Description: In Metro City Mall, Kyo Kusanagi faces off against the mysterious Rose in a battle for prestige, prizes and most importantly of all, LEAGUE POINTS. If you hate things which are awesome and intense, then for all that is good and holy, DON'T READ THIS LOG! (Winner: Rose)
The Neo League! The heart-pounding fighting you desire, brought to you this week by - multiple brands, evidently.
A slice of the Metro City Mall about a third of an acre long has been set aside, upper and lower levels alike, by the promoters. In the center of the 'courtyard' is the usual Starbucks-kiosk and a cart of custom gourmet candies that the owner neglected to remove. Long red ribbons indicate the theoretical boundaries of the fight, and seating has been provided for the interest of the public!
Since both fighters are, to put it mildly, 'rather agile,' they are starting some distance away. There is both a set of escalators and an old fashioned staircase in the marked-off fighting field, however, in case neither feels like leaping to and fro. And the sponsors...
Kyo Kusanagi, placed on the north side, is being sponsored (perhaps against his will) by notorious Japanese congolmerate Sony - specifically their Osaka office! (This does not matter to the Americans, of course.) Victory, while sweet, will be leavened further by a 56-inch high definition plasma screen TV, a new set of stereo speakers, and the legendary Playstation 3 to play all the latest Blu-Ray discs!!
Rose, being both substantially less award-laden and not Japanese at all, is recieving the sponsorship of Vespa Motors. She apparently gets a new scooter, should she come out ahead. On the southern side of the mall, she is examining said scooter, which has been parked out for the sake of display. She is frowning, as they appear to have painted a lightning bolt with an unfortunate resemblance to her hair on the side.
Mayor Haggar couldn't make it, so a harried-looking official is watching a clock in his stead. The big display counts down! A mere few seconds remain until battle commences! Will it bring in new trade or lead to the mall owners collecting on their overinsured property? Only time can tell!
And who doesn't like free stuff? Kyo sure likes free stuff, even if he is pretty well-off already... It's more the principle of the thing, you know? Prizes are simply acknowledged as his due, just and right for being so damn awesome.
Chuckling a bit to himself at the display of his prize, Kyo gives a slight shake to his head - that is a pretty big tv - before turning his attention to the somewhat distant big display. The /real/ reason he's here isn't the prizes or the accolades of course, as nice as they are; the real reason he's here is to fight. And, of course, to win. If you're not out to win, what's the point of fighting at all? He checks the tension of his gloves, emblazoned with the flaring sun of the Kusanagi, and rolls his neck once. His /last/ appearance in a public match didn't go so well, but that's not weighing overmuch on his mind.
Kyo Kusanagi is, if nothing else, well aware of how great he is.
Instead, his concern is more whether or not Rose will prove to be a suitable challenge. A boring, easy win is no fun, not even for him. So Kyo snaps his fingers once, setting his right hand briefly alight with crimson Kusanagi flames, before snuffing them out with a dismissive motion of that same hand, watching the clock tick down, almost at that last second...
At 9 seconds, Rose starts to walk towards the head of the staircase that Kyo would either have to circumvent by CRAZED LEAPING or run up along. At 5 seconds, she reaches it, turning to raise a hand towards the distant Kyo in a rather exuberant sweeping wave; she seems to be cheerful about the entire affair, and hey, that's what matters, isn't it?
At three seconds, she unfolds her scarf, wrapping it around her arms instead of her neck - it's chilly enough that it's not just ornamental, here in Metro City! - and looks ahead. At two seconds, she tilts her head forward, and it stays there until the zero hour.
"FIGHT!"
Rose breathes in deeply, and glows. It isn't fiery or violet, and the evanscening Soul Power flickering around her may remind Kyo vaguely of - well - Vega; however, she's hardly the only psychic in the world. Even so, it /is/ uncommonly bright, rising to a crescendo and fading away. Though, Rose does still look like she's sparkling just below the surface, even if it's one of those corner-of-the-eye effects. "How have you been!" she calls towards the World Warrior (2007).
COMBATSYS: Rose has started a fight here.
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Rose 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Rose
Though Kyo has some experience with Psycho Power, to him it's basically 'funny chi stuff'. Who knows why Athena and her band of misfits call it something weird? And, for that matter... Who really cares? So, ultimately, the Kusanagi heir hardly seems concerned at all that Rose gets all funny and glowy. Rose's exuberance meets with a rueful shake of Kyo's head and a faint smirk, which seems to be all the reaction he's going to give her crazy power gathering, either. Whatever she's doing probably spells ill fortune for Kyo, but it's not like he's the sort of person to let that stop him.
Instead, he just starts running forward.
The stairs might present something of a tactical obstacle to some, but Kyo Kusanagi is not other people. Instead, as he gets to the base of the stairs, he takes a running leap halfway up, then a single step forward, before he throws himself into the air.
Arcing rather gracefully, though that's not the word most people would apply to Kyo under most circumstances, he twists on a horizontal axis, pulling one leg in while extending the other, using his twisting motion to add momentum to the aerial kick, planning to come crashing down on Rose's head from above. Yeah, even though he started on a lower elevation than her. He also, rudely, doesn't even answer her question, instead uttering a battlecry. "HYAAA-!!"
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt RED Kick from Kyo with Soul Throw.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Rose
Rose is already leaping towards Kyo when he manages to throw himself into the air. This does keep her from being kicked in the air. However, that twisting speed keeps her rising arm from intercepting Kyo in the air, as was apparently planned. Fortunately, Kyo's there to kick her in the ribcage and keep her from flying gracefully and falling thirty feet - how polite of him!
The blow sends Rose back, smashing into the second-story landing hard enough to crack tile. Dust flies up, but she's already straightening afterwards: "I see!" she says, still managing to sound bright about matters. Perhaps she expects that Kyo has no reason to mangle her; alternately, she's hiding some kind of stratagem that may or may not overcome brutal fists and feet.
Landing on his feet after the airborne kick, Kyo seems pretty pleased with himself, what with Rose crashing into things pretty solidly and all. It takes him a precious half-second to get his stance back, but that doesn't seem to be too much of an issue just yet, his opponent not getting back on him right away. Sighing, Kyo straightens up, looking at Rose rather dubiously. "C'mon, is that really /it/?" he wonders of the psychic, keeping his fists up despite his casual words. "At this rate you might as well just go home!"
Despite his words, which are as per usual rather un-nice and mean, Kyo's attention is fixed carefully on Rose. He's pretty sure he dodged a bullet pretty closely there, through his sheer superior ability, but that doesn't mean the mystery woman doesn't have a few dangerous surprises up her sleeves. Or in her scarf, or wherever; the point is, Kyo actually seems to be taking things a bit cautiously, looking for an appropriate opening to crush Rose horribly.
COMBATSYS: Kyo focuses on his next action.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Rose
Rose shakes her head once and raises a hand, the index finger waggling for a moment at Kyo, as if to chide him for being childish! (It's a good guess.) She then says, "You're trying to keep up the momentum, yes? It's a good idea." She shifts one leg back, slightly lowering herself but giving her a thinner profile of 'areas that Kyo can brutally punch'.
Then she moves. She steps forwards in a curiously dainty way, which may be a side effect of wearing high heels. She pauses at last, perhaps six inches away from the reach of Kyo's fist if he doesn't lunge forwards, and then strikes out with her left hand - and the scarf around it, which swirls with green light and gives /her/ the added reach neccessary to hit him! At least with the light itself, which feels, unsurprisingly, like hot psychic burning on contact! At least it's more Earth-friendly than Psycho Power. Marginally.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Medium Punch.
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Kyo 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Rose
That's silly, Kyo is a paragon of maturity. Maturity and responsibility.
When Rose comes at him, Kyo tenses faintly, almost imperceptibly save to a trained eye, and the punch, well... His arms get in the way of that scarf-assisted strike, the energy behind it whirling around his forearms painfully, and weird besides given the nature of the energy, but rather less painfully than actually getting hit unprotected with it. So, that's a plus at least.
"You wanna see momentum?" Kyo wonders, mostly rhetorically, as he then does indeed lunge at Rose, stepping in close and swinging his right fist in a hooking punch, flames trailing behind the motion of his arm. "How about some of this?!" he continues to taunt; if the first hit lands, then he steps in again, punching with his left fist next, before whirling around in a heel kick to the side of Rose's terribly psychic head.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Rose with Aragami.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Rose
Rose is struck by the punch and then the spinning kick, the latter striking her in the head. How hard? Well, she makes a noise something like 'gah' and then her soul flies out.
Rose doesn't stop moving after the boot, instead twisting around. The other Rose, which seems shimmery and lighter, twists in the other direction, and for a moment they are in relative unison. This rapidly ends as Rose herself (or at least the less-sparkly, more kicked-in-the-headish Rose) straightens, aiming a twisting strike with her glittering scarf at Kyo's midsection. This, of course, will sting.
So will the /other/ Rose's motion. She slides forwards, moving along the dream of a scarf and stretching one psychic-nylon-clad leg forwards in a sharp-heeled sliding kick at Kyo's shins, twisting at the last moment before bursting into harmless, if impressive, light. Rose herself is leaping /past/ Kyo, coming to rest - on the railing that keeps stray children from falling over the side of the mall. She seems to have hooked her heels underneath it JUST right.
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Rose's Soul Illusion!!
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
Sometimes, even Kyo has bad ideas. Case in point: As Rose attacks him, in fact two Roses attacking him at once, which is kind of weird, he stands his ground through the assault, which is rather painful, battered by both real and illusory psychics but refusing - simply refusing - to let that attack take him down. Even though he gets kicked in the shin! Instead, Kyo hurls himself at the only remaining Rose in the aftermath of the attack, rushing headlong at her as she hooks herself on the edge of that railing... So what's he going to do about it?
The answer to that question is that he's going to get in close and throw his shoulder forward in a sort of tackle. Which may or may not drop Rose right off of the railing entirely. "HAA-!!"
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Kyo's Fierce Punch.
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
Rose smiles as the fist strikes towards her. As it comes close, almost connecting with her shin, she does something that will probably make Kyo very angry if he considers it for long: she leaps! Like a graceful gazelle she sails through the air, scarf trailing after her.
Which means that Kyo has a moment to possibly grab onto her or stop or do SOMETHING before he slams right through that railing like a freight train and plummets down into the Starbucks, which appears to have been convienently placed right in his trajectory! Upside: Free mocha.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Strong Throw.
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Kyo 1/-----==/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
Well, Kyo just got matador'd. It doesn't /quite/ work the way that Rose would probably prefer, as he manages to catch himself after crashing through the railing, snagging onto the end as he's tumbling... His legs flail over empty air before Kyo manages to yank himself back up onto the upper level, glaring at Rose a little bit. That was totally not cool.
Meanwhile, down at the Starbucks, someone ends up with the change that was in Kyo's pockets. Lame!
"Okay... I think it's about time to finish this," Kyo says, the glare fading once more into his habitual smugness, straightening up a little and starting to glow in turn, a reddish-orange light covering his form, tendrils of fiery energy rising off of his shoulders in slow motion. "Don'tcha agree?" Of course, it's obvious how /Kyo/ wants to end this...
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kyo 1/-======/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
Rose smiles at Kyo, without anger. She then takes one step back - then another. She starts a third, but ceases, for whatever reason. He's glowing more strongly, she thinks: That means he's preparing himself. She recalls how he's moved in the past; brutal close-in strikes. She should not, she thinks, play the way he wishes to.
"Oh, of course," Rose says. "It's a shame this is moving so quickly." She's developing a bruise on the side of her face and is moving a bit slowly, almost stiffly. Easy prey! Perhaps.
She twists the scarf around, however, and /it/ isn't sore: With a wave and a scintillating glow, a sphere of light starts at her shoulder and streaks ahead towards Kyo's center of gravity! The psychic light will certainly sting, and he might want to take a step or two away from the edge of the dropoff.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Soul Spark.
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Kyo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Rose
"Yeah, well... At least you're showing /some/ tenacity," Kyo says, in what he probably thinks is a compliment, as a response to Rose's musings. And then she's throwing Psycho Power at him again. With energy still gathering, and his concentration focused on it, Kyo can't really even try to avoid the sphere of power, so instead he crouches a little and crosses his arms, getting them in the way of the blast. The residual force sends him skidding back again, the heels of his shoes over the open space behind him, but he doesn't fall. Not yet, at least.
Slowly stepping forward, Kyo tilts his head to one side, watching Rose carefully once again. "So, here's your last chance," the Kusanagi heir says, all supreme confidence, as he holds his right hand slightly raised, palm up and fingers slightly curled in, as though holding on to the flame raging in the palm of his hand. "Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you one last chance to take me out." A slow smile spreads across his face, and then the smug bastard actually /winks/ at Rose.
"If you don't, then I'll put you out of your misery straight away."
COMBATSYS: Kyo focuses on his next action.
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Kyo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Rose
Rose tenses her body - and then laughs, briefly, before shaking her head and her index finger in that vaguely motherly way. "So bold of you!" she says, looking back up: "I understand now why you have become the World Warrior. Your fighting talents mix well with psychology and passion; there may be greater, but I doubt there are many."
She gestures with one hand to the side. "You're prepared," she says, "waiting for me to strike into your grasp - I can see the tension bursting within you! So," she makes a little flippant gesture with the scarf as she takes a step at a very precise diagonal angle. "What I should do is wait for you to make a mistake. But!" She beams, eyes crinkling slightly. "The best way to deal with your opponent's mistakes is-"
She doesn't move, but the scarf does, seeming to pull her arm behind it. It strikes forwards like it's been wrapped around an invisible snake, fluttering soft 100% cashmere streaking right towards Kyo's flaming palm. This shouldn't hurt; it should in fact be a slightly ticklish gentle caress. The problem is, of course, the vast quantities of Soul Power bursting down along it, using the natural fibers like a lightning rod!
"Make one yourself!" Rose concludes, which may be truer than she thinks.
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Rose's Aura Scarf.
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Kyo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Rose
"Gosh," says Kyo, rather insincerely. "If you keep talking like that, you're gonna make me blush." But try to force him into making a mistake? That might actually be the best strategy for dealing with someone as severely humility-deficient as Kyo Kusanagi. So as the scarf-turned-lightning rod of psychic energy comes towards him, Kyo moves... Into it. It strikes quite easily, almost paralysing his arm with the sudden surge of Soul Power, but it's not enough to completely forestall Kyo's forward charge. "Oooh... /Almost/," he says in faux commiseration with the mystic woman, lifting his fiery right hand into the air as he gets closer...
And then Kyo sweeps his hand across his body, summoning forth a huge, hellish torrent of sacred Kusanagi fire, a furious storm that seeks to overwhelm Rose's defenses entirely through sheer power. "Now just... TURN TO ASHES!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Rose with Orochinagi'.
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Rose
Rose tilts her head forwards and breathes in as the fire smashes towards her. It sears the tile, even if the chi isn't the same, quite, as rational fire. She raises one arm up, glittering - and then the flame courses over her, ripping at her clothing and pressing her back like a searing hand slamming against her entire body. She resists - one heel digs in, snaps, and then she skids back, coming up with her back nearly against the soot-blackened window behind her. Fortunately, Hot Topic's front gate was closed, preventing the T-shirts from being destroyed.
"Oooh," she echoes, if weakly. "Almost." Then the scarf moves; tattered and singed but still intact! It twists ahead of her, first, and an arc of faint luminosity appears before she swings it again. This isn't terribly remarkable or threatening. However, the soul spark that bursts out, hits the arc of light, and glows bright enough to sting unprotected eyes and cast sharp shadows on everything in the mall for a single moment is probably both!
It streaks out towards Kyo, leaning very slightly to the left - perhaps Rose is anticipating evasion - as Rose herself rests her back against the ridiculous circular faux-rock arch. She /thinks/ her hair isn't on fire, but she is not nearly certain.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Kyo with Aura Soul Spark.
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rose
Well, like they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Kyo makes a faint noise, somewhere between impressed and disgusted, as Rose proves tough enough to survive the Orochinagi, and to have enough werewithal to launch a powerful attack of her own. Kyo was, of course, in the process of advancing on Rose when this happened, and he aims to slip out of the way when the massive Psycho Power blast comes his way, but he unfortunately goes to the left, getting hit full on. Okay... That one kinda hurt.
Staggering and stumbling, Kyo nevertheless presses on, his entire being focused on the singular goal of trying to hit Rose one last, desperate time. Hopefully hard enough to take her out with him as well, a sudden rushing punch powered with an explosive blast of Kusanagi flames. "THIS IS THE FINISH!!" True one way or the other.
COMBATSYS: Kyo can no longer fight.
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Rose 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects 182 Shiki from Kyo with Soul Reflect.
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Rose 0/-------/-----==|
Rose is actually smiling when Kyo dashes towards her. Just, she thinks, as planned. She doesn't use the scarf, instead raising a hand to meet his fist. She breathes out with great force, something glimmers -
The great force of the Kusanagi flame hits something. There is a shocking flash of sunlight yellow brightness which fades, Rose staggering backwards for a moment afterwards and wincing. Now, that kind of effort stings. "Hooh," she breathes out, straightening...
And then leaning back against the nearby wall. "Well done," she says, without much energy.
...And in turn, Kyo rebounds back off of that 'something', staggering and ending up sitting flat on his ass. "Tch," he mutters, faintly annoyed with himself - an important distinction from being mad at Rose for beating him. But really, being a sore winner is more his style than being a sore loser, you know? "Guess you weren't just for show," he allows, a reluctant compliment from the reigning World Warrior. "But don't think it'll go that way next time." A rematch? Of course there'll be a rematch. People able to fight Kyo to a standstill, and ultimately edge out a win don't come along every day.
So naturally Kyo has to fight her again later and win. That's just how it works.
Log created on 18:49:42 01/09/2008 by Kyo, and last modified on 06:05:04 01/10/2008.