seeking slam it straight into his face!

COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Ungyou.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Ryo              0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Ryo's Mouko Raijin Gou.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


Just because Kain has his back to Tenma doesn't mean he's not paying attention, of course. Kain sidesteps with impressive speed, not moving until the bokken is already swinging down toward him. The weapon slices through the air as Kain spins around. If Tenma wanted some attention, while he's about to get it. As soon as Kain takes care of the punch coming in from Ryo. It's no longer on a path toward Kain's face, but a blow to the side of the head would be unpleasant. He quickly lifts up one arm, blocking Ryo's fist with his forearm and deflecting it away from his body.
Heinlein then slips away from Ryo, rushing in toward Tenma. His right hand becomes engulfed in raw blue chi as he curls it into a fist. He throws a right hook at Tenma's jaw, fully following through with the swing. He then takes another step forward, bringing his arm back in an attempt to drive his elbow into Tenma's face.

COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Kain's Fierce Punch!!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


Dodged, again! Kain's superior experience with battle certainly makes a large difference, as Tenma's slash goes through empty air. Overbalanced a little, he totters forward on one foot, even as Heinlein deals with Ryo's attack, and then... Things get hairy. That chi-ensconced fist is heading toward his comparatively delicate facemeats, and there's precious little time to do anything except... Stand there and take it?! The fist smashes into Tenma's jaw, rocking his head to one side, and knocking the boy back, just in time for him to eat a faceful of elbow, but...

"Ha ha ha, is that it?!" the Gedo swordsman wonders, smirking wildly. "What, are your punches just for show or somethin'?" And then, Tenma throws his weight forward, suddenly and almost completely out of control, stabbing forward with his bokken, blood-chi flaring around the blade as he tries to hit Kain /right in the throat/ with it. "YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!!"

That was incredible! The way that kid just...blocked that burst of chi with, seemingly little effect. Ryo didn't know he could do that kind of thing -- rare as it may be, it is an awesome sight to behold when it DO happen!

But, perhaps it was mere luck and as such, Ryo don't let himself grow overconfident. Confident, yes, but not /overly/ so. That would mean losing sight of his own abilities and get himself into trouble.

Like has has, so many times before.

While Kain's busy with Tenma, the Raging Tiger leaps from his position to grab the flame-user by an arm from behind, pull him down and deliver a sweep kick to flip Kain over his shoulders.

COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Fierce Strike.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Kain with Medium Throw.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Ryo              0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0             Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-------|


Well, Tenma has definitely attracted Kain's attention now. The bokken slices at Kain's throat, but is caught when Kain lifts up his left hand. The blood chi flares up against Heinlein's hand, but doesn't appear to particularly hurting him. And he's just about to give Tenma another chance to show how tough he is when Ryo grabs him by the arm. His legs go out from under him at Ryo's kick and he goes up and over Sakazaki's shoulder.
Kain hits the ground rolling, though, and he's quick to spring back to his feet. He's not yet going to respond verbally to Tenma's taunting, but respond he will. He lashes out with his right hand, attempting to snare the Gedo student by the throat and lift him off the ground. Should he successfully do so his hand fills with black flame, rushing out and engulfing Tenma's neck and head for several long, painful moments.

COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Kain's Schwarze Schleife.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ryo              0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0             Kain
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


For a moment, a scarce fraction of a second, Tenma is briefly discouraged by the utter lack of effect his attack produces. But, luckily, the overconfident teenager's conviction in his own awesomeness is like one of those inflatable clown punching bag things. You can knock it down all you want, it's just going to right itself in a second. Kain's return attack, however, leaves him once again with precious little time in which to do much of anything... As he's caught by the throat and lifted into the air. BAD TOUCH, BAD TOUCH.

Taking in a hissing breath, Tenma is engulfed in black flames from the neck up, but there's something... A little strange about it. It doesn't quite work how it 'ought to', as the esoteric Buddhist moves his own chi to bear the brunt of the damage, though plenty of flamey hurting still seeps through. Still caught by the neck, Tenma lashes out with his left fist, trying to catch Kain in the torso, in a very carefully aimed blow; perhaps it's enough to get himself free, or perhaps not, but after the first strike he follows it up with more, trying to force Kain off of him, force the German back, and to create an opening for Tenma to exploit...

After throwing Kain down successfully, Ryo Sakazaki steps back a few paces away as Kain grabs the teenager by the neck. He's not worried about him -- if Tenma could repel his attacks earlier, he can do it again! He'll wait for the proper time to attack -- he can just feel that's an opening will come up soon enough.

Besides, there is something important to do now...

"RAAAH!" The Tiger grunts out, spreading his arms as a wellspring of golden chi bursts from the ground, denting a few cracks in the tiles as the sheer amount of energy surrounds him.

COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ryo              0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0             Kain
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Flow Breaker.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ryo              0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0             Kain
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


Since Kain still has his hand around Tenma's throat, he still has a fair degree of control over the situation. When Tenma lashes out at him, all it takes from Kain is a quick motion of his arm and a release of his grip to toss Tenma a short distance away from him. Not far, but enough to get him out of range. And then he senses the flareup of power coming from Ryo. Sakazaki really is the more dangerous target here, interesting as Tenma's style might be. Perhaps it's time to act on that.
Kain races across the arena toward Ryo, ducking in low as he gets close. He twists his body as he gets within range, snapping his right leg up at a sharp angle. Black fire surrounds his foot as it races toward Ryo, and should it manage to connect there will be a massive, flaming explosion in Ryo's face.

Denied! Tenma's not having a lot of luck overcoming Kain's defenses, here. But you know... In a way, that just makes it more interesting for the Gedo swordsman. Tossed, he lands on his feet, sneakers skidding on the slate underfoot as he comes to a stop, and he frowns ever so slightly as Kain decides to go after Ryo now. Giving his head a bit of a shake, Tenma already knows what he has to do next; it's just a matter of /doing/ it.

Once again, Tenma demonstrates absolutely no compunctions about attacking someone from behind as he rushes up in Kain's presumable blind spot while the German is occupied with trying to boot Ryo right in the head... Once he gets close enough, he lunges forward in a single-handed stab of his bokken, aimed right at the back of Kain's head. It's probably not going to hurt much, or even sting really, but at this point the teenager is just trying to prove he /can/ hit Kain. Baby steps, Tenma. Baby steps.

COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Ryo with Schwarze Lanze.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ryo              1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0             Kain
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


The moment that Ryo Sakazaki started charging his powers, he knew that he would become, instantly, the target of Kain's wrath. He readies himself, eyes narrowed as golden chi spreads, crossing his arms, bracing for impact...

The resulting explosion is deafening and sends the Raging Tiger flying a good two metres away, stumbling and rolling on the ground painfully. His body strides over the floor for another metre before momentum finnaly dies.

He remains there, for a good beat.

What happens next is blindingly fast. Sakazaki flips back to his feets, his eyes glaring at Kain. Not a glare of hatred or murderous intent, but one burning with an inner fire! Pure fighting GUTS and HEART! The true might of KYOKUGEN!

"RAAAAAAAAAH! ORA ORA ORAAAAAA!" He Raging Tiger screams as he dashes the distance bettewn himself and the Big Boss of the Day, slamming a fist toward his face.

Then another,
Then a few more,
Kicks soon joins in, as does knees and elbow smashes, at at an lightning-quick pace.

"OOOORAAAAAAAA!" Sakazaki finnaly screams finishing the brutal Ryuuko Ranbu combo with a vicious flying uppercut!

COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Weapon Jab.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0             Kain
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Kain with Ryuuko Ranbu.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Ryo              0/-------/-----==|=======\===----\1             Kain
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/---====|


Kain doesn't need eyes in the back of his head to tell that Tenma is attacking him. He's got other senses to rely on aside from sight, and things like a chi-infused weapon are quite easy to notice when Kain is paying attention. The bokken stabs out at Kain's head, but he quickly tilts his head to the side and lets the weapon brush by his ear. It's not a safe spot to be for long, of course, so Kain is quick to spin away and face toward Ryo. Not quite in time, though. He's greeted with a fist to the face, and then quite a few more blows. Finally Heinlein is knocked up and off his feet, then sent crashing down on his back a short distance away.
Kain rises to one knee, blue light flaring up in the palm of one hand. It's a brief warning, and may not be enough to help Sakazaki. Kain points his hand toward Ryo and the energy quickly becomes a swirling vortex, causing a rising breeze to blow in toward Kain's hand. All this takes only a brief moment before a beam of raw chi energy shoots out toward Ryo in a long blue blast which keeps going all the way to the wall... then vanishes. Kain's enough in control that he wouldn't want to accidentally kill any audience members. It'd look bad.

"Tch," mutters Tenma in mild frustration as his attack hits... Absolutely nothing! He lets the momentum play itself out before he pulls the blade back in again, and in the meantime... Kain has ben battered by Ryo's rather impressive looking technique, and is shooting some kind of death beam directly at the Kyokugen fighter, which could be bad in the long run. A less arrogant person than Tenma would probably be feeling pretty useless, right about now.

But, Tenma being Tenma, the Gedo High student just grits his teeth and charges on in again, skidding to a stop to one side of Kain, crouched low to match the German's posture. "Here goes," says the dark-haired fighter, before throwing himself upwards, turning as he rises and lashing out with his chi-empowered bokken, trying to hit Kain and carry the other fighter into the air with him with a whirling slash, before knocking the tall blond man back down towards the slate, with a cry of: "VAJRA!!"

COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Ryo with Himmlische Seele.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Ryo              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Kain
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/----===|


It's always a good feeling with the Ryuuko Ranbu is executed successfully. It has that 'Justice is done and delivered!' feel to it, each time a fist or kick lands. Not to mention that uppercut...It is the epiom of EXTREME MIGHT to it!

Unfortunately, it also drains the scion of Kyokugen and, as such, he is completely vulnerable to the incoming BEAM OF EXPLOSING CHI heading down his way.

The beam might have stopped before it hit the wall, but Ryo didn't. Crashing through the stone loudly, leaving a Ryo-shaped hole into it, the Raging Tiger is stuck, seemingly knocked out.

If only for a few precious moments. For the next, Ryo is leaping out of the hole, beaten and battered, flying straight for Kain like an arrow, executing his world-known flying kick technique, the: "HIEN SHIPPU KYAKU!"

COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Vajra.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0             Kain
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/----===|


COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Ryo's Hien Shippu Kyaku.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Kain
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/----===|


Tenma's bokken connects with Kain, but it's his arm rather than a clean blow to the body. He's able to then direct the attack away from his body, allowing Tenma to continue up into the air, but without taking Kain along with him. The rubble from the wall moving is Kain's warning that he's got another attack to deal with, and a quick leap to the side serves to protect him from the incoming kick from Ryo.
The moment his feet touch the ground from his evasion Kain launches himself up into the air, meeting Tenma as he descends. Heinlein flips forward in a spinning kick, bringing his right foot swinging down in a vicious, chi-enhanced blow toward the top of Tenma's head with enough force to send Tenma shooting into the ground at higher speed than he was intending.

COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Kain's Strong Kick.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0             Kain
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            1/--=====/=======|


Is Tenma unable to score a clean hit against Kain?! Perhaps so, but the Gedo swordsman isn't about to stop being really damn persistent in the attempt. Still airborne when Kain comes after him again, the younger fighter doesn't really have many options, save to just grin a confident grin, and then get axe-kicked right into the ground. Really, REALLY hard. Seriously, it hurts like the bejeezus. But he doesn't stay down, oh no. Not in the least.

Instead, as the dust from his impact - which actually cracked the freaking slate - settles, Tenma is already on his feet and rushing out of the cloud of dust, aiming to catch Kain before the blond man can land properly and put up more of that expert defense. As he runs, his sword hand is pulled way back, the bokken arcing behind him, the red glow around the sword strong enough to block out the wooden weapon entirely, until it seems like Tenma holds a blade made from pure blood. His left hand is held forward, lightly contorted in a seal to aid concentration, and when he gets close enough to Kain, the Guardian King swings as hard as he can.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!!!" bellows Tenma as he rushes forward and swings his bokken with his full might, trying to catch Kain across the midsection with it... And if it works, then quite aside from the expected impact, Tenma's chi actually passes /through/ Kain, disrupting, however briefly, the flow of energy through the German's body, stealing vitality and leaving in its place a chilling numbness...

As the Hien Shippu Kyaku goes wild, so does Ryo. For, you know, flying kicks generaly can't be ended THAT easily on a whim! Thus, flying past Kain like a missed arrow, he evantualy lands back down harmlessly, turning back around...just in time to watch Tenma getting back up.

And go nuts.

Undoubtly, that'll get most of Kain's attention and allow HIM to catch a slight breather. How?

In the form of ENORMOUS WELLSPRING OF CHI, that's how! "RAAAH!" Ryo screams out as the energy begins to recharge him for the second time in this fight.

COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Ryo              1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0             Kain
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's The Sealing Sword.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Ryo              1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0             Kain
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tenma            0/-------/-----==|


Tenma's bokken slams into Kain's midsection... but the disruption of Heinlein's chi doesn't go quite as planned. When it comes to a conflict of chi, Kain has him somewhat outmatched in both power and experience. Black fire flares up all around Kain's body as he tunes his power to overcome Tenma's. A quick hop back, meanwhile, brings him out of the reach of further damage. And yes, the power building up around Ryo is enough to once again attract Kain's attention.
Kain doesn't quite want to turn his back on Tenma again, though. Sooner or later the student /is/ going to manage to get past his defenses if he keeps doing that. He whips out one arm in Ryo's direction, sending a sphere of black fire racing toward Sakazaki. Even before it actually strikes, though, the sphere erupts into a large explosion... just a foot or so away from Ryo's face, if Kain aimed right.

However incomplete it might be... However enormous the gap between his abilities and Kain's is... That's still Tenma's best and strongest technique. The way it gets handled leaves the boy gaping, at least for a moment or two. He's seen it avoided entirely, sure; it's pretty slow. He's seen it blocked once or twice, but never with the /authority/ Kain just demonstrated. Indeed, he's only seen something worse happen once, and that was Pas' fault. But nevertheless, there is for a moment a strange, alien emotion written large on Tenma's features: Awe at the sheer overwhelming power Kain demonstrates.

"Pfft..." snorts Tenma, before it turns into full-blown laughter. "Ha ha ha ha... Ha ha ha ha ha!" His shoulders shake, and for a few moments he all but doubles over in mirth, his eyes squeezed shut. In the meantime... Kain goes after Ryo. Uh ohs. "This time for sure," Tenma tells himself, shaking his head a little as if to clear it, and then he lunges at Kain, still facing the German, and he pulls his bokken back over his shoulder with both hands, closing with the red-eyed man before swinging his sword out again with impressive force - right at Kain's neck. "THIS TIME I'LL TAKE YOUR HEAD!!"

COMBATSYS: Ryo interrupts Schwarze Flame from Kain with Tenchi Haoh Ken.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tenma            0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1             Kain


COMBATSYS: Ryo can no longer fight.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tenma            0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1             Kain


Sometimes, a warrior must acknowledge that there is little odds to success and victory, thus needing to take deseperate measures in order to ensure a victory. If not for himself, then for others.

This, is one of thoses times.

Ryo Sakazaki basks in the golen chi, recharging his reserves to nearly full until Kain takes notice of him. Furrowing his brows, the Raging Tiger stares at the large sphere of black fire getting closer and closer, his own yellow flames of fighting spirit flickering. Gold and Black crackle and snaps at each others for what seems to be long minutes in Ryo's perceptive.

The Light is vanquished by the Darkness of the flames...

...to retreat into Ryo's own soul!

The explosion is painful. Ryo will have to take a day or two off to recover from it -- but for now, he must charge. That burst of once-dead golden chi erupts all around the young man as he charges directly Kain, reeling a fist back. "REEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRG!"

There is a word for thoses kind of attacks. There is a word for blows that are backed up both by speed and brutal, extreme might.

Whatever that word is, it's certainly synonymous of 'being punched by a orange freight train. In the FACE.'.

COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Heavy Strike.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Tenma            0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1             Kain


Kain would prefer to hang onto his head, if it's all the same to Tenma. He swings up his arm as it comes in, letting the bokken slam against his upper arm. Hurts a bit, but certainly much better than getting hit in the neck. Then he hears Ryo's approach. He wasn't expecting him to actually make it /though/ the flame blast, and thus finds himself caught by surprise. Ryo's fist slams right into Kain's face, sending him staggering several steps back as he attempts to recover his balance and his vision.
It doesn't take Kain all that long, though, and he's quickly able to assess the new situation... And Tenma still appears to be in decent shape. Kain looks toward the Gedo student, smiling in a manner that's not very reassuring. "This has been a worthwhile encounter, but I believe it's time to end it." He makes no movement or gesture toward Tenma, but nevertheless the air around the student begins to shimmer. Sparks of blue chi appear for just a few moments before Tenma is surrounded with a sphere of raw chi energy, blasting waves of raw force inward.

COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Tenma with Himmlischer Atem.

[                                < >  //////                        ]
Tenma            2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0             Kain


At the point where Kain looks back towards him, every fibre of Tenma's being screams at him DANGER DANGER, YOU ARE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE THE PAINUS IN YOUR ANUS. But Kain's attacks... Have just been too fast. No time to dodge, no time to defend them. The only chance is to take it on the chin and hope for an opening. The sudden explosion of chi that surrounds him traps Tenma entirely, however, ruining his hopes of finding an opening... Perhaps. As the explosion finally dies down, the boy stumbles, looking like he just got hit by a car or something, his dark hair now unbound and falling in his face, against his shoulders. "Th' hell was that supposedta be?" he wonders, slurring his words a little. That /hurt a lot/.

But Tenma Kiryuu isn't about to just lie down and accept it.

Instead, Tenma half-charges, half-stumbles forward, switching his grip on his bokken to a back-handed one, as the glow around it picks up again. Going back to the well? For something that didn't even work the first time? "Just once," he grits out as he crosses the interval between himself and Kain. "Just one clean hit..." He's really starting to hate Germans in general. Germans who shoot big chi stuff anyway. Kain and Luc, both of 'em. But mainly Luc. "EAT THIS!!" the Gedo swordsman bellows as he gets closer, swinging around to slash at Kain with his chi-charged bokken, once again trying to assault the blond's very spirit!

COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.

                                  >  //////                        ]
                                 |=------\-------\0             Kain


COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's The Sealing Sword.

                                  >  /////                         ]
                                 |=------\-------\0             Kain


Once more Kain's hand snaps out to catch the blade as it swings in toward him. The blood chi attacks his hand but Kain's own chi fights back against it, holding the blade in place as he lets Tenma burn off the last of his energy. "You have an interesting technique. Keep at it and it could be quite formidable someday." Well, it might well be formidable to someone who isn't Kain. And even if the blows didn't get through, Kain still has several welts on his arms thanks to Tenma's skill.
Finally Kain releases his grasp on the blade. No need to beat Tenma /and/ disarm him. Kain waits for a few moments to see if either of his opponents is going to show some hidden reserves of energy, but when it's clear that the fight is over he begins to walk off. He's not won to hang around for victory ceremonies.

COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.


And burned off is the last of Tenma's energy... As Kain releases his grip on the bokken, the crimson glow around it fades, dissipating with a sound like a slow exhalation, and closer inspection would reveal that the red stripe painted down the weapon has disappeared as well. As for himself, Tenma flops down onto the battered slate, and he thinks to himself: You know, this is pretty comfortable for rocks. I think I'm going to lay here for a little bit.

But, defeated quite thoroughly as he was, Tenma doesn't despair. Instead, he focuses on another thought, a single thought that sustains him even as the usual SNF medical crews come out to make sure he and Ryo are pretty much okay, aside from the getting beat up thing. And that thought, for the curious, is Tenma hitting Kain in the face so hard he goes crosseyed. One of these days.

One of these days. But not today.

Log created on 20:21:42 08/11/2007 by Tenma, and last modified on 17:54:36 08/13/2007.