Description: After a few months of hard work at the hands of her secret masters, Vanessa returns to the fighting scene, and Southtown in particular. And who should she find there but an old friend in a very new position - Alma Towazu, working hard with his YFCC. Unable to pass up the opportunity, two old associates get a feel for how they've grown in the best way they can - a friendly match right in the lobby!
Business is good.
Tie loosened, formal wear stylishly askew, Alma Towazu, model vice-president -- as it were -- and psychic hero extraordinaire, relaxes against the front information desk, having left the dreary comfort of his office behind and with it the paperwork he has finally finished. Standing in a position that with most others would look only like slouching but with him somehow takes on a refined and elegant distance from his surroundings, the mild-mannered and calm-eyed youth looks almost wistful.
~ I'm getting behind in my training. ~
The YFCC is a worthy effort, and he is convinced it is the next stage of his personal training, of what he as a person ought to have become after everything he has been through. It makes sense; it's the next challenge. That it coincides with his co-captainship of the Glory Hounds is just a parallel sign of his growth. And he hasn't been neglecting other aspects of his life either, although his studies are deeply subordinate now and he scrapes by only on talent and the inexplicable benevolence of his female classmates, and Giorgio is fed up to here with his necessary absences from his modelling duties. Somehow, it never seems to wear Alma down. Even the struggles seem appropriate for him, and from a more objective view, it's hard to see what -- given his age and capabilities -- there is to criticize.
There was not any shame in his loss to Kirishima, either. Kurow was one of the toughest opponents Alma had faced, which was only a mild surprise but a surprise nonetheless. Having come from nowhere, with no lineage nor close training with the master of the style he has personalized, Alma does not feel he has disgraced himself against such a formidable opponent; certainly none of his subordinates here gave him a hard time.
Still...
It's not about whether he won or lost; it's about the rate at which his skills are improving. He has not been evolving on his fighting techniques as much recently. Surely, it is not as much of a priority. But after that League fight, well-- sitting there with his paperwork became a little harder. Not so hard that he couldn't do it with a little extra focus and a quiet self-reminder of what his true priorities are, of who is depending on him and how grateful he is for it, but... even so...
So Alma Towazu takes a moment to stand in the lobby of the organization he basically runs, ignoring the chatter of the younger would-be fighters around him and the shy stares of the girl student volunteer currently working the info kiosk, and reflects on the past, and the person he used to be.
He has no desire to go back, to leave any of this.
~ My fire... ~
But he never wants to forget why he chose to fight in the first place.
~ ...I don't ever want its light to dim. ~
Dimming fires!?
We can't have THAT!
And thus it is that fate, as it so often does in the lives of warriors on this world, intervenes - in the form of the front doors flying open, and a tall, surprisingly thin silhouette, one arm held out from the motion of swinging the doors open. "So this is the place, huh?" calls this mysterious, wllowy figure, all but sauntering in from outside. "You've been doin' well for yourself, sugar."
Red hair. Tall. A little willowy. Gloves, That maddening smirk...
...there is only one thing missing. She is not nearly drunk enough for this time of night.
But in every other way, there's no denying who the owner of that voice is.
"So this is the great YFCC, huh?" announces Vanessa, bringing her extended hand down to rest on her cocked hip. She cocks an eyebrow, expectantly. "Not a bad gig. Little bright for a gal like me, though."
Alma emerges from the past, and the past emerges before him.
Her voice summons him from his reverie, and the tall blond fighting model, a.k.a. "sugar", stares straight at her for a long moment before his lips part silently, his jaw slackening in utter disbelief. He does not move as she peruses her cheery surroundings, and swallows once before he manages to push himself away from the information desk, finding to his own surprise that he can still stand. He steps forward, slowly making his way towards her; he stops, mere feet away, eyes soft and lips still parted in placid awe.
"V... Vanessa."
At first, she looks like she's changed.
"It's been..."
It takes a moment for him to realize that in fact she looks much the same as ever, and that it is merely he, though despite the tie he himself may not look so different from before, who now sees her through very different eyes.
"...a while."
He lifts his hands slightly, as though preparing to attempt some kind of more physical greeting, then hesitates, seems to think better of it, and almost shyly, slips his hands in the back pockets of his dress slacks. The effect is much the same as when he finds himself in the presence of Gabriel or Ingrid. Those are women out of his world.
This woman is just out of his league.
"I'm... I'm glad to see you again."
Still...
He smiles, warmth brightening him, making him seem older again.
"Very glad."
They shared some moments that, crystallized in the past, he will never forget.
"How have you been?"
Starting to grin now as the initial shock wears off, Alma reaches up and rubs the back of his head good-naturedly, tilting his head slightly, his tone subdued as always but good humored now.
"Did you get laid off or something?"
Who'd be surprised?
Seriously, though-- why show up now?
"Yes," the redhead says, still with that chipper tone. As Alma first moves toward her, then retreats, she allows herself a small, amused sigh. The eyebrow eases off like someone easing their finger off a loaded gun. "It's been a long time, kid. You look good." Of course - he always looked good.
It's there again - that manic energy she uses in her every day life. She doesn't yet give Alma any physical welcome of her own, instead wandering in a different direction, not to break off conversation but rather to observe the rest of the lobby. "How've I been? Well, I'll tell you what, that bastard I call my agent says I gotta cut down." This would perhaps explain why she's still standing upright by this time of day. "I'm not sure how he plans to enforce it, though. Maybe just have some guy with a taser follow me around? I'd like to see how long he'd last before I broke his nose, though..."
She allows herself a short laugh at this, and then turns her eye back on Alma, over her shoulder. "I thought I'd drop in. I was in the neighborhood, is all."
This is not strictly true. For all her barhopping, Vanessa is almost /never/ 'just in the neighborhood', but...not even Alma knows about /that./ ...right? Right. ...she thinks. She's been boxing with the boys back in Brazil, leave her poor abused memory alone.
Alma smiles.
"It'll be good for you," he deadpans sonorously, but his eyes remain warm, as though he is more in on the joke of her actually cutting down on anything than lecturing her. "Well, I'm sure I could help you enforce it," he murmurs, still smiling. "I haven't made many forays into that area since you first indulged me." Boy, that sucked. And was super embarrassing. B, but, at least he almost touched her--
Ohh, right, he forgot about that part. Uhhh, hmm.
"B, besides," he adds quickly, banking on the hope that her memory is far worse than his, "I rarely end up having enough time for that sort of thing anymore. What with the YFCC, and modelling, and the occasional tournament, and studies..."
Alma grins, a little sheepishly.
"It's really not in my nature to be doing so much, I think. But-- it's rewarding. I think I could be satisfied not doing any of it, but-- I guess I feel I'm too young to sit around being satisfied. We both are," he adds, in case there were any doubt. Encouragement, or an unconscious insistence that she's not too old for him?
"Right," he murmurs, in response to her explanation. Just in the neighborhood.
"I'm glad you could see it," he continues, more softly. "I owe a lot to a lot of people for making it happen." He too gazes around the lobby for some time, the two of them standing in the midst of a quiet hubbub of activity that never quite reaches them.
Facing away now, he looks at her sidelong.
"Will you be... in the area, for a while?"
"Eeeeh," Vanessa declares, shrugging with a roll of her shoulders. "Me, young? I guess it counts, huh?" She snorts, somewhat dismissively, at the notion, turning on her heels to face Alma again now. "Well, for sure, I'd go crazy sitting around doing nothing." Drinking doesn't count; cerebral genocide is a completely legitimate activity! "But doing a bunch is good for you. If you don't keep your brain going, you won't grow up big and strong!" What does she think he is, five!?
But she offers a wry, teasing grin. "I don't think I could sit still long enough to get a thing like this goin'. You've done good work."
But then she's stretching, the brief confidence of actual praise dismissed as if it never happened - she leans back lazily, stretching her back out with an arch that doesn't quite stop at the line between stretching and posing, and then adds, "In the area...well, I'll be in and out of Southtown for a while. I may have some business in Metro soon, though. Could keep me busy for a bit. Nothing like the stuff that I've been doing for the last few months, though."
"Yes, ma'am."
Alma grins his little nice-boy grin again, though in fact it would be quite nice to grow up to be 'big and strong' by Vanessa's standards. If there's any patronizing tone to her words, it's either lost on him or he enjoys it.
The real compliment, however, seems to touch him. Though either way he has always sought her affection, it's hard to know whether he has seen her as a love interest or a parental figure, and his reaction to her accolades only confuses the matter more. He swallows again, and seems to try to say something, but settles for just smiling back at her teasing grin. He has done good work, yes. Somehow, the fact that she would say it proves it true to him. He doesn't feel even the slightest bit wistful anymore. Yes, maybe he really does appreciate the distance between them; maybe her compliments mean all that much more because the come from an authority that, so early in his life, he has already been deprived him.
Then again, if that were really the case, he probably wouldn't flush so much when she stretches, nor would he avert his eyes, then look back, then avert his eyes again.
He sees this sort of thing all the time when modelling.
It's just, you know.
Auras.
And stuff.
"That's good to hear," he replies, voice clear and calm even as his gaze lingers on the floor and his burnished bronze cheeks still tinge a rosy hue. "You should... well, we should... I could give you a fuller tour, or..."
He pauses, flush fading, and looks back to her.
"Hey, Vanessa."
Suddenly, he seems more serious.
"What would you say to a one-on-one?"
Is he standing straighter all of a sudden?
"I'd like to show you-- all the ways that I've improved."
Yes, it's been a long, long time.
Vanessa grins a little to herself as she spots Alma's reaction.
Still got it!
She quits the show after a moment, making a pleased grunt as she settles back into a more conversational posture, one hand in her slacks' pocket, another out for use in gesticulation and if necessary some full-contact debate.
"Fuller tour would be OK," Vanessa says, already taking a couple steps away when Alma changes his mind, changes his attitude. A one-on-one?
She turns back again - more of her body this time, so Alma can see her her upper body in profile. She's not the most detail-oriented woman in the world, but...
"Hah, a one-on-one?" she says, still with that grin. The wisecracks are practically visible, dancing around in her head like sugarplums in the dreams of a child. But she doesn't unload anything too distracting today. "Sure, then," she laughs, turning to face him more fully. "Let's see just what you can do, these days."
Suddenly, everyone is paying more attention.
Alma, for his part, doesn't need any help getting his blood up, but thanks for the assistance anyway, Vanessa. Really though, he can already feel his fingers twitching. His heart cries out for a challenge like this again. To have Vanessa show up again like this, right now, just as he's thinking on these things-- well, he's never cared much for fate, but it is certainly an opportunity, one that life has just offered up to him. He would be remiss to not take advantage of it. He wouldn't be himself.
"Thank you."
Fists clenching and then relaxing again, Alma relaxes his limbs, assuming a posture that looks more casual than anything, only faintly reminiscent now of his Hiten-Ryu roots. Eyes that were first stunned and then warm now glitter with youthful passion for what is to come.
"I won't disappoint you..."
Clearly ready to fight without preparation in the middle of the lobby, seemingly unfazed by the growing attention of the younger visitors gathering at a safe distance around them, Alma runs a hand through his dashingly unkempt hair and removes his already loosened tie, tossing it back toward the information desk.
"So I won't go easy on you."
Well, now.
This is it. This is what he thinks he needs. Now, let's see if he's right-- let's see if he can still push himself beyond his limits, and face alone one who before could have easily overcome him.
This is his past, his present, his future, all here together, his memories and dreams come to life. Everything here is his so long as he reaches out to embrace it, and reach out he does, taking it into himself, making it fuel for the fire that is burning only brighter within him; the expectation of the crowd, the cause of the YFCC in action, his own convoluted feelings, made clear by the simplicity of conflict-- confict that anyway is at its heart a kind of cooperation.
His chest swells with a deep breath, and with it his heart.
"Please, do your best."
And peace comes, the peace that he feels only in battle.
COMBATSYS: Alma has started a fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Vanessa has joined the fight here.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Alma
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Alma
Given how Vanessa's been faring in recent fights...
...well.
The woman doesn't let annoyance at her poor performance recently slow her down. When Alma settles into a stance, Vanessa backs off a bit, casting a lazy glance not at him, but rather, across the crowd. Whatever she's looking for, she doesn't find it - although from the expression on her face, a sort of self-amused grin, perhaps she never expected to. "That's alright," she says, as she stoops down into her boxer's stance, fists up, legs pumping, ready to brawl. "I'd hate to think you were holding back just so you could tell me you lost because of it. That's not good sport, right there."
This meeting is more important for him than her. She's not especially amazing in the perception front, but just the way he carries himself...well. Vanessa did come by after a long time. A lot of people would have given up on ever seeing the woman again, so it's not totally surprising. Still...
...even if it's not quite as interesting as some of their past encounters, Vanessa wants to make it memorable anyway.
"Ready?" she calls out, edging her feet forward. "'cuz here I come!" And come she does - dashing across the distance, speeding toward Alma with a few pumps of long legs, one arm pulled back for a punch, and the other rearing back in the followthrough of the first punch to plow into him again as soon as the first fist passes.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Vanessa's 1-2 Puncher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Alma
She hasn't gotten any slower.
But Alma's gotten faster, and perhaps wiser. He feels her coming, much more clearly than he can ever remember doing before, and that itself -- that clear sign of his improvement, that he has taken that one technique and refined it exponentially -- provides a boost to his spirits that seems even greater than what he drew from around him and only fuels him in his efforts to respond. He parries the fast punches neatly, the two of them seeming to blur in the eyes of the less experienced viewers, and follows up quickly by attempting to drive some space between them and prevent the boxing specialist from closing in, sweeping up with a high left snap kick.
But unless he is stopped prematurely, this is only the beginning. Alma pivots with the movement, seeking to capitalize on his own momentum, and ascends from there, seeming more to be buoyed up than to actually jump. As he twists into a fierce aerial roundhouse, his right leg ignites with blistering soulfire, white at its core but vibrant with shamelessly sparkling pinks and purples, a sunset in every stroke as he attempts to carry himself up and away with two additional spinning kicks down at the older woman's form.
"Hyaah!"
Passion. Duty. The joy and the thrill of the fight.
And maybe, a little youthful giddiness, at the chance to impress her again?
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Alma's Rising Fury.
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Vanessa 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Alma
Vanessa doesn't shut Alma's assault down (yet?); she brings her arms up in a close, defensive posture - using her bare arms to defend against Alma's strikes, protecting herself with nothing more than her hands.
Just like always - she'd rather take a few bruises than skip away completely. So while Alma batters her arms, Vanessa's eyes watch him closely, tracking for a hole somewhere in that assault --
She gives it away with a grin, spotting that opening as Alma's last few attacks come in. "Chance!" she calls out, alerting Alma to his FATAL MISTAKE, while the Boxing Queen shoves the last kick aside with her left arm, and with her right, drives a straight punch right for Alma's midsection.
Is she going to find something useful here? It's been so long, yet...
...well. There's time to think later.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Vanessa's Medium Punch.
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Vanessa 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Alma
"Hmn!"
He's not the man he used to be.
Well, okay, so maybe at heart Alma hasn't changed all that much. The kid's got a lot of integrity. But some things have changed, and however it happened, he's far less predictable than he once was. Vanessa's warning is less necessary than she might think, and Alma's control over his own movements even when he ought to be most vulnerable -- descending from an aerial assault -- is impressive. He twists gracefully in midair as she punches, arcing his body around her strike like a falling cat, and twists to lash out again with a final quick kick, a side kick to her abdomen as he drops to the ground in an attempt to push her back and prevent her from any immediate follow-up attacks.
If he succeeds at least in preventing her from an immediate assault, he'll land on one palm and his other foot, other arm upraised in what seems more becoming of some modern dance mvoe, and roll away as quickly as possible to get back to his feet and a more defensible position.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Alma's Light Kick.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Alma
COMBATSYS: Alma has saved the state of this fight.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Alma
Alma reacts faster than she expected -- surging around, escaping her punishing assault on his weak point. He's good -- good and fast. He's gotten better since the last time...
The kicks sweep in, forcing Vanessa to sweep back, arms coming up to catch Alma's assaults against her forearms. The bruises will sting, but...it's nothing she can't handle.
She grins, favoring Alma with a big smirk. "You're quick," she says. "But don't rely on one trick too much now, handsome..."
She shifts her feet, just a bit. The only warning Alma gets. "You'll lose your edge!" Vanessa laughs, and then all but glides forward, shoving off the ground and soaring across the distance between her and Alma, one fist cocked back to smash into his chest as soon as she's in range. "TRYYYYY /THIS/!"
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Dash Puncher from Vanessa with Divine Intervention EX.
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Vanessa 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Alma
Alma loses his edge.
Even with the kick deflected, he thought he would be ready, and indeed the tall youth was able to slide gracefully to a standing position just in time for the beginning of Vanessa's assault. He doesn't even seem fazed by her comments, nor her smile; a testament to his focus, and perhaps to the respect he seeks to pay her by giving his all.
But attentiveness is one thing and speed is another, and even if Alma's plan was sound is timing is off. The woman recovers faster than he imagined and her lunge is surreally smooth, and he hesitates even as white light kindles around his fingertips.
Her fist smashes into his chest and with a cough he is taken off his feet, flung back several yards. He rolls backwards and rises neatly into a crouch, looking slightly dazed and with one palm flat against where she struck. It only takes him a few moments to catch his breath again--
"Heh..."
--but point taken.
"You're as good as ever."
Vanessa doesn't stand idle while Alma's tumbling. She does take her time, since this is a friendly, banteriffic match, but she nonetheless follows, not allowing him the time he would (she assumes) need to set up a truly frightful assault. She doesn't slide her hand back into her pocket - keeping them both out, so she can get back to punches quickly. It's the little things, that show that a fighter knows what they're doing...even when they have a casual air.
"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not," Vanessa says, in a wry, faux-lamenting tone. "I haven't been doin' so well in the tournaments, since I got back! If I'm as good as ever, I've fallen behind the curve. Oh well."
She shrugs, shaking her head and sighing theatrically. "I guess I'll just have to keep on sharpening my skills, right?" She squints one eye opening, slanting an eyebrow at Alma. Her lip curls up just so, the only warning before she shifts her stance smoothly back into her boxing stance, and then she shifts forward, emitting a sniffing sound through her nose as she brings her right arm around in a mean right hook toward Alma's jaw.
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Hook Punch from Vanessa with Blaze of Glory.
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Vanessa 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Alma
"Well, hang in there," Alma murmurs, deadpan.
More than anything, he wants to see if he can time his attacks correctly to reverse her; he was always awed by the fluidity of her movements, and he has tried to cultivate such a trademark for himself, making use of the flexibility of his chosen style. But despite the effort he puts into his attempts, she still manages to sneak past his guard, and though he again summons light as bright as the sun within his fist, all he sees is stars.
"Grrghh... well..."
He retais his footing this time, however, and refusing to lose any more ground to his opponent, attempts to recover quickly, moving more aggressively and feinting forward to crowd her. If he can get her off-balance, if even a little...
"I'm pleased to help you sharpen them..."
Being a grindstone is pretty painful, though.
The problem with trying to crowd Vanessa is that, unlike Mike Bison or Dudley or any of the other boxers running around the fighting circuits...
...Vanessa has made agility her specialty.
So while Alma tries to push her back, she yields, skipping away fast enough to almost blur even to the advanced eyes of a trained fighter. She skips on both feet a moment, reminding Alma visually that her agility isn't something to be underestimated, and then she quips, "Good! And in return, maybe I can help you out, too. Or something, anyway."
She grins again. "So let's start right now!" She dashes in the normal way this time, not zipping around but simply running in full tilt - and then she brings one fist down in an overhead arc, traceries of chi energy lighting up the air. Her other hand rises up as the first completes its path, tracing a path that might just include Alma's chin, and even if it doesn't, those slowly expanding arcs of chi might just send him flying. "HELLION!"
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Vanessa's Forbidden Eagle.
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Vanessa 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Alma
Alma doesn't let up this time, and doesn't wait for her either. He continues to close in even as she withdraws, and the blazing overhead fist is parried neatly by his left hand, eyes flashing with determination-- and with the inner power that refuses to ebb however many times he loses his rhythm.
"HYAH!"
Shouting simultaneously with her, the beautiful youth responds with a mirror motion of her strike, an underhand arc with a hand wreathed in soulfire, a veritable psychic uppercut that aims to channel raw power up through her chin and into her brain, piercing it with hot needles of pain even as the explosive force of her strike carries her off her feet.
"Careful..."
Assuming, of course, she is not still too quick!
"I learn fast."
COMBATSYS: Vanessa fails to interrupt Self Expression from Alma with Puncher Vision EX.
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Vanessa 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Alma
Vanessa sees it coming, and moves fast -- she's still quite quick indeed! But it seems she chose the wrong maneuver for this particular assault, and so instead of skirting right past Alma's assault and right up into his proverbial grill, Vanessa ends up with something in her OWN grill.
Alma's fist, to be specific.
It also appears to be in her brain.
Vanessa hisses as the searing psychic blast burns into her neurons, and she actually staggers back, slightly dazed by Alma's assault on her receptors.
She bites out something that tender young boys like Alma probably aren't supposed to hear in the process.
Erk!
"V, Vanessa-san," Alma says reproachfully, even as his opponent reels away from his mental assault, "there are children listening, you know."
'Awesome!' and 'Cool!' can be heard in the background.
Oh, well, we can't all be champions of virtue.
But Alma's not such a young boy as to hesitate in a moment as crucial as this, nor would he be so immature as to insult his opponent with mercy when the fight's only just begun. He hurls himself forward in a spectacular flying kick, perhaps even a little too elaborate, to distract the viewers from Vanessa's language if nothing else. But Alma, model fighter, has the grace to pull it off, and if the redhead doesn't recover in time the powerful strike will slam directly into her sternum with all the strength and ferocity of a pouncing jungle cat.
"Haahh!"
Rrowr.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa counters Heavy Kick from Alma with Parrying Puncher.
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Vanessa 1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1 Alma
For an instant, it looks like Vanessa won't actually pull it off - she's still off-center, dazed by Alma's psychic death fists burning in her nerves.
But then he's in range, and Vanessa's eyes snap open. The reaction is more instinctual than anything else - and if Alma's looking closely, that's not quite so friendly a look in her eye as she lashes out with her fists again, driving forward toward Alma and smashing her fist straight past his guard and right into his face.
She takes a moment, and then covers for herself quickly - grinning lazily, even as she addresses Alma around her own knuckles. "Sorry," she says, chuckling. "Sometimes my tongue gets ahead of me. You know how that is, right?"
"Urgh..."
Alma shakes his head blearily as he rises from the awkward crouch he collasped into after her fist knocked him clean out of the air, his kick neatly and entirely avoided. Blinking rapidly, he looks up at the grinning woman and, hearing her words, blushes slightly, looking up at her through long, thick lashes; the effect is rather demure.
"Oh... uh, yes..."
~ Not as well as I'd like to. ~
Hey, no champion of virtue talks like that.
But even if he's down, Alma won't stop, and he won't let up the pressure. Still trying to sort himself out, he seeks to keep her occupied by summoning a whorling gout of flame and gracefully tossing it forward, letting the wave-like phantasm dart forth through the air in an effort to continue shaking up her concentration.
In the meantime, he'll try to get a grip.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Alma's Sacred Wave.
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Vanessa 1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1 Alma
Vanessa can't do that!
...well, no, that's a lie. She can. But not as casually as Alma does it now - only in a supreme moment of true effort can Vanessa summon up that kind of attack.
But she's not new to fighting - she knows assaults like that exist, and even if that fire of Alma's prickles her mind in ways she finds unpleasant, it's ultimately no different from chi burns or other inevitabilities of the fighting world.
Things Vanessa, though she may not let it on, has trained well to resist. Thus, Vanessa charges straight at the phantasmal aurora, bringing up both hands to block it and attempting as best she can to use her knowledge of chi to dissipate the attack as it crashes into her, causing a searing sensation in her mind but nothing too traumatic overall. OK. That worked -- and as soon as she realizes it did, she's charging in again, fist drawn back to clobber Alma and rob him of that moment of concentration he desires.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Hook Punch from Vanessa with Absolution.
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Vanessa 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Alma
This time, he's ready.
Alma does not even flinch as the punch connects smartly on his forehead, seemingly not even feeling the blow. His eyes too show no sign of pain-- but indeed, they show no sign of anything. They are crystal clear fields of sparkling light, motes of pink and purple dancing in an endless sea only glimpsed through those twin windows. His hands reach out to grasp Vanessa's head by the sides, and calmly, using her own forward momentum even as he slips in, with apparent effortlessness he pulls her close in a near embrace. The tip of his nose brushes against her own for a moment, and the shining effervesence is utterly overwhelming, consuming her vision, blinding.
And then his palms slam through her skull.
Or so it feels, as all the energy he had gathered thus far is discharged into her mind, thrusting her away in a spasm as his own body twitches from the sheer force and potency of the Soul Power that surges through him.
Alma staggers back himself, shaking his head slowly and reaching up to his temple as though with a headache of his own... but after a moment he lowers his hand, and when he looks up again, he seems at peace.
Vanessa is grappled.
By the skull.
She would not be so concerned by this if a simple punch, earlier, had not nearly totally blinded her with pain, so what will this do--
Ah! That.
Vanessa actually lets out a howl of agony as the universe contracts, the cosmos shrinks away to nothing. The world is void, and all is naught but sorrow.
She collapses from the force of the assault, falling flat on her face, twitching spasmodically.
For an instant, her eyes even close. But only an instant.
She emits a low, snarling sound, deep in the back of her throat, and then slams her palms against the ground, arms quaking from the effort and screams of her muscles. "I'm..." she croaks, trembling. "Not...I'm not..."
She wedges a knee beneath her, and then another, so that she is now kneeling.
"Not..."
Her whole body shakes as she rises up and wobbly limbs, slowly, every inch its own war, until she's up again, slumped by upright, with an almost savage look on her face. That hurt a lot. It's a friendly fight, right? Of course, but--
...but that hurt a lot.
"I'm not..."
Her right hand lashes out, straight for Alma's jaw, but even if it falls short or doesn't hit, what happens next may render the minor loss of damage moot. Her left hand streaks up across, a slashing motion up across the front. This one is even shorter, not at all likely to hit, but it doesn't NEED to, because in its wake...
...in its wake is a looping whorl of hurricane force, streaking toward Alma with force enough to punch holes in walls.
"...FINISHED YET!!"
Or more to the point, in Almas.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Vanessa's Gaia Gear.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Alma
"Rrrrahhh!"
Somehow, he weathers the storm.
It tears at him, partially shredding his good suit, revealing light bronze skin that will soon be bruising from the terrible impact of that strike. His shoes dig at the unyielding floor, and the students watch in awe, but at the moment when Alma seems most likely to break and crumble, with iron resolve he rights himself again and struggles against the cutting winds.
Pushed yards away by her attack, exhausted merely by staying standing after all that and clothing a shambles around him, restricting his movements, it is incredible that Alma can even find the strength to summon up another short surge of Soul Power, and he winces as he does so. He drained himself completely in that last strike.
All he has left is his determination: to make glory from his fight.
He hopes and dreams are in his hand, and he offers them up to her in spite of his weakness; they project outward in the form of flame, daring her to embrace them.
Meanwhile, he will see how long these shaky legs will support him.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Vanessa with Sacred Wave.
[ \\\ < > ////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Alma
Vanessa's tired. She's tired and a little dazed, truth be told - she has been trained well and hard, certainly harder than Alma will ever know, but it's hard to train against something as rare as the Soul Power. Its existance is known, by now, among Vanessa's employers, but finding someone with the power in quantity enough to train people with it, that's far harder.
In short, Vanessa has one mother of a headache, in addition to the simple weight of being exhausted. But she's not down yet. She won't be beaten that easily! She brings up both arms, aiming to take the soul flame upon her forearms as she has previously. It doesn't work, this time - the blast snakes past her guard and collides with her chest, causing Vanessa's breathing to come up short as the bizarre energies snake through her brain.
But Vanessa has an iron will of her own. She grits her teeth. "You're good!" she says, quietly - her brain now more in working order than the half-functioning lump that just launched a hurricane at Alma's head. "But I can't go down that easy. You understand, right?"
And with this, Vanessa emits a brief shout, gathering her spirits around her - and then she charges forward, gliding across the floor - sped by her own willpower, slowed by her body's fatigue, where will the middleground be?
If Vanessa has her way, it will be in Alma's face.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Vanessa's Dash Puncher EX.
[ \\\\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/------=|
Alma is especially lucky today-- for the middle ground is not in his face but in his arms, as he neatly sidesteps his weakened opponent's final assault and instinctively catches her as she collaspes.
Speaking of having his dreams in his hands.
He does understand; he understands completely, and appreciates it, in the same way that he had hoped she would appreciate his own efforts. So he doesn't think, feeling only respect for a worthy adversary, and helps her to her knees, kneeling by her side as she recovers from the end of the bout and the impressed students begin to applaud and cheer their efforts. Only once he hears that does it occur to his weary mind that he has been victorious over one of the earliest objects of his admiration-- and then, just as a feeling of triumph is about to surge up from his heart, it occurs to him that he has his arms around Vanessa.
Hurriedly, he withdraws his hands. Hopefully she can support herself now.
"I, uh... I've been practicing," he murmurs, sounding almost abashed, before he looks up to smile at those that have gathered around them and are now chattering merrily amongst themselves about the fight.
Glancing down again, the mellow young man rubs the back of his head through his hair.
"Are you going to be alright?"
But after a moment, he grins.
"I guess you should stick around and train with me, huh?"
COMBATSYS: Alma has ended the fight here.
Vanessa's sliding destructo fist is at last defeated by a....
...catch.
...hmmm.
Vanessa is not quite operating on enough cylinders at the moment to properly tease Alma for daring to handle the body that so many men his age would kill for. Instead, she merely allows Alma to settle her down, and focuses on breathing very carefully.
She wobbles, slightly, when Alma withdraws, from sheerest exhaustion and slight disruption in her motion centers. Damn psychics! She's using that motion center.
"I can...tell," Vanessa coughs, looking up at Alma with somewhat dazed eyes. Her brain aches. Hell, her everything aches. She shifts one knee up to a foot, and then the other, and rises unsteadily, hands extended outward for balance.
"I'll live," Vanessa replies, shaking her head a little to clear out spiderwebs of light from her retinas. "Ow, my brain," she adds. She stares off at the crowd for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts - make sure all the memories that she needs are still there and haven't been jarred loose by all the punches and setting on of brain fires.
Her reverie is broken by Alma, whom she blinks at, a little owlishly. "Eh?" she says, and after his implication seeps in through a fists-addled brain, she adds, "Oh. I...guess, sure!" She shakes her head out again, and attempts to adopt her usual, more casual posture, one hand on her hip, another gesticulating, and after a momentary wobble, it seems she gets it right. "Not like I have anything better to do."
Now that is a damn dirty lie, but it's not like this is a binding contract, right? And she already told him she'd be in and out of town. Besides...
...this might just end up as an opportunity.
Log created on 01:49:27 12/24/2007 by Vanessa, and last modified on 04:16:34 02/04/2008.