SNF 2007.12 - Shen/Marisol vs Kurow/Sada

Description: On a giant Chutes and Ladders set, two teams face off for the glory of slightly ridiculous premises! The 'God of Battle' Shenwoo and his number one fan, Marisol O'Connell, do mighty battle with Kurow Kirishima and his number at least fifteen fan, Sada Asai... And only a hairsbreadth separates climbing the ladder of victory from falling down the chute of defeat. (Winners: Shenwoo and Marisol)



For the first time in Marisol's life, she has come to Canada.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to be precise. But that is inconsequential. Today, it is home to a new record: the largest Chutes and Ladders replica ever created. Spanning high into the air and adorned with numerous, colorful slides and ladders, it stands in the middle of a wide, open area and has drawn quite a crowd. Numerous people stand around, watching with disbelief and awe as the last of the technical aspects to the SNF are tended to. And waiting amongst them...

Is Marisol.

Unlike herself, the girl seems rather nervous, hands idly wringing the hem of her white button-down blouse as she stands off to the side. Looking with wide gray eyes, she seems uneasy, her face red as she flusters. Is she afraid of heights? Ladders? Chutes??

"O-oh my god," she stammers softly, her hands moving to rest on her furiously red face.

"I-I get to fight with h-him." Yes. HIM.

The God of Battle, Shenwoo. Her idol.

A hand reaches out, tapping the girl's shoulder, and causing her to squeak. Glancing toward the offending hand and its owner, the half-Spaniard is instructed to ascend the structure and wait atop, as per the venue. Sheepishly (for once in her life) the girl nods and does precisely as she's asked, still blushing profusely. It's like a dream come true.

For once, rather than fight AGAINST him, she gets to be on his team.

And so, with a dopey smile on her face and gray eyes alight with glee, the girl just stands atop the giant Chutes and Ladders replica, staring absently off into space.

"This is...the best day of my life."

Of course, even though he fought her once, and she is his BIGGEST FAN, Shenwoo... Hasn't the foggiest idea who Marisol /is/, except that she's been pointed out to him as his teammate for this fight. You'd think you'd remember a girl who was wearing a bikini with your name on it, but the God of Battle does not play by the rules of simple mortals. Rules like common courtesy, or manners, or remembering who people are most of the time. Besides, alas for Marisol, it was her teammate who made a bigger impression that day by forcing herself on Shenwoo and kissing him. ON TV!!

Chicks are whack.

Anyway, what this means is that Shenwoo has no idea why Marisol is all flustered before the fight, or why she seems to avoid him before the fight itself. He doesn't worry too much about it, of course, since he's got more important things to concern him, like how he has to jump through some ridiculous hoops - or, well, chutes - in order to enjoy what SHOULD be a straight-up fight. He's never understood why they put all this silly nonsense in Saturday Night Fight, when to him the most important part is the fight. The more difficult the opponent, the better.

So, the berserker from Shanghai is guided to the bottom level of the fight stage, frowning a bit at the chutes in the ceiling and the ladders seemingly scattered about. It doesn't matter, of course, if his opponent is any good, right? And hopefully, his 'teammate' can carry her weight. She looks pretty unreliable, stammering and talking to herself like that. Brushing gloved hands through his dirty blond hair, Shen switches focus. Half-lidded, his dark eyes cast about for whoever he's supposed to start off again. He really, really hopes he won't be bored.

Unfortunately for Marisol, the match will probably not allow her too long to get 'acquainted' with the God of Battle, too long to really enjoy her time as the teammate of one of the best brawlers in the world. In fact, the event may have something of a pall cast over it by just who their opponents are -- if there's a man who's known for brutality and viciousness, a man on Saturday Night Fight who just refuses to let his opponents have a moment to socialize or really /enjoy/ the battle, it's Kurow Kirishima.

Walking on his own to the bottom of the chutes and ladders arena, Kurow locks his eyes almost instantly on Shenwoo. He stretches his fingers, making sure that he's ready for the high-speed battle that's sure to come in a few short moments, and studies the God of Battle intently. If there's one thing that every analyst, commentator, and armchair fighting fan has agreed on about Kurow, it's that he's a calculating bastard -- even if he's not the /best/ fighter, he may be one of the /smartest/.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kurow tries to plan his offense out as carefully as possible. There are a lot of assumptions he can make about Shenwoo just from his own studies of previous match tapes and of the man's physique... Marisol may, in some respects, actually be more of an unknown quantity. Glancing up one last time toward the starting places of his apparent girlfriend and /her/ opponent, he gets ready for the battle to come.

"Oh, really?" Sada says from her position not that far from the Spanish girl. She got up there more quickly; this, to her, is somewhat less than a life-changing experience! Lovely, of course. She gets to fight with Kurow, who she doesn't see nearly enough of! But not the /best day of her life/. That'll come when she gets married. To Kurow. Yes.

She has her hands behind her back, although the chain dangling behind her and trailing, for now, on the floor make it hard for her to hide any details of her fighting style. Not that she needs to; she's /also/ faced Marisol before. Her head turns to look down from the platform, towards the lower levels, raising the hand holding the end without the sickle to waggle fingers at Kurow.

"Did you feel the inside of any of those chutes yet?" she asks, raising her eyebrows and gesturing at one of the precariously easy to fall into tubes. "They're so slippery; you'll fall on your ass if you end up in them, I'm sure." She steps closer, gesturing with the sickle at it: "Here, feel. We have a little while." Or do they.

COMBATSYS: Kurow has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0            Kurow


COMBATSYS: Sada has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0            Kurow
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Kurow
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Marisol has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Marisol          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Kurow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Sada


When Shenwoo comes into the picture far below, the girl's blush turns bright red, redder than ever. With her hands rested gently upon her cheeks, the half-Spaniard seems otherwise oblivious to the rest of the world - one of her opponents below, included, the imposing Kirishima boy, notorious for his brutality. She even exhales, a soft and dreamy sigh as she watches the brawler below go about his frowny business.

"He's so amazing," she pines quietly.

At least until Sada startles her. Chirping lightly, she turns and offers a wide-eyed look to the kusari-wielding Seijyun girl. "Er, y-yeah," she replies before softly clearing her throat, hurriedly trying to regain her composure and less-than girly image. Lifting a hand, she absently rubs the side of her neck before she sports a helpless grin.

"Long time, no see, eh?"

When Sada glances far below, the girl does as well, a glance spared to the teammate she has been paired with, finally catching sight of Kurow. "Eh? Is that someone that you know?" As for the chutes, those gray eyes drift toward the nearest before she lightly squints, thoughtful.

"Slippery?" she ponders. "Really?"

A flicker of delight crosses her gray eyes, lips curling into a Cheshire's grin.

"Maybe you should demonstrate for me??" she barks, before she snaps a hand out, attempting to grasp Sada by the wrist and tug, yanking her forward into the chute. "Let me know what it's like!"

Meanwhile, of course, Shenwoo remains quite unaware of Marisol and her whatever's going on with her. Instead, he casually cracks his knuckles, considering what's in front of him rather than trying to fathom what's going on three levels above them. Kurow Kirishima is... Someone Shenwoo is only passingly familiar with due to the younger man's performance in the professional fighting circuit; he doesn't watch fights to study potential competition, after all. He watches them for the pure enjoyment, or for just plain ol' betting on the outcomes. Simple pleasures for a simple mind, perhaps.

Briefly, just briefly, Shen glances upwards, a wry look on his face, before he turns to face Kurow completely, his broad slash of a mouth pulling into a wide, wolfish grin. "Guess we'd better get this dance underway," the half-Chinese brawler says, easing into his casual boxing stance, leading with his right fist. "Try not to bore me, okay?" And then, in typical Shenwoo style, the God of Battle rushes right at Kurow, throwing his left hand forward as he gets closer, fingers grasping, seeing to catch Kurow by the throat. Why, you might ask?

So he can lift him off the ground and choke the life right out of him, of course. "DIE!!"

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Kurow with Kyakuten Touchi.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Marisol          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Shenwoo          0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0             Sada


Kurow keeps tabs on everyone he could possibly face -- and in his bracket, that's just about everyone. Shenwoo is just another opportunity to study a different style, another opportunity to take what might be worthwhile to learn and leave the rest on the scrapheap of history, in his mind -- an opportunity that probably won't come any time soon if at all, but at the very least, it is an opportunity to learn.

The youth takes a step back, but the God of Battle is faster -- catching Kurow by the throat, he does indeed manage to choke the life out of him. On the other hand, he doesn't keep that grip very long -- Kurow kicks out of the grip fast enough, and takes a long, hard look at Shenwoo. "Trust me," he says, smirking. "I have a feeling you won't be bored in the least." He studies the brawler again for a split second, trying to find a gap in his defenses.

Unlike Shenwoo, Kurow is more of a technical fighter... so when he comes in, while he does go for a grapple, it's a quick armlock that Kurow uses to try to wrench Shenwoo's strongest assets, those vicious arms, into oblivion before he can get wrecked by them. A second later, he turns that armlock into a quick slam into one of those hard metal ladders.

COMBATSYS: Sada counters Quick Throw from Marisol with Niitaka Yama Nobore.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0            Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Sada


Sada's own eyes widen as she sees Marisol move! She takes a step to the right, legs spreading as she whips the kusarigama out from around her back, the long weighted chain snapping up to wrap one good solid loop of chain about Marisol's forearm, which stings but doesn't hurt particularly much.

Then Sada smiles. She beams with the genki warmth and spiritual cheer that is the birthright of every daughter of glorious, glorious Japan. Her eyes crinkle; her lips draw back from near-perfect teeth; love and energy seem to radiate out from her, metaphorically speaking, for a moment. Her free hand raises, a thumbs up being given around the kama. "Okay!"

Then she yanks Marisol forwards, chain tightening and then loosening - but only once she's into that slippery plastic chute downwards. She steps towards the edge, crouching to call after her, "See?! I told you!"

Aww. And here Marisol thought she was being swift!

The moment that odd chain of Sada's wraps itself around her wrist, she's pretty certain things won't be going as planned. And when she spies that horrible smile...it seals it. Sada won't be going down the chute first. It'll be Marisol.

"Mother fu--" She can't even finish bitching.

Pulled harshly, the girl stumbles and crashes into the slide, hitting her forehead before she's sent sliding downward. Sada wasn't lying - the damn thing is as slippery as can be, sending the redhead for a swift ride down, twisting and turning all the while as she, on the other hand, rolls head over heels before she's spit out onto a mat.

"Ughhh," Slowly but surely does Marisol sit back up, rubbing absently at her shoulder and neck as she recuperates from that nasty fall. Frowning, she spares a moment to glance over her shoulder, down toward the other fighters duking it out. It draws a frown.

"Dammit," she mutters. "I can't lose. Not around him!"

Whipping her head up, the girl points a finger toward Sada before she bellows, "I think it's your turn to come down that slide, you hear? If you think I'm going to climb up after you, you're mistaken!" She'd rather be by Shenwoo's side anyway. No offense!

So, with an eye on the girl, Marisol edges her way toward the nearest ladder, intent on descending and meeting with her partner, while not one losing eye on the girl that just shoved her down a slide. How embarrassing.

"C'MON!"

COMBATSYS: Marisol focuses on her next action.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Marisol          0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0            Kurow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Kurow's Medium Throw.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Marisol          0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0            Kurow
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0             Sada


Oh, a wise guy, eh? There's a faint noise that might just as easily be amusement as frustration from Shenwoo, as Kurow escapes from his grip rather sooner than he would have liked. But that grin stays almost completely fixed, not altering by a hair even at the highschooler's response. Yeah, everybody always says that to Shen. Usually, they're right.

Some might wonder why Shenwoo does what he does next, letting Kurow get ahold of his arm, wrenching it painfully, but a certain amount of pliability is necessary if you don't want to get your arm snapped in a situation like that. Maybe he could power out of it, maybe; but what does happen is that Shenwoo gets tossed into a ladder, hitting it hard... And putting his foot up on the first rung to kick off of it, twisting in midair.

What's that crazy loon doing?!

As it happens, what Shenwoo is doing is using all that momentum to throw himself at Kurow again, his turning motion adding further force behind what he intends to be a powerful half-leaping half-rushing punch right at Kurow's facemeats. "GRAAAAAAH!!"

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Kurow with Gekiken.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Marisol          0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0             Sada


The full-speed punch strikes Kurow straight in the face, sending him backward full-bore and crashing into the ground. Tumbling from the blow, Kurow quickly kip-ups in an attempt to re-find his balance... and quickly decides that the best thing to do would be to split off from Shenwoo for a little while. Tackle Marisol first, then go two-to-one with Sada against Shenwoo -- keep his focus divided. Brawlers don't do well with that.

Leaping up the ladder, Kurow gives a solid kick to one of the rungs, bouncing it off the wall and into a waiting hand; his tactic is fairly unceremonious and probably a little crude. He tosses the metal piece up in his hand once, trying to more readily ascertain its balance, its aerodynamics -- exactly how the jagged piece of metal will fly.

Naturally, the only thing left to do is to use it in precisely the way that all jagged pieces of metal that ninjas ever touch are used. Rearing an arm back, he flings the step toward Marisol, flipping up the current ladder the rest of the way in the process.

"If you want to fight me," Sada shouts as she leaps with significantly more grace into the chute, sliding down on her fanny and remaining quiet during the several seconds before she emerges, finishing her thought: "You shouldn't be running to your /boyfriend/!"

She doesn't take long to leap back to her feet, whirling the kusari at her side in a single whistling loop as she steps towards Marisol - but not as close as she might. Instead she whips the thing around, taking advantage of the open area between chutes and/or ladders to use the kusarigama as the good Lord intended it to be used - with broad sweeping strokes and relentless speed on the final approach!

The chain whips towards Marisol, aiming, for a change, towards her upper body rather than her legs, Sada shouting as she prepares to yank the Spanish girl over, "I could throw you off the side if you want! That'd be fast!" At least /she's/ in a good mood.

COMBATSYS: Marisol endures Kurow's Thrown Object.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Marisol          0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Marisol interrupts Snare Whip from Sada with Snap Wind.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Marisol          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0             Sada


Sada's retort draws a wolfish grin across Marisol's lips, gray eyes widening before she offers a sharp laugh. "Of course I want to fight you!" she calls back, as Sada ducks away into the chute. What follows, however, causes the girl to blink once before she falters, face red.

"N-NO! It's not l-like that!" she protests, hands waving as she looks to Sada, incredulous. How preposterous, to say a thing like that! But, man. Marisol sure wishes it were like that - so much so she takes a moment to stare toward the ground, in time to see Shenwoo leap and lunge at Kurow fist-first.

A light, airy sigh escapes her. "Awesome."

But Kurow isn't down! No, the ninja is kicking the ladder and weighing a piece, and when she glances down, catching sight of the man, she figures the worst. He's going to chuck it right at her. Swiftly, Marisol turns her eyes aside, spying Sada as she swings the kusarigama about.

"Well, fuck," the girl laments. There's only one thing to do.

Holding her ground, she clenches her teeth as the piece of ladder sails at her, striking her rather harshly upside the head. Oh, yes. It hurts, evident by the grunt that slips past Marisol's lips. But that is the least of her concerns; besides. Shenwoo would probably get pissed or something if she interrupted his fun.

So she does what she thinks best. As that imposing chain whips for her, the girl charges forward, crashing against her and wrapping firm. But she doesn't resist - instead, Marisol rushes in before Sada can yank her off her feet and delivers a one-two punch right for the center of Sada's face.

"I DON'T LIKE FALLING!"

In a perfect world, an ideal world, Shenwoo wouldn't have to put up with this sort of thing. He'd get to have nice, straightforward fights with people, contests of strength and skill, and maybe a little cunning. But, it's not an ideal world, and even Shen - who, correctly or not, most people likely wouldn't peg as the brains of the operation even if he was teamed up with a howler monkey - is well aware of this fact. Indeed, he's learned this lesson many, many times in his life. But still, when Kurow takes off to the upper levels, the berserker huffs irritably.

He even sulks a bit.

But assuming that Shenwoo is /slow/ is a fool's mistake, and soon the brawler is scurrying up the ladders to the level where his teammate is fending off both their current opponents. Now, it's time to strategise.

"HEY!!" bellows Shenwoo, directed at Marisol. He doesn't actually remember her name, which presents a problem. But, clever boy that he is, Shen quickly devises another way to outline his plan. "You, the one with the boobs! Keep attacking the one who doesn't have any!" Not Kurow, though, in this case. So, he's telling her to keep doing what she's doing, and why's that? Because he actually has an idea of what Kurow is up to. So he's going to do the same thing; which is why, moments later, he's barrelling at Sada, snapping one blurring-fast punch directly at her dainty throat, grinning from ear to ear like a maniac.

Say 'hi', Sada.

The gambit does not work quite as much as planned; Shenwoo's got fast feet and fast hands, and needless to say, seeing them coming up the ladder lightning-fast and toward his teammate is something of a cause for concern. Turning toward Shenwoo as he bellows at Marisol, Kurow can't help but feel just a /twinge/ of disgust at the man's exceptionally crude demeanor.

So needless to say, his attention focuses back on Shenwoo. This time, though, he decides to go for a more aggressive, straightforward attack. Shenwoo may be fast, but he's also almost entirely focused on offense -- disrupting that offense by forcing him to go on the defensive is probably his best (and only) option. Rearing a hand back, Kurow lets Shenwoo fully commit to his attack on Sada, probably dooming the girl surely to a pretty intensely painful moment from that rapidfire punch in favor of gathering a massive ball of purple chi in his hand.

He doesn't throw it, at least -- he's not a 'fireball guy,' fortunately for just about everyone. Instead, the youth abruptly slides forward, seeking to dig his claws deep into Shenwoo's back, shredding whatever he can.

COMBATSYS: Sada dodges Shenwoo's Quick Punch.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Marisol          0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0            Kurow
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0             Sada


"Ghk!" Sada gasps as she's pummeled in the /face/. Her eye is already starting to blacken faintly once she wriggles back out of range from Marisol's fists of steel, staring at her with a sort of purely physical anger that comes from being hit - in the face! Then Shenwoo shouts "HEY!!!" and she looks over at him, eyes widening. But this also means she sees him coming...

And ducks, whirling to the side as Shenwoo whiffs past her. When she straightens up, she's sweating and her eyes are wide, her face slightly ashen, but it's not, apparently, going to be enough to stop her mouth! "Hey, Shenwoo!" she calls, hoping that this'll make the young man turn around, perhaps to avoid having his ass on display for Sada to jam a sharp blade into - but it's not Shenwoo she attacks!

She takes a step to the side, balancing on one leg, and calls, "She really likes you~!" Before pirouetting around and aiming a twisting kick with the flat side of her leg at /Marisol's/ rear. This may well sting, but the goal is to make her stagger forwards, face-first towards Shenwoo! Bang her head or lip-lock; either way, Sada's possibly-criminal mind will find a way to triumph. Probably.

COMBATSYS: Marisol blocks Sada's Light Kick.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Kurow
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0             Sada


Rather suddenly, Shenwoo enters Marisol's world.

It's STILL the best day EVER.

When bellowed at, the half-Spaniard pauses with a fist pulled back from Sada's face, before she crooks her neck, shooting a gaze over her shoulder in the direction of the shout. What she sees is Shenwoo suddenly ascending up to her level. A finger slowly lifts and crooks, aimed at her own self. You? Her? The one with the boobs?

Marisol blushes, her face glowing red hot before she drops her gaze to her feet and places her hands to her cheeks. He noticed her..! He also noted her chest, but...he noticed her! That means something right? Shying softly, she offers a coy grin, feet softly shuffling as he barks orders. Attack the one without boobs? For a moment, the half-Spaniard seems confused. He means Kurow, right? After all, he's punching Sada...

A glance spared, the girl peers toward the Kirishima boy. Then Sada. Kurow. Then Sada.

Then Shenwoo. That's when it dawns upon her. What??

"H-HEY WAIT!!" the girl cries, turning to face Sada, just as a foot shoots at her rear. She draws her arms forward, intercepting the blow, but her fluster is enough to cause her to stumble and stagger - then trip over that piece of ladder Kurow had thrown at her. She's falling toward her idol, face first..!

It really IS the best day ever, as she crashes into him with her body, a tangled mess of limbs and legs...

...and mouths?!

When gray eyes open, they're staring intimately close at Shenwoo's face. It doesn't alarm her at first. She blinks once, and just as she attempts to speak, she realizes they're stuck to Shenwoo's face. Is she..? No way...

Immediately the girl recoils, her face as red as a fire engine as she stammers. "S-shenwoo sir, I-I-I'm sorry I-I-I didn't m-mean to..!!" Embarrassed thoroughly, the girl staggers back and away from Shenwoo, waving her hands. "R-really it's all S-Sada's fault th-that I..!!"

She's gonna KILL her. Then, later and off camera, she'll thank her.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" Turning sharply on her heel, Marisol barrels for Sada, a fist tightly clenched as she closes in. It shoots forward, aimed for her gut and, should it connect heralds a sudden grip on Sada's hair, pulling it down into her knee before she shoves back and swings a leg straight up, to kick the girl in the jaw!

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Shenwoo with Roppu Zuki.
Glancing Blow

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0             Sada


In a way, Sada just helped out Team Shenwoo. Staggering a little, overcommited as he is to the punch, Shenwoo twists around in time to see Marisol stumbling at him. What's she doing?! his expression seems to say, brows furrowed and a confused expression on his face. The girl collides with him, knocking him down and to one side, and as a result rather than his getting helluva cut up by Kurow, those claws and that energy skid along his side, drawing blood... But he barely even flinches. He doesn't cry out.

He can't even if he wanted to, because he has a teenaged girl kissing him AGAIN. Dark eyes wide, Shenwoo stares down at Marisol, continuing to stare even as she blushes and stammers and backs away. That's it. That's totally it. "Wait your turn, junior," Shenwoo directs at Kurow, and then since Marisol is raging at Sada, Shen is going to blame her too. It's convenient, it means his teammate didn't just kiss him accidentally on purpose.

So when Marisol tries grabbing Sada by the hair and smashing face into knee, Shenwoo adds his own knee to the mix, right for the side of Sada's head. Yeah, beating up girls is a completely valid way of venting anger, shut up!

Sada continues to be the focus of the attacks of Shenwoo and Marisol's assaults, freeing Kurow up to look around for a more efficient takedown method -- there are a lot of options he /could/ use, but very few of them seem to appeal to him. Though they /are/ all on the same level of the chutes and ladders arena, and ...

... that's it. A ladder. Kurow reaches down for the ladder to the floor below, and gives it a good, hard yank; ripped forcefully off its hinges, the ladder is carried up onto the level with him. They're both too close to Sada -- but then, there are two of them that he can damage, and only one of her... the sacrifices are, if nothing else, acceptable -- and he can always deny that that was his intent later.

Raising the ladder high, Kurow sets it carefully on his shoulders, hooking his arms around two of the rungs to keep it supported parallel to the ground. "Sada, watch out!" he calls, before whirling toward the aggregate group, spinning wildly and trying to slam the sides of the ladder into them with reckless abandon! It /looks/ ridiculous, but it uses Kurow's whirling dodges and advances to great effect, and it /is/ a pretty solid weapon.

COMBATSYS: Sada dodges Marisol's Chain Reaction.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Sada with Light Kick.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Shenwoo          1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1             Sada


COMBATSYS: Sada dodges Kurow's Random Weapon.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Shenwoo          1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1             Sada


Sada twists out of the way of the incoming fist aimed at her guts, ducking to avoid the hair grab and the knee from Marisol. "Because it was," she says, face rapidly descending towards Shenwoo's knee. There is an epic crack and Sada is sent flying backwards, toppling through the air and going over the edge of the platform. Whoops.

The kama rattles as it lands on the ground, the chain following Sada's descent. The sickle slides down - hits the platform edge - hooks...

This does mean the ladder swing goes nowhere near her.

A few moments later, Sada pulls herself up, breathing heavily. One eye is swollen almost entirely shut, and some tears are leaking from it. Probably tears, anyway. "So," she says, towards Marisol, "you're... teaming up, to try to take down the weaker one. So that you'll be able to finish off the stronger one..." She rises to the full platform level, pulling herself to her feet with a strain of her back. "Gh - more easily. Right? It's a pretty good tactic..."

And then she snaps the kama forward, the weighted chain whirling with sudden savage force as it arcs through the air, aiming to wrap entirely around Marisol and bind her arms to her sides. And then, Sada cries, "/FOR BEGINNERS!/" before twisting around, using her shoulder as a pivot as she screams, yanking forward and trying to flip Marisol up, over, and /down/ towards the level below! That's likely to sting a little bit, even if it's not THAT far. Really. Twenty feet, tops.

COMBATSYS: Marisol Toughs Out Kurow's Random Weapon!!

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shenwoo          1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0             Sada


COMBATSYS: Marisol fails to interrupt Avenging Anegawa from Sada with Shoot the Moon.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0            Kurow
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shenwoo          1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0             Sada


If only she wasn't in a fight. If only she could cherish the moment when Shenwoo's eyes look into hers. If only she could spend that time getting lost in those awesome eyes of her hero, the guy she looks up to..!

But alas, it cannot be. To save face, the girl pivots harshly, clearly flustered and angry as she charges for Sada. But when she swings a fist out to punch the girl in her gut and possibly make her recall in detail what her lunch that day was, Sada is just not there. And then, rather abruptly, the half-Spaniard scowls.

"Why you..!!"

She's a little calmed when Shenwoo kicks the crap out of her. "That's it, Shenwoo!! Yeah!" she cries, pumping a fist into the air above. "That was awesome! Amazing!! --what?"

Kurow's cry earns him a weird look, her eyes intent on the ninja as he presents the massive ladder in his arm. And then he starts swinging it. Normal people would probably freak out and panic. Marisol?

Just lets the ladder crash into her backside, launching her forward. She's beelining for Sada..! "RAAAAAAAAH--!!" At her side, a fist is aflame, chi roiling and viciously burning. She draws near as Sada picks herself up. She can't even HEAR the girl she's so focused..!!

"--WHAAAAAAAH?" Snared by the chain, the girl is bound by Sada, before she's suddenly tossed up. And what goes up, must come down. Marisol is no exception.

Landing twenty stories below, the girl hits hard, a loud 'oof!!' escaping her lungs as she lands in a Marisol-sided crater. For a moment she lays there, just taking a moment to try and regain her wits about her. "Uhhh."

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Kurow's Random Weapon.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Shenwoo          1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0             Sada


Now, that's a satisfying feeling. Shenwoo grins wildly as his knee probably gives Sada HORRIBLE BRAIN DAMAGE, but she hangs out with Kurow so that's probably already the case, before the brawler realises that the weirdo ninja is whirling around with a ladder over his head. For not the first time, then, Shenwoo just sort of stands there and takes it, the steel groaning in protest as it /gives and bends/ from the impact. Shen himself skids to one side, but he keeps moving, off-balance and apparently not caring even a little bit as he heads towards his target, implacable and tenacious.

His target, of course, is not Kurow. It's still Sada, because she caused him to be kissed /for a second time/ on television in front of the whole world. Why is it every time he gets kissed it's against his will, anyway?

This time, though, he continues picking up speed, blurring and half-fading out of sight as he bears down on the schoolgirl, moving at a simply insane, inhuman velocity, twisting to throw his left fist forward in a mighty rushing punch. A shockwave of pure energy rides on his leading fist, enveloping him and turning him into less 'some dude trying to punch you' and more 'crazy screaming human missile'. "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Once again completely unmolested, Kurow finds himself in the position that all his best work comes from: when he's not the guy being focused on. Watching Marisol botch that vicious-looking attempt on Sada, Kurow can't keep from smiling -- though when Shen comes in with that sudden explosion of power, helped along by that spinning ladder, he starts to worry. ... though not for Sada, of course -- just for what it means in the context of the match, surely.

Taking the ladder off of his shoulders, Kirishima looks at the next ladder up... and comes to the simplest possible conclusion: he has to keep moving if he wants to maintain this advantage of non-focus. Holding the ladder in one hand, he begins to climb... and then, before he gets too far, he apparently decides the ladder is way more trouble than it's worth.

Naturally, the best way to solve /that/ problem? Throw it down at Marisol's poor, broken body, letting the dented and wrecked ladder crush her beneath its unforgiving steel frame! Poor Marisol -- she endures so much abuse when so close to what she wants.

COMBATSYS: Sada fails to counter Zetsu! Gekiken from Shenwoo with Asai Harvester.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Sada can no longer fight.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


I can do this, Sada thinks, as she turns to face Shenwoo. Her entire head is throbbing but she feels oddly light, light as a feather! She braces herself, drawing back the kama - she slices forwards as Shenwoo comes in --

We cut to a long view of the Chutes and Ladders structure. There is a BOOM followed by Sada being hurled bodily away, chain trailing behind her as she, too, plummets towards the warm and inviting earth of Canada! She lands with a thump, groans once, and grunts again when the kama hits her in the abdomen.

This may mean Kurow's on his own, unfortunately. While she has not fallen into a passionate kiss, her head IS kind of near Marisol's. If only Shenwoo had restrained his technique slightly...!!

COMBATSYS: Marisol dodges Kurow's Large Thrown Object.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


The fall - TWENTY FEET NOT STORIES - was a harsh one, and it's left the girl a little dazed and thoroughly confused. Unfortunately for her, the fight continues high above, Shenwoo throwing punches in all his angry, clearly sexually-frustrated glory. And she's missing out on it..!!

Gray eyes snap open, realization dawning upon her. From above, she thinks she sees a familiar face. And it's falling fast, from atop the Chutes and Ladders structure toward her. "Wh-what..?" Marisol blearily mutters, before clarity hits her. THUD.

"Oh, h-hey," she mumbles to Sada, who it's the ground. Their mouths are so close..!

But not close enough!

Groaning, the girl sits upright, rubbing at her head. Poor Sada lays there, and briefly does the girl mull. That had to hurt. She feels kind of bad. But it is a fight... "Hey, Sada," the girl mumbles, lifting a hand and lightly shaking her. "I know I tried to punch you and all but that was SO AWESOME," Pausing, she leans in to whisper, "psss thanks." She got to kiss THE Shenwoo!

But...what is this? Lifting her gaze, the girl spies the ladder descending with considerable speed right for her--and potentially Sada. Frowning sharply, the girl rolls over, scooping up Sada in the midst of it all and moving out of harm's way completely, just as the ladder slams into the ground with a loud bang and a cloud of dust.

Marisol exhales loudly. That was too fucking close, she decides

"God, this is almost too much trouble," she complains, easing herself up from the ground and dusting herself off. With a grin she leaves Sada behind, whistling softly to herself as she marches for the structure once more. She'll take her time. Besides, it gives her a chance to recuperate before she recklessly throws herself back into the fray..!

"I'll be right there, Mister Shenwoo!" she cries, as she begins re-ascending the set.

COMBATSYS: Marisol gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


Also satifying: Helluva punching Sada off of the whole fighting stage. Shenwoo takes a last turning step to bleed off the remaining momentum of his powerful attack, straightening up thereafter. "One down," the berserker says with a wolfish grin as he turns around to face... Hey, where'd Kurow go? Oh, there he is. On a ladder. "Running away, huh?" Shen wonders, advancing slowly on the ladder, not seeming terribly fazed as that other ladder is tossed off of the stage and down at poor Marisol, who by the sounds of things is just fine. What to do about that tricksy Kurow, trying to climb off?

Well, naturally Shenwoo stops and reaches /down/, grabbing another ladder. Which, with an effort of main strength, the tightly corded muscles of his arms and upper body visibly straining, he wrenches free of its moorings, and then hefts over his shoulder. One handed.

"How fast can you climb, anyway?" the self-styled 'God of Battle' wonders further, before swinging the metal ladder off of his shoulder and right at Kurow, while he's still - at least apparently - vulnerable on that ladder of his own. Batter up!

COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Shenwoo's Random Weapon.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Marisol          0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0            Kurow
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


While that's probably not the first time Sada's been about an inch from another girl's lips, she wrinkles her nose at the smell of - like - white people when Marisol hastens out to help her secret unreciprocated crush. She also continues not to get up.

Flipping up the ladder without even holding onto any of the steps as a safety precaution, Kurow shoots a grin back down to Shenwoo and looks down from his perch high atop the structure. It wouldn't take much effort to strike at Shenwoo, but then... it might cause /problems/ later -- after all, ignoring Marisol might be an extremely dangerous proposition. Considering his position, he glances down at her again, trying to decide -- Shenwoo, or Marisol?

Then he remembers how badly he's been burned by letting the weaker of two opponents live. That answers that. Of course, the fact that she's down that far is a little tricky -- it leaves him with a smaller suite of options. He seems to be mostly restricted to throwing things down at the schoolgirl, like he did with that ladder and that chunk of ladder... but then, he /could/ improvise a little.

Or he could do something like what he tried to do to Ryo just a few weeks ago. Rushing toward the edge of his current platform, Kurow takes a long, flying leap; putting his body in a highly aerodynamic diving position as Marisol tries to climb up another ladder, Kurow tries something high-risk and stupid, and which will probably result in nothing good whatsoever. As he descends, he reaches out toward Marisol, trying to snag her by the shoulder blades with his claws as he descends; if he can sink those claws in and keep on falling, he'll fling her toward the ground with all his velocity added to hers, in a downright /cruel/ acrobatic maneuver.

COMBATSYS: Marisol interrupts Strong Throw from Kurow with Red Clover.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1            Kurow
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


Marisol misses the BEST things, such as Shenwoo being manly and flexing his muscles as he rips the ladder free to swing it at the ninja. Perhaps fortunate, she also doesn't see the ninja totally flip out of the way and avoid the dangerous weapon. His reputation with Marisol is saved! Hooray!

Ascending the first rung of ladders, the girl lifts a hand and wipes it across her brow, before those gray eyes shoot upwards. Squinting, she tries to get her bearings. What's going on up there, anyway? She can't really see Shenwoo, but she can make out the ninja perched far up there like Donkey Kong. Oh well. She'll keep climbing!

But halfway, she stops. Her Spaniard senses are tingling.

Full lips purse tightly, her eyes hooding as she swears she spies movement when those eyes lift. Something is coming for her, and fast. Is that the ninja?

"oh shit" she mutters. Claws then dig into her shoulders, causing the girl to grit her teeth harshly. Oh, it hurts, yes. But that doesn't stay her fists. In fact, the girl rather brazenly smiles as the two fall towards the ground.

"D-don't think we official met," she says. "My name is Marisol."

Then, a headbutt to his face. Without hesitating she moves an arm, the lodged claws in her shoulder agitating her wounds, a spray of red as she swings a fist harshly to his stomach. A brutal punch, before she drops both arms at her sides. Aglow with chi, she curls her fists tightly, knuckles white before she bellows and delivers a one-two hook for the ninja's face as they fall. Whether or not he recoils from the attack, Marisol hits the ground again with a harsh thud.

"Owwwww."

What the hell was that! Shenwoo isn't /too/ surprised when Kurow avoids his attempted strike with the ladder, and even as it misses he tosses the metal thing aside, letting it clatter uselessly against the stage. But, here he is, all the way up there... And Kurow and Marisol are all the way down there. What's a guy to do? He COULD stay there and wait for them to come to him, but so far Kurow's been throwing things a lot lately, he might find a kitchen sink or something eventually... But where's the fun in that? He's not overly concerned for Marisol, figuring either she can take care of herself which is great, or she can't which means she'd just get in his way anyway.

Or, he could just slowly make his way down via chutes or something.

But no, Shenwoo chooses a third option, running to the edge of the platform, and then diving off.

Headfirst.

Right at Kurow.

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Kurow with Strong Punch.
Glancing Blow

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Marisol          0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1            Kurow
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


If there was a prize for having your head worked, Kurow Kirishima would almost certainly receive it right now. Between the one-two strike as Kurow drags Marisol down with him and the forceful headbutt from Shenwoo, Kurow hits the ground with more than his share of blunt trauma to the brainmeats; if there was ever a time he'd rather /not/ be fighting, this would be it. His strength flagging, Kurow looks between his two opponents, the young lady and the God of Battle -- and makes a snap decision. Deal with them one at a time.

First, of course, comes Marisol. She's a little worse-off, which means that if he can land something on her, she'll be out of the picture... and Kurow knows just how to give her /that/ kind of trouble. The second the two of them hit the ground, Kurow whirls his body so he can actually land on his feet rather than his back, barely coming down safely -- but coming down with a ton of force, and more importantly, slamming his hands down toward the ground as he does so.

Marisol barely gets any time to react to the massive whirlwind of chi that sprouts up in front of her. The golden corona bursts from the ground out of nothingness, a bladed whirlwind that tries to suck Marisol in and cut her to ribbons with wave after wave of chi. "... Kurow Kirishima!" he forces out, as he vents that power out toward Marisol.

Hopefully, next up: Shenwoo.

COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Marisol with Kirishima Shinkuu Yamiarashi.

[                                < >  /////////////                 ]
Marisol          1/=======/=======|=======\-------\1            Kurow
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


In a perfect world, Marisol could get up, dust herself off and get back into the fight.

But this isn't a perfect world.

Her body impacts with the ground, and from her lips the girl utters a groan. It hurt to hit so hard, but that doesn't stop her. Blinking once, the girl opens her eyes, before she begins the careful process of peeling her body off the ground. But just as she begins to rise from the earth...there's a sudden burst of chi that appears and otherwise sucks her in.

Caught in its center, the girl is cut and shredded, blood oozing from nasty wounds as the cyclone devours her. Only after it subsides does the girl exhale and stagger, a total wreck as she stumbles back and forth. Her eyes are blurry; she's barely conscious, and there's blood stinging her eyes. It's very hard to see just what is in front of her.

But she sees something.

Her hands clench tightly, knuckles blanched and severely strained as she holds them. From her palm, blood begins to ooze from the raw force she applies with her nails to her hand. But she just doesn't care.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Sudden, and perhaps unexpected, the girl charges forward with one simple goal in mind: punching Kurow in the face with a glowing fist..!

...and if she misses, well. She'll just collapse forward for a nice nap.

COMBATSYS: Marisol can no longer fight.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1            Kurow


But of course Shenwoo didn't quite hit Kurow cleanly, you know, and ends up at least partially hitting the ground headfirst. Which hurts, even for him, considering the dive he took. ON PURPOSE. So while Kurow and Marisol are throwing helluva huge attacks at each other, the berserker is in the process of picking himself up off of the ground and taking a wobbling step back. That... Was totally awesome. But regardless of how things go between the redhead and the ninja, Shenwoo still has a fight to finish, and every intention of finishing it.

Which is why he makes a beeline for Kurow, trying to keep close to the Justice student, and lashing out with a series of feinting punches... Until a real one comes out, a quick snapping shot at the side of Kirishima's face. Not exactly the biggest thing he's thrown all day... Maybe Shenwoo's getting worn out?!

COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Marisol's Cloud Nine.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1            Kurow


COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Kurow with Quick Punch.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1            Kurow


Weaving out of the way of that glowing fist, Kurow at least avoids the worst of the assaults he could be subjected to at the moment; on the other hand, Shenwoo's fast hands catch him yet again, a punch tilting his head to the side and giving him what will probably be a nasty bruise for a little while. "... you're getting sloppy," he hisses, glaring at Shenwoo and ducking low to the ground, trying to find a weak point in Shenwoo's defenses that's also below his center of gravity...

... and finds it, this time in the form of an apparently-unguarded knee. Kirishima drops even /lower/, looking like a ridiculous track and field athlete, shifting his position slightly so he's got a straight line to Shenwoo's legs and then into one of the chutes...

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Kurow's Kirishima Kyoujuu Reppa.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Shenwoo          1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0            Kurow


Kurow plows into Shen, forcing himself forward with more momentum than one might expect of the relatively lightweight youth; bowling him over, the youth drags him along into the chute, with each step Kirishima takes dragging the God of Battle just behind with swipes of chi that seem endless. When Kurow reaches the top, he abruptly stops, springing back to a full standing position. /Usually/, this would launch the poor guy behind him forward for a kick, or throw, or other capstone attack; in this case, though, it results in Shenwoo's head slamming hard into the chute as he's pushed upward more than he actually has room to work with.

And once again, for whatever madcap reason, Shenwoo just... Goes along with it. Eyes shadowed by the fall of his dirty blond hair, his grin stands out in stark relief, bright white teeth bared in a possibly insane expression as he lets Kurow's attack hit home, letting himself get hit in the leg and dragged along by Kurow, slashed repeatedly by those edges of chi. Finally, finally, his head crashes into the chute, but rather than just collapsing, the brawler lands on his feet, blood running down his face from his split scalp, making him look that much crazier.

"Ha ha ha ha..." the berserker starts to laugh, running full tilt at Kurow without even bothering to regain his balance, his mirth growing with every step. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Suddenly, his run turns into a horizontal lunge as he charges at Kurow with even more speed than he showed earlier against Sada, his tall, lean and compactly muscular form flickering in and out of sight, blood spattering onto the ground behind him as his shirt flutters in the wind caused by his monstrous forward momentum. Once again, he throws his left fist forward for that distinctive rushing punch of his, and once again he's enveloped by a shockwave of energy, the power of it warping the sound of his voice, making his echoing, bellowing laughter sound all the more inhuman. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"

COMBATSYS: Kurow counters Zetsu! Gekiken from Shenwoo with Yami Kake.
- Power hit! -

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0            Kurow


Shenwoo comes in lightning fast -- the cackling tells Kurow that Shenwoo is coming, but curiously, he seems to have made his peace with the fact that Shenwoo is about to run him over with a crazy-ass fist. Turning his body toward the God of Battle, Kurow takes one last deep breath, seemingly allowing the attack to come in and destroy him.

There is a sound like glass shattering in the instant that the super-charged Gekiken strikes. Not the sound of flesh being beaten and smashed into oblivion, not the sweet impact of knuckle on bone. Glass shatters.

And Kurow is gone. Shenwoo will likely have to spend a few seconds looking for him, though it isn't /that/ hard; Kirishima has placed himself... right back where the pair started, before that crazy gambit of Kurow's. He seems completely undisturbed by the situation; indeed, his posture has actually gotten /more/ relaxed.

It seemed like things were done there, didn't it? Like surely, surely Shenwoo was going to finish Kurow off. But it seems that Kirishima has a few tricks left up his sleeve, and instead of hitting the ninja and blasting him into so much ninja gibs, glass shatters?! and Shenwoo instead hits nothing, expeding a lot of effort to accomplish... Nothing at all?! A turning step is taken to bleed off the rest of his momentum, and indeed the brawler needs to look around to relocate Kurow. But when he does... Shen is still grinning, his face bloody but his amusement unabated.

"Well, I gotta say," Shenwoo speaks, straightening up and stretching his arms over his head, fingers laced together for a quiet crack of knuckles. "Of all the people I've fought, you're the best... At running away like a little girl." Ohhh, snap, trash talking! "Actually, come to think of it..." he says, as though he just realised... "The little girls actually stood up and fought, huh?"

And then, Shenwoo is rushing right at Kurow again, at full tilt. He doesn't have the energy for another attack like that last one, but he can still put out a fair bit of speed as he closes with Kirishima, throwing himself into /still another/ rushing punch, aimed right at the younger fighter's gut. He's burning the candle at both ends here, but maybe he can finally put an end to this...! "GRAAAH!!"

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Kurow with Gekiken.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //                            ]
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0            Kurow


Much like Shenwoo, the Kirishima ninja is running out of gas -- he has almost nothing left in the tank, but at the same time, he's /sure/ he has enough in the tank to take out Shenwoo if he really goes for it. His plans are somewhat damaged by the sudden punch to his gut, which doubles him over and finally makes him cough a little blood up. Now he /really/ doesn't have anything left in the tank -- but at the same time, he can at least make Shenwoo's victory narrow, pyrrhic... or even deny him it altogether.

Falling forward, Kurow starts his descent toward the proverbial mat. However, he knows how to fall, and that knowledge is what saves him -- tucking and rolling, Kirishima does a seemingly benign final attempt to avoid getting hurt /too/ badly... but as he rolls, he begins to project a black ball of chi around his entire body, wave after wave of sharp, blade-like chi encircling /that/ as he tries to cut through the God of Battle and send him to the ground before he himself falls unconscious.

COMBATSYS: Kurow can no longer fight.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Shenwoo          0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Shenwoo with Yasha Guruma.

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Shenwoo          0/-------/-======|


Of course, Shenwoo sees Kurow's final assault coming. His last gasp, his attempt to stab at him from hell's heart, as it were. It's obvious, it's telegraphed... So why can't Shenwoo avoid it? He's just done too much, spent too much energy he couldn't afford to spend. It's been a while since he's worn himself out like this... Perhaps not since he fought Rock Howard on a freakin' volcano. His attempt to dodge is futile, and he's struck by Kurow's attack, taken down...

But he gets back up. Pushing himself with his hands, then getting his feet under him to rise, unsteadily, to a standing position, but he gets back up. The only one to do so. "Heh," he says, spitting off to one side. Not on Kurow, he's not /that/ much of an asshole, but he's still spitting. "Like I thought. Just good at running away." It's trash talk, of course, but Shenwoo loves to talk trash. With one last glance over at the other fallen fighters, the 'God of Battle' stands straight backed with a satisfied little smile, and walks off, nevermind the pain, the bleeding and the weariness.

The only thing better than a fun fight? /Winning/ a fun fight. What's a little pain beside that?

COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has ended the fight here.

Log created on 18:38:28 12/15/2007 by Shenwoo, and last modified on 19:51:35 12/17/2007.