Description: Stuck on the famous Aggro Crag from the now-defunct 'Nickelodeon GUTS!' competition, told to fight to be first to the top... what do Kurow, Hyo, and K' do instead? -Trash- the thing. And each other. It'll take a while to get all that blood out. (Winner: K')
He had made certain to get here as late as possible. The reasoning behind it was, initially, to avoid being present to be irritated and nettled by the by-now familiar staff working the SNF sets. Additionally, to avoid whatever spectators might show up early and attempt-- as they have on some past occasions-- to actually talk to him. Lastly... to avoid the usual people that come to such a location as this. Small children.
Alma would be disappointed to see the wide berth he gives the knots of kids swarming about around the studio.
He's been waiting 'off-stage,' as it were, for about five minutes: reluctant to subject himself to the full force of those flashing lights head-on any longer than he had to. Casting a critical glare at the staffer whose unfortunate duty it was to inform him of the 'theme' of this particular match, K' shoves a gloved hand through his hair with an agitated roll of the eyes, messing the silver strands in mixed horror and disbelief.
He is going to a need a break from this crap after this one.
Unlike K', Kurow is playing to the crowd within moments of getting there -- though it might be more accurate to say he's playing /against/ the crowd. He's already climbed the structure once while it's uncontested, as if to suggest a certain outcome -- and promptly given his typical, supercilious bow to the crowd before returning to the proper starting place.
One thing that Kurow does take note of is the surprisingly high number of older, more legitimate fighting fans in the crowd, those only a few years older than Kirishima himself making a surprising showing. Though, it only makes sense, he reasons -- the last time that this show ran, if his research on the site was accurate, those people would've been watching it. Only fitting, he thinks.
There was a time when Kirishima, like K', would have loathed those flashing, blinding lights. Now that he realizes their power, though, he seems to be giving them what they want all too well. With what little time he has left, Kurow actually goes out into the crowd and /talks/ to those spectators, young and old, giving them his... unique perspective on the match.
Meanwhile, there is someone who doesn't entirely mind children.
The issue is not that he dislikes children, though--it's that no one in their right mind is going to go near someone whose aura freezes their own's solid as they move. No--the replacement for today--Hyo Imawano's trouble is not in the gathering of the populace. He does not fear seclusion.
Simply the method and fashion of that gathering.
A 'pretend' mountain for them to climb. It's almost an insult.
Standing in his position at the foot of the mountain, rendering in flashing simulated weather, strutwork, particle board and foam, the Imawano ninja looks up coldly as Kurow does his.. little dancing. Mm. With a grandiose cast, the ninja throws off the white rolls of his coat, revealing his sword.
Already, the announcers have begun to describe the SNF Aggro Crag Challenge.
"Today, they'll be pitting their mettle against the greatest challenge Orlando Studios has to offer, an amazing blast from the past--the SUPER AGGRO CRAG! Let's go to Mo for the good word."
Cut to a small female in a referee's outfit, talking in a faint British accent. "Fighters will start at the sound of my whistle--each fighter has an identical side of the Crag to climb. Usually, they can't cross over into another fighter's path, but Howard Enterprises has annuled that rule for today. During their climb, each player must light up each of eight actuators, located on their, or an opponent's side of the crag. The first player to activate all of the targets including the one at the peak of the Crag will receive first place points."
A little offput by this, the REAL SNF announcer grumbles. "--Hey now, let's not get carried away. Take a look at that menacing Super Aggro Crag. Whoever reaches the top in one piece gets the first place points!! (We're paying a lot of money here..) Remember kids, it's OK to activate your targets with your opponent's heads!! Who'll get to the top of our Crag first? Let's go back to Mo for the kickoff."
Mo says nothing to this revelation. :| "On your marks. Get ready." *TWWWEEEEEET*
Where is K' as all this is being said? Still hiding (though in reality, it's not really hiding, he's simply standing pretty much on the very edge of the demarcated area). His eyes are sensitive, even to his own fire-- just another one of the little tweaks NESTS attempted that didn't quite go 'as planned,' when it comes to this failed experiment. It's just one of the many reasons for those shades. And one of the reasons he keeps his eyes averted from the garish object before them as long as he can. But presently, reluctantly, he does look. He's apparently expected to do his fighting ON the thing, it'd help if he took a look at it first.
K' takes a moment to indulge in sheer disbelief: staring harshly at the construct of foam, arms crossed. He seems about as insulted by the premise as the Imawano. Eventually he huffs an annoyed breath, unlacing his arms and stalking forward to his own assigned position. His gaze slides, briefly, over to Hyo. He doesn't recognize the man, but the sword is enough indication of what he might expect from him.
His eyes then turn, over his shoulder, to regard Kurow. While the other is indulging in behavior he himself wouldn't ever (so he likes to think) evince, nonetheless he doesn't appear scornful about it so much as somewhat, distantly, curious. It may or may not be a good thing he can't hear the 'unique perspective.'
His attention fixes back forwards, but even when the whistle sounds, he does nothing for the moment. He is, after all, not interested in either points or the win. What he -is- doing, in lieu of what appears to be expected of him, is gauging the actions of the other two fighters present.
Kirishima suffers through the announcer and referee's speeches with a certain, distinctly obvious amount of boredom; he likes to think he can call a match far better than these two could ever hope to. Of course, he is also very often... disappointed, when he calls a match -- Rock distinctly sticks out as an example of that particular bit of misfortune. Regardless, Kurow focuses back on the Aggro Crag, waiting for the whistle as it's mentioned.
In spite of the fact that he's likely the most knowledgeable after that little stunt earlier climbing the Crag beforehand, Kurow gets something of a false start; he jumps onto his own section of the Crag and then subsequently immediately bounds toward Hyo's, but a slight irregularity in the links /between/ the individuals' little mountains causes him to slip up. He recovers quickly, showing his status as a master -- but it does slow him long enough that it's very likely that one of the other men should be able to capitalize.
Bloody kids' shows, he thinks to himself as he glances back toward the other fighter during his little kip-up. Not even starting, from the looks of things; haste may make waste, but hesitation is far worse in Kurow's eyes. He almost immediately writes K' off as, for the moment, a non-factor.
"Hmph.."
Hyo doesn't bother with evaluating the Crag. As insulting as it might be, it is an interesting terrain nonetheless, and it will be a useful challenge to tackle cold. As it were. Besides. Kurow is quite useful to this end. Gathering intelligence ahead of time, Hyo can watch the man--and where he stumbles--to gain valuable intelligence about the Crag in turn without having to compromise a measurable amount of dignity.
Still, there is no more time to waste.
The Council Head's blade leaves the saya with a raking hiss.
As snow falls from overhead, it is joined by a wind of glowing pink. This should have no end of poor effect on the already flashing chaotic terrain, as the area about Hyo begins to flood with the faint expression of glowing sakure petals. The youth draws the last segments of his blade with a slash and full authority, "HMN!" -- his force of chi enough to disrupt the fall of .. 'nuclear crystals' that were likely about to pelt him.
The closest actuators near him blip on with the pressure as Hyo moves, wasting no time with Kurow's weakness, his blade coming to bear quickly as the youth rockets across the taller spires of what they call 'Boulder Canyon.'
He'll try to circumvent Kirishima in an instant, and cut him quickly from behind here. K' is a notable measure, but until he can put both closer, dealing with both at once is impossible. Weakness is something the student has no problem capitalizing on in the immediate heat of the moment.
COMBATSYS: Hyo has started a fight here.
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Hyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyo
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
If there is one thing K' has become known for, it is for not following rules and ignoring the themes of matches. As the former experiment has a severe problem with being told what to do, it is a trend he seems determined to continue perpetuating. With a conscious sort of sly, directed insolence, he makes a decided point of not doing as he's told in regards to the mass of foam and metal that rears before them. He simply prowls, very unhurriedly, into the lowest reaches of the Crag, watching as Hyo lances straight towards Kurow.
Being that he's on the far left, while Hyo occupies the middle and Kurow the far right, it may take him a bit to close the distance to the site of actual conflict; seeing as Hyo seems determined to carry the action into Kurow's section. Normally the distance would be a trivial one to cross, but-- as Kurow has already proved-- the mountain is not actually all that simple to navigate quickly.
K' breaks yet another rule and makes his first noticeable act a blatant trespassing into Hyo's 'territory,' so to speak. He circles widely, ascending in order to come at the other two combatants from the side.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Hyo's Medium Strike.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Redirecting his kip-up oh-so-slightly as Hyo comes in, Kirishima once again proves his ability to sense and react -- if there's one thing that can be said of his style, it's that it's the most reactive form of aggressive attack ever, and the sudden shift that just barely carries him out of the path of Hyo's blade is proof positive of that one.
Kirishima then whirls away, knocking some of those raining crystals to the side, letting them glitter in the light as he assesses Hyo's stance. "Same old Hyo," he chides, with the smile on his face betraying his confidence. "As I adapt and improve, you seem to stay to the same set of tactics. Your form is mechanically perfect, but mechanical perfection..." The youth stomps a foot hard into the Crag, making sure he's well-grounded, as he finishes, "... is predictable."
In that instant, he is upon Hyo once again, wasting little time in trying to recoup his lost advantage. Kirishima lunges forward and jumps oh-so-slightly, trying to hook his claws into Hyo's shoulders and plant his feet squarely on the man's chest. If he can land such an attempt, the youth will push away with both feet with a forceful "Haa!", carrying him away from Hyo, knocking the Imawano ninja over... and allowing him to land feet-first on one of the 'actuators.'
COMBATSYS: Hyo fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Kurow with Fierce Strike.
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K' 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-------|
Hyo's blade comes this close.
Unfortunately, close is .. insufficient.
Kurow's mockery doing little more than gaining a raised eyebrow from the youth, Kurow's moves--do much more. In this precarious kind of situation, the man will fall backwards from Boulder Canyon and drop down with a thunderous crash to his location at the foot of the mountain.
It would seem he's become .. a little stronger. Interesting.
The student takes a little time to watch, as he stands and leaps, returning to his climb.
K' catches only the shortest and faintest snippets of the words Hyo and Kurow exchange: enough only to get some idea of the thrust of Kirishima's remarks. He doesn't try to hear any more of it-- it doesn't matter to him. Not his problem. His focus is on the blows they interchange and whatever openings might be left-- and the instant Hyo's blade misses its mark and the swordsman drops from his perch, K' makes a sudden lunge downwards from his own perch, snapping towards Kurow with a quiet sort of abruptness.
His intention soon becomes clear enough. Should he manage to connect with the other young man, tangling with Kurow like a cat fallen off a window curtain onto a chewtoy, he'll whip a blow around towards the back of Kurow's neck with sufficient force to send him to the floor. Which, considering the terrain they occupy-- may actually result in Kurow being sent a good deal farther, in much the same manner as Hyo.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he's doubtless grousing to himself about how he hates this kind of opponent. Mouthy, taunting, cocky. Conveniently, he has forgotten he occasionally shares some of those traits.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Kurow with Spot Pile.
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K' 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
The lunge and sudden blow to the back of the head catch Kurow off guard, even though Kurow saves himself from a far more painful-looking strike by Hyo a moment earlier -- karma, one'd suppose. Whipped down toward Hyo, Kirishima rolls with the fall as best he can, though his head still smarts from that hit -- it could be better, but then again it could be worse. After all... this way, he's at least placed back in combat with the opponent who matters most to him.
Rearing an arm back, Kurow lets energy collect in his hand as he assesses the climbing Hyo's defenses, knowing in his heart that the leader of that particular branch of the Imawano clan will not have the wherewithal to both keep climbing and deal with Kurow's attack, at the very least. A sickly purple glow begins to move around his hand, ebbing and flowing as he focuses it into a single point. Waiting for the right moment, he watches the Imawano ninja...
... and moves forward in an instant, venting all that energy forward into his stab in hopes of shredding Hyo's insides with that combination of his own evil chi and more conventional long, vicious claws.
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks Kurow's Roppu Zuki.
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K' 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/----===|
Climbing his way up back towards the battle, Hyo frowns. K'--the so called 'Beast of Flame' has a large advantage right now. An obvious tactical concern--right now, Kirishima's interest is proving himself stronger than Hyo. K' ... will not be of interest to the lower class Justice High student. It's not a situation he can do much about.
But tolerance.. is not an option either.
As K' literally knocks the savage catty man towards him, Hyo stands his ground, facing Kurow with the obvious dispassion of his nature, cold critical eyes watching him. The focused strike lances into an outstretched guard arm, biting him hard and fast. But the blood drawn.. is ultimately inconsequential.
Space, is more important. A decision made in an instant.
Hyo is in the air in that instant. A rising flip kick, a blurred motion. If it lands, it will blow Kurow off his feet and.. back.. further up the Crag. Ironically, back where K' is located.
K' recovers out of his quick blow to Kurow, briefly straightening to his full height in a stretch before letting his shoulders slump back into that indifferent poise. Eyes narrowed, he considers both of his 'opponents' with a thoughtful sort of look, tonguing one canine idly as he takes a few moments to gauge what's going on.
So Kurow has some kind of thing against this guy. Whatever. K' can't fault him that. The NESTS experiment recently experienced a similar sort of situation, after all, and he didn't act much different than Kirishima. But nonetheless, K' has the distinct feeling he is turning into some sort of a CA-- and the role of CA is, to him, decidedly boring.
K' isn't one to spend much time standing around thinking too hard, however. Much to his occasional detriment. The instant Hyo leaves the ground for that kick, K' whips around in another circling arc, bounding along the irregular surface of the Crag. He arrows straight in towards Hyo, a telltale lick of fire along his right hand the only warning of his intentions before an abrupt and startling burst of intense flames rings in the air before him, directly at Hyo: summoned by a sharp upwards swipe.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits Kurow with Gen'ei-shuu.
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K' 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Flip-kicked hard in the gut, Kirishima ends up flying upward toward K'; however, K' flies underneath him, and toward /Hyo/? That's right, Kurow reminds himself -- his own petty vendetta here isn't the only thing to focus on. If he and Hyo slug it out, he might achieve some personal fulfillment, but he won't actually succeed -- K' is still hale and hearty, unlike the two of them. It might, /just maybe/, be prudent to back away from Hyo for a little while.
So of course, Kurow does exactly that. As K' summons up that intense ring of fire, Kurow forces himself into a quick, efficient landing on the Aggro Crag above him; from there it isn't too difficult to figure out what to do. Using that height to his advantage, Kirishima leaps up and makes a quick flip in midair, descending toward the NESTS experiment.
His attacks are as expected -- quick, vicious strikes that seek to take advantage of holes in the fighter's defenses, gaps in defense cleared by K''s attack. The term 'death of a thousand cuts' would be highly appropriate here, as Kirishima comes in for a series of fast, forceful strikes, hammering any perceived weakness viciously as he keeps his footing firm on the Aggro Crag.
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks K''s Eins Trigger.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
It is left for Hyo to deal with the flame.
It's not a supremely difficult thing for the Justice High Council Head. As the inferno engulfs him in the heat haze, the youth draws his arms together with martial force, the fire blowing back the fringes of his coat, but beyond the singing of his uniform, the heat haze bothers him little in attaining clear line of sight to K'. And.. Kirishima seems to have gained some measure of sense. That is at once troublesome and satisfying.
It also means K' will be distracted.
Hyo will throw a fist into K's middle from his far shoulder.
For a lesser man, it would be an instantly crippling move.
COMBATSYS: K' just-defends Hyo's Fierce Strike!
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K' 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: K' fails to interrupt Fierce Strike from Kurow with Claw Bites.
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K' 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Well, it seems Kurow is a bit smarter than K' at the least-- or perhaps, just more concerned with the win. K' couldn't have given a crap if he threw the match, all those weeks ago, by going after Krizalid. Couldn't give a damn if it meant he'd get curbstomped both by his former superior and his opponent at the time. All that mattered was that one hydra-head of NESTS in his sights-- and while he had the chance, he was going to do his level best to cut it off.
That difference between him and Kurow is perhaps what gets him caught a little bit off guard when Kirishima abruptly changes target.
K' has to grin to himself, humorless and sharp, when both opponents come after him at once. He might have expected they wouldn't let him stay unbloodied too long. It's true a lesser man would have been crippled by Hyo's sudden, snakelike blow... but K' isn't quite a lesser man. He hasn't gone through a lifetime of involuntary enhancement to be put down quite so quickly. He twists aside at the same time that peculiar armoured hand snaps to intercept the blow, K' essentially redirecting the force of it so it goes wide of him by inches. Almost instantaneously he lets go again, that right hand lighting in fire as he tries to whirl and intercept Kurow in a far more violent fashion-- but he isn't quite quick enough. Lacerated soundly in mere instants by a flurry of slashing attacks, K' spits a snarl and retreats: leaving a pattern of blood across the cheerful foam beneath them. The sight is incongruously macabre.
K' lets go a long breath, lip curling slightly as he drips unrepentantly on the oversized prop. For the moment, he doesn't attempt to lunge right back in again.
Kirishima's plan is not to /ignore/ Hyo, not by any stretch of the imagination. What he wants is, essentially, to have his cake and eat it too -- if needed be, he'd sacrifice the match to strike Hyo, but if he can have both, why not seek both out? Such is the logic that causes his focus on K', with that series of strikes that cuts through his extremely aggressive defense like butter.
But, of course, wanting a victory doesn't equate to focusing entirely on the NESTS experiment, either. Both Hyo and K' are Kirishima's opponents, and it would be remiss for him to /ignore/ Hyo simply because he has a stake against the Imawano ninja. His focus quickly shifts, just as a rain of glittering 'snow' comes down toward the group -- fitting, considering the Justice High valedictorian's predilection for the winter uniform.
Turning toward Hyo, Kurow tries to assess him as closely as possible, but the adverse conditions get in the way -- and besides that, they force action! And action is something Kurow is more than adept at taking, this time coming in for Hyo with a technique that the swordsman no doubt knows well -- Kurow did learn it from the man's father. Leaping down, Kurow tries to hook an arm around the back of Imawano's head, then makes a small hop forward; this brings him up a small step on the crag, and smashes Hyo's face into the edge of said step in a harsh bulldog.
COMBATSYS: Hyo parries Kurow's Medium Throw!
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K' 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/-======|
Hyo's left wide open in the sudden turn of the elements in the Aggro Crag, and the experiment's wide deflecting block throws Hyo's punch wide, sending him slightly off balance in the rocky terrain. Kurow's ascent makes it difficult to even mount an effective defense against his aerial tactics.
That is why Hyo is forced to draw his sword again.
A step forward, and Hyo's blade slides free of the sheathe.
The grab is broken with his free hand as he turns, forcing the student's arm to slide free of Hyo's neck. Using that same motion, Hyo's arm draws up, to grip the kashira of the blade with that hand.
He makes.. a picture perfect straight cut, slashing almost straight down the middle of Kurow's now lower position on the crag. And, gods willing, even if Kurow does manage to evade his strike.. Hyo's cut?
It'll slice through the foam and particle board like butter, and split Kurow's perch right in half.
Unlike Kirishima, K' is unfortunately a bit one-track in his thought patterns. And when presented with a fight, or vengeance... there's only really one choice to be made. However, things are a lot simpler here-- and as such, Hyo and Kurow have the NESTS project's full attention. He is bleeding rather nastily from that series of slashes, but morbidly enough he seems accustomed to the pain. He is cunning enough, ruthlessly trained enough, to wait only until the moments in which his opponents seem least able to defend.
Ignoring the disgusting feeling of flowing blood warm under his leather, he gauges Hyo and Kurow's traded blows carefully. As Hyo brings his blade down towards Kurow, K' angles around in a bid to intercept Kirishima, wherever the student may end up. K' lunges, metal-sheathed hand leading, and if he can get close enough to Kirishima-- within mere hairbreadths of touching the other-- that hand will abruptly shut into a fist, the experiment's entire lean body snapping forwards to put force behind its sudden driving blow.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits Kurow with Ichimonji Giri EX.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges K''s One Inch.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 1/------=/=======|
Such prowess!! As both attacks come in toward Kirishima, he leaps to the side in a ducking roll. Though this allows him to get out of the way of K''s open-handed strike that shifts into that fierce punch, it leaves his legs in the path of Hyo's harsh, cutting attack. The young man's leg bleeds, and even though another quick kip-up puts him right back on his feet, it's clear that his stance is suffering.
On the other hand, while his stance is suffering, he's getting a lot more willing to take big risks for big rewards. After all, it's clear that he's not leading the fight... and when he doesn't lead things, he starts to desire oh-so-desperately to recoup that position. Deciding to try to drag K' back down into the level of fatigue that the other two seem to be feeling, Kurow pulls himself off of that split perch, rushing toward K'.
This time, his plan is terribly simple -- like K', Kurow reaches out toward his opponent. Unlike K', however, Kurow seeks to dig those claws deep into his opponent's throat. If he can catch that throat, he'll lift the aloof man up off of the crag... and then throw him down toward that cut in it, possibly sending him /inside/ the foam-and-board construction!
The brief line of light fading as Hyo's sword makes the downwards transition, the ninja's blade turns slightly as Hyo draws it to the side with a snapping, military motion, sliding the blood off the blade as easily as any other. The ferocity of the motion sends the long length of his lightning white hair drifting in the open wind. The ninja turns.
He steps once.
And closes a considerable amount of distance between himself and Kurow in an instant. His step jutsu is still pretty strong.. he should reach Kurow in the instant after he and K's exchange is decided.
Pristine white leather gloves will try to take Kurow about the waist.
If he can do that, Hyo will leap into the air. And, in a somewhat ironic following of suit, Hyo will invert and Izuna Drop Kurow right through that slice too.
If K' is still somewhere topside, he might be hard pressed to avoid the swift dropping of the two ninjas.
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Kurow's Strong Throw.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 1/------=/=======|
K' doesn't seem willing to get dragged down in -that- sense. As Kurow lunges, those keen claws lancing towards his throat, the NESTS experiment abruptly twists aside in an unnatural display of speed, his figure briefly blurring into black with a flicker of shadow. When he resolves again, it's close, right at Kurow's side. Obviously, his intention had been to attack Kurow again right on the heels of his evasion-- but then, Hyo gets in the way.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, K' remembers why multiple person free-for-alls annoy him.
Nonetheless, adapability is a skill he could stand to hone. K' rolls with the change in situation. As Hyo rushes past him, attempting to snare Kurow about the waist, K' circles around further, skidding to a halt right at Hyo's back. Lunging at the Imawano soundlessly, K' leaves the ground entirely, aiming to snap a harsh kick clear into Hyo's back. One that, incidentally, would knock him straight towards Kurow, and the both of them into the fissure should the collision actually occur.
COMBATSYS: Kurow blocks Hyo's Quick Throw.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hyo
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Kurow 1/------=/=======|
Grabbed by the waist, Kurow finds himself dragged into the air; it only takes him a split second to wrench his body out of Hyo's grasp, kicking out of the hold before it can do any drastic damage to him, but landing hard inside the Aggro Crag all the same.
It's definitely darker in here, Kurow thinks to himself as he tries to get reacquainted with the environment around him; what would be useful is a little more light, he thinks, deciding early to do something that -- even if it costs him the fight -- will make the crowd love him.
Moving around, Kurow places himself so he can face the NESTS experiment still outside the structure, and then... hooks a claw into the top of the structure, 'standing' parallel to the ground but a foot above it. At first, this must look awkward and useless, to say the least... but Kirishima seems to know what he's doing.
Swinging an arm 'up' (relative to his own position), Kurow abruptly launches a golden whirlwind of light toward K', trying to knock the structure out from under him and then draw him into that whirling, bladed vortex. If nothing else, it'll create an opening through which the crowd can watch the battle unfold... and if they're lucky, they might get a brief moment of audience participation as K' is launched toward them!
COMBATSYS: Hyo fails to interrupt Minutes Spike from K' with Deep Strike.
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K' 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/------=|
Kurow's broken out of his grip prematurely. For a moment, the flying dragon has little to contemplate but his own error, the other student escaping into the dark confines of the Crag. Fortunately, that should strip away any sort of advantage he might have. But less fortunately, it puts him in the way of K' and what Hyo calculates to be inevitable capitalization.
Sailing towards the Crag at an insane rate of speed, the ninja has little recourse.
His sword clicks out of the sheath.
When K' hits Hyo, he hits him hard in the back--but he hardly hits a man.
He hits a meteor.
"MNH!!"
Sailing downwards through the Crag in a massive impact of body and cutting, Hyo slices down, shattering through strutwork and slaughtering nuclear crystals the whole way down. He smashes into the ground hard rolling to the side--a side effect of K's harsh stomping, but Hyo leaves a vast, gaping chasm of slaughtered and aggro'ed Aggro Crag in his wake. His sword's guard touches on the solid concrete beneath his feet as glitter, nuclear crystals, foam, smoke, and particle board fragments billow in from above the kneeling youth.
He breathes hard, blood trailing from the corners of his mouth.
COMBATSYS: K' just-defends Kurow's Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi!
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K' 0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1 Hyo
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Kurow 0/-------/------=|
K' notices Hyo's attempt to retaliate when he's mere instants from striking the man. And though the intended reprisal looks extremely painful, the NESTS experiment has little choice but to aggressively follow through with his attack and, well. Hope for the best. Ultimately things appear to work out all right, as he manages to connect his hit before Hyo can bring that sword to bear on him. K' lands lightly by the very edge of the ruined fissure, balancing precariously on the wrecked foam and struts and--
--staring Kurow's attack straight in the face. The flash of golden light pouring through the narrow slash alerts him instants before impact.
K' reacts purely on instinct. He lights on fire (which says something about his instincts). A abrupt -surge- of flames roars to life around the runaway experiment, the sacred fires warring with that bright golden chi. K' grits his jaw as the force of it pushes him back several feet. His fire sears along the Crag as he goes, burning away a wide portion of the structure right out from under him and actually assisting Kurow's blast in opening an aperture through which the audience can see the combatants.
With an abrupt, canine shake and a snarl, K' puts himself out with a narrowing of yellowy eyes. Some of that fire lingers, however, burning sustainedly about his right arm, and it is this flame that K' abruptly slings before him: the boy cracking a leg around in a sharp roundhouse to kick straight into the fire and send a bolt of it back towards Kurow.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Kurow with Second Shoot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/---====|
That entire surge of power, Kurow thinks to himself as he watches K' flare up that aura with all his might -- /wasted/. All of it, /useless/... Dropping back off of the inside of the structure, Kirishima sees that fireball coming toward /him/ now -- and finds his ability to get out of the way... distinctly lacking. The flames singe his entire body, knocking him back -- but only for an instant. And while that instant may buy K' enough time to get out of the way of what Kurow is about to do... he'll need to use it very, very carefully.
It's time for Kirishima's own aura to flare around him, even as he feels his body failing; rushing at K' full bore, taking a deep breath in before suddenly lunging hard for the NESTS experiment's legs. On its own, the strike is nothing more than a particularly vicious spear tackle aimed just below K''s center of gravity. Surely nothing to worry about... right?
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Kurow's Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
..Impressive.
Hyo comes to his feet slowly, his orphan blade hovering at his side.
He can only notice K's ability in nullifying the massive storm of chi conjured by Kurow with some degree of interest. At this point, Kirishima is.. a non-issue. Unfortunately, Hyo's current reserves of strength--telltale in the loss of blood over his body and internally manifest as deep savage ache--are not comparible to that of the Beasts. Resolving this troublesome dispute has made things difficult.
The youth reasons quietly. He.. will need to put an end to the meaningless interference and distraction.
He turns his blade false in his hand.
And steps.
He is a few feet behind K' in the next instant, his katana at his side, his coat and hair settling.
Perhaps K' felt the stroke coming for his torso while he was blinking and was able to respond.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits K' with Swift Blade.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
K' 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
K' lands from his spinkick in a low crouch, one hand to the ground as a brace. He straightens, and looks back up at Kurow in time to register the other man right. In his face. K' reacts on a hairtrigger, not given even the slightest instant to try to get out of the way: his body slings low again, the young fighter immediately bringing his center of gravity back close to the ground. Kurow plows into his shoulder rather than his legs, a quiet sound of exertion kicking out of K''s throat as he's sent skidding back a few paces.
He can tell the intentions of the other two now. He knows they're likely quite irritated with how long and tenaciously he's managed to survive. But he can't say as he doesn't feel some anticipation at the thought they might try to focus-fire him. He is not in the fighting circuit to win, or to make loving eyes at his scoreboard, or to gain the adulation of the fans. He's just here to be challenged in a way that isn't mindless. To run up against people who equal or surpass him.
And in speed at the least... Hyo certainly surpasses him. K' barely even has time to turn to face Hyo, much less to track or defend against that strike: it connects cleanly, missed in a blink. There is an instant in which he doesn't realize he's been cut, so keen is the blade's edge-- and then, his left hand lowers. It touches along his side and comes back up red. K''s eyes half-lid, largely hiding his reaction to the matter-- but in the next instant, the stained hand coils and lights with flames. The fire scorches the blood cleanly away.
He whirls on Hyo in the next instant, suddenly sensing the other behind him. The fire lingering about his hands sparks into a rush of flames as K' rips a rising, clawing stroke of his heavily-gloved hand at the swordsman.
A wounded animal is not a threat -- at least, that's what Kirishima's opponents seem to be thinking, as Kurow is given a respite from the severe attacks of his opponents. He breathes a sigh of relief, though his guard does not drop in the slightest, in fact becoming a little stronger as he realizes just what a predicament he's in. His interests are best served by staying away, letting the two more wounded opponents battle it out -- but at the same time, he knows that he can't just hang back. No one likes a coward, after all.
As such, Kurow decides to play a more cautious game, though not one entirely /without/ aggression. Stepping back, the youth reaches down to the ground, finding one of the bars that once held the Aggro Crag up but which now serves very little purpose whatsoever. Twirling it around his hand once to get a feel for how much it weighs, he turns his focus back to Hyo...
... and does something that wouldn't be in /any/ Imawano-ryu training session, at least not as a focus. Taking up a stance like a baseball player, the youth whirls his body and puts as much force into that bar as possible, flinging it as hard as he can for Hyo's head.
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks K''s Claw Bites.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
K' 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hyo blocks Kurow's Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
K' 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
A drop of blood drips from his otherwise pristine clean blade.
He seems to have attracted the lion's share of attention at this juncture. As the Beast and the Beauty attack in their own way, the ninja's expression tilts to one of vague distaste, his eyes watching everything that unfolds before them with a sterile calculation, predicting the next moments of battle.
The ninja turns.. his orphan blade whirling in his hand. He catches the oncoming student's baseball strut with the shimmering guard of his sword, sending the thing spinning into the air as his sword rattles with the motion, but as he turns to face side on against Kurow, he raises a boot--stepping into the approach of the ripping fire slash of the Beast with full authority, slamming his boot into the concrete hard enough to send glowing sakura petals up around the two. "Mnh!"
Hyo will crush K's fire against the steel fo his shoulder pauldron, and beat back the flames with his force of will. In close quarters, Hyo can't afford to turn his back on him, the same as Kirishima. The solution.. is to end K'. He looks to catch K' in the middle of his ascent with his sword. And batter him right back down to the ground on the point of his blade, to pinion the man through the chest.
Sterile, clean, methodical.
Hyo's expression does not change in the slightest.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits K' with Tenraizan.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
K' 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
K''s hands twitch shut as Hyo abruptly forces back against his attack. The young fighter, focused and animalistic to a degree occasionally unwise, increases his own force rather than do the sane thing and attempt to back out. The result is a keen blade through the chest, slid coldly home just beneath the collarbone.
Knocked clean out of the air, K' hits the ground on his back with a snarl, Hyo's pinning blade slamming home with enough force to nail him clear to the floor. An involuntary spasm of pain twitches the corners of his eyes, playing along the line of his brow, and K' lets go a long and blood-ridden hiss: one metal-sheathed hand spasmodically snapping to shut about the impaling blade. A few more panting, centering breaths, and presently the boy's metal-sheathed hand shifts to vise even more tightly shut about Hyo's blade... heedless of the keen edge. K' rips Hyo's blade out in one motion after a pause of only a few moments, simultaneously twisting to one side and recovering in a blood-trailing spin of long limbs to a deep crouch: one knee and a hand to the floor.
Breathing shallowly, as much blood passing his lips as air, K' considers Hyo quietly, the look in his yellow eyes malignant. Reviewing, as it were, his options. Presently, his hand dips into the ruin of his jacket, half-withdrawing a pair of shades: the glasses incongruous in the situation. A sardonic lift of the brow-- and then with a minute motion of the wrist, K' abruptly flicks the small object upwards at an angle, towards Hyo's face. Perhaps a distraction-- or perhaps they're a bomb. Who knows!!
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Hyo with Chain Drive.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
K' 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Hyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/-------|
The shades arrow upwards-- K', on the other hand, streaks in low. The instant that diversion leaves his grasp, K' winks away in a burst of shadows, a sudden burst of speed putting him clear in Hyo's face. Whatever exhaustion, whatever pain the experiment might have been feeling drops away as K' veritably -tears- into Hyo, moving too quickly to be seen, slashing into the swordsman with a ripping assault where each kick and each strike blurs into the next. He virtually mauls the Justice student like some sort of cat gone berserk, and when the irregular rhythm of those blows subside it's only so he can skate back a few paces to come slamming back forward, through, and -past- Hyo with a burst of intense fire.
From his position far from the battle 'proper,' Kirishima watches Hyo and K' exchange vicious strike after vicious strike, Hyo's impalement setting him up almost perfectly to be torn apart by K's sudden burst of speed forward, almost /through/ Hyo. If there's a time that Kurow has been pleased with his own discretion, it'd be now -- after all, if he hadn't put that discretion to good use, it might be /him/ being torn through by that exchange rather than the Imawano master.
Suddenly, the playing field seems a whole lot more level. Hyo looks like he couldn't take another blow if he tried, and K' looks spent -- now would be the ideal time for Kurow to intervene, the youth thinks, now that there are fewer threats on the table and more chances for him to claim victory -- and more importantly, claim sole survivorhood on the Aggro Crag! It'd be easy to climb the structure that they're now inside if he was the only one on it, after all.
Before K' has time to recover from the expenditure of energy involved in that forceful series of strikes, Kurow is upon him; this time, he focuses more on speed than on raw pain, coming in with a quick swipe of his claws right down K''s back.
The shades catch Hyo's eyes for one moment, after his blast is ripped out by the surprisingly metal K'. He reaches up to catch them, in a single hand.
Uuugh!
Savagely, Hyo is torn, /literally/ torn open by K's butcher train of savage blows--his coat is ripped open by the assault, reduced to shredded tatters underneath the hail of violence, his chest ripped open in long curling bloody rags, splashing the floor at his boots. Momentarily, all Hyo knows is a red haze of pain. It literally takes every effort of his to retain stance underneath the agony. And to that end, the disgustingly vast gaping wound is cauterized shut in a single blow as the vicious K' lands a rib-shattering punch on the Imawano scion, sending the youth flying back, snapping struts behind him and very well undermining a large portion of the Aggro Crag..
But.. the youth's expression.. does not change.
A tactical error.
Ruined and ragged, Hyo Imawano still stands proud. Underneath all the blood, all the smouldering clothing. Blurred vision, ruined focus, with that damnable glittering confetti sticking to what's left of his wounds. He is /still standing/. One more blow? hmmph..
"I won't be able to retain consciousness for long. But... it will be enough."
The student drops his sword. It sticks in the ground, sliding in slowly up to his knee.
..Hyo makes a single gesture, eyes glowing faintly red.
"Ankoku.. Gen'ei Jin."
Every Hyo draws blade.
Every blade is real.
With eerie military precision and coordination, each will attack.
For Kurow, faster slashes, gating movements to corner him, while another slashes at his weak points.
For K'.. there is only ferocity. To hit the ninjas are like trying to hit ghosts--they will stop at nothing to draw his blood, and if one is ripped open, it will be as distraction to allow the other to nearly cut the boy in half.
It is not a simple momentary blink of a technique. It will not end.
It won't until there is no one left standing.
Or until Hyo crashes violently into the ground by his sword, having exhausted all of his chi in the action, now bleeding and unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Hyo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits K' with Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Hyo's Ankoku Gen'ei-jin.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
K' 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kurow
K' skids past Hyo in the wake of his last blow-- and promptly stumbles, hitting the ground on a shoulder and sliding to a bloody and rolling stop some distance away. For some time, he does not move-- simply left to marinate in a pool of his own blood. But then, eventually, the boy resurrects out of his own gore, a shoulder lifting slowly as one arm arches. A hand nails to the sticky floor, pushing K' up to a half-lying position: his other hand follows, K''s lean frame twisting to fully drag his torso from the ground. Teeth baring briefly in a look of disgust, the boy spits blood and hisses an angry breath.
Head bowed, legs strewn uselessly-- for the immediate moment-- across the ground, K' doesn't even see Kurow coming.
Kirishima gets K' right in the back, claws laying even through that tough leather to score right down to the bone. With an actual cry of pain-- albeit one slightly strangled-- the NESTS project resurrects even more fully to actual movement, a shot of adrenaline at the sudden pain searing through his blood. He twists abruptly to all fours, too abused to stand upright. In his mangled state he looks more fiercely bestial even than usual, tattered and soaked in blood, enraged, and snarling, feral gaze locked--
--on Hyo. K' is far gone, far enough he looks like something that ought to be put down, but he's not so far gone as to not notice an immediate threat. The boy bounds into sprinting, blurred movement, lunging faster than his battered state should permit: his streaking, indistinct black figure leaving a mark of blood each time he touches ground. He weaves around those images of Hyo as long as it takes for them to dissipate-- and when they do his trajectory suddenly alters, the boy stopping and turning on a dime to lunge clear at the last thing left standing.
He lights on fire as he goes, a lash of flames searing down his right arm. Those fires describe a brilliant arc in the air as K' twists hard, trying to carve into Kurow with a rising swipe-- just as the other boy, so recently, carved into him.
COMBATSYS: Hyo successfully hits Kurow with Ankoku Gen'ei-jin.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > / ]
K' 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges K''s Claw Bites.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > / ]
K' 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kurow
Hyo knows Kurow too well. It is sometimes said that fighting an Imawano-trained fighter is like seeking out a weakness that dances at the edge of perception, never really seen but at the same time not invisible. One perceives openings, plans for them, but never really finds them. There's only one thing, in this regard, that can damage an Imawano by seeking to exploit such weaknesses: another Imawano.
The images of Hyo bite into Kurow's weak points one after another, ripping through him with a certain savagery that no doubt pleases some parts of the crowd and terrifies others. The youth takes slashes, kicks, all sorts of strikes one after another and eventually wilts under them... but even Kurow has those inner reserves to tap into, that will that all fighters have. It certainly isn't restricted to those who would see the world bettered -- men like Rugal Bernstein and Vega have proven that time and time again.
K' comes in with that swift, rising lunge -- and Kurow, seeing only red, reacts like a champion. His form blurs as he slides out of the path of that swipe of fire, cracking his knuckles as he sees K' follow after it into the air, attack rendered harmless. The young man waits for K' to fall down through the air again, his own stance starting to falter... but he stays up long enough to shove one claw for K'. If he can dig it in, the other is there in an instant, allowing him to twist both inside K' and simultaneously toss him to the ground and shred his chest in one final, desperate assault.
COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Kurow's Double Slash.
[ \\\\\\ <
K' 0/-------/------=|
That's the thing with that attack. When it whiffs, one can expect pain to be waiting at the bottom. It's part of why, when K' feels his stroke cut nothing but air, he makes sure that when he follows through, twisting back around to land, it's with that metal-armoured hand thrust defensively forward. Kurow's hit glances off the heavy thing, claws slashing deeply along K''s side rather than driving deep into his already-shattered torso. K' draws blood from his lip biting it, to stand that slashing pain added to his copious other wounds. He lands awkwardly, his legs giving out almost immediately to drop him to his knees.
The audience, meanwhile, is divided. Part of it is standing in silent horror at the bloody spectacle this childhood staple of their television routines has become. And it is indeed a spectacle. The flashy, benign structure is -wrecked-, torn apart by fire and blades alike, splashed liberally in blood let from the slashing weapons two of three fighters employed this evening. Glitter and simulated weather flakes clump haphazardly in the cooling blood, gilding what remains of that structure in winking and cheerful light. In the sudden silence, even the flashing floodlights seem too loud.
The other part of the audience? It's screaming approval with bloody, macabre enthusiasm as the last standing fighter collapses to hands and knees, coughing blood-- still conscious, unlike his fellows, and thus technically the 'last one standing'... but only just barely clinging to what cognizance of his surroundings he has, and in no condition to do any more than focus on that tenuous grasp.
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
The announcer scratches his head, looking into the chasm that used to be part of their Aggro Crag. "Uh.. which fighter comes in first place, Mo? .. Mo?"
Mo is gone. :|!
Log created on 21:08:57 12/01/2007 by K', and last modified on 15:10:11 12/03/2007.