Description: For a little while, Zach Glen was ranked #1 in the Neo League. Then, the League put him up against the previous #1: Kyo Kusanagi. Wackiness ensues! (Winner: Kyo)
If there's anything that's guaranteed ratings, it's a clash between the two top-ranked people in a given fighting circuit.
This is what brings such excitement here to Korea today, as the until-recently #1 ranked Kyo Kusanagi faces off against the new #1, Zach Glen. Billed as a clash of champions, the forthcoming match has drawn a fair bit of local attention as well, so beyond the barricades set up by the Neo League staff and camera crews are a veritable cornucopia of locals here to watch the ensuing chaos. It's not really /urban/ Korea either, the fight instead being set somewhere out in the sticks... Because really, if there's anything the cities of Korea don't need, it's an American and a Japanese guy fighting in the middle of them.
"Isn't this near where that Kim weirdo lives?" Kyo Kusanagi himself wonders aloud, standing off to one side of the barricaded-off fighting stage. Scratching his chin with one hand, the Kusanagi heir looks pensive, possibly reflecting on what it means to be facing off with a fighter who so recently passed him in the League standings. For a long time, he doesn't say anything else, as the crowds murmur incoherently and the Neo League staff finishes setting up. Until, at last, he turns to ask a nearby crewmember a question.
"...Who the hell is 'Zach Glen', anyway?" Kyo asks. The only response he gets is a faint shake of the crewmember's head. You'd think Kyo was being a jerk or something, from how people are reacting to him!
It's understandable, actually. Glen's a relative unknown.
Zach was filled with an equal mix of excitement and trepidation about this match. On one hand, Kyo was the latest World Warrior. That is not a title you earn by collecting bottlecaps. It is that same set of facts that gets Zach excited, however; he's somewhat curious to see how he will fare against the Kusanagi.
This could be a very good experience, or it could leave him bleeding out on the asphault like the last time he got curious about such a thing with Hotaru.
Zach enters the fighting area quietly, no wild cheers no fanfare heralds his arrival. He simply waits in place, stretching his muscles while mentally doing what he can to cycle up his own explosive energies.
One of the crew points Zach out to Kyo.
Not just the reigning World Warrior champion, but also a former King of Fighters champion as well... Kyo is, as they say, kind of a big deal.
Regardless, Kyo looks over at the newcomer when he gets pointed out, and a curious expression crosses his face. So much for the whole 'Americans are taller' stereotype, huh? Kyo turns to start walking towards the middle of the fighting ring, snapping the fingers of his right hand as he goes to briefly set that entire forearm alight with crimson-orange Kusanagi flames.
"Hey," Kyo says, in what might almost be an amicable tone from the generally somewhat abrasive fighter. "You sure you wanna do this?" Of course, the World Warrior has already learned, from his experience with 'Hurricane Hime', that forfeiting is as bad as losing... So he's certainly not about to give up. And given the look on the smaller fighter's face? He's probably not going to, either. Which leaves only one real alternative.
Shrugging his shoulders, Kyo slowly assumes his fighting stance, the flames at his right arm vanishing. "Show me what you've got," Kyo says. "But... Try not to be /too/ boring, okay?"
COMBATSYS: Kyo has started a fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
Zach pulls himself up straight, before settling into something akin to a jujitsu stance. He eyes Kyo gravely as he considers his options. He nods shortly to the taller man. "I'll do my best," Zach answers.
A moment later, he dashes in close, attempting to grip the front of Kyo's jacket for a standard over-the-shoulder throw. Zach's non-standard twists? The jolt of psionic energy to help him generate the lift, followed by another spherical burst to throw Kyo across the ring!
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Zach's Medium Throw.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
People say that a lot, you know, 'I'll do my best'. But will Zach's best be best /enough/?
Wait, that doesn't even make any sense.
Kyo's jacket does indeed get grabbed by Zach for that apparently normal throw, and there's almost no resistance whatsoever from the Kusanagi heir at the attempt, as he's lifted... But then, Kyo senses something /strange/. The curious tingle as he's lifted is just a prelude of course, to the burst of energy that hurls him away; the brunt of it, though, is deflected by the more experienced fighter's arms, as he twists and lands on his feet, kicking up dust as he skids backwards.
"Heh," laughs Kyo, briefly. "Cute trick." But it is, apparently, not quite enough to stop Kyo right this moment, as he follows his recovery by rushing directly at Zach, swinging his right fist out in a hooking punch at the smaller fighter's head, flames trailing behind his hand and joining in the fun if he manages to hit. "But..." Kyo continues, adding a second fiery punch, a short uppercut, if the first one lands. "...NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!" he bellows to finish it off with a third punch, this one angled downards to drive Zach into the ground.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Kyo's Aragami.
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Zach
Zach whips up his left arm to catch the first hook on the meaty part of the forearm, before slapping both palms down to intercept the uppercut before raising both arms to slow the third punch. His knees flex to roll with the shock, but the scorching across his limbs tells the tale. He eyes Kyo for a moment, before going to a good stand-by.
He raises both arms into the air, his right hand gently pressing against his left. Three solid sheets form in the air above Kyo's head, held there by Zach's will as they sharpen and harden. Zach steps in, and drops his arms forward. Gravity, hopefully, will do the rest.
"KASANE ATE!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo overcomes Ka-Psi-Ne Ate from Zach with Yami Barai.
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Zach
"Ohhhh?" murmurs Kyo, sounding almost impressed! Zach might be an unknown, but he's clearly not a /total/ slouch... So maybe his making #1 wasn't a fluke? Hard work /can/ pay off. You know, until a guy like Kyo comes along and ruins it all!
Watching what Zach is doing curiously, Kyo doesn't give him much time to actually pull it off... As the 'edge' of hardened will come down at the Kusanagi heir, he hops back and throws his right hand forward, launching a seed of flame /through/ the psionic Kasane Ate, the remainder of Kyo's fiery attack continuing on towards Zach himself... With hilarious results?
Well, mostly with burning.
"EAT THIS!!"
COMBATSYS: Zach slows Yami Barai from Kyo with Warning Shot.
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Zach
Zach frowns a bit; Kyo is utterly shutting him down. That flame screams in for Zach, and he already knows that burning sensation.
He won't be able to fire his aura up in time to do much good, so he raises those hands together, and gives a short kiai. Another spherical pulse of psychic energy lashes out at the incoming flame, dampening the burst somewhat, but not enough. What is left slams into Zach's chest, sending him flying back. The red t-shirt is in charred tatters, but Zach still looks like he is willing to continue...
This seems a little unfair, doesn't it? Kyo watches Zach put up some kind of defense against that blast of bloodline flames, but it doesn't seem to do much against the decisive advantage the reigning World Warrior is demonstrating.
In a way, Kyo feels a little bit bad.
"C'mon," Kyo says, beckoning Zach forward. "You've got something better than all of this, right? Show me, while you've still got the chance!" But, Zach might be able to perceive the pressure, the sensation of something building where Kyo is standing. It might... Be a bad sign.
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Zach
Zach's "sixth sense" does not exist, really. "Gimme a moment, then," Zach says. "I'd hate for you to be disappointed."
Zach plants his feet and tenses up as he reaches into his soul. Purple fire answers the call, erupting from the ground at Zach's feet. All in all, it is a nice display; it is easy to see why Zach puts fans in the seats sometimes.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Zach
"Sure, I'll just take a little nap over here while you get ready," Kyo taunts, smirking as he is wont to do. However, contrary to his taunts, the Kusanagi heir seems quite prepared for whatever Zach is planning to do, concentrating as he continues to gather his own energies, adding a bit of a lightshow of his own as Kusanagi flames erupt in his right hand, flaring brighter as his power grows. So... Which one of them is going to get to where they're trying to get first, is the real question.
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kyo 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Zach
Trick question. Zach's arleady there.
The violet flames wrap around one forearm, solidifying into that gauntlet Zach's few fans recognize as one of his favorite techniques. He closes his eyes for a moment, focusing his thoughts further as the construct seems to tighten around, and then seep into the arm that it covers. "Here goes," Zach says as he dashes in. When he gets close, he fires that fist at Kyo's midsection. On impact he twists the fist outward, as if starting a car.
A ram of psychic force attempts to drill clean through the Kusanagi.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Zach's Burst Strike.
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Kyo 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Zach
But...?!
As Zach's fist and battering ram of psychic force bear down on Kyo, in his ready position it's fairly easy for Kyo to get his arms in the way of the attack. Moving... Isn't really an option, as it would break his concentration and cost him his gathered energy, so instead he just takes the brunt of it on his arms, the energy splashing over him rather than boring through like it wants to, the impact still enough to drive him back a few steps. "Heh... Too slow!" Kyo chides.
And then, the Kusanagi heir swings his right hand back, the flames there building to a fever pitch, so bright they could be near to blinding... Before Kyo then throws that hand forward again, unleashing all of his gathered power in a single burst, a hellish wave of Kusanagi flames that seek to engulf Zach entirely in a terrifying storm of flame and hurt. "It's OVER!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Zach with Orochinagi'.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Zach
Zach's eyes go wide as the flames wash over him. He screams, the air burning hot in his lungs as the flames attempt to consume him. It hurts more than anything he has experienced before.
Terror sets in; the fire is still burning. What was it Frei suggested? Using his own energy to negate chi? In his near-blind panic, Zach gives it a try, releasing what he thinks is a small amount of energy across his body to snuff the chi-fire.
He ends up loosing a great deal more, the purple energy raging across the arena. They will stop before hitting the edge of the arena; Zach was careful about where he was fighting, at the very least.
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
Zach's body hits the ground shortly after, smoking. At least the fire is out, though!
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Zach's Storm Flare.
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
Okay, that's... Probably not good.
Kyo sees the ridiculous burst of psionic energy and there's honestly not a whole world of things he can do about it. It's possible he could avoid getting hit entirely through some careful moves, but instead the often arrogant young man decides to play things a bit safe, bracing himself against the flare of power and letting it slam into his guard instead of less protected, more vulnerable parts of his body, the force once again driving him back, but...
When it's all said and done, Kyo's the one left standing. "Whew... Lots of flash, not much follow-through, huh?" he wonders, of the flopped over, smoking Zach. "Keep training, and hey, maybe you'll be able to hit me one day." Kyo Kusanagi... Is kind of a jerk. And it's with those last words that he turns and starts to walk away, waving back over his shoulder at the fallen psion.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:57:40 03/13/2008 by Kyo, and last modified on 22:31:36 03/13/2008.