Description: Laurel gets to fight someone who... isn't a schoolgirl! Yay! (Winner: Ryo)
Sometimes, a person can have one of thoses 'feeling' to go somewhere in particular, for little to no reason than to find trouble. Be it subconciously or conciously, it sometimes bring the person into grave dangers, or in an environment to get a sound beating.
Such is the case of Ryo Sakazaki, strolling kneedeep into the more unsavory regions of Westside of Metrocity obeying one of thoses whimiscal feelings. Thugs, bandits, gangers...it's a looot like how it was back in Southtown years ago, when Robert and him cleaned house.
Altought, to be honest, he is searching somebody in here. He doubt he'll find him here, or a clue at all, but you never know where Takuma Sakazaki might be doing.
Sadly, the thugs seems to be in good health and throwing pretty angry glares at him. That mean he didn't came by.
Good. Let them come, if they dare to attack the shoeless fighter.
While Metro City might not make the big headlines anymore like Southtown tends to, it does have several people who stop in from time to time to try to help clean it up. One such person was in town anyway when the Neo League called up, saying they wanted to set up another fight. After confirming it wasn't going to be another teenage girl (seriously, what's wrong with the world? ...of course, losing to one is just humiliating anyway, but this had nothing to do with that), Laurel headed out to finish her errand. One smashed up drug ring that as shipping to her hometown later, and Laurel is ready for the fight.
The blonde sits up on a fire escape, hands behind her holding the waist-high bar as she leans back watching the passing people until finally someone matching the description she as given ('no shoes and doesn't look bothered by that fact') goes past.
Laurel whistles towards the alley mouth and then leans back over the rail, flipping over to catch the bottom of the cage and then drop down on her feet. Hopefully, the Neo League gave Ryo some sort of description of her ('Blonde hair and fishnets, but doesn't really look like she belongs there') so they can get started.
The call from Neo Leagues came only much, much latter and it was quite a miracle that they found a way to contact the young Sakazaki. All that need to be said is that it was extremly last-minute, and Ryo didn't precisely expected to actualy have to fight somebody for the league, here, and thus is not actively searching.
Thus, it is much more likely that Laurel will spot the blond haired, orange-gi wearing shoeless young man than the other way around as he walks under that fire escape.
Fortunately, that dosent seem to take too much time.
At the whistle, Sakazaki darted his gaze upward, just in time to watch the woman strikingly fitting the description given dropping down. He turns around to face her from his point, looking up and down at her, then say, slightly amused.
"You've been waiting for me, huh?"
Laurel lands gracefully on her feet, crouching slightly and putting a hand down on the ground to catch herself. "Not long. Had a few errands to run." She smiles a bit coyly and replies back, "You misplace your shoes? I'd hate to think I had to fight someone who got mugged for his footgear before the fight."
Laurel stands up straight again, and then centers herself, taking a fighting stance. "Well, at least I can take comfort you're at least out of your teenage years. Good luck, and watch for broken glass. People here tend not to recycle." Pleasantries out of the way, Laurel crouches quickly and then jumps at Ryo, reaching out with one hand to palm his face, while her other quickly comes forward to jab him just under the ribs.
COMBATSYS: Laurel has started a fight here.
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Laurel 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ryo has joined the fight here.
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Ryo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Laurel
COMBATSYS: Ryo endures Laurel's Quick Punch!
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Ryo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Laurel
Ryo observe the woman before him, taking good note of her apperance. Is that who he have to fight? Fishnets, one-piece outfit... At least she have a jacket, which is progress!
"What? Thoses thugs? Are you kidding? They couldn't even mug lunch money from high schoole--"
Then, the woman launches herself at Ryo, the palmstrike hitting him square on the face. That one hit took him by surprise, but the wake-up call it caused gave him enough reaction to make himself prepare for the next hit.
A clean one, but not as staggering it might have been.
"Pretty quick, aren't you?" Sakazaki lets out, immediatedly retailating with a simple, quick direct aimed at her cheeks.
COMBATSYS: Laurel endures Ryo's Jab Punch.
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Ryo 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Laurel
"I do my best." Laurel isn't the most physically imposing fighter in the world, which is why she's had to learn to know how to roll with a punch and go with it. The blonde's head snaps back, but her arm reaches to grab hold of Ryo's arm. Should she get a solid grip on it, the blonde twists around and jumps at the alley wall push herself off and snap a fishnet-covered leg at Ryo's head. "You're not so bad yourself."
COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Laurel's Back Alley Kick.
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Ryo 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Laurel
To be honest, Ryo kind of hates fighting women. Not for any major reason, but only because he has this gentlemanly feeling that he is sometimes reluctant of fighting them.
That, and other incidents concerning fireballs and exploding jackets is also to blame to his small reluctance.
Thanksfuly, it's not enough to make Ryo hold back in a battle, especialy when challenged in this way. Ryo is quick enough to pull his arm back from the grip, takes one two, three steps back and charges right back at Laurel with an all-out thrust sliding punch. "Thanks!" he shouts at the same time.
COMBATSYS: Laurel blocks Ryo's Mouko Raijin Gou.
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Ryo 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Laurel
Laurel's arms are barely able to drop in front of her in time to catch the punch coming at her. It still stings, but not as much as if it had hit where he had planned for it to hit. With a visible flinch, she comments, "Nice hit."
Strangely, though, she doesn't back up very much before saying, "Y'know, I might not mind losing this one." There's just something... -demoralizing- when you're trying to build up some street cred, and a schoolgirl kicks your ass. Laurel braces herself, then takes a deep breath before she suddenly screams, focusing her chi in to slightly modify the sound waves. Normally, it hits like a solid wall of force. This time, she increases the pitch to make Ryo's inner ear go wonkers and hopefully keep him off balance this fight.
COMBATSYS: Ryo dodges Laurel's Mockingbird Cry.
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Ryo 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Laurel
Anybody that has a remotely intimate knowledge of the fighting circuit knows that schoolgirls are one of the most frightening things in the world as far fighters are concerned. There is little to be ashamed of, or at least in Ryo's mind. Sure, a little stingy to the ego, but it could have been losing to a frail, willowy french boxer named Glass Joe. That's always WORSE.
Ryo recovers from his attack, taking another step back and narrows his eyes at Laurel. "Oh yeah? Why's that--"
Oh dear god it's a banshee.
Sakazaki's eyes shoots wide at the scream, leaping back out of pure instinct and leaping at the wall. He kicks himself up, soaring at the other and kicks off it once more. Once or twice was well enough to get out of the scream's way which flies lost down the alley. It's also doubly impressive to do so bare-footed.
What's the most impressive, however, is the Raging Tiger finnaly leaping off his higher ground point and homes himself down at Laurel. A fist is raised, slamming down a powerful overhead karate chop at the screaming fighter. "RAAAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Laurel with Mouko Raijin Setsu.
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Ryo 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Laurel
It's too bad Laurel usually has to close her eyes when she does that attack. Any time it fails to have its intended effect, she always winds up slightly off-balance and not sure where her opponent is. And, as demonstrated here, that tends to be rather painful. Laurel attempts to twist around, seeing Ryo isn't in front of her, but isn't quite able to evade the chop that drives her back and to the ground. Ow.
Laurel raises a hand up to rub her shoulder where the blow landed, and moves her arm a bit to make sure nothing got dislocated. "Well, since you asked before I so rudely interrupted...based on how you move around back here, I'm guessing we both have some similar experience when it comes to trying to help communities." Standing back up, Laurel adds, "Which means we both know what can happen when a fight goes bad in real life. I get the feeling some of the kids out fighting today don't quite realize how lethal it can be."
Favoring her arm for the time being, the blonde runs foward and goes for a simple jump-kick to Ryo's chest this time.
COMBATSYS: Ryo endures Laurel's Light Kick.
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Ryo 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Laurel
"Ahhh! Yeah!" Sakazaki replies, landing on his feets on the ground and raising his guard, taking the hit cleanly and without wincing. There was a slight stagger, but nothing too serious.
He recompose himself, flexing his knees a bit and thursting out his arms, taking his world-famous wide arm spread battle stance. "Some new fighters theses days really don't know what's waiting for them in the upper ranks. There is, honestly, some /real/ psychos all around. But!" He reels back a bit, crouching, like preparing for a spring. "I know some deeply realise what they are in and have the potential to become fabulous fighters! HIEN SHIPPU KYAKU!"
That? That was the scream Ryo was waiting for to hurl himself at Laurel in a flying kick, his feet glowing with a faint orange aura.
COMBATSYS: Ryo successfully hits Laurel with Hien Shippu Kyaku.
- Power hit! -
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Ryo 0/-------/-======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Laurel
It's Laurel's one major flaw as a fighter. She could never achieve the glowy limbs or flashy fireballs. Instead, she has a nearly impossible-to-see attack which leaves her out of breath and the ability to wear heeled boots in combat. So when the kick connects, she's somewhat surprised there isn't an energy explosion to accompany it. Between the fact his feet glowed to begin with and the fact that it was apparently just for show to distract her means that Laurel is hit and slammed back into a wall where her head solidly cracks against old brick before she slumps onto the ground like a broken doll.
Speaking of just how fatal a fight can be... Well, nobody /intends/ for their hits to be that painful (unless they're sick and/or demented), but hey, hits happen.
It's only after a minute that Laurel's eyes flutter open and she struggles to her feet, leaning against the wall. "...nice kick." The woman wobbles a bit again before she pushes some hair out of her face. "...I should probably lie down, but I'd hate for you to think I wasn't giving this my all." The woman then proceeds to stumble forward one step, two steps, and then falls/runs towards Ryo, reaching for his face, his hair...just that region in general.
Should she manage the grab, she'll use that adrenaline that's keeping her up to try to deliver a swift knee to his face by pulling him down to meet her halfway. After that, two quick knee blows to the abdomen followed by a step-back and pull-forward to reacquaint his nose with her knee. From there, she'll twist around slightly to slam him facefirst into the ground. Yeah, it's a desperation move, but hey, maybe with adrenaline it'll work!
COMBATSYS: Ryo endures Laurel's Vigilante Slam EX.
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Ryo 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Laurel
The Hien Shippu Kyaku is Ryo Sakazaki's both favourite and most practiced technique in his entire repertoire. It is only normal that the hit her so solidly!
He lands, wincing at the impact of the woman who, despite the odds, manages to get back up to her feet. That makes Ryo feel kinda guilty about not holding back -- if she was not that solid, he could have killed her, then. Or at least, heavily wound her!
As such, Ryo was about to say back at her, "I can see you're giving your all! But, man, I can't help but feel the Neo League keep lining me up with--"
He don't have time to continue what he had to say. That's usualy what happens when you're grabbed by the hair and slammed and kicked all around by an adrenaline-boosted woman.
End result: the Raging Tiger is on the ground, face first, with some blood coming out of his face. Just a little dribble, because, clearly, he's not crippled enough to prevent him from vaulting back to his feets. There is a painful expression on his face as he crack his neck loudly. "Sheeeese! You sure hit pretty hard! But...I'm not sure if you can beat me. If you want, you can go, you know. We don't need to finish this right away."
He reassume his stance. "I offer you a choice! We can void this match, or we both give it our all as fighters should! I preffer the second option, but I also preffer giving foes with potential choice!"
He tilt his head to a side, when suddenly a wellspring of golden energy bursts from the ground under him, surrounding the young man and giving his voice a slightly echoy quality. "What will it be!?"
COMBATSYS: Ryo gathers his will.
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Ryo 1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Laurel
Ah, a nice break in the fighting for a speech. Laurel loves these. She tends to do them herself when she needs to buy some time. ...why Ryo's doing it, she's not sure. Maybe it's a cultural thing. The woman takes a few deep breaths once there's some space between herself and the other fighter, and then she laughs a bit, at some tidbit she finds funny that others might not.
"I hope this is a test to see how determined I am, because otherwise I might feel insulted. 'As fighters should'? I'm not sure I could look in the mirror if I walked away from that comment."
"News flash, pretty boy, I figured out a long time ago I wasn't going to be able to beat you. Doesn't mean I can't do my best. Just make sure the medics that show up are legit, you'd be surprised how many ambulances around here aren't hospital property anymore." The blonde takes a few more deep breaths, and watches the energy burst from the ground, keeping an eye on his posture, his stance, even the rate at which he breathes. Assuming her fighting stance again, Laurel says, "I assume you're going to do something with that besides provide a nice light show?"
COMBATSYS: Laurel focuses on her next action.
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Ryo 1/---====/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Laurel
Ryo smirks a bit, which might be hard to see with the bursting chi aura around his body. Some slight arcs of energy flies and, with a last shockwave, a the concrete under the fighter cracks under some unseen pressure. "It was. I never was too subtle, as you probably guessed. But if you had chosen to run, I would have let you."
He reels back, regaining his battle stance for a moment. "I, however, now know that you will struggle, even against overwhelming odds! And that, is something I respect deeply! That is the premise of any great fighters in the world!" Which is more to say than a certain british chain-using giant. Ahem.
Ryo throws his arms back, crossing them over his chest, glowing with a bright blue aura of energy. "For your information, yes, yes I'm going to do something with that. You fought really well, I am impressed!"
The aura's intensity grows tenfold, the Raging Tiger thursting out his palms outward as he fires off a gigantic wave of blue energy, easily as tall and large as himself. "HAOH SHO KO KEN!"
It also mean that holding back any longer now would be an insult for her.
COMBATSYS: Laurel blocks Ryo's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.
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Ryo 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Laurel
The good news is, Laurel does have fast refexes. The blonde woman is able to slump back against a wall when the fireball gets close, and crouches, throwing up her arms. The fireball explodes against the building, washing out as it flattens itself, and once the smoke and dust clears, it finds Laurel, still curled up, with sizzling stockings and singed hair. There's a long moment of silence before Laurel slowly stirs, and slumps back against the wall, closing her eyes. "...didn't expect that from you."
The woman starts to push herself up, then slumps back again against the wall, fumbling with her hand before she manages to find a broken brick that she picks up and holds in her hand. It'll do. Something to focus on. "By the way, my mistake before. I'm Laurel."
The woman takes a deep breath, and then uses the last of her energy to scream as loudly as she can. Unlike the other one, this one does hit like a solid punch made of air and sound, and Ryo can see what's left of the debris being pushed ahead of it. There'll be some shattering windows and car alarms going off, but it's her stubbornness trying to get in one last attack before she goes limp and collapses against a dumpster.
COMBATSYS: Laurel can no longer fight.
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Ryo 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Ryo endures Laurel's Raptor Scream.
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Ryo 0/-------/--=====|
Ryo exhales loudly, waving his arm in a simple kata as he regain his fighting stance. Passively, he watches the destruction his fireball has caused, waiting for the dust to clear and praying mentaly to all the gods listening that he didn't accidently blown off the outer clothes of another woman with a gigantic fireball, like he did with King multiples times years way back.
To his dismay, it would seems the case. At least, this time, it's only the stockings that are sizzling. Plus, she's still alive, which is extremly good! "Not many expect that from me, honestly." Sakazaki admits, watching Laurel getting back up with a cautious gaze. She's going to do something, he can feel it.
But until then, he just smiles a bit at her, nodding his head and answering. "I'm Ryo Sakazaki. It was an pleasure to fight you, Laurel."
The last Banshee's scream comes. The Tiger's expression shift suddenly, his arms spreading wide and slamming his feets litteraly into the ground, he takes the brunt of the powerfull attack dead on. The sonic-air punch and debris hits the Kyokugen Master, sending him flat on his rear from the strength of the impacts.
When all clears up, Ryo get back to his feets with a grunt, looking down at the downed fighter, then at the surroundings. 'Jeeze,' Ryo thinks to himself, 'She caused way more destruction than /I/ did.'
He shakes his head. Now, time to call up an ambulance.
And make sure they're not con artists seeking a free liver to steal or something. Never know in this crazy city.
COMBATSYS: Ryo has ended the fight here.
Log created on 23:17:51 10/02/2007 by Laurel, and last modified on 06:00:48 10/03/2007.