Description: In the main event at Howard Arena, Rock Howard faces off against one half of the Guardian Kings in Tenma Kiryuu and Stasya Voronkova. The battle is postively explosive, but can Rock overcome the two Gedo students' teamwork and a streak of bad luck?! (Winners: Tenma and Stasya)
Howard Arena. Rock Howard hates this place. It is nothing but a tribute to bad memories and rotten dreams. This is the location where he's faced three of the most humiliating defeats of his life. All on this same program, Saturday Night Fight. Every time he enters it puts a bad taste in his mouth -- the better he does, the better the ratings. The better the ratings, the richer his damnable old man gets. He can't really win. But he can't resist the forbidden fruit, either. He can't resist that apple -- that drive to compete wherever possible.
That brought him back to the Main Event. He arrives early, deriving Geese's men of a suitable PR Buildup to his emergence from some locker room. Instead, he was here about 4 hours before the fight's scheduled start time, mulling around the elevated stone arena stage, making small talk with any early fans who approach him. But as fight time drew nearer, Howard got down to business. He donned his famous red leather coat, tightened his black biking gloves, cracked his neck, and started warming up off to the far end of the stage.
His fighting style has always been fairly casual, however, so warming up isn't super intense. He mostly jogs around in place, throwing a few quick punches and kicks. He hasn't fought either of his opponents before -- so he's expecting something tricky, something he can't prepare for. Geese never makes it easy for him.
It'd taken a lot of time and careful negotiating before Stasya could get her parents to let her back into the world of sanctioned fighting again. To convince them, she'd patiently pointed out that hiding hadn't done her much good. Getting stronger in order to proactively fend off attack was, on the whole, a better plan in a world where trouble came to your doorstep whether you wanted it or not; and it was also the route to getting better control over that unbridled energy within her, a wellspring which could eventually threaten herself and others if not tamed.
Her parents had been apprehensive about this fight even when she'd told them she'd be accompanied by Tenma, who they'd come to trust and respect in no small part due to 1) his part in rescuing the girl from her kidnapping 2) having never really personally met him. The fight was so public, they objected. But Stasya had been adamant in coming. She'd been floored at her placement in a main event, and at the chance to fight in Howard Arena. Up until now, she'd been the only GK member who hadn't yet seen the place.
She's pragmatic enough, however, to know that the most likely reason they were here, in this particular place, was because of the young man she's watching now as he goes through his exercises across the stage. Would Howard let his son fight in any lesser locale?
It's hard NOT to know who Rock Howard is, but this is the first time Stasya's ever seen him up close. Pushing a couple wayward strands of blonde hair from her face, the girl slants a mild look over at her partner in this endeavor, pulling her black gloves a little tighter over her hands. "He looks younger in person," she comments to Tenma, though from the tone of her voice she doesn't sound as if she's underestimating Howard because of this. Stasya figured out a while ago that surface looks mean pretty much nothing, among fighters: and not even her senses are infallible.
A lot of things have happened to Tenma Kiryuu, at Howard Arena. Unfortunately, most of them have involved his getting blown up by Kain... But what can you do? If nothing else, the arrogant Gedo gang member considers it right and proper that he be placed in the main event - again, no less - and with one of his teammates for company. Sure, they're facing off against someone who is ostensibly a lot stronger than they are, but /that's/ nothing new.
Especially not here.
"Oh, who cares what he looks like?" Tenma complains dismissively after Stasya's comment, waving one hand at her to brush off the remark, the blood-red prayer beads at his wrist clicking quietly. The last thing they need here is Stasya having some girly moment over Rock Howard, honestly. "Just punch his face in," he explains to the Russian girl.
And then he does /his/ pre-fight warm up.
Standing beside Stasya as he was, Tenma's right hand is engaged in holding his weapon, a fairly plain-looking bokken, the solid wood replica blade slightly curved, to imitate a Japanese sword. The wooden sword has, until now, been resting slanted against his shoulder, but Tenma lowers the weapon now, as he lifts his left hand to his mouth, teeth digging into his thumb as he bites down on the fleshy part, hard enough to draw blood.
With his bleeding digit, Tenma paints a stripe of red down the wooden blade of his sword, forging the basis for the chi link between himself and his weapon; from there, the Guardian King sweeps his weapon through the air once, setting it alight with a smoky, crimson aura of blood and chi, the two mingled together so closely as to be inseparable.
"Hey, Betty!" Tenma calls out towards Rock, showing his characteristic tact and diplomatic skill. "You 'bout ready to get this show on the road, or you want another five minutes t' make sure your makeup is all right?"
"Oh hey, another guy who needs a weapon to win," Rock says, his red eyes locking across the arena at Tenma after the kid starts the verbal battle. He has a documented history, after tangoing with Kurow Kirishim and Yamazaki, about being anti-third party utensil in what is supposed to a professional fight. In his mind, it should rely on purely physical skulls. Knuckles and muscles. Nothing more, nothing less. That's the purest form of the art. But come across him on the street? That knife, or nunchuck, or trash can is cool with him. But here? Howard Arena?
Rock stops his warm up sequence, looking over at his other opponent. Teenaged girl gets a deeper appreciation, Howard nodding his head in a long, measured, way. "Your friend always cut himself open?" he asks, glancing back at Tenma's bloody bokken. That right there tells him that this dude is probably crazy. Well, he's fought plenty of crazy people in his life. "--But whatever. Let's get this over with."
Rock takes his Bogard hat off, runs a gloved hand through his blond hair, and tosses the hat into the crowd. People go crazy and the fightin' spotlights pop on, casting a halo of light down on the stage and blocking out the audience.
COMBATSYS: Rock has started a fight here.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
"You don't have to tell me twice," the girl replies Tenma's directions amusedly, grey eyes half-lidding as she shoulders Tenma in a light shove. She probably won't get distracted this fight; the bulk of her girly moments are reserved for Heinlein. That may or may not be related to the fact that Kain -has- repeatedly blown up Tenma, something which never really fails to amuse Stasya if 1) deserved 2) largely harmless.
Then again, Kain -is- Rock's uncle, and there are some obvious similarities there. Maybe Tenma does have to worry?!
And then, Tenma directs all his prodigious (lack of) tact towards Rock. A long-suffering look momentarily ghosts across Stasya's face, long fingers rubbing at her temple in a delicate show of patient endurance. She glances up to meet Rock's red eyes with her own greys when he addresses her, a faint smirk pulling at her mouth at the words. "There are a lot of things he 'always does,'" is her reply, a light teasing note in her voice. "Leaning on his weapon to win is not typically one."
That said, she steps forward and up onto the stage, cutting out towards the left and letting Tenma take the right. She paces slowly to a halt, watching Rock carefully, taking a moment to read the way he moves and carries himself.
COMBATSYS: Stasya has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Stasya focuses on her next action.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
"Oh hey," Tenma says, mimicing Rock's tone. "Another guy who bitches about how other people fight." Straightening up, the Japanese youth rests his bokken against his shoulder again, unaffected by the smoky aura around the weapon, his other hand hanging loosely at his side. Huffing out a breath, directed upwards, the leader of the Guardian Kings stirs dark bangs out of his face, his eyes watching Rock fixedly.
When Rock addresses Stasya and asks if he always cuts himself open, Tenma then holds /up/ his free hand, rubbing his thumb against his index finger, in the universal 'tiny violin' gesture. At least he's got his Russian teammate sticking up for him though, instead of swooning at Rock or something. Bros before h... Oh, uh, nevermind.
Still, what you'd probably expect from Tenma right about now is some sort of reckless headlong charge; instead, what he /does/ is pace off in the opposite direction from Stasya, dark blue eyes narrowing faintly as he continues to watch Rock. His intention is obvious: Keep the blond young man between them, keep him flanked. And then...?
COMBATSYS: Tenma focuses on his next action.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|
Howard was hoping for exactly that from Tenma. He expected, from a two-second survey, that the guy would be chomping at the bit to fly in at him and try and KO him in one masterstroke. That sort of thing, as most people knows, plays into Rock's makeup as a fighter. He's like a wiry, smaller, tenacious version of his father. Come at him and he'll make you regret it (when he's not failing it, naturally).
Briefly surprised by the hesitation in both of his opponents, Howard starts pacing the perimeter of the arena. "I like that," he says, not making it totally clear immediately what he means. "You're both cautious and confident. That tells me that you don't want to lose, which tells me that you're going to try your asses off." Rock pulls one of his gloves tighter, fingers stretching before he curls them into a fist. "Me too. This is going to be a killer fight. Let's do this!"
Rock has evil blood in his veins. He's got no problems throwing the first punch. Eyes flicking between Tenma and Stasya, Rock finally makes the mental decision who he's going after. He breaks into a sudden run, his booted feet grinding against the stone surface of the elevated arena floor. He cuts quickly, the angle of his movements heading towards the space between each of his opponents. At the last moment, he plants and shoots his momentum towards Tenma's personal comfort zone, his right leg snapping forward to try and snapkick him right in the chest.
"What is the point of coming," Stasya replies, her grammar a lot better these days but her words still distinctly Russian-accented, "if you're not aiming to win?" One sharp, crooked grin later, she shoots into motion as Rock decides to charge, leaping back a few paces and skidding to a stop as the young Howard abruptly cuts towards Tenma and throws a sharp blow the GK leader's way.
Halting a little ways behind Rock, Stasya braces, heels digging in... and then arrows forwards again. It soon becomes clear that jump away was just a means to get a running start. A sudden thin haze of red energy bleeding from her skin and trailing in her wake as she closes, the girl abruptly throws herself forwards and spins immediately into a sharp kick slung right at Rock's left shoulder. A sheath of energy surrounds the blow itself, sharp enough to feel like a distinct edge... but no longer sharp enough to actually -cut-.
COMBATSYS: Rock successfully hits Tenma with Light Kick.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-----==|
Snorting at Rock's words, Tenma keeps his attention on, well, keeping his attention on how the other young man moves; like Stasya says, what's the point in showing up if you're not trying to win? Besides which, Tenma's been in a lot of 'playing for keeps' situations in the past year - far too many for him to ever go back to not really caring about winning or losing. Especially not in the main event, on primetime TV.
Still, some of Tenma's attitudes work against him; case in point, when Rock throws that kick his way, Tenma becomes curious as to just how hard the son of Geese actually hits... So he doesn't move.
Unfortunately, Tenma miscalculated, the kick landing differently than he'd expected, keeping him from capitalising on it like he'd planned; instead, there's just the stinging impact, driving him back a little with a grunt of pain... And then Tenma lunges forward, directly at Rock, trying to pin him between his own and Stasya's attacks. His aim is to 'catch' Rock with the tip of his bokken, and once he does to twist around, flipping physics the bird as he uses his weapon and his chi to throw Rock back over him.
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Rock with Asura.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Stasya successfully hits Rock with Medium Kick.
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Stasya 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
Rock feels some satisfaction as his leg lands cleanly against Tenma's body. Striking first is always a good sign where he comes from. It means that you've established both a mental and physical advantage over your opponent. That gives you an edge going into the rest of the fight. Unfortunately, that advantage doesn't account for facing two talented fighters --
Stasya's kick strikes Rock just as he lands his jump kick. The chi-surrounded foot strikes him on its mark -- connecting with his shoulder and driving Howard back. He stumbles a full two steps back, trying to keep his footing, only to be swallowed up by the strange tactics of Tenma and his bloody bokken. Before Howard knows what is happening, the teamwork has him in the air and crashing face-first into the hard stone arena floor.
Rock doesn't stay on the ground for very long. He rolls onto his back and kicks himself back to his feet. He can taste copper in the back of his throat from the double-strikes, giving the teammates first blood in the battle. Immediately, from his slightly crouched position, Rock explodes forward with speed. He's like a cannonball.
He goes right at Stasya this time. The sudden surge of golden chi that surrounds him is where he's earned his notoriety. His ability to just summon tremendous amounts of energy with his very will. By the time he breaks into Stasya's own defensive space, he's like a shooting star, a concentration of glowing energy rippling off his elbow as he tries to drive it right through the girl's sternum.
COMBATSYS: Stasya blocks Rock's Hard Edge.
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Stasya 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
Pushing off her point of contact with Howard's shoulder lightly, Stasya lands in a backwards skid and lifts her head immediately to watch for a followup: blowing her long blonde hair out of her eyes. She's in time to observe Tenma's own attack connecting, their cooperative effort laying Rock low-- but not for long. With expected resilience, Rock recovers quickly: spinning back to his feet and launching at Stasya with breakneck speed.
The girl braces visibly as Rock comes tearing towards her, grey eyes reflecting all that gold chi. He's too fast for her to do anything but try to catch or soak the blow somehow, and so when that chi-laced elbow comes crushing in she gets her arms and hands in between her vulnerable sternum and the attack. The force of it is still too much, though; it slams her guard right back into her chest, momentarily winding her, and pushes her back a couple paces in a stumble.
Shaking her numbed arms out briefly, the girl pouts a brief grimace. That hurt more than she expected. Eyes narrowing, she lunges back forwards, hand pushing out towards Rock; but it never fists, and her fingertips never get any closer than a mere brush against Rock's red jacket. It's the sudden burst of red energy that knifes down her arm and out towards Rock that the boy has to worry about, the blast of force spiring out to a rather nasty point several inches beyond her hand.
No doubt about it: Rock is a tough customer. He's got speed, good reflexes, and power... But at the same time, he's facing /two/ opponents, and at least one of them - Tenma Kiryuu - refuses to acknowledge that it might be impossible to win. It doesn't really matter /who/ he's facing, or how much they outstrip him in ability... And while Rock is certainly stronger than himself or Stasya either one, with the two of them combined?
"Tch... Voronkova!" Tenma calls warningly towards the Russian as Rock elects to go after her, but it seems the blonde girl has things in hand, at least mostly, managing to hold off the worst of Rock's attack before starting with her own, which means Tenma had better do everything he can to help her out.
Quickly switching his grip on his bokken to a two-handed one, Tenma sweeps the weapon through the air in a wide, fast arc. It's entirely too far away to hit Rock with the weapon, but of course that's not really the point; the /point/ is the red streak of power, the afterimage that follows the motion of the blade, and from that is born into the world a crescent of roiling blood, almost as tall as Tenma himself, tearing through the air towards Rock, hoping to strike him with searing force and make a mess of his nice jacket; that's real blood, you know. Gets everywhere! "Haaa-!!"
COMBATSYS: Rock dodges Stasya's Halteclere.
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Rock fails to slow Dharmapala from Tenma with Double Reppuken.
-* CRITICAL FAIL! *-
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
Rock is surprised when Stasya swallows the bulk of the Hard Edge. It is his favorite technique -- its the first real striking attack he developed on his own, after years of admiring Terry Bogard. It's his pride and joy, so when the girl handles it without her chest exploding, he has to respect that. Respect it enough to prepare for a counterattack.
Years of fighting and training with Kain Heinlein has made him prepared for that pure-chi type of attack that she gives back to him. With a sharp planting of his right foot, Howard bends back at the waist. The snake of chi cuts the air across his chest, clipping at the edges of his red jacket but missing the critical center of his mass. Sliding his balance back forward, Rock's hand clenches tight to prepare for another --
There's Tenma again. The corner of Rock's eye catches the sudden BLOOD GEYSER in this BLOOD OCEAN. Reacting quickly, he pulls his hand back, shifts his angle, and then cuts both arms upward like he was uppercutting through the air. His own twin blossoms of glowing chi rip off his arms, slamming into the blood train like rock's through water.
Unfortunately, a rock through water doesn't really stop it from going around the ripple and drowning the person behind it. That's exactly what happens to Howard. Reppukens not stopping the Dharmapala, it crashes into Rock and swallows him in the red thunder. He's launched onto his back, disgusting bloodspray pushing him towards the edge of the stone arena. People in the front row get treated to a Gallagher-like splash.
Rock lays on his back much longer this second time. His head swims with the pain of it all, his body covered in some other dude's disgusting blood. Slowly, he sits up, looking like he got slimed on a Nickolodeon show. He starts to stand, shaking his arm, blood slopping off his sleeve. "What. The. Fuck?"
Her chest might not have exploded, but in the first few instants she'd still had to surreptitiously -check- to make SURE it hadn't. Chi has always hurt a lot more than it rightfully should, but to feel that much pain after something she'd -thought- she'd handled...
Well, she guesses, this is why Rock's the one going up against two fighters solo.
Her attempt to pierce the young Howard handily dodged, Stasya immediately pulls back defensively, expecting some reprisal; but soon, Tenma acts to get Rock off her back, slinging that familiar crescent of blood straight for the young man. "Tenma--!" she starts, as she sees Rock fire up that familiar Double Reppuken to deal with the incoming slash of blood-- but soon enough, it becomes clear that the warning isn't necessary.
Rock, predictably, looks extremely grossed out by the result. Stasya doesn't blame him. "S...sorry, he does that to everybody," she explains to the young Howard, and she almost DOES sound apologetic about it; at least, up until she gets moving again, not forgetting that this is a fight. She throws herself forwards into an actual handstand, swapping from the taekwondo-esque kick she'd thrown before to something more like capoeira, and from her inverted position tries to sling a quick kick forwards at the boy.
Ohh.. Ohhh. You know he felt that one. Tenma may have overdone it a little bit, red red blood spattered everywhere... But hey, it /worked/, and that's what really matters, here. So while Rock is on the ground grossed out, and Stasya is sympathetic, Tenma just smirks a confident smirk, showing his teeth. Oh yes, he looks mightily pleased with himself right here.
Right up until Stasya /apologises/.
"HEY!!" Tenma bellows, turning to point right at Stasya with his bokken. "DON'T APOLOGISE FOR ME! Especially not to the enemy!" Well, maybe 'enemy' is too strong of a word, but Tenma Kiryuu deals in certainties and forceful language. At least Stasya is sensible enough to attack Rock despite her apology to him, and so as Stasya lashes out with her leg, in comes Tenma as well, hoping to keep any pressure off of his female teammate by adding a few quick poking stabs from his chi-emanating bokken to keep Rock off-balance.
COMBATSYS: Rock blocks Tenma's Light Strike.
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rock fails to interrupt Light Kick from Stasya with Raging Storm'.
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
Rock might be going up against two fighters solo to learn another life lesson from Geese Howard, because nothing is going according to his plans. While he brings up his arms defensively when Tenma comes at him with some light stabs of his bokken, it leaves him completely exposed for Stasya when she goes all Rainbow Warrior on him.
Rock backpedals with Tenma's thrusts, using his forearms to deflect the wooden sword with each stab. Each impact of the blade against one of his arms draws more intensity from Howard's red stare. By the time Stasya is coming at him, he's brimming. A quick block of another oF Tenma's strikes transitions him into a spin to face Stasya.
Immediately, Rock starts to glow with golden energy. His fists clench and he starts the infamous Raging Storm sequence. But Stasya handles it properly -- she doesn't back off when the storm of chi starts to swirl around Rock's body, waiting for him to release it. She moves right in and slams a kick right into his jaw. Rock's head snaps back and to the side, his concentration shot. He stumbles backwards, the swirling of energy around his body disappearing almost equally as quick.
Rock spits, blood splattering against the nice stone arena floor. It's hard to notice considering Tenma's previous attack. "Man," he says, between deep breathes, pulling his coat off and tossing it to the side. "You guys don't mess around."
At Tenma's indignation, Stasya has to actively suppress the smirk that's been wanting to twitch to life on her face. She stood up for you before, Tenma, but that doesn't mean you aren't fair game later. Perhaps she still is swooning over the Heinlein bloodline.
The girl is halfway to her handstand when Rock suddenly lights up like a freshly replaced bulb. Part of her wants to balk, knowing what's coming next and cringing away from the possibility of a -world- of pain; but the rest of her knows that if she's quick enough, she might yet escape fiery death. She throws the kick as fast as she can, managing to interrupt the storm right before it goes off, and once Rock takes that first step back Stasya immediately flips back to her own feet: backing away quick herself.
Rock notes that the two of them don't mess around. And Stasya quiets a moment, grey eyes carefully watching the boy as he sheds his jacket. "Life is not always treating you nicely enough you can just mess around," she replies, a little cryptically; though anyone who knows what she and the rest of GK just went through would probably know what prompted that. "Though. Is just a sport match, admittedly."
COMBATSYS: Stasya focuses on her next action.
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
So, yeah, that time none of Tenma's jabs landed, but... Well, he sure set Stasya up to do something awesome, didn't he? Teamwork, that's what this is. Awesome, awesome teamwork. With Stasya moving to give Rock a bit of room, Tenma follows the Russian's lead, hanging back from further immediate melee with the now coatless son of Geese. "Ain't no reason to mess around," Tenma confirms, nodding to Stasya's words; confident as he is, arrogant as he may be, Tenma isn't the sort to underestimate a stronger opponent, or give them an inch more slack than he absolutely has to.
So, once again Tenma tries to keep Rock between himself and the Russian girl, looking for a good opening; they've got Howard on the ropes so far, but the real question is whether or not they can keep it up and end this quickly, before the stronger fighter can take one of them out and maybe even the fight up. "Consider it a compliment."
COMBATSYS: Tenma focuses on his next action.
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Stasya 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
"Uh," Rock squints at Stasya for a second. Her cryptic comments don't mesh well with his very blunt and straight-forward mentality. Rock Howard wears his thoughts and emotions on his sleeve. He's never been controlled and tempered -- the only time he started feeling serenity was when he trained with Terry Bogard. But Terry's disappeared again, Grant has replaced that void, and that monster of a man believes that emotion is the source of strength.
Rock knows what these guys are doing. They're working together, letting each other attack him to open up his defense for the other one to get in a clean hit. And it's working. Then once he gets his feet back under him, they're realigning themselves to be able to do it all over again. His lips flatten as he looks between the Russian Girl and Blood God. "You've got me on the ropes," he says, and he doesn't say it like its a compliment now.
"You should be pressing the advantage and finished me off while you still can. Now?" Rock grins. He looks a little bit malevolent, a little bit Geesian, when he does that. "I'm going to blow you away!" Howard exhales strongly, releasing his lungs of any oxygen. He then draws in a breath, eyes looking beyond both Tenma and Stasya. Their caution leaves them open to what Rock does next. Two steps forward are taken against the stone floor, Rock's black t-shirt whipping from the sudden surge of glowing energy on each of his hands. And for the second time, he releases his father's signature attack.
With a roar, a glowing indigo Reppuken rips from Howard's arms, churning across the ground for each of Rock's opponents.
COMBATSYS: Stasya slows Double Reppuken from Rock with Chandrahas.
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Stasya 1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|
Stasya, in contrast, is a walking engine of control, emotional compartmentalization, and restraint. She has to be, some days, just to keep all the energy in her in check. Just to shut out the constant static she gets from all the minds and emotions around her. Just to shut out, sometimes, the fact that she can see the reality of people-- the real natures that they keep under their skins. Unless, of course, said person is Ayame.
She doesn't try to explain herself to Rock, however. She has a feeling he's gearing up to do something potentially painful to them both. And her suspicions are confirmed when that energy once again tears the ground; the two arcs of force dispersing, this time, in order to strike both herself and Tenma. Eyes narrowing, Stasya leaps back immediately, gaining some ground, before her red energy sparks around her and she launches into a full backflip.
The long, hard-edged energy slings -off- her, a vertical arc of discrete, thin blades streaking straight for her half of the Double Reppuken. She lands, twists again in a butterfly kick, and another array of bladelike energy arcs out, horizontal this time. It conflicts with the Reppuken, punching holes in the wave of energy and disrupting its coherence; but it doesn't stop it entirely, and what's left crashes into Stasya with the approximate force of a freight train.
The girl goes skidding back a full ten feet before she stops herself with a hand slammed into the arena top. Somewhat dazed, she just... kind of stays where she is for a few moments, trying to regain some sense of orientation and push her tangled hair out of her face.
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Rock's Double Reppuken.
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Stasya 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 1/---====/=======|
All right then, it's clearly time to change plans.
Tenma sees the storm of incoming energy - he can /feel/ it - and where Stasya's first reaction is to defend herself, trying to stop the oncoming blast of power with her on, the leader of the Guardian Kings clearly has a very different idea in mind. Because, you see, Tenma runs right /into/ the Reppuken, getting blasted full-on by the sheer force of Rock's chi, the power of that 'evil' bloodline....
...And keeps going right through it, with wisps of energy clinging to his body as he runs, searing him painfully as he closes the distance between himself and Rock, bellowing at the top of his lungs. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" shouts the Gedo swordsman, swinging his sword arm back and pushing his left hand forward, fingers lightly contorted in a simple mudra position, helping him concentrate, focus. Concentrate on one point.
That point is Rock Howard.
As Tenma closes with Rock, the glow of bloody chi around his wooden blade reaches a fever pich, deep crimson obscuring the wood entirely until it seems like Tenma is holding a sword made out of pure blood. And when he gets close, close enough, he swings a single, full-armed swing with all his momentum, the full rotational force of his body behind it, trying to slam the wooden blade with his aura of searing, bloody power into the son of Geese...
And if it hits, Tenma's chi TEARS through Rock, violently disrupting the very flow of life through the slightly older youth, stealing his vitality and leaving behind it only a chill, empty numbness.
"--BE SEALED!"
COMBATSYS: Rock fails to counter The Sealing Sword from Tenma with Joudan Crack Counter.
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Stasya 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rock
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Tenma 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Rock can no longer fight.
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Stasya 1/------=/=======|
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Tenma 0/-------/------=|
Rock is okay with Stasya using up some of her energy to lessen the effect of the Reppuken. He doesn't blame her -- he's felt the full force of those fireballs too many times to count. He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy. Plus, it keeps her busy enough for a few seconds so he can focus on solely on Tenma finally.
Of course, that would all be according to plan. Tenma's done everything tonight to ruin Rock's plans. He's been unpredictable by not playing to his archetype, in Rock's mind! He doesn't know what the kid will do next. That includes him running right through an entire Reppuken, screaming like a psychopath, and then pretending he's Ken Griffey Junior with Rock's body.
By the time the point of that wooden sword is in Rock's field of vision, the Howard's eyes bulge wider. He is flat-footed and completely unprepared for it. The swing of the sword sends a pillar of pain blasting into him, the blood-chi cutting right through Rock's defenses. It hits him like a sack of bricks, lifting him off his toes and up through the air. He slams into the stone arena floor a few seconds later, skidding across the smooth surface towards the edge. Half of his body hangs off it before his inertia stops him.
Rock sort of lays there, his black clothing stained in blood-chi remnants, one of his arms hanging limply off the stone ledge. That'll probably be the front page image for SNF.com tomorrow. The SNF Sponsers wait for about ten seconds before the floodlights kick on and the announcer starts declaring victory.
Finally picking herself off the arena floor, Stasya sways a bit dizzily back over to Tenma. She looks to have been beat up by that Reppuken just as badly as Tenma was, even though she actually managed to mitigate some of her share of it, whereas... Tenma just ran straight through it.
Then again, chi always hurt her a lot worse than it did Tenma.
She casts a somewhat worried glance over at Rock, seeming a bit troubled; not because of regret for how hard she and Tenma fought, but mostly just out of a general sense of empathy. She really is too kind for the sanctioned circuit, sometimes. Once she notices the medical team heading over to take care of the boy, she turns her gaze on Tenma.
"...I am betting you knocked another couple hundred brain cells loose with that one," she notes, observing his soundly Reppuken'ed form.
And in the aftermath of his ferocious attack on Rock, Tenma sways a little on his feet, just barely catching himself by burying the point of his bokken against the granite underfoot. Whew. That took a lot out of him, judging by the way the teenager is sweating and gasping for breath.
And yet, he managed to come out of it better than Rock, at least.
"Heh," Tenma chuckles to himself, managing to straighten up as the lights come on and the two Guardian Kings are declared the winners. "Man, he hits pretty hard," the arrogant youth allows, in an undertone, reaching up with his free hand to brush dark bangs out of his face, the red aura around his bokken dissipating with a sound like a slowly exhaled breath, the red stripe painted on it in Tenma's own blood having since vanished. "I've had worse," he explains to Stasya, though the words are accompanied with another self-impressed smirk from the lean Japanese youth. "He was pretty good though... Tough luck for him we make a good team, eh, Voronkova?" Tenma wonders of the Russian, shouldering his bokken again as he hops off the stage. Oh, Tenma knows he got lucky... He's just not going to bring attention to the fact. He's not /cazy/.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has left the fight here.
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Stasya 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Stasya has ended the fight here.
Log created on 20:03:24 05/24/2008 by Tenma, and last modified on 19:16:56 05/27/2008.