Description: And Chaos well and truly ensues, a seesaw battle that has a surprise finish for the three hard-working fighters! Also: Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. (Triple KO / Draw Match)
Shoes. Shoes. Glorious shoes.
Imelda Marcos' got nothing on the sheer number of new shoes, boots and other assorted footwear found within Southtown Harbour's shipping warehouse for pretty much every footwear establishment in all of Southtown. This evening, this Saturday night as it were, the warehouse is devoid of the usual workers - no inventory is being tracked, no shipments being loaded or unloaded, no accidental boxes of shoes falling upon a helpless worker (and according to signage it's been at least 42 days since the last time that happened). No. Tonight the warehouse is unusually well lit, and covered with camera crews, all courtesy of Howard Enterprises and the Saturday Night Fight Crew.
The premise was simple, at least in theory. Invite three fighters to the remote warehouse shoe depository, let them battle it out, and have the SNF funds take care of the wanton damage and destruction that would hopefully ensue. Would that be the outcome? Only time will tell. Regardless, Howard Enterprises has put aside quite the sum of money on this battle, anticipating a substantial loss of inventory, or property damage.
As is customary in the world of tournament fighting, Shingo Yabuki received his weekly Saturday Night Fight invitation, and as is usually the case had to read it a few times due to its cryptic message and semi-Engrish tones. 'Warehouse of shoes hold fight.' was all the mysterious invitation card that Shingo received read...beyond the usual mini-map and directions. The invitation was received hours ago...now, Shingo Yabuki, Taiyo High student and self-proclaimed student of Kyo Kusanagi has been waiting inside the loading dock of the shoe warehouse, having arrived earlier than the alloted time in the hopes of being able to personally meet and greet his opponents prior to their match. To that end, the youth decided to bring a freshly baked tray of cookies, and a few pitchers of lemonade, knowing full well how a good fight can make one both hungry and thirsty.
And so the cheery lad stands, smiles widely and waits, the lights from the interior of the warehouse causing him to appear as an odd silhouette to anyone who may approach - odd especially due to him holding the tray of cookies out with one hand, and the pitcher of lemonade with the other.
It'd been a while since he'd last signed up, so Frei felt this week was as good a week as any to throw his hat in the ring for Saturday Night Fight. But then he went fishing, and met with some YFCC people, and a lot of other things that passed the week away. In fact, he was sitting in the YFCC office not three hours prior to this very moment skimming YouTube videos when he clicked on one in particular and a lightbulb went off.
"...oh, right."
Flash forward to now, when he enters the warehouse, ready for battle... sort of. Never mind the long, straight blonde wig, the red rectangular fake glasses, the tight pink shirt, the black pleather jacket with matching skirt, and the red and white candy-striped leggings with a pair of low-heeled black slingbacks.
In deference to his typical costume, he retains the headband. In black cloth.
Looking around the warehouse, the in-drag monk opens his mouth wide and then says, in an absurd, Valley Girl-esque accent: "...oh my god, shoes."
Yes, a simple concept. A warehouse full of shoes. Three fighters. One winner takes all. At least... takes an SNF. Hokuto isn't sure she likes this setup--a warehouse is a prime place for accidents and mistakes... but she signed up. She spent more time scanning the lists of fighters, hoping to see Kairi's name--she knows, has heard, that even the most mysterious of fighters are drawn to the prestigious 'Saturday Night Fights'...
... to no avail. And now it's time for the fight. Hokuto is the last to arrive, which is not to say that she's late, merely precisely on time. She deigns not to wear other than her typical outfit for this fight, which means she's wearing the gi top with the red chest protector, and the blue skirt-pants so common to the Japanese martial arts... and white ankle socks with tabi sandals.
Being the newcomer to this event, she arrives on-scene and immediately goes to one of the directors--who, as his title would suggest, -directs- her... to her starting point, equilaterally opposite the other two.
She nods to Frei, barely recognizing him in his cosplay outfit, which... gets an odd quirky look from her... and then she's concentrating, calming herself and preparing for the battle.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto has started a fight here.
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Hokuto 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.
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Hokuto 0/-------/-------|
O...k...
So it seems that bringing baked goods and refreshments wasn't the best of ideas that Shingo has had recently. If anything, he should've brought along his new blade acquisition, but he felt that swinging a sword around in a shoe warehouse against potentially unarmed foes wasn't exactly the smartest of ideas...so he left it at home. In retrospect, it may have been smarter to bring that then the cookies and lemonade. Oh well, if he's lucky, perhaps he'll get to enjoy them AFTER the fight.
Waving and smiling brightly to both his opponents and the cameras, Shingo deftly puts down his goodies and makes his way into what appears to be the cleared out area for the trio to fight in. Hamming it up slightly for the cameras, Shingo bows deeply to bother of his opponents, smile never fading from his face, his voice equally if not moreso cheery than his smiling. "Why hello there! My name is Shingo Yabuki, number one student to the great Kyo Kusanagi. It's a pleasure to meet you both...and...well, I look forward to our battle! I wish you both the best of luck, and hope that like me, you'll be giving it your all!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here.
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Hokuto 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shingo
COMBATSYS: Shingo focuses on his next action.
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Hokuto 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Shingo
The monk blinks a little as he sees Hokuto walk in, and then gives her an enthusiastic wave. If that costume of his is the result of a dare or bet, he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. "Hi! Never thought I'd see you again this quiWHOA!" Then he's pitching forward a little and only a quick rebalancing keeps him from tumbling entirely over onto the floor. Straightening himself, he pulls on the bottom edge of the pleather jacket and grins sheepishly. "Harder to keep your footing in these than I thought."
His attention is diverted by Shingo's speech, which actually catches the monk off guard. It sounds a little too much like he had it pre-written on a little cue card he's got sewn into his collar, or something. Scratching the side of his head, Frei shrugs and then shakes out his hands, getting pumped up for the fight, a sudden and brief burst of wind flipping his wig and skirt around a little, but not knocking them off... nothing more than a side effect of his gathering of chi. "Uh, yeah! You too."
Then he stumbles backwards and just barely catches himself on a nearby storage rack. "I'm okay! I think."
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-------|
Hnn. Right... guess it's time to start. Or at least, so everyone thinks--including the SNF people, who quickly get the cameras rolling and the fight announced. Hotaru rolls her neck, eliciting a quick series of pops, and a small grimace. Everyone's so -friendly-... well, she simply nods to Frei and Shingo both.
"Luck to the both of you as well," she says, keeping her words short and sweet. There'll be time to be social later. Right now... there's a fight. And even if Hokuto is disappointed she didn't just show up and find Kairi there... she committed to it. For her honor, for Mizugami's honor, for -Kairi's- honor, she'll give her best.
She fought Frei before, so she feels like she has a handle on him--so for her opening move, she approaches Shingo, her tabi-clad feet moving surely over the concrete floor, and as she nears, she simply snaps out a fast high palmstrike, leaning forward and attempting to snap the heel of her hand into his shoulder.
COMBATSYS: Shingo endures Hokuto's Quick Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/------=|
And so the fight begins with the simplest of attacks, well, simple in its own way. As friendly as his two opponents are, and as much as he may be smiling a wide smile the entire time, and gleeful in general, Shingo still assumes his Kusanagi-ryuu inspired stance, and prepares for whatever comes next, or whoever for that matter.
When Hokuto makes her way towards him, and her palm makes its way towards his shoulder, the Taiyo High youth merely smirks as he pushes the targetted shoulder INTO the attack, pulling his other shoulder and subsequently his arm back as far as he can in preparation for a little retaliation - namely in the shape of his fist rapidly shooting toward's Hokuto's torso.
He may not have fought either of these fighters, so he's playing it somewhat safe. Should the fist connect to its target or not, Shingo will hop back a few feet, and prepare his next assualt.
Frei is still getting his balance back as he watches Hokuto breeze by and plant a nice, certain punch right onto Shingo's body. However, just as Hokuto avoided him, he avoids her, too... he knows all too well the kind of force and skill Hokuto brings to the table, while Shingo is... the best he can call it distantly familiar.
Trying to get in the spirit of things, Frei digs through one of the boxes and grabs the first shoe he can find. What he gets is a thigh-high black leather boot with reinforced soles and a stiletto heel, a sight that gets a blink of brief disbelief from the monk. "I suppose this isn't as weird as fishchucks," he murmurs, flashing back to another fight where he used similarly wacky weapons.
Spinning and closing the distance as fast as he can in the uncomfortable slingbacks, Frei ducks toward Shingo's non-Hokuto-engaged blindside and, with both hands, swings the boot at Shingo's head. Which... might not be any more dangerous than a normal smack to the face, but for some reason the boot begins *trailing fire* in its wake, too.
Getting into the spirit of it, Frei cheerily adds: "Call me queen!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Hokuto with Medium Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/------=|
Hokuto frowns, as Shingo leans with her palm attack... and pulls her slightly off balance. She recovers, but not in time to avoid Shingo's return punch, with lands solidly; she hisses, drawing backwards from the young man. That was a surprisingly hard punch, and now she's got to think. Well, this is a free for all, isn't it? So perhaps it's time to make it 'free'. The timing is a little odd--after all, she doesn't want to risk getting hit by that boot--but the moment Frei's swing clears Shingo--hit or miss--she's suddenly lunging forward.
He might recall this attack, actually, as she pulls her left arm back, bent at the elbow, then as she reaches Frei's position, thrusts it forward, aiming the sharp point of her elbow for his chest. A relatively simple attack, for all that, but sometimes simple is best...
COMBATSYS: Shingo counters Fierce Punch from Frei with Tsuki Hiji.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/----===|
Fully embroiled in the heat of battle, and fully in the Kusanagi-ryuu mindset of fighting (namely, once you start attacking, do your best to not let up, so as to constantly keep your opponent off guard), Shingo does his best to keep aware of his surroundings - including that of the third combatant (or second, or first, depending on how you want to look at it), Frei.
Oh sure, he's pleased that his simplistic punch connected with Hokuto, and at the very least it's given him a bit of distance between himself and her...but it's Frei's oncoming boot to his head that has him concerned after his punch connects.
Fortunately for Shingo, or unfortunately, he only catches Frei in his peripheral vision, so it doesn't quite clue in that the other fighter was swinging a boot in his direction - in fact, Shingo thought it was a genuine foot coming his way. Spinning on his heel, Shingo brings up one of his elbows above the offending boot before it can strike, and swiftly brings the elbow down in a simplistic sort of 'elbow drop' in order to deflect the attack downwards. "GECCHUUUUU!" the youth cries out as his elbow flies through the air.
The moment his elbow connects with whatever it connects with, and the attacks on him have subsided for a brief second, Shingo takes the opportunity to hop back twice, getting some distance between himself and his two opponents, prepping himself for his next move while watching the two carefully.
Of course it goes without saying that after Shingo cries out his somewhat familiar 'GECHHUUU', that he does his best to make eye contact with Frei. Should their eyes connect, Shingo will smile a little more brightly and will raise a solitary finger with which he'll waggle back and forth in a 'nono' sort of motion. "If you wanted me to call you Queen, all you had to do was ask nicely. So, is that just Queen then, or Mrs. Queen?" Shingo inquires, a hint of joviality and a dash of mockery in his voice, all said while making his temporary backup.
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Chuugeki Hou from Hokuto with Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/----===|
The whole tableau plays out on instant replay something like this:
1.) Shingo screams "GECHU!" and elbow drops Frei, thinking he's getting the monk on the leg. He's *actually* getting him on the arm, which sends him stumbling past the young Yabuki in a daze, the comment about being called Ms. Queen entirely forgotten as he swirls past.
2.) The flaming boot swings off in the other direction like a flying boomerang, smacking into an empty moving cart, which trundles forward and knocks over a series of boxes, spilling flipflops everywhere from the top of a nearby shelf in a very bizarre Rube Goldberg situation.
3.) Hokuto, ready to pounce, comes in with her elbow just as Frei looks up and sees the hail of incoming sandals.
In a panic, Frei simply screams like a little girl and throws both hands out, unleashing a burst of ice chi on principle and pelting Hokuto at point-blank range with a sudden and unexpected hailstorm of frozen flipflops. One of them rebounds off her extended elbow and, like a billiard ball, smacks Frei in the face at speed. "Ow!"
Somehow Hokuto's had the worst of this fight so far. She didn't really get much of hit on Frei--and in return she got -blasted-. She doesn't just rebound--she's thrown on her ass and she bounces on the concrete flooring a couple times. She's got to learn to stop attacking Frei with Chuugeki Hou... although it's her most-practiced move, it's just bait for him to destroy her. Not a good thing.
With a grunt, she rises to her feet, but she decides not to attack either of her opponents for the moment. Maybe they'll tear each other apart while she's catching her breath, because that really hurt. And it was silly, too, which injures her pride, a fact visible in the darkening of her eyes, though she'd never -say- anything...
COMBATSYS: Hokuto gains composure.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/----===|
A part of Shingo can't help but watch in mixed parts awe and horror as the odd turn of events caused the box of flipflops to spill out, and the ensuing attack between Frei and Hokuto that indirectly occured as a result. Personally, he'd rather not cause the warehouse staff too much extra work by messing the place up, but if it comes down to survival, well, he'll do what he has to when he gets to that bridge.
Still, that last attack, or counter, or whatever it was, namely Frei attacking Hokuto with some sort of ice attack has left Hokuto hanging back. If Hokuto were a man, which she clearly isn't, Shingo might think twice about attacking, but in the end would allow his opponent the time to recover. Being that she's a woman, he doesn't disregard her, so much as acknowledges internally that he won't attack her just yet, which leaves Frei as the only viable target should Shingo continue his assault as the Kusanagi-ryuu would have you believe.
Now, if Shingo were in fact Kyo, or had some of Kyo's abilities, he'd probably tell Frei it was time to burn, and light his opponent on fire to potentially counter-balance any further ice attacks. Again, unfortunately Shingo is NOT Kyo, nor does he have any flame shooting abilities, nor is there anything nearby or handy to light on fire for the sake of it all. At least a good number of feet away from either opponent, Shingo goes with what he knows best - a semi-foolproof plan. Turning his body to face Frei, Shingo retains his smile and nods deeply, looking over to Hokuto momentarily, all before breaking out into a mad dash directly for Frei. A few feet away from his supposed target, Shingo leaps as high as he can within the warehouse, and swings one of his legs around in a deadly arc like kick aimed directly for one of Frei's collarbones or shoulders...thought should it his Frei in the head or elsewhere Shingo isn't overly concerned about at the moment. "SSHHHIIINNNNGGGOOOOOOOOO KKKIIIIIICCCKKKUUUUUUUU!" the Taiyo High pupil cries out as he makes his descent. Should his attack connect, he'll merely hop off of Frei, and put himself in a half-offensive half-defensive fighting stance posture prepared for his followup. Should the kick not connect...perhaps by overshooting the jump....then Shingo will find himself flying face first into one of the racks holding numerous boxes of shoes, which will collapse under his 'attack', spilling a wide variety of shoes, boots, sandals and the like, all around him and on top of him - of which it'll take a moment or two for him to recover and claw his way out of the pile of footwear.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Shingo's Shingo Kick.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/---====|
Coming out of his sandal-sicle induced stupor, Frei looks up to find Shingo flying at him, foot first, voice second, the rest of him sort of a distant, approaching third, like a thundercloud. His reaction, once the confusion wears off, is almost entirely instinctive, raising both arms crossed in front of him to take the brunt of the kick. The *interesting* part is when he does this, it is just as Shingo is kicking... the Taiyo lad's foot being momentarily caught on the monk's bare forearms. Almost like... a launching pad.
With a shrug, Frei doesn't stop his block. Instead he attempts to turn Shingo's aborted Shingo Kick into, well... Shingo Springboard, perhaps, although that doesn't sound good on a business card. Using a sudden burst of air to propel his arms upward, Frei just tries to, well... toss Shingo into the ceiling. There's shoes up there to break his fall.
Right. She's had her rest, and that'll be that. Kairi always warned her against being too inactive in a battle. 'Yes, you want to look for your best opportunities', she can hear her brother's voice saying, in her head, 'but you also have to -make- your opportunities'... Right. Time to start doing that, isn't it? And if Frei wants to be silly--well, there are plenty of shoes here, aren't there?
So maybe it's time to get silly. Hokuto glances around and finds a pair of spike-heeled slingbacks--the kind of shoes that are extremely aerodynamic for when hookers are kicking their legs around on stage.
Hokuto smiles faintly... then attempts to 'combo' with Frei, whipping her right arm around in a swift underarm toss that sends the heels spinning end over end for the maybe-flying Shingo.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Shingo with Fast Throw.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Shingo with Thrown Object.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
The events that occur after Shingo's somewhat botched Shingo Kick appear to play out in a macabre slow motion, all initiated by Frei turning the kick into a literal sprinboard effect. Frei's little 'push' has the desired effect in so far as Shingo sailing up, up, up towards the ceiling - proving yet again that Shingo DOES have the ability to fly...he just has yet to master control.
Insulting injury is exponentially added to when a shoe (who the heck throws a shoe??), comes flying out of nowhere (actually out of Hokuto's hands, but that's neither here nor there), directly at the poor flying ace. Of course with the momentary confusion of flight capabilities that are out of ones control, and the rapidly approaching ceiling on it's way, Shingo doesn't really take note of it, and it hits him squarely in the backside, prompting a little bit of a comical rub.
This all of course happens just seconds before Yabuki's body makes a strong impact with the ceiling, which in turn shakes some of the foundations, which in turn cause a number of boxes to fall off their shelves, spilling their contents all over the floor.
Slightly dazed by the impact, and now making a rapid descent, Shingo scrambles frantically to grab on to something, anything, to hopefully break his fall or slow his descent, or anything really that'll make this whole ordeal less painful - and that's when it hits him. A shoe. A box of shoes. Literally. During his descent a number of boxes that were falling were in fact ABOVE Shingo. Making the best out of a bad situation, Shingo attempts to spin mid-air, grab a box, and hurl it at the ground - potentially in the general direction of his opponents, although to say that Shingo isn't taking aim would be an understatement.
Regardless of where the box is tossed, or who if anything it hits, Shingo will land with a large audible thud, and will lay motionless for a moment, before a rain of shoes and the boxes they were housed in come crashing down on his head. Brushing them off with only a smile on his face, Shingo will look towards both Hokuto and Frei, and bowing slightly, and with an apologetic tone in his voice, will simply state, "Err, um...sorry about that. Hopefully none of the falling shoes hit you, I, err, didn't intend for that to happen, and err...well, back to the fight then!"
It's raining men. No, wait. It's raining shoes.
In fact, Frei half-ducks underneath a wire packing shelf just as a tumble of boxes goes sailing past his head and onto the floor. If the Howard Enterprises people wanted a mess, well... they've certainly got one. And while his yelp of panic is from mainly not wanting to get hit by said shoes, Frei IS having a good time. He enjoys silly fights, even if he appears to be the worst off of the three competitors now.
Emerging from under the rack, Frei decides not to get in the way of Shingo's potential hailstorm of shoes and instead just... keeps watch, both on him and on Hokuto. And... occasionally, in the spirit of his costume, commenting on shoes as they rain past his face. "These shoes rule... these shoes suck."
COMBATSYS: Frei focuses on his next action.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Shingo's Large Thrown Object.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
Hokuto honestly has NO idea what the hell Frei is playing at. Though he is obviously playing. Her pop culture education is sorely lacking--too much time studying ancient Japanese history and the martial arts, and worrying about her brother. But right now she has to worry about herself. The rain of shoes is sidestepped, Hokuto's attention straight up as she dodges more than one box of shoes.
"Hmn," she murmurs, to herself... and, avoiding the shoes, breaks across the floor, coming across to Frei. Truly, she's probably cutting her chances here, by switching back and forth between her two opponents, so she decides to concentrate, for the moment, on Mr. Yabuki.
Her dashing lunge brings her close and then, as before, she attempts to strike him--not with a palm strike, but a dual palm strike, planting her right foot and transferring her momentum forward as her palms strike out for Shingo's chest, a rainbow-colored aura of chi adding to the impact, should she hit.
COMBATSYS: Shingo counters Shourin Geki from Hokuto with Tsuki Hiji.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/=======|
Shingo just can't catch a break. Well, he could, but in a fight against two opponents, either of which could be coming for him at any time, well, in this situation he can't catch a break. He could catch a shoe if he wanted to...but that'd just be far too silly, even for him.
Regardless, Shingo has already covered from his flying lesson and brushed himself off by the time Hokuto has begun her dashing lunge. Making note of her every movement, Shingo hunches forward slightly, smirk forming on his face as he does so, by all appearances doing nothing about the oncoming attack but watching. Waiting. Until the last possible moment where she clearly plants her foot on the ground, at which point Shingo quickly hops in the air to the side, bringing up both of his elbows toward the ceiling, and bringing them down towards Hokuto's oncoming palms, all in the name of deflecting the incoming attack - rainbow chi or not, Shingo don't play that. "GEECCHHHHUUUUUU!"
It may be that the break was all Frei needed to get back in the game. But actually, what he was stalling for time for was to find something very specific. He enjoys the gimmick matches -- usually -- because they require exercising his creativity, something he really values as a fighter. Of course, this often makes him come across as something just shy of institutionalization-level psychotic, but that doesn't bother him at all.
As Shingo is executing his attack against Hokuto, he may or may not hear the semi-scraping sound approaching the two fighters from behind... perhaps until it's too late. For you see, Frei has ditched the uncomfortable shoes he was wearing that messed up his balance for... well... a pair of rollerskates. In fact, he is rolling toward Shingo at a particularly fast clip right now, the wheels kicking up sparks not from friction, but from the bursts of wind chi he is using to propel himself.
Once he gets near the Taiyo student, the monk reaches out to grab him, hands flickering with purple-blue electricity... and if he can get hold, bellows "ROLLERDERRRRBYYYYYYYYYY" and carries Shingo along on the skates, running a current of electricity through the poor kid's body before slamming him into the side of a nearby shelf.
Ngh. Once again, she attacks and is denied for her trouble. Hokuto draws back again, her frown growing more pronounced. She has been remarkably ineffective in this fight.. and really, she just isn't sure what to do about it. Her mind is unfocused, her composure shot... she needs to fix all this. Shaking her head--and her arms--she backs off as Frei comes sailing in with his... rollerderby... attack.
The frown doesn't leave her face, but she takes a moment to just... just to think, to calm herself down. Her heart's pounding and she just hasn't ahd the time to work the fight at the pace she's used to.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Shingo with Charged Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/-----==/=======|
Admittedly, Shingo is a tad more focused on Hokuto and her assault than on what Frei is doing, which may very well lead to Shingo's undoing. No matter really. While Shingo doesn't have as much time as he'd normally like to react, the moment he hears the odd scraping sound get close enough, he takes defensive measures! Namely, flailing about a little, which in turn doesn't give the skating monk enough of a hold...it does however give the monk enough of an opportunity to still run a very nice purple-blue current of electricty through Shingo.
In turn, Shingo grits his teeth, retains his smile as best he can and whirling about after the contact, refocuses his gaze upon Hokuto. Oh sure, if he wanted to, he could try to catch up to the crossdressing mad monk on rollerskates, but at this point that could prove pointless, as Frei will EVENTUALLY come right back around, and when he does, Shingo intends to be ready. Hokuto on the other hand... If he leaves her be, she'll merely attack him yet again. If he attacks her, it'll go against his personal beliefs...
The decision all comes down to a simple mantra that Shingo always asks himself in times of need or trouble...a very important mantra.
WWKD.
What Would Kyo Do?
Normally Shingo wouldn't take advantage of a resting opponent...but the resting opponent isn't resting due to being fatigued or any other obvious reason...she merely seems to be refocusing her fight. Kyo would just attack her and be done with it... Sighing inwardly, and not as audibly as one might think, Shingo looks over at the rollerskating Frei before settling upon Hokuto, and doing his best to make sure his words sound kind. "You may want to prepare yourself for this one, since I'm not in the habit of holding back!" Nodding to himself, Shingo feels that's an adequate warning for the girl. If it's not, at least he tried. If it is, he at least can feel justified that he did the right and honourable thing. With those words escaping his lips, Shingo rushes towards the concentrating (or maybe not concentrating) Hokuto, and pulling back a fist much like he did earlier, aims a potentially solid blow towards her mid-torso. Of course, should he miss, the very force of the attempt would cause him to stumble into yet another rack of shoes, which would avail itself of it's contents, and collide into another shelf, and another, playing a deadly game of dominos...but with shoe boxes.
Here's the problem with roller skates: once you start on them, if you don't know what you're doing, *stopping* suddenly becomes an ordeal. Shingo is right when he says that Frei will come around eventually. Of course, that's mainly because his other options are 1.) impacting the wall or 2.) leaving the premises, neither of which is really a good idea at the time. Instead, as the other two martial artists close on each other, his scream of "JANE! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!" dopplers into the background as he spins past a shelf and out of immediate sensor range.
Probably not a good thing for them, then, when he comes careening around the *other side* of the Shingo/Hokuto conflict, having acquired a pair of... well, ballet shoes, which he is swinging around like a highly incompetent Jackie Chan with a pair of really bizarre nunchaku, their swings trailing golden light in the air as the monk 'coats' them with chi. Once he nears Hokuto, he does a passable grand jete off the skates (which go rolling by at speed), aiming both his extended foot and one of the slippers at Hokuto's torso. "FOR THE RECORD I CAN'T STOP!" he bellows, as a warning.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hokuto with Light Kick.
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto interrupts Fierce Punch from Shingo with Shinkyaku Geki.
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/--=====/=======|
Right. Now the tides have turned and Hokuto is on the receiving end... of both attackers. It had to happen eventually. Frei actually gets there first, due to his speed--and his kick is good, Hokuto's attempt to twist away from it completely unsuccessful. But--she's got to keep her mind on things, so she brushes the pain away and -continues- her spin...
So when Shingo arrives, his punch is actually whistling for Hokuto's head. But she herself is preparing to stop that, herself. Still twisting around, Hokuto's low stance lets her deflect the worst of Shingo's punch with her arms... and at the same time, cut his legs out from under him with a scything kick, the extended limb flaring with that chi aura again.
One word will simply describe what has just happened to Shingo Yabuki in the last few seconds of his life:
Oww.
Shingo won't lie, not even to himself. He didn't see Hokuto turnaround of his attack coming AT ALL. He thought at best, she might move out of the way, or might smack him back in some way other than what she did...but no. One moment he's standing there, goofy grin on his face as he's throwing a punch, the next he's looking at the ceiling of the warehouse flat on his back and with momentary pain in his legs. And this is where the dilemma slowly sets into his head as the pain slowly settles into his legs.
Does Shingo hop up and retaliate against Hokuto with the intention of knocking her out of the fight? Does he perservere and attempt to stop the rampant skating of Frei? Does he lie there and recover? Unfortunately the latter wouldn't fare very well, even if Kyo were telling him what to do. At best, he could attempt to stop Frei's skating rampage to bring the monk back into the fight proper, which is exactly what Kyo might do!
Kyo might also set both Frei and Hokuto on fire by now, but that's neither here nor there. Hopping back to his feet and dusting himself off, Shingo flashes Hokuto a quick smile and a thumbs up, before looking around the warehouse at where Frei might be, and doing his best to calculate when/where Frei will appear near the two fighters, Shingo puts himself in position to theoretically be near Frei's path. Should his calculations be correct, Shingo will attempt to raise an arm in front of Frei at the last moment in the hopes of 'clotheslining' the monk, in effect stopping the rollerderby from shoe hell.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Shingo's Medium Punch.
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Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/-======/=======|
It sorta works! Sort of.
There is a loud *WHACK* as Frei, continuing *past* Hokuto (he has the Great Cleave feat), sails toward Shingo, who very generously has agreed to help him come to a full and complete stop. That's really nice of him! The problem is that Frei doesn't want to be clotheslined. But he DOES want to stop. So he twists in midair just so and instead of being knocked off his feet by the clothesline, the monk just... well, to be blunt he pushes up and lands *on Shingo's arm*, the impact probably not stinging the Taiyo student nearly so bad as it does Frei...
...but the monk also knows to turn this to his advantage, too. But he is also polite. Saying "Thanks!" in as sincere a tone as he can manage while still being out of breath, Frei lashes out with one foot and attempts to forcefully kick off Shingo's body, a blazing crescent of red flame erupting in the path of the kick as he does so. Of course, at the inverted angle Frei's on he's very likely to land *on his head* after this, but it might be worth it.
Hnn. Well, she finally did -something- right, and in that Hokuto will find some pride. But she realizes that she's a little tired... and that she's also kind of achy. But this little dance is starting to reach the end, or so Hokuto thinks... she isn't sure whether it'll be an end with her or without her, but she'd like to stay standing for a while longer.
But she refuses to just sit out, now. Earlier, it was fine--now, she wants to see things through. Seeing Frei launch himself in a flaming flipkick, Hokuto considers for a moment, then leaps after him, intending to help him to the ground!
... only not really, as she actually leaps up and tries to get above him, to tumble overhead once and drop a heel into Frei's stomach, while he's flipping over.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Shingo with Kouen no Tsurugi.
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Frei 1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Shingo 1/=======/=======|
There comes a point in every fight where the chips are down and you've got decisions to make. So far, every time Shingo has had a decision, he's tried to go with what Kyo would do, but ended up following his heart, which in turn screwed up pretty much most of his attempts at gaining the upper hand. Most recent case in point of course being his attempt to stop Frei's ceaseless skating. Oh sure, it succeeded in getting him to stop...but it only had the monk launch himself off of Shingo and all with an attempted kick. Instinctively, Shingo's arms come up in front of his chest to get in the way of Frei's flaming crescent kick, which succeeds, but which leaves Shingo feeling a little...burned.
Burning folks with flames and cutting words is Kyo's schtick. Attempting to mimic those words and smack things hard to make up for a lack of flames is Shingo's schtick. Feeling his heart pound a little faster after Frei's latest attack, the Taiyo youth runs on instinct, and does what makes the most sense for him at the time - he rushes towards where Frei has leaped toward, and pulls back one of his fists as far as he can. "YOUR BODY IS....." Shingo starts, his voice as loud as he can make it without full on screaming, the student of Kusanagi-ryuu closes the distance between the launched Frei and his former position, and throws out a punch squarely aimed for Frei's face/head. Should it connect, Shingo will firstly finish his words. "....WIDE OPEN!!! BBURRRRRNIINNGGGG SSSHHHIINNNNGGGGOOOOOOOO!!" Yabuki will cry out, this time in more of a yell than anything, which will also cue up Shingo's other fist swiftly swinging to attack Frei's torso.
Should that connect of course, Shingo's right fist would follow suit, then the left, then the right, all in rapid succession switching between hitting Frei in the head/face and the torso. A total of 7 punches in all between the two fists. The barrage wouldn't end there, for the very second the last punch would be thrown, Shingo would half-hop into the air, raising both elbows directly towards the ceiling, bringing them down in a painful looking arc towards both of Frei's shoulders. If that weren't enough, Kusanagi-ryuu student Shingo would sway his hips away from Frei, before pushing them forward in a reasonable fascimile of a hip check. All in the name of the fight! Burning spirit rages on!
...of course, should Shingo's initial punch not connect, it'll result in a reasonably amusing looking dance, with Shingo stumbling forward at points, losing his hands within pairs of shoes, and resulting in a very silly looking display of overshooting an attack.
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Shingo's Burning Shingo!
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Frei 1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hokuto's Light Kick!
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Frei 1/-======/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/---====|
Okay then.
In an instant Frei becomes a blur of motion, displaying that while his offensive skills may be somewhat patchy and require stupid tricks like nunchaku ballet slippers and impromptu rollerderby, when it comes to *not getting hit* he is something of an idiot savant. Hokuto's kick of opportunity is wisely chosen but comes too late; Frei lands face down, in a handstand, and actually ends up balancing Hokuto's kick *on his foot*, so that everyone is in an amazing Cirque du Soleil tableau for a brief moment.
But then he's got Shingo's attack to worry about, and it appears to be more haphazard but entirely more dangerous. However, Frei is ready for him. Rolling backwards (and dislodging Hokuto safely in the process) he rolls backward and to his feet, his back to Shingo... but Shingo's initial punch is met with Frei's outstretched palm, the monk throwing it out on pure instinct alone. Spinning, he becomes a whirlwind of defensive maneuvers, shunting all seven punches to the sides and catching Shingo's elbows on his outstretched forearms... which only leaves the hipcheck.
Shouting "Everybody HULA!", the monk flings HIS hip into Shingo's, the two meeting with a dull *whump* sound. And when all's said and done Frei doesn't look in the slightest bit harmed. In fact, he looks energized, even though his back is now against a rack of costume shoes.
Grinning wildly, he reaches back and grabs the first two things he can find... a pair of geta, the wooden stilt-sandals common in period dramas. There's a moment of confusion as he blinks at them... and then with a shrug, he slips his fingers in the straps and effectively crashes both sandals toward Shingo's head like a pair of cymbals... and with a crash of golden chi exploding in the center if he can pull it off, too.
... Hokuto just stares for a moment as she is once again denied--she's got to stop getting into fights with Frei, it's bad for her ego. But she's not ready to give up, just yet... no, she's definitely not ready to give up. But she does want to return -some- pain to Frei. Sadly, she's not really in the best position for that... Taking a deep breath, Hokuto lunges forward and spins around--intending to go around Frei and end up at his back.
Should she make that manuever without incident, she flattens her hands into stiffened spears--and she attempts to strike Frei just above the kidneys, hard. She doesn't want to cause permanent damage, but strikes to this area can be painful even so...
COMBATSYS: Shingo fails to counter Fierce Punch from Frei with Tsuki Hiji.
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Frei 1/=======/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Shingo has reached second wind!
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Frei 1/=======/=======|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
Sandals coming at ones head like cymbals is usually an issue, and Shingo does his best to raise an elbow, to raise anything in defense after being completely and utterly spun around and disoriented by missing his incredibly powerful (and in this case useless) attempt at a Burning Shingo barrage party. Nonetheless, his attempt to counter the attack on his head ends up looking more like a flailing yet excited Kermit the Frog, and within a few blinks, the number one student of Kyo Kusanagi falls like a sack of potatoes.
Or does he? For a good two, maybe three minutes? Sure...he's lying there, motionless...but that doesn't mean he's out of the fight, or does it? If one were to give Shingo a glance, they may take him for dead or unconcscious. If they were to give him a closer look, they may not he's still breathing, fingers twitching, perhaps some life is left in him yet...but, only time will tell.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Strong Punch from Hokuto with Hyoushou Rengeki.
- Power fail! -
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Hokuto
[ \\\\\\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/-======|
Karma works both ways, don'tcha know. Plus, while his body may have been refreshed by that little sudden surge in adrenaline, it's still powered by his mind, so when he retracts his geta-cymbals he's actually kinda dazed, in the same way that heavy physical activity can sometimes leave a person feeling distracted or numb. Which... Hokuto quite handily takes advantage of, and takes advantage of well. Frei catches her approach out of the corner of his eye and turns, thinking to capitalize on this momentum and hurl a wave of ice crystals in her path to dissuade her...
...without realizing he's still got the geta on.
Frost is forming on the wooden sandals *just* as the Mizugami fighter's hands slam into his torso and send him spinning backwards toward the nearby rack again, Frei's body making a loud *CLANG* as he stumbles into it, the geta dropping onto the floor.
All is silent for a moment.
And then a rain of costume shoes -- clown shoes, ninja tabi, super high heeled clogs, you name it -- drops from the top of the rack, each shoe landing on his head with a *clonk*. A @_@-y Frei eloquently comments: "...ow."
Well, phew. It worked. Still... with Shingo having failed his counter attack and Frei having failed -his-... Hokuto tries to change the pace up a little. She wants to slow things down a bit, and now is the perfect time. Besides, both her opponents are a bit out of it and in a non-lethal battle Hokuto doesn't want to take advantage of that. It isn't sporting, to her. So she takes about ten paces back, long ones, creating a bit of distance.
Now she's waiting to see what Shingo will do, and Frei as well--perfectly aware that her actions may be drawing their attention... she survived it last time, somehow, but imagines that such a thing may just not be possible if they both come at her at once. But it's a risk she's willing to take.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 0/-------/-======|
Moments pass, and yet...nothing happens. Well, at least when it comes to anyone poking Shingo...which for Yabuki is cue enough to finally get up. Yes, the wind was knocked out of him, but darn him and his burning fighting spirit! You can't stop the Shingo! Well you can...but it takes a lot more than a few hits from some fighters he's never met before! Why, he's the student of Kyo 'World Warrior' Kusanagi! He's accomplished a lot! He even wears pants unlike some fighters! Truly, Shingo can recover from this setback, and he knows just the way to do it!
If Kyo were Shingo, Kyo would retaliate against Frei and take advantage of Frei's momentary lapse of awareness. Perhaps the sandals hit him too hard in the head, but gosh darnit if that doesn't sound like a delightful plan! And so, Shingo pushes himself up to his feet, wearily, dusts himself off as best as he can fighting through the ringing in his ears, and with a strained mumble and a cough, Shingo barely lets out a few words before hopping into the air and bringing his leg down on Frei's head in a genuine mockery of the Shingo Kick. "....don't worry Kyo...won't let you down...sandwiches are on their way! Hiyooo....*coughcough* Kick...something...or other...!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Frei with Shingo Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/-------/=======|
His ears are STILL ringing. Shingo is just a shape, coming through the shoe-induced darkness, with something approaching at high speed and sandwiches, maybe? Who knows. Frei sort of... well, he puts up an arm to block but it's more like a cringe, really, and he's covered in shoes so that's not helping, and the Shingo Kick hits him square in the *face*, which then swings back and hits the shelf (again) with a LOUD *CLANG* this time, and then he's still. At least there's no more shoes to fall on him, but his eyes are closed and he's kind of slumped there, and still mostly covered in shoes.
All is quiet for a moment. Maybe they knocked Frei out.
And then Shingo had better get out of the way, because the monk launches into a Hadouken from a standing start, throwing both hands out and unleashing a massive, if slow, blast of pure, element-less chi at point-blank range. Shoes fly everywhere. It's not pretty.
Also, because it's required: "HADOOOUKEEEEEN!"
Almost seems peresonal between these two, now! Hunh. Well, that's all well and good, but for now, Hokuto seeks to take Frei out. Shingo obviously put a large dent in Frei's skull with that kick, and then, there's a moment where everything is still. Hokuto marvels at it for a moment... then shakes her head. No time for that! Biting her lower lip, Hokuto raises her arms up, right extended, left hand touching her right. It's the pose of a kyudo practicioner, and the stance is perfect.
Chi builds up in her hands, setting them aglow with pure energy, filtered white with golden edges... as Hokuto draws her arm left arm back, across her body, one could almost swear they hear the creak of bending wood, and that flaring energy becomes a thick, arrowhead shape, building into a blinding glare as Hokuto holds position...
This is one of the few moves she -does- announce, on occasion, but the flaring light is probably enough anyways. Still, her voice rings out, loud and true, as she looses the bolt at Frei: "Ki'REN EKI!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo dodges Frei's Hadou Souran.
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
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Shingo 1/-------/=======|
When it's clear Shingo had better get out of the way of something, typically he tries to do just that - which in this case he does as best he can the moment the shoes go flying and the monk goes yelling an all too familiar cry to the young Yabuki. And so with a dive to the side (with Shingo not particularly paying too much attention to which with his fatigue addled mind), Shingo narrowly escapes the jaws of Hadou.
Rolling out of the dive and slowly back to his feet, Shingo forces himself to smile at both of his opponents, and bows as deeply as he can while still being able to get up. His voice as cheerful as ever, Shingo addresses the two combatants as he hunches forward in preparation for a desperation move. "I just want to say, to the both of you, that regardless of what happens, this has been a fantastic fight, and I've enjoyed both of your company immensely. Should we all have enough energy when everything is said and done, I'd be delighted if you'd join me for some cookies and lemonade. Either way, it's time for I, Shingo Yabuki, number one student to the amazing Kyo Kusanagi to pull out some VERY drastic measures!"
It's not a matter of Shingo noticing that Hokuto is about to attack, so much as his odd brain just tossing random ideas into his head, this one, simply put, to pour the last of his energy, all of his burning fighting soul into an attack that may level the playing field...or may toss it out of whack. Either way, it'll be something. Bracing himself for a mad dash, Shingo leans forward, and exclaims with what little breath he has left, "OKAY, LET'S GO SHINGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! BURRRRRNINNNGGGG PPHHHHOOOOEEENIXXXXXX DRRRRRIIIVVVVEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" and with his ridiculous battle cry out of the way, Shingo charges straight for Hokuto, ignoring all laws of physics and logic, ignoring the fact that Frei is there, ignoring the fact she's mid-attack, and ignoring the fact that this could very well hurt someone, very well himself. Angling his shoulder downward, Shingo in short runs at Hokuto as a bull might, a true shoulder charge aimed directly at her torso with a simple intention - knockback.
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Kiren Eki from Hokuto with Hizashi Ronde.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/-------|
Whatever daze was in, the constant abuse heaped on Frei in the last few seconds has certainly snapped him out of it. Perhaps it's the feeling of chi being gathered in the area. Shingo doesn't seem to do that sort of thing, but Hokuto can, and the degree to which she's pulling in power suggests something big. Shoes continue to bleed off his body as he holds his hands in front of him, palms facing inward, a bright golden ball of energy gathering there. There's two ways to do this attack... and it would appear that Frei's about to get Howard Enterprises sued by Bandai.
"I'm gonna end this here and now!" he shouts, getting into the drama of the moment even as the bright blue bolt screams across the distance toward him. The world consists of only him and Hokuto at the moment, Shingo forgotten, as the gold glow reaches a fever pitch. "This hand of mine is burning red! It's loud roar tells me... to grasp victory!" Spinning, he thrusts both hands out and the gold sphere becomes a bright, piercing gold beam of light which all but obliterates Hokuto's attack and continues on toward her, weakened but not stopped. "Seki Ha! Tenkyouuukeeeeeeeen!"
COMBATSYS: Hokuto blocks Frei's Hizashi Ronde.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto counters Ge Shiki - Kake Hourin from Shingo with Goukyaku Nage.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\ <
Shingo 0/-------/-----==|
... unexpected, to say the least; Hokuto's eyes go real wide for about half a second and then... well, there really wasn't much left to Frei's return blow, but it's enough to stagger her... right into Shingo's path. But the stagger is feigned, mostly, and Shingo is incoming... Hokuto sidesteps, but not by much. Young Yabuki-san's shoulder does in fact brush her--but that's all it is, a brush--and then she's reaching past Shingo for his arm.
Her hands find purchase, and she simply... redirects Shingo's momentum--so that instead of charging forward, he's suddenly being jerked off his feet and slammed into the concrete flooring by Hokuto.
She releases him shortly thereafter, backing away from Shingo lest he make a rejoinder too soon.
Note to self, should you actually remember this, Shingo Yabuki. Do not, under any circumstances, go all out, when you don't have an all out to go all out with. It shall end terribly, there will be pain, there will be suffering, and it will all be inflicted upon you Shingo. Upon you.
If only Shingo had noted earlier that perhaps attempting to catch someone off guard is one thing, but attempting to catch someone off guard when your best attempt at a charge ends up in reality looking like a drunk swagger, is perhaps not the best of ideas. Mind you, Kyo is Shingo's idol, so it's not as if all of Shingo's ideas are winners. Or...are they? Oh sure, Hokuto has taken the bull by the proverbial horns and slammed him into the cold hard concrete, possibly on top of some very expensive shoes...but will that stop the one man King of Fighters team? Will it?
The answer in short, is, no! Why, it'll take a lot more than that to stop a student of the Kusanagi-ryuu. With visibly much effort, and much strain and pain, Shingo pushes himself up once again, and shakes off the pain and numbness in his body and head as best he can. He missed one target, and he can barely tell the different between the two targets now that everything is a blur...but he sees something pink instead of something white..it appears to be Frei, and that's good enough for the Taiyo lad, as he fumbles, stumbles, and rumbles his way over in the most drunk-looking swagger that he can unintentionally muster, and tossing a fist back does his best impression of throwing an actual punch in the general area of the pinkish blurry area. Oh sure, this very well may cause him to collapse, but at least he can hope it'll be on a comfy pair of suede boots. Or blue suede shoes. Mmm. Suede.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Shingo's Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/-----==|
It's almost cute, what happens. Frei turns and is... understandably surprised to find Shingo on his feet still. The punch is clumsy, so it's easy to defend against, but Frei is riding an adrenaline rollercoaster right now, its troughs and valleys making him, well... sorta spaced out. He reaches out and grabs Shingo's hand, stopping the punch dead. Which still hurts like the dickens, though not as bad as being smacked in the gut by a wild swing would.
Then he lets go and, after a moment of consideration, makes to pop Shingo one in the nose, a blurry aura of silver around his hand giving it a chill aura. "Sorry."
She has to go after -someone-. Shingo is... Shingo's just about non compos mentis at this point--she's amazed that he's stayed up this long, having taken the punishment he's taken... and the same with Frei. But Frei is in better shape--so she musters her energy and actually leaps, her hakama fluttering picturesquely as if there were a wind...
And she attempts to kick Frei in the back of the head. Let's end this, for sure--the fight's gone on far too long, all the combatants are tired.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Shingo with Quick Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ <
Shingo 0/-------/----===|
Strange. Fist go forward, fist stop before making proper impact. No squishie squishie feelie. Hard stop feelie. Hrm. Shingo didn't hit a wall. He didn't hit a ball. He didn't hit a train. He didn't hit a plane. Shingo did not hit what he thought he did, and that makes him question what it was he was trying to hit in the first place. Something pinkish. Oh right, the pinkish thing. Hrm. Guess that didn't work out.
Of course a moment later, something funny feeling smacks Shingo in the nose, and at first he merely stands there a tad confused about what's just happened. He's pretty sure he tried punching something...perhaps it was a mirror and he ended up punching himself? No. No. That's far too incredulous...even for a Saturday Night Fight. Then the sad reality that his body has little if anything left to give kicks in, and Shingo slumps down to his knees, head instinctively looking up, which oddly makes it look like he's looking up at Frei, but really at this point Shingo isn't seeing much of anything. Hands moving along the floor, fumbling with the strength of a kitten (albeit a kitten as big and strong as Shingo), absent-mindedly, Shingo picks up something that feels like a shoe albeit with a long sharp pointy heel, and as he falls face forward to the ground at Frei's feet, as he falls towards the big pile of potentially comfy/uncomfy shoes awaiting him in slumberland...with the last of his strength...
...Shingo haphazardly attempts to jab the shoe into Frei's backside/posterior - truly, a last ditch attempt if ever there was one. Oh sure, it's bound to fail, but at this point, Shingo isn't even thinking.
Falling face first with a small thump, Shingo curls up and begins to take his long dreamless nap into the wonderful realm of unconscious bliss. Hopefully when he wakes up, he'll remember to take his cookies and lemonade with him.
COMBATSYS: Shingo has reached third wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Frei dodges Shingo's Random Weapon.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Frei with Light Kick.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/----===|
The monk is not expecting a kick to the back of the head. People usually don't try it... though considering how effective Hokuto's attack is, they may begin to start. But the end result, with Shingo added into the mix, truly becomes the stuff of vaudeville legend. Spinning to glance at Hokuto, the shelf of shoes still to his back, he discovers the boot to the head a little too late and gets kicked right in the jaw, spinning out and away from the shelf. This, of course, has the unintended effect of sending the monk totally out of range of Shingo's shoe-kancho. Thank god.
Turning around, his hands on his knees, Frei takes big gulps of air, trying to force some energy back into resisting muscles. This has gone on way too long. "Ha... oh my god... I am never showing up to a fight... in slingbacks... again..."
Then he notices that Shingo and Hokuto, in their haste to attack HIM, have put themselves right on top of each other.
...heh.
With a loud, incoherent shout, Frei just... *charges* the two of them, a blazing aura of silver energy suddenly bursting into being as he runs and eventually simply shoulder tackles at the both of them, the chilly energy of yin chi sapping their physical and spiritual strength.
...there's also the minor fact that if he actually connects, it's very likely all three fighters AND that shelf he's trying to smash them into are all going over the falls in a barrel, as it were.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hokuto with Gekkou Nocturne.
[ \\\\\ < > ///// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
[ \\\ <
Shingo 0/-------/----===|
It's just been too long. There's too much done, too much tiredness, for Hokuto to attempt to dodge. So she just takes the impact, grunting, the flare of yin chi sapping her energies... And she just... repeats Frei's manuever, minus the chi, trying to tackle both Shingo and Frei. _Someone_ has to go down... maybe all three of them. But something's got to give. They're both fine fighters--perhaps someday she can fight with them at her side rather than as opponents.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Shingo with Gekkou Nocturne.
[ \\\\\ < > ////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
[ <
Shingo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Shingo with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\ < > ////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
[ <
Shingo 0/-------/=======|
At first Shingo thought that he was indeed, unconscious as could be. VERY unconscious. Of course, his thoughts that he was unconscious merely proved that he was in fact NOT unconscious, and therefore in his experience, further pain would and could ensue.
Tackled, once, twice....twice! Twice his body is rocked by further pain that even he wasn't expecting nor desiring to be awake for. The first impact jostled his body enough to roll onto its side. The second? The second allowed him to roll on his back. Still, combined the two attacks have sapped whatever reserves of energy the boy may have had for a full scale comeback...instead, his mind reaches out instinctively, calling upon legs that have done things a thousand times before that were far more difficult that one last hurrah. "....shingo...kicku..." Shingo faintly whispers out as he kicks his legs up and out in the air, not sure if he'll hit anything...but far beyond the realm of consciousness to make a difference...
Either way, at least he's comfortably on his back...mere seconds before the kicking of his legs ceases, as far as he's aware he's truly entering a dreamless sleep, a full loss of consciousness...and if not...well...could've fooled him. Lousy deceitful consciousness.
COMBATSYS: Shingo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\ < > ////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Shingo's Medium Kick.
[ \ < > ////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Quick Throw from Hokuto with Hyoushou Rengeki.
[ \\ <
Hokuto 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\ <
Hokuto 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hokuto fails to counter Medium Kick from Shingo with Goukyaku Kou.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto can no longer fight.
... Damn that Frei's eyes. Once again, Hokuto's blasted by that chill ice and once again... she's falling. She reaches out to try and spare herself some last amount of pain, but alas... Shingo's kick catches her across thef ace and hurls her to the ground. And, at last, the Saturday Night Fight is over... at least for Hokuto, who will sleep peacefully for a day before waking up bruised and in pain. Perhaps the other two will as well.
What the hell is wrong with this situation.
There is no active defense on Frei's part; he is mentally somewhere in orbit around Jupiter right now. His blonde wig and black headband are long gone too, making the short-haired redhead look... well actually, considering his youthful features the lack of the blonde wig doesn't actually do ANYTHING to Frei's drag except turn him from valley girl to gothloli. As the trio go down in a heap, Shingo finally gets one last good whack in, his boot slamming into Frei's side and sending him tumbling faster toward Hokuto's waiting embrace, but the monk is absolutely not going to take lying down, lying down. "Not done yet!" he shouts, and then, well...
Hokuto hits the ground first. But Frei happens to have Shingo's foot caught under his elbow thanks to that kick, and then there's residual frosty chi in the air, and the shelf the three were standing next to is ALSO going down... without any sort of control whatsoever. Hokuto is spared a terrible fate as it heads off to the side, sending other shelves crashing. Meanwhile Frei, barely awake, hits the ground on a patch of his own ice, sliding forward at speed and smacking into *another* shelf, which teeters and then falls, domino-ing around the room. Who even knows what happens to poor Shingo.
Log created on 20:31:43 09/08/2007 by Hokuto, and last modified on 06:18:41 09/10/2007.