Description: Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to witness a brutal match from two young men who are good at looking like they don't try to make fights dramatic. It's the Divine Diviner, Alma Towazu, versus high-flying villain extraordinaire Kurow Kirishima, and boy does it get nasty. Whether you're looking for blood and guts or flung underage panties, you've got it, and the only thing the audience can agree on is: EPIC FINISH. (Winner: Kurow)
The Capcom Wrestling Association has always loved cross-promotional matches; they've aided drastically in putting over the (now true) idea that the bouts that happen under the CWA's watch are actual, legitimate fights, albeit with a few -- embellishments. So, naturally, it's no surprise that they'd be more than happy to host a Neo League match involving a man who's slowly but surely turning himself into one of the Neo League's top draws (and certainly one of its top competitors).
Kurow Kirishima has always found professional wrestling distasteful, yet a brief look into the CWA before he actually agreed to perform a match under its watch made him smile. The storylines are fake, but apparently the combat that goes on in the ring has turned into legitimate, genuine /fighting/ as that's become the world's number one sport. Kurow can appreciate that, if nothing else -- it certainly assuages /his/ primary problem with the concept. And since that's the case, he's willing to do things their way.
A few short bars of flute and violin music give way to a fierce, overdriven guitar, and the big screen over the entrance ramp tells the fans who's entering the arena long before they see his face. The fans get to watch some of the most epic clips of the young man's fighting career as he walks out to the ring, chief among them the hometown favorite, the one many of /these/ live fans were actually there for: kicking Rock Howard right /through/ the arena.
Signs pop up left and right. Most of them are pretty negative, but a few fans -- most of whom look like Internet People -- are a bit more favorable.
The announcer's voice comes over the PA, to much cheering; even if the fighters themselves aren't typical Capcom Wrestling Association guys, the /announcer/ is definitely familiar. "The following match is a Street Fight!" he declares. "Making his way to the ring, standing at 5'10", and weighing 150 pounds, from Southtown, Japan... Kurow Kirishima!" As his name is called, Kirishima actually rolls into the ring, making his way to the far corner.
"Hm."
This is the totality of Alma's response.
He has been silent through the briefing by an overanxious SlamMaster's employee, considered, as far as the modeling fighter can tell, that Alma will not take the lack of seriousness seriously enough, that he won't play it up as the wrestling fans demand. He was silent in response to the Neo League's initial invitation to this random matchup in a location he's, despite his recent wanderings through Metro City, never visited. And he's been silent all the way here, right up to this point, standing on the brink of entering the arena proper.
Now he hears the cheering fans, and expression still mild, eyes soft, calm and placid, the beautiful blond gazes out at the throng, at his opponent rolling into the ring, and says, "Hm."
The nervous man next to him, having just finished his over-lengthy debriefing, grows only more concerned. "Are you sure," he adds hesitantly, "you've got everything?"
Alma stares ahead unblinkingly for a few more moments before tilting his head over and, gently, offering the man a warm smile. "Don't worry," he murmurs. "I gave the announcer a card."
He sweeps out into the lights, leaving the man stunned.
"Wh...what?"
Striding forward as the music stops and the lights flare up, stage smoke rising around him and obscuring his tall frame just as he enters so that the audience cranes their neck to see, the announcer begins to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Introducing -- also from Southtown, Japan -- at six foot two and weighing in at 180 pounds, the Divine Diviner, the Paladin of Passion, the Champion of Virtue, and the scion of Truth and Beauty alike--"
And leaping like a gazelle through the smoke dramatically, to the awe and cheers of the audience, a completely straight-faced Alma cartwheels a few times down the walkway, flips into a headstand, and then thrusting up with a flash of white-pink flame, spins lazily through the air and lands perched in a three-point crouch on one of the turnbuckles.
"ALMA TOWAZU!"
The crowd goes wild, and rising gracefully to his feet, poised on the turnbuckle, the image on the large television screens zoom into to Alma's face, where he innocently smiles a sincere smile, as though he were taking a walk at the park. He really looks quite demure.
It's very convincing, anyway.
'Are you ready, everybody?' shouts the announcer.
'We're ready!!' shouts the crowd as one, as Alma leaps off the turnbuckle, his smile faint now as he regards Kurow. He's heard of Kurow, though likely Kurow doesn't know. In fact, Alma is frankly astonished to be finally meeting the man in this manner; it's really quite absurd. But Kirishima is, after all, ahead in the League. Such is the way the world works.
'Then, Masters, it's time...'
Well, if he wins, Jiro will probably be pleased.
"Good evening," Alma murmurs to his opponent, inclining his head respectfully. "Alma Towazu, Hiten-Ryu Kung Fu. Please, do your best."
'...TO SLAM!!'
The bell rings, and there is a cacophany of screaming.
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kurow has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
As Alma steps out, a sudden burst of high-pitched shrieking flows up from one particular section of the stands filled with a number of girls who, at most, just entered high school. A number of them hold up signs with things like "Marry Me, Alma" or "ALMA IS THE BEST!" written across them in that particular font that only young girls do, every letter rounded and just oozing with hearts, even when there isn't anything to dot them with. Some of them are actually wearing t-shirts with Alma's face on them, or official YFCC t-shirts. One girl, off to the side has a slightly different attitude; she's a bit older, upper high school range and a bit overweight and geeky looking. Unlike the others, she's holding up a sign where Alma and Kurow appear to be wrestling only... they must be wearing flesh toned singlets or something; underneath the picture it reads "Kurow X Alma <3 BISHOUNEN LOVE <3."
When Alma and Kurow come to meet in the center, there's some more screaming a pair of panties gets sling shotted right out into the ring at their feet featuring lots of lace and a bunny rabbit on the bottom.
Kurow has an understated entrance. It is part of his public persona; he advertises himself as a combatant first and showman somewhere in the distant second, even though he plays to the fans more than he would ever hope to admit. When Alma comes out with that more showy, indeed downright spectacular entrance, it tells Kirishima much about Towazu.
He concludes very quickly that Towazu is the sort of man who takes a lot of risks, from the turnbuckle spot; the sort of man who likes to put on a show, from the whole entrance, though most notably the cartwheels and the flashing; the sort of man who, at heart, is not a fighter first, from that demure little smile. Still, men like him, men who fight with the 'purity' of their hearts, are uniquely dangerous in their own ways; he resolves not to drop his guard for an instant.
Even for those panties. He doesn't even give them a second glance. ... though perhaps they will make a hilarious weapon later.
"I am Kurow Kirishima," the youth says, sliding his hands into his pockets for a second and then withdrawing them with those sharp, cruel claws that he's used all his life. "I've studied the tapes of your matches before, though I am... surprised to meet you here. A pleasure, Mr. Towazu." He rolls both wrists once before shifting into an open, highly modular stance -- though it still bears some of the defensive bearing of his conventional stance, there are elements of a few others that creep into it, not the least of which are Rock Howard's loose Hakyokusaken stance and Rugal Bernstein's deceptively wide-open hybrid stance.
He takes a small step forward, electing to study Alma for a few short seconds and let the tension build rather than launching into immediate offense.
Well, now.
This is, after all, what Hiten-Ryu is all about.
Alma doesn't need attention, nor does he take any particular pleasure from showing off. But any fighter knows that considering the environment is crucial for success in battle-- and for Alma, the environment is more than physical. He can feel their auras. Not only that, he can feel their auras /combined/, the very aura of this place itself-- of this moment, even, the thrill of a battle. The nature of this challenge is not just one of physical victory. To win this fight, to /truly/ win it in the way it is meant to be won, he must do more than fight.
He knows this instinctively.
And if he can feel the flow of this place, feel the rhythm...
"Hmn!"
...he'll win for sure.
Spinning once dramatically, face serious enough that his movements, though perhaps bigger than they might be normally, are too convincing to be overwrought, Alma touches down in another three-point crouch again, this time right in front of Kurow, and then springs back to the turnbuckle. And right as he leaps, eyes flashing with bright power, he sweeps his right arm out and unleashes a gout of vibrant pink and purple energy, crackling soulfire that twists in on itself in a rushing tide of force, the concentration-jarring incarnation of Alma's passion for this battle.
"HYAAH!"
Whether it impacts or not, Alma will backflip once while springing back and then land poised again on the turnbuckle, patient and calm.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Alma's Sacred Wave.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kurow
The cameras MIGHT JUST catch something in the first row - literally slumped over a barricade, head resting on her hands, which are in turn attached to arms that are spread out up to the elbow along the length of the fencing.
It is Vanessa. She is out cold. It does not take a terribly active imagination to envision her with little Drunk As Hell bubbles dancing over her head.
But the roar of the crowd can pierce even the peaceful rest of the dead, and slowly, the red-head's eyes crack open, and she raaaaaaaaaaaaaaises her head, just a little, just a tiny bit, to peer through half-lidded eyes at the proceedings.
"Muh?" she opines.
He probably doesn't even know she's here. She isn't even sure why she's here... except it's for him. It's a weird place for Mizuki to be. She might stand out just because she's not wielding an Alma sign--certainly she's dressed a little more casually than Alma might have come to expect from the young redhead, in a white hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers. But here she is, nonetheless.
It's so loud in the arena that even if she were to scream his name she wouldn't be heard... but she knows a better way to contact him. So instead of screaming, the redhead is just concentrating her thoughts on him--sending encouragement and confidence his way. Kurow is one bad dude, for sure. Mizuki knows this because she goes to Justice High, and one doe snot go to that school without hearing about a few select members. But if anyone can defeat Kurow.. it's likely Alma.
Unfortunately for Vanessa, it seems that that crowd of shrieking girls is setup just behind her... and they won't stop making that horrendously high-pitched scream that's the trademark of excited tweenagers. One of the girls holds up a Build-A-Bear that looks about as much like Alma as any teddy bear ever will that she tosses out into the ring, it appears to have a phone number stitched into the back. Another one flips her "Marry Me, Alma" sign around to reveal another message, "DIVINE INTERVENTION MEANS YES!"
Even Kurow doesn't use the turnbuckles that obsessively -- that's just asking to get knocked down from them and onto your crotch, in his mind. But nonetheless, he can appreciate the showmanship and the mind games involved in doing so -- and prepare for them. That sweep of fire comes out toward Kirishima, and he leaps hard to one side, coming toward Alma though not directly. Barely pulling out of the way of the burning, passionate wave, Kurow keeps on going right for the ropes.
Leaping over them and snagging them with both hands, Kurow plants his feet squarely just outside of the ropes, still technically standing on the ring. It's a somewhat precarious position, but also one that -- since Alma's on the turnbuckle -- enables a surprising amount of offense to be mounted. "... interesting technique," he says, half to the Hiten-Ryu practicioner and half to himself, as he spends just the smallest split second calculating out possible moves.
The ropes prove to be more than just a convenient landmark and a tool for maneuvering out of the way when Kurow finally makes his move. Putting his hands on the ropes /again/, Kirishima launches himself onto the top rope, plants his feet down on it hard, and springs /off/ it. Landing on the other set of ropes, /opposite/ Alma, he promptly springs off of those as well after just the shortest stabilizing moment, seeking to sink his claws deep into Alma right off the bat, evidently going more for pain than for precision in trying to spear him off of the turnbuckle.
If asked, Kurow would say that the bouncing off the ropes was simple tactics, keeping speed up and building a lot of it for the assault. In truth... he just /might/ actually want to make sure he's not shown up /too/ much. He may not draw on the flow and rhythm of a place in the same way Alma does, but /everyone/ feels more confident with the crowd behind them, right?
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Kurow's Fierce Strike.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Alma smiles slightly.
Fortunately for him, he hasn't noticed the panties. They probably have, you know, residual aura or something -- yeah, something like that -- but there's so much going on they haven't had a chance to mess him up. Still, while Kurow may be a super sweet ninja master, and nephew of an even sweeter ninja master, it's clear to Alma that his opponent also enjoys, in his own way, this environment.
This is good to know.
It's not any help quite right now, but that's alright; the blond bishounen is prepared for what comes. Bringing oneself into a corner is a dangerous tactic, but it gives him the bracing he needs, and he parries Kurow's vicious claw strike aside with minimal damage; a few scratches and some torn sleeves on Alma's high-collared designer top. No matter. It's just one more reason to kick Kurow's butt.
This he proceeds to attempt to do. Greeting the cheers of the throng with some more high-flying moves of his own, Alma aims in parrying Kurow's blows to knock his flight awry. His opponent is good, and it might not work, but even a little adjustment time on his part will make Alma's follow-up strike easier to pull off as the ninja bounds again off the ropes. Leaping forward, Alma soars dramatically above Kurow's own aerial path to the bright flashes of cameras, slamming his foot down at his adversary as he does so-- and if he pulls it off right, it'll look as though he's stepped on Kurow's head on his way to escaping, shoving the midair claw-wielder face-first into the turnbuckle as Alma gracefully bounds away.
Pretty sweet-- if it works.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Alma's Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kurow
Vanessa sits there for a moment, staring bleerily at the match.
There's shapes! They are moving. THis is slightly more than she was able to make out last time she looked at anything, so this means--
A girl's sceam explodes into her ear canal, sending shockwaves through her mind and setting off nuclear warfare throughout the cerebral cortex. Her eyes actually vibrate. Hell, her whole head does.
Her hand, operated entirely by the few surviving officers, brave neurons honed in the fires of the Great Bourbon War, snakes out and grabs the nearest screaming girl by the collar, neckerchief, or if necessary bra, dragging her close enough that Vanessa can look into her eyes with enough murder to lay waste to the entirety of China.
"What...ishhhhshsh... ... ..." Hic. Pause. Refocus. "going on?"
There's only so many ways to react to being grabbed around the collar by a drunk, even at a sporting event: in the case of the young girl, the reaction is to shriek even more loudly, hitting a note on the verge of being too high-pitched for a person to hear, now directly into Vanessa's face. This shrieking goes on until one of the other girls, after panicking, recognizes Vanessa, "Oh wow, it's that old lady who boxes! And she's really really drunk!" The girl pulls out her cell phone, snapping a picture of Vanessa grabbing hold of her friend by the collar while the other girl is, for the moment, still screaming. This will certainly make its way around the internet.
Finally the screaming girl gets it through her head that this isn't just some random crazy person and that it's a famous random crazy person... which causes another shriek of a different pitch. "Oh wow, you really are that old lady fighter! Can I have your autograph?" A pad of paper so overwhelmingly covered with pink hearts and unicorns that clearly some fairy must have barfed on it is thrust out with a pen of matching tastelessness.
The diving axe kick is another risky maneuver, and another one that Kurow seems to have surprising grasp on; when he sees Alma's leap, he instantly shoves himself downward with a quick, solid wall of chi like the ones he uses to levitate oh-so-slightly in some of his signature techniques and then rolls to the side, putting himself just out of the way of that quick stomp. Unfortunately for Alma, that means he doesn't get any foothold, and that stomp just takes him down to the mat.
A missed move is a golden opportunity, especially one that pans out like this. Some commentators have called Kurow "the ultimate opportunist." It isn't long before he capitalizes on this particular situation, then -- after all, he'd be an idiot to let Alma get across the ring again after something like that.
One of the things that the fans love is a good reversal, if performed with flair and effectiveness. As such, Kurow rolls right back toward Alma's falling leg, reaching out to snag it and pulling himself upward in the same motion. If he can /get/ that solid grip on Alma's leg, he'll slide his hands right up toward Alma's ankle and sink all ten of his claws deep into the skin. That isn't the worst of it, though -- not by a long shot.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Strong Throw from Kurow with Divine Intervention EX.
- Power hit! -
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Alma 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
This would have made a splash a few years ago, maybe.
By now, Vanessa being drunk is approximately as surprising as M.Bison committing acts of petty (yet extreme) violence. Though it will at least expel the rumor that her disappearance from the fighting circuits was due to finally being forced to enroll in a twelve-step program.
Vanessa... ... ...doesn't react.
Her face doesn't change in the least, even after the screaming ends.
...did she die?
So the fans love a good reversal, do they?
Alma's eyes narrow.
Well, Kurow's not the only one aware of that.
And Alma's quite aware of Kurow. Twisting abruptly at just the last moment with unprecedented nimbleness, Alma's leg shifts back. The claws slash visible gouges into his lower leg, which the tall model registers only with a slight tightening of his jaw and a flicker of his eyes, but the grab misses. Quick as a flash, Alma's leg moves again-- and he stomps heavily on Kurow's claw-wielding hands, trapping his opponent there for a moment.
"HYAAAH!"
A moment is all he needs.
Eyes glowing now with a sudden surge of righteous fury, Alma slams his palm down upon the trapped ninja's forehead and projects a piercing beam of light into his skull, roaring as the focused blistering energy is released, projecting a sense of burning into Kurow's mind intense enough to be real. It is not, in fact, real, at least not in the colloquial sense, but the way it messes with your body--
Lifting his leg and letting the beam carry Kurow a bit away, Alma straightens his back and gazes out into some distant horizon dramatically. It looks quite natural for him, really.
--it might as well be.
The girls simply stare at Vanessa as she freezes up like a robot running Windows 95. None of them say anything until the girl with the sign suddenly bursts out screaming, going red in the face from the intensity of it, her hands fanning herself as she practically loses it. "HE SAID YES! HE SAID YES!" The girl leaps up out of her seat and goes charging down the stairs straight to the wall between the seats and ring, plowing straight past a security guard and nearly making it right up to the ring side before a few more guards rush in and grab hold of her, seeming to have a lot of trouble as she reaches right out for Alma, shrieking, "Alma, save our love!"
Divine Intervention Means Yes. In this case, it means yes, Kurow's getting the crap kicked out of him (or more accurately, getting his hand stomped and then having that sudden burst of energy released into his body). As Alma gets his first real, solid offense of the fight, Kirishima recoils, bouncing back into the ropes and leaning on them for a little while, seemingly fairly hurt from that one move.
Then the screaming fangirl gets Kurow's head back in the fight -- loud, obnoxious sensory input tends to help with that. The youth ponders it for a second, hoping that the yelling keeps Alma distracted just long enough that Kurow can mount some of his own offense. While proper Street Fights tend to have very few real rules, and thus no /ref/ to be distracted by such an outburst, having the other fighter distracted is about as good... right?
The Kirishima ninja leans back on the ropes hard, then springs himself forward with a good, running start off of them. Keeping his footfalls quiet like the assassin he is, and keeping his breathing quiet and measured, he comes in for a quick attack designed more to recoup the time he lost leaning against the ropes and get him the fan heat he so thrives on rather than mounting any real, powerful offense.
Sliding past Alma, Kurow swings his hand up lightning-fast. And if Alma isn't careful... why, that pretty face of his just might have a few bleeding red lines across it, much to his chagrin. Nothing that a little makeup won't hide for a day or two until it heals completely, of course, but the gesture is a powerful one just the same.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Alma with Weapon Jab.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
The fangirls are silent, but only for now. It is the quietest stream that runs the deepest. So knows some who are wise in the ways of the world - and such things as the legendary 'Killing Intent' are also clear to those who hath eyes to see.
This is part of why a similarly legendary figure, or at least one of the recurring minor lights of the international fighting scene, seems to swoop in from nowhere, beaming warmly at Vanessa, who she is not in fact familiar with. "THERE you are!" she says, with gay familiarity. "These aren't our seats! Come on, here, let's find somewhere else to sit, hmm?" She extends a hand towards the drunken redhead.
The other hand is full of a funnel cake with extra confectioner's sugar. As for why, the answer can only be... 'in America.'
"--!"
Maybe the energy from the crowd is a little too overwhelming; more likely, Alma's capacity to detect Kurow's movements is decidedly limited, and his ability to react to the ninja's speed far more so. He turns only in time to get slashed across the face, stark bloody lines drawn on his lovely visage.
Alma appears quite startled.
But he is stunned for but a brief moment, and it appears he is resolute enough to allow even this to deter him. Apparently unheeding of the shocked gasps and shouts of the crowd, Alma hurls himself forward as quickly as he can, attempting to gain some momentum and press his opponent back against the corner again. Admittedly, Kurow does seem skilled with the ropes, but it is more important, Alma believes, to contain his opponent's movements.
"Hmmn!"
And so, grunting with the effort, the tall model summons forth once again the flames of his passion and thrusts out fiercely with his right hand, emitting a fierce lance-like blast of glittering white-purple power that aims to drive his clawed assailant back against the turnbuckle once more.
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Alma's Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kurow
Vanessa's brain slowly begins rebooting.
She has blessedly forgotten the last few moments, more out of self defense than any courtesy to her mortal enemy, Screaming Fangirl 97.
She is preparing to react - slowly, ponderously, as the noble heroes of Decision Making Center A-1015 begin scrambling to reconnect jostled electrons.
Then Rose show up, and the whole business explodes again. "Eh?" she asks, squinting at Rose for a moment. She doesn't know this lady. People she doesn't know try to do bad things. On the other hand, she is clearly friendly, and she has funnel cake which is a sure sign of a champion of justice if ever there was one. "Hoookay!" Vanessa decides, standing up in a not-completely-stable manner, and moving to hobble in Rose's direction.
The shocked gasps are the kinds of things Kurow thrives on. He has a reputation as a right bastard in the ring, cultivated just so that he can be a right bastard /out/ of it every now and then and people will write it off. It's a little trick he seems to have picked up from the likes of Rolento Schugerg, and it's certainly served him well enough -- and perhaps it's that bonus 'good feeling,' even if he'd never admit it if it was, that gives the Kirishima ninja just enough mental wherewithal to work against Alma's attempts to contain him -- a good concept, though. Everyone who watches CWA matches knows the best way to stop a high-flying competitor is to ground them.
Rolling forward, Kurow goes just under the lance; it glances against his back, sliding against his modified Justice High uniform. It's a close call, but good fights are full of close calls... right? Springing back up, Kirishima turns toward Towazu, offense seemingly somewhat renewed. That Divine Intervention must have taken a lot out of him to force the change in tactics, but now he seems to be back to his old stance and his old tricks.
The youth springs forward toward Alma with remarkable speed and far more force than last time, raising a claw high in what looks like a hard, direct downward slash. ... and it turns out, naturally, that it /is/ just that -- for once, there are no tricks and no games with Kirishima, and the ninja smoothly transitions the first hard swipe into a vicious uppercut slash with his other hand, then a two-handed thrust with all ten claws to finish the aggressive, advancing combo.
COMBATSYS: Kurow successfully hits Alma with Yami Kagura.
- Power hit! -
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
Alma is just not fast enough.
Control slipping over his Soul Power with every intense blast, his attempts to cause difficulty for Kurow's movements largely unsuccessful, for a moment Alma doesn't even realize that Kurow has rolled /underneath/ his strike. Spinning around in an effort to follow his opponent, realizing as he does so that as long as this continues he'll never gain control of the match, he finds himself already under attack, and instinctively brings up his arms to guard himself.
Against claws, this can only work so well.
He takes the first blow like a man, but the second tears his arms apart, in both senses-- blood flies everywhere, and Alma throws his head back grimacing and gritting his teeth against the agony. The final stabs are appropriate but almost overkill at that, and screams of horror -- and, we must admit, some of delight -- arise from the viewers as Alma goes staggering back, bleeding heavily now, and falls to his knees. His shirt is shreds around him, and his head is lowered; he clutches at his chest with his hands.
It seems like it might be over.
"UUURRRRYAAAAAAHHH!"
Until he throws his head back and roars, righteous fury seeming to lift him to his feet like a spell, and he tears his ruined shirt off entirely, a gesture none the less magnificent for his wounds. Fangirls, eat your heart out.
And lunging forward with apparently headlessness, only his iron will driving him through the pain so quickly, Alma right arm trembles intensely before fire bursts to over it entirely, projecting out in a line that drags across the floor of the mat, which as he lifts it seems like nothing less than a blade of pure Psycho Power.
Trailing fire, Alma slashes out with heaven's indignation at Kurow's crimes.
But can even the gods stop him now?
COMBATSYS: Kurow dodges Alma's Blaze of Glory.
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Alma 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Kurow
The crowd roars mightily as Alma rushes in, cheering for the model as he pushes himself to the very limit, showing the fans his absolute best. That slashing blade of pure Psycho Power gets a downright colossal pop, cheers springing up in all directions as the fans' current favorite seems for all the world to be mounting a herculean comeback that would make men like Mike Haggar sit up and take notice.
And when Kirishima leaps up, springboards off the ropes yet again, and leaps up and /behind/ Alma... that pop just stops. Not because the fans have grown to dislike Alma, though -- in fact, quite the opposite. As Kurow dusts himself off and gives the fans his biggest, most smug smile... they start The Chant. These fans are, for the most part, a hivemind -- almost every eye is locked on Kurow, and almost every mouth roars the same two words, fast and furious, over and over.
Even a "You Suck! You Suck! You Suck!" chant does not seem to deter the Kirishima scion in the least, though. Giving them one respectful bow, he turns back to Alma, tilting his head slightly as he tries to scout out some weakness or another in the man's defenses, some way to finish him off cleanly and end the match.
Alternately, he could certainly go for the other option, which is to draw it out and keep that intense heat on himself. Sliding out of the ring for a split second, the calculating fighter reaches under the ring for a dear, dear friend that he knows, thanks to his previous breakage of the ring, is always there waiting for him.
When he comes back up, he raises the sledgehammer high, one hand right next to the metallic head of the weapon. In truth, it would probably be safer to stick to the Kirishima-ryu techniques, high-speed maneuvers, and technical grapples that he's been using so far... but at this point, some of the fight is simple showboating. The youth walks in toward Alma, swinging the heavy hammer down hard for his shoulder. This /is/ a Street Fight... and in a Street Fight, there are /very/ few rules.
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Random Weapon from Kurow with Full Confession.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Kurow
Halfway up to a more exalted and less crowded seat, Rose looks at the ring with wide eyes. One hand on Vanessa's wrist, and her mouth full of funnel cake! She tries to send an urgent thought to Alma, but --!!
*huff* *huff*
Sweat trickling down his brow, Alma tilts his head back and breathes deeply as Kurow escapes again. No wonder Jiro had such trouble with this guy. The realization comes free of shame: Alma might just be too worn out to have a chance at this point. Kurow isn't just extremely quick, he's also been conserving his energy. The fact that his technique is superior has certainly given him the opportunity to do so, but-- it only enhances his advantage.
But Alma still has his willpower, and it drives him on to greater heights. He feels too tired to turn around, to look and see if his adversary is coming already. But, although he cannot sense Kurow's own intent, he feels a sharp surge around him that he knows now is the anticipation of numerous people, and only his deep-seated need to offer up his all keeps him moving.
With another furious shout Alma turns and sinks immediately into a crouch, a blaze of power wreathing his hand in scintillating spiritual flame, and he aims to punch the ground immediately beneath him. This is odd, as Kurow is right above him. Given a few extra seconds, however, it might have resulted in something quite different.
These extra seconds, however, he does not have.
"Annghh!"
Instead his power fizzles as his right arm numbs entirely, and Alma cries out as the sledgehammer slams into his right shoulder, the haft literally splintering and the hammer's top bouncing away with the force of the blow.
The young model trembles for several moments.
Then, slowly, he sways to his feet, staggering back.
Bared and bloodied chest heaving, Alma looks up at his opponent-- and though he must be in terrible agony, though he cannot appear to move his right arm, his eyes are strangely clear, and his face completely calm.
Vanessa is following up - she is sobering, more due to the fact that her body is kicking into super overdrive to figure out why in God's name her ears exploded back there than any particular effort on her part. By now she has decided that if Rose were going to have her dragged to a NESTS stronghold and disected or shot in the face or something she probably would have noticed by now.
Besides, she got her away from those fangirls before someone died. So, she keeps following anyway. But when Rose stops, Vanessa doesn't totally react in time, almost walking right on up and dragging Rose behind her. But she does finally notice the halt, and turns around to squint with bleery eyes down upon the stage.
"That looked like it sucked," she decides.
While Kurow swung that sledgehammer pretty hard, he wasn't expecting /that/. Watching the power rush out of Alma and the sledgehammer shatter, Kirishima is every bit as stunned as the fans no doubt are. Tossing the broken hammer haft aside, Kurow glances out toward the fans, away from Alma as the model/fighter sways and staggers. He's seen the clarity and the resolve in Alma's eyes, and he knows that if he lets Towazu get inside his head with that nonsense, he's going to get sloppy when he has so much control over the match.
The youth spends a moment planning his offense, really /planning/ the finish, as he turns around and finally faces Towazu, not meeting the youth's intense eyes. He rolls his neck, putting his hands together and stretching them out one last time. The youth takes slow, measured steps toward Alma, abruptly leaping up and twisting in midair.
If nothing else, what he has planned is going to give the fangirls something to remember.
In a hold lifted from some particularly brutal forms of judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Kurow swings a leg around, trying to lock Alma's throat up in his knee; he then falls backward, laying the both of them flat out on the mat, fiercely wrenching at the neck with that leg, trying to get the bloodied model to either pass out or concede the match due to intense pain, depending on where exactly he manages to catch his opponent. Even as Alma digs deep, using his passion and focus to pull through, Kurow stays the vicious, technical fighter he always is until the chips are impossibly down.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Strong Throw from Kurow with Blaze of Glory.
[ \\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Alma 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kurow
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kurow 0/-------/=======|
What does he see?
Alma's eyes are clear, but when Kurow moves, the psychic's gaze does not. He continues to look off into the distance, and it becomes apparent even to the fans that Alma, brutalized by Kurow's vicious strikes, seems totally insensible to what is going on around now. There is little intensity in his gaze. His expression is merely one of attentiveness-- yet, it is quite obvious, not attentiveness to his surroundings.
What, then, does he look towards?
Kurow's harsh and technical attack appears to catch Alma entirely unawares. The ninja's knee wraps around the model's throat as they are both taken to the ground, and noiselessly Alma goes, air flow cut off by the high-flying grapple. The crowd goes wild all over again, shouting excitedly at what seems to be the final move of this match. Several seconds pass, and Alma does not even stir.
Then, even as his pretty face begins to pale, he acts.
Palms flatten against the mat. Legs stiffen and flex. Face remains completely calm-- and he pushes up, slowly but firmly wrapping his arms around Kurow's legs, actually supporting his opponent where he is, forcing him to maintain his chokehold.
And he stands up.
Lifting the ninja off the ground, still quite obviously unable to breathe, Alma rises to his full height, again staring off stoically into the distance. The crowd is cast into chaos, a fervor sweeping over the audience. The announcer is shouting his head off at this display, by all appearances some bizarre cooperative acrobatics.
Throwing his head back, Alma opens his mouth in a noiseless scream-- and ignites.
His entire body is enveloped in the eruption of Soul Power that follows, roiling flames coiling up and around his trapped adversary as the two of them become mere silhouettes in the fireworks that result. Sparkling rockets of energy explode into the air, every ounce of Alma's remaining might being unleashed in an uncontrolled barrage, as though his body in desperation must get rid of it all before collapsing. And get rid of it he does; the spectacular psychic extravaganza finishes with one last plume of fire that looks like nothing less than a phoenix rising up from Alma's form, spreading its wings as feathers of fire that glitter like gems settle down around him. As it rises, Kurow is buoyed up for a moment with it, and then cast away as it bursts, and Alma falls to his knees.
Looking up, bleeding and weary, he inhales deeply of air a moment before forbidden.
And then he falls forward, quietly, and does not stir.
"Ah," Vanessa says. She raises one hand, pointing in not quiet the right direction. "He died."
"No, he didn't," Rose says, handing Vanessa her funnel cake.
A blaze of glory indeed. Kirishima wrenches harder as Alma lets loose that burst of power in all directions, pushing through the psychic onslaught to make /absolutely/ sure that Alma falls -- and when Towazu finally begins to fall forward, Kurow bails out sloppily, worn out by the phoenix-like eruption of pure soul. He does not break the hold cleanly; he practically /falls/ off of Alma's shoulders, making a hard thud on the mat.
The crowd is unsure, for some time, whether to cheer Alma's miraculous final strike, or boo the fact that only Kirishima is able to stir and claim victory in the match, doing the standard three-hand-lifts check for consciousness (which Alma clearly cannot answer, in his current condition).
They settle for... neither. Many of the partisan signs slide down, and a chant begins, building to a fever pitch: "EPIC FINISH."
Kirishima rolls weakly out of the ring, not too badly wounded overall but still reeling from that one sudden, powerful burst of energy that Alma unleashed in the final moments of the match. Clutching his head as he tries to forcefully will away the sudden headache that Alma's raw psychic power left him with, he staggers up the entrance ramp as that music that heralded his entrance plays yet again, panting heavily.
"Oh," Vanessa says, tilting her head a little to get a better look. Perhaps he looks less dead from that angle.
...nope. "If you say so."
She accepts the funnel cake, though, because even drunk Vanessa knows that funnel cake is a fine thing. "Thanks."
Log created on 23:56:13 12/18/2007 by Alma, and last modified on 05:56:41 12/20/2007.