Description: The theme of the fight is Strongest Women, yet somehow due to a scheduling error, Joe Higashi is part of the match. In a dress. It can only go downhill from there as Hotaru and Joe are once again forced to team up to contend with an opponent that could easly obliterate either of them fighting on their own. Chun-Li puts up a solid fight, but the two left standing are... well, no one, due to the end-match backstabbing! (Winners: Hotaru and Joe)
Every week in SNF has its big time, main crowd drawing event, typically staged at the largest, showiest stadium the world has to offer - none other than Geese Howard's own Arena located in Southtown proper. Main Event matches are no small fry get togethers. There's almost always some point to be proven, some title on the line, or some grudge or vendetta to be pursued. Howard Entertainment knows what the people are looking for in their big fights and they aim to deliver.
This week's match up is a contest of feminine might! The famous World's Strongest Woman, Chun-Li, facing off against the popular, weekly SNF regular, Hotaru Futaba teamed up with one of the spunkier, stronger girls of wrestling fame, Rainbow Mika. The promotional material has put a lot of emphasis on how the fragile, yet swift Kenpo artist has been paired up with the more durable, hard hitting R.Mika in order to see if their combined strengths can match up against one of the more legendary woman fighters in all the professional fighting leagues, Chun-Li. There's an underlying theme to the whole match about how an all female bout can provide every bit the intensity and buzz that some of the more brutal, male dominated events can muster.
For Hotaru, this is a first. Though she's participated in the SNFs nearly every week, she's never had the pressure of being billed as a Main Event participant before. The girl has had the opportunity to fight against her partner for this match though, and she knows that what she, herself, lacks in durability, the other girl can make up for it.
The fight itself draws near, the stadium seats are packed. Hotaru is dressed in her fighting finest, pristine clean whites and regal blues, nervously retying the vibrant red hair ribbon that keeps her left pig-tail in place as she stands on one side of the large, stone arena stage, waiting right at the top of the impressive stone stairs that lead up from the pit surrounding it. Breathing deeply, the girl exhales softly, struggling to keep her nerves calmed and her mind focused. Just do her best, she reminds herself, and try to compliment Mika's strengths with her own to try and provide a good challenge to their impressive opponent.
Saturday Night Fight. In spite of her initial misgivings about the event, due to the fact that it only serves to fill Geese's pockets, the Strongest Woman in the World eventually let those feelings go. For one thing, if she got popular enough, that might give her leverage over the crime lord, and for two, it was a rich opprotunity to meet new and exciting warriors, and give her a chance to test her skill.
At least, when they didn't pair her against kids and schoolgirls. A fair bit of misgiving marks her demeanor as the woman ascends the little steps to climb up unto the stage proper, her own outfit as pristine as Hotaru's. She was wearing her less-than-traditional light blue qipao, the short little dress that she changed about to give her legs the freedom they needed for her particular fighting style. Brilliant gold embroidery was laced throughout it, shining a bit in the sheer sheen of the lights alighting the arena. She was wearing a few overlong ribbons along with little covers for her hairbuns today, hose and a pair of shiney white boots completing her outfit.
Reaching the top of the stage, she nonetheless favors Hotaru with a little smile, and, bringing her hands up before herself, she bows, seemingly ignoring the cheers of the crowd at her appearance. "Good evening." she says, voice a bit loud to carry over the sound of the crowd.
Joe Higashi was always worried when his manager, the esteemed Chaz Periwinkle, didn't give him the full details of his gigs. This was especially true when there was some sort of costume involved in the matter, and today's costume was worse than most. He knew that he would be replacing someone and teaming up with someone to fight someone else, and that this fight was the main event in this weeks Saturday Night Fight. It was a gig he'd pulled before for the SNF folks, and he didn't mind acting as an Emergency Backup Higashi. However, the requirement set forth by his manager to show up to the fight decked out in a frilly dress and a long-haired blonde wig had left him just a little bit confused and just a little disturbed. Looking like a buffed-up and manly version of one's own girlfriend was a new experience for Joe, and not one he's likely to replicate in the future. Lilly had been kind enough, and amused enough, to loan one of her own outfits for the day, under the strict condition that Joe not mess it up too badly.
When someone has as many second thoughts as Joe does right now, they usually end up heading for the hills and hiding out for awhile. However, by the time Joe realizes that he really should have asked more questions before coming out, he was stepping out into the arena and heading for the stage. It was obvious to the assembled masses that this was not Rainbow Mika, but there had been no announcement about a change in the lineup, so who could it be? A few of the more avid fans recognized the outfit as belonging to Billy Kane's sister, Lilly, and that set off a wave of excitement in the crowd. Had Billy's sister finally gotten tired of standing behind her brother and decided to fight on her own?
Joe spies Hotaru first, and immediately knows who his teammate is for the day. He smirks with amusement. Fate and Irony must be having a pretty good laugh at him right now. He nods once to Hotaru and then to Chun as he does a single lap around the stage, his arms held above his head as he roars boisterously to the crowd. It's about this time that he finally notices the banners and billboards all over the arena. You know, the ones proclaiming this match to be the one to decide the World's Strongest Woman? His arms fall to his sides and his goofy grin disappears completely. He'd been setup again hadn't he.
His instinct to get the hell out of here was finally enough to where he started heading towards the stairs back off of the stage. Unfortunately, the giant videotron screen chooses that moment exactly to flashily display his name as the replacement for Rainbow Mika. This revelation sends a wave of laughter through the crowd. It was too late now, Joe had a title to win.
For all the time Hotaru has spent fighting professionally, she has never had the opportunity to see Chun-Li in person before. The woman that steps up onto the opposite side of the arena stage is somewhat of an inspiration to behold. While the girl has been looking up to Sakura as the example of what teen girl fighters can aspire to, the Tai Chi master she'll be facing off against here transcends the age bracket and represents what young female fighters might aim to emulate. Hotaru sighs almost wistfully, practically missing Chun-Li's greeting while in her reverie, snapping out it just in time to reply with a very polite, traditional bow, hands pressed together in front of her, "It is an honor to compete against you this evening, Miss Chun-Li!"
And then the nightmare begins as the girl's partner for this bout steps up onto the stage. Disguise or no, there's no way she would /not/ recognize Joe Higashi, after their repeated run ins already. That's not R.Mika at all. That's not even a girl. What is /he/ doing here? "You set this up, didn't you!" the girl accuses the infamous kick boxer, certain he's once again hell bent on sabatoging one of her fights even as his name is announced over the speakers as the fill in fighter for the match.
Hotaru's left hand comes up to rest over her face as she shakes her head. Her chance reunion to fight alongside R.Mika shot, she'll have to make the best of what she's inherited now. "All right," the girl mutters beneath her breath. "If you lose your composure all because of him, you're just giving him what he wants..." Lowering her hand from her face, the girl adopts a fighting stance, loose on her toes, arms raised and ready, her side turned toward Chun-Li as if to always provide a more narrow target to swing at.
Trying to tune out the laughter of the crowd at Joe's no doubt /intentional/ hijinks, Hotaru's blue eyes focus exclusively on Chun-Li. And then the fight is off and the girl switches from standing still to being on the offense with blinding speed, charging toward her opponent, attempting to weave around any kind of counter attack, and grab hold of the woman's arms. If she can get a grip, she'll twist her arms just a little, giving her the leverage necessary to deliver a rapid sequence of ascending stomping kicks that culminates in a backflip into the center of the arena. "Ya, ya, ya!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
COMBATSYS: Joe has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Joe
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Hotaru's Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Joe
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
And to the compliment, Chun-Li favors Hotaru with a bright smile. "Do your best, alright?" she says, turning around to glance towards her other opponent. Thankfully, it wasn't another schoolgirl. However, it was exceedingly obvious to Chun-Li as well that Joe wasn't a girl at all. While she didn't quite have any prior knowledge of any 'Rainbow Mika', so Joe might have very well -been- Rainbow Mika. Still, her expression twists into one of confusion bordering upon amusement, the Chinese woman's eyes flickering over Joe's costume. It wasn't until her eyes lift towards the video screen that Chun-Li's expression becomes a bit pained.
She might not ever have had the chance to meet Joe professionally, however... the man certainly had a reputation by now. However, the signal to fight is given, and Chun-Li turns away from Joe, perhaps giving the man a chance to compose himself in that ridiculous outfit.
Hotaru certainly was fast. The smile fading as her lips purse, Chun-Li readies herself for Hotaru's approach, and Chun-Li finds her arms grabbed. Hotaru certainly had the leverage necessary to perform her little series of kicks upon Chun-Li, but Chun-Li had other things in mind. Soon after the first bit of the flurry, she manages to yank her arms out of Hotaru's grasp midway through the kicks. Without that leverage, further attacks from Hotaru would be difficult. At least, Chun-Li hoped. Bringing her hands up to try to take ahold of the legs of the girl. Should that grip hold true, she would simply swing Hotaru up and away from her, her strong arms tossing her in Joe's general direction.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Chun-Li's Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Joe
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
"I did no such thing! This is probably all your doing!" Joe shakes a fist at Hotaru and turns to the laughing and jeering crowd to give them a bit of a gesture as well, and not a polite one at that. This only earns him even more laughs and even louder jeers. With a grunt, Joe turns back towards the impending fight, flips up the back of his dress and waves his bloomer-clad rear at the crowd before jumping in line next to Hotaru just in time for her to take off and attack Chun on her own. "Some teamwork you've got there Hotaru!"
Joe shakes his head, his golden locks fanning out behind him as he lunges forward towards Chun to engage in his own attack. Unfortunately, Hotaru's botched move leaves her in Joe's way. "Dammit! If you're going to suck, at least do it off to the side where it won't get in my way!" Joe gives Hotaru a harsh shove just as Chun moves to grab the younger girl, effectively saving Hotaru from the attack. "And watch what you're doing! She almost had you there! Jeez!" Joe sneers, a look which would be more impressive if he wasn't looking so girly right now. Joe lunges forward once more now that the way is clear, his fists flailing about repeatedly as he slowly closes the distance between him and Chun-Li. Once he's within range, his fists do a lot less flailing and more controlled strikes heading for her head and torso. Maybe Joe knew what he was doing after all?
As her leverage on Chun-Li is lost, the rest of Hotaru's attack ends up being far less acrobatic and more of a frantic flail to try and recover from the loss in support. One foot slams down to the ground, but her other foot is still forward, trying to counter-act the precariously awkward fall she is about to land in - easily within grasping range of the Tai Chi master unil the goldielocks braggart shoves her out of the way in the nick of time, sending Hotaru stumbling off to the side.
Fists clenched tightly, the girl's cheeks a flustered shade of red at his obnoxious taunting, made only worse because he really did save her there. The probelm is, she has to admit that on some level, Higashi has a point. In order to prove remotely competative against the likes of Chun-Li, she's going to have to actually work with him, even if that's the last thing she really feels like doing. "Okay, okay!" the pig-tailed fighter murmurs, finally regaining her balance off to the side. A deep breath is taken, the girl mentally counting to ten -really fast-, followed by an exhale as she tries to get her head back in the fight rather than thinking so much about how she'd like to kick Joe's cross-dressing butt instead.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Joe
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Chun-Li with Bakuretsu Ken.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Joe
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|
And the fight really gets to start in earnest now. Offbalance due to her attempt grabbing of Hotaru, Chun-Li takes a step away, remembers Joe just in time, whirls towards 'him'... just in time to see the first punch in that flailing series of blows strike her face. She doesn't quite cry out, but her body is wracked by spasms as each punch finds its home upon her collar and face, Chun-Li taking a staggering step backwards with the final blow of it. She doesn't quite fall, however. Still, there is enough time for Joe to recover from that series of blows, as Chun-Li takes the same.
She doesn't linger long, however.
Taking a single step forward with her right foot, Chun-Li's brown eyes look up towards Joe's face with a certain focus, the Chinese woman bringing her hands up before herself with that long step. Releasing the breath she didn't realize she was holding, Chun-Li closes her eyes and focuses her energy within herself into her punch, pushing forward with both those hands curled into fists, aimed towards Joe's chest... if her hands find a home there, the deceptively peaceful looking touch would be like twin hammer blows to the man.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Joe 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Joe blocks Chun-Li's Sou Hakkei.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Joe
> //////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
"Right, you stand over there and look angry, I'll just do all the hard work!" Joe's taunting is cut short by the incoming attack, and he just barely brings his arms up in time to block the two powerful fists as they slam into him. He staggers backwards a step, shaking his arms out at his sides, "Holy...!" That was going to leave a bruise tomorrow for sure, it's a good thing he blocked it. He had to be careful around Chun-Li or he was bound to have his face caved in before the end of the match.
Joe drops back into his usual stance and brings his fists up in front of him while he quickly ponders his next course of action. Furious punchings seem to be effective against this beast of a woman, so why not keep up with that. Joe steps forward and hooks his right arm upwards, his fist arcing fiercely in the air. Unfortunately, Joe's flailing and jumping around had dislodged his wig, causing the fake blonde hair to cascade down in front of his eyes, obscuring his vision almost completely. There is no Chun-Li where his fist expects to contact the woman, and so the powerful jab keeps going around, forcing Joe to spin about in a circle. Not to be completely defeated by his own attack, Joe brings his powerful leg up in a quick, impromptu roundhouse. It doesn't look pretty, but hopefully it will at least be effective.
Calm. Focused. Composed. Think about the fight. Let your style flow through you. Control your chi, your pacing, your energy. Do your be- Hotaru's repeated mantras are rudely interrupted as Joe opens his trap another time to snap off another smarmy comment. Eyes snap to the kick boxer again, narrowing a little as the girl struggles to keep from just leaping after him instead of her real opponent for the match. But his taunting has gotten her adrenaline going, feeding a bit of ire to compliment her attempts to focus clearly.
"Well, just try not to screw this up," the girl replies, her tone subdued, strained attempts to regain control. He'll screw it up. His clumsy, whirling, flailing punches and kicks that he's headed toward Chun Li with right now are pretty much proof positive of that.
The best Hotaru can hope for is to deliver something skilled enough to distract the woman from realizing just what a klutz the guy is. Charging forward back into the fray of the fight from an angle, Hotaru hops into the air from a few yards out, spinning once at the apex of her jump in order to add a little momentum to two rapid windmilling strikes she aims to deliver toward Chin-Li's shoulder. Though those two strikes are mostly cover for the second attack that comes later - a powerful palm press toward the martial artist's stomach, Hotaru leaning into it with all of her leg and torso strength to deliver a strong blow while her other hand strikes out in the opposite direction to provide just enough counter balance to keep from getting knocked over. "Ya!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Joe's Light Kick.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Joe
> /////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Hotaru's Soushou Shin.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Joe
> /////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
Lots of flailing about from both of her opponents, it seems. Chun-Li certainly had to stay on her toes. Secondary thoughts were dashed from her mind as she tries to keep a mental stock of where Joe and Hotaru were both at once, Chun-Li running the very tip of her tongue over her lips to wet them as she falls into a crouch, allowing Joe's leg to do nothing but scythe through the air. Glancing over her shoulder to glance at Hotaru in the very midst of her jump, Chun-Li leaps up into the air, just a simple straight up leap that allows Hotaru to fly beneath her.
Twisting in the middle of the air so that she faces Hotaru when she lands, the soles of Chun-Li's boots squeak against the stone floor as she takes a step forward, and lifts up a foot towards the middle of Hotaru with a "YA!", delivering a quick, sharp little kick to the poor girl.
With both his punch and his kick have missed their mark entirely, Joe is left spinning completely around once more. When he stops, he's staggering with dizziness and his hands are desperately trying to right the wig that was so effectively handicapping him. He gets the hair out of his face just in time to see Chun-Li's counterattack against Hotaru. "Look out dammit! Stop being so slow!" He taunts again, though with real advice backing him up once more. This was obviously going to require more strength than that flimsy Hotaru could bring to the table, so once again it was up to Joe to save the day!
Joe's stance lowers slightly and his brow furrows as he begins to focus his chi in an attempt to build up his strength to a level where he might be able to put up a decent fight instead of flailing around more in a dress like he has been. The force of his powerful aura flaring up around him sends his dress fluttering about, flashing his partner, his opponent, and the entire audience with his flower-patterned bloomers. This sets the audience off on another laughing binge followed by a chorus of cheers in Joe's name. The adoration serves only to increase Joe's belief that this was his time.
COMBATSYS: Joe gathers his will.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Joe
> /////////////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Hotaru with Medium Kick.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Joe
> /////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
Her sequence of rapid strikes avoided deftly by the agile woman, the best Hotaru can expect to accomplish is recover her footing in time to not get caught for having leaned so hard into the attack. But even as she starts to scramble backward, hoping to switch back to her more acrobatic hit and run techniques, she gets a first hand introduction to just how hard the Chinese fighter can kick.
Stop being so slow! Joe scolds at the same time Hotaru gets struck hard in the stomach, the white-booted foot literally bending her forward over it before the girl falls forward to the ground, left hand pressing against her stomach as she grimaces, catching herself with her right hand against the ground.
"I will as soon as you quite just standing around grossing everyone out!" she replies to Joe as his taunt finally sinks in. Hissing as she sucks back the pain, Hotaru lunges out of the crouched position into a daring leap toward Chun Li, spinning into a quick pirouette before lashing out with a foot aimed at the woman's shoulder, perhaps hoping that she'll find it hard to defend against from the sharp angle the girl comes in from. "Kya!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Hotaru's Light Kick.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
"Ummm..." comes the noise from Chun-Li, her eyes flickering from opponent to opponent in the midst of their squabbling. We just won't comment on those bloomers. Please, Lord, no comment upon those bloomers. But! Here comes Hotaru to distract her, and for a moment, Chun-Li's eyes fix upon the slight girl. Throwing herself backwards, Chun-Li flips and cartwheels away from Hotaru's kick, her legs opening in the midst of her second backflip so that she can land low to the ground, doing the splits. "Do you two need a moment?" she asks, pushing up off of the ground, and cupping her hands in front of herself.
Her eyes, treated with a bit of dark purple eyeshadow, and black eyeliner, narrow a bit as a little bit of a smile touches her face. Inbetween her cupped hands, a burst of blue light flares into being, the wave from that tugging at the corners of her clothes, and sending her hair ribbons to ripple behind herself momentarily. "In any case..." she says, turning towards Joe and thrusting her arms towards him, the ball of energy detaches from her hands, gaining an angry yellow core as it sails across the way towards Mr. Higashi. "KIKOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Joe endures Chun-Li's Kikouken.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
"Well at least I've hit her once! All you've succeeded in doing is making yourself look pitiful!" Joe points an accusing finger at Hotaru then, "I'd almost be better off asking the ref to be on my team!" He jerks his thumb at the ref, who looks almost mortified at just the mention of teaming up with Crossdressing Higashi. Of course, with all the squabbling going on, Joe doesn't notice the fireball until the last possible moment. The best he can do is grit his teeth as it slams into his chest, leaving a nice mark on the dress and a flailing Joe to try and keep the damage from getting any worse.
"Oh damn it all to hell!" Joe exclaims at the top of his lungs. "This dress was borrowed and now you've gone and ruined it you freakin amazon! Do you know how many dishes I'm going to have to wash to make this right?! Do you?!" Joe shakes his fist dangerously at Chun-Li, "At least I know I'm at the wrong match, what exactly is your excuse?" Apparently Joe's just a little bit angry.
Playtime was over. Joe's beautiful dress was ruined and Lilly was going to give him the watery-eyes look when he returned it. That alone was enough to fuel Joe's desire for revenge. He lunges forward, his right shoulder dropping just long enough for him to bring his fist upwards in a powerful uppercut that slices through the air. The force of the blow stirs the air in front of him into a powerful vortex of match fliers, cotton candy, and peanuts. The tornado zooms off across the stage towards Chun-Li, but not before Joe Higashi leaps right into the middle off it and begins to spin about dangerously. Once in range, in what can only be described as controlled flailing, Joe's arms and legs dart out of the vortex as it circles his opponent, trying to land multiple powerful blows as the tornado circles Chun a few times.
Having not extended herself too far this time, Hotaru is able to recover from the missed jump kick easily, landing lightly against the stone surface of the arena then, soft shoes skidding only inches before finding traction. "Good thing there's no water around here for you to fall in and pass out on me this time," Hotaru snaps back, her temperment all but completely fractured at this point. Alas, Chun-Li, no amount of time given the these two is likely to improve things. Best to just suffer through the indignity of it all and get it over with.
And then the Kikouken goes and blasts into the man, damaging the clothing he promised would come back unscathed. "And what was that? You didn't even try to get out of the way!" Hotaru critiques back. He might be able to highlight her own inabilities to land a hit against the lightning fast fighter, but he's hardly winning any awards for being amazing himself. But then he goes off on their honorable opponent and Hotaru shakes her head, eyes half lidded, as she glances back toward Chun-Li, "I'm so sorry you have to put up with this... I'm not even sure why his girlfriend lets him out of the house."
But this is no time to slouch, the girl has an opponent to stick to after all, even if it means coordinating with the insanely messy vortex Higashi just created. As he leaps inot his own attack like some kind of crazed mad man, Hotaru charges forward, zips to the side, then leaps toward Chun-Li from an angle, stomping her foot down toward the woman's shoulder in an attempt to ground her in place for Joe's attack while also trying to flip out of the way of that ridiculous 'technique' of his before it actually lands.
COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Chun-Li with Exploding Hurricane Tiger Heel.
- Power hit! -
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Chun-Li with Light Kick.
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Chun-Li 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Hiking both of her eyebrows upwards in Higashi's general direction, Chun-Li orients herself towards the man, lips pursed thoughtfully. She... had never ever quite seen anything like that ridiculous attack before. And so she was rather taken by surprise when not only the vortex decides to woosh towards her, but when she is treated to a barrage of blows inside of it. When she is finally deposited upon the stone arena, she recalls the little bit of insult being added to injury, a rather painful spot upon her head evidence of Hotaru's passing.
Woozily getting up to her feet, Chun-Li gives her head a shake, taking a rather long moment to reorient herself after that sudden beating she had taken, a flyer tangled up into her ribbons. A long blink, and her gaze goes from Hotaru to Joe once more, the woman chewing a bit upon her lip. Dashing towards the man, Hotaru is momentarily ignored as Chun-Li leaps up into the air, whirling slowly to add momentum to her upcoming move. What was it? Well, when her slow leap and spin take her near Joe, Chun-Li's leg would lash out against the side of his head, her other foot going earthwards to brace herself for that upcoming attack. A flying roundhouse kick, of sorts. And when one such as Chun-li was concerned, that was tractortrailer-stopping force.
COMBATSYS: Joe fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Chun-Li with Hurricane Upper.
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Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
At the conclusion of his attack, Joe leaps backwards out of the vortex, letting the powerful winds dissipate. His dress is even more screwed up now by his own attack than it was from Chun's fireball, but that doesn't concern him. Revenge has been had for the moment, but he is still angry. It really was such a nice dress.
The incoming attack was so easy to deal with that Joe was rather surprised that this woman was a respected fighter. However, rather than just stepping out of the way and letting it pass harmlessly by, Joe jumps back a step, intending to let loose with another powerful tornado that would stop that attack in its tracks. However, Joe isn't really looking where he's going, and when he hops back he ends up crashing right into Hotaru. Before he can tell her to get out of the way, the powerful kick crashes right into the side of his head, sending Joe flying off to the side where he slides to a stop just short of the edge of the stage. He knows he should get up and fight back, but laying down just feels so good right about now.
The Kenpo artist manages to land cleanly after her passing stomp to keep Chun-Li planted. The combination of the attacks land successfully and Hotaru skids to a stop again, turning around to keep her eyes focused on the exceptional fighter even as she goes after Joe instead. Ah hah, a perfect opening! Rolling her arm behind her, the girl begins to charge up to deliver a potent little chi blast of her own, her forearm lighting up with a vibrant blue as the power collects in the palm of her hand. All it takes is some concentration, focus, aiming, timing... she can do it, she can make it cou-
Until Joe crashes into her in his failed attempt to set up for some kind of counter attack against their mutual opponent. "Why you-" the girl retorts, her composure lost, the chi she was collecting in her palm fizzling out completely as she's sent stumbling a bit. Narrowed eyes snap back to the kick boxer, opening her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but he hardly looks cognizant enough to be worth wasting words on just now. "Hmph." There he goes, sabatoging her matches all over again.
Eyes shifting back to Chun-Li then, the girl's expression giving away to somewhat sheepish look to replace the touch of ire there a moment ago. And then she's back on the offense, three rapid steps forward before leaning in to dish out a swift kick toward her shin with her left foot, followed by a snap kick toward her stomach with her right, pushing off with enough force to allow her to roll backwards, trying to put a bit of distance between them again. "Ya!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Hotaru's Light Kick.
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Chun-Li 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Chun-Li's kick successful, all that the Chinese woman had to deal with was the counterattack from Hotaru. That was neatly sidestepped, both little kicks finding no home upon her body. She was really trying to avoid doing what she was about to do next, but... it ~was~ a fight, and circumstances and the situation required it, she supposed. Twisting around towards Hotaru, Chun-Li tenses up, and, sparing only the briefest of glances out of the corner of her eye towards Joe, she asks the girl, "Well... prepare yourself, alright?"
Pursing her lips then, she leaps into action. Like a bolt of lightning, she charges towards the schoolgirl, Chun-Li's foot lashing upwards to deliver a series of exceptionally fast kicks to Hotaru. Head, torso, gut, over and over again. But she didn't stop after a flurry of those. She simply changed feet, doing the same with her other foot then. Assuming she got this far, she would step closer to Hotaru, and deliver the kicking version of an uppercut, forcefully launching the girl up into the air... before leaping up to follow after her with a series of flying, upwards-directed kicks. Hopefully... poor Hotaru wouldn't be hurt too badly by all of that, should it hit. All the while, Chun-Li was bearing the secret hope that the girl would dodge!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Chun-Li's Houyoku Sen.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Completely oblivious to the epic combat going on nearby, Joe Higashi slowly pulls himself to his feet. He staggers from side to side for a few seconds before turning around to face the rest of the fighters in the ring. His vision is blurry and his wig is now on sideways, making it impossible for him to see out of one eye, but Joe doesn't seem to notice. He can't make out which person is his teammate and which is his opponent, so instead of just diving right into battle once more, he decides to just take a moment to regain his senses in the hopes that things will at least clear up enough for him to once again engage in furious punching.
COMBATSYS: Joe focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Joe
> //////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
As her second kick meets only air, Hotaru has to struggle a little to regain her footing. Attempting to attack quickly enough to keep up with someone like Chun-Li while also keeping her own stance stable is something the girl is going to need to improve upon, she realizes.
Fortunately for her, the Chinese fighter gives her a break to catch herself while taking stock in the situation and warning her of the impending attack. "Nn," the girl nods, blue eyes narrow with focused intent. Now that she doesn't have to deal with STUPID JOE, she can finally concentrate, putting her speed and experience to its best as she tries to learn to adapt to the far more experienced martial artist's style.
And then its the moment of truth, the woman coming in like a blur of blue, leaving Hotaru to try and fend for herself. The first flurry of kicks is handled by a quick step to the side, leaning first in order to avoid the blow that would have been stunningly devestating to her head, followed by the rest of her body. The change in direction of the attack with the other foot almost catches her - she practically couldn't even see it. One instant a white boot is lancing through the air at her repeatedly, and the next moment another foot is coming at her just as fast. How did she even change her stance that quick??
In the end, the girl crouches slightly under a high kick, then finally drops backward into a roll in order to put distance between her and the World's Strongest Woman, allowing her to come back up on her feet a little ways off, visibly shaken and winded from the effort of avoiding that assault, but not even a ribbon on her head was harmed. "W-whew..."
And with that, the girl is back on the offense, taking to the air. At the apex of her jump she flips forward, diving toward Chun-Li with her right knee. If the attack connects, she'll use the position in order to follow up with a swift kick toward her shoulder with her left foot in order to slow any attempt at retaliation, before she backflips through the air, once again trying to buy some distance.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Chun-Li with Rengeki Shuu.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Joe
> /////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
The distance is bought, at a fair price to Chun-Li. The knee catches the woman beneath the chin, snapping her head backwards and dislodging a little blood from her lips. Ouch. The kick to her shoulder staggers her back a step or three too, Chun-Li falling to one knee as her gaze watches Hotaru's retreat. Distance Hotaru might want, but distance she was not going to be allowed to have. Rising up from that kneel, Chun-Li launches herself forward in a leap, her body inverting over the stone ground as she stretches her legs, one before and behind herself. All in all, she looked like a rather deadly helicopter as she whirls across the ground towards the spirited young fighter. "SPINNING BIRD KICK!"
As the cloud in his mind begins to clear, Joe Higashi begins to slowly lurch forward. With each step his moves become more and more defined until it seems that he's finally shaken off the powerful kick to the head. He quickly rights the wig one more time and then breaks into a dash towards Chun-Li as she spins towards Hotaru. If he's really lucky, he can keep the attack from completely obliterating his partner. If he's not, he'll just end up on the floor again, probably for good.
With his chi mostly sapped, Joe begins to twirl about this time without the aid of his tornado. Each time his body comes around, a different limb has been extended in attack. A low kick, a high punch to the face, a strong knee to the torso, another low kick, a quick jab to side. The moves keep coming in at random based on whatever whim Joe feels at the moment. There are no strong winds to obscure his strikes this time, and hopefully that doesn't leave him too open to retaliation.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Hotaru with Spinning Bird Kick EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Joe
> ///////// ]
|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Hotaru
Though she bought a bit of distance with her backward flip through the air, there's still the matter of recovering her footing and getting ready to deal with the next attack... Which ends up going no where nearly as well. She recognizes the move. She's seen Chun-Li's fight videos before. It seemed, when observed from an outside perspective, not that hard to avoid. It's kind of obvious after all. But here, in person? She finds out that appearances aren't always what they seem at first.
Should she go low? High? Sideways? Caught in a moment of indecision, she tries to step backward, underestimating the forward momentum of the attack.
And that error is costly, the girl getting struck repeatedly in the head by the spinning legs of the one of the world's strongest kickers. In the end, it's enough to drive her off her feet, collapsing to the ground, landing on her palms and knees as she shakes her head, trying to clear the stars that she's seeing now. Almost out, but not quite, the girl gets back up to her feet slowly, half her hair falling losely down her shoulder as it appears one of her ribbons got kicked clean off by the assault. A hand comes up to steady herself for only an instant, befoer she's off on the offense again, charging forward in order to leap into a quick spin much like the attack earlier.
Only this time there's a rapid flurry of windmilling strikes instead of just two. And if she manages to land any of them and get through Chun-Li's defenses, she'll add a shoulder slam and spinning jump kick to finish the attack!
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li dodges Joe's Exploding Hurricane Tiger Heel.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Joe
> ///////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Chun-Li with Ten-ren-ge.
[ \\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Chun-Li 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Joe
> ///////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
Recovering from her upside down kick rather quickly, Chun-Li manages to cast a glance over her shoulder towards Joe. A moment, and she flings herself out of the way in a roll to one side... and she comes out of that roll to Hotaru's flurry of attacks. Her defense was rather meager; there is a motion of bringing her arms up to protect herself, but Hotaru's hands find the holes in her defense anyways. Add to that the shoulder slam, and upwards jumping assault, and the Chinese warrior finds herself vaulted up off of the ground, sailing through the air to land upon her shoulders some distance away.
Weak was the way she picks herself up off of the ground, biting down rather hard upon her lower lip. Flicking her eyes from person to person, Chun-Li's gait is strong as she traverses the space between herself and Joe in an instant, before bringing her foot up... with a "YA YA YA!" cry, Chun-Li seeks to deliver a series of lightning-fast kicks to Joe's face, torso, and gut, and with the very last one... Chun-Li crumples to the ground, breathing heavy and head hanging, clearly spent.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li can no longer fight.
> ////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Joe
> ///////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Joe blocks Chun-Li's Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
> /////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Joe
> ///////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
Joe spins out of his assault just in time to see Chun-Li zooming towards him, her kicks coming one after the other in a relentless assault. Without even thinking, Joe begins to use his arms and legs to block each incoming attack, leaving no holes in his defense for Chun to exploit. The strikes still hurt, but when the flurry ends, Joe Higashi is the one left standing. He tilts his head back and forth, grinning like an idiot, "Well now, that's one woman down. Time to deal with the last one." He points a finger at Hotaru, "Just because this competition is for World's Strongest Woman doesn't mean I'm going to just roll over and let you win!" He punches his fists together firmly, "Nothing ever comes easy!" With that said, the wild crossdresser launches himself towards Hotaru, his powerful fist pulling backwards as he prepares to smash the smaller girl right in the face.
COMBATSYS: Joe successfully hits Hotaru with Strong Punch.
> /////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Joe
> // ]
|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Landing after her finishing jump kick, Hotaru gasps for breath, having had to push herself hard for several long minutes to keep up with the pacing of this fight. But as she lands, knees bending a little as she considers dropping to a crouch to catch her breath, she can see that Chun-Li has taken all she can take... even if she plans on taking the obnoxious Joe down with her. Well, serves him right, ponders the girl, standing up straighter now, hands at her hips, a sense of accomplishment filling her at having survived this fight even with someone was /USELESS/ as Joe Higashi to work with.
She barely even realizes that Joe manages to stay standing after Chun-Li's assault, turning around to glance toward the ref as if to confirm that the match is over, her first shot in a main event ending with a win after a hard battle. But then the moment of backstabbing treachory is at hand! Hotaru becomes vaguely aware that the braggart is talking to her, and as much as she would like to ignore him, she figures she might as well remain outwardly amicable before the audience after their unlikely teamwork pulled through.
This, unfortunately, has her turning right around into getting socked in the face, right on the nose, the strength of the blow sending her reeling backward... just about to fall off her feet but not quite. A hand comes up, covering her nose, feeling the moisture of a vessel ruptured, eyes glaring back at him, looking shocked and betrayed, and just a little teary eyed. "You idiot! This wasn't a free for all! We were working togethern you jerk!" Hotaru shouts back, all pretenses of bein nice to the guy thrown right out the window.
Gritting her teeth, the girl lowers her hand and charges directly back for him, pulling her right arm back in order to just sock him right back in the face, followed by her left, then right, then left, then jumping into a roundhouse for the side of the man's head!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.
> /////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Joe
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Joe with Ten-ren-ge.
> / ]
|======-\-------\0 Joe
After he feels his punch connect, Joe turns around without even making sure that Hotaru's down. He knows that was all it took to put her down, so now it's time to make with the celebrating. He does a quick lap around the ring, his arms raised in victory. He turns around to check in with referee just in time to take a few punches to the face. Joe staggers backwards from the blows, but not far enough to avoid the final roundhouse that sends him careening off the stage. True to Higashi form, the only way he can leave a fight is on a stretcher, and this time is no different.
COMBATSYS: Joe takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Joe can no longer fight.
Log created on 15:09:44 09/02/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 06:05:22 09/07/2007.