Description: Alma is feeling down in the YFCC until Hinata shows up and challenges him to a fight. Alma overcomes his fear of pantyshots, but his new found power gets the best of him as he burns off Hinata's clothing, earning her temporary wrath... and then a date?
They've left him alone for a while.
After rescuing Mizuki from the bloody clutches of a nefarious weapon-wielding intruder and arranging for her recovery in the infirmary, Alma Towazu drifted in silence back to his office, hands slipped into the pockets of his tailored dress slacks and tie still loosened from the fight, and worked into the night. The young vice-president and fighting model threw himself into his work for several days, clearing up routine business for literally weeks ahead, and while his demeanor did not overtly change, while he still behaved as calmly and gently as ever, nobody bothered him. Perhaps it's difficult to cheer someone who doesn't actually /seem/ distraught. Perhaps his subordinates actually find him intimidating, a category of people that so far has basically only included Benimaru.
Either way, it is for the first time in a few days that Alma, well-kept and resplendent as ever, can be seen idling in the lobby, casting a mild watchful eye over the goings-on at the center he cares for in Rose's perpetual absence. He smiles softly and nods at those who greet him. He doesn't seem unhappy.
~ These are the consequences... ~
He seems tired.
~ ...of open doors. ~
Just a little.
But better, at least, than before.
There are those who might suggest that Hinata Wakaba is a bit dense as to the moods of others with her perpetual good cheer.
There are those that suggest her constant suggestions of engaging in quick fights or going off to eat cake are often inappropriate under certain circumstances.
These people quite clearly have never actually been friends with the girl and are just jealous... or can't seem to notice how rare it is to ever see anyone around her who isn't smiling, or at least enjoying themselves.
She also seems to have the ability to show up where there are those in need of cheering as if by accident to help brighten their day, and that would seem to be the circumstances as the girl comes rushing up along the street wearing her Taiyo summer uniform, despite the fact that the winter streets are filled with people who are quite heavily bundled up against the cold. Like some force of nature made entirely out of bubbling energy and good cheer she zeroes in on the YFCC until she goes literally flying in through the doors, flinging them open with such force that they slam against the walls on either side and are only just starting to close as she skids to a stop in the middle of the lobby, "Ohayou, Alma!"
Alma blinks.
Something is coming. An overwhelming force, an aura that outsizes itself with its own vibrant good cheer and radiant positive energy. It veritably looms, such that the Jaws theme song would not be inappropriate. Duun dun. Duuuun dun. Duuuun d--
Alma looks up, and smiles.
"Well, now," he murmurs, stepping away from the main desk.
And by the time Hinata is sliding in, Alma has sedately walked forward just enough to meet her directly in the center of the lobby where her skid takes her, grinning down at the irrepressible (insufferable?) girl.
"Hello, Hinata," the beautiful young man says warmly. "It's been a while."
Rather than maintain his usual straight-backed poise, he leans over to get closer to the significantly shorter girl, as though somehow hoping to be yet more enveloped by her patented happiness field. Or, you know, just make a friendly gesture. With him, it's probably both. "I'm glad you've come to visit," he continues amiably. "How have you been?" He pauses for a moment, then politely asks, "Are you not cold dressed like that?"
He likes Hinata. The girl's spirit has always impressed him; he has underestimated her before, but only admired her ability to find ways to surpass him when the chips are down. With his new responsibilities, he has somewhat grown out of his old urge to engage every person with a fighter's aura that he encounters. He has new ways to grow as a person.
But he'd certainly never turn Hinata down.
As Alma leans in to penetrate Hinata's happiness aura just that little bit more, he is met with a smile so bright and full of cheer that it is no wonder the skies cannot bring themselves to rain upon her. So bright that the title of 'Sunshine Girl' would seem appropriate if not for the supernatural manner in which it always seems to be bright outside when she is out and about.
He is also met with the girl's hand swinging up and around to slap him on the back a fair bit beyond what most people would consider friendly and into the range of 'picking a fight.' Of course those that know her know it much more as her distinctive greeting for those she considers friends.
"It's good to see you again, Alma," she starts to speak and the bright, happy tone just flows out with an overwhelming energy behind it. "I don't know why, but I got the urge to come down here and see you again. It's been way too long since the last time we got to fight with each other, hasn't it?" Again the girl's odd nature starts to factor into her speech, because a fight for her is much like going out on a long walk across the beach or just hanging out and talking, which probably makes sense when your body stores enough potential energy that it could probably launch itself to Mars.
This energy does start to fade a touch at the next question as it brings about a rather confused look from the Wakaba girl, her head tilting slightly to the side, "Why would I be cold out there? I'm wearing my uniform aren't I?" She starts to laugh a little bit and the pleasant noise just seems to fill the lobby, "I mean, it's not like I'm wearing a swimsuit or something!"
"Umf--"
Alma's eyes widen slightly at the thump on his back, as those who were distracted by the Sunshine Girl's dramatic entrance grin or cover their smiles at the affectionate greeting shared with their usually subdued leader. But the patient young man takes it in stride, smiling again as he listen to her chatter on like a merrily babbling brook. His smile only widens, both at her challenge and at her apparent obliviousness to the cold.
"That's very true," he concedes, sounding quite serious, before straightening again and grinning down at her. "And it's true," he continues, calm voice belying his warm expression, "that it's been some time since we faced each other. I've been training, Hinata. I might be stronger than you remember."
He pauses for a moment, but--
Really, it's like a gift.
Why not?
"I'll challenge you right here, if you like."
Still grinning, he reaches up to loosen his tie.
"I hope you've been training too, Sunshine Girl."
And he winks.
Well, his day just seems brighter already.
Any amused expressions on the faces of those surrounding the pair seem to go completely unnoticed by Hinata; after all, frowning faces are much more abnormal when she's around than are smiles.
The two certainly stand out in stark contrast to each other: Alma's tall, calm and handsome facade speaking of patience, whereas the small, youthfully cute nature is practically bursting with the sort of energy that one might expect to explode in some horrendous manner were she forced to keep still.
"Well it wouldn't be any fun if it was always the same thing every time, now would it?" Her tone suggests that this should be the most obvious point in all of existance, but that even if you didn't get it she wouldn't be mad. "Maybe this time you'll actually be able to beat me. Wouldn't that be exciting?"
Then it all starts to happen in the blink of an eye, the scene goes from a cheerful greeting between two friendly people to Hinata suddenly pulling back her hand at her side and then sending it flying forward as it curls into a fist aimed like a missile for Alma's chest, "Let's go!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata has started a fight here.
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Hinata 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinata's Medium Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
The explosion of violence is totally unprecedented-- except by Alma. As he parries the strike with fluid grace, he recalls the lessons he learned from fighting her before. He thought that the effusiveness of her aura would make her easy to read, but he continually found himself surprised by the sheer depths of her energy. Her spirit spreads out, but it is never spread thin, defying the logic, such as it is, of such things. She is a mystery, even more so than any other fighter.
She is fascinating.
Alma's grin cannot lie: he's going to enjoy this.
"Don't hold back," he murmurs, as if she ever would, before he twists on his heel, sweeping the arm that he used to block around with him, and aims a quick side kick into the girl's abdomen, hoping to push her away. It seems a reasonable enough response to her attack...
"Hmn!"
...but with a sudden flash of his otherwise friendly eyes, things change. If he misses, nothing particularly comes of it, only a few odd ethereal afterimages blurring behind his legs. But if he makes contact, a sweeping series of kicks will commence, slow and steady but distorted with confusing sparkling clones of his own kicks. It might be a conscious effort to distract her. But then, who can say how Soul Power works?
With his own enthusiasm for the fight, and the sometimes very nuanced ways in which he expresses said enthusiasm, perhaps they simply rise up from within him unbidden.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Alma's Autumn Rain.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
Hinata's thoughts on the fighter are nowhere near as deep as Alma's; she simply enjoys the exhilarating sensation of going the fight. The sensation of pent up energy being thrown into a task where the body gets moving, blood starts pumping, and people get to show what they're made of, even if there are the occasional bruises or broken bones.
So her thoughts on Alma are more along the lines of those she holds for most of her friends: he can fight and is willing to do so and he is also nice. If somehow things also involved cake she would be exceedingly happy.
But this is a fight, and not a diary as is evidenced by the fact that Hinata is not sitting in her bedroom and wearing her pyjamas.
With all that built up energy, she seems to move with an effortless ease as Alma attempts to retaliate, a quick jump and a flip send her flying out of the path of the assault until she comes to a stop a short distance away with a grin on her face.
"That was pretty good, but you're going to have to do better to hit me!"
With that she goes flying surging forward, her hands quickly aiming to plant themselves upon her opponent's shoulders.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Leap Frog Kick from Hinata with Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Hinata
Oh, really?
Alma can fight, is willing to do so, and is also nice, but not so nice that he's going to dishonor her by not fighting as hard as he can, and his efforts here evidence that. The blurring strike misses as Hinata skillfully evades it, but while the tall young man may appear to be vulnerable as he turns, there remains a faint blurredness to his features, the aftereffects of his attempted attack.
"Alright..."
She grabs him, but by his suit and not his shoulders, and he crouches as he twists, pulling away from her grip and delaying whatever she was about to attempt-- and hiding, until the last moment, the flare of white soulfire in his right hand that proceeds to blast her away from him in a fierce uppercut of pure energy, his physical hand never actually making contact but the eruption of Psycho Power unleashing more than enough force to carry her away itself.
"That was pretty good," he says mildly, "but..."
His expression is calm, but his eyes glitter teasingly.
"...you're going to have to do better to hit me."
Finding herself suddenly flung free of what felt like a fairly solid grip on his shoulders, there's certainly no time to react to what comes next: all the power of that energy feels as if it explodes right into her before it sends her flying. And as light as she is, it's nearly enough to make her hit the ceiling before coming back down and landing in a one-kneed crouch a good distance to the back of the hallway.
She's a bit slow to pull herself together after that, but when she finally pushes back up to her feet, a great big smile is spread out across her lips and all that excitable, happy energy is sent right at Alma, "That was great! I didn't even see it coming. I guess I'll just have to try things a little bit different, won't it?"
The Taiyo girl starts to dash around the outside edge of the lobby in a slow wide circle before a quarter of the way around she jumps back toward the wall and kicks off of it. Her hands are pulled toward her side, cupping a tiny spark of glowing energy that grows as she nears the top of her arc at which point they go flying forward, sending that ball of chi flying through the air before exploding out into a brilliant sunflower shape as it nears him.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Hinata's Kikou Shoutei.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Hinata
Is he flushing?
Even Alma looks a little disconcerted, in spite of everything, at how vivacious Hinata is once she rises from the blow, and he reaches up to rub the back of his head, blinking even as the girl prepares for another attack. "Oh... well, sure... do your best..."
He really only thought about her attitude in the context of battle, given the way in which their fights were always arranged, but-- they really are strangely similar, he considers, even as he reflexively dodges the sudden flower-like burst of chi, twisting around and under it. If you took the same spirit that fuels Alma and made him express it completely openly and all the time, well...
"Hiyaa!"
You'd probably get Hinata.
And getting Hinata is precisely what Alma attempts to do as he lunges in with all the sudden speed he can muster, soaring over carpet and tile, homing in low on the girl's form as he draws his right hand back, still glowing from his last attack, and with every ounce of his being slashes out. Determination become light through the power of his unquenchable inner fire, Alma attempts to bring a blade of sparkling white fire laced with pink and purple cross-wise through Hinata's body as he passes by, wracking her entire body with the burning energy if he is successful.
It may give him time for a very elegant pose afterward, too, as there's little sweeter than passing by someone with a samurai slash.
COMBATSYS: Hinata blocks Alma's Blaze of Glory EX.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hinata
Upon finally returning to the after unleashing that burst of flowery chi, Hinata looks up just in time to see him slide out of its path. Only here does a brief expression of disappointment cross her face, but that cheerful demeanor banishes the continued lack of success off toward the side with little concern.
She opens her mouth, about ready to, most likely, shout out some other encouraging words toward her opponent of the moment when she seems him coming in at her and her eyes go wide. With so little time to react, instincts throw her arms up into the path of the uncoming blade of energy to help slow it down through the force of her own chi just enough that she can roll most of her body out of it's path, instead letting it pass through both arms and a good portion of her shoulder as that burning sensation flows through her body strong enough to make her grit her teeth.
The moment she can recover, though, Hinata twirls around on one heel in time to catch an flourishing pose and go charging in at him from behind, arms immediately aiming to take him around the waist.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinata's Strong Throw.
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Alma 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Hinata
"Hmm--?"
Alma can detect that his power has not had its full effect even if he is looking the other direction, and it is this attunement to the results of his own abilities that saves him now. Her own determination makes her recovery quick; this itself is an inspiration to him.
He won't be stopped here!
There is a surge of something beyond adrenaline with him as he twists just in time to grab Hinata's hands and escape the hold that almost engulfed the much taller young man. Though his defense is strong, his touch is oddly gentle, that of one with as much control as he has power-- gentle, at least until he thrusts her away with a powerful shove, intended to unbalance her and lower her guard yet more.
"Prepare!"
For what is to come is a decisive blow. Eyes flashing again, this time almost blindingly, Alma shouts out his honorable warning before, flames erupting around his fist so fiercely they trail up his arm, he punches the ground. With the force he appeared to display, it looks as though the tile should explode beneath him. Instead, there is a quick sheen of light that darts along the floor-- until, without damaging anything nearby, a huge geyser of surging, coiling, shuddering soulfire tears its way up through the air... aiming to take Hinata with it.
Alma's fist shivers for a moment with the sheer rush of that sudden emergence of Soul Power, unexpected after such a short time, but mastering himself quickly, he calmly rises to his full height and regards the results of his attack.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Alma's Full Confession.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Hinata
Things certainly do not seem to be going Hinata's way at the moment; she attempts to throw in the rest of her force to get past Alma's grip upon her hands, but it seems to be completely in vain with that sudden surge of energy. Putting so much into it, she finds herself stumbling back somewhat out of control as that push is applied.
Even so, she manages to catch her foot, slamming her feet down onto the floor and twisting her heals, making her sneakers set out an incredible squawk of noise from the smooth floor of the lobby. Concentration pulls itself across her face as she narrows her eyes toward Alma, waiting for what's about to come next and then...
That burst of energy suddenly explodes from the ground, looking as though it would surely have caught that girl inside of its powerful energy... until a voice calls out from a few feet to the side, "That was pretty good, Alma, but you got a little too showy, you know?"
Those who had not been drawn in by the impressive display of energy could have seen the girl moving with an unnatural burst of speed, kicking off of the floor mere moments before it burst from the ground and shooting to her current position in the blink of an eye.
Now, with that great big smile, she once more launches up off the ground, whirling her leg around fully extending into the beginnings of expert tornado kick... ten feet away from her opponent. As it continues to pull around, however, her shoe comes flying off of her foot and seems dead set on taking Alma full in the face in a manuever that gives him a perfect line of sight toward the panties already barely hidden by her short uniform skirt.
COMBATSYS: Alma dodges Hinata's Renkyakudan.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Hinata
As expected of one of her abilities.
Alma just smiles slightly at her advice. Well, he couldn't give anything but his all; it's not all the time that he feels such energy swell up within him, and he feels anything but restrained fighting against a girl so warm-hearted. Well, perhaps that's what cripples him in fights against her, he ponders, somewhat resigned. He just can't hold himself back, when perhaps he should. But then, what is the point of battles like these anyway?
He steps forward, without regrets.
And then freezes, mortified.
"Ah-- you--"
No! There's no time!!
Gritting his teeth, Alma is brought back to the moment /just/ in time to weave his head to the side, the shoe breezing narrow past his face at breathtaking post-hurricane kick speed. Although perhaps more breaths are taken by other sights. Whoops.
What a disgrace, to be distracted! There's only one way to make up for it.
He won't allow his own weaknesses to compromise the glory of this clash!
Lunging forward, Alma does not pause even for a moment again, aiming to get in during her spin and knock her out of it, twisting into a quick back kick that becomes, as he continues to spin, a backfist that if it connects to the side of her head as he intends may very well knock her out of the air.
But he can't help but murmur, even as he does so,
"Maybe a swimsuit would be better."
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Hinata with Strong Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Hinata
It is very hard to get out of the way of an attack when you're still up in the air, and this is true for this instance as well as pretty much every other one ever. That fist takes her full on it the back of the head, sending her crashing face first down onto the floor of the lobby hard enough that a crack actually does appear in the tiles.
When Hinata is pushing herself up off the floor, she doesn't even seem to notice the tiny bits of tile across the front of her face or the fact that there is already some swelling starting to form around her left eye, although the smile isn't there. "...Ow. That one hurt. I guess I'd better give it my all, huh?"
Suddenly she starts by dropping down a bit as she lets out a low, sweeping kick nowhere near his legs, then, as it hits the ground behind her, kicking up off the floor and surging forward toward him, a burst of chi sets her leg swinging around, only this time it is practically sheathed completely in a brilliant rainbow of chi that seems to propel it an incredible speed, swinging around around so fast that she actually starts to lift up off of the ground like a helicopter, bringing each kick higher and higher across the target zone until the final one comes in right at the side of Towazu's head.
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Alma with Rasen Enbukyaku.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Hinata
This one is just too fast.
They're both getting serious, now, their indomitable spirits meeting fully, and Alma's smile is gone too. His feelings toward her have not soured in the slightest. On the contrary...
"Nnnghh!"
Even as her kicks slam into him, unable to guess the timing of her attack correctly, staggering back under the force of the repeated blows, he can think only of summoning up yet more fighting spirit, of competing with her seeming tirelessness. It is the kind of conflict that, for him, becomes cooperation.
He will not stop, not even for a moment.
And indeed, not even his injured body can defy his will, for even as the last strike impacts against his head Alma is leaping up in a counterattack, attempting to seize an advantage before she can even reach the ground and, with a blaze of light, slam a powerful flaming kick into her abdomen, literally carrying her up into the air with his own momentum before twisting and blasting her back down with another kick, white flames erupting around them both.
"Rrrahh!"
Can the Sunshine Girl's fabled spirit endure?
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Alma's Shooting Star.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Hinata
Those kicks are coming in quite fast, and it certainly doesn't seem like the Hinata should be able to get out of there way while still coming down from that whirlwind assault, but he tried this trick before, and while many might underestimate the girl as nothing more than a bundle of speed, she's can certainly learn from past mistakes. In a flash she drops to the floor far faster than it would seem for gravity to allow, and then in another burst of speed she kicks herself back up off the ground into a backflip, leaving the first kick to pass directly behind her, missing by just a few inches and the second to come nowhere even close to her.
Once more showing the contrast between the two, her smile has only brightened as the fight goes on, and a dazzling smile is offered to him as she lands flat on her feet after that feat of acrobatic performance. "You got close that time, I could feel the breeze!" Then, without another word, she surges forward, throwing her fist straight on for Alma's face.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinata's Medium Punch.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Hinata
Whew.
Alma shakes his head wearily, the expenditure of Psycho Power, though to no effect as the girl scampers away, draining him considerably. He got carried away-- as always, when he fights her. He has only just enough reserve left to aid him in turning just in time to parry that punch-- and he takes a step back, a small retreat.
"I'm beginning to think," he admits, a smile starting to play around his own features, full lips parting slightly, "that no one can match your persistence."
He takes a deep breath, letting the cool air flood his system.
"But I'm..."
Alma's gaze softens, and the banked flames within him flicker with renewed life as the spirit of the fight, of the viewers, and of this place and its history restore them.
"...going to do my best."
He hasn't yet given his all!
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
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Alma 1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0 Hinata
With her attack once more hitting air, Hinata pulls back, expecting yet another of Alma's counters straight off the bat. He's been straight on her what seems like the entire match, and it's almost a touch of surprise in her face when he doesn't come for her.
"What's the matter, Alma? Did you wear yourself out doing all of that stuff?" With most any other fighter, that sort of comment would probably be filled with taunting, but from her it seems more like a straight question. "You need to pace yourself better, you know."
Even as she speaks, she's already craddling a ball of chi, growing and growing in size until her last word escapes her lips and then throwing it straight toward him, once more letting a basketball sized burst of chi blossom into a beautiful golden sunflower of energy... with the same sort of energy as a hand grenade.
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Hinata's Kikou Shoutei EX.
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Alma 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Hinata
"I guess you're right."
Alma's tone is mild and good-natured as always, and even if it were taunting, he'd probably respond the same way. At least, if it were taunting from her. Sometimes, the best way to preserve one's dignity is through grace. Not always, but-- in this case, Alma doesn't seem to mind Hinata's constant advice, even if another fighter might find it terribly nagging.
After all, she's being herself.
What more could he want from her?
If he's tired, though, he doesn't show it as he scatters the petals of her chi flower with a smooth sweep of his hand. His will restored, whatever pain he must have experienced doing that is not displayed whatsoever. Nor does he respond to her comments with comments of his own. He'll let actions speak for him--
"Hmn!"
--as lunging forward, he weaves in with a snaking kick that bobs high and low and then twists high again in a quick snap toward the girl's sternum, aiming to knock her away with enough force to potentially send her head over heels.
But hopefully not, for as we've just seen, Alma's focus does have limits.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Alma's Light Kick.
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Alma 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Hinata
Through this entire match, Hinata hasn't shown any sign of growing tired, as is her usual. Every single bounce of her rather excited stance is filled with the same sort of energy as the last. Every single motion is as clean and well done as the one before it. It just goes to show how well on his game Alma is that she hasn't managed to land much of any of her strikes.
Of course landing hits hasn't worked all that well for him either, and yet again Hinata finds herself pulling just off to the side as Alma's kick comes flying in just past her chest, which should probably make her glad she wasn't built like Tiffany...
"That was another good one, but not fast enough!"
She attempts to take a play from his own play book and immediately attempts to wrap her arms around his leg before he can pull it back, and if successful, simply haul up and to the side with it to send him falling to his back.
COMBATSYS: Alma endures Hinata's Quick Throw.
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Alma 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Hinata
Alma cannot stop the girl from grabbing his leg after, already slowed by her initial distance chi strike, his attack is nimbly dodged-- but he can control his fall. She pitches him to the ground, but rather than try to roll away the determined young man immediately reaches up to grab her by the collar of her uniform.
"Hmn!"
Even as his head thumps painfully against the tile, Alma Towazu, with another flash of his hazel eyes, will issue forth a plume of glittering white flame that surges upward in an attempt to embrace the girl's throat and head with his disorienting power, taking advantage of what may be a moment where she cannot escape.
Though with his luck for these sorts of moments, he may just end up lighting her clothes on fire.
COMBATSYS: Alma successfully hits Hinata with Self Expression.
- Power hit! -
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Alma 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hinata
There is definately a massive flaw in Hinata's strategy... and that flaw would be the fact that she really has no room to make use of the speed that has helped her so much throughout the rest of this match.
She attempts to drops his leg and bring up her arms to help hold off the blast, but it would seem she somehow managed to get her arms all tangled up around each other and his leg, allowing the attack plenty of room to simply slam directly into her face, knocking her back and finally managing to dislodge the girl's grip while setting her clothes ablaze. Her whole uniform is quick to start falling to pieces as the entire bottom third of her skirt goes up in flames, her vest is practically non-existant, and her shirt under that is missing a substantial portion around her stomach. Through luck, or some guiding hand preventing anything truly inappropriate from coming into view in a mystical manner, her undergarments appear completely unharmed... if not fairly obvious to any viewer.
"My... my uniform!" her voice is actually filled with distress... and some of the cheeriness disappears from her features to the point where she looks slightly angry. "You ruined my uniform!"
If someone could see her fighting spirit in a physical form, it would quite definately be flaring now as she lunges in at Alma before he can even get up off the ground, firing punch after punch with a single hand at such a great speed as to make it seem as if there were a million before thrusting out her fist one final time with an explosion of chi centered toward his chest.
COMBATSYS: Alma interrupts Rengekiken from Hinata with Sacred Wave EX.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Hinata
See, the thing is.
Alma actually /can/ see her spirit flaring.
And it's the only thing that saves him.
For as he shakes off his fatigue and rises only to see that Hinata's clothes are falling to pieces around her, his desperate measures resulting in both more power and less control than he anticipated, the fighting model looks decidedly aghast. He's /definitely/ flushing now. "Oh... H-Hinata... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to--"
That aura.
That aura that he so admires, it is brighter and more powerful than ever, and his second sight obscures even his normal sight, preventing him from staring at -- or even worse for him from a combat perspective, averting his eyes from -- the dastardly results of his virtuous flame. He sees only her intent, and knows only, just for that moment, that the fight continues.
Even as her blows begin to land, he strikes.
A gout of soulfire strikes her directly in the torso, darting through her guard, just as she begins to attack, and sends her back again.
Alma blinks, the light fading from his eyes, and then flushes all over again, this time unable to avoid turning his gaze away, whatever the consequence.
"You should... I'll, uh..."
His mind races, but he's drawing a blank here.
"I...is there anyway I can make this up to you?"
That burst of energy strikes her chest, knocking the wind out of her and knocking her straight back and off of her feet with enough force to send her sliding across the floor on her backside for a meter or so before she comes to a stop, looking like a complete wreck: a definate shiner has already started to form across her left eye, swelling around the eye and bringing her eyelid down to a squint and her clothes are a complete mess that has pretty much left her in her underwear with a few scraps remaining.
But with that moment of instinctive revenge gone, faded from her mind, that perkiness returns and she bounces back up to her feet, and crossing the open space, there's no new punch or kick or anything, she just slaps her hand across his back like she did upon greeting him and gives him a great big smile, "Congratulations, you actually beat me this time!"
Then she stands there, with pretty much the entire lobby staring at the rather strange scene. Nobody seems to know what to do or say about this. There are a few nervous coughs in the awkward silence.
Finally it seems to return to her what that rage had been about. "Ooh no, my uniform..." and her voice has just a hint of despair.
She turns her eyes back up toward Alma, and yet they're still friendly, "I guess if you want to make this up to me, you can buy me a new uniform. Ooh, and take me out for some cake!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Hinata can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Alma 0/-------/----===|
Alma glances back as she approaches, but the fight is gone from him. With that surge of energy from her came his last instinctive reaction, the final surge of Soul Power demanding to be released. Realizing this, he decides, looking back and attempting to studiously keep his gaze on her eyes, that he's not going to strike back anymore.
Which is fortunate for both of them, since her final attack is another hearty pat on his back. Perhaps his own spirit faded naturally with the subconscious understanding that she too had finished-- but either way, with the admission of his victory, Alma seems to forget entirely his adversary's near nakedness and grins down at her.
"It was close, as always," he says, sounding quite pleased in spite of his own exhaustion. There are a few marks on the side of his face that look suspiciously like shoeprints, but other than that, he does appear to be in slightly better shape than her. He always has good luck with keeping his face undamaged. "I still can't keep up with your stamina, Hinata."
Guess he just needs more practice.
A new uniform? No problem. "Without question," he says, and manages despite his mild tone to sound rather gallant. "And--"
Pause.
"Huh?"
Alma blinks, and looks at her as though seeing her for the first time, which is a problem, because then he realizes the state she's in again, and zen utterly dissipates. Flushing, looking slightly bashful even, Alma's eyes widen a bit, and he regards the younger girl bemusedly. But then who would expect her to be anything but forward?
She's just being herself.
What more could he ask for?
"I'd be delighted," Alma Towazu finally says, flush fading, though not entirely, as the young executive reaches up to rub the back of his head, looking down at the Sunshine Girl. "I'll, ah..."
His smile widens, eyes warming again.
"I'll do just that."
Log created on 15:20:26 01/05/2008 by Hinata, and last modified on 20:44:10 01/05/2008.