Description: The self-avowed God of Battle, bored out of his wits, picks a fight with the Beast of Prey in a city street. PEOPLE EXPLODE. Watch for: K' getting power hit by bubble tea, the vengeance enacted for said waste of bubble tea, and Horatio Caine. seriously, make sure to scroll to the end
Ahh, Chinatown. For many of Southtown's residents who have come over from the continent, it's a little slice of home away from home. Even though it's more like Hong Kong than any other part of China, the Shanghai-born Shenwoo still finds it a fairly comfortable place to hang out, even though his actual /residence/ is outside of the district. The tall, lean half-Asian is kind of a well-known fixture in this part of the city, which isn't difficult since he tends to stand out in /any/ crowd. Lately, he hasn't been doing too much in the way of fighting, at least not where anyone else would see it, and truth be told... He's getting a little bit bored.
So it is that the berserker is out a-walkin', his right hand tucked casually into the pocket of his leather trousers while his left holds a drink, a plastic cup from one of the probably dozens or hundreds of bubble tea shops that have sprung up around the district. As usual, he can't be bothered to do up his shirt, but that's just how Shen rolls. There's a faint frown on his face, and his dark eyes are hooded as he glances around boredly. If only something would present itself; somebody entertaining, at least. It's Southtown after all, aren't there strong people around every corner?
An answer to Shenwoo's dilemma soon presents itself, in the form of a certain silver-haired young man who has likewise been driven out into the city due to boredom. Maxima's out God knows where, it's a weekday, and there's nothing else to do: no one to even coax a spar out of. He might as well just head out, see if he finds anything of note that could help the two of them. Who thought freedom and autonomy would be quite so boring?
He's standing there, slightly slouched, hands hooked into his pockets as he morosely peruses a posting tacked haphazardly outside one of the more popular venues for young, aspiring fighters to prove themselves against their peers. He's frowning intensely, his eyes-- albeit hidden away by his usual pair of shades-- raking obviously down the list. Nothing here of interest. He's probably better off sticking with that SNF thing Maxima was talking about. It's not easy, brainless wins he's looking for, after all, and the people are way more distinctive.
He rolls a shoulder irritably, turns away, and starts walking off. Incidentally, his path is due to cross with Shenwoo's... very soon.
That's the thing about living free, answerable only to yourself; you've got nobody else to blame when you haven't got anything to do. Shenwoo has learned that lesson long ago, which is of course why he learned to make his own fun. The brawler continues walking, his expression lazy though he is nevertheless actually quite attentive to his surroundings, and eventually, finally, his path and the path of K' do indeed cross. As he spies the strange-looking younger man, the taller fighter's frown fades, replaced with the beginnings of a wolfish smile. He stops, forcing the tide of people moving through Chinatown of an afternoon to part around him like a rock in the rapids, and he tilts his head slightly to one side.
Ohh, maybe this will be interesting?
After all, Shenwoo is more than just a fighter - he's an avid watcher of all manner of combative sports, and that includes the illustrious Saturday Night Fight franchise. Particularly in situations where people he knows are involved, such as his only actual friend, Ash Crimson. He was watching, this weekend just past, and he actually won a fair bit of money betting on the Frenchman. But as a result of this, he recognises K', and he knows that the other young man has got some strength. Sure, he got beat by Ash, but in Shen's experience so do most people. Ash is just really good at what he does. So, Shen takes a long pull of his bubble tea, which is terribly refreshing, and then he opens his mouth to speak. "Hey, nice hair, freak," the God of Battle says, his voice loud and strident as he speaks to K' above the din of the crowds. "Didn't I see you get your ass beat like a little girl on Saturday?"
K' is in the process of passing by Shenwoo, shoulder to shoulder with the self-avowed God of Battle, when the other man decides to speak up... and prove he's also the God of Assholes.
Not even K' is this outright about it. ...Not usually, at least.
K' comes to stop, slightly beyond Shenwoo. He frowns to himself, a heavy sort of silence soaking the space between them, and then he glances over his shoulder. Light glances off the shades he wears, his eyes completely hidden-- but the sardonic cant of his mouth perfectly clear. He looks Shenwoo up and down rather obviously despite those shades, advertising his appraisal not by any movement of the head but by the length of his stare. And then he scoffs lightly, turns back, and starts to walk -away-.
"Maybe," his reply drifts back. "I might have seen you there. Behind the barrier like a good little boy, staying way clear of the explosions..." K' trails off. And then he tacks on an addendum, seemingly as an afterthought.
"Don't waste my time unless you can make it worth it."
It's a carefully calculated tactic to provoke K' into a fight, you see. It's clever! Honest. By insulting another fighter's masculine pride, Shenwoo can goad them into violence, and then fun stuff happens. But, it seems that K' isn't going to rise to the bait, which must mean that the flamewielder has grown as a person; of course, throwing his own insults back doesn't really come off as that mature. "Nah, I wasn't there," Shen replies, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. "I had better things to do than go all that way to watch a fight I already knew the ending to, you know?" But there goes K', still walking away. And giving a little last parting shot. Okay then.
Shenwoo tilts his head slightly once again, at K''s back, and for a moment he considers. For just a split second, which is a lot longer than he usually spends thinking about much of anything. And then, with the other man still walking away, back turned, Shenwoo pulls his left had back, and then throws it out, releasing his bubble tea as hard as he can throw it, right at the flamewielder's turned back. "That's my line, chump!!" Shen bellows, as he throws his drink at K'. REAL MATURE, GUYS.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has started a fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 K'
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits K' with Thrown Object.
- Power hit! -
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 K'
Mature? Shenwoo, talking about /K''s/ lack of maturity? Hello, pot and kettle. K' simply isn't responsive enough to start fights willy-nilly at the slightest provocation. And in fact, for people like Shenwoo, failing to react entirely is his own special way of being An Asshole.
As for the incoming missile? K' doesn't even notice it. After all, who expects somebody to be SO IMMATURE as to throw a cup? But apparently Shenwoo is, for it smacks square between K''s shoulderblades with a pretty satisfying thunk and a forlorn rattle of ice. Perfectly good bubble tea goes crashing to the floor, breaking open as it hits the ground, and all that tapoica goodness goes swimming across the ground. WHAT A WASTE. Shenwoo, you suck.
As for K'? The kid's frown gets even more intense, eyebrows attacking one another over the bridge of his shades, because that fucking HURT. Quietly, he reaches up and pulls his shades off. Calmly, he flicks the arms of it shut with a twitch of the wrist. Sedately, he puts them carefully away.
And then he whips straight around, not even bothering to say anything in reply, and lunges through the air as if intending to kick Shenwoo square in the face-- but at the last moment, he drops down to the ground, skidding in with a smarting kick to the knees.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures K''s Narrow Spike.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 K'
Actually, Shenwoo starts fights willy-nilly even /without/ the slightest provocation. He's like some kind of self-perpetuating fight machine. And yes, it wasn't mature of him at all to throw the cup, but it's not like it's the first time he's done such... One time he hit Roy with a half-eaten apple, and on another occasion he hit Iori with Yagami's /very own slushie/. So yeah. Also, when he throws stuff, it /does/ tend to hurt, y'know? But then there's a K' flying at him through the air, and Shen's face just lights up. His mouth pulls into a wide, feral grin, and his dark eyes glint with exhiliration. Here it comes, a fight, a fight! And so, Shenwoo gets kicked in the knees, staggering back in pain, but... It doesn't stop him.
Still off-balance, Shenwoo doesn't even bother to recover properly, just throwing his weight all the way forward, pulling his left fist back again. With all that weight and momentum behind him, it's perhaps no surprise that the self-styled 'God of Battle' goes for a lunging attack, thrusting his left fist out in a rushing punch aimed right for K''s center of mass, hoping to blast the 'Beast of Prey' right off of his feet. "GRAAAAH!!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits K' with Gekiken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 K'
K' skids to a stop in the wake of his attack, rocking on his heels. He's not quick enough in getting out again, however-- though it's always rough trying to back out after that particular blow-- and Shenwoo, faster to retaliate, gets him straight in the chest. K' is knocked clear back, saving himself from a painful landing only with a rapid flip and twist to get his feet beneath him. He lands like a cat, slightly winded, and strangely... completely silent, even despite the pain that must have caused.
It wasn't in his conditioning to permit any shows of pain.
He mantles there like an animal for a moment, stance wide and low to the ground; and then he surges forward again, like he just doesn't know when to quit. One gloved hand whips upwards, lashing fire in a ring before K' as he goes, and once he gets in close he snaps a quick kick straight upwards at the resultant whip of flame, aiming to smash that fire-- and the kick, for that matter-- into Shenwoo.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Shenwoo with Second Shell.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 K'
Ahh, that's always satisfying, landing a solid hit like that against an opponent. As K' flies back from the connecting fist, Shenwoo bleeds off his remaining momentum by taking a twisting step, ending up in a standing position again, facing K' as the latter ends up crouched like a cat. And he doesn't even cry out or make an angry sound or anything? Hmph, that's gonna hurt Shen's feelings! "C'mon, show me what you got," the former street thug says, bracing himself as K' starts rushing towards him. He sees the sudden burst of flames, and the start of that kick, and then Shenwoo... Lunges right into it. He's not trying to /just/ get hit, but that's what happens, as he mistimes the attack and ends up losing the opening he was hoping to create, but don't worry.
Shenwoo doesn't know when to quit either.
Staggering back only a little from the kick, singed by flames, Shen reaches for K''s collar, to grab him by that shiny leather jacket and yank him /forward/, while lunging into the other fighter as he does so, with every intention of bringing his forehead into a sharp, resounding contact with the younger man's face, for a single, brutal headbutt. "That was WEAK!!"
COMBATSYS: K' interrupts Strong Punch from Shenwoo with Claw Bites.
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Shenwoo 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 K'
It's not really in K''s nature to make noise or cry out: no. He's fairly quiet, preferring a sharp tongue and cruel, brief stabs to shouts and screams. Raised and bred as an operative by NESTS, he's been conditioned to hold his tongue and take pain for the chance to deal out some in return, and that kind of upbringing is hard to break. Nor does K' see any reason, really, to break it. It helps in unnerving some opponents.
Not Shenwoo, however; the berserker, it seems, is too crazy about the fight to feel much of anything else: much less intimidation. K' lets out a sharp breath as he's seized, yanked in close and suddenly staring a really painful headbutt in the face. But abruptly his expression changes from that grim look. It mutates into something almost... crafty.
The reason why is shown soon enough when K''s right hand suddenly alights, a searing fire sheathing it from fingertip to wrist. That hand comes up in a clawing upwards hook straight at Shenwoo's chin, the characteristic fiery uppercut a weird cross between Iori's clawed ferocity and Kyo's intense red flame. The blow's hopefully enough to knock the other fighter back and force him to release his grip, giving K' a little time to breathe and take stock.
Crafty? That can't possibly be good for Shenwoo. Already committed to his headbutt, there's not much he can do about the sudden emergence of more crimson flames, and so he gets hit on the chin, knocked up and back by the force of the fiery strike. Though he's probably as used to real, physical pain as K' is, silence isn't something the former street thug excels at, so he does let out a grunt at the powerful attack, much stronger than anything K' has used on him thus far. Hitting the ground on one shoulder, Shen rolls ending up in a low crouch... And he grins from ear to ear, his broad slash of a mouth pulled into a mad, wolfish grin. His dark eyes positively shine with glee. "I knew it. I KNEW it! You were holding back!" the brawler barks happily, as he smoothly gets to his feet.
"If you keep that up with me, you're gonna get killed, you know. Show me how strong you really are! OR ELSE!!" Shen bellows, rushing forward at K' once again. As he gets close, the self-styled 'God of Battle' skids to a stop, and he twists, and then he puts the lie to anyone who ever called him a 'boxer' as he swings his leg up off the ground, using his turning momentum to swing his heel at the side of K''s head, somewhere around the other fighter's temple, in a potentially very hurtful kick. "RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Shenwoo's Heavy Kick.
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Shenwoo 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 K'
K' licks thoughtfully along the edges of his teeth, much like a cat, as he slinks back a few steps and gauges his opponent. The corner of his mouth's pulled up in half a smirk, that feral expression the only response given Shenwoo's taunts; Shenwoo accuses him of holding back, and K''s only reply is to tilt his head maddeningly, offering no confirmation one way or another. The young clone is nearly as caught up in the fight as Shenwoo is; and though his method of showing it is far quieter, it's still got some of the same bestial ferocity.
Part of the reason he's watching so carefully, eschewing some of the sheer relentless violence he'd normally be employing, is because Shenwoo hurts. A lot. In that vein, he's quick to react when the brawler moves in for another punishing blow, slipping back out of the way of that swiping kick. The attack passes by within inches.
He was also taking a minute to catch his breath and find his balance again; that brief pause over with, he actually leaps back a few paces, sets his stance, and swipes another coil of flame in the air. This time he actually delivers the mess of fire a rapid roundhouse, sending the bolt streaking at Shenwoo. "You really want to see it...?" he asks conversationally, over the snarl of fire.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures K''s Second Shoot.
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Shenwoo 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 K'
His roundhouse missing, Shenwoo doesn't seem the least bit irritated, oh no. Instead, he laughs, a short, sharp bark of mirth at the sudden display of speed from K' who, thus far, seemed to be not even bothering to do anything about those incoming attacks. "It's no fun for me if you don't give it all you've got," Shen replies simply, as that bolt of flame screams through the air towards him, and in turn Shenwoo... Rushes forward to meet it. There's an explosion as fire meets flesh, an eruption of light and heat but in the end, the brawler is still there, still running headlong right at K'. Wisps of flame stll cling to him, and Shen staggers a step or two, but he keeps on rushing at his opponent.
And then, something else happens.
There's a sudden, violent flare of chi around Shenwoo, a sharp red aura as his latent power comes spilling forth, rage and chi filling him, lending additional power to the raw strength he already possesses. And then, as he gets close to K', he swings his left fist in a plain-looking cross at the younger fighter's face... And if that hits, it's Shenwoo's cue to unleash hell.
Following that first attack, the self-styled 'God of Battle', now a berserker in truth, will let loose a furious assault of attacks, with fists and feet and forehead and knees, driving K' further and further back, before finishing the whole thing off with another Gekiken. Could this be the end of poor K'?!
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Shenwoo's Bakuma Assault.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 K'
Half-expecting Shenwoo to simply burst through his attack-- judging by the berserker's past behavior-- K''s already braced and set his stance by the time Shenwoo tears into him. It hurts like hell trying to block that vicious assault, but K' grits his teeth and bears it. His arms-- the primary shield he's got against those powerful blows-- take so many hits they feel like liquid by the time Shenwoo lets up.
K' ends up forced back some distance, half-skidding, half stumbling back in the wake of that assault. Though he's absolutely certain his arms are going to be a mess of bruises and bleeding flesh tomorrow, though he's a bit shaky on his feet, he's not quite out yet. And Shenwoo's just told him to give it all he's got.
Well-- admittedly, what K' has in mind isn't his strongest. But it's effective by virtue of its sheer shock value. Few people ever see it coming until it's slammed into them at about Mach 2. The younger fighter steadies his stance, his left hand briefly manacling his right wrist-- and his right hand comes alive with fire.
K' hesitates only a moment, flame curling and licking in the palm of his hand, before he sears forwards, straight at Shenwoo, like a star knocked out of orbit. The full force of that fire, which by now has erupted into a conflagration, is driven directly at the berserker in an unerring straight line of flame.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Shenwoo with Heat Drive.
- Power hit! -
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Shenwoo 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 K'
It's not many people who can actually defend against that particular attack, you know; most people would have their defenses soundly battered down by the seemingly endless parade of hits... Though there are always fighters capable of defending anything, or even stopping it cold. Like, well, Ash Crimson for example. The stupid jerk. But if Shenwoo could beat the Frenchman, he'd probably be strangely disappointed. Rebounding back off of the final attack, even as K' skids back as well, Shen is left to try catching his breath, shoulders heaving from the exertion of that attack. For a moment, at least, that maddened grin is nowhere to be seen, but he's nevertheless quite impressed with K'. What seemed initially like it would be all too easy is swiftly turning out to be exactly the challenge Shen wanted.
And then comes the Helluva Fast Attack, of course. Shenwoo watches that gathering flame for the time K' spends before attacking, and then when the other fighter careens towards him, the brawler does what comes naturally; he tries to get the hell out of way. Unfortunately, he doesn't gauge the speed of K''s movements right at all, and instead he leaves himself wide open, blasted by the oncoming K' and his wreath of flames.
Landing hard, Shenwoo takes a minute before he gets his footing back, sitting up with a laugh. His shoulders shake, his eyes are squeezed half shut as he keeps right on laughing, getting to his feet as he does so. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Shenwoo says, unable to really vocalise what he's thinking because, well, possibly insane laughter. Obviously, he's having fun here. "Haaa ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!" But nevertheless, he closes distance with K', mercilessly stalking the younger, smaller fighter and, as he gets closer, he lifts one leg from the ground to smash it, hard, into K''s gut. "HAAAA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!" If that works, then he throws all his weight forward, in a vicious overhand punch aimed to knock K' right into the ground!
COMBATSYS: K' interrupts Fusen Kyaku from Shenwoo with Claw Bites.
[ < > ///// ]
Shenwoo 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 K'
K' rides to a stop, rocking back on his heels as he kills his speed. Swiveling around on said heels, his stance sets as he watches tensely for Shenwoo's reaction. Which is... somewhat unexpected, all told.
K' almost looks nonplussed for an instant at the berserker's mad laughter; and then, his expression folds away again into something decidedly wary. Eyes narrowed, he takes a minute to wipe blood from his face: spitting more of it to the ground. Despite his scowling exterior-- the way his shoulders have started to slouch again, an advertisement either of careless unconcern or of fatigue-- in some dim way, he's as pleased as Shenwoo to find such a hard challenge: though obviously, significantly less insane about it. Now -this- is worth his time.
He tenses as Shenwoo rushes in again, and-- resigning himself to another of those powerful, stinging hits-- he actually surges into the attack driven at him. The first blow he takes to the side with a brief snarl of pain, but he's intent on -not- permitting the second to happen. Again, that fire surges to life about his hand as it whips around, clawing straight into Shenwoo's attempt to flatten him right into the ground.
Like Shenwoo would be unable to get up after a little thing like that? The brawler's been on the receiving end of attacks from some of the best the fighting community has to offer. Geese Howard, Terry Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami... He's faced off with illustrious names like these more than once, and more than once with rather surprising results. Though his kick doesn't hit how he wanted it to, Shen hardly seems discouraged, even when he's once again caught with hand and flames, knocked back and down by the impact. He doesn't stay down long though, a last surge of adrenaline empowering him to spring to his feet, and rush right at K' again.
Twisting, Shen pulls his left fist back, and he starts to move even faster. Not as fast, or as smoothly as he would normally, the combined effect of all those hits putting enough of a strain on his body to keep him from functioning at full efficiency, but it's fast enough, as his form blurs half out of sight, wavering oddly, and he throws his fist forward now in another rushing punch. One far faster, and far stronger, than the one K' faced earlier. A shockwave of pure force envelops Shenwoo as he attacks, riding on his fist and expanding outwards, turning him into some kind of madcap, human missile. "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo can no longer fight.
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K' 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits K' with Zetsu! Gekiken.
[ <
K' 1/----===/=======|
Panting heavily, winded himself from the effort involved in knocking Shenwoo to the floor, K' doesn't have the presence of mind-- or the endurance-- to manage to get out of the way of that last parting shot. He's having enough trouble seeing Shenwoo, after the brawler put on enough speed that he registers only as a blur. Hit square in the chest, caught before he can even think of trying to blur away into those characteristic black shadows of his, K''s struck straight back into the nearest wall, impacting hard before he drops back down to the ground.
He lands heavily, jarringly, on his knees, half-slumped and exhausted. Spitting another stream of blood, he coughs hard a few moments before he regains his composure. "Ass!" he mutters under his breath once he's got enough air to talk, swiping blood from his mouth-- but it can't entirely be said that he didn't take anything out of this. At the least, it was good practice. But whatever his meaning is, he's down for the count himself. He won't even have to wait until the next morning to start feeling the effects of this particular fight.
And after the Zetsu! Gekiken, Shenwoo takes another turning step to recover, but ends up slumping over, only barely managing to catch himself on a streetlight. It's always good to find somebody who can push you to the limit, in Shen's opinion, and today K' certainly managed to do that. But in the end, neither one nor the other was really able to gain a decisive edge, were they? The brawler nevertheless seems quite happy as he leans there, dark eyes watching K' as the other young man recovers from getting quite solidly punched, though he also looks pretty singed. That's okay though; Shenwoo is distressingly used to being set on fire, mainly courtesy of his flame-tossing roommate.
"Heh... I guess you're better than I thought," the berserker says, pushing himself up and off of the post, to shaky but solid enough footing. "I'll have to fight you again." Which is honestly the highest compliment Shenwoo is capable of paying anyone. If he doesn't have any fun fighting someone, after all, he won't fight them again... And the only thing he really cares about is the thrill of the fight. And then, he starts to move away, because he needs to replace that bubble tea he threw at K'. Fighting is thirsty work, especially when people throw fire at you!
"Heh. Glad to make your -day-..." The sentence bears something of an edge, sharp sarcasm honing the edges of those words until it's uncertain whether he's sincere or not. K' pushes himself to his feet, an audible crack in his back as he straightens. Half a crooked, sardonic smirk flickers darkly on his face, and then K' turns away. He's about to stalk off, slouched in his customary careless posture-- but then he pauses. He reaches into his jacket. And he removes his shades, the resilient eyewear somehow mysteriously untouched.
He slides his shades on, adjusts them, and only then does he depart: the two erstwhile combatants leaving behind a mess of scorch marks and blood, for the curious to pore over.
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
BONUS POSE:
Hours from now, the burning sunset tinges Southtown under a yellow filter, gilding the blood-stained pavement gold. It is there Detective Horatio Caine crouches, his eyes burning holes into the pavement. He has not moved from doing this for many minutes. The officer next to him looks over warily, but knows not to speak. No one interrupts moments like this. "It seems whoever was here liked the play with fire," Caine narrates then, out of nowhere, running a hand where dried blood makes bedmates with scorchmarks. He frowns. His sunglasses slip on. "And got burned."
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Log created on 15:54:40 09/03/2007 by K', and last modified on 22:35:01 09/03/2007.