Description: Raizo Imawano's first ever Saturday Night Fight, and he's the main event! Perhaps not too surprising considering his opponent is a student of the very same style, however. Master versus not-quite-a-master, with the Strongest Woman in the World on board to make the whole mess even more interesting? Not a spectacle to miss. (Draw Match)
Raizo Imawano has not been in SNF...ever, actually. He only recently returned to the fighting consciousness recently, with a rumored narrow victory over the mysterious Rugal Bernstein, and similar rumors of the mighty warrior-principal of Justice High soundly thrashing anyone dense enough to annoy him while he's in range to do something about it.
Nobody's quite entirely sure why Raizo agreed to participate this week. Nobody's sure if he ever will again. Better watch while it counts, folks!
And there the man is now, stepping into the arena, dressed exactly as he ever is - in a (not particularly expensive) business suit, teeny tiny monocle perched in his eye, and otherwise looking very much like a bear that is also a box.
Kurow Kirishima, a man who shares much of Raizo Imawano's style, however, signs up for SNF fairly regularly. Indeed, he's become something of a main event presence lately, a fact which no doubt feeds his ego -- after all, here he is, on the primary legitimate draw of a man he hates, consistently making the main event. He'd rub it in the man's face more if it didn't actually affect his ability to play to the crowd.
Kirishima walks out into the arena -- and unlike Raizo, makes a spectacle of it. The masses do enjoy a good entrance, after all. The entire arena lighting drops for a few seconds, plunging Howard's stage into blackness for a moment; the lights come back up, though lower than usual, as Kurow starts to walk out toward that dignified, well-carved ring, climbing the stairs and giving a respectful bow to the audience before turning his attention to Raizo wordlessly, dropping into that calm stance that grows more confident, less defensive every day.
Chun-Li, different from the other two warriors, had an off-again, on-again relationship with the spectacle that was Saturday Night Fights. Coming back from a bit of hiatus in her 'professional' fighting career, whispers and rumors about what the Strongest Woman in the World had been doing in the meantime had likely had time to ripple throughout the crowds of fighting fans.
But this is the now; and right now, Chun-Li steps out of the staging area assigned to her, to the sound of the fans. Her appearance, from the shine upon her white boots, to the stockings and billowy-shouldered qipao she wore, to the hair atop her head, tied up into two buns, with long flowing white ribbons tied around those, was immaculate to the eye, every hair in place, not a spec of dirt upon her clothing.
With a brilliant grin, she brings up a hand and waves to the crowd, her steps taking her up towards one of the corners of that ring. It was there, that she takes a moment to inspect her opponents. Raizo is given a long, lingering glance, the hint of a smile, and a bow, and the same is given to Kurow, although that smile is replaced with a more thoughtful look.
Raizo merely smirks a little at Kurow's spectacle. He's too old to put on such a show - or perhaps has no interest in it? Well, either way, there's no question that the more modern fighters are the more popular.
Raizo merely carries himself with a certain detached dignity, striding up the steps, and returning the bows he's given with respect.
And then he turns those beastial eyes on Kurow, cutting the crowd out of his consciousness, and remarks, as he spots Kurow dropping into stance, "No wisecracks? I'm almost surprised, Kurow."
But then the Imawano Master flexes his fist, and then bares his own hands wide, revealing razor-edged nails - none of these pathetic Freddy Kreuger claws Kurow wears.
"I suppose we'll get started, then. The natives seem restless."
"I had no intention," Kirishima states, "of waiting another moment." Well well -- as if /that/ isn't a little ominous, to say the least. Kurow takes a deep breath in, one last moment of centering before the match starts, and takes his place at one corner of that cold stone ring.
He slips his hands into his pockets, and they come out a split second later with those 'Freddy Kreuger claws' that Kirishima is so fond of; he looks Raizo dead-on, and considers a plan of attack. On the one hand, there's a lot of Raizo to grab onto -- no doubt he could get a good, solid handle on the man if he spent any effort at all trying to do so.
Still, there's more dangers to fighting Raizo than being able to hit him, and as such, Kurow starts with a fairly conservative opening maneuver. Stepping forward, he snaps a leg up in a quick, direct kick to the man's barrel-sized chest, adding, "No wisecracks. ... yet."
COMBATSYS: Kurow has started a fight here.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Raizo has joined the fight here.
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Raizo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Raizo with Light Kick.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kurow
And it starts. Bringing up a hand to brush the ribbons dangling from her hair back over her shoulder, Chun-Li's eyes move from person to person. Mentally flipping a coin, she lifts her chin up as her hands tighten into fists, Kurow's attack watched with a thoughtful eye. Fortunately or unfortunately, the mental coin lands Raizo-side up. Turning towards the stoic principal, Chun-Li bites down upon her lip, and then bounds forward, crossing the space between herself and the man in but a few quick moments. Upon the end of the second bound forward, she twists in place, her left leg going to stomp upon the ground as she hammers a fist towards the side of the man.
Chun-Li's arms... at least when compared to her legs, might be a bit thin in appearance, but the power behind the punch would be unignorable.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has joined the fight here.
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Chun-Li's Medium Punch.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
"Ho ho?" Raizo murmurs, thoughtfully, just...standing there, staring down at Kurow as the boy comes. "The dramatics suit you, boy," he quips, because it's kind of fun to belittle Kurow while the kid's pretending to be some kind of martial arts badass. Ho ho WHOA
His eyes dart over as Chun-Li comes in at him. And the old bastard demonstrates the super ultra secret of the Imawano School! By...dodging. Indeed - the old man surges forward, dashing INTO Kurow's kick (it doesn't do him as much good as he planned for it to do) but in the process skipping right out past Chun-Li's punch. So while there's a fist behind his head, and a foot in his belly, Raizo employs the only option really available to him at the moment, and drives a fist toward Kurow's face at top speed, that smirk on his face devolving more toward the sneer end of the spectrum.
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Kurow with Quick Punch.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
The punch catches Kurow a little off-guard, and sails neatly into his stomach; the only thing that keeps him from getting hit in the face as Raizo intended was a quick jump up and backward, intended to carry him out of the way but not being nearly so effective in practice. The youth flies back a few feet from the raw force of the principal's punch, and skids to a stop on his feet a half-second later.
Cracking his knuckles, Kirishima notes the raw physical resilience of Raizo; surely he isn't going to want to try something like /that/ again, especially with Chun-Li disrupting the flow of the battle. He'll have to get downright vicious if he's to meet Raizo head-on and not get obliterated -- but then, viciousness has always been Kurow's stock in trade.
Leaping forward, the youth tries to hook both hands' claws around Raizo's neck and kick off of his chest, sending his body spinning around the man twice, hopefully leaving deep gashes. When he finishes, he locks one of those arms up, putting Raizo in a vicious facelock in order to drag him down to the ground with his rapidly increasing downward speed.
Indeed she was disrupting the flow of things. A vague expression of surprise touches the face of the Chinese woman as her punch finds nothing but air. She does not linger long in that position, however. With a spin away that would make it difficult for a counterattacking assault to find a home, old habits die hard after all, Chun-Li whirls about in place, her new boots squeaking on the arena floor.
It was Kurow's turn to mind the movements of Chun-Li, the woman's brown eyes glittering with what could be excitement as she leaps to one side. Kurow's, successful or not in his manuever, would find something waiting for him when his little altercation with Raizo ceased. Another punch, very similar to the one she just graced Raizo with, swinging at his chest.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Raizo with Circle Slash.
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Raizo 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
Raizo Imawano is a mighty, mountainous man, but oh golly that sure did hurt.
Kurow has used this particular tactic previously, as well, and he didn't enjoy it much then, either; shifting his weight, Raizo moves to escape the coming of Kurow's mighty claws, but fails rather spectacularly - his suit is torn severely, and blood practically streams out of wounds on his neck.
Yes, he decides. Never get hit by that again. Make it a priority.
Slowly, the old man rises up again after his fall, clenching and unclenching his hand as he goes. OK. That hurt. A lot. Leaving the smart remarks behind, then, Raizo plants one of his feet, and then launches straight into a return attack - baring the claws on his right hand, he drives it forward in a thrusting punch right toward Kurow's gut, thundering, "ROPPU ZUKI!" as he does. It's not quite as viciously bloody as Kurow's acrobatic assault - but the sheer amount of force in it more than makes up for the lack of style.
He seems to be ignoring Chun-Li. Largely this is because Kurow just tried to cut off his head.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Chun-Li's Medium Punch.
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Raizo 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Kurow with Roppu Zuki.
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Raizo 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
As Chun-Li comes in with that punch, Kurow does a quick sidestep that narrowly carries him out of the path of the punch -- but unfortunately, it doesn't take him out of the path of those full-speed rushing claws. The youth goes flying back to the edge of the arena, only stopping himself from falling off with a quick slam of his feet into the ground and forward push, propelling himself slightly forward. ... though mostly, he just fights that induced momentum from Raizo.
"That technique has always struck me as... disappointing," the youth admits. Though part of that may simply be the fact that he's not very /good/ with that staple of the Imawano-ryu clawfighting style. "There are ways to expand upon it, though." They've already been through this particular dance, but that doesn't mean the youth isn't going to give Raizo a /third/ run through the proverbial meat grinder with it.
Rearing his hand back, he lunges forward in a remarkably fast, seemingly unplanned strike that nearly mirrors Raizo's Roppu Zuki in almost every respect, aimed for his neck. The youth has always had quite a talent for working the head and neck -- but then, so do a lot of exceptionally vicious fighters. It's one of the /fastest/ paths to victory, at least... though the youth may not /just/ be planning another quick strike to work the neck this time.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Raizo with Kinki Chikarasui.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Raizo 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
Kirishima sinks those claws into Raizo's neck again, through the holes he already created, and deep into the man's nervous system, actually paralyzing him for a few seconds as he lifts him up -- yes, /lifts him up/, in spite of the fact that he likely weighs a million pounds. "This is far too much like the last time we fought for my comfort," he says, with a small smirk on his face. "Wasn't this about how that went?"
As Raizo no doubt expects at this point, he begins to feel the chi slide out of his body in waves, going down Kirishima's arm as a fine red-and-white mist and venting out into the air. The youth allows himself a tremendous show of force, stepping forward toward the edge of the arena, still siphoning off Raizo's chi as he moves.
"... though last time, we weren't several feet off the ground," he notes, glancing down to that corridor that officials, announcers, and other important Saturday Night Fight people run through -- and in which Turk and Macy's table sits. ... or more accurately, once Kirishima flings Raizo down, where Turk and Macy's table /used/ to sit, and where now a pile of broken wood and plastic and metal sits.
Chun-Li pauses after her second failed punch, the woman turning her head to observe Raizo for the space of a moment. Blood was not something that really shocked her, but... if the man was going to bleed to death for a silly exhibition fight, well... that wouldn't have sat well with her. Taking a step away from the two focused fighters, Chun-Li was in an excellent position to see Kurow's attack... and the aftermath. A grimace touches Chun-Li's lips as she herself moves to the side of the arena, to gaze down at Raizo.
She knew the whole Chaos Agent rules, and she really didn't like it. Trusting in Raizo's rather sturdy look, Chun-Li hesitates only a moment more before her attack. Leaping from the edge of the arena, she plummets down towards Raizo, a shrill war cry her only concession to the man. At least then, he would know that she was coming. Aiming to land upon the man, upon shoulders or head, she would 'bounce' off of him then, tucking into a forward somersault that would take her to land further down that very same corridor.
Or land on the ground. Really really hard. Ouch.
COMBATSYS: Raizo endures Chun-Li's Tenshin Shuu Kyaku.
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Raizo 1/-======/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
Well. This is...not exactly an ideal way to end a debut, is it? Well, not that Raizo cares that much.
...still, it's not really a good thing to get punked all to hell by Kurow on his first try! Still...seeing it up close...in a situation like this, even losing has some merit.
Raizo is a crafty old bastard. So even as Kurow sinks his claws in, sucks him dry, throws him aside...and then Chun-Li adds insult to injry with a descending kick, Raizo's grin doesn't waver in the least. Indeed, shoved just so by that last kick, his position changes, and Raizo rises up to his hands and one foot, kneeling just so. "You're getting mouthy," Raizo mumbles to Kurow. "You seem to think that somehow, a little blood might actually slow me down..." He allows the grin to grow, plants his other foot on the ground, and then he's MOVING and--
"Don't GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF, Kirishima! YASHA GURUMA!!"
...and there's claws and chi and a great big ball of Raizo and good golly if Kurow doesn't move they're all going to turn him into a pinata. /And/ break all the candy.
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Kurow with Yasha Guruma.
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Raizo 1/=======/=======|=======\-------\1 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
As Raizo comes in with that ball of energy, Kurow doesn't have time to react; somehow Raizo propels himself back to the squared circle instantly, and Kirishima gets downright torn apart by the old man's vicious attack. Once again sent reeling, Kirishima pulls himself back off the ground a beaten and bloody mess... but he does pull himself back off the ground. He's still going, in spite of all the punishment that Raizo's vicious blows keep putting out.
The youth decides on a downright spectacular finish for this particular match, especially when one considers the venue. Rolling his neck, Kirishima steps forward, raising his hands high. "I'm not ahead of myself in the least, Raizo," Kirishima says, giving one last glance toward the crowd as he says this; even though the match is looking like -- no matter /how/ it ends -- it's going to be short, the fans are really getting into it. "... but I'm /lightyears/ ahead of you. After all -- you always did stick to the basics."
He slams both hands down directly in front of Raizo, as a golden corona of light flies up around both parties, Kurow at its epicenter. Raizo, however, is not quite so lucky -- the principal is just at the edge of that whirling golden pillar, though if it catches him, he'll quickly be swept up and inward, thrown into the air by the vicious technique and slashed repeatedly.
Gracious. Bouncing off of her little downwards kick that she graced Raizo with, Chun-Li does land in the little corridor beyond them both; a lovely position in which to observe the two men go at it once more, flashes of light and dizzying sounds the hallmarks of the extensive release of chi going on in the arena. Hefting up her chin a bit more, Chun-Li wears a pensive look upon her face, before she hunches her shoulders, dips her torso, and launches herself back into the 'game'.
This time, her target would be Kurow. Mindful of the youth's age and frail appearance, Chun-Li dashes towards him, hopefully reaching him at a point in time when his whirlwind dies away towards nothing. The straight kick Chun-Li then snaps towards his torso then would be simple, perhaps a bit deceptively so.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Raizo with Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.
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Raizo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Kurow
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
"Basics? Hah--" Raizo thunders. He's beaten. Battered. Bloody. Kurow's ego is annoying in the extreme, which is probably the worst of it. AND he's tired, which just makes the whole business worse.
But not over.
Kurow uses an assault not even Raizo recognizes offhand, something perhaps he's seen before but couldn't recall to mind -- he knows what it does, but being too close to Kurow following the release of that power, there's not a chance to analyze it too deeply, as he is hauled up into the air, mauled and mutilated by the force of Kurow's energies.
Amid the agony, he berates himself - that was foolish. An amateurs mistake if ever there was one. And though he's now thoroughly exhausted...he still has enough energy in him for one last push.
Rather than fall flat on the mat, as Kurow may very well be expecting, the old man flips around in mid-air, crashes to the mat with both feet, grins that classic half-mad grin, and spits, "You shouldn't discount the basics, KIRISHIMA!" before thrusting his right arm forward, exactly as he did earlier - but this time, he puts his entire body into it, igniting the chi around his fist into a vicious claw assault. The last of his strength is dedicated to driving enough force into Kurow to put the Kirishima assassin through the wall on the other end of the arena.
COMBATSYS: Raizo can no longer fight.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Kurow with Medium Kick.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Raizo's Imawano Roppu Zuki.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kurow
When Raizo comes in with that hard strike, Kurow knows precisely what's coming -- and knows better than to be in the way. Leaping to one side, he completely avoids the massive shot -- but launches himself just late enough that Chun-li's long legs catch him in the gut just the same. The youth clutches at his chest, kneeling down as he lands, evidently out of the fight -- but does he have Raizo down along with him?
"The problem with the basics," he hisses, as he takes a deep breath, trying to stabilize himself long enough to sass the Imawano patriarch a little, "is that you can see them coming..." He looks like he's about to fall over. He'll probably just tip over on his own, eventually.
And Chun-Li withdraws her kick, taking a step away from Kurow as the bottom of her boot finds the floor of the arena. A few skittering steps away, and the Chinese woman stands to watch, chewing a bit upon her lower lip. That last kick was unnecessary, although she did not quite realize that until this moment, when she glances over towards Raizo to observe him.
For a moment, she was tempted to help the two up to their feet, but as soon as the announcer starts screaming the winner, and the crowds mirror the announcers false fervour with less-feigned fervour of their own... well... the medical crew starts heading towards the stage. And thusly, Chun-Li stiffens, and bows to both man and boy in turn, before turning on her heel, and heading towards the doors leading to her dressing room, passing past the quickly-shuffling med crew with her own slow walk.
COMBATSYS: Kurow takes no action.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has ended the fight here.
Raizo doesn't provide answer to Kurow's final quip. It's true, of course.
But there's a secret here that Raizo's apparently not telling, because whatever it was about what Kurow just said, as Raizo's body mass slips out from under him and he hits the mat, Raizo is quite thoroughly out of the fight.
But he's grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
Log created on 19:13:14 11/03/2007 by Raizo, and last modified on 09:29:49 11/18/2007.