Description: In a MASSIVE MAIN EVENT, three-quarters of the Guardian Kings face off against just one Kain R. Heinlein. It's a classic underdog story as the three teenagers try to take down a modern titan, but unfortunately... Unlike in the movies, the underdogs don't always win! (Winner: Kain)
In the recent months, the Guardian Kings have made quite a name for themselves. By doing fairly well in the Jinchuu competition individually, and being fairly active in the weekly SNF program, the foursome have made a name for themselves and impressed themselves into the hearts of fans as typically 'good peoples' and fun to watch fight, or in some cases, get beat up on, depending on the fan's view of them. Bad or good feelings, the Guardian King name is known. And so is Kain's name, as he was a regular competitor in the SNFs, as well as an extremely fierce fighter. So when the main event of the Saturday Night Fight event was announced to be this powerhouse of doom versus three of the Guardian Kings members, fans decided this would be an event to be remembered, one way or another. And as such, ticket sales to the event were completely sold out and then some - Howard Arena, from fans across the globe, was absolutely PACKED, and the roar and cheers of the crowd are almost overwhelming, swallowing up a good deal of local noise in the simple furor of fan frenzy.
As common to these events, an announcer is present, standing at the center of the rectangular stone slab that makes up the fighting ring, dressed all manner of stately. A wireless mic is held in his hands, and the sound engineers have to find ways to turn the volume knob up to 11, or perhaps even 12 to get it audible enough to be understood over the roar of the crowd. "LLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" *roar, roar!* "Welcome to tonight's main event! A spectacular showing of power versus up and coming skill!! In this exciting event, WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?! Let us begin by meeting OUR CONTENDERS!"
Roaring ensues and not even the imaginary volume level of twelve can overpower it for a moment. It dies down eventually, mostly as the lights go out, and spotlights of various colors begin to dance across the stage, the audience, and even the ceiling and sides. A lone spotlight shines down on the announcer still, illuminating the man to show him lifting his arm to point towards one side of the stage. "In this corner... you know him as the King of the Arena, the Powerhouse of the Ring, the God of Pain, Kain HEINLEIN!" Absolute cheering mixed with some boos. Another spotlight comes on, illuminating Kain's position at one end of the stone square. It takes almost a full minute for the cheering to die down again, even as the announcer lowers his hand, switching the mic to it so his other hand becomes free to indicate the opposite side. He holds out his hand, trying to keep a straight face, but finding it hard - the excitement was pretty enthralling, and he wasn't even fighting!
When it finally dies down enough for him to be heard clearly, he says, "In this corner, we have the challengers. Skillful, young, but can they rise to the challenge of beating such a formidable foe? They have teamwork on their side at the least, for they are - the GUARDIAN KINGS, Tenma Kiryuu, Hakuya Suigetsu and Kenji Ash-IMA!!" More cheering, though noticably more boos, particularly for Tenma from the female fans. The spotlights come on to illuminate each one, then expand so their pools of light join together to make one large spotlight, emphasizing their team status. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further delay... let us bring to you... the fight!" And with that... the fight begins, as the announcer begins walking backwards, out of the immediate area of the stage, and back towards the announcer's table.
The rush, the sound, the thrill of the crowd! A time like this would be perfect to impress the girls, fighting proudly and bravely against the great flame-flinging fiend that holds so many titles and names and nicknames in Saturday Night Fight history. Actually wearing real sneakers for once, the Student Council Secretary of Gedo High stands with a wide grin and a good amount of confidence.
Hands removed from the pockets of his trousers, he fixes the collar of the (longer than standard issue) jacket to his winter student uniform, figuring a good amount of school pride wouldn't hurt in a situation like this. ... Even -if- it's a skull emblem on the back, as well as one of the pins on the collar.
Taking a few steps ahead from the corner as the announcer makes the call to arms, Kenji makes a running charge ahead with a large grin on his face. "All right!!"
And regardless of the distance that may've been crossed from Kain's position to where they are now-- Kenji lunges. He ducks down, gliding across the floor like he were still on his Kick-Rollers, reaching up in an attempt to grab the man by the collar, to pull him off a few steps to the side and make him lose his balance.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
And with a familiar, -extremely- bright light erupting from his hand, the energy is used in an attempt to throw Kain -straight up- into the air, quickly and violently. If he gets thrown, of course, landing is all up to him.
COMBATSYS: Kenji has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
This is a battle. One that will show the strengths of Gedo High that do not rely on Daigo and his posse of Gan and Edge, as well as Akira.
And against a formidable opponent. Silent, for the most part, a girl with purple hair and a cowlick walks through Howard Arena. Through the yelling. Through the crowd, which rustles her about but never really removes her track jacket that hangs on her shoulders through some unknown force.
Iincyo, or Chairperson to the students, is taking quite an interest in this fight. She would, if possible, not miss a second of it.
Walking to the edge of the Arena, the girl still doesn't wear anything one would label normal, but it doesn't bother her at all, hands pressing against the bar as she leans forwards a bit, eyes fixated on the pools of light surrounding the warriors.
If anything, the Guardian Kings have certainly attracted her. Just in time to see Kenji charge in valiantly... suicidally?
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Iincyo also has a belief Kenji may end up bleeding after this round, but he's always been a surprising person.
"HEY!!" shouts a loud, strident voice when the boos start up at the mention of the name Tenma Kiryuu. "/SHUT UP/!!" This then, would be the Gedo swordsman himself, the leader of the Guardian Kings and a rising young name on the professional fighting circuit. He's not... You know... Much of a /people person/, though.
His own Gedo uniform simply isn't, as he elects to use his previous highschool's uniform, just with the pins swapped out for Gedo High ones. As an additional complication, he seems to have lost his uniform jacket somewhere; so he wears a short-sleeved white dress shirt, open, and underneath a long-sleeved red t-shirt with the Gedo logo emblazoned on the front. It's warm /enough/. Plus it lets him show some degree of school spirit.
The other thing is, Tenma's been in a fight with Kain before. Now, when that happened he had backup in the form of Ryo Sakazaki, who is certainly no slouch, and Tenma himself didn't really manage to do all that much to Tall, Blond, Scary and German, but little things like facts and past performance have never been enough to put a serious dent in the seemingly boundless self-confidence of Tenma Kiryuu. Besides which, this time he's got something better than a whole /army/ of Ryos: He's got his team with him. Well, three-quarters of it.
Biting into his thumb to draw blood, Tenma paints a stripe of red down the wooden blade of his bokken, sweeping the weapon through the air to complete the chi-link, setting it alight with a violent, misty red aura of blood and chi. With the fight starting rather /suddenly/, and Kenji haring off, there's not much time for the usual trash-talk or pleasantries, so Tenma instead follows his friend's lead for once; rushing forward, the blood-wielding fighter leaps into the air to attack in concert with Missile Fist Ashima, slashing downwards to hopefully drive Kain into the stage in the aftermath of the other Guardian King's punch /up/. "Been a while, huh Blondie?!"
Hakuya smiles, waving a hand a bit at Tenma. "Now, now," he says as the leader of their team cusses out the audience for their boos. He looks rather mirthful rather than nervous at Tenma actually being pissed at something, which is indeed characteristic of him. Tenma might not be much of a people person, but Hakuya certainly was, if by virtue of the fact he seems too oblivious... in general. Take for instance this fight: Kain was supposed to be a total powerhouse, but all the Suigetsu heir's thoughts were simply on 'Yay, I get to fight with Tenma and Kenji! Too bad Stasya couldn't come! \^_^/'. It promised to be a fun match. Why? Because... well, why not?
Even as Kenji charges forward to begin the fight without much preamble, Hakuya is smiling, moving into his fighting stance first, then not immediately charging after either him or Tenma, but instead watching their moves. And then, before their attacks are made, as he uses his knowledge of his team's moves to know what they're planning, he starts forward as well, swiftly moving up behind Tenma. As Kenji attempts to throw Kain upwards, then Tenma to stab him right back down into the ground, Hakuya follows up with his own attack: trying to rush in and grab Kain, either about the waist if he's not hindered by his fellow's attacks, or by some other conveniently grapplable place and lifting him up, rushing forward, then suddenly -stopping- despite all his forward momentum, leaving Kain to simply crash into the ground, propelled by intense momentum alone.
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Kenji's Sky High Rocket.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Fierce Strike.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Hakuya's Tidal Crush.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Kain has been pretty quiet so far in this fight, but that's not too unusual. He's not one to chat a great deal during fights, and leaves the introduction process to the announcers. It's the fight he's interested in. And this fight might be of some interest... Kain has heard things about the students at Gedo. Time to see how many of them are true. Of course, Kain is going to start the fight by demonstrating why all three of the students are pitted up against him.
When Kenji lunges out for his collar Kain takes a quick step back, leaning out of the range of his grasp. That won't work for long, but it's followed up by a quick sidestep as Tenma comes slashing down from above. Finally one more long step to the side brings Kain away from Hakuya's attempt to grab him. And through all of this Kain manages to keep his hand tucked in his pocket, without even ruffling his clothes. "Now... let's see what the three of you can do."
Since Hakuya is the last one dodged, Kain is a bit closer to him. He'll go with something simple for the moment, testing out their defenses. A quick step forward and Kain lashes out with his right leg, black flame engulfing the limb as his foot strikes out in a straight kick aimed at the student's head with explosive force.
His hand hooks upward, the bright energy discharging through his hand and into thin air-- just as Tenma comes down, forcing the brawling Osakan to shift his position. Ducking to the side, he rolls under the Kiryuu swordsman as Hakuya comes in to make his own attack, adjusting his position to move to Tenma's left and attempt to flank Kain right then and there.
Digging his foot into the ground, Kenji brings his arm around with a grunt, his chin lowered and fist swinging, aiming to plant a solid punch right into the blonde man's kidney. Certainly no wall of muscle, but the Student Council's Secretary hits pretty hard for a kid his age!
Yeah... Kain is definitely no slouch, easily avoiding the combined attacks of the three Guardian Kings like that. Coming down with a definite sound as his chi-emanating bokken strikes the granite fighting stage and cuts slightly into it, Tenma rolls as well to put more room between himself and Kenji, just in case. But it looks like the more experienced fighter has a different target in mind, going right after Hakuya. Think fast, Kiryuu!
So, Tenma straightens up, and cupping his free hand beside his mouth he shouts: "HEY, HAKUYA! Kick his ass, an' I'll buy your strawberry milk for a week!" What's this, an offer of actual /generosity/ from Tenma? Let it not be said that he doesn't know how to encourage his troops... Even if it's with stuff that will probably never happen.
COMBATSYS: Tenma assists Hakuya.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Hakuya with Schwarzer Stob.
- Power hit! -
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
His grapple missing nearly entirely, Hakuya skids to a halt, his very fine sneakers screeching, though inaudibly in the roar of the crowd, on the stone square of the arena. He twists his body as his momentum carries him in that direction still, and pivots, before ducking into a controlled fall that ends in a crouch with his hand planted on the floor, letting him regain his balance quickly, so he isn't caught off guard by any immediate reprisals from the blonde German. However, now facing the man, and the man facing him, he brings up his arms in a defensive posture, anticipating a strike of some sort... but before that? Tenma's shout of offering strawberry milk, free for a week! Unfortunately while this is meant to hearten the Suigetsu heir so he fights with more determination, all it does it catch him more off guard than Kain could've hoped to do, and he stops cold, blinking in surprise - just in time for the foot to collide with his face.
A sharp cry goes out, and Hakuya literally is knocked flat backwards, landing hard on his back. "Uhnn!!" Wincing in pain, his world all a daze (and the colored lights in the ceiling don't help with that), his next attack is made out of sheer effort of will to keep fighting, lest he royally bone up the fight. All three of them, gauging from this man's strength, would be needed to fight at their best in order to win. So what does he do?
Moving his hands, he plants them on the ground above his head, then rocks his body upwards, kicking off the ground with his feet, then pushing with his hands, so he ends up doing more or less a handstand. His feet kick out at Kain's head, but they're meant more to distract rather than fully hit, so that hopefully the blonde won't be too noticing of his feet sweeping in a circle after the kicks are made, and then kicked out lower, intending on kicking out Kain's legs in a classic leg sweep to the floor.
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Kenji's Strong Punch.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Hakuya's Quick Throw.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Kain snaps his arm out behind him as Kenji goes for the kidney punch, taking the blow to his arm instead. Tenma, meanwhile, doesn't provide much of a threat for a moment, although he does give Hakuya some encouragement. Does he really like strawberry milk that much? Sadly, Kain will have to deny him that. All of this means that Kain's in pretty good condition to deal with Hakuya's incoming attack. He brings up his guard for the apparent blow to the head, but quickly realizes the true plan. Then it's just a matter of bracing his legs, allowing Hakuya's sweep to simply bounce off, failing to move him.
From his braced position, it's not difficult for Kain to push off of the ground, causing him to spin around quite suddenly. One foot lashes out toward Hakuya's face, though it's not quite close enough to actually hit. It may serve to make him back off a bit, though. The real target, however, is Kenji this time. In that same spin, Kain's striking out with his fist. Blue energy surround his fist as he attempts to drive a right hook into Kenji's jaw.
Yes. Let's see what the three of you can do.
Chairperson shares that thought with Kain, staying at her position. They seem to be doing their best to get into the game, but it seems, also, that Kain .. is just a bit much for them, from what she sees. From the looks of it, Hakuya seems .. somewhat fine from the assault. She marks this in her mind. The man is able to withstand some intense punishments if ready.
That, and she takes out a notebook, taking a few notes down on the Guardian Kings.
Strawberry Milk and Hakuya are circled together, and a little heart is bubbled on the paper. "Right." She says, agreeing. And she watches to see what effect Tenma's leadership had on his minions.. team rather!
And then Kain denies them. He truly lives up to his legacy. She is interested in the conclusion of this.
COMBATSYS: Kenji blocks Kain's Medium Punch.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/-----==|
Tenma's the leader and Hakuya's the raging optimism. Both are also experienced, well-trained martial artists. Tenma holds back to give the perfect encouragment to his subordinate, and ... well, it was still a valiant attempt, wasn't it?
And then you have Kenji Ashima, and his philosiphy: Hit it. Hit it again, and again, and if that doesn't work go one more time. And scream, a lot.
Sweeping legs and kicks thrown around, it brings him to hop around a little to keep from being caught up in either Hakuya or Kain's motions-- but it doesn't completely rob him of the awareness of the incoming attack. Bringing up his forearm, Kain's fist crashes across it with a visible wince. The punch in and of itself is one thing, but the flames?!! Ow. Holding the hit at bay and grunting, the Gedo student decides to break up the deadlock. Swinging hard, his right arm looks almost like it's -bending- like it were made of rubber, his fist aimed to plant a solid punch right to Kain's face. His fist seems to be noticably 'harder' now-- much like being slapped across the face with a slab of stone. There's a quickness to it, as well-- almost whistling as it cuts through the air on it's way.
"HOW ABOUT THIS?!"
"Okay," Tenma says, wincing sympathetically as his best friend gets totally clocked. "That was my fault." A startling admission, indeed. It seems this is no time to hang back and play strategist though, so instead the Guardian King leader rushes in at Kain even as Kenji is making his own attack on the blond man, crouching low and holding his bokken back behind him, the energised tip skimming over the granite underfoot, burning a faint line into it.
Skidding on one heel as he gets close enough, Tenma then strikes, swinging his wooden blade up in a vicious rising diagonal arc... And then at the 'top' of his swing, he reverses the blade, swinging back down in a shallow v-shape in the hopes of catching Kain twice.
At least Hakuya doesn't seem any worse for wear. Though the footsweep is made out of pure instinct to keep attacking, it's dealt with as such too, and barely seems to phase the man. But by the time his foot stops cold against the braced leg, the teen's senses are back. Bringing his foot back around, he catches his balance once more on his feet, crouched down low, and looks upwards in order to gauge how he can attack. Kain's back is to him now as he turns to deal with Kenji, and Tenma and Kenji are attacking from other angles, leaving him a clear line of attack. The passing foot doesn't hinder him much. Though it causes a faint pure reflex flinch, he's been swiped at for nearly all his life, and has learned to simply stop from pulling back out of fear of getting hurt. Though it does cause him a moment of hesitation that spans all of a heartbeat, he's up and moving again, lifting himself up in order to perform an open-handed palm strike, the heel of his hand intend to impact, as hard as he friggin' can, at Kain's spine, and nothing more than that.
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Kenji's Missile Fist.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Ungyou.
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Hakuya 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hakuya successfully hits Kain with Strong Punch.
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Hakuya 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/------=|
A quick duck to the side and a push on Kenji's hand is enough to direct the Missile Fist away from Kain's face. Why deal with trying to get through getting hit by a slab of stone when you can simply get out of the way? And then he once more leaps back, letting Tenma's sword slash up through the space he was occupying. Unfortunately, the movement does leave his back temporarily open. Kain attempts to swing around once he senses Hakuya coming, but it's too late to avoid the punch to the spine, which sends him stumbling forward a few paces. They've found a chink in his armor!
They're going to need more than that, though. Kain comes out of his stumble into a charge, using the momentum to bring him back toward Kenji. He comes in at full speed, then slides to a stop just in front of Kenji. This kind of proximity can't possibly be good. Kain's foot snaps up at a sharp angle, black flame engulfing his leg as he attempts to drive a kick into the student's upper chest and unleash an explosion to launch him toward the ceiling.
COMBATSYS: Kenji blocks Kain's Schwarze Lanze.
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Hakuya 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 0/-------/--=====|
To see their efforts, one after another, result in .. well, failure, this group from Gedo was .. clearly not impressing Chairperson. True, they could do far better than her. All of them could. But while they are busy preventing damage.. all of them are, actually, none of it is truly being inflicted to Kain, either.
TEN DEMERITS.
Seriously, however, Iincyo is keeping track of the capabilities, even if not. She would either be there to help pick them up, or perhaps, congratulate them. It's up to them to decide which, however. In the faito.
His fist crushes nothing but air, the swing leaving him committed and open to what should be a perfectly legitimate asswhupping, well deserved for his recklessness and his continual forward momentum. Kenji's body tenses almost entirely from top to bottom while he's caught in his follow-through, while Kain deals with Hakuya's punch by ... taking it!!
Kenji's over-reaching arm remains across his chest while he brings his left arm up to support himself, taking the hard kick to the arms rather than his tender ribs. It's still enough force to make him let out a harsh, "kyhh--!!" and launch him a few steps back. A few steps... well earned.
Doing a one-two-three step backwards with large, near-leaping steps, the responsible member of the Guardian Kings decides to bring out his "scream loudly" strategy at this point, punching...
The ground?
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
And a portion of the audience, on cue, puts on sunglasses.
His right arm -ignites- with that stupidly, godobnoxiously bright energy, the white-blue force that rips up from knuckles to shoulder and trumpets out in a feral, angry roar. His scream continues alongside it, pulling his arm up and back slowly from the ground. One more draw of his arm across his chest and the energy scatters to the wind while he whips it back hard, behind his now-presented profile, standing ready with a second wind.
COMBATSYS: Kenji gathers his will.
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Hakuya 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
Fact: Tenma would be doing a lot better against Kain if he could hit the guy. This was the same problem he experienced before. The question is, what's he going to do about it? With Kenji hanging back to make a crazy light show, the long-haired leader of the Guardian Kings, recovering from his missed slash against Kain, twists on his heel to face the blond again. There's still a lot of this pugilistic Mt. Everest left to climb... Better get to work.
"All right," the tall, lean young man says, tapping his bokken against his shoulder. "No more messin' up." And then, Tenma rushes right at Kain again, attempting to batter his way through the more experienced fighter's defenses with a flurry of brutal strikes with his chi-emanating wooden blade.
This could end badly for Tenma Kiryuu.
Whoa. He hit.
He isn't exactly openly surprised by it, but indeed Hakuya gives just another heartbeat-long pause in surprise. Kain was no slouch, that much was certain, but he'd almost expected to miss, and the intent was to follow up immediately with another attack rather than having to regain his balance after an successful attack, so it costs him some time in shifting his weight backwards some, rather than turning into the blow and seamlessly sweep into another attack. Kain thereby is able to make the attack on his team mate Kenji unaccosted (by the Suigetsu heir at least) but does not remain as such, as Hakuya moves after the blonde German. Moving almost unconsciously in tandem with Tenma, the two friends move up and strike almost at the exact same time. As the chi-user sweeps several brutal strikes with his bokken, to the other side, Hakuya does the same thing, only with his fists. Open palm strikes, both fists launching at the same time to first strike at Kain's midsection, then his throat and stomach, then finally ending in a shoulder tackle that would slam into the man's midsection just as Tenma's attacks would stop, an oddly well-timed coordinated move that could only be performed by team mates and friends.
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Deep Strike.
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Hakuya 0/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kain interrupts Howling Harvest from Hakuya with Schwarze Schleife.
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Hakuya 1/--=====/=======|=======\=------\1 Kain
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
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Kenji 1/------=/=======|
Two people coming at him, one from the front, one from the back? Well, obviously Kain's going to have to go through one of them! When Tenma comes slashing in toward him, Kain lunges toward Hakuya. He takes a few punches, but it's better than standing there and being hit by both of them. And unfortunately for Hakuya, his blows aren't enough to keep Kain from charging right through him.
Kain's hand snaps out, snaring Hakuya by the throat and carrying him right along as Heinlein moves out of Tenma's range. Black flame flares out from Kain's hand, engulfing Tenma's entire head while he's carried along. At least, up to the point at which Kain unceremoniously drops him, before moving on a few more paces and spinning back around to face his three opponents.
.. The bright energy begins to rip up from Kenji, and this certainly catches Chairperson's eye. Right. Even in the audience, it's rather bright, and even far up and away, Iincyo's forced to look away for a moment, the roar causing some of her hair, and the two straps on the jacket, to billow lightly.
Tenma looks like he's .. running in head first. Hakuya moving with his friend, and teammate.
She actually feels a bit sorry for them, when the ending involves a single man tearing apart their planned strike. Even if it means throwing himself into it. She winces.
"Grrgh--"
Watching as Hakuya is dragged along and burned with the dark flames, Kenji opts that -now- is the appropriate time for action. Running forward after the Suigetsu heir is dropped, a gutteral noise builds in his throat. Of course, it soon after explodes into his trademark:
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
Lunging ahead, his arm explodes into the same burst of light and energy, the pure glow obscuring his form somewhat in the light. As he runs at Kain, his whole body twists at the waist, thrusting out his left leg for an exaggerated step toward the titan of a fighter, his right arm reeling back. A blue line of light lances through him-- harmless, but setting the stage for what comes next:
"SET-!!"
The energy surges from his arm and toward his fist as he starts to swing. Touching point with the blue line aimed at Kain, Kenji's fist -rockets- forwards, looking to slam the man in the chest with a damn powerful strike-- powerful enough that, if it connects, it could throw him off his feet as well as knock back anything not nailed down with the shockwave behind it.
Another swing and a miss - or really, several swings and misses. The frustration Tenma Kiryuu is feeling right now is pretty obvious, but he's fighting to not let it get the better of him... Especially when, once again, one of his teammates bears the brunt of Kain's powerful wrath. So what have you got left, Kiryuu? Largely ineffective and ignored in the fight so far, watching your teammates do what work has managed to be done in defeating Kain... While also taking the hits from the more powerful fighter. There's really only one thing to do.
Go back to basics.
"Hey, Blondie!" Tenma calls out, showing his usual disregard for giving people their proper names. Why would he show Kain any respect when he's trying to /beat/ the guy? Honestly! But that call is all the warning he offers as he rears back his foot and, from whatever position he can get while Kenji is aiming a powerful attack Heinlein's way, attempts to kick him right between the uprights. When all else fails? Fight like the punk you are!
Throat caught, but hands still impact. Dragged, but that still lets him attack. And then Kain shows Hakuya just how effective those palm strikes really are by... totally ignoring any pain he may be causing the much more experienced fighter, and then lifting him up by the throat and exploding him with fire. Hakuya doesn't even cry out in pain, his body just spasms, and he manages to kick, though it's so weak even if it does manage to hit Kain, it would feel like a gentle breeze. As he's let go, Hakuya just sags to the floor like a ragdoll, landing on his feet and keeping them for less than a second, collapsing to his knees, then falling over sideways, bits of his hair still being on fire from the chi blaze going out as he does. He lies still for a moment... and to his credit, he gets back up. Slowly. And only manages to get back to a crouch, one knee on the ground, the other foot planted, his arm resting on the raised knee. He pants heavily, looking rather worn out. Not just from getting his head -set on fire- but also from some manner of fatigue, as if the attack had been draining in other ways. He attempts to get up - fails - and then decides just staying like this for a bit would be just dandy.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenji successfully hits Kain with Rail Gun.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kenji 0/-------/-------|
Tenma's foot strikes against a much harder target than expected, as Kain moves his knee into the way of the kick. Some fighters might be able to stand there and take it. Some fighters are insane. Still, Tenma may be pleased to note that the brief condescending look Kain gives him is quickly wiped off his face by the arrival of Kenji. Kain's eyes go wide as Kenji's fist slams into his chest, actually managing to not only knock all the breath out of his lungs, but to launch him off his feet and send him skidding across the arena floor on his back until friction finally brings him to a halt. That should be good for morale!
When Kain rises, he starts by pulling himself to one knee, his head hanging down for a moment. But when he lifts it, he's smiling. "I've heard promising things about Gedo... It seems that perhaps there's some truth to the rumors." He gets back to his feet, flexing both hands and causing his knuckles to pop. "But to find someone's true measure often takes... extreme measures." Kain thrusts both of his arms out to his sides, and despite the lack of wind in the arena his clothing begins to flutter. Flashes of golden light appear in the palms of his hands, then wink out as he clenches his fists. Then the floor begins to rumble. Exactly what's happening isn't clear at first, but then a blue glow begins seeping out through the seams between the stone blocks, quickly becoming too bright to look at. But by that point it's only a fraction of a second before the entire stone floor is blasted apart by a thunderous explosion, raw chi flaring out with blue light. Thankfully the shrapnel from the explosion mostly doesn't reach the audience, although a few people might get struck by tiny chips of stone, but both the cameras and the eyes of most of the spectators are probably overwhelmed by the flash. (And the repair bills and possible personal injury suits are Geese's problem!) The blast will eventually fade, revealing Kain standing on a small section of unexploded stone. As for the Guardian Kings...
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Kenji with Himmlischer Atem.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
[ \\ <
Kenji 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
The hard punch of Kenji Ashima, the mighty shockwave!! Now Kain knows what the young man still has in store, what's just lurking underneath the surface.
And Kenji has no clue what he just got himself into.
The ground starts to crack and split-- and then the floor explodes upward and introduces the young Gedo student to a world of pain the likes he's never seen. No simple deflections or blocking poses will help at a time like this-- no, instead, he's swallowed up into the light to the tune of his voice letting out a deep, "Gyahgh--!!"
And when it's all over, the yellow-clad student is slumped forward, kneeling amidst a pile of the stone floor scattered around what was originally intended to be the grand arena.
But sure as hell, even with his uniform jacket in tatters and his eyes vacant, he does it again:
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--"
Bursting up from his squat and running like a madman at Kain, his arm rears up...
"URRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH--"
And he swings. No fancy lights, no glowing effects, no white-blue force seen the world over. His arm travels a straight, linear path toward Kain with only the intent to punch the man in the face as hard as he physically, possibly can. If his fist was a slab of granite before, now it's more like a bullet train off the rails, with all the force behind it.
But after that, he'll probably flop over to the side, winded, wounded, and probably forcing the staff to come in and drag him off the edge of the stage.
COMBATSYS: Kenji can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tenma Toughs Out Kain's Himmlischer Atem!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Hakuya 1/---====/=======|-------\-------\0 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 1/-======/=======|
Well, people do generally object vociferously to getting hit there, Tenma should hardly be surprised; at least it /was/ enough of a distraction to let Kenji get a solid hit in, though. That... That makes him feel a little bit better. The sudden display of power from Kain registers as VERY BAD NEWS to Tenma, with his finely honed chi senses and also his not being a complete moron. The only problem is, he can't quite tell exactly /what/ Heinlein is cooking up, leaving him with few options except to get ready for what's coming...
Which is when the huge chi explosion happens.
Tenma Kiryuu is seemingly completely engulfed in the blast, and as the explosion and flash fades, it's not entirely clear where the leader of the Guardian Kings is. Maybe he got annihilated? They might have a party at Pacific High tonight!
That is, until it becomes apparent that something, or rather some/one/, is dropping from the air above Kain, seared and burned, battered and bloodied, his clothes all a-tatters. Tenma drops like a stone, his dark blue eyes as wild as the wicked, toothy grin on his face, his hair come unbound from the blast and trailing behind him. As he falls, his bokken is raised overhead in both hands, and the red glow around it intensifies, bloody energy following his descent and intensifying until it seems like the wooden sword itself has ceased to exist. And he seems to be intending to cut Kain right in half, wherever the man might be, a powerful slash followed by, if it connects, the sudden rush of Tenma's chi through Kain's body, disrupting the critical flow of life and energy for a second. Maybe just enough of a second? "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!! EAT THIS!!"
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Hakuya with Himmlischer Atem.
[ \\ < > //////////////// ]
Hakuya 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Kain
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|
Hakuya barely registers what Kenji and Tenma are doing, he was still hurting from having his head set aflame. But he recovers, eventually, and his head slowly swivels up to look to Kain as the man starts to talk about the rumors around them. Was that a compliment? Seemed like, almost, kinda. Except it came with pain. Hakuya senses the chi building up, and he knows precisely what that means - pain train's a comin'. Standing up, this time more fluidly, he starts to brace himself for what's to come - and utterly fails in any expectations of what that might be. The flash of light engulfs him and the chisplosion ravages his body, his own cries echoing Kenji's own, for -that shit hurts-. When the light subsides, Hakuya staggers, left barely able to move...
But move he must, and like before, on pure instinct, he does.
Kenji's punch is made. Tenma is charging for his own attack. Hakuya? Hakuya grits his teeth, and, bloodied, his clothes ripped, and not looking all that great in general, begins to charge at Kain. The charge is clumsy at first, but then Hakuya's determination cuts through the pain. He starts to move with more focused aims, and just as Tenma's sword impacts (or doesn't) Hakuya is there. He grabs for Kain, and if at all possible, will take the direct approach. By simply hauling on the bigger man, up and over, in a traditional suplex. But the fun doesn't stop there. Flipping over Kain, he'll then move forward, grabbing one of the blonde's ankles if he can, then hauling him along a short distance before lifting him up, over, and down once more in a rather unconventional slam into the ground. Then for one final trick, he'll pick Kain up, flip him upside down, and then simply piledrives him into the floor. Assuming that all works out... or even if it doesn't, Hakuya just falls over backwards, out of the fight.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Kenji's Missile Fist Ashima.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Kain with The Sealing Sword.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Hakuya's Last Eclipse.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Kain
Oh, now that's it. The Gedo team seems to take care of Kain.. seems. And then there are flashes all over. Raw chi flaring out, causing Iincyo, in the audience, to look away, covering her vision with a sleeve. And then comes the explosion, a tiny chip of stone banging against her.
it's nothing much, but from the force, it leaves a mark, at least. Nothing important, but now. That's .. quite strong. She can feel it from there. But what of the boys? She can't see them anymore...
And then she can see Kenji, however, he's not looking good.. and even after that impressive swing.. what more can be done? He doesn't seem to be able to get back up. But Tenma... fairs far better, as he's falling towards Kain, a blade of .. whatever it is, chi. That doesn't seem very weak.. he's giving it his all, falling towards the man. And towards Hakuya.. or where he was before, her gaze shifts. Hakuya goes for a suplex. All of their styles in the end.. work together. Each a different type of assault, a different gear in the machine. Chairperson smiles a bit. But does it work? Tenma's does. And now it's Kain against Tenma.
Grabbing the railing, Chairperson yells out. "TENMA! You're going to win this!" Actually.. Iincyo believes there's a .. very slight chance.
But you have to hash your bets on what they can do when properly motivated.
Having arranged his attack so as to avoid blowing himself up (generally a wise decision), Kain is largely in a better position than his opponents as the rubble rains down. Kenji's linear punch can be seen coming, and Kain is able to hop away from the remaining chunk of the stone arena and let the Missile Fist crash into the rubble beyond. He doesn't stop there, though. He continues to move, slipping past Hakuya and giving the Gedo student a light shove while evading his grasp. Hardly much of an attack, but probably sufficient to momentarily upset the youth's balance... and he's in little position to correct it. But then there's Tenma.
Between keeping track of the other two, Kain hasn't been able to perfectly track Tenma's flight pattern and finds himself having moved within range of the falling student. His arm starts moving up, black flame flaring out, but it's not quick enough. Tenma's blade slams into his collarbone, causing the already damaged stone beneath his feet to crumble, sinking him down several inches. The black flames explode away from Heinlein's arm and his legs buckle for a moment, but he doesn't fall. Both his arms fall to his side, however, as Tenma's chi surges through him. For a moment, Tenma might even have some hope that Kain has passed out on his feet.
That's proven not to be the case, however, as Kain holds his right arm out. Black flame forms in his hand, swirling and growing until it reaches the shape of a flickering, fiery sword. He then looks up with a smile. "Well done indeed. But can you go the full distance, I wonder?" And then Kain lunges forward, sweeping out with his 'sword' in a blow that, were it a real blade, might well result in the detachment of the top of Tenma's head. And while Kain may not have the deeply ingrained grace of a lifelong swordsman he's not lacking in skill... and he's fast.
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Kain's Schwarz Cutter.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kain
For a moment, yeah; Tenma feels that brief surge of hope. Maybe, just maybe, that hit was enough to put Heinlein out of the fight. Because, seriously? After that explosion, Tenma can tell he's suddenly short both his teammates, and even as arrogant and convinced of his own awesomeness as the Kiryuu swordsman /is/, he knows the gap between himself and Kain.
But at the same time, he's incapable of accepting the possibility that he can't win anyway.
Kain's recovery is met with a flat look from the supposed demon hunter, as Tenma tries to regain his own internal balance after the massive amount of energy he just expended; this very nearly leaves him wide open for Kain's next attack. But close? That only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The 'sword' of black chi-flame slams into the blessed wooden blade of Tenma Kiryuu, the weapon barely gotten in the way in time, with red, bloody chi raging against the stronger power and deflecting much of the worst of the potential damage... But the remaining force is enough to, after a momentary conflict, send Tenma flying in the direction of the blow, the Gedo gang member barely managing to flip and catch himself on a piece of jutting-up rubble.
"What, worried 'bout me, Blondie? I'm touched," Tenma replies sarcastically, his whole arm stinging from intercepting that attack. Just standing around, though, is asking to get blown up again in this situation, so Tenma springs off of his perch almost immediately, ducking low and aiming a quick slash across Kain's belly. "Hope those words taste better when you're EATING 'EM!"
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kain
The flaming sword flickers out once Tenma has been sent flying, and Kain begins advancing on his fallen foe. "Oh, I think you misunderstand. I'm impressed..." Kain sweeps out his left arm, knocking away the blade when Tenma slashes at him with it. The attack is deflected, swiping through empty space. "...But that doesn't mean I have any objections to sending you to join your friends. I'm just interested to see if you can stop me."
Kain takes another step forward, swing his right arm back as he does so. When his foot hits the ground he snaps his right hand up and forward, attempting to drive a flaming fist up into Tenma's jaw. "So stop me. If you can." He then follows up with a blow from his left hand, aiming for Tenma's sternum this time. And finally, a blow from the right at the center of the Guardian King's face.
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Kain's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Tenma 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kain
"Tch," Tenma mutters faintly in irritation as his slash is knocked aside; he knows full well he needs to land solid hits on Kain if he's going to have any chance at all, however remote, of winning this. Shifting his weight to recover, he sees Kain's first punch coming despite the tremendous speed the more powerful fighter exhibits, and once again that bokken and its aura of bloody chi get in the way of Kain's attacks; each strike, though, is powerful enough that Tenma visibly shudders from the impact, the final one sending him skidding back and nearly upending him on the remains of the fight stage.
But, as he lowers his bokken, Tenma just smiles, a wide toothy grin, the whiteness of his teeth further highlighted by the blood running between them, his face half-hidden under the fall of his black hair. It's not a 'happy nice grin', you know?
"Fine then," Kiryuu says, lunging forward and taking a twisting step, turning his body around with his sword arm fully extended, adding rotational momentum to the slash that follows as a smooth extension of his movement, trying to hit Kain diagonally right across the body. "I'll just have to KICK YOUR ASS!!"
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Tenma's Fierce Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Tenma 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kain
Well, either Tenma's declaration has met with Kain's approval, or he simply no longer sees a need to continue the conversation. Either way, Kain's only response is a sudden step forward, bringing him in too close for the student to effectively strike him. He waits until Tenma is already committed to his attack, of course, moving and ducking slightly to avoid the downstroke.
And then he demonstrates that Tenma isn't the only one who can use some dirty tricks when fighting. While Kain doesn't attempt to remove Tenma's ability to have children in the future, he /does/ attempt the grab the Guardian King by the shoulders, dragging him down at the same time as he strikes upward with his knee. Should he succeed, he'll drive his knee into the pit of Tenma's stomach, followed by an explosive blast of his black flame as he releases his grip.
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Kain's Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Tenma 1/-======/=======|====---\-------\0 Kain
Oh, fudgesicles.
Tenma is finding that, much worse than Kain's /power/, which is certainly more than impressive, the difficult part of dealing with the blond man is his /speed/. As his own attack is dodged while he's in the middle of it, there's not much in the way of options for Tenma, who instead elects to just go with the flow... With rather painful results, as Kain's knee drives into his gut and then he gets kind of exploded, flung away from the stronger fighter by the force of the blast.
Landing in a bit of a heap, Tenma nevertheless pushes himself back up, taking a moment once he's gotten to one knee to cough up a gob of blood on the ruins of the granite fighting platform. "Yeah, well," he says, a bit woozily, raising his bokken over his head, point down. "So's your mom." His rather nonsensical insult made, Tenma drives the wooden blade into the stage underfoot, the weapon easily penetrating what's left... And ten, for a long second, nothing at all seems to happen.
But then, /something/ seems to stir underneath the wreckage... Until, suddenly, serpentine draconic shapes made out of blood tear themselves free of what solid ground is left, seeking to overwhelm Kain from all sides and bear him down in an attack liable to really, really ruin his clothes.
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Tenma's Hell of Blood.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Tenma 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Kain
Kain actually manages to /grab/ two of the draconic shapes, flames engulfing his hands as he tightens his grip. His squeezing actually causes them to burst, fading away to nothing. Others crash into flames flickering out from Kain's body. Some of them manage to get through, however, ripping at his clothing and some of them managing to get through and tear at the flesh beneath. But they don't slow him down for too long, despite the blood starting to well up.
Striding forward, Kain judges the location of Tenma from where the dragons burst forth. Why bother to let him get out and start fighting again? He summons up flames into his hand, then lunges sharply forward and down, slamming his fist into the pile of rubble with explosive force.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Tenma with Medium Punch.
[ < > ////////// ]
Tenma 1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kain
Battered as he is, Tenma is in a pretty bad way by the time Kain comes gunning for him again. The sudden lunging punch from Kain, well... The younger fighter /tries/ to get the hell out of the way, but he simply isn't fast enough, getting ploughed down by the impact and explosive burst. The damage is just too much for him to keep going, really, and the Guardian King can feel consciousness flickering, greying out, but...
"I... Have a philosophy," Tenma says, as much to himself as to Kain, his voice initially all but inaudible but picking up strength as he goes. "I ain't gonna... Have any... Regrets!" Forcing himself to attack one last time, the Kiryuu swordsman forces energy together as quickly as he can, lunging up to swing once more at Kain with his bokken obscured by red blood and power, hoping to land as strong of a blow against his opponent as he possibly can. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
> ////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Kain just-defends Tenma's The Sealing Sword!
> //////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Kain
Tenma's got power going for him, but at the moment he's suffering in both speed and control. This gives Kain the oppotunity to actually get his hand on the blade of the bokken. There's a flash of blue light as his hand closes on it, and for a brief moment his entire arm is surrounded by an aura of chi... and the blade stops dead. And then Kain simply maintains his grip. "That's good. Regrets hold you back." He can see the energy fading from Tenma after that last hurrah, and once it's clear that he's fading /then/ Kain releases his grasp on the weapon.
Heinlein then shakes out his clothes, dislodging some bits of shattered stone, then begins making his way smoothly through the rubble and back toward the exit. When it comes to these fights, he generally knows it's over before the announcer does. It usually doesn't take long for the SNF staff to catch up, though, and sure enough the victory annoucement starts up before Kain makes it more than a few paces.
COMBATSYS: Kain has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:14:15 02/11/2008 by Tenma, and last modified on 16:37:42 02/26/2008.