Description: In the depths of the dungeon known as the Todoh dojo, Hokuto is given a choice: Submit, or Die. She goes for Option C. (Winner: Hokuto)
Evening time in the Karuta district, out in the more rural parts of Southtown. A decent enough place to live by Southtown standards. There's a nice, humble park that's proven popular by the younger generation. A decent place for a picnic. Yet, it's the only real landmark to go by out there.
This is assuming one passes up the mighty TODOH-RYUU KOBUJUTSU DOJO right next to it. And, really, who wouldn't? It's a... rather humble building in itself, to put it nicely. A small building composed of wood, oftentimes appearing to hold together by the sheer grit and fighting spirit. (In reality, it's the Missus and the daughter that keep it nice and clean and functional, but what can you expect for a dojo owned by a master that, frankly, is absent roughly seventy-five percent of the time to begin with?)
Moving past a nearly threadbare front lawn with a handful of scorch marks here and there full of uneven blades of grass that have strangely uneven variants of height between roughly rectangular-shaped patches of such, the porch and walkway around the building remains under a roof, No Smoking signs and stickers placed in some sort of order that can only be described as 'whimsy.' It's not the most prestigious piece of real estate in martial arts, especially not compared to the Kyokugen Dojo. Making this comparison within ten miles of here is liable to draw one particular resident towards oneself in less than friendly fashion.
That said, it did receive at least a tiny, short-lived spike of popularity and prosperity by Saturday Night Live. Now, it has another taste in the limelight this otherwise quiet weekend evening! A joyous occasion for the patriarch of the Todoh family.
...Were he actually present, as far as the cameras can see. (Dammit.)
Hmph. Todoh-ryuu... of course, Hokuto has experienced its power. She's faced off against the aging master of Todoh-Ryuu via the Saturday Night Fights. And now, here she is again... with no Shingo to interfere. In most respects, Hokuto is considered a master of her own brand of martial arts--perhaps not as venerable as Todoh but she isn't as old, either.
She considers the premise of the fight... and shakes her head, as she walks through the gates, and along that front lawn, towards the place for the fight. The Todoh-Ryuu dojo. Apparently it's seen better days. That said, it -is- a dojo, and thus Hokuto does things quite properly, as she is wont to do, slipping off her overshoes, and going tabi-footed--hopefully the floor is clean. Arms slid into opposing sleeves, Hokuto presents quite the picture as she slips into the dojo itself, pausing before stepping into the fighting arena, and bowing, to honor the master of the dojo and his students.
Her steps are whisper-quiet, her movements full of almost supernatural grace, as she pads onto the scene, dressed not in her typical fighting outfit, but in a pink, floral-patterned kimono, with a dark green underrobe and hakama, the matching pink obi at her waist tied tightly and securely.
And Hokuto glances at the SNF organizers... as she waits.
The front lawn may not have painted the best first impression. But, the tabi-clad feet will enjoy a nice, clean wooden floor. A wooden porch floor that has seen many a historic battle (lies), one that has comfortably aided in catching the fall of its master more than once. Especially years ago against a certain orange-clad fighter. Which should not be brought up again in earshot or, really, anywhere around here.
The only remaining concern. Where the hell is Ryuhaku? Surely he wouldn't miss what may be his most glorious chapter in his family style in months! Years, if he's able to land this young martial arts prodigy (along with others of comparable potential, skill, and overall wealth) as his student!
Cameras follow Hokuto inside. It paints a picture of a respectable upkeep effort. One of the wooden supports is badly cracked from a recent impact. It is not an overly spacious interior - this man (nor Kasumi) must not teach very large classes at a time. One might be able to get up to, at most, eight people in here... accounting for personal space in the possibility that all they do under his tutelage is to just chuck chi around.
The floor mats, though clean, show their age very readily. They've long since overstayed their welcome in being comfortable, fine additions to the establishment. Various photographs of the Todoh family through this generation and the last are adorned in an honest attempt at conveying a legacy. Interestingly, there is not one good, clear photo where Ryuhaku himself is the subject. Almost all of the ones that have him show him somewhere distant in the background. Even, of all things, the most recent family portrait of himself, his wife, and his daughter. Some things just have no explanation.
And then there's the matter of where Ryuhaku Todoh is! Turns out he didn't ditch the household to go hide in some bushes in Kenya to ambush the first interesting person he sees pass by again. Nope. His outline can be clearly seen behind a shoji door, arms crossed and... facing it? Away? That's the only fuzzy detail.
He is silent, without motion. With Hokuto's silent movements, it is difficult to say if he has acknowledged her presence.
Ah, the man of the hour, so to speak. Ryuhaku Todoh himself. Hokuto pays no attention to the cameras, though she knows why they'rehere, obviously. The dojo is small--comfortable, some might say instead--but that doesn't bother Hokuto in the least. Instead, she walks across the floor to the dhoji door, and waits a moment.
Then two.
After the third such moment of waiting, Hokuto clears her throat. "Todoh-san," she says, sounding almost careful, "we have an 'appointment'..." This is her way of introducing herself... and letting Todoh know that his match opponent is here.
"So, if you would be so kind..."
"KYAH!" The silence erupts with a yelp and an odd form of comeuppance where someone infamous for his non-sequitur appearances just got snuck up on after so many countless SNF matches of Todoh getting the upper hand on virtually every security measure (and a handful of physical improbabilities) they took to try and coax him to get in and out of places like virtually anybody else does. It is a bright evening at Howard Enterprises for those who felt victimized by such behaviors that jeopardized their jobs, indeed.
"Ah! You're early! You're early indeed!" The door is shoved aside with such carelessness that a loud snap echoes through the dojo. The lights come on in an instant - cheap hanging lights powered, by all things, the infamous Clapper. (Someone lost the marital argument as to whether or not it should stay in place of traditional methods.)
"Ah yes! Tea. But, you see, my wife is out for the evening, so I'm afraid," and no he's not, "I am afraid that I will have to show you around the greatest dojo in this corner of Southtown," no it's not, "with my might!"
He strikes a pose with both fans rapidly withdrawn and opened, one up high, one off to the side and the biggest grin he could muster... worthy of the envy of dentists the nation over! A small pause dawns upon him where he relaxes the tension, closing one fan as he brings his hand up to his chin. "But, where do I begin?! There is so much to show, but so little time!"
Where to begin, indeed, when Hokuto has seen almost all there actually is to see in here. Except, maybe, the fisticuffs. You can't complete the tour of a dojo without fisticuffs, can you?
She... surprised him? That's surprising in and of itself, though Hokuto, rapidly becoming known for her poker face mien, shows no such surprise on her features, even as the shoji buzzes open and *clacks* loudly against the doorframe... and the lights come on. Unfortunately, the small dojo isn't really put in any better light by the sudden illumination. It's a far cry from the more nagnificent and well-kept dojo that Hokuto is used to from her youth.
However, she steps back--smoothly, if quickly--when Todoh pulls the fans out. The words are a bit obfuscated but, if Hokuto reads them properly, Todoh is declaring the fight started. She turns towards the center of the dojo and paces out to a traditional starting mark... settles herself... and waits.
"If it is to be 'might', then, Todoh-san, perhaps the time has come to demonstrate it..." Her brown-eyed gaze falls placidly, yet intently, upon the man known as the master of Todoh-Ryuu.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hokuto 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Todoh has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Todoh 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Todoh 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
"Yes, yes, it has! And don't you forget it!" The same hand brought to his chin points a finger out at her up and down scoldingly. Very scoldingly. With a closed fan. "But, who am I to get carried away? How can you forget," he moves with a flourish, that same hand opening the fan once more towards one of those aforementioned photos, "when you don't even know to begin with?!"
They might have gotten a curious glance and nothing more before. If so, there's not much more to really glean from them from a glance alone. A notion which Ryuhaku would gladly overcome with a certain manic glee while the glow of the electric lights above lend a certain ambience to the whole, er, 'experience.'
"Our storied history," he pauses to clear his throat while his opponent has begun to properly prepare themselves in a manner befitting a competent martial artist, "begins many generations ago! The origins, mysterious... lost to time, so they say!" So HE says. "But the driving purpose remains as grand and crystal clear as ever! To create the ultimate martial arts style with grace! Beauty! Power! Swiftness! Why, if you gaze into this portrait the very founder will imprint his very spirit with such a determined face that you can only sob at the sheer prospects of the effort he has gone through to preserve such art each generation!"
If Hokuto bothers to even look in that direction... nobody's face is even visible. It's someone with very long hair, some painted portrait of one. Where, for some reason, the artist has decided to paint this subject not only looking /away/ from the viewer but is also distant enough as to be easily considered nothing more than an accessory for some grand building that barely even has any resemblance to the dojo they stand into now.
Strange.
COMBATSYS: Todoh takes no action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Todoh 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
To her credit, Hokuto listens. She listens as Todoh starts blathering about the 'storied history' of Todoh-Ryuu... even nods, once or twice, at certain things. They are, after all, similar to the origins of her family's arts, as well. And she does even look... and the... artwork... garners a pause. Right. There's no one there... but perhaps that says it all, about Todoh-Ryuu.
"Your martial arts are indeed possessed of a long and storied history," replies the young woman, a faint smile, almost sardonic, tracing her lips. "But then," she replies, musingly, "So are mine... and I'm afraid that I'm too much set in my ways..." And there is a fight to take place.
Suddenly, Hokuto is moving, gliding forward across the floor, leading with her left hand as she advances on Todoh... then strikes out with a simple high kick, planting her left foot and sweeping her right forward, and up, the ball of her foot aimed for Todoh's chin in a high front kick.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Todoh with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Todoh 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
With one hand pointing a fan 'dramatically' over to one of the portraits and the other resting around hip level while he's busy doing that whole narrating deal, in a functional martial arts sense, he doesn't have much of a defense against much of anything, barring some interesting trick to demonstrate the Todoh-Ryuu defense against all such assaults!
...Which appears to be to keep talking. "Too set?! Nonsense, why--" Pow! Ball of foot meets chin with enough force to throw his upper body back with a spray of saliva that, as it always has, descends in little Kasane Ate patterns of three droplets barely connected to one another.
He gives his chin a rub with the back of his hand, a precursor to the inevitable Old Man Raised Voice(tm). "DID YOU THINK I WAS DONE YET?!" His eyes narrow once more, pointing over to a different story of the room. "Now! Where I was going before I was RUDELY INTERRUPTED," the hand pointing waves back and forth to signal to the camera to look over there. It doesn't cooperate, since this is supposed to be about the fight! Continued refusal over the next few seconds of conversation result in a eviler and eviler eye although he vocally tries to play it straight, "in modern times, the more hip, noteworthy ones your parents may remember! Why, back when I was but a mere child, even, my father was the proud master of the style!"
This one, a photograph, bears a very uncanny resemblance to the painting. Except the dojo is definitely there. The lawn is much better looking, yet, some clumps of grass are still suspiciously uneven in height. The subject has much shorter hair, and a very similar overall set of dress to the Todoh before Hokuto. Well, in so far as can be gleaned from... his back. Again. At least this time the subject is closer to the viewer, if only barely so. Hm.
"The techniques you see today! The ones you have come to respect, admire, maybe even wish to master as part of your own," he stops abruptly to correct himself, "the ones you DO respect, admire, and wish to master as part of your own," or maybe exaggerate it even more in retrospect, "the ones the world over have since fawned over and admired! Yes, they can be yours today! As his successor I can show you how! But you must have seen them so many times you only need a mere reminder by now, yes?"
At this point he turns the fan inward to cool himself, crouches down a bit with a hand on his hip, and giggles in that way a man his age should not. "So! Which one did you want to EXPERIENCE first? Hm? Hm?"
(If one were to hazard a guess, the one where he shuts up?)
COMBATSYS: Todoh takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Todoh 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
Hokuto remains patient. "Todoh-san," she says, as she withdraws the striking foot, "I am not here to learn your martial arts. I have already mastered my family's style of Kobujutsu and there is no reason for me to change. I, like you, have a tradition to uphold, and while there is always room for improvment in my skills, as is true for all martial artists, a change of school is -not- what is needed for me."
Truthfully, that arrogant 'you want to master' bit was grating. Arrogance is one of the worst traits a martial artist can have--and yet it's a fine line indeed between confidence and overconfidence, isn't it? "If this is the way you 'pitch' your school," she muses, "then it is no wonder that it is in such disrepair." Ahaha. A proper Japanese woman Hokuto might be, but she can be modern as well, and in this case, modern means blunt. Thus, suddenly, Hokuto is lunging across the intervening space between Todoh and herself, left arm bent at the elbow, cocked back, braced with her right.
"But perhaps you can change my mind if you can completely dazzle me!" It's just... not... very likely. At all. Okay, we're maybe talking a .001 percent chance, really. Hokuto closes with Todoh once more and fires off that left elbow in a thrusting strike for his sternum.
COMBATSYS: Todoh blocks Hokuto's Chuugeki Hou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hokuto
If this were a sitcom, the comment about the dojo being in such disrepair would earn a laughing track. One is not provided here in reality, instead replaced with a chortle that ends up getting picked up with the microphone. Wait until Ryuhaku watches the replay later, if Howard Enterprises decides to leave it in after the fact! The face of the 'master' is already half-sour by the time he's done with the explanation to begin with, seeing as the camera decided not to follow. She went there!
"Hmph!" A disappointed, aggravated, and despondent grunt all in one as his arms cross against her advancing elbow, both fans neatly falling inside his gi shirt in the gesture. It's a very solid impact. Solid enough that the echo of highly-trained fist against decades-hardened bone is picked up by the system that governs whether or not the lights are on to begin with by going out entirely - returning the indoors of the dojo to darkness.
Completely dazzle, she declares? Ryuhaku would be more than willing to take her up on that one in a one-hundred thousand chance if outright stated - and even if she didn't. Rather than swear out loud about how much he hates the fact they still even /have/ the Clapper in here, he's already got a clever fix to this situation in mind.
He tries to grab Hokuto by the arms and, with a little bit of a heave, slam her down onto the ground nearby hard enough for it to turn back on. A very simple throw technique regardless of the circumstance - not his forte, by any stretch.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto counters Bodyslam from Todoh with Goukyaku Nage.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
Perhaps not Todoh's forte, but one of Hokuto's. Her arms -are- grabbed, briefly. But almost immediately she's reversing the grab--a technique found in some style of kung fu, usually--and when he pushes, she's ready for it. Fading back with the push, she uses the momentum against Todoh, breaking grip on her left arm and clamping both hands to Todoh's left arm.
As he continues to move forward, Hokuto sidesteps around him, wrenching his right arm around in a full three hundred and sixty degree sweep, adding a bit of wrenching pain as she then kicks his feet out from underneath him.
The end result? Hokuto remains standing while Todoh eats mat. As she resumes her stance, Hokuto merely shakes her head, and says, softly. "Not dazzling."
A loud smack occurs in the fall as the elder Todoh eats mat, maybe a side of humble pie, with second helpings. The lights are back on! The intended effect survives in spirit! In execution... well, that's something that goes without saying in that one exchange.
He rolls off to the side to help himself up, shaking his right arm up and down post-yank. And direct contact with that elbow, that wasn't pleasant either! There's a big bruise to be seen by all there, a sign that there is indeed many subtleties to that elbow to go with her reversal in the dark. Who's the master here?
"You want dazzling? Yeh hah hah! It takes more than one trick to win, as you will see!" He says /that/ and he's already raising his arms up - left faster than his right, for previously mentioned reasons. Right at his fingertips he commands... something. But what could it be?
Three guesses. First two don't count if they involve the concepts 'yellowish-orangeish,' 'blocky,' 'chunky,' or 'three of them.' Oh yeah, 'downward arm guiding motion as if to throw it down.' None of those count. Time's up on the guesses the moment the bold kiai of "HEEYAH" rolls out.
Along with, as what many may have come to expect, a blocky, descending energy wave of a bright and obnoxious color. Is this dazzling? Maybe to the Todoh himself.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Todoh's Kasane Ate.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
"Indeed," replies Hokuto, calmly, "'tricks' do not win fights... skill, power, and heart do!" But she's been hit by a Kasane Ate before and she remembers how it felt. The girl starts backing up the moment she feels that chi building, her hakama'ed legs moving swiftly, surely, the ruffle of the heavy, pleated cloth sounding almost artificial, like sound effects were being added in.
Even with her swift movements, she only barely stays ahead of the slashing energy, having to take several swift steps back to avoid taking the brunt of it... and then moving forward again, reversing her momenutm just as swiftly, coming around in a short, flat arc, from her left, and as she closes she plants her right foot--and attempts to sweep Todoh with her left leg, seeking to hook his ankle with her left foot and pull him up and off-balance.
A somewhat unconventional technique--more suited to weapons-based fighting, perhaps--and yet, if it works...
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Todoh with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
"And you say you have them all? Do you?" So comes the challenge of Ryuhaku as he brings his arms back up post-maneuver, the very honor (or at least positive publicity) of his very dojo on the line in these exchange of blows, movements, and skillful countermeasures. Rather, the receiving of blows, movements, and skillful countermeasures. There isn't much of an exchange if he doesn't appear to be giving back much in turn!
He misinterprets her initial advancing motion to a degree that works plenty in her favor. He appears contemplative of two likely options to go by - move, or attack. Eventually, the former seems to win out given her careful movement around one of his finest - maybe his /only/ thing that can even be considered 'finest' - techniques leads to that desire to perform constant one-upmanship! That, all in all, oft appears the main motivation between the Todoh and Sakazaki family feud.
The wrong foot takes a step back. The right foot takes a pull forwards. This results in once more an embarrassing fall onto his bum with a brief vocalization of what runs through his hip in the sort of sense that would be difficult to attribute to any given vocal likeness of any letter of the English or Japanese alphabet, and finds himself, once more, on the receiving end of shame and comeuppance.
He decides to recover with a backwards tumble across the mat, closer towards the door that Hokuto entered from. "So I see skill!" And so, the Todoh somehow acknowledges, on national TV, that some style of some young upstart has something over him... at last? "That's only one!!"
In spirit, definitely not a compliment.
But what of this power and heart? The familiar sense of chi forming might once again trigger Hokuto's senses, but he's even /further/ away now. He can't possibly reach this far from here, can he? This line of logic doesn't really stop him from trying. Big, blocky chunks of chi, the same color, the same apparent make, it's all there! But, with a grander forward step and lean, the arms go up and down with the expected practiced motion - little to no wasted movement. The chi blocks barely even stay connected as they are thrust forward a short ways before the descent begins. Hokuto, in her present position, would be just under the tip of it.
"HEEYAH!" Down it goes onto a waiting set of mats that has already endured years of this falling on top of it.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Todoh's Fierce Kasane Ate.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hokuto
Never let it be thought that Hokuto intended to disparage Todoh in any way. He is called master and those who do not claim such titles for themselves have usually earned it, and rightfully. Indeed, she was agreeing with him in some way... but Hokuto apparently didn't communicate this properly. Still, she feels compelled to reply.
"Of course I possess all three," she replies, still calm, her mahogany gaze never straying from Todoh's form. The sense of power building again does have her more alert--Todoh can see it in her eyes, probably. "All those who consider themselves true martial artists claim skill, power, and heart!" she cries--her voice somewhat louder than intended, as she dives to her right, twirling through an artful tumble.
Coming back up to her feet, she settles. "A battle is nothing more than a test of each of these traits against the other's. Skill versus skill, power versus power... and heart versus heart."
Now she's even farther away from Todoh than she was before... and yet she moves forward all the same, inexorably pressing forward, closing once more with the Todoh-ryuu master to attempt a double palm strike into his chest--not the traditional vertical double palm strike, but with both palms thrust out in a horizontal array.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Todoh with Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
Of course, intention and effect sometimes don't translate well when certain people are... detached, from certain elements of their existence in favor of other ideals.
Ryuhaku is not the spitting image of a traditional martial arts master. He's loud! He's boastful! He is not very polite in everyday speech. But yet, here he is, in a position of traditional respect despite displaying few of the qualities that would actually come of it.
Really, now /Hokuto/ appears more the master in the exchange between the two, regardless of the great difference in age. Especially when, post-declaration of what all martial artists claim, she moves in once again to press the offense as he himself stands straighter to prepare how he'll handle the next assault.
Right as she's at arm's length, he sways and steps off towards his right to try and let it pass through. She ends up nailing him with her left hand despite this, a palm thrusting itself in his side with such vigor that he is pushed up against the wall with a groan, catching himself with his left arm.
His expression flattens, mostly on the realization of what was discussed prior. That, and how the camera turns away from him for that single moment! She's stealing the show in all fronts!
"So it is!" He pushes himself off the wall, back towards the fight between the two once more. It's a rather casual pace compared to Hokuto's hurried attempts to close the gap before. As if to put his own spin on what transpired moments before, he lets himself drop low, supporting himself on both his arms as his right leg kicks up, hooking slightly inward in the execution to try and push Hokuto back further.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Todoh's Sweeping Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
Stealing the show? Perhaps. But Hokuto isn't out to recruit students to the Mizugami Kobujutsu-Ryuu. For one thing, she feels much like Ryu--she is not really a master, though she has, in some respects, earned that title. There is much to learn. Much to learn from defeats as well as victories. And much to learn from others. Still, she -is- putting on a good show, at least... and while Todoh may not exhibit the -traditional- trappings of a martial arts master, Hokuto is wary because of that. After all, look at someone like the (in)famous Takuma Sakazaki, or Saishuu Kusanagi... both masters and yet clearly displaying few of the traditional 'master's' qualities.
Ah, but yes, the sweeping kick... a kick that Hokuto is well and truly familiar with. Once again, she finds herself in a position of avoidance. Rather than backpedaling as she did for the Kasane Ate, she performs a small leap, jumping backwards, tucking her legs underneath her as she drops back about twenty feet...
...and then stops, once again fixing her gaze on Todoh. No more words at this juncture. Though the match has been all Hokuto's so far, she isn't hardly ready to say she's the winner...
COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hokuto
And he isn't either if he has anything to say about it! Hokuto's evasion of his latest assault proves true. It proves truer when she tumbles backwards a good additional twenty feet. It proves a conundrum, even - how can he cover this amount of space to continue to press it?
He doesn't need to.
Both gazes get locked into one another as Ryuhaku raises his hands above his head in a fierce clapping noise to center himself. The lights go off again. Rather than vocalize the slightest complaint over this inconvenience, he thinks to use this to his advantage!
Hokuto might get the feeling again. In the darkness, his hands raise once more. He's not going down without a fight, and for that, it's got to be dazzling. A shot in the dark, but dazzling! If the usual telltale signs of chi harnessing aren't picked up on, what follows surely will.
"HOOEEYAH!" This is what comes before blue, thin blades of chi come sprouting up from the ground as it expands conically, growing taller as the chi wave fans out the further it goes from its origin - illuminating the Todoh-ryuu 'master' with briefly with his arms thrust forward and down, one step closer while leaning forward.
He wouldn't be able to see Hokuto too clearly at this point, but, he is sure enough that this will finally catch the girl at last! Too sure?
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Hokuto with Cho Kasane Ate.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
Well, he had to hit sometime. Better with that... the weird shadowplay is what sets off Hokuto's vision, the flaring of the blue light playing tricks on her eyes. She shifts left, then, too late, to the right, and she's caught full on by the slashing blades of chi. The impact tears a short scream of pain from the woman's lips, as she's forced backwards, into the dojo's wall with a dull *thud*...
And then she rises to her feet, the lights flickering on again as the Clapper registers another sharp sound in the air. Hokuto's visage is tight, bearing the last traces of pain, but she doesn't look too terribly harmed, as she pushes back to her feet.
"Very good, Todoh-san," she says, and she sounds serious and geunine about it. Like one master speaking to another. Heedless of danger, she closes in with the man -again-... proving that she can be quite the aggressor... as she reaches out to try and grab Todoh by the shoulders. Should she make that grab, she'll twist to her left, and simply throw Todoh to the mat.
COMBATSYS: Todoh dodges Hokuto's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
The blank face of mild irritation seems to fade away at the impact, enough to crack a smile as he finds another wind somewhere within the mess of failed maneuvers, even as the throes of fatigue start to creep on him. Winded as he is, when his upper torso bobs up and down slightly, he cracks a smile. He's not out yet! If he's got to pull out a miracle, that's what he's going to do. He falls into a ready stance as Hokuto draws in closer.
Rather than move backwards or to the side as he has attempted prior, he gets the handy idea to just go straight up as the hands reach for the shoulders. In fact, she just barely misses catching him by the feet by a mere thread of his left sock. His momentum and descent are both purely vertical. Rather than rest on his new set of laurels, his right leg thrusts itself outward towards Hokuto's head, left curling back by habit alone when he does this with a bit more forward momentum in most other situations.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto counters Strong Kick from Todoh with Goukyaku Kou.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
Hokuto's hands close on empty air, as Todoh proves faster than she may have thought. There's no irritation in her expression, however, as she continues her motion smoothly... her arms closing, and then she's ducking slightly as Todoh comes up... and when he comes back down, Hokuto is coming back upwards.
Just as she reaches full height, her left hand comes up, forearm planting right in front of Todoh's knee... and it sweeps outwards, deflecting the kick. The attack comes in the same moment, as she steps foward, sweeping her leg under where Todoh would be... and hammering her right elbow into the inner thigh of Todoh's extended leg.
Not only does it impact hard, but she aims for a sensitive pressure point, as well...
He looked about ready to show that there's a difference in age between the two of them yet! The power of wisdom, the skill of experience, the heart of... well, find your own positive age-based acronym here. But, opportunities come and go to those who watch for them.
Such as the opportunity to strike where it really hurts.
Hokuto's trusty elbow lands where men usually are not so hard. Balls of steel for trying such a bold, vulnerable maneuver? Metaphorically. Physically... um.
"AIYAAH!" His eyes look ready to pop right out of his head, his mouth hung wide open. The impact is so brutal that the connection seems to leave him hung in mid-air for a split second before momentum carries itself through and sends him flopping onto his back with a backwards tumble that goes all the way up against the wall. At least, not hard enough to send the Clapper another signal. He slumps onto the ground, breathing in and out slowly after that last one.
No lecturing or yelling. But, is he really done?
COMBATSYS: Todoh takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Hokuto
He might be down. He might not be. People are tricksy. And none moreso than Todoh. So when that elbow lands, Hokuto shows no satisfaction; of course she's happy she got the counter, but she doesn't let it show. And she backs off slightly, fading away... to look at Todoh.
"So," she asks, conversationally, her hands lowering just a tad, "Are you giving up?" There's the sliiiightest lilt to her voice, just the barest hint of a tease... or maybe a question. If that question were voiced, then it might be, 'is this all there is to Todoh-Ryuu?' But it isn't voiced.
Then again, Todoh can probably read it in her eyes... as she stands there and simply waits. But she doesn't wait idly, she's actually taking a slight breather... the moment affording her just enough time to relax tensed muscles.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
"Oooh." He can take some satisfaction in that he's already got a child that's looking perfectly well for inheriting, expanding, and passing on the family style, but... still, very painful. While Hokuto waits and catches her breath, Todoh, meanwhile, visibly struggles to rise again. He has to roll himself up to a stand to actually do so, in the end. Even so, he doesn't spread his legs as far apart as they usually would in a waiting stance.
"Me? Give up?!" He appears vastly horrified in all of this! "Yeh hah haaah! So, I concede! Your art has clearly borne greater comedians than my own!" A fan is withdrawn in his right hand, which he decides to apply liberally. The breeze. Not the fan.
"The way of Todoh! I have but given you a most polite and sporting chance to witness the gamut for the sake of all who wished for the vast demonstration of its limitless range of techniques and potential!" Yeah right. "But I am afraid, young lady, I have not yet given you the fullest range of its might!" He breathes in and out in a fashion similar to hyperventilation. Yes. Let her think as she will as to whether or not he can still fight!
He exhales at the end of all that ranting and raving, eyes locked upon her movements. It'd be time for a martial arts miracle if he's capable of it.
COMBATSYS: Todoh focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
Oh-ho-ho. Comedians. Now -that- gets Hokuto angry. Her brows furrow, and her eyes darken. There are two insults Hokuto will not accept; insults to her family, and insults to her martial arts. Her voice remains low, but there's a vibrant, dangerous edge to it now. Maybe Todoh was just joking, but he just hit on something that he shouldn't have.
"Are you implying that my art is a -joke-, Todoh-san?" Yes, there's something very dangerous in her voice, indeed. Something almost ugly. "Perhaps I should have been more honest in my appraisal of your own arts, then," she suggests, silvery tones of malice laced throughout her tone.
She snaps her left hand down--and produces her own fan. But this one isn't paper--it's metal, the rasp clearly heard as it unfolds and locks into place... and then Hokuto spins forward, launching it at Todoh like a twirling Frisbee.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Todoh with Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Todoh 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hokuto
Small offenses have been relatively mutual throughout. But, the very difference in tone between the two fighters seems to boil over here. The metal fan flies, which Todoh appears not to think much of as his hands clasp themselves above his hand shortly after the deft replacing of the fan inside his gi shirt. "For thinking I'm done!! That's--"
Foot in mouth. Fan in mouth!
Somehow, the fan ends up part-way inside his mouth, his head jerking back with the impact. It is removed and closed with surprising care and respect for the fact it is not his and sets it gently on the ground, where he clears his throat to start over.
"As I was... saying!" Finally, that lingering pain sensation between his legs passes enough that he feels comfortable falling into his regular stance. "You think I was finished! That is funny! Yeh hah hah!" His laughter is interrupted completely by a short coughing fit, narrowing his eyes to focus himself on his next maneuver. Which, in actuality, comes up almost instantly.
"Now behold! My greatest secret!" Both hands go up. There is no surprise at all, no way to humorously suggest what else this could be. Is it going to be another gigantic wave of chi like the last, the make of which so very curiously resembles Kasumi's own methods of performing them rather than his own in most normal circumstances?
The same blocky chi pieces come into play. Three of them, as always. It's textbook in every shape, every step of the execution! This is virtually no different than anything else he has tried to pull in a similar vein. What's so special about it?
...Really, by the time he throws down his hands, it goes down so fast that the fact it's a different color entirely could be glanced over for the sake of finding some means to not be in its path, another sharp kiai so spirited that it, once again, turns the lights off.
Dammit, Clapper.
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Hokuto with Meiou Ken.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
"I find nothing amusing about an insult to my honor, -sir-," snaps Hokuto, as Todoh brings his own technique into play again... a variant, but still the same. Well, that is what some people are about--perfecting one thing and using it for everything. Hokuto isn't like that, but she can't fault Todoh for it, persay. Especially when she's caught in the storm of chi again, blasted away by the force of it...
...slammed into the wall. She staggers, but props herself up against the wall, and her clothing is rent in places, smoking with excess energy in others. Without pause, she lunges forward once more, her hands seeking Todoh's shoulder to -end- this...
If she grabs, then she'll lift her right leg, planting it against Todoh's hip, and twist to her right, to hurl him to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Todoh blocks Hokuto's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Hokuto
"Hmph!" Todoh plays off the offense with mere dismissal, foregoing any real need to placate her in a crunch. Hokuto's closing in again, and he's quickly tiring out - in fighting strength and, really, all that chi he's been flinging around. This is more the fault of the former than the latter. Without physical injury it is not uncommon to witness him, if one actually does, hurl a bunch of them many times on end before becoming far too tired to muster up any measure of strength to hurl another.
Hokuto comes along up to try and put a finish to the fight once and for all with a staple, well-executed grapple. She seems to get it off about perfectly, shoulder grab and twist. He only stays standing because he throws his body weight against the force sufficiently enough to not collapse on the floor. But there remains the problem of not being at quite his greatest range compared to Hokuto, who is quite comfortable with taking the fight to him.
Stumbling forward enough that he doesn't get much of an advantage in having survived the hurl on his feet, he bends his right arm at the elbow upward, his hand a wide open palm pointed outward. With a controlled step forward to steady himself, he swings the arm inward towards Hokuto. Which includes the forearm, which she has been very fond of working with in their two meetings thus far.
Maybe he's just too stubborn to learn and grow from repeating the setup for such an easy mistake - a difference between the both of them?
COMBATSYS: Hokuto fails to counter Fierce Punch from Todoh with Goukyaku Nage.
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1 Hokuto
Perhaps. But Hokuto can be set in her ways as well--she attempts to catch that arm to end the fight, and yet... something happens. She misses. The blow strikes her across the face; her head whips around, and down, her entire body turned by the blow. Even though she only takes a few moments to recover... some of her anger is gone when she does.
Because now Todoh is acting -respectably-... and she appreciates that. Even if it isn't exactly what he might have intended... Hokuto recovers her balance swiftly, but is out of position to attack, so she takes two steps back, setting herself, bringing her arms back up. Now this is a fight.
Todoh's not relenting! In and out, he breathes as Hokuto goes back enough of a distance for him to work with. Respectable or not, she might be calming down. But he's livid! Maybe even desperate! This young'un comes in, talks him down over a series of very well-executed moves, and on his home turf! What would Kasumi say if he lost now? (Not a matter of losing 'again,' for that sort of thing seems to melt away by the time the next opportunity to prove his family's style's worth rolls around.)
There's no pause in the assault as the hands are thrust upwards again. He knows where his strengths lie! He'll press it as long as he's got the space, the will to win, and... naturally, convert her to the superior fighting side!
It's rather textbook - yet, he doesn't hold still when it comes down. Dashing forward as it forms, it pushes the little blocky, lovable (...no) chi triplets a short ways forward, coming to a very crouched stop. Desperation, sometimes, pushes for newer, further innovations to time-honored techniques. Even if he already displays at least enough proficiency to let subtle variations to its formation and movement that affect the very way it works.
But to the world at large, it's just another one of /those/ things. "HEEYAH!" Lights go right back on. Symbolic?
COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Todoh's Kasane Ate.
[ \\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1 Hokuto
By now he must realize that there's no chance he's going to convert Hokuto. The insult to her honor, intended or not, should be enough to deny that. As Todoh prepares another Kasane Ate, Hokuto starts moving early--forcing him to try and track her movements as she crosses from right to left.
It helps; she also speeds up a bit, just at the end, cutting completely horizontally to avoid the Kasane Ate. She can see that Todoh is on his last legs--that he's winded, and injured. So she attempts to finish Todoh with a single blow, stepping hard and lunging forward, closing distance with him.
And once more she fires an elbow, aimed for Todoh's midsection, intending to knock the wind out of him, and end this battle.
COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Todoh with Quick Punch.
[ \\ < > /////////////// ]
Todoh 0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1 Hokuto
Nothing is impossible to Ryuhaku Todoh! For better or for worse. Or for absolute terrible, as Zach Glen will profess in his attempts to take him up as a pupil despite the fact they met when Todoh was drunk, and forced to actually do something about the front lawn by his wife for having gotten to that state. (Hokuto probably saw the results of this first-hand on the way here.)
In driving the Kasane Ate forward with all force and additional velocity he could muster, he also ran the risk of coming right back into Hokuto's one favored range. It's a triviality to connect point A to point B, even in his best attempts to keep moving and take victory from the jaws of bitter defeat! Bitter defeat. His dinner tasted very bitter. He's reminded of this when the elbow hits him square in the jaw with enough force that he can taste some of it in the back of his throat.
And there, at that moment, he grimaces, falls onto his knees, and flops over... anti-climatically. Is this the end of the fight, at long last?
"One last thing!" One hand raises up with an open fan, in contrast to the rest of his idle self. "That one to your left! That is of my beautiful daughter, Kasumi!" It is indeed a picture of Kasumi who is not only properly facing the viewer, but so much that the dojo in the picture does not even detract from her as a subject. "The latest generation! Soon to be the greatest! Why, you two have so much in common... yeh hah hah!! You wouldn't go wrong studying alongside her!"
Considering that she is the only one in any of these kinds of photos or portraits (in the case of much older generations) that is properly facing the camera, one may be left to wonder if there's going to be a significant deviation from all the past generations to now.
Or, at the very least, she at least has the common sense to know how to face a silly camera! Considering Todoh /himself/ doesn't appear camera shy in the least. The fan-toting arm, finally, goes limp and hits the ground. It somehow manages to hit the fan he put back down recently. Smack!
Lights off again. He really hates that thing.
COMBATSYS: Todoh takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hokuto 1/--=====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Todoh can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hokuto 1/--=====/=======|
Hokuto's voice floats out of the darkness. "Though you may not affect the trappings of a true warrior, I believe that you have the heart of one. You have my thanks, Todoh-san, for an excellently-fought battle, and my apologies for any slights I may have offered your house." And she claps, once, bringing the lights back on.
She turns towards Todoh--if he's still there--and bows, once, deeply, to convey her respect. But then she's straightening up and turning towards the door, sweeping past the cameras... limping only slightly. Really. Chi doesn't inflict physical damage like that... but she's got her bruises.
A lot of them, really. Todoh may not have converted her, but he's earned her respect, for sure...
Todoh is silent in her polite outro. Miraculously, yes, he's still there by the time the lights come back on. The house of Todoh looks none too worse for the fight, the head of the Todoh household... eh, he'll probably be back up on his feet and claim that the last eight losses didn't count to the next opponent that doubts him!
Long when she's clear, the cameras are still rolling. He didn't sulk off yet, and the cameramen really want to see what happens when he does. This gets cut painfully short when he thrusts the fan arm again. "YOU DONE HERE YET?! SCRAM!"
Thinking that he might really pop right back up and take out any frustrations on them, his bluff proves successful in getting the cameramen out of the household. That wraps up this Saturday Night Fight.
Log created on 13:51:07 11/24/2007 by Hokuto, and last modified on 12:04:30 11/25/2007.