Description: Facing off under the burden of triple gravity, Hotaru challenges the title holder Hayato to a match. For her it's a chance to apologize and show him that she's no longer the hate filled fighter she was the last time they faced off. But in the end, the fight turns out to be so much more than just that. (Winner: Hotaru)
NASA. It's Hayato's first visit to any of their facilities, but he's suitably impressed by what he sees. Science might not be his forte, but what guy doesn't like rockets? Of course, there weren't be any of those involved today... but that doesn't mean there isn't some interesting tech to deal with. Fighting under increased gravity... The Burning Phys Ed Teacher recalls an anime series where training under high gravity levels helped some fighters to greatly improve their powers. Unfortunately, given how expensive this equipment is, it's unlikely that Hayato will be experiencing it outside of this match... so he'll just have to make sure the time he has counts!
As usual, Hayato is dressed in his red track suit and wielding his shinai. Today that weapon may prove to have an advantage over more 'dangerous' implements, as it's pretty light to begin with. Something made out of metal might well become rather unwieldly under three times the normal force of gravity. As he walks into the waiting area outside the chamber, Hayato glances around for his opponent. The last time he ran across Hotaru she had been rather different from her usual, cheerful self. A real tragedy. If she still hasn't recovered... Well, Hayato's not sure what he'll do. But something!
A title challenge match. A long shot by all accounts. But it's what Hotaru wanted. A chance to face off against the inspirational Taiyo High Phys Ed instructor in a one on one match. She needed the chance to fight someone she knew she could go all out on. Someone who, should she lose control again, would be able to deal with her more savage chi technique and be spared the worst of it. Hayato seemed a good candidate. And challenging him in the SNF title system seemed the best way to arrange it.
The match has been trumped up as a follow up to their last SNF encounter, where the girl carried on as she had in the last few months. Aggressive, angry, rude and obnoxious. The people wanted /more/, and as she finally showed up at her first SNF in over a month, it was clear to her that that's what was on the organizer's minds while they explained the scenario to her. Phrases such as 'aggression', 'brutal', and other adjectives clued her in to exactly what they were expecting. "I don't fight that way anymore," she had quietly protested, but the fight setup continued on all the same.
Exhaling as she steps up to the waiting area on her side of the gravity chamber, somber blue eyes gaze across the distance toward Hayato before she manages a quiet smile. Nothing of the sort he had seen last time they faced off. Maybe things have changed for the better since then after all.
Breathing in then exhaling, Hotaru steps forward into the chamber on her side, the heavy door slamming shut behind her. The systems will fire up once it's time for the fighters to begin. Until then, there's a brief moment to prepare themselves within the sealed off environment that Hotaru uses to stretch her arms and legs. A difficult fight ahead, yes. But she'll do what she can to do her best. This is her chance to prove to herself, as well as anyone else, that she has control over how she fights once again.
Walking into the chamber, Hayato eyes Hotaru as he does a few stretching exercises. His muscles are going to be under more strain than usual in a few moments, so it would probably be for the best to be limbered up. After watching her quietly for a few moments, Hayato finally speaks. "So." He peers at her for a moment longer. Even just standing still, her body language is a great deal less aggressive than the last time Hayato ran into her. That seems like a good sign. "How're you feeling, Futaba?"
The real question, which would be rather rude to just say out bluntly, is pretty easy to guess. Is she still a hateful bitch? Hayato doesn't appear to be angry at her, but he does still appear to be suspicious. And that expression doesn't change much even when the hum of the chamber's machinery starts up.
A few moments after that, things start to kick into gear. Breathing starts to become a bit more difficult, and both fighters before long feel like a weight has been placed across their shoulders... but the real extent of the change is hard to notice until one actually moves, and sees just how heavy one's limbs have become. Hayato shifts his shoulders a few times, but he doesn't bow under the increasing pressure, and his gaze remains on Hotaru.
It's an awkward moment, the girl realizes. Usually she has approached those she felt she wronged in a quiet place where they could talk calmly and she could apologize profusely then be on her way. This scenario is quite different, however. They have a match ahead. In grueling gravity conditions at that. "I'm feeling better, Hayato-sensei." Hotaru replies. The last time she uttered that honorific with regards to him, it was with derision and spite. But there's no question that she speaks it now with its traditional intent of respect and acknowledgement for the title the teacher deserves. "I got my rabies shot," she adds a moment later, her mouth curled into faint grin at the self-deprecating remark.
"I'm honored to have this chance to fight you here," she continues as the machines start to spin up. She can fill the change gradually as even her pig-tails begin to droop down her back instead of sticking out at their normal perky angles. Oh boy, this is going to be hard, she muses quietly. "If but for the chance to apologize for my behavior when we last fought. I was dealing... or rather not dealing too well with some rather severe issues back then. I'm sorry for how I acted. It was... well, I won't be like that again." she assures him.
Slowly she turns her shoulder toward Hayato, one foot slipping out in front of her, the girl presenting as small a target for hitting as possible. "I wanted to face you again, without the anger issues, in a more traditional match." She pauses, glancing around at the metal chamber before her eyes come to rest back on Hayato, "I suppose this isn't exactly that. But it will suffice."
Hayato listens to Hotaru with one skeptical eyebrow raised at first, but it lowers after he listens to her explain herself for a bit. It... doesn't really give a /full/ explanation as to what happened, but it does get across that she's sorry. And Hayato is inclined to believe that she really means it. And that's enough for her to escape any severe punishment from Hayato for her actions. It's the people who don't repent that really need an outside influence to help correct the error of their ways.
And so, Hayato finally gives the girl a happy grin. "Well, I'm pleased to hear that. I just hope we don't have any problems like that in the future." There's no particular emphasis put on the words, but the meaning should be clear enough. Hayato then takes up his shinai and makes a few quick slashes through the air with it. The increased gravity doesn't appear to be putting a huge strain on his ability to do so, but he can definitely feel the effect of it. "And now... even if this isn't traditional, I bet it should still turn out to be quite an interesting experience."
COMBATSYS: Hayato has started a fight here.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hayato
She shakes her head as he mentions having no problems like that in the future. She darn well hopes not. She's already having to put up with this match being pitched as the Burning Instructor verses the nearly feral, rampaging school girl, which is pretty much the opposite of how she had always hoped to be viewed in the past. Well... the only way to make up for it is to prove otherwise, she's decided. Hence this match. The first of many more SNFs to come, hopefully, in which she can repair her reputation.
She nods, however, at the mention of it being an interesting experience all the same. That's for sure. Facing off against the Warrior's Belt title holder in a one verses one fight? She believes herself to have come quite a ways since she last fought the Taiyo instructor by herself. But so has he, she imagines, knowing full well that Hayato doesn't slack on training. /Ever/.
She can feel the weight tugging at her limbs as she extends her arms into her ready stance. It shouldn't affect some of her ground based techniques much, but going air born against the the gravity is going to be a dubious proposition. One she decides not to test right off hand as the match begins. "Thank you," the girl remarks. "For caring enough to try and help me last time. I appreciate it."
And then it's time to begin and Hotaru takes off, darting toward Hayato, forcing her legs to work against the gravity weighing her down. At first it seems she intends a more direct attack, but as she draws near, the Kenpo artist drops low and rolls to Hayato's left side, coming up out of the tumble, both of her hands extending out to try and find placement on his /non/ shinai weilding arm and shove him away from her... only to then snap her hands closed around his forearm and yank the teacher right back in the opposite direction she had shoved him, twisting at her torso in an attempt to pull him over her leg and drop him to the ground on his back with a fair amount of momentum. "YA!"
COMBATSYS: Hayato endures Hotaru's Medium Throw.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Hayato
One thing about the increased gravity... it's a bit harder to get someone moving for a throw. Once you /do/ succeed the fall is liable to hurt, but actually pushing someone backward is going to be harder. Once Hotaru starts tugging on his arm, Hayato has plenty of time to react to it. He could try to hold back, but he's got something else in mind. He lets himself be pushed back and forth, letting Hotaru put out the effort to move his tripled weight, and then while she's trying to knock him over her leg, he snaps out his hand for the front of her shirt.
Should Hayato manage to grab her, Hotaru will likely find herself falling along with him, now that there's quite a large weight indeed yanking down on her. And Hayato twists as he starts to hit the ground, leaving his other arm free to lash out and slam a shinai clutching fist into the girl's stomach. And if this all works, then they /both/ get the fun experience of trying to stand back up under extra gravity.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Hotaru with Power Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Hayato
This seems to be going a bit too easy, Hotaru has a moment to muse as she pushes back on Hayato and doesn't find him resisting her. Of course, inertia is fighting her so he doesn't need to /so/ much either. Still, she has the larger fighter flipping over her extended leg as intended for the moment, and that's according to plan.
What happens next, of course, is by no means part of the plan. His hand gets a hold on the front of her shirt and there's nothing the lighter weight fighter can do to contend against the weight pulling her down swiftly. An attempt is made to guard herself all the same, seeing perhaps the chance of recovering before he can get a hit in, but the difficult positioning leaves her struck cleanly in the stomach, doing the job of dropping her the rest of the way to the floor easily, her hands pressing against her gut as she curls up for a moment, looking a little pale. It's a good thing she never eats before fights!
"Ugh," the girl gasps, her hands pressing against the floor as she peels herself off of it with a wince, getting one foot planted beneath her to let her struggle the rest of the way to her feet, albeit slower than she would like, definitely. Exhaling, the girl decides to try and catch Hayato while he's in the process of recovering, reaching forward while still close by in an attempt to get a hold of his arms.
If she gets the grip, he'll become the staircase she struggles against on her way to stomping up the front of him, each strike augmented, perhaps, a little by the weight pushing down on her. If she reaches his shoulders, she simply runs off of them back down to the floor, forgoing any fancy backflips that would likely end with her just landing on her face!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hayato
Getting up is proving to be a bit more difficult than Hayato imagined. There's a multiplicative effect in play, so although the teacher is physically stronger than Hotaru, he's also dealing with a greater total increase in weight. He manages to get up into a crouch finally, though, just in time to give Hotaru the opening he needs. Hayato tries to pull his arms back before she can make use of them, but he's too slow. The kicks run up his body, and then the final blow is high enough to send him toppling over again with a loud thud.
Grunting, Hayato pulls himself into a sitting position, then pushes off the floor with his hands. He takes a deep breath then pushes, waves of orange chi starting to ripple out from his body as he forces himself up and off the ground. It's going to take some real energy in order to keep standing all the way through this fight. Luckily for Hayato, energy isn't something he's lacking in.
COMBATSYS: Hayato gathers his will.
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Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hayato
Her stomping attacks prove to be successful and Hotaru hops down on the other side, landing with a bit of a grunt that's rather uncharacteristic for her after taking to the air. "Oof," she muses, spinning back around to watch Hayato struggling to get back up against the gravity bearing down on them. He's having to contend with more mass than she is, but he's also got the muscle power to back it up. The girl knows better than to dismiss the inspiring instructor's ability to keep fighting against challenging odds. At this rate, she half suspects he'll be requesting a chamber just like this for Taiyo High to PUMP UP training routines even harder!
Her right hand comes up, wiping across her mouth, cleaning it of any spittle created by the hard hit she took to to her stomach but moments ago. Hayato is building up strength now and she decides she needs to act on it. Going back on the offense, Hotaru sprints forward as fast she can under the circumstances, dropping all too easily into a low, crouching stance as she gets in close.
It's a primer for the two rapid strikes that come next, the girl rising up out of the crouch with her closest hand slamming out toward Hayato's chest, looking to make an impact there and draw his guard high. Her other arm, bent back at first, slams forward for the follow up, an attempt to drive the heel of her palm into his stomach. It probably doesn't pack as much power as the dreaded Power Punch that nearly gutted her, but if she can land the hits it might be good for her all the same!
COMBATSYS: Hayato counters Fierce Punch from Hotaru with Counter Thrust.
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Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 Hayato
The idea had crossed Hayato's mind. Unfortunately, the Taiyo directors are unlikely to approve that kind of increase to the Physical Education department's budget. Ah well. Still, for the time being Hayato is feeling pretty pumped up. And he's back on his feet this time, and actually able to see where Hotaru is. All this serves to leave him in a much better position than he was for her last attack. This time he's ready.
Hotaru's plan isn't bad, and the way she ducks low would serve to protect her from many techniques that a person might use to take advantage of her momentum. Not this one of Hayato's, however. Hotaru manages to get down low and close to Hayato, yes. But as her head comes up, his fist comes down. And with all the extra weight behind it, Hotaru should definitely be feeling Hayato's meaty fist as it smashes into her head, driving her all the way down into the chamber floor. Hayato almost overcommits himself and goes toppling over as well, but manages to save himself at the last moment, then slowly straightens back up to a standing position.
She never quite makes it to the second swing as Hayato's fist comes crashing down atop her head, driving the girl face down to the floor with a quick thud echoing out over the metal chamber. She knows from experience that face planting at the feet of Hayato can be major trouble though, as that's when he's been know to follow up into a flurry of rapid smacks to keep his opponents from managing to make it back to their feet. Thus it is that the girl rolls quickly to the side, coming up into a crouch a little ways off, wincing a little as she fixes her attention back toward Hayato.
Just moving within the chamber is turning into a workout, and but for the ventillation systems working full time, it would be horribly stuffy by now, the girl breathing a lot harder than she's used to this far into a fight. With the extra effort sapping at her strength, perhaps she needs to go all out with her next attack and push things closer. It's a chance she has to take, to land a hit that will leave an impression on the Taiyo instructor.
And so the girl digs deep, inhaling as she steels her courage, ready to put the entire match on the line with her next attack... And then she sprints forward, significantly faster than with her last approach, as she tries to shrug off the gravity combating against her. At first it seems like she seeks to try the same thing all over again, sliding in low, arms out at her sides, feet a bit closer together... but rather than rising up into another attempt to strike Hayato, the girl launches into a powerful backflip laced with blue chi. It is the single most powerful hit she can muster, but in and of itself, it's only the opening to her most famous... or infamous techniques. "Tenshou..."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Ten-shou Ranki EX.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Hayato
The power behind the flip is enough to take Hotaru into the air in spite the gravity, the surge of chi dwarfing anything she had demonstrated thus far in the fight and giving her just enough momentum to complete the arc as her chi laced feet crash into the Taiyo instructor...
And then correct her trajectory into forward dive back down toward him, taking advantage of the opening her strike found in his guard to take him to the floor of the chamber, kneeling atop his stomach, her hands pressed against his powerful chest. She knows she has but seconds before Hayato will recover from the impact with the strength to deal with her, and thus it is that the girl converts all that latent chi she had started with into a rapidly expanding sphere of energy around the two before releasing it all to channel back down into her, funneled down her arms into the instructor's chest with a powerful, point blank explosion of chi, the shockwave resonating out from the two only to be contained easily by the thick chamber's walls.
A tired exhale, the girl having poured everything she had into that attack, Hotaru begins to struggle to her feet in an attempt to put some distance between her and the man who probably has a doctorate in P.E., knowing retaliation can't be far behind!
Hayato is dazed for a few moments after the explosion of chi, but it's not too long before he recovers. And once he does he manages to rise to one knee, slamming his foot into the ground as he pushes himself steadily up to a standing position. Aerial techniques are out of the question for him, in here, but that doesn't mean he lacks for ways to return the favor to Hotaru.
The teacher grins as he strides toward Hotaru, swinging his shinai up. And then it comes crashing down toward her, with all the extra weight of his arm behind it in an attempt to slam her down to the floor. Should he succeed, it will be followed up by even more heavy hits. This environment means it's unlikely Hotaru will be able to make many attempts to escape, but that won't stop Hayato from keeping her pinned down with further strikes, before finally giving her a heavy kick which should be able to launch her some distance, even with the increased gravity.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru just-defends Hayato's Burning Push-Ups!
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Hayato
She makes it to her feet, backing up, the air tense with the energy she had just poured into it from the point blank chi blast against Hayato's chest. She can feel it easily, the excess chi all around them, going to waste to some degree. Perhaps she's been spending too much time learning tips about chi manipulation from Frei for in that moment the girl decides to put that energy to use for her own protection for a change.
She can see that grin on Hayato's face. The confidence with which he strides forward, the way he grips his shinai so tightly. And truth be told, she's been battered around by this very technique so many times by him that the particulars aren't really /that/ surprising for her. But this time he has more than just her physical stature to contend with as he brings the wooden weapon slamming down. There is a pulse of blue as the girl draws the chi back into her, raising her hand to intersect the incoming shinai out of a certain level of desperation.
But rather than an impact of wood against the her hand, the wooden weapon strikes against a small sphere of chi in the girl's palm that protects her from the blow all together. Further attempts to hit her will be met with similar defense until Hotaru finally draws back out of range, losing some ground in order to better see where things are going. The chi itself, however, she re-absorbs into her right arm, the energy soothing aching muscles and restoring a bit of vigor to her taxed strength.
It actually worked, she wants to exclaim with a certain level of surprise. But this isn't the time for that. She's back on the offense, scooting in low, eschewing her airborn techniques for the most part in favor of just going with the flow of the high weight environment. She springs out of the crouch then, rising up with a whirlwind of palm strikes, trying to draw Hayato's focus high... The meat of the attack comes secondly as the girl lands with a grunt and leans forward hard into a single palm press targeting his sternum, pouring all of her body's strength into it, legs, torso, and arms alight. Her opposite arm slams out in the opposite direction, providing critical counter balance. "HA!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Soushou Shin.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hayato
Surprise serves to help Hotaru, as Hayato wasn't quite expecting his assault to be dealt with in such a manner. Every blow being stopped softly... the impacts are simply not what he's expecting, and he's quite confused after several strikes to no real effect. While he's still trying to figure out what just happened, Hotaru comes racing in back toward him. He tries to bring up his guard but she slips beneath it, driving palm strikes into his torso and sending him staggering back. Losing your balance is dangerous in this chamber, and Hayato finds himself crashing to the floor once again.
There's a grunt from the teacher as he lifts himself up into a sitting position, taking a few deep breaths as he grins at Hotaru. "Not bad, not bad at all. Looks like getting angry was just making you weaker. Oof." The last sound is an exhalation of air as Hayato drags himself back to his feet. He's still a bit dizzied, so he'd prefer not to go charging back /just/ yet. It wouldn't do to trip when the fall is going to hurt so much more than usual.
COMBATSYS: Hayato gains composure.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Hayato
The Taiyo teacher dropped to the floor, Hotaru maintains her position for a long moment, her arms out at her sides, each palm facing out, giving her valuable balance for the moment. Slowly she draws herself back up into a full standing position, exhaling a little, her pent up breath from that sudden surge of activity needing a chance to escape at last. He remarks on her anger issues from before and the Kenpo artist nods her head slowly. "I have come to learn that now. At the time I was convinced I needed a shortcut but..." She shakes her head, frowning slightly. She was convinced of a lot of things back then. Nearly none of them true. She must make sure to never let something like /that/ happen again. "I learned better, thanks to you, Hayato-sensei, and so many friends who cared."
Bruised atop her head, and her stomach hurting, the girl is still intending to give it her all, and after her little trick of pushing her chi control to the next level, she feels like she's got enough to launch another volley that she wouldn't have had the strenght for otherwise. Extending her hand out to her side, her forearm becomes bathed in a brilliant, vibrant blue. Nothing like the red-orange, misasmic energy she had flung at Hayato in their last SNF.
The attack charged, Hotaru swings her arm forward, unleashing the small projectile to hurtle through the air toward him. Should it hit anything, it will strike with pure force, as if being punched from ten feet away, before splashing away into nothingness, the chi returning to the world from which it was borrowed.
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Hotaru's Hakki Shou.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hayato
Fancy aerial tactics may be beyond Hayato in here, but that doesn't mean he can't at least briefly leave the ground. He starts striding toward Hotaru before she actually unleashes her projectile, and when it does actually shoot out at him Hayato leaps to the side. It doesn't take him far, or far off the ground, but it's enough to get around the Hakki Shou and continue moving forward.
And move forward he does, charging toward Hotaru. After a few strides it'd be difficult to stop even if he wanted to, thanks to the momentum he's got built up. Hayato swings his right arm back as he runs, intending to crash right into Hotaru with an upward swing of his shinai, catching her with the length of it across her stomach. He probably won't be able to knock her back /too/ far before she hits the ground again... but that just means he'll have to think quickly of his next attack.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru parries Hayato's Random Strike!
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Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato makes it around the shimmering blue projectile, Hotaru's little chi blast flying onward until it splashes against the wall of the chamber, leaving the smallest of dents as it vaporizes away. That was unfortunate, but to be expected, the girl muses. The teacher has been quick on his feet more than once before. A straight line attack like that might be a bit too simple to contend with his experience.
He comes in swinging with the shinai and Hotaru is quick to respond, putting what speed she can muster in the chamber to use, stepping around the upward, crushing swing, managing to avoid it entirely, the weapon just barely missing her. The close call gives her a really good shot at slipping in through Hayato's defenses, however, as she's now at his side and believes to have a split second of time before he can recover from the missed swing. Or so she hopes.
An aggressive leap is made then, her hands reaching for his shoulders to use as leverage as she tries to swing herself up onto him in a headstand that will stress her poor arms to no end. Which is why, should she get into position, she'll immediately drop back down, aiming both of her feet toward Hayato's back in an attempt to drive him back down to the chamber floor. The girl knows from experience that getting back up from falls is quite taxing... maybe she just needs to make him try it one more time!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Hayato with Hantentou EX.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Hayato
When there's no resistance to meet his swing, Hayato knows he's in trouble. He /really/ knows he's in trouble when he feels Hotaru grabbing him, then sees his gaze being directed up toward the ceiling. Then he crashes flat onto his back once more. He's glad that Hotaru is better and all, but he's getting a bit manhandled here! Lurching back to his feet, the gym teacher eyes the schoolgirl warily. She's a bit more tricky than he remembers. And much as he loves his students, how is he going to live it down if a high school student manages to take the belt from him?
Well, he'll just have to do his best to see that it doesn't happen! But even if it does, at least he's having fun. And so the grin remains on his face as he suddenly goes from getting up to lunging forward, his arm swinging up as he prepares to bring his shinai crashing down onto Hotaru's collarbone. He doesn't stop there, though. If the first strike connects, he follows up by drawing his arm back slightly, then swinging forward for a punch to the girl's shoulder, right around the same spot he just struck.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Hayato's Fierce Strike.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
She's struggling to last this long. There's nothing weak about his strikes, and if just a couple get through, that's all it'll take to finish the Kenpo artist's remaining strenght. The gravity is taxing, but compared to contending with the likes of Hayato? It's nothing.
He comes in swinging that shinai again, and Hotaru just doesn't have it in her to try and trudge out of the way of the painful looking combination of strikes. One blow she manages to deflect cleanly with a very timely snap of her palm, but the other one the best she can do is turn her shoulder a little, allowing it to impact at a less painful point than directly against her collarbone. The force nearly floors her even without the clean hits, the girl's legs giving a little before she forces herself to stay standing.
Gritting her teeth, Hotaru tries to step into Hayato next, spinning around once, exposing her back to him for a brief instant, as if a little dizzy or not quite clear where he is after blocking his strike... But the swift chop out from her side, aiming for the center of his stomach seems pretty much on target enough to assume that she was fairly clear as to where she needs to aim!
COMBATSYS: Hayato blocks Hotaru's Medium Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hayato
Hayato's getting pretty beaten up, but at least he's managed to daze Hotaru for a bit. Maybe that's the edge he needs. It's enough for him to defeat her latest assault, at least. But the time she lashes out with the chop to his side, Hayato has already predicted what Hotaru is going to do. He drops his arm, taking the blow there with relatively little damage to show for it. But just weathering the blows simply isn't going to be enough.
The teacher quickly raises his arm, lifting the shinai up high. This might not have worked last time, but perhaps Hotaru is still dizzy. The weapon goes up, then comes crashing down full force to slam Hotaru into the ground. Once there she'll be treated to a long series of blows aimed to keep her in one place to feel the full damage, followed a good solid kick. That way when she gets up, she won't be able to spring right up in the teacher's face.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Hotaru with Burning Push-Ups.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hayato
He catches her chop by moving his arm into the way in time. Given the strength disparity between the two, it's no surprise that it doesn't have too much of an impact with his timely defense. When the Shinai goes up, however, Hotaru knows she's in trouble. He's got that look on his face again. He's going to drop the hammer! And down it comes, in spite her efforts to block it with her arms. The combined weight of his strength, the extra gravity, and her own weariness settling in takes the girl to the floor with a thud. And then comes the extra hits, strike after strike as she tries to roll out of the way to little avail.
He doesn't quite have her finished, however, the girl at last rolling over, determined to last a little longer. The next strike that comes down, she catches on her arm rather than in her face - a definite risk she was taking, and then she rolls out of the way on to her knees. It's easy to see that she's barely hanging in there by the exhaustion written on her face, but the girl is stubborn, it seems, trying to last just a little longer.
She springs from her kneeling position into a second flurry of windmilling strikes, trying to catch Hayato on his shoulder, then against his chest, finishing with a blow to his stomach. Hey, he's got a broad build, she can't help but keep hitting him there!
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to counter Enryuu Banda from Hotaru with Counter Thrust.
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Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hayato
As Hotaru comes springing up, Hayato comes crashing down. It's a race to see who will connect first... and Hotaru wins. As Hayato's fist is racing down toward, the first of her windmilling strikes gets driven into him, throwing off the force behind his own attack. His arm drops as he tries to get it into a defensive position, but it's too late. He's forced back by the repeated strikes, then sent stumbling by the final one.
This time, at least, Hayato doesn't get sent crashing to the floor, but he does slump over forward, putting his hands on his knees as he takes several deep breaths. "Heh... heh... Looks like we're going to be cutting this pretty close. But don't think this is over /quite/ yet. I'm not so old that I can't still keep up with you kids!"
Her landing out of the whirlwind of palm strikes is hardly a fancy one either. The girl was trying to land back in her low crouching stance but the momentum behind her descent has her feet slipping as she drops to the floor with her hands propping her up. Perspiration rolls down her temples as she keeps an eye on Hayato, watching him pull himself back up as well. Neither of the two is ready to throw in the towel just yet, it seems. The girl grins, panting for breath as the teacher gets back up to standing.
"Yeah," she acknowledges his words. An interesting fight, as he had said it would be when they first started. The gravity is taxing, the energy spent to deliver attacks to him coming at a definite cost. But she has to keep pushing for as long as any strength is left in her. It isn't about the title, that bore little importance to her from the beginning. But the chance to fight once again, to experience that fighting spirit as she remembered it being. This fight has been that and then some.
Shoving her way up to her feet, the girl tightens her hands. She can't leap like she was before, but she can keep trying to get the instructor to fall one more time. Maybe for the last time if she catches him again? Back on the offense, Hotaru takes a few steps, testing her footing, her resolve to see this through keeping her going... From a yard out, the girl darts in the last little way, a small burst of determination and adrenaline as she goes for Hayato's arm, attempting to pull it back toward her and then twist it down and around as she twirls as well, trying to drop him onto his back with a very simple, traditional judo slam. Sometimes it's the basics that make all the difference!
COMBATSYS: Hayato dodges Hotaru's Quick Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hayato
Hayato is definitely getting tired, but it's difficult to tell just who is getting more worn down by this fight. He has to carry more weight around, but he might well have more stamina than Hotaru. They both seem to be slowing down, at any rate... and if this fight goes on too long, they might just both fall over, and the fight will have to be called off before they stop being able to even /breathe/ in the high gravity.
That hasn't happened just yet, though. Hotaru can still move enough to attack, and Hayato can still move enough to sidestep as she lunges toward him with one hand. He lets the girl slip past him, and it's not until she's helped him flank her that he strikes out with an attack of his own. Nothing particularly fancy, but a shinai strike to the back of the head is going to be painful, even if not particularly flashy.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Hayato's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
She missed. That much is quite clear as Hotaru stumbles past. The back of her head seems a pretty easy target in her current condition, but she's got enough wherewithall to act, dropping down and spinning on her heels at the same time. The lower center of gravity lets her cover the trajectory of the incoming shinai with her arms, the wooden weapon smacking across her limbs once again, provoking a pained hiss from the girl just about nearly smashed down to the floor by it.
Considering the number of times she's done that this fight, she'll be enjoying some very noticeable bruises on her forearms no matter how the fight itself resolves. With a grunt, the girl lunges out of her crouch, a single palm strike this time, aimed for the center of Hayato's chest, delivered with all the force she can pour into it with her arm, legs, and torso working in unisen. One last smack, she hopes, to knock him back down. Could he possibly get up again after all this?
COMBATSYS: Hayato fails to interrupt Medium Punch from Hotaru with Devastation Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Hayato can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|
As she rises from her crouch, Hotaru may sense pain coming her way. Hayato has spun around, his right foot has left the ground, and it's shrouded in energy as he whips back around to face her. It's a bit late for her to stop, though... and it's a good thing she doesn't try. The palm strike hits Hayato in the side of the ribs rather than the center of the chest, but it's still plenty painful. And with only one foot on the ground, Hayato doesn't have much hope of keeping his balance.
The gym teacher flails his arms for a moment, then topples over, hitting the floor head first. With three times the normal force, and his body too battered to properly brace himself for the impact, Hayato gets to see a flash of light, and then everything goes dark as the rest of his body hits the floor and the shinai falls from his open hand.
Her open palmed strike echos out within the chamber, the sound resonating off the walls with its finality and then then Hayato is dropped back, perhaps off balance from his attempt to hit her mid-attack. The young Kenpo artist collapses forward herself, dropping to her hands and knees, the crushing weight of the gravity chamber having long since taken its toll on the two of them.
Her head is bowed for several seconds, arms trembling as they threaten to collapse beneat the tripled weight. But the girl finally moves, shifting one knee forward, sinking back into a kneeling position on her feet with a long exhale, leaning her head back a little, hands coming up to brush her hair out of her face.
Seconds pass, the girl barely aware that the match between student and teacher has come to an end. It begins to sink in though, whens he realizes that she isn't being struck back down for trying to get up. And it's in that moment that she slowly pushes herself up to standing. Hayato is regarded solemnly as the young Kenpo artist brings her hands together and bows toward him, "Thank you, Hayato-sensei. For everything." For being a part of her getting her head back on straight, and inspiring her to do better each time they faced off against each other.
The girl backs away then, turning to stumble toward the exit from the chamber, already looking forward the rest it will take to recover from this one. Of course, she won't have much of a break once she has to /defend/ this title...
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 17:41:42 05/10/2008 by Hotaru, and last modified on 17:44:10 05/14/2008.