Description: Kyo: "Hey, since you're a psychic, why don't you tell me what I'm thinking? Go ahead, I dare you." "They are natural," Rose answers easily, without any visible effort. (Winner: Chizuru)
Ahh, the Main Event. Exactly where Kyo Kusanagi belongs.
No shipping him out to have some gimmicky nonsense match in the middle of nowhere, no exploding buildings dropping on his head; just the roar of the crowd and his own absolute confidence that he totally deserves the acknowledgement, that he completely merits victory over whoever he ends up facing. And if they can actually put up a challenging fight, so much the better. But right now, Kyo is waiting in the wings, as the announcer gets the crowd properly fired up, just shy of actually introducing the fighters themselves.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!" bellows the announcer, with the sort of over the top enthusiasm only someone who is extremely well paid can manage, his magnified voice echoing all through Howard Arena. "This is your Saturday Night Fight MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN EVEEEEEEEEEEEENT! Introducing first, from Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan... A former King of Fighters champion, the reigning World Warrior... KYO! KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSANAGI!"
And even though Kyo is kind of a jerk, he's an extremely /popular/ jerk; the crowd, well buttered-up by the announcer, practically explodes into cheers for the Kusanagi heir, who comes out from the entryway and stalks up to the actual fighting stage at a casual pace, his right fist raised in a triumphant gesture acknowledging the crowd's cheers, his left hand at his side, thumb hooked into his pocket, basking in the acclaim with a smirk on his face.
Chizuru "Chang Chang Cha" Kagura's entry, compared to Kyo's, is a lot more sedate. She may be nearly as skilled a fighter, but she has a tendency to keep to herself in bursts followed by a spurt of activity out in the fighting scene, and she's just starting one of those flashes of activity now.
This means the crowd does not love her quite as much, although she still gets her fair share of acclaim when she steps into the arena, seemingly untouched by the noise around her. She's learned to tune it out and never plays for the crowd. Or almost never, anyway. There's a little showboating in everyone.
She steps up, giving a rather sedate nod to Kyo as he does much the same thing on the opposite side of the arena, except with a lot more attempting to draw attention to himself.
Chizuru's entry, compared to Kyo's, is a lot more sedate. She may be nearly as skilled a fighter, but she has a tendency to keep to herself in bursts followed by a spurt of activity out in the fighting scene, and she's just starting one of those flashes of activity now.
This means the crowd does not love her quite as much, although she still gets her fair share of acclaim when she steps into the arena, seemingly untouched by the noise around her. She's learned to tune it out and never plays for the crowd. Or almost never, anyway. There's a little showboating in everyone.
She steps up, giving a rather sedate nod to Kyo as he does much the same thing on the opposite side of the arena, except with a lot more attempting to draw attention to himself.
When they spoke with Rose, they told her that they wanted flash, zest, pizzazz, and other such words indicating a desire to express supernatural power and authority. So, then, after placing several guides to vocational schools of good repute in the Tokyo area into her dainty little Italian purse, Rose waited in the wings. She is watching, in fact, on a television monitor and sipping a small glass of sherry. When Chizuru reaches the proper position, she sets the glass down on a nearby table. Then she vanishes.
It is not very far, but the sudden image of Rose, flanked by two identical and translucent duplicates of herself and surrounded by motes of glittering pastel light, should draw at least a little response from the crowd. Rose herself has her eyes closed, focusing intently at the rather non-trivial feat. The duplicates fade, seeming to draw into Rose herself as they grow too faint to see. The lights go a moment later, and Rose opens her eyes.
"Hello again," she says, one hand going to her hip as she smiles towards Kyo. Chizuru gets a nod, Rose having positioned herself towards another corner of the arena, putting her at more or less the same distance from both of them.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has started a fight here.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
COMBATSYS: Rose has joined the fight here.
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Rose 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
Standing on one edge of the fighting stage, Kyo looks between Chizuru and the flashily-appearing Rose. Well... At least he knows for sure /one/ of the two people he's facing off against will put up a good fight, owing as to how he wasn't quite able to beat Rose the last time he faced off against the psychic. Tugging his gloves tight as the announcer goes through the last of his spiel, keeping the crowd red-hot for the match that's about to ensue, the Kusanagi heir then lifts his right hand again, ablaze with the sacred Kusanagi flames, letting the orange-red light they cast put strange shadows on his face.
"This is probably gonna get a little chaotic, huh?" Kyo wonders aloud of the other two fighters. "I'm surprised they put me in this at all, there's a pretty big market for girl-on-girl action." Ohhh. He means fighting of course, but double entendres are naturally superior since they have /two/ meanings instead of just a mundane one. In the background, the announcer can be heard to cry 'FIGHT!' over the loudspeaker, but Kyo... Actually just stands there.
And as he does, the flame in his hand seems to intensify, power redoubling on itself. Now who's gonna make the first move?!
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Rose 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
Chizuru is only moderately impressed by Rose's trick. She, after all, can do the same thing, and /her/ illusions don't flicker quite as much. Of course, she also only tends to use one at a time, so perhaps that's why.
She stands. "I would imagine because it's always more interesting if they don't know what anyone is going to do next," Chizuru says, raising her right hand in front of her and holding it out as she focuses as well; she makes a small circular motion with that hand, and a glimmer of light reflects off thin air in front of her.
Apparently she is the one going to make the first move. Chizuru stands exactly where she is - or maybe she runs forward, and an illusion stands still. It's hard to tell. One of them rushes straight toward Rose, though, bringing her arm upward in a rising swing before following it down again.
The standing image starts to flicker. Chizuru really did move that time.
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Shinsoku no Norito from Chizuru with Soul Reflect.
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Rose 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
"Well, Kyo," Rose says, her eyes flicking over to Kyo with serious concern in them. "I suppose that perhaps they are concerned about your future, and do not wish to waste your prime years with this sort of delay - instead, they are kindly giving you an opportunity. And -"
Hm, Chizuru seems to be moving towards her. The speed of the reflection (or is it?) is fast enough that Rose can't keep talking in reaction, instead pivoting on one expensive heel to face it head-on. Her lips purse as she has to make a split second judgment, and this time it is the proper one. She whips her scarf forwards, the thing trailing glittering light before the very tip of it touches Chizuru, right at the sacral chakra. It is a brief brush.
Of course, it also completely inverts the chi surrounding the Kagura heiress, with a bright flash and a deafening report. Rose, for her part, takes two steps back (and slightly closer to Kyo!) in the process.
What the hell is Rose even talking about? Kyo hasn't got the foggiest idea. But before the psychic can finish, or Kyo can bother to ask what she's on about, Chizuru is on the attack... Though it doesn't seem to accomplish too much, given the sudden reversal from Rose. Who, of course, promptly steps that much closer to Kyo himself. Well, let it not be said that Kyo Kusanagi is someone who wastes a good opening.
So even as Rose is taking her steps away from Chizuru, Kyo is moving closer to the mysterious psychic woman, reaching to grab her with both hands before she realises he's there. "Speaking of opportunities," Kyo says, before - if all goes as planned - hip-tossing Rose to the ground and then following her descent with his own weight, to drive his shoulder into her prone form. Kind of a douche move, maybe.
The brush against her chakra point is enough to disrupt Chizuru's maintenance of the illusion, and it no longer flickers - it shatters instead, loud and bright. Chizuru herself reels back, disoriented for a moment from the breaking of her illusion.
She recovers quickly. Not many people can do that, but it happens enough that she's able to adapt to it eventually. "Impressive trick," Chizuru says, backing away from the ensuing melee with her hand raised again, once she's recovered.
She waits. There is always a best time to act, to do anything: find it!
COMBATSYS: Chizuru focuses on her next action.
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Rose 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Rose with Issetsu Seoi Nage.
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Rose 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
Rose doesn't resist it when Kyo grapples and throws her to the ground, going limp at the last moment to perhaps avoid cracking her head open and making this a terribly undignified fight. The elbow drop hits her with a sensation that Kyo might compare to slamming into a very firm mattress; there's springiness but it's overlaying sterner, tougher stuff... which also bends slightly. Kyo is a rough fellow.
Rose groans, briefly. Then she moves, kicking herself to the side and pushing herself up on her elbows, teeth gritting. "Quite," she says, before twisting around on her way up, spinning pointlessly in the air. That is, until -
She's carrying a purse? It swings out towards Kyo from behind Rose, perhaps unexpectedly. And somehow, the black glossy leather is shimmering with the same sort of light as her scarf. And where is it aimed? Right at his face!
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Soul Purse.
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Rose 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
Meanwhile, Kyo springs off of Rose shortly after impact, rolling to one side to get room to get to his own feet, though that lets the psychic up as well; he's never been much of a ground-based grappler, anyway. Still, he doesn't get quite /enough/ room that he's out of range for Rose to make a violent reprisal in his direction, swinging an energy-charged purse in his direction. Purse? Seriously?
But, rather than hit him in the head, Rose's purse smacks against Kyo's upraised forearm, stinging but rather less painful than getting hit in the face probably would've been. "Tch... What're you carrying in there anyway, a cinder block?" Kusanagi wonders, reflecting comically on the need of some women to carry everything they might conceivably need in their purses. Am I right, fellas?
...Anyway.
Twisting around, Kyo swings up his heel in a standing roundhouse kick aimed at the side of Rose's head, aiming to drive her closer to where Chizuru is just sort of standing there, waiting for her opening. Kyo's just trying to be helpful! "Hyaa-!!"
Chizuru probably keeps everything in her sleeves instead of a purse. There is no other logical explanation for those sleeves. Seriously, look at them.
Chizuru, standing back several feet, is in a good position to watch the brawl going on for a few moments. She stands there, waiting for the most auspicious moment to act.
It comes. Chizuru steps forward, twisting /around/ Rose entirely and going in toward Kyo, ducking low; her arm comes out in a wide arc to catch him in the back of the legs and tangle him with her enormously broad sleeve, a trick she's found useful before and will probably never stop being useful as long as there are people to trip.
"Have you been practicing?" she asks, almost conversationally. She has, after all, not seen Kyo for a while. Rose she /knows/ was practicing.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Kyo's Medium Kick.
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Rose 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
Rose doesn't play ball with Kyo's idea of a good time by leaping up in the air while he swings his foot at her head! Due to this profound leap, he nearly brushes Rose's foot, but misses by an inch - and that, as they say, is as good as a mile. Of course, while she's in the air, Chizuru rushes in to take over the important job of beating on Kyo!
So Rose lands, and breathes in deeply. She lets her eyes half-close, and says, "Actually, what I had brought was on your behalf, Kyo. There are a great many people, who are worried about you..." Which is unrelated to the light shimmering and gathering around her, probably. But hey, beating sense into Kyo does require a certain degree of... well, beating.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Chizuru's Reigetsu.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|
A faint irritated noise escapes Kyo as Rose manages to completely avoid his kick... Ah well, he knew she was pretty fast in the first place. Besides, he has something much more important to concern himself with, as Chizuru is trying to toss him around; so, Kyo decides to just go with it, getting knocked right on his duff by the tangle of the Yata Clan heiress's sleeve, smashing his head against the granite of the fight stage for his trouble, with a grunt.
"Decide for yourself," Kyo chides Chizuru as he rolls from the impact with the ground, already lunging forward before he's even completely recovered, all in the hopes of catching Chizuru before /she/ is properly recovered from tripping him; sometimes, you have to create your own openings. As he gets closer to Chizuru, Kyo rears back for a moment, a sudden buildup of energy surrounding him, stirring his hair and jacket, before that same energy /propels/ him forward at the other fighter, and Kyo throws his fist out for a rushing punch... With an explosive burst of Kusanagi flames at impact!
COMBATSYS: Chizuru fails to reflect 182 Shiki from Kyo with Tamayura no Shitsune.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
The disadvantage of using your clothes to tangle someone is that it is often hard to move your limbs around for much the same reason - they're held in place with the same fabric.
Chizuru is caught still straightening when Kyo rushes forward earlier than expected, and her immediate and instinctive response turns out to be wrong. Her other hand comes around, beginning to glimmer in that very specific, very unique way that means she is about to produce a mirror in space and push the chi away from her, focusing it inward on Kyo's hand.
The fist catches her in the chin instead, hard enough to lift her off the ground and throw her back a few feet, where she skids slightly on the ground. At least she didn't quite lose her footing. Quite.
Chizuru rubs at her chin instead. That stung. "Perhaps a little. It's /one/ thing you're willing to exert yourself to improving at, I suppose."
"Oh, Chizuru," Rose says to the other woman with a sigh, "don't address him so sharply. He will only get defensive." Her attention goes back to Kyo, then, as the glowing around her fades... or more properly, /is absorbed/.
"We, along with the hard working gentlemen behind Saturday Night Fight, are concerned about your education and your future career prospects," Rose begins, swinging her purse around and unzipping it with a sudden motion --
To bring out a set of fliers, which she fans out between her fingers as if they were outsized Tarot cards. Her eyebrows raise, and she tells the young man, "You have been in school for quite some time... aren't you concerned that perhaps life may come to pass you by?" And then, to punctuate the question, she flings out the stiff-backed brochures towards Kyo; they glitter as they fly, accelerated by the energy of Soul Power! Perhaps it is KYO she truly wishes to punctuate!
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Thrown Object.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
What... What? Recoiling back from the burst of flames that sends Chizuru skidding away after the 182 Shiki, Kyo turns just in time to see Rose doing something as she makes some kind of... Is she... Is this an /intervention/?! Who cares how long he's been in high school, gosh! He doesn't need to graduate anyway; even just considering his own earnings from the fighting circuit he could probably live in comfort for the rest of his life, and on top of that he has the Kusanagi Clan resources as his inheritance. Although, Saishu /might/ live forever.
"Not really," Kyo replies dryly to Rose's question about life passing him by, as he sweeps his arm through the air and bats the brochures out of it before they can hit him solidly. "Aren't /you/ worried about life passing /you/ by?" he retorts, looking rather disdainfully at the psychic. "I mean, c'mon, telling suckers their fortune for a living? Why not take up a real career, like training dogs for the circus, or something?" As he says this, there is once again from his direction a feeling of 'pressure'... As energy builds inside of the Kusanagi heir, growing even as he speaks. "Or maybe working at a maid cafe, I'm sure you'd be just /super/ at that."
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
Chizuru, who has no job at all (other than the Orochi things she isn't about to say on international TV) wisely keeps her mouth shut for a few moments. She finished school, though! She even went to university!
Business degrees are a terrible thing, and she wouldn't wish that on Kyo, either.
Instead, Chizuru very deliberately hides the smile that is threatening to spread over her face; she's never heard /anyone/ talk that way to Rose before and it's amusing to watch him try. She holds her hand in front of her, concentrating on the mirror she's just about maintaining there on the tips of her fingers, waiting once again for the best time to act.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru gains composure.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
"Oh, I don't know," Rose says as one hand goes up to the side of her face, cupping her chin between index finger and thumb. "'Telling suckers their fortune' has worked out quite well, so far. But..."
Her posture shifts, the hand going down to her hip as she looks directly at Kyo, head lifting upwards slightly. "You know, I suppose that it would be better to train a dog than to become like one; or, perhaps, to work in a cafe than to attend one."
After the momentary pause - perhaps to let the words sink into Kyo, or perhaps just to throw him off of his usual balance and readiness!? - she snaps her scarf forwards, light flowing out and along the cloth as it coalesces into a streaking globule of shimmering light! As it flies, Rose calls helpfully, "Go left!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Soul Spark.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
Always with the globules of energy and stuff.
Kyo snorts a bit at Rose's reply, but by the time her sphere of energy is coming at him, the Kusanagi heir has braced himself and gotten both of his arms up, taking the brunt of the hit on his forearms... It stings, pretty badly too, and the remaining kinetic energy drives him back, the heels of his shoes skidding along the granite underfoot, but of course... Kyo remains standing. "Well, you definitely couldn't make it as a motivational speaker," the younger fighter says, starting to rush forward at Rose, poor Chizuru apparently forgotten... At least for the moment.
"Maybe you should just stick to running your psychic help line or whatever!" Kyo adds once he gets close enough to strike, lashing out with his right fist in a fiery punch. If that first one lands, of course, it's hardly the end of things, as Kyo then adds a second punch with his other hand, and then whirls around in a spinning kick, to smack Rose right in the temple with his heel. "Hua-!!"
Okay, power regained, Chizuru can stop standing around like an idiot now.
She decides to get in on this again, moving around to the side where she can get to the others without having to run through of them to get to the other. Specifically, she comes in sliding, down low, and at first it's hard to tell which one she's going to go after.
It turns out to be Rose, as Chizuru somehow manages to shift direction slightly in midmotion and go straight toward her, foot-first. Somehow she peels herself up afterwards without actually planting her hands on the ground at any time. Maybe she learned it from Chris.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Kyo's Aragami.
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Rose 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Rose with Heavy Kick.
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Rose 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
Rose neatly evades fiery doom by ducking down low, avoiding the Kusanagi kata (although her hair is slightly singed by Kyo's burning inner spirit). She opens her mouth to say something in counterpoint, but is greeted instead by one descending kick from Chizuru that hits her on the head just as she's straightening up, sending her crumpling to the arena floor.
But only briefly. She rises upwards as Chizuru begins to recover from her own kick, leading with the glittering surface of the scarf as she streaks it up, then twisting it around and back down as if it were a whip, aiming to transmit the painful Soul Power into Chizuru rather than strike her more conventionally with muscular force.
"I am much better in Italian!" she adds over her shoulder, for Kyo's benefit. See? Multilingualism makes a difference.
A swing and a miss! Kyo doesn't stumble or anything as Rose ducks under his attack, recovering pretty quickly... But of course by that time, the Italian psychic is busy getting kicked by Chizuru. The exchange between the two women elicits a faint frown from the Kusanagi heir, who twists on the ball of his foot as Rose makes her own attack against the Yata heiress. What's there for him to do in this situation?
Well, he can lift his foot and try to kick Rose right in the back while she's attacking Chizuru, so he does exactly that, trying to grind his heel into the base of her spine. "Well, hey, what isn't?" Kyo wonders, of Rose's assertion about being better in Italian.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Rose's Aura Scarf.
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Rose 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|
Chizuru is nowhere near the scarf by the time it actually would touch her; she's lifted up and back and is now a few feet away again, just barely enough to clear out of the way of the lash.
She lands from her jump a moment later, turns, and focuses on Kyo again. A second Chizuru leaps away from the first, coming down with a downward chop at Kyo; while that happens, the real Chizuru slowly starts to back up, hand raises again in her 'usual' combat stance.
"Where was I," she asks, more to herself than Kyo. Because seriously, who needs Kyo's advice?
COMBATSYS: Rose interrupts Light Kick from Kyo with Soul Illusion.
- Power hit! -
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Rose 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/----===/=======|
Kyo probably starts feeling bad when, mid-kick, he can see Rose seem to flash for a moment. It's fractional, and it may not even show up on the camera, but the heir of the Kusanagi flame is attuned enough to the unseen world that it can be percieved, if only just. Such is the glory of his power.
The small flash of light resolves into a form behind Kyo, a more easily seen version of the two ghostly Roses that accompanied the true one into the ring. It flickers at a rate different from the cameras' recording rate, making it seem to vanish completely for fractions of a second at a time. It kicks straight ahead while Kyo is still moving, its heeled toe aiming artfully up between his legs on an arc that will either test his athletic supporter or require him to abort his rapid motion in the kicking field.
It follows up then by reaching out with both hands to grasp Kyo's head firmly and flip upwards to a vertical position, handstanding on Kyo's dome and sending a wave of blue-flickering light straight into his brain before leaping off, landing beside Chizuru for a moment.
The clone winks at Chizuru before vanishing entirely, Rose following up with a twisting punch and a flare of green energy aimed at Kyo's midsection, before she too hops back, landing in a more wary posture. "Be more careful, next time!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Choumon no Isshin from Chizuru with Nue Tsumi.
- Power hit! -
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Rose 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/--=====/=======|
It's true, Kyo sees that slight flash, and all he can think at the sight of it is: Oh crunk. This leaves him unfortunately rather vulnerable for what follows, getting kicked in the nuts and then getting zapped, punched and zapped again, the whole experience having a very negative effect on Kyo's mood and physical condition. Indeed, for a moment the blast right to his brain scrambles the Kusanagi heir's noggin, leaving him confused about just what's going on... To Chizuru's detriment.
Indeed, the first thing Kyo perceives as he starts to recover from Rose's powerful assault is Chizuru landing and looking at him with some sort of terrible intent, so as the mirror image leaps away from the real Kagura, the Kusanagi heir is forced to make a choice based on his admittedly somewhat rudimentary supernatural senses; he lunges forward, catching the /real/ Chizuru by the wrist, and then he punches her right in the face with his other fist, adding a burst of sacred Kusanagi flames in the bargain. "STOP THAT!!"
It works either way. Chizuru actually knows how to stand in two places at once. It's a secret.
Unfortunately, doing such tends to leave her open for just a moment, and Kyo takes advantage of this; the grab of her wrist isn't actually much to worry about, but being punched in the face with a flaming fist? /That's/ more than a little bit painful.
She staggers back, but not before throwing a fast kick at Kyo's legs to try to convince him to get some distance. Pick on Rose for a moment! Or Rose's clone, although it seems to be gone now too.
Having kicked Kyo Kusanagi in the balls hard, Rose seems inclined to take a relaxing break. If she was not a ladylike Italian woman, it might be Miller time.
She breathes in and lets it out with a sigh, tilting her head when Kyo shouts at Chizuru. She folds her arms beneath her breasts for a moment before raising one, wagging a long index finger in the air and shaking her head in slow disapproval. "Kyo," she chides, "such anger does not bring results. Where are the insults? They are quite clever - almost literary!"
Light glows and shimmers around her, sinking into her body once more as Chizuru moves in to keep Kyo on the defensive. Rose seems alright with this, and lets Chizuru play herself out, likely so Rose can defeat /her/ easily and collect the funds needed to pay for the YFCC's rent.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Rose 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/--=====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Chizuru's Light Kick.
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Rose 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/-======/=======|
Well, at least Kyo's head is clearing a bit; the satisfying feeling of punching someone right in the mush can do that. But then, he notices that Chizuru is trying to kick him again, resulting in him stepping /into/ the kick and shifting his leg, blunting most of the impact as the Kagura woman's foot strikes his shin. "Not quite enough yet," he says, wagging a finger at Chizuru, but if she wants her space, she's more than welcome to it.
Straightening up, Kyo looks over at Rose as she's doing... Something that probably does not bode well. Hooking his thumbs into his pockets, Kyo assumes a casual, insolent stance - this is not a very big stretch for him - and lets out a faint chuckle. "Hey, since you're a psychic, why don't you tell me what I'm thinking? Go ahead, I dare you."
COMBATSYS: Kyo gains composure.
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Rose 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
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Kyo 1/---====/=======|
"They are natural," Rose answers easily, without any visible effort.
Chizuru hears that all the time and she's not even an actual fortune-teller. She is struck with a sudden urge to smack Kyo on behalf of mystics everywhere.
Rose saves her the need, though; she looks from Rose to Kyo again and very carefully keeps her face blank. It's a knack. She must be good at poker.
She stands for a moment with her new distance. Everyone else appears to be taking a breather, but frankly she's had enough of those for the entire match; Chizuru takes advantage of the sudden pause to rush toward Rose, swinging around behind her and sweeping in a wide arc with one of her sleeves. The sleeve actually appears to stiffen at the point of impact, making it functional for tripping instead of being about as useful as hitting someone with a scarf.
Wait, Rose has been doing that all match.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Chizuru with Sliding.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/---====/=======|
Rose glances sharply over at Chizuru and moves towards her, sinking down to the ground in reaction to Chizuru's incoming strike. This will, in theory, let her drive a spiked heel into Chizuru's calf and make the other woman hurt bad for her attempt at tripping Rose!
Then her leg gets caught in the sleeve.
Rose twirls around as she is abruptly thrown, the position making her do a three-sixty revolution in the air before striking the ground with an audible THUMP on her left shoulder. She doesn't seem to have a snappy comeback for this.
For a moment, Kyo actually looks taken aback.
No, no; clearly Rose just guessed the worst possible scenario.
Of course, Kyo being Kyo he plays it off, with a theatrical roll of his eyes before pushing dark brown bangs out of his face... Meanwhile, Chizuru trips the hell oujt of Rose! Which actually gives the Kusanagi heir a brilliant idea. Rushing forward at where the two mystics are tangled up, the younger fighter reaches to try and grab Chizuru by the back of the waist of her coat, and by one of those crazy shoulderpads, and then just sort of toss her onto the ground too. It's not exactly fancy or anything, but if she likes dropping people on their face so much, surely she can deal with having it happen to her!
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Kyo's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/---====/=======|
Chizuru does not enjoy being thrown on the ground, sir, and don't you forget it!
She straightens up rather more quickly than probably was expected, using one of those sleeves to bat Kyo's hand away from her waist and save her from being thrown across the floor. She'd /really/ have to object if he grabbed onto her shoulder pads. That's just not done. Not done at all!
Chizuru hops back once, something glimmering on her hands for an instant - before she lunges forward, past Kyo (and hopefully under his grasp) and toward Rose! She keeps her hand held in front of her, attempting to touch her with the shimmering sphere of sealing power, muttering some mantra under her breath in Japanese to herself as she does.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to reflect Reigi no Ishizue from Chizuru with Soul Reflect.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/---====/=======|
Rose may be staggering considering how long it takes her to get to her feet. When that sphere of sealing power comes up, she raises her scarf in a twirling flurry of light and strives to overcome that supernatural force!
It flashes. Rose's scarf goes limp as she winces, visibly, staggering back and looking ashen as she looks around at a world that seems to have, in a metaphorical sense, lost its color.
She isn't glowing at all now, and she looks back at Kyo and Chizuru with some trepidation.
Nope, Kyo isn't even /close/ to grabbing ahold of Chizuru there, and is instead left with little to do as she takes it to Rose again... Pretty effectively! Sucks to be Rose, it would seem. The Kusanagi heir isn't one to just sit there and do nothing at a time like this though, which is why as Chizuru may well be celebrating her very solid hit against the Italian psychic, Kyo takes two quick steps and then leaps into the air.
Twisting himself horizontally as he goes, Kyo stretches out one leg and tucks the other one in, describing an incredible, physics-defying arc through the air over the fighting stage, with his ultimate goal being to crash into the Yata Clan heiress foot-first in a pretty awesome kick, if Kyo does say so himself. "Hey, up here!!" he calls, tauntingly.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Kyo's RED Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/--=====/=======|
The seal won't last forever, but Chizuru is glad that it actually worked. She's only tried to do it against a psychic once before, and was not entirely sure the skills were totally transferable. Apparently they are, which is good news for /her/, if not for Vega (if she ever fights him again) or other psychics who may be doing Bad Things.
She straightens, the sparkle around her fingers vanishing as she comes out of her 'attack' position, and turns toward Kyo just as he decides to throw himself at her. Chizuru bends backwards and to the side in a position that absolutely cannot be good for her back, straining to move her upper body out of reach while keeping her lower body in more or less the same place.
Which explains how she comes up kicking at him as he passes by, an awkward but rather heavy kick arcing up from Chizuru's uncomfortable position. She straightens a moment afterwards, hand at the small of said back.
Kyo and Chizuru seem to be obliging Rose by focusing on punching each other - or more accurately, kicking each other. Rose does not protest this, and she considers sitting down briefly, before realizing that this is completely insane. (Some things aren't obvious to people who didn't become fighters through decades of teeth-grinding training.)
She pushes her hair back from her head, letting herself breathe naturally and await the victor. Or for them to gang up on her; whichever it is that comes first.
COMBATSYS: Rose gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/--=====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Chizuru's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-======/=======|
...But with all the twisting, Kyo is able to get his guard in the way of Chizuru's kick, riding the momentum /away/ from the Kagura fighter before he finally alights on the ground again, once again skidding against the granite. Whew... That was a close one. "Okay, fine... You two wanna play with fire?" Kyo wonders rehtorically, slipping into his fighting stance again and lowering his chin, watching Chizuru and Rose carefully. "Then you're both gonna get burned," he adds, his serious expression cracking into a smirk.
"I'm gonna finish you both off in one hit," Kyo explains a moment or two later, though whether this is even feasible of if he's just being a boastful ass is entirely up for debate. It could even be both!
COMBATSYS: Kyo focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-======/=======|
"Are you now," Chizuru says, before looking back at Rose. She somehow doubts Kyo can manage it, especially against both of them at once, but it is /theoretically/ possible for him to do so, she guesses, if he gets very lucky with a blast of chi...
And so she makes it difficult for him to do so by moving directly across from Rose, putting Kyo between the two, so that he'd have to attack literally in opposite directions to hit both of them. From there she makes it even worse, splitting into two Chizurus, where one goes left and one goes right, both coming in with one sweeping upward and one chopping downward.
The Soul Power starts rising in Rose again, to her great relief. She spreads her arms a bit, letting it gather and coalesce around her as she starts feeling /much/ better. Perhaps it's confidence, or perhaps she's just listening to Kyo's words more closely.
She shakes her head, even while limned in silvery purple pink light: "You said that last time, did you not?" she asks, before shifting her weight back to one heel. Just in case, you know, he does the same thing again, only faster and better.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-======/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo interrupts Shinsoku no Norito from Chizuru with Mu Shiki.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/=======|
That's fine, if Chizuru wants to create a situation like that; Kyo really was mostly just boasting. If they were going to just line up so he could knock them down like bowling pins or something though, he'd hardly complain! But instead, Chizuru gets all crafty, forcing him to turn and react to her while Rose hangs back and does whatever it is Roses do... And suddenly there's two Chizurus again.
"Man, to hell with this," Kyo says quite audibly, whipping his hand forward an unleashing a 'seed' of fire. This is shortly followed by an enormous column of Kusanagi flames that springs from the ground, engulfing both Chizurus even as the hits land against Kyo, who proceeds to lunge /into/ the column of fire, and deliver a vicious combination of punches to the Yata Clan heiress while he himself is on fire, his voice as he speaks again strangely warped by the enormous outpouring of energy. "THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH, KAGURA!!"
It is not, in fact, anywhere near good enough.
Chizuru is launched out of the pillar of flame, and this time she doesn't even try to land on her feet; she hits the floor of the arena and rolls, trailing smoke although she is not actually on fire by the time she hits the ground.
It takes her a few moments to pick herself up, and even she has to admit, pained, "Much better. I see what you've been using your time on, at least." She hesitates, about to attack but unsure which way to go; she ends up going neither direction, breathing exercises in full swing and watching what the others choose to do.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Rose 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/=======|
"Oh, Kyo," Rose says as the light boils off of her finally, leaving her standing in the middle of what seems like a heat mirage, "before you defeat us, one moment." The light around her collapses, producing a momentary spherical aura, which resolves further into something like a full body halo...
She snaps the scarf forwards then, with the same casual ease as a flicked towel. Another blast of light shimmers from it, sliding forwards until it hits the halo, which collapses into the coruscating glob of light and makes it glow both clearly blue, and much more brightly. It hangs there for a fraction of a second, before twisting slightly upwards and towards the right, streaking ahead right for Kyo's sacred belly!
COMBATSYS: Kyo just-defends Rose's Aura Soul Spark!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Rose 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/=======|
"Come on, that's not all you've got, right?" Kyo wonders of Chizuru, as she takes a moment to herself after that particular onslaught, one of the strongest techniques of Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu. He's almost disappointed, over here! But then, he hears Rose, and turns just in time to see her chucking a sphere of horrible death right at his gut... He's going to have to say no to that one. Already throwing himself backwards to minimise the impact, Kyo pushes his arms forward to intercept the Aura Soul Spark with an additional barrier of Kusanagi flames, like some kind of ablative armor.
What follows is an impressive conflagration, as Soul Power and sacred Kusanagi flames annihilate each other... And as the blast clears, Kyo is standing there, not looking any worse for wear than he was moments before.
In fact, he yawns.
"Same old crap, huh?" Kyo wonders of Rose, shaking his head ruefully. "It won't work on me more than once... Try to see the future harder next time, Ms. Psychic!" And then, Kyo is rushing forward at Rose again, and swinging up a leg to bring it down on her shoulder in a vicious, hooking axe kick. "Hya--!!"
"Oh no," Chizuru says, more pleasantly now that she has her breath back again. "I have quite a few techniques you haven't seen j ust yet - at least not tonight." Technically, he's seen them all before, but not lately. Maybe he's forgotten how to deal with them?
She can dream.
Chizuru glimmers for a moment before the second Chizuru, as usually happens, simply walks out of her. This one is a little different, though - it's her, mirrored, just like usual, but this one seems extra solid, and moves extremely quickly, walking forward with some arcing, looping movements of her hands, continually attacking Kyo.
The real one behind gets involved, too, but only with an occasional punch or kick - she doesn't want to get in her own way.
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Kyo's Strong Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Rose 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-------/=======|
Rose falls back underneath that intense kick, the blow hitting the scarf-wrapped arm she raises up to protect her shoulder. Rose can feel bones shift a bit beneath the flesh, though; this is not looking terribly warm and fuzzy for her.
She forces herself forwards, however, when Chizuru dashes in; she wants perhaps to keep up the pressure, or just to end it, one way or another. The battered scarf whirls around, drill like, as she kicks off the ground and skids forwards, holding the whirling arm in front of her and sweeping it at Kyo's middle back!
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Soul Spiral.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Sanrai no Fujin from Chizuru with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/---====/=======|
This could get a bit hairy, as Kyo is the sudden subject of assaults from both Rose /and/ Chizuru at once. There's a dirty joke in here somewhere, but it doesn't seem like the Kusanagi heir is in any mood to make it right now; he's being pushed pretty far, howevermuch he might try to keep it beneath the surface. Gritting his teeth a little as Chizuru sets her illusory self to attack him, Kyo then gets a sudden feeling like something bad is coming from behind, and so he twists... Just in time to intercept that drilling scarf and bat the damn thing aside, though not without it searing into his arm. With a bit-off curse of pain, Kyo skids away from the impact... Right at Chizuru.
When the real Kagura takes a swipe at him, Kyo snags her by the arm again, twisting her forward and driving her face-first into the floor of the fighting stage with a flaming punch to the back of the neck and head. "Just lie down already Kagura... You're out of your league!!"
Chizuru goes up, down, and hits the ground. It does not look like she is going to get up; she lies there, dazed, for several seconds.
Then, very slowly, she pushes herself back up to her hands, and then her feet. This is blatantly cheating. She is using every trick in the book - mostly mental ones - to ignore the bruised state she's in right now and just keep going anyway. "I don't believe I am," she says, before stepping forward and delivering one mighty punch toward the side of Kyo's face. She's not going to accept being told she's out of the league! That would just be wrong.
Rose knows that once Chizuru goes down, she is inevitably next! However, there is little that she can do about it directly. Chizuru goes d-
Oh. Well, Rose reasons, stepping back and watching Kyo's reactions carefully, that's a relief. I'll have to buy her a drink later.
COMBATSYS: Rose focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Kyo with Strong Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Rose 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Chizuru
[ \\\ <
Kyo 1/-======/=======|
Sometimes, you know, Kyo gets a little overconfident. He's quite shocked by the fact that Chizuru is less beaten than previously expected, that shock unfortunately delaying him too much when he tries to dodge out of the way of her punch. In fact, he kind of leaves himself extra open for it, taking the hit badly. So today... Today Kyo kind of gets what he deserves.
Staggering, it's pretty clear that Kyo's taken about all he can take... But he's got enough left in him for one last shot, so he might as well make it count. "Hey, Kagura," the Kusanagi heir says, stumbling as flames alight in his right hand, and he lifts that hand up, raising it high. If it's his last blow, he's going to make it count. Maybe he can't take out both of them, but... "This one's on me. EAT THIS!!" Kyo bellows as he sweeps his hand out in a wide arc, sending that hellstorm of Kusanagi flames out in a wave towards Rose, apparently trying to completely annihilate the Italian psychic.
COMBATSYS: Kyo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Rose
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Orochinagi' from Kyo with Soul Reflect.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Rose
Chizuru is not exactly in great shape anymore either. If she wasn't so focused she'd be breathing harder than she is, trying desperately to keep her attention on the fight instead of herself; her mental discipline pays off, though, and she can keep fighting for a while.
Kyo's last action is surprising. She expected to be the one attacked. Instead of following it up, though, she hangs back, watching Rose with those eyes, paying as much attention to the way her energy moves as the way her body does. Her eyes narrow almost imperceptibly.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Rose
The burning flame bursts out towards Rose! Rose's scarf twirls -- and it is sent backwards, if more weakly and slowly than before, forming a ragged 'V' when seen from above.
Her attention turns towards Chizuru and she smiles, not very strongly. "Well," she says, "I suppose I expected this. Do you think that he will seek out employment or schooling, now?"
"Unlikely," Chizuru says, "but I can try to steer him." Again. Some more. It never works right, but she can dream.
Chizuru has not moved her eyes from Rose, still watching how she moves (or, as it is now, doesn't move very much). She takes one step forward, then one back, considering her options while trying to fake Rose out.
Eventually she finally does move forward for the attack, bringing her foot up and practically lunging forward with it at about waist level. It looks rather uncomfortable to perform but she manages it somehow, nonetheless.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Heavy Kick from Chizuru with Soul Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Chizuru 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Chizuru 0/-------/-======|
Rose answers this with a daring maneuver - rushing forwards as blue light flares around her. This would be more impressive if Chizuru had not been a step ahead of her...
The kick hits her in the hip and sends Rose sprawling out on the ground with a groan, bouncing once before laying still for the moment. She's breathing (of course) but doesn't seem terribly eager to get off the floor.
Chizuru will call that a win if the judges will.
Apparently they agree, at least once Rose is proven to be unable to get up, which happens a few moments later; SNF does wait around to give everyone a fair chance, but fair chances don't last forever.
After that, even while being cheered, Chizuru goes around and helps people back to their feet if so inclined. Nobody gets carried off (unless they really want to, anyway, but she never liked that).
Rose accepts, but doesn't make Chizuru carry her. "Oof!" she says audibly, before walking gingerly back out of the arena under her own power. She doesn't seem to have it in her to teleport again - or is she holding back?!
Log created on 16:57:58 02/03/2008 by Chizuru, and last modified on 19:38:15 02/07/2008.