Description: In 20X6, a monster attacked Venice. Wading through the canals, it destroyed men and boats with impunity. Thankfully, we have captured it on grainy, motion sickness-inducing cinema verite so that you, the viewer, can witness the carnage firsthand. If you look in the final shot, you'll see something fall in the water in the background... PROTIP: It's Hayato. (Winners: Frei and Kyosuke)
Boats!
This doesn't mark the first time Frei Renard has fought on a moving vehicle for an SNF (he's lost track of those), or the first time one of those vehicles was a boat floating through an old European city (only the one, there); however, while the chi prodigy might normally be thrilled about this sort of venue -- he's never been to Venice -- you wouldn't know it to look at him. It's not exactly 'Saturday night' at the venue; in fact, the afternoon sun gives the water-bound Italian city a veneer of red-orange. Frei himself is currently sitting in a gondola that's idling just off the quay near Piazza San Marco, while the towering white Basilica in the background and the area at its feet are thronged with viewers. While traffice down the Grand Canal has been rerouted or delayed for the duration of this bruise cruise, the harbor is still home to all sorts of boats: ferries from the islands and the mainland, even pleasure craft of people watching the fight up-close.
Not that it matters to the monk, whose normally expressive face is dulled with... boredom? Ennui? Something to that effect. Even the gondoleer's attempt to engage him in conversation is so much wasted time, which for anybody who knows Frei, would definitely be disconcerting. The boats, especially wide and with slightly less tall keels and sterns to accomodate the movement of fighters between them off and on, slosh gently back and forth in the water as official SNF gondoleers punt them into place at the mouth of the Grand Canal. Where are the rest of the fighters? That remains to be seen...
Venice... Hayato's never been before. And of course, that means spending some time playing the tourist. Luckily Hayato arrived with plenty of time to kill before the fight. And as he arrives for the battle, it looks like he managed to pick up a souvenier. Venice, of course, has a long tradition of masks, and Hayato seems to have found one that suits him. It covers his face above the mouth, most of it a simple white but with some red decoration in a shade that match's the gym teacher's clothing. It also features a long, pointed nose that really seems to qualify more as a 'beak'.
Hayato doesn't seem inclined to remove it, as he keeps it on even when he leaps onto one of the waiting gondolas, causing it and its neighbors to rock alarmingly. Thankfully none of them capsize. And why would Hayato fight with a mask that could obscure his vision, and will probably get broken anyway? Why, for the extra challenge, of course! Sure, winning the fight is all well and good, but it's much more satisfying when Hayato throws in a few extra goals for himself.
Boats indeed, and on water. There was nothing amis with either scenario, just that these were particularly -close- to the water, and knowing just how brutal a fight like this could get...Well. Kyosuke, immaculate in white and carefully styled hair-- you could see just why he might not be particularly thrilled about the idea of falling in. And knowing Murphy's law, why he just grimaced privately to himself. Still he'd not let any of his misgivings about looking like a dunked wet cat get in the way of whatever strategy he might have to employ, anyone who thought that might be a factor would be sorely mistaken.
His jumps from gondola to gondola is none the less, lightly stepped such that the vessels shake very little, and he picked out a path towards his bored partner. He had not had the pleasire of fighting with Frei within recent history, and though he'd taken sometime to glance at a few of his styles inbetween writing up some reports...Well. No telling how the day itself would turn out. "Tstukitomi-Renard." A nod and a cool greeting, Kyosuke settled in standing next to the other, his gaze even with a faint smile on his lips.
Another week, another battle in a strange new land. This time - Europe. Ayame is dressed in one of her usual outfits, a mixture of punk, goth, and downright strangeness. The strawberry-blonde has her boat assigned to her as she's off to the side idly leaning against a six foot long titanium pole that serves as her primary weapon in combat. Brown eyes have scanned over the other participants briefly. There is the strange young man she encountered not long ago. He's a professional fighter then, the girl concludes. Strange, he didn't seem the type to her. Then again, most would say the same about the street rogue turned pit fighter as of late.
She likes this scenario. Fighting atop boats floating down a river? It plays to dexterity and maybe even some dirty tactics, and she's got both in spades. Brushing her hand against her blouse idly she stands up straight, hefting her staff up to rest against one of her shoulders before she charges forward, flipping up into the air and coming down on the gondola opposite of Frei's courtesy of a overcrossing stone bridge.
Her partner is studied with a somewhat skeptical look. "Heya teach," the girl remarks, right hand coming up in a snappy salute toward Hayato. "So you teach what, exactly? I hope it's a course in ass kicking, because I don't want to have to carry your weight for you in this fight." she points at herself with her thumb before settling her attention on Kyosuke, grinning just a little. Looks like a preppy kid to her. "Hey, study hall is back that way!" Ayame calls toward Kyosuke, waving her hand toward the side with a smirk and shrug.
Finally she brings her attention back onto the discontent looking Frei and her mouth closes. Seems she has no sass for the chi master, but something about the glimmer in her eyes suggests she's very interested in having encountered him again.
The use of his full last name appears to snap Frei out of whatever it was he was absorbed in... but not for the better. Noticing Kyosuke, he pushes himself to his feet and nods a greeting to the Taiyo disciplinary chair. However, following that nod is a taut sort of statement: "Frei is fine... or just Renard, if you prefer last names." His countenance takes on a hard look as he follows, grinding out the words: "Believe me, there's no Tsukitomi left in this body." Oh no there is not. Not if it means following in the footsteps of the only other public fighter to use the name lately...
If the audience were psychic, they could see the sudden burst of images in his head, of Mizuki's bloodied body lying on the YFCC doorstep. Of a coldly amused brother standing right before him not weeks before.
He's not having a good day.
Glancing over at the other gondola, the monk takes in the sights. Hayato he knows of by reputation only, but everything he's heard has been positive. ...well, mostly positive. Frei knows too many Taiyo students for EVERY report to be glowing, but the PE teacher certainly has their respect if not their undying love. The other person... well. For a moment, his emo expression breaks into a look of surprise. The name on the fight card... did not lead him to expect *this* individual, of all. He nods to Hayato, and then turns to Ayame to give her a little wave. "Hello... Ayame," he adds. After all, he just threw out his own name. She might have reasons for going by 'Ayame' now... or hell, the name she given last time might even be a nickname.
Shortly after, however, the announcer gives the ready shout, and then the call to begin. On cue, the gondoleers begin punting the boats toward the Grand Canal, heading for the lazy S-curve that snakes through Venice. Frei, for his part, doesn't attack just yet. Instead, he watches everyone carefully. "Let's... let's get this over with," he says with some resignation.
Something is definitely wrong there.
COMBATSYS: Frei has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ayame has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Hayato has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
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|-------\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Frei focuses on his next action.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato tosses his shinai up into the air, turning to glance toward Ayame. "Oh, I'm the phys ed teacher at Taiyo." His hand snaps out, catching the shinai without looking at it. "The ass kicking is strictly an extra credit option." He then turns toward Kyosuke, taking a step forward, shifting his weight and causing the gondola to rock dangerously. "I expect to see a good fight out of you, Kyosuke! You know what'll happen if you don't do a good job represnting Taiyo." The grin that he gives Kyosuke is more friendly than menacing, at least to an outside observer. It's perhaps less reassuring for Kyosuke. Hayato can get pretty creative with punishments. Not that he'd punish Kyosuke for losing... as long as he does a good job trying.
The teacher then steps back, allowing the boat to right itself. Gripping the shinai with his right hand, he slams his fist into the palm of his left. He then takes a moment to reach up and adjust his mask. Wouldn't do to have it slipping over his eyes. "Now then..." He turns from looking in Frei and Kyosuke's direction to shoot a grin at Ayame. "Ready to have some fun?"
COMBATSYS: Hayato takes no action.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
It was a measure of his own partner by the response he got. Kyosuke nodded once, accepting this. "Frei it is then." Only a fool would miss the other's sheer loathing for the other part of his birthright, and he saw no gain in antagonising someone who was to watch his back in this fight. That and he just wasn't in a good mood at all. Just why that is, the younger twin would have no idea, but he factored it in aswell for what was to come.
He recognised the older of the two who joined them, flashing the other a rare grin, it subsided into a genuine smile, "Nekketsu-san, you know that I hold representing Taiyo at the forefront of many of my duties, you can expect no less from the head of the Morals Committee." Ayame was right when she pegged Kyosuke as a nerd, and as if to mock her, he adjusted his glasses with a glance in her direction. "Today's going to be a practical experience, studying's over for today." Settling within himself, he affected the cool and control persona once more-- not that it ever shifted much from that center point.
If Hayato thought he was going to punish Kyosuke, he'd have to wait! "Whatever's bothering you, try to set it aside." He said lowly for Frei alone, "If you can." An add on, he'd have to see just how much it'd affect his partner. Kyosuke advancd, but not with a fancy flying leap to the others, infact, a glow gathered about his hands as he moved slicing before him with a manifested arrow-head of chi, two that spiraled right for his Phys-ed teacher. He knew what the other was capable of, and if he could toss him off balance at the get go--
As Frei greets her, Ayame actually calms down a moment, lowering her staff to her side as she looks the young man over quietly. She answers with a nod of acknowledgement at first before adding, "Why so glum, I haven't even started to stab you yet?" The somewhat disturbing smile that works its way across her lips suggests she's... only half kidding. "If you want it to end quickly, I can help with that," she states with a wink.
Hayato gets her attention next though and Ayame looks him over a second time. Now that she thinks about it, the man looks like he's strong enough to certainly hold his own, silly mask or no. "All right," she states, grinning just a little, finding his enthusiasm at least satisfactory. Teachers in Southtown really aren't made of the usual stuff, that's for sure.
Kyosuke's reply isn't missed either, the young rebel-hellion looking the well dressed youth over skeptically, "All right, well, don't lose your glasses in the drink. Nothing sadder than beating up on a blind guy," she remarks with a shrug.
But Kyosuke's movement toward Hayato indicates that this fight is now in progress and Ayame shuts her mouth for a moment, twisting around to face Frei once again. There's a flurry of mixed emotions in the girl's face as she clenches her right hand and tightens her left hand's hold on her staff. Spreading her feet apart a little as if to secure her balance on the boat now in motion over the surface of the water, Ayame fixes Frei with a focused look. "Hey, learned a new trick..."
The change is pretty obvious as the girl begins to draw heavily from the world around her, hair ruffled as chi begins to manifest in a visible spectrum around her, a mixture of light and dark blues as it swirls around her feet and up around her shoulders... "Guess I have you to thank for this," the girl states, her voice slightly strained.
COMBATSYS: Ayame gathers her will.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Whatever's bothering him, huh... the monk is still playing that over in his head as Kyosuke leaps from their gondola at Hayato, leaving him to face Ayame... who is, in fact, displaying a 'new trick'. He blinks a couple times, remembering her unusual behavior when last they met. 'How are you doing that?', she'd asked. And he'd told her. And now she's doing it, somewhat. Not with ease, but she's doing it. An interesting case.
But he can't sit there forever, and Frei does indeed try to do what Kyosuke asked. He has problems, but there's more pressing issues right now. "If I want to end it quickly, there's more appropriate people to ask than you," he says evenly, setting his foot on the edge of his gondola and then pushing off, flipping into the air just as Kyosuke did, the gondoleers of his now-abandoned boat trying to compensate for the sudden loss of weight.
Meanwhile Frei is descending toward Ayame torso-first, hand extended. If he can get a grip on her shoulder or upper arm, the monk suddenly turns his momentum into offensive power, flipping forward and taking Ayame with him, looking to slam her face-first into the bottom of the boat, the whole while letting chi flow from his hands. He's not disguising his emotions, but he's apparently conflicted; some of the energy is a bright red cascade of flame, while the rest is simply a haze of chilly silver light.
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Kyosuke's Cross Cutter.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
If Kyosuke's not going to bring the fight to him, Hayato is just going to have to bring the fight to Kyosuke! Of course, this is made somewhat more difficult by the electric blast headed in his direction. Luckily there's a way to kill two birds with one stone. Hayato crouches for a moment, then springs up into the air. This sets the gondola to rocking wildly, and sends ripples out that shake the other boats nearby, but what does Hayato care? He's smoothly sailing over all of that, along with Kyosuke's attack.
Of course, he has to come down eventually... But he's counting on that. As the Burning Phys Ed Teacher descends toward Kyosuke he moves his arm into position for an overhead swing with his shinai. Bad enough when Hayato's just standing on the ground, but now he's got all the force of his leap behind it as well. It might have been a good idea to think about whether or not the gondola will actually survive his landing, but it's too late for that now!
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Hayato's Fierce Strike.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Kyosuke was quite content to remain without leaping and flipping across the boats, as this would minimize his chances of falling in the drink so to speak...atleast, while it was convenient too. And right now, it was. If Hayato came to him as he was want to do by his quite expertly manuvered leap into the air, then he would be able to take the other's measure just as well. Frei left his size, pairing off with Ayame, and though his attentions had turned to the teacher-- he'd still keep the other in his fringes. No point in facing off in a matched fight if you didn't try to atleast work together.
The Imawano side-stepped slightly, lifting one arm to just divert the fall of the other's shinai as it descended along with it's weilder, dark eyes gave away anothing...the gondola he was standing on would be a bit stressed very soon though. Even as the weight of the strike thrummed against his arm, Kyosuke flashed up the other, a crackle following in its weight along with a pillar of pale blue-white chi, electrical in nature. The wood of the boat protested, and began to crack with the rumble.
COMBATSYS: Ayame blocks Frei's Charged Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Rooted in place with concentration, Ayame isn't making any move to slip away as Frei takes to the air in a flip toward her. Teeth gritted, the young fighter's eyes track his movements giving her the timing she needs to deal with the attack. At the last moment she takes a step to the side, avoiding being bowled over easily by the momentum he was packing and giving her a better chance to twist the shoulder caught in his hand.
The blue aura building up around her collapses, pouring over the floor of the boat for a moment before vanishing completely. Free of being slammed she winces just a little, the flame of his touch having seared the bare skin of her shoulder. She'll manage though...
Kicking her right foot down, she knocks one of the stowed oars up at an angle next to her, hand snapping out to sieze it from the air... And then Frei has a flurry of swift swings from both her staff and the oar to deal with as Ayame tries to drive him back and claim this gondola as her own!
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Random Weapon from Ayame with Fierce Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hayato
Frei already knows Ayame is a deft fighter from their previous meeting in combat; that she is able to wriggle out and make the most of her poor defensive position against that throw is no surprise. Thankfully for Frei, however, he took the time to think the situation over before leaping into it, and when the improvised dual-weapon technique starts in on him, he's ready for it. The first strike with the staff smacks clear into the side of his head, causing him to wince with pain... but somewhat unexpectedly, it doesn't bowl him over. Apparently it's either hollow in there, or filled with rocks.
Either way it doesn't look good for him, does it?
The oar, however, does not fare so well. Moving quickly, Frei snaps an arm around it and *yanks* backwards, a momentary tug-of-war ensuing. His face is calm as he says to the young lady fight, "Sorry... but I only walk into being hit in the face so many times per person." Wrenching the oar free, he pivots on one foot and swings it for Ayame like a baseball bat, intending to catch her in the stomach and fling her *off the boat*... toward another gondola, a bridge, a wall, Hayato... whatever's handy. The sudden swirl of wind around the weapon gives it the extra kick needed to compensate for Frei's relatively weak physical power, too.
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Kyosuke's Lightning Uppercut.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hayato
After smacking Kyosuke's arm with his shinai, Hayato is quick to pull both of his arms back in preparation for an assault from the student. A good idea, because he doesn't even get a chance to land before the pillar of electricity shoots upwards. Sparks fly off of Hayato's arms, but the blast isn't enough to knock him back and into the water, though it is enough to keep him from landing directly on top of Kyosuke.
Now, though, they're both sharing one gondola, which means there isn't exactly a lot of room to move around. And water is starting to seep in through the hull. Not that Hayato is focusing on that. He's focused on grabbing Kyosuke by the front of his jacket with his left hand, then wrenching the youth up off his feet before driving a punch toward his face. Ideally, this will leave only one person in the gondola. There are others, though. Kyosuke might be lucky enough to land in one.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke dodges Hayato's Power Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hayato
Not landing on the student was a good thing by Kyosuke's reckoning. The structure of the boat had certainly weakened, and it was time that they picked a new one, since if any of the strikes pushed them to the ground on this one, it was liable to fracture. He was a little disappointed the other managed to avoid most of his attack, but then not really suprised. What kind of teacher would Hayato be if he didn't, and for all his annoying persistence, Kyosuke did like him. Just, he needed to not ever suggest he do sumo wrestling. Ever. The mere thought alone was like...well, let's leave that unsaid.
One word summed it up though: Weight-gain. Ok, maybe two.
Hayato managed to gain a hold on his jacket, but Kyosuke immeadiately turned this to his advantage, twisting about he sought to return the grip on the other's front. This close, he'd try to slam him to the flooring, intent on ripping free and if successful, planting a foot on his chest to take a leap to another nearby boat! Hopefully his jacket wouldn't tear...though in all honestly, he had several more where that came from.
The light weight weapons user is knocked clean off the gondola with the power Frei's chi lends to his swinging oar. Landing in the water almost seems inevitable at first but for last second reflexes that have her snagging hold of one side of the boat and shifting her trajectory just enough to flop down into the middle of it rather than right over the side.
"Che," the girl grunts, rolling over to the side and getting up, carelessly allowing the slightly larger than normal boat rock beneath her feet as she twists back around to focus on Frei, eyes narrowed a little. She underestimated him a bit. It was hard to guage the ability of someone who was willingly walking into your attacks before after all...
Hopping forward, the girl isn't giving him a break if she can help it though, swinging her staff down hard toward his shoulder. It's mostly to try and keep him grounded long enough for her to land, because the instant her feet touch the wooden surface, she swings out with her staff to slam it against his ankles and trip him up as well.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Ayame's Medium Strike.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hayato
For a moment, the monk has a second to breathe... and time to look over and observe Hayato and Kyosuke going at it. With a faint blink of surprise, he notes the high level of skill both are showing... and is shown, not for the first time, that Taiyo is capable of turning out extremely competent fighters with unnerving regularity. He had thought to go to his teammate's aid... but apparently it's not necessary.
Unfortuantely, this means Frei's not actually paying attention when Ayame manages NOT to be blown off the side of the 'ring', Smash Brothers style. He has enough time to turn around and blink before the downward-striking staff slams into his shoulder... however, to his credit, his recovery time is *amazing*. Some sixth sense... or perhaps previous training in life... tells him that the next blow is going to be low. So he does two things: the first is that he lets the tension drain from his body, trying to go as limp as possible. The second is that blue-white energy begins to glow around both of his hands.
The gambit may or may not be successful; the sweeping strike still sends Frei off his feet, but it also does so in a very weird way: forward, not backward, as the monk had shifted his now-loose body's center of gravity to the front, subtly. And as he falls, both arms sweep out in front of him... presumably to catch himself on the bottom of the boat. In fact, they're not doing that at all; they're blasting away with a sudden swath of ice crystals at point-blank range, intending to chill Ayame to the bone. They also have the unintended side effect of freezing the wood on the bottom of the gondola *solid*... and frozen wood tends to be very brittle.
Then Frei falls onto said brittle, frozen wood face-first.
Oops.
COMBATSYS: Hayato counters Strong Throw from Kyosuke with Counter Thrust.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
Kyosuke may have managed to break free of Hayato's grasp, but that's not the hand Hayato was planning to attack with. It does, however, force the teacher to very quickly rethink his situation. Very quickly indeed, since Kyosuke is coming right for him. It doesn't require /too/ much thought, however, since Hayato already has his fist raised for the punch that he'd been planning to do from the start. A slight shift of his body is all it takes for Hayato to switch from a straight punch to a blow to the top of Kyosuke's head, sending him crashing down to the boat's deck. Luckily there isn't /too/ much water in there yet, although the impact may cause that to change rapidly. Hayato doesn't seem like he's thinking about fleeing, though. He does, however, move around Kyosuke a bit, so that they're facing each other along the length of the boat, rather than the width.
Seems both Frei and Kyosuke weren't really having a good run with their boats. Kyosuke's breath exploded from his mouth, knocked down with a splash in mid-attack harhsly into the already weakened wood. It cracked alarmingly, the water already gathered there seemed to just flow in more freely, and he could see the darkness of the water clearly between the lengthening gap...Not about to lie there till he was fully submerged, he rolled from where he'd been laying chest down, his glasses remarkably firmly attached to his face. Once back up on his feet, he picked some higher ground, seeking out briefly where next to find more stable footing before turning back to his teacher. "Not bad," His tone remained conversational, choosing this monent to reassess the situation, the other was holding his own quite well. "looks like you have a few more things to teach I might have missed."
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke focuses on his next action.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to reflect Hyoushou Rengeki from Frei with Midsummer Fantasy.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Ayame
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Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
With her hit having landed, Ayame thinks she has Frei right where she wants him. Following up with a few forceful strikes now that he's down would be easy enough after all. But as the monk falls he blasts back at the girl with a swath of icy projectiles at very close range. "That's how it's going to be," she smirks, already twisting her staff up and into position to place it between her and the monk.
The surface is coated with energy, almost metallic in appearance - highly reflective. Concentration is going to force it to conjeal into the barrier she's practiced so much on being able to create to deal with attacks just like that. At least, that's the idea. The technique is rusty and while her timing is conceptually ready, the power she pours into it just isn't really remotely enough.
The mirror shimmers then shatters as ice shards slam right through it and into the girl, slamming into her hard enough that she stumbles backward with a shocked gasp. Her foot comes down at a bad angle right in front of one of the low bench seats and so when she takes her second step in order to right her balance, the girl is sent falling right over the edge of the boat.
The metallic rattle of a metal tube signals the girl's staff landing on the floor of the boat, Ayame having completely dropped it in her last ditch flailing right before having gone over the side. The splash conceals her for a moment but the annoyed youth's head comes back up a moment later as she sputters and spits, growling as she swims over to one of the other gondolas and climbs up into it with a grunt. "Stupid ice crystals," she grumbles.
She dropped her staff. Hmmm.
It takes a second for Frei to scramble to his feet on a (briefly) slick surface of his own creation, to find out that he probably shouldn't stay on this gondola much longer. The monk's gamble involved his own fall, which shattered the floor in the aft of the gondola... and these boats aren't exactly sturdy to begin with. There's a moment of indecision, before Frei shrugs and, bending to pick up Ayame's discarded weapon, takes it and leaps *up* and off the boat.
He doesn't exactly leap right for his opponent, however. Instead he seems to move parallel, hopping from boat to boat, staff in hand. And he's awfully chatty while he does so. "I think... we're pretty alike... you and I..." the monk says conversationally, gasping for breath breaking up his conversation. "I understand that... a little better... now, I think." Finally, he comes to a stop *ahead* of Ayame, standing not on a gondola, but on a bridge in the gondola's path, testing the weight of the unfamiliar weapon in one hand. "I felt it myself recently... some of the emotions I see in what you do. All I can say to that is..."
And here, Frei chucks the staff at Ayame like a javelin. Unwieldy, ungainly... the sheer stupidity of the toss might make it sting if it hits her, but for a nimble fighter like Ayame, the chance of that has to be close to zero. Frei's aim is terrible.
"...I'm sorry," he finishes, having thrown the item. "I truly am."
Hayato grins at Kyosuke. He knows the student is playing for time... Kyosuke's a clever kid, after all. He can come up with some quite impressive strategies. And despite knowing this, Hayato doesn't press the issue. "Oh, it'll be a long time yet before I've taught you /everything/ I know. Always got to keep at least a few tricks up my sleeve!" And then Hayato finally seems to notice the water seeping into the boat. Although at this point it's more 'gushing' than 'seeping'.
It doesn't take much longer for the teacher to decide that moving might be a good idea. Luckily there are still other gondolas floating. A quick leap takes Hayato to one that's in much better shape. A backwards leap. Hayato is quite confident in his ability to land, and he doesn't want to take his eyes off Kyosuke right at the moment. Amazingly enough, he does actually land smoothly, settling into a defensive position. It seems unlikely Kyosuke's just going to sit there and try to attack from afar while his footing sinks. Waves of orange energy start radiating off Hayato as he clenches his hand around his shinai, grinning at Kyosuke. "Better think of something quick. I didn't have swimming lessons scheduled for today."
COMBATSYS: Hayato gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato knew Kyosuke well enough to realise that the student wouldn't be charging in unless if he had some sort of thought out plan to back it up. There were some downsides to this, but then anyone who knew the barest about the outstanding Taiyo representitive could gather that what he did, he did it in control. The time hadn't arrived yet where he'd need to react on instinct just yet, but he was ready to up the level just a notch, having felt out a little from his teacher. "I suppose that's fair enough, Taiyo High needs to have a reason to keep you on the payroll." Well intentioned verbal jabs, had it been someone else...the banter may not have been so light.
And he's right, Kyosuke doesn't intend to remain on a sinking boat, but the other option was to join Hayato on his, which meant accepting his terms...Still, the youth had already tempered his strengths from within, summoning as he surged foward the well of energy. Chi that resided within himself, and that of the area around them, the spike would be apparent to someone knowledgable in the area, and as a teacher...Well. By the time Kyosuke aimed to land on the other boat with narry a faint rock or two-- light stepping as he was, he moved in a similar manner like before. Except the result was definately different.
Like, an immeadiate cracking-protest different. If successful, a pillar like a torrent of chi would twist like some released dragon skyward, splintering immeadiately the boat's upper layer. His voice echoed the thunderous rumble.
COMBATSYS: Ayame catches Large Thrown Object from Frei with Weapon Jab.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hayato
It's only after she's scrambled aboard one of the NON-sunk watercraft that Ayame begins to glance back and forth, trying to figure out where her staff went. If it fell in the river, well... she'll be forfeiting the fight to go diving for it if needs be. Instead she finds Frei's holding it across the way as the boat he's on slowly completes its final cruise...
Long hair is brushed off of her face and back over her shoulder as the drenched fighter follows him, listening to what he has to say. He thinks they're alike? She doens't see it, not based on what happened before... though the young man she sees now isn't quite the same as the fight at the church, either. He lands up on the bridge and Ayame glances up at him. "Don't be," she replies with a shrug.
"If we're anything alike..." her hand snaps out, snatching her thrown staff and twirling it once over her head before positioning it in front of her in a defensive position, the entire motion done with the greatest of ease. "Which I highly doubt," she continues as she stands up straight, studying the bridge itself Frei has chosen to position himself on as the boats draw near, "Then it isn't your fault or your problem."
Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything. Mizuki's words, echoed by Ayame. They didn't ring 100% true then and they don't necessarily ring 100% true now. A part of him is actually glad that she caught the staff... a part of the monk that is dedicated to fair play, or at least as close to fair play as one can get in this sort of situation. A sudden pang of guilt crosses his face, as he realizes that he's effectively abandoned Kyosuke to Hayato for his personal battle with Ayame.
Sometimes that's just how it is.
"We fight the same," Frei says, crouching somewhat, keeping his eyes on Ayame. "We look at chi the same, anybody with an ounce of sense can see that too." Maybe you're overselling the perceptiveness of others, there, Frei. "And we both had... a need to improve, to develop, in a short amount of time. I'd call that alike. Or are you... bothered by the idea of being like me?" he asks, innocently enough, but with a rueful look on his face... as if he's asking himself as much as her.
The response will have to wait. Leaping up as the boat nears the bridge, Frei sails at Ayame from above, leg spinning around in a dropping axe kick, a crescent of scarlet fire blazing around his leg as he does so. He intends to simply slam her into the bottom of the boat... but with such a telegraphed attack, who knows what might happen.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Hayato with Super Lightning Uppercut.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Hayato
Well, so much for /that/ boat. Hayato is engulfed by the pillar of electric chi that blasts through the boat, and sent tumbling back through the air. His mask, however, survives, due to Hayato quickly tilting his head back to keep his face away from the blast. It also helps keep his vision clear, allowing him to spot a gondola below him and twist his body in an attempt to angle himself toward it.
Hayato manages to land on the gondola, but it doesn't even get a chance to bob back up after being pushed down into the water before Hayato springs off and back toward Kyosuke. With two boats rapidly sinking now, it's unclear where he's going to land... but wherever it is, he's going to plow through Kyosuke to get there. Hayato twists about as he flies, sending his body spinning like a drill toward Kyosuke, shinai held out at a ninety degree angle in front of him with flaming chi flying off of it.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Hayato's Burning Windmill.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hayato
That boat was effectly trashed by the time Kyosuke was done with it, and he was forced to abandon it as one half already sunk halfway. He wasn't soaked, but he was definately on his way to being drenched at this rate. He could feel his feet squelching in his soft shoes and he stifled a grimace. His choice of gondola happened to take them closer to where his most solidly distracted partner was ensconed in battle with Ayame. So whatever Hayate had planned-- Kyosuke narrowed his eyes. He had seen this before, but with the footing as it was, he sought to draw the other in, the chi buffeting his body as he slipped in and past the other's attack. It more than stung, but he was certain had he not anticipated the attack accordingly, another boat may have bit the...dust so to speak.
"Almost." Is all he'd say before reaching out to ensnare the other, and then of all things, throw himself back into a roll, tossing the other over head and preferably, off the boat if it all turned out according to plan. Swimming lessons indeed.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Ayame with Kouen no Tsurugi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hayato
"Fight alike?" Ayame repeats back, looking a little caught off guard by the assertion. While it's true they do overlap in ways, his use of chi is still years ahead of what she can muster yet. "Maybe I didn't show you enough of my tricks last time." Or enough weapons.
Releasing her staff with her right, her hand slips down to one of her belts, pressing the clasp and slipping it off from around her waist, allowing the dripping, coiled whip rest against the boat's floor for a moment.
While preparing, she certainly doesn't intend to just get clobbered, but telegraphed or not, Ayame finds hers shoulder struck hard, the girl stumbling back a little in the outcome. "I'm nothing like you," the girl hisses, managing to stay up right in spite the pain of her bruised and battered shoulder slowering her down a little.
And then she steps back toward Frei, lashing out with the whip, attempting to ensnare one of his arms and yank him off balance. If successful, she'll use the opening created to strike out savagely with her staff and attempt to bash him back severely before finishing by twisting his arm into a flip to send him back-first down against the boat.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Ayame's Manslaughter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Frei 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hayato
In point of fact, Frei hadn't expected to connect... but it might be that Ayame's moment of disorientation is all he needs to set up his defensive tactics for the powerful assault that follows. One of his strong points, interestingly, is that Frei is very adept at talking while defending himself, however, and talk he does. "I never said exactly the same," he bites out, cut off for a second as the whip wraps around his arm, the lash stinging him... but not shoving him off balance just yet. "But there are similarities. That was why I wanted to reach out to you."
The savage turn of the staff slams into Frei's extended palm with a meaty *smack*, stopped dead, though the calm expression twists in pain as he does so... although the monk makes that look easy, it's not, and it takes a toll on the body. "Maybe now that I've felt a little more what it's like to hurt so much... to see how important it is to have people around me that care. So I'm going to continue to care, and no amount of attitude from you is going to stop me." Shifting position, the monk lets go of the staff and suddenly *tugs* on the arm that's got the whip coiled around it. He has two goals there; one is to send Ayame completely off-balance, and another is to used the lash as a conduit for a burst of violet lightning that sparks from the monk's hand and, hopefully, into the young woman's body at the same time.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Hayato with Back Roll Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Frei 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hayato
Splash.
But let's back up a moment. Rather than plowing right through Kyosuke, Hayato finds himself stopped by the student's defenses. And the boat also manages to survive the assault, giving Kyosuke the footing he needs to grab Hayato out of the air, then send him sailing back on his way, but with even less control over his destination. And so, the splash, as Hayato vanishes beneath the surface of the canal, an emerging swear cut off before it needs to be censored for the TV broadcast.
Luckily, Hayato can hold his breath. And so he can remain beneath the surface for a time. The water is quite murky, but he has a fairly good idea of where the boat is. Now, if he can just pull this off...
From Kyosuke's perspective, the boat rocks slightly for a moment, as if it had bumped into something beneath the water. Ominous music would be appropriate now. There's not much warning other than that before two hands burst up from the bottom of the boat, grabbing for Kyosuke's ankles. If this works right, all the people watching will just see Kyosuke suddenly 'fall' right through the bottom of the boat. Of course, Hayato doesn't intend to hold him underwater for long. He doesn't want to /kill/ him. But a good underwater bearhug should hopefully disorient him long enough for Hayato to get back to the surface and find something to climb onto.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke dodges Hayato's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Frei 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hayato
The entire air of Kyosuke was that of one dusting his clothing off once he'd sent his teacher flying through the air, the splash a punctuation of soggy finality to the end of it. His jacket clung to the undershirt in an uncomfortable manner, and instead he merely set aright his glasses with a brush of his hand. Though to all eyes viewing, it didn't look out of place at all. When the other didn't surface however, the Imawano frowned faintly, tilting his head as if bemused, instead, he was listening. His gaze was sharp as he studied the rocking of the boat, unmoving from where he stood. Whatever it was he was waiting for, his reaction was sudden.
Kyosuke gave a bit of a hop, curling his legs beneath him as hidden hands shot up, and just as swiftly he swung down with a fist right through the boards if necessary aiming vaguley for where he believed Hayato's head would be. "Quit trying to get me soaked," muttering beneath his breath, he knew Hayato wouldn't hear it...but he was certain the Physical Ed' teacher would find some private pleasure in mussing Kyosuke up.
COMBATSYS: Ayame interrupts Medium Throw from Frei with Harvest's Reaper.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Hayato
Her assault stopped short once again, Ayame pauses, realizing he caught both of her weapons short this time, instead of just one. There's something a little unnerving about his capacity to keep doing that. Part of her wishes he would just go back to getting hit by her stuff again!
Making a show of yanking back on the whip, Ayame is actually taking a step forward rather than really trying to pull away, hoping to catch him off guard in the process. Unfortunately this leaves her getting jolt from the violet lightning chi that channels along the serpentine weapon and into her arm...
But it isn't enough to stop her from taking advantage of her newly freed staff, the girl sweeping it back and then up into Frei's stomach with one hand before her right hand releases the whip and joins it.
Another upward slam, this time two-handed, bears enough force to drive the young man into the air, where Ayame will follow... in order to slam him back down toward the boat /hard/. With each strike a red discharge of chi adds more to the attack than simply physical damage.
The girl lands seconds later, gasping for breath, quite winded by now. Tight lipped, she glares back toward Frei. Reaching out to her? Caring about her? "I-" She clamps up again, simply tightening her hold on her staff and maintaining her position, albeit somewhat wobbly.
He should have expected that, but Frei was not. Ayame is a highly technical fighter with a storehouse of nifty tricks and weapons. Frei is... well, he's made of :D and that's about it. Never mind that even his :D is a little muted right now. The sudden reversal of his sudden reversal catches him entirely by surprise and leaves him utterly defenseless as Ayame... well, basically beats the bejeezus out of him. The chi-infused staff rings out as it slams into him and the twirl sends him to the bottom of the gondola. He's not very heavy; the monk actually *bounces* off the boat.
Slowly, however, he gets to his feet, wiping a hand across his mouth and shaking out his arms. He may be battered but he's far from broken... mentally or physically. "You've got potential... a lot more than I do. You did all this on your own... I needed help. But I still think there's something you're missing." He pauses, then shrugs with his typical self-deprecating smile. "But I guess that's enough drama for one night, right? We're probably boring the SNF audience." And with that, seamlessly, he moves from conversation to combat, lunging forward to hopefully snap Ayame around the wrist and then fling his arm *upward*, like throwing something underhand, but without letting go. The plan is to fling Ayame straight up... and throw a sudden burst of gold-orange energy that appears in her path. Maybe if the attack is complex enough, she won't be able to avoid it...
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Hayato with Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Hayato
Unfortunately, Hayato can't really see all that well, what with being under the boat, and it takes him a moment to wrench his hands free. And those hands give Kyosuke a pretty good target when aiming for Hayato's head. The fist connects solidly with Hayato, sending him sinking back down into the water. It also doesn't do much good for the boat, which is now rapidly taking on water. And what Hayato's about to do next won't help much, either.
Swimming back up, Hayato grabs onto the edge of the boat and pulls down. It's low enough in the water by this point that his weight is almost enough to capsize it completely, but not quite. It'll still be a /few/ moments longer. And since the boat doesn't sink, Hayato's able to use it as leverage to drag himself up and out of the water. With water spraying everywhere, Hayato whips himself around and launches himself feetfirst at Kyosuke. Flaming chi bursts through the spray, surrounding his feet as he attempts to plow both of them into Kyosuke's torso. And he still hasn't had a chance to breathe yet. He should probably do that soon.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Hayato's Devastation Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
It didn't take a star student to realise that breathing, as part of the human course of physiological occurances was a bit of a necessity that even skilled fighters like Hayato had to succumb too at some point. The teenager had once more balanced himself adjacent to the hole, his poor shoes assaulted yet again by further sketchy-purity water. Wearing white really came with its downsides. With a narrowed gaze, he braced himself, senses straining for where next the Hayato-shark would surface, not having to wait overly long for the boat-wrenching event.
His hands whipped through the air as he found his balance again, backing up when the pitch drew down. Hayato it seemed had every intent on sending him into the drink, the calculated force behind that two-footed kick certainly enough to knock him off and in with a sizable splash of his own. Kyosuke fought literally to keep himself as dry as possible, turning barely intime to avoid the heavier hit, but not the chi that powered it, a low grunt supplying the dull thud. He spun and lashed out with a kick of his own. It would be too much to hope the force would be enough to send him back in the drink.
"Am I going to get any extra points for this if we win?" You know, to make up for the classes he may have perhaps maybe not been sort of present for. It was possible.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Ayame with Fast Throw.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\=------\1 Ayame
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
The batteriing didn't come without a cost though, as Ayame is already relying on her staff to stay standing as Frei gets back to his feet, the girl breathing hard, fingers flexing and unflexing as she works at maintaining her balanace. She should've expected as much from the monk. He wasn't a pushover the last time she fought him, even with all his lecturing, sympathizing, and repeated extentions of friendship throughout the whole ordeal. Dealing with him in a competative environment where he's really trying, albeit not cheerfully so, puts him perhaps a bit out of her league.
The girl doesn't aggress while he gets up. Partially because of her condition, but there is the thought in her mind that she wouldn't have even been able to deal the last attack were it not for him tossing her staff back to her. Fighting has never been an honorable sport in her mind thus the gesture does have her reeling a little. Besides, if she digs into him again, she might not hear what he has to say and just like last time his words come from a perspective that pique her curiosity even if she tries to ignore him.
"Missing something, eh," she replies. "Well, I'm sure I'll be able to find whatever it is and take it eventually." she half shrugs, the best she can manage in her present stance. That isn't to say she isn't paying attention, and he certainly gives fair warning as he goes back on the offense, but the teen fighter just doesn't have it in her anymore to defend herself properly.
Her arm grasped, she finds herself twisted and flung straight up into a blast of that golden hued energy he blasts into her path. Gritting her teeth, Ayame pries her arm free at the last moment, but it's too late to to save herself as she gets shoved through the blast and launched up a little further for her trouble.
Were her trajectory any more shallow she would have simply come right back down into the water, but as fate would have it the girl lands right on a bridge as the gondola passes on beneath it. Grunting, she pushes herself up to her feet one last time with a sigh, limping over to the other side of the bridge to watch the boats come out on the other side. By the time they do, she's got a boleadoras in her right hand which she's spinning idly over her head.
A quiet look is given Frei before she flings the weapon, sending the three linked weights hurtling toward him, aiming to entangle his legs and perhaps leave him poorly situated to do any boat hopping for a little while.
Hit or miss, she simply turns and leans against the block wall of the bridge, sinking down into a seated position against it and exhales. That's one boat right she's glad to be done with at least.
COMBATSYS: Ayame can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Ayame's Hijacked.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Frei 1/-======/=======|===----\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
Although he's not known for moving quickly, it would appear that growing up learning battoujutsu has done a lot for Frei's reflexes when it comes to sudden, quick movements; the bolos fly toward him and, at snakebite speed, he snaps out a hand and catches them. There's a wince of pain as one of the weighted spheres smacks into his wrist, but it's nothing the monk can't handle, apparently. He smiles faintly at Ayame. After all, he knows exactly what he thinks she's missing, and the idea of her taking it from him... that actually brings a smile to his face. He told Mizuki he didn't know how to fight his own brother, and not in a physical sense at all. But perhaps if he thought it over, his relationship with Ayame -- brief though it is -- has an inkling.
Oh right. SNF.
Laying the bolos down in the boat, Frei runs to the aft and realizes that his and Ayame's boat is well in the lead, Kyosuke and Hayato's boat-hopping massacre being somewhat behind them. But... still, Frei has a reputation for being somewhat of an artillery type when it comes to team combat, and this is certainly a time that such skills are called for. "Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive my somber tone," he says cheerily, hands down at his sides, orange-red energy glowing in each. "I know you expect certain things from me every week, and well... it's mean of me not to deliver."
Then he stands on the back of the gondola, voice ringing out. You can almost hear the BGM swelling in the background, if you think about it. "These hands of mine are burning red!" Bringing both hands up he cups them to his side, the glow intensifying. When it comes to amping power through emotions... there are few who have it down better than Frei. "Their loud roar tells me to seize victory! Bakuretsu... God Finger..."
He moves to aim. Hayato appears to have moved.
With a bridge between them.
...oh well.
"SEKI HA!" the monk shouts, thrusing both hands forward, a miniature sun of chi force blazing around his extended palms. "TEN KYO KEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" With a sound like a roaring bonfire, the golden blast of chi flies forth at *amazing* speed. The bridge is like paper, reduced to dust in an instant... and god help anyone ELSE who gets in its way. Especially Hayato.
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Kyosuke's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Frei's Hizashi Ronde.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
It's going to take something pretty major for Hayato to forgive skipping class! He manages to leap out of the way of Kyosuke's kick, but it leaves him balanced rather unsteadily on the edge of the gondola. Just as well, considering what's coming. "Perhaps! But you haven't won it yet!" And then the bridge behind him explodes. Hayato's eyes widen, and he leaps off the boat into the water under his own power. Water's not much of a shield, but it's something.
And it also means that Hayato is out of sight for a few moments. And when he comes back into view, he's crawling up out of the water at the edge of the canal. Hey, if people can stand on bridges, Hayato can use this to traverse some ground! He's not going to be there for long. On foot, it doesn't take Hayato too long to catch up with Frei's boat. Of course, it's a pretty long leap from the edge of the canal, but it doesn't seem to deter Hayato, as he leaps with a long flying kick. Frei will have plenty of time to see him coming, but will that be enough?
Bt standing behind Hayato, he got a fine view of Frei's theatrics and attack. The sudden flare of chi and golden light made him pause with a widening of his eyes. He just didn't, oh yes he did. Whatever he was going to reply to his teacher was left for later, too busy scrambling for the next closest gondola which happened to be really, the other side of the canal. Solid ground once again underfoot after a spin-flip out, he was further than his target than he wanted to be. Whether he thought Frei could handle the 'burning spirit' PhysEd teacher on his own, Kyosuke would have to leave it to the other while he raced to rejoin them.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Strong Kick from Hayato with Tenrai Enbu.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frei 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|
The monk's fingers are still trailing gold light as he brings them down to his side and takes a deep breath. That move takes a lot out of him... there's all that shouting, for one. Echo effects are hard to do! The suddenly disintegrated bridge causes him a brief moment of concern, but when Hayato comes flying at him through the dust, well... that's a more immediate problem! If Hayato's anything like other Taiyo graduates he probably has fists like a cement block, and anyone who's played a White Wolf game knows kicks do additional damage for some reason!
Shut up, you probably thought 'Vampire' was cool when you were 15.
Deciding that giving the Burning Phys Ed Teacher a foothold on that boat is an ABSOLUTE bad plan, Frei does the only thing he can think of: he leaps INTO THE KICK. This is probably not 100% smart and the... well, *cracking* sound as Hayato's foot impacts Frei's shoulder in midair certainly attests to this. However, it's not enough to stop the monk's sudden forward momentum... and with superhuman effort he inverts himself, feet already glowing violet-blue with electricity, and *pushes* off Hayato in midair, hard, sending the teacher... well, somewhere. Frei himself goes hurtling toward the water... but hey, he kept him off the boat!
Well, having your intended landing spot drive back against you makes it rather difficult to actually follow through on said landing. The electric blast doesn't help, either. It's not enough to send Hayato flying all the way back toward where he came from... which means the teacher finds himself in the drink once more. (Although he would not suggest drinking from this water, having had plenty of up close experience with it by this point.)
It's really rather difficult for Hayato to stay on the offensive, since he has to keep climbing up out of the water. There's only so many tactics you can take to avoid having someone simply punch you in the face while you try to climb out. It would help if the water was shallow enough that he could put his feet on the bottom and still reach the surface, but no such luck. But there's still something he can. Hayato's left hand surges out of the water, grabbing the edge of Frei's gondola and yanking down on it hard, attempting to capsize the boat. If Frei's not quick to react, this will have the added effect of dumping Frei toward the water... where Hayato is waiting to swing his shinai up at the hopefully falling monk. (Yes, he's still managed to hang onto it somehow. The mask appears to have been lost in the water, however.)
...Hayato was really having a time of it keeping on some kind of solid footing. Skidding to a halt, he was still some distance away and left with a few slender options when it came to catching up in time. Frei's thus far managed to keep Hayato undercontrol, but he didn't care to leave his partner without some proper support a second time, "Hn," uttered beneath his breath. Short of picking up a piece of debris and chucking it at the man trying to overturn the gondola, he choose the somewhat more precise method. Inhaling deeply, he took his time to aim, just the right angle to meet water and wood in a cleaving slice of chi. Here's hoping Frei didn't get caught in the backlash. That done, he'd try to make his way on over for a more personal touch...if there were any more boats remaining.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Hayato with Hyoushou Rengeki.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Hayato
Okay. So you're fighting on water, and you probably don't want to touch it. Also someone is playing Creature from the Black Lagoon with your boat. You know that both Anaconda movies sucked so you're not going to try any of the defenses there. But wait! You DID see The Incredibles and you thought Frozone was really neat, especially since you can throw ice too...
Aha!
The capsizing Frei can't do anything about. The *shinai* he can... or thought he could. The plan was going to be to freeze the water UNDER him solid... stopping the shinai, saving himself, and being all around awesome. The problem is that Hayato's strike is faster than anticipated while at the same time Frei is already committed to his course of action. The inevitable result is that Hayato's strike smacks Frei's hand back into his own face, and the monk proceeds to frostblast himself right in the mush.
There is one minor side-effect which bears notice: as Frei's body goes flying his OTHER hand dangles uselessly, the monk hopelessly KOed. His body effectively hits... a slide of ice rather than the water, an S-shaped sheet of frozen canal sending him skidding across the surface until he hits the submerged steps of a former first-floor house (remember Casino Royale?). This leaves Frei slumped against the stairs, half in the water, half out... but at least the half OUT is the upper half.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Hayato with Cross Cutter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Kyosuke 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
And back under the water Hayato goes, this time with sparks flying off of him as the blast from Kyosuke slams into him, tearing apart a section of the gondola in order to do so. The ripples fade away with a few bubbles as Hayato sinks. But it will take more than water to extinguish the Burning Phys Ed Teacher! (Electricity and pummeling work a bit better, but it still hasn't been enough so far!)
Hayato breaches the surface several yards closer to Kyosuke than he was when he sank, swimming arm over arm through the water back toward Kyosuke, moving fast enough that he's actually leaving a bit of a wake behind him. Then he snaps both arms out in front of him, holding his shinai out at an angle as he begins spinning through the water. Flaming orange chi erupts from his weapon as Hayato continues slicing forward through the water, now even /more/ like a human torpedo, headed right for Kyosuke's gondola. Even if the student evades this attack, it's highly unlikely that there will be enough left of the gondola to stand on. But Hayato's not trying specifically to dunk Kyosuke in the water, really! Not conciously, anyway. It certainly has nothing to do with Kyosuke skipping out on phys ed during sumo training. Nothing at all.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke dodges Hayato's Burning Windmill.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Kyosuke 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Hayato
Well, that didn't quite work out how Frei had planned he was certain. Kyosuke almost winced inside when the blow hit home, he'd never know what the other teenager had planned, a little too late to help out like he'd hoped. That just meant he needed to work extra hard to see that the other's effort wouldn't be wasted in the end. That work was now headed his way, in a manner that wasn't unfamiliar, infact...it was near identical to a previous assault. Except, hissing with a tight exhalation between his teeth, Kyosuke sensed at this distance that whatever Hayato had packed behind it, it would hit far harder than the last. Much. Harder. It may not have been obvious at a glance, but he was certain this was his teacher's way of bringing him to heel.
Standing in the path of such a daunting attack would have been the uh, manly thing to do, but Kyosuke had already decided he'd like to 1) remain dry-ish, 2) win this. And he was certain that in his present state, that'd be marginally more difficult were he to brace for it. So he didn't. He turned and ran the other way. Not an entirely somber appearance, what with Hayato looking for all the world like a charging angered Jaws complete with waves of water, splintering through lesser vessels.
When it looked like Kyosuke wouldn't stop till he reached the other side of the city, once the opposite side of the cannal was reached near level with the water, he spun on his toe, crouching in one. Waiting timing it till the other got close before throwing himself back, with a kick that sliced from the water's surface high into the air--
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Kyosuke's Super Shadow Cut Kick.
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Kyosuke 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato may not be quite as at home in the water as Nagare, but his athletic abilities extend to aquatic endeavors as well. And since he's in the water /anyway/, he might as well make use of it. Once Kyosuke reaches the edge of the canal, it's obvious that Hayato's not going to be able to hit him... but slowing down quickly enough to avoid getting kicked is also not going to happen. But Hayato can at least redirect his momentum, diving back beneath the surface to avoid the attack.
And then, of course, Hayato has to surge back up. How else is he going to hit Kyosuke? Direct strikes are too obviously, though, so Hayato has to keep being tricky. How long can he keep this up? Long enough, hopefully. Surging up out of the water, Hayato grabs the prow of a gondola tied up by the edge of the canal. Heaving up on it, Hayato swings the boat up and around. Of course, Kyosuke can avoid it by simply stepping back... but maybe he won't think of that! And if Hayato misses, well... He can just duck back below the water before a counterattack. Hopefully.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Hayato's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hayato
His moment hesitation might have cost him a clean escape, but then it's not everyday that someone can confess to being swung at with a /boat/. And after landing from his thwarted heavy kick, he was faced with that monstrosity his teacher had managed to commandeer. Kyosuke moved with the motion so what when it hit, the lash wasn't heavy enough to do more than momentarily numb his upper arm. He'd have fallen into the water if not for grabbing a hold of it's edge and swinging himself into it, "How am I doing thus far Nekketsu-san?" amusement plainly in his voice where it failed to reveal itself upon his cool features. Continuing his amusement when he spicked a wicked looking punch with his momentum, driving it in for Hayato's chest, letting go to land on the boat's flooring.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Hayato with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
Lifting the boat at all is pretty much Hayato's limit, particularly this far into the fight, so once he makes the swing he's got no choice but to let it go, inadvertantly providing a platform for Kyosuke to stand on. And that leads to Hayato getting punched directly in the chest. He floats backwards, then starts paddling to remain afloat. "Pretty good, pretty good..." And then he slowly sinks out of sight. And sinks down until he touches bottom. It's mud, but at least it's something to brace against.
Hayato surges up off the bottom (losing his shoes to the mud in the process), getting enough momentum to launch himself up and out of the water to land, stumbling, on the edge of the boat. "But it's not over yet!" And it becomes apparent that he's stumbling because both of his arms are currently reaching for Kyosuke's head. If he can grab him, he follows it up with a headbutt. Then another. Then another... but he's already lost conciousness by the time he connects with the third. Or he just loses conciousness shortly after missing the grab. Either way, he then tumbles forward and probably into the water.
COMBATSYS: Hayato can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke dodges Hayato's Deep Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyosuke 0/-------/-----==|
This worked out suprisingly well for Kyosuke. He managed to get some further exposure and hone his skills a bit, plus extra credit...for missing out on certain sweat-inducing classes. Its pure efficiency was something that certainly held great appeal for the Morals Committee head. No one would look a gift horse in the mouth when it came to Hayato, though he still couldn't shirk the feeling that whatever the Physed teacher said, he should still...be mindful. Must be his imagination! Hayato would never try to come back later and settle his slacking off! Not him, oh no.
...One could keep hopes alive. He did so every day.
Kyosuke slipped his arm up, nudging aside the other's paired grab for him, feet firmly planted. The other snaked out to grab at the back of the other's clothing, and held onto it after side-stepping out of the way. "I'm going to hold you to that Nekketsu-san." He replied quietly, a frown flicking across his mouth briefly as he double-checked to see if the other was still conscious. He wasn't. He'd BETTER have heard him! If he forgot-- "Hmph."
Grousing privately, he eased the teacher to the bottom of the gondola then turned to deal with any of the crowd watching well away from the sidelines, letting it all run its course.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:00:51 02/02/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 16:54:23 02/05/2008.