Description: The last time Kiyoko met with Hotaru, the Kenpo artist had withdrawn her offer to give her some pointers. As just another step in moving on in life, Futaba invites Kiyoko to stop by for a little spar and chat.
Poor Kiyoko. Probably getting mixed signals by now. First Hotaru told her she'd like to see her in action, maybe give her some advice. But when they finally met again, she seemed disinclined to do so. A few weeks later now, and Kiyoko will have a note find its way to her the next time she wanders by the YFCC that Hotaru Futaba would like to meet with her again after all, and make good on her original offer made so many months ago.
The note included an address in a rather upscale portion of Southtown Village with instructions to stop by the dojo on the property sometime. A pleasant Spring afternoon seems as good at time as any other. The dojo's walls have been opened up, allowing a breeze to blow through, carrying with it the scent of cherry blossoms from the pink blossom laden trees outside.
The structure is empty but for the girl presently training within it. Dressed in her traditional Chinese styled blue and white fighting attire, the pigtailed Kenpo artist is presently striking a hefty sand filled bag with the sides of her hands, then taking a controlled step to the side and striking it again, then another slight step, then another strike, repeated over and over as the girl circles the heavy punching bag.
Kiyoko had dropped by the YFCC, not finding any people that she knows there. Instead, however, one of the people manning the information desk gave her the note. So she headed on over to the location specified. A sense of awe and grandeur sweep over her as she realizes the huge estate is actually the place she's supposed to be going. Her own family had enough money to be considered 'rich', but not /this/ rich.
Her head turns back and forth as she moves along the walkway heading to the dojo, recognizing the building for what it is easily enough. The sound of movement and muffled strikes are heard as she gets closer, and she peeks her head around the open doors before actually stepping in. Moments later she announces her presence.
"Hello!" It's not loud enough to /completely/ attract attention to her, in case the workout is important enough that interrupting it is a bad idea. Even the dojo has a sense of grandeur about it, with it's lovingly cared for wood floor. "Is now a good time?" She inquires politely.
The voice, while not raised particularly loud, echos throughout the large room at the same time Hotaru strikes out again for the bag, knocking it away, keeping its momentum a series of controlled, predicted swings. But the moment she knows she has company, the girl reaches out to stop the sand filled bag from swinging back at her again, leaning around it to glance back toward the wide open doors. Blue eyes settle on Kiyoko and the girl immediately smiles, stepping around the training equipment into full view.
"Come on in, Kiyoko," the young fighter gestures toward the taller girl with a nod of her head. "Now is a perfectly good time." She seems different from when they last talked. That occasion she was pensive, reserved, reluctant in her speech. But now Hotaru appears to have lifted a heavy burden from off her shoulders since then. "I'm glad you came by," she continues, looking Kiyoko over from head to toe as if inspecting her a little, her expression becoming one of some concern. "How are you feeling?" she asks, patting the side of her head with her hand. "I saw you recent fight." she adds as if clarifying why she would be concerned about Kiyoko's head. That was a nasty wound!
Taking a few steps closer, Hotaru clasps her hands behind her back, exhaling as she gets her breathing back under control after her focused practice. "I was glad to see that you got back into sanctioned fighting like you said you were going to. But that last one..." She shakes her head at the recollection, "Gabriel can be scary." the girl finishes with a bit of an awkward expression. Even /she/ finds that girl a bit unnerving to face.
Kiyoko is still at the entrance until the ok is given for her to step inside. Half a step is taken, but quickly retracted. She turns her back to Hotaru and sits, pulling her knees up to her chest as she reaches down to untie and remove her shoes. Tracking dirt into the clean dojo would be a horribly rude thing to do!
The shoes come off and she's back to her stocking feet, now walking over to Hotaru. The difference in her manner is noticed immediately, and brings a happy smile to her face. "Yea, I'm glad to be here. It's good to see you looking so well." That's all she's going to say about it. Doubtless Hotaru will know what she means, and there's no reason to harp on it. She winces a little at the mention of the fight, letting out a nervous laugh. "That didn't go well at all... My head's fine, though. I'm lucky in that it wasn't as bad as it looked- I didn't even need any stitches."
That said she comments on the fight itself, "Gabriel was able to read my movements perfectly. She seemed to know exactly how to punish every little mistake I made." Her head shakes a bit, "Even at the beginning, she knew even if I could hit her with chi every time she attacked me that way she'd end up winning." The girl grins a bit, "But you can't blame me for trying!"
Closing the distance, Hotaru approaches the girl as she sheds her shoes. Considering how clean the floor is, it's good to be mindful. Someone must keep it up! As Kiyoko speaks about her looking well, Hotaru dips her head in acknowledgement, not exploring the topic any further herself. When she last parted ways with the Justice High student, she felt guilty for withdrawing her offer, but felt it was the best thing for both parties. She's since come to feel differently. Perhaps it was seeing Kiyoko out trying her best against experienced fighters in the leagues that got her to rethink things again.
"I'm glad you're all right. That was a bit of a violent one," Hotaru winces a little. "But sometimes that happens. At least it wasn't as bad as it looked..." As Kiyoko speaks about Gabriel's calculating style of fighting, Hotaru nods her head slowly. "I've fought her a couple times before. She can be intimidating to some degree. I'm glad you stuck it out. I found her to be a challenge when I had a Neo League match with her last year."
The girl brings her hands up from behind her back, claping them together in front of her. "I've enjoyed watching your style in action. Your Tai Chi, that is. I know before I had asked that maybe you could show it to me in person sometime. There's some similarities with my own Kenpo, I've noticed." She ponders for a moment before adding, "You've seen Chun-Li fight before, yeah? Her style is based on Tai Chi as well. I fought her once before in a Saturday Night Fight. It was really impressive."
With Hotaru coming over to her, Kiyoko doesn't have very hard to walk, causing her to move only a few steps into the dojo before she's met. "Yeah, me too! I didn't know what to think when she pulled out that huge chunk of glass. At first I thought I could just get away since she just sort of smashed the thing at me, but..." They both know how that one turned out. "I'm not really strong, so there wasn't much of anything that I could do to pressure her. She was in control the whole time. That's probably the sort of thing that comes with experience though. I think I'll have to be a bit more brash the next time I fight her. I guess she could be expecting that though." A grin and a shrug, "You never really know until it begins, right?"
Kiyoko smiles when Hotaru brings up her Tai Chi, "Thanks! I'm glad someone's enjoying it. I was actually worried that people would think I was boring since I get stomped on all the time." The girl tilts her head a little when it's mentioned that the two have similarities in their fighting styles. Seems that she hasn't noticed it herself. "Oh, yeah. Nothing very recent or anything, but she's definitely an amazing fighter. Her Tai Chi seems to be a lot different from mine, at least in the way she fights. I use my hands more than my legs." If you had to describe Chun Li in one word it'd have to be 'Thighs'.
"Yeah..." Hotaru replies. "She likes using swords too. Though it was just a wooden one the last time I fought her," Hotaru finishes with a faint smile and shake of her head. "Anyway, yeah... you'll learn to deal with that kind of situation over time. There were moments were it seemed you might have had the opportunity to strike her preemptively but didn't. I think you'll learn to spot those moments better as you get more experience against more fighters. Breaking into things is hard, but I think you're improving," the Kenpo artist states supportively.
Regarding Chun-Li, Hotaru simply grins and nods, "Sorry, it was a random tangent. I like to study the styles of others. I... I depend a lot on figuring out what my opponent is likely to do in order to keep myself from getting struck. I suspect that your own fighting skill involves the same sort of awareness. Have to make up for not being made out of bricks like some fighters seem to be," Hotaru murmurs a little, folding her arms loosely in front of her.
"I notice you're pretty quick on your feet though. And you have good skill with chi. Did that come about as a result of your Tai Chi training? Or did you learn about chi manipulation some other way?" the girl inquires after a moment, the memories Kentou's adventures in learning chi fresh in her mind.
"She definitely liked her sword. I don't know how she kept that thing on herself without slashing herself to ribbons on it when she was dancing around me, though. I guess she's more nimble than she looks."
The fight with Gabriel is moved slowly out of Kiyoko's mind as the conversation marches ever onward, "It's okay. There's just many types of Tai Chi, just like there's many types of Kenpo. I'd sure be awesome if I could kick as much ass as Chun Li, though! Could you imagine what it'd be like to be called the most powerful female warrior alive?" She thinks about it a moment herself and comes up with. "...probably a little insulted, actually. Just because there are a lot of guys that happen to be ridiculously strong doesn't mean women are worse fighters." Ok, lets end that tangent before it goes too far!
Regarding trying to figure out what someone's going to do, Kiyoko looks a little embarassed, "Well... I have a pretty good eye for figuring out what people are doing, but I'm not quite to the point where I can figure them out two moves in advance or anything. I usually just end up reacting to what they do and trying to figure out the best possible option based on that." With that stated the girl comments on her chi control, nodding her head to the question. "Yes. That is actually the main focus of my training, to learn to balance my energies and take control of it. My teacher thinks that if I do I'll..." She pauses uncomfortably for a moment and rephrases her statement, "That it'll help keep me healthy."
"Insulting?" Hotaru asks back, only to laugh lightly as Kiyoko elaborates, "Yes, perhaps. But there's something special being regarded as the best woman fighter in the world, I think." she states with a bit of shrug and accompanying grin, suggesting she doesn't think about it enough to think it would be degrading to stand out in that regard. But then again, she was raised in a home where she was considered too weak to be taught her father's Kenpo in its pure form, so her experiences may have skewed her perspective on things a little.
"Hm," Hotaru notes quietly as Kiyoko speaks about her attempts at reacting on the fly rather than planning ahead a few steps to get to where she needs to be to avoid getting hit. "Just need more practice," she finally decides after a moment, a slow smile crossing her lips. "It's hard to react just on the spur of the moment. I think so, anyway. If you can learn the style of your opponent you can begin to figure out what they might do every given moment before they do it. Granted, some fighters out there have styles I can't make any sense of. And others are just way too fast, even if I know what is likely coming, I can't deal with it in time."
She contemplates the linking of chi manipulation with the sustaining of health in the body. It makes sense to her. While she can't claim to understand as much about chi as many fighters, she knows enough to understand that the energy manipulated is not completely different than the energy that sustains all life around them. "Good." she remarks. "I hope it's helping," she adds a moment later, her expression reflecting a certain sincerity. Kiyoko's case is... a very unusual one for a fighter.
Hotaru shakes her head after a moment, unfolding her arms to rest against her sides. "Would you care for a light spar, Kiyoko? While I've watched you fight on your appearances, I wouldn't mind getting to see it in action for myself." Her smile broadens, "That way when you take Chun-Li's title from her, I can say that I had a chance to practice with you before you became super famous!"
Kiyoko manages a laugh when Hotaru gives her own ideas on what being 'the strongest woman in the world' would be like. "Ok, yeah, you're probably right. I'm sure it'd be great to be called that. I guess it's just one of those things you shouldn't over think and just take for what it is." More practice... yes, that's very much what she needs, and she knows it. As she always tells people she talks to about her training, there's only so far that doing workouts and practicing with her trainer can take her. It's fighting in real matches against people trying their hardest to defeat her where she'll really learn.
"I know all about that. That sword swing looked like molasses to me, but there wasn't a thing I could do to get away from it." The girl considers that for a moment, "Sometimes it can feel like fighting that way can hurt me more than help me, but I was taught to do my best to keep someone from hurting me. More than I was taught how to actually go about hurting someone else, anyway. I've learned tons about pressure points and where to hit vital targets, and I'm pretty good at throwing my Chi at people, but it isn't enough, usually." It's not a complaint, but a statement of how things are to someone who's interested in her fighting style and her progress.
When the offer of a light spar is given, a wide grin takes over her features, "I'd love to!" No, Kiyoko, tell her how you really feel. She lets out a laugh, "What do you mean? By the time I'm that strong I'll probably have to take it from you."
Hotaru is attentive as Kiyoko describes some of the areas she has a lot of experience in. Pressure points for weakening an opponent with precise strikes... she knows a couple of those herself though she doesn't specialize in them. An emphasis on defense makes sense - she was originally taught Tai Chi for her own health rather than competitions, of course. The Kenpo artist laughs lightly at Kiyoko's rejoinder and shakes her head, grinning.
Clasping her hands behind her back, Hotaru walks out toward the center of the dojo, stopping at a place a little ways off from the dead middle before she stretches her arms out to her sides for a moment. "You mentioned that usually being able to use chi against opponents isn't enough. What did you mean by that exactly?" the girl asks curiously. "Do you mean that it's exhausting to keep using it? Or that it doesn't seem to really make all that much of a difference when you do?"
The question posed, Hotaru drops into a low stance, one foot a ways out in front of her, her other leg bent at the knee and kept in close as her 'center point'. The girl's arms are extended out, parallel to her legs. The posture presents a small target with no easy shots to be made at vulnerable parts at the risk of being knocked down easily if she takes a blow from the wrong angle. Her smile fades, her expression becoming a bit more serious. "All right, Kiyoko. Show me some of your style!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
Following Hotaru, Kiyoko actually ends up walking past her, and off to the side a little. There's no real reason why, except to align herself lengthwise along the dojo when she finally turns to face the older fighter. Kiyoko nods her head at the question, and then lets out a little laugh, "Well... both, really. I guess I should just explain what I mean fully. I'm pretty good at telling how effective my chi is on someone, or my pressure points or just punching them. The problem is that if they're weak against my chi I can punish them a little, but... well, if I just keep on doing that I'll just run myself into the ground. I can use it pretty good, but I just can't throw it around forever."
She then puts on a somewhat serious expression as Hotaru does, slowly sliding into her Tai Chi stance. It's very low to the ground, her left leg held straight out in front of her, with her right being backwards and bent at the knee, her body turned sideways to the Kenpo artist. Both of her arms are held in front of her body, bent at the elbows with her palms open. She holds the position for several long moments as she watches Hotaru, only to suddenly dash forward towards her and send a fast kick with her right leg, picking it up and attacking with a sweeping motion, trying to hit the side of Hotaru's knee with the part of her foot where it meets her leg. "Hah!" Despite the somewhat serious tone of before, an easy grin is on her face now.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Kiyoko's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kiyoko
"Nn," Hotaru nods as Kiyoko explains her situation with trying to contend against fighters that seem resilient to all but the type of damage one can create with chi augmented attacks. "That can be tricky," she remarks thoughtfully. "Some fighters can accomplish chi strikes nearly endlessly, but for the rest of us... we just have to make sure to make the strikes we /do/ make count. I've had to learn that myself over time, to avoid exhausting myself."
She maintains the stance while giving Kiyoko plenty of time to prepare herself. As the other girl adopts a very similar starting posture, Hotaru grins. She had spotted some similarities just in observing Kiyoko's fights, so she isn't surprised here. Watching the other girl come in to attack, the Kenpo artist holds her position. Kiyoko's strike is a safe one, she realizes, aiming to catch her in her extended knee and break her whole stance. But the girl is prepared to keep herself from being jostled so easily, leaning forward, intersecting Kiyoko's foot with her arm to avoid the worst of the attack.
The motion flows smoothly into Hotaru's next attack, the girl rising out of her stance, her arm that was back further slamming forward, an open palm strike targeting Kiyoko's breastbone, just below the base of her neck, attempting to knock her off balance enough for the follow up attack from Hotaru's blocking hand - a direct, straight forward blow aimed for the stomach, looking to push Kiyoko backward rather forcefully. The entire sequence is very tight, controlled, leaving limited room to stop her combination of strikes early, but at the cost of extending herself a bit with the second strike ending with her leaning forward, out of position!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kiyoko with Medium Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kiyoko
The skillful block is made, and Kiyoko doesn't seem surprised in the slightest. Hotaru was a fighter many levels above her own- while possible, expecting the first strike to hit would be tantamount to folly. She might have opened up with a much more powerful stroke, but she isn't the type to do so just because she thinks Hotaru will go easy on her and not punish her for it. It is a light /spar/ after all, not just a demonstration.
The retaliation comes swift and hard, a palm being shoved forward at her breastbone. Aiming to mimic Hotaru's wise game plan, she attempts to pull her arm up just enough to interrupt the blow before it can find it's target, intending to lean back and raise her leg to take the stomach punch on the shin.
The tactic fails in spectacular fashion, the 'slight raise' of her arm both failing to go high enough and fast enough, resulting in a braced body that can only take the blow solidly, her entire body whip lashing from the impact. Thrown off balance her leg needs to stay down to keep it... but it would have been much wiser of her to stop the follow up punch and fall over, she realizes, as suddenly Hotaru's fist buries itself into her soft stomach, the girl keeling over like someone who'd just been sucker punched.
A hand shoots downward, catching the floor so that she doesn't go all the way down- quite a feat considering the expression of pain playing out on her face. Realizing just how dangerous an opponent Hotaru can be, she decides to see how much she can disable the experienced fighter.
First order of business: Get her balance back. The easiest way for her to do this isn't to shove herself back up, but instead allow herself to fall forward, rolling over her shoulder so that the motion can bring her right up back to her feet, though it brings her dangerously close to Hotaru, and standing sidelong facing her- almost like a pair of Victorian era naval ships standing off. Next up, reply! "Y-yeah!" She gasps out, "It'd be great to be able to use chi without tiring yourself, wouldn't it?"
And finally, the actual attempt. Her hand closes, save for her middle finger and forefinger, and this she suddenly shoots forward, swinging it around in a circular motion and trying to jam those fingers hard into a nerve on Hotaru's wrist, attempting to numb and make useless her right hand.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Quick Throw from Kiyoko with Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kiyoko
Her strikes delivered, Hotaru draws back, lowering herself into the same stance as before. Low, with the center of gravity back a little ways, arms out parallel to her legs, prepared to attack or defend from the position as seems best. The Justice student comes out of her roll alongside Hotaru and the Kenpo artist freezes, waiting for her to make the first move now that they're right next to each other rather than opening herself to attack by striking first.
"I think some people are just born that way," she theorizes. Born capable of throwing chi about with the slightest effort. Perhaps it's a little dismissive. After all, some might fling the same theory back at her, suggesting that she was born able to punch and kick hard and completely ignore the hours of practice and grueling training she had put into her Kenpo. Perhaps realizing this, she adds after a moment, "...or just focus really hard on it in their training."
But chatting and paying attention are not mutually exclusive. The strike comes in, aiming for some nerves in her wrist, perhaps hoping to slow down Hotaru's striking power with a nice shot in a sensitive spot. But reading the incoming attack, the girl reacts in time, shifing her arm forward a little so that Kiyoko's fingers jab into her forearm instead, missing their target by just a little bit.
In the same instant, the rest of Hotaru's body snaps into action, her opposite hand reaching out and over her arm to grasp hold of Kiyoko's wrist tightly. And with that, it's a simple matter of pulling the Tai Chi student forward hard, flipping her over her extended arm and dropping her down to the floor on her back with a fair amount of gusto. "YA!"
"Well, yeah. That's true. I guess if you're born with that sort of ability you'd be pretty well off," Kiyoko agrees. It'd certainly be neat, but is obviously not something you can rely on- you either have it or you don't, if that's the case! There's the training issue as well, but that'd likely require a fighting style devoted to such techniques. Kiyoko doesn't think she could suddenly become able to constantly use chi just by practicing at it. If that was the case, wouldn't everyone?
Kiyoko strikes out at Hotaru, and ends up not only having her attack blocked, but turned against her in the process, being easily lifted up from the ground, twisted over Hotaru's arm and then smashed painfully into the ground. She smacks it back first, completely laid out in a near helpless position.
That's where training kicks in. Not being able to pop right back up to her feet, her natural reaction is to make sure Hotaru isn't able to thrash her while she's down. She rolls sideways, flopping over a full three times before pulling her knees up to her chest and then hopping back to her feet.
She's left panting a little while facing Hotaru, not tired from exertion but from that nasty gutpunch she took earlier. Right now the question is how to proceed. For an experienced fighter it could seem like there's almost unlimited options open to her. But for her right now Hotaru seems like an invincible wall of defense and offense. And she /knows/ she's at least somewhat quick on her feet, too. Maybe it'd be best for her to hole up and try to analyze Hotaru for weaknesses... but to her that just doesn't seem like an option. She's here to spar her, not stand there and get pummeled. Her brows furrow a bit as she tries to think up a plan, only to realize that she's been wasting an incredible amount of time.
Now reacting on little more than desperation, not wanting to seem passive, she charges forward. Green energy flares about her hands and she steps towards Hotaru. She strikes out almost at random, slashing her arms through the air so that her hands come incredibly close to striking the Kenpo artists, but never actually touching, instead relying on the chi flowing around her hands to do the actual work.
Hotaru was talking earlier about making her energy attacks count. ...this probably isn't a good start, for that.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko successfully hits Hotaru with Summer Breeze.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Kiyoko
As Kiyoko rolls to her feet, Hotaru holds her ground as she had before. Perhaps she's content to give the other girl time to figure out what she wants to do rather than rushing her and keeping pressure on her non-stop. Give her time to think things through, perhaps, a chance to figure out what she can do differently, how she might be able to get past the Kenpo artist's defenses and land a clean hit.
But seconds pass and she begins to decide that Kiyoko isn't really sure what to do. It's not surprising, the girl muses, thinking back to a lot of her earlier fights from a couple years ago when she would be easily bewildered by the tougher opponents she would face any time she tried to step into anything serious. Well, she should only hold back for so long, she decides, before it just gets to be a little impolite to her guest. If Kiyoko needs to hang back for a moment to try something different, Hotaru can't see the harm in that.
Which is why she hops forward, intending to close the distance and attack... only in that instant Kiyoko acts, coming forward to strike out with her green hued energy. Already mid-air, Hotaru can't keep herself from coming down right in the midst of the attacks, unable to get her arms into a defensive position in time. Her defenses caught completely off guard, the girl's eyes widen as she finds herself at last knocked a ways back, landing on her back and sliding a little before kicking back up to her feet with a shake of her head. "Whew, yeah. You're good with that stuff," she whistles appreciatively, brushing at her blue vest idly. That stung quite a bit!
Time for her to use one of her own techniques, she decides, sprinting forward a little before dropping into a crouch from a yard out then hopping up and forward, swinging her arms out in a windmilling fashion, aiming to slip in a couple quick strikes through Kiyoko's defenses, dropping back down into her crouching stance upon touching down.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko endures Hotaru's Enryuu Banda.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Kiyoko
Somehow, some way Kiyoko's indecision ends up helping her out. It's one of those fluke moments of timing where everything seems to go just perfectly right for her. Suffice to say, she's rather shocked when she sees that she managed to knock her straight off her feet and send her sliding across the ground. "Yeah. Wow, I wasn't expecting that at all." She grins a tiny bit. Well, hopefully she'll at least have impressed Hotaru a tiny bit in this spar!
It's clear that Hotaru isn't going to just take that, however, and in no time at all Kiyoko's being rushed down. She holds her ground when the Kenpo artist comes at her, staying in her usual low stance. The forward hop and swinging arms contact solidly, crashing into Kiyoko and smacking her around. But... not as much as it should! Despite the pained look on her face she's managed not to get stunned from the pain. And since she's able to just tough it out it gives her a single, tiny window where Hotaru's still off the ground.
In that moment she strikes, her arms suddenly going into overdrive as she sends poking jabs with her fingers as she attempted to do to Hotaru's wrist before; only in faster, straighter motions as well as large quantity. This time she's not so aiming for her wrists though, but all over her arms and body, trying to jam her fingers into every easily found and tar getable nerve cluster she can find, her first strike a disabling one to the carotid artery, one that if successful should crash her blood pressure momentarily and give her the time she needs to complete the attack.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko successfully hits Hotaru with Summer Solstice.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kiyoko
Kiyoko catches her just in time, her toes about to touch down so that the girl can continue into perhaps a follow up attack. In that precise moment, Kiyoko's stabbing fingers catch her in the neck, staggering the young fighter just a little, keeping her from raising defenses against the flurry of strikes that come in afterward. Her arms dropping down against her sides, she feels for a moment as if she might be pushed close to blacking out, making it easy for the Tai Chi student to land enough strikes to numb the girl and push her backward. But she's quick to recover, beginning to shift her body just enough to avoid the final series of strikes in their entirety, though forced backward all the same until she comes to a stop, her arms still hanging down at her sides as she exhales, her body tingling all over, blue eyes widened a little with some surprise.
"That's quite a technique," Hotaru speaks up after a moment of catching her breath, mouth curling into quite the smile. For all the self doubts she's seen Kiyoko echo in the past, the girl seems an extremely capable fighter to her. It takes a moment to get her feeling back, her arms moving again eventually, the girl drawing them up into a ready position after a moment. "Seems to me that you could teach ME things," the pig-tailed fighter observes, mouth curling into a broader grin. "I suspected as much."
Wriggling her fingers for a moment to make sure that the feeling has returned to her hands, the girl finally goes back on the offensive, hopping in from a little ways out just like before, both hands reaching out to try and grab a quick hold of the front of Kiyoko's uniform. If she gets a grip, she'll simply drop backward, trying to pull the other girl forward, off her feet, and drop her back down to the wooden floor once again before rolling to the side to spin back up to a ready position, herself!
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko blocks Hotaru's Ten Ranku-Tou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kiyoko
Kiyoko keeps attacking until Hotaru gains enough presence of mind to escape, stopping after the first pair of misses so that she doesn't waste precious energy in the process. "Thanks!" It's definitely true, from how well she's doing in this little spar you'd almost think that she was being falsely modest before. It just happens that she's at the top of her game, no doubt doing her best to impress one of her favorite fighters.
"Really? I... guess anyone could benefit from learning the pressure point locations. It's pretty amazing how much getting poked in the wrong places can hurt." She grins back at Hotaru, that look on her face staying as a smile when the girl moves back on the offensive. The grab is made on the uniform, and Kiyoko is pulled forward. But it seems she has at least some handle on the situation, as instead of getting slammed down onto her back her arms reach forward, catching the ground before she rotates too far forward to control herself. Her legs then swing down, her stocking feet hitting the ground and nearly slipping away due to the lack of friction. She's just barely able to keep that from happening, and ends up with both palms and feet on the ground at once, her body arcing somewhat painfully- but it's better than getting slammed down, that's for sure!
The awkward position is released the moment it's there, and she twists over to flop onto her knees and then quickly rise back to her feet. Once she regains control she runs for Hotaru, trying to catch up to her before she can raise her guard back up. Once close her arms swing out again, once again in quick circular motions. This time, however, the attack is straighter forward, trying to batter Hotaru directly by crashing several hard knife hands into her head, her arms weaving about in a dancing motion that is quite literally an empowered version of a standard Tai Chi workout.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko successfully hits Hotaru with Summer Squall.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Kiyoko
Kiyoko's recovery does her well, leaving her back up on her feet at about the same time Hotaru manages to get up as well, the girl's blue eyes focusing back on the Tai Chi student quickly, mouth curling into a broad grin and nod of approval at her quick thinking in the middle of the attempted slam. "Yeah," the girl laughs lightly about getting prodded in pressure points like the violet haired girl seems to be quite adept at doing. "I know a couple, but you're much more adept at it than I. I mostly know just enough to try and avoid getting hit in them," she remarks, slipping down into her low ready stance.
Her hands come up as Kiyoko closes in, the circular strikes slipping around Hotaru's arms as she tries to fend them off, taking a number of knife-like strikes to the head, unable to keep from getting hit. It staggers the girl, sending her skipping backward in the end instead of retaliating immediately, shaking her head to clear her vision. "Oof," the girl grunts. "Good," she adds after a moment before exhaling. She's evaluated Kiyoko's ability to deal with her strikes and grapples, it's only reasonable that she give her a chance to show off how she contends against a chi attack.
Drawing her right arm out to the side, a vibrant blue aura collects around her forearm, concentrating the strongest over her fist. Once it has grown to be enough, the girl slams her hand forward, discharging the energy from the tip of her fingers, unleashing a rapid sphere of blue chi toward the other girl, one of her more well known attacks at that. "YA!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kiyoko with Hakki Shou EX.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Kiyoko
Kiyoko nods her head as Hotaru speaks, waiting until her attack is done, surprisingly successful, to reply to her in earnest. "Most people know enough about vulnerable places to protect them. That's one of the first things you should know when you learn to defend yourself, after all. Most of the time people manage to make me miss, but when they don't!" Hotaru felt that one first hand, so she doesn't need to complete the thought.
Soon enough Hotaru's retaliating in a way Kiyoko has a hard time dealing with. It's not that she isn't very good at protecting herself against chi- in fact that's the thing she's most capable of defending against, considering how much of her training is balancing herself and inner chi manipulation. It's the sheer speed and power of the attack that makes it hard to deal with, thrown out towards her expertly and perfectly.
She takes a classic posture, hunkering down and crossing her arms in front of herself, hoping to use them to absorb the power of the blow. And they absorb it all right, but not in a diffusing manner, but instead simply getting the first taste of Hotaru's power. Her guard blasted open, the energy sphere crashes into her chest, blasting her backwards. It's all the more impressive since she's wearing only socks, a few extra feet of sliding produced after she is slammed to her back.
"U-ugh..." Kiyoko's head is spinning quite a bit, right now! The girl shakes her head a little, and then sits up, picking herself up slowly. "Okay, I think you've got me." She grins a bit, legs shaky and weak. There's still a determined look on her face. "But before I have a nice long rest, I have one more thing to show you!" She leans forward and sprints, moving slower by far than she had earlier in the fight. There's a long distance to cover, so the approach is comically long, but once she's at a respectable distance she leaps into the air, rushing at Hotaru and trying to land onto her chest with both feet extended.
COMBATSYS: Kiyoko can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Kiyoko's Winter's End.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|
Truth be told, she's already shown Hotaru plenty. The swift, accurate chi blast does a good number on the other girl. Perhaps more than Hotaru had anticipated. Maybe that's an area she could work on. Or perhaps Hotaru's chi control is just a bit too much to be taken by someone with Kiyoko's experience quite yet. Either way, when she mentions that she's been gotten, Hotaru nods her head quickly, smile replacing the wince that had occupied her expression for a moment.
But when the girl declares she's got one last thing to show Hotaru, the Kenpo artist doesn't seem like she's really inclined to see just what that is, slipping to the side as the other girl comes down from her jump, avoiding it with some room to spare, not really taking any chances. "I think that's enough," the young martial artist remarks calmly in the same motion. "You did really well, Kiyoko. I'm impressed."
She takes another step back, just to make sure that the girl isn't going to try any more last ditch attempts. The spar has run its course, going any further doesn't seem useful to the pig-tailed fighter. "I'm really impressed with your Tai Chi skills. I definitely saw things that I could stand to learn from how you fight. You incorporate attacks that are the sort I would be able to handle as they don't require incredible raw striking power." she continues, clasping her hands behind her back then.
She pauses for a moment, looking thoughtful about something, before a grin crosses her lips. "I have a full time student. Kentou Ondori. I really would like to have you two meet in a match sometime." The girl turns and walks over to the wall of the dojo, pushing open a closet door and retrieving two large white towels from within it. One she drapes over her shoulder, the she flings back toward Kiyoko. "You have a lot of determination. If you... if you ever want to drop by for some lessons, I think there might be things I could teach you as well." the girl finishes after a moment, sounding a bit conflicted about extending the offer. After all, most of her free time is spent training, fighting, or teaching Kentou already!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Though her last ditch effort missed, Kiyoko hits the floor, and her legs collapse out from under her. It might look like she's grievously injured, but even a cursory inspection will show the real problem. She's laying on her back, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Sucking in her breath with a heart pounding so hard it hurts, she breathes as fast as her lungs can manage. That little bit there took a /lot/ of effort from her! Eventually, though, the complete exhaustion melts into normal post-fight fatigue and she sits up, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Thanks! I didn't expect to do nearly so well as I did. I guess... maybe I just need to have more confidence in myself."
At the comment of her attack style not requiring much raw power, she nods her head. "Yeah, that's one of the most important things. Though... I still think I need to learn even better methods. Probably ones that are a bit harder to stop by just moving the target area an inch or two." But that's just the very nature of pressure point assaults, isn't it?
Kentou... Kiyoko doesn't know that name. "I'd love to spar with any student of yours, Hotaru. I... I'm very glad that I was able to spar against you. You've always been one of my favorites to watch on television." Yeah, she's a fan, but that's ok, right? She's not as rabid as, say, Sakura. She takes the towel as it's tossed too her and shoves her face into it, wiping away her sweat and mussing the hair framing her face in the process. "Really? Thanks, I'd like that a lot. I won't put too much pressure on you though, you must have a lot to deal with already."
Hotaru hesitates at one point, maybe just a little worried about Kiyoko. She knows the girl shouldn't be too bad off. She didn't draw on any of her harder hitting techniques so she's fairly certain she didn't risk damaging her severely in any way. There wouldn't be much point to a spar to evaluate how she handled different types of attacks if she was to try and finish the spar in as few hits as possible! But given Kiyoko's situation... yeah... she probably provokes that moment of concern in just about anyone she fights that's any decent. But the girl determines quickly that she's just winded, having pushed herself remarkably hard to finish the demonstration as best she could and Hotaru relaxes, her calm smile returning.
"You have a lot of reasons to be confident, Kiyoko." the girl remarks. "You handled yourself well against a variety of techniques. I came to realize that there's more similarities to our styles as we sparred than I even originally had considered. Your strikes are a lot a like mine, though your pressure point techniques are a different take on it that I haven't used much..."
She shifts her towel over her shoulders, bringing up one end to wipe at her face as she exhales. "You have a lot of potential with chi use, and it seemed to me that you know how to handle yourself when someone tries to get a hold of you. There's also nothing wrong with your striking power. All in all, you seem a capable competitor. If a fight doesn't go your way, don't feel too down. Just learn, correct, and look forward to the next time."
The girl closes the distance between them, her cheeks tinting a bit red as the Tai Chi student mentions Hotaru being one of her favorites. It makes her think of how she's always looked up to Sakura as an example for her to follow... "Well, thanks," the girl states, not sure how else to respond to the praise. "I just try to do my best." she adds after a moment, quietly pondering if Kiyoko had seen any of her more recent fights. Fights she /really/ wish she could go back and make go away, knowing full well that isn't possible. She'll just have to move on and show everyone how she really fights...
"It won't be a burden. I don't mind," the girl remarks in the end, stretching her arms out to her sides and exhaling softly. "You going to be all right? I should get going. I hope I didn't hit you too hard." she finishes with a glance toward a single clock afixed to one of the walls.
It's something she wishes she could make go away. People being concerned for her is one thing, but people hoping they didn't just kill her, or at least severely injure her, is another altogether. Luckily the girl is too busy trying to breathe to notice the hesitation on Hotaru's part. After she's down toweling herself off she stands up and stretches. She'll probably be sore tomorrow- the good kind you get from really pushing yourself that lets you know you at least accomplished something.
"Thanks. And yeah, I was trained to be able to defend myself against all kinds of things. It was mostly a way to mollify my parents, I think. I pretty much strong armed them into letting me learn to fight in the first place, so saying it could be used as self defense went a long way towards that." She looks somewhat embarrassed when the parallels between their fighting styles are brought up. She couldn't exactly claim differently though- Hotaru was simply further along and much more refined in her techniques.
"I'll do my best. It... it makes me really happy that people are willing to give me support. I'm lucky, to have people willing to help me when I need it. Thanks, Hotaru." And the weirdest part of it all is that the people helping her are all relative strangers. Though maybe that becomes a little bit less true with every chance meeting.
She gives Hotaru a respectful bow, as a student gives to their teacher and as one martial artist to another. "Thank you for taking time out of your day to help me. I had a lot of fun!" She grins a little when Hotaru mentions needing to get going, "I'll see you later, then! I think I should be the one going though, since this is your house." She can't help but make the little joke, even if Hotaru very well could have an appointment somewhere else. She finds a place to put her used towel and then walks out, looking over her shoulder and giving a wave and a smile.
There's a happy smile on her face as she heads down the walkway and past the gates. After a few blocks she can't help but think there's something she forgot to tell Hotaru, or something to do. Halfway home her face falls and she suddenly remembers. "I forgot my shoes!"
Log created on 23:37:07 05/07/2008 by Hotaru, and last modified on 02:18:28 05/22/2008.