Description: 'Memento Mori'? What kind of name is that?! Random challenger challenges Kyo Kusanagi, the famed World Warrior - will Kula's sneaky Chaos Agent ways even the score?! (Winner: Kyo)
So, being in the main event is pretty cool.
Fighting some mysterious nobody is even kinda cool: It gives Kyo the chance to break some newcomer's spirit before they even really get started fighting professionally, teaching them early on that they haven't got a chance agains the best.
But being left to wait? That is NOT cool.
Everyone knows that keeping others waiting is Kyo Kusanagi's job, and yet here he is... Prompt, on time, and waiting for his scheduled opponent, who by now is probably just a minute or two behind schedule, but Kyo is nothing if not a supporter of double standards. If HE were late, after all, he would wholly expect the whole world to cease its turning and wait for his lazy ass. But, since he's the one being made to wait, Kyo is grumbling, standing off to one side of the raised granite fighting platform with his arms folded over his chest.
He is not /sulking/, however, and don't you dare insinuate otherwise!
The crowd, meanwhile, gets a tiny bit antsy. It's only a minute or so after all, perhaps there's just some technical difficulties?
'Get in there and just mix things up as much as possible. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. The fighters are after each other, you're just there to generate chaotic interference.' Or so the explanation had been when the officials talked to Kula Diamond before the fight. Each week is a different training exercise for the NESTs project and this one seems no different. Encouraged to attack with reckless abandon for a change? Sounds neat.
But there is the matter of the participants. One she knows nothing of, never having heard the name and no one at NESTs being able to dig up anything by backing various fighting circuit rosters. The other is well known to her and of course, /everyone/ at NESTs. It's their favorite unwilling DNA doner, after all, Kyo Kusanagi. The boy's genetics have been woven into not just one but multiple individuals within the Cartel's labs, with Kula being one of them.
This is her first chance to be in near proximity to the Kusanagi scion, however, and it is with wide violet eyes that she stares at the pacing youth. Truth be told, she expected something a bit more amazing. He looks kind of average to her. A little sulk- er... impatient, but otherwise nothing seems to set him apart from any other young man his age. K' is much more interesting!! Or maybe she was just programmed to pay closer attention to K' - designed to counter him so effectively after all.
It's a few moments before 'Mori' makes himself known. He's watching from the entrance, taking a look at the surroundings and the crowd, and curing himself again for being so /stupid/ as to reveal himself to Billy Kane a few weeks ago. Mori is none other than Vega reborn - the head of Shadaloo in a new body, finding ways to test himself. He'd plotted and planned, entering the Saturday Night Fights as an unknown with an eye towards meeting Kula in a one-on-one meeting, where he could express his 'displeasure' with the girl in a public, brutal way. In his mind, he replays the events that led up to this new battle - realizing that placing himself in Howard's tender mercies had led him to this, trusting that Kane would have kept quiet an idiotic idea indeed. However, his bed has been made, and he must lie in it.
Brushing his fingers through his hair, 'Mori' moves towards the entrance, and out into the spotlight. A severe black outfit graces his form, a stark contrast to the grey hair and pale eyes that look towards Kyo and Kula both. He narrows them, and as he steps into public, he forces himself to pull back that normal wave of energy he weilds. The fight will not go well without it - but he cannot risk here and now being exposed. Kyo'd felt that power far too recently in Vega's taste to risk it again, at least so far.
Subsumed, 'Mori' walks towards the ring and springs lightly into it, all seriousness and deliberate action. He glances between the other two fighters, gruff voice sounding apologetic without really being so. "I suppose I should have been surprpsied to step on the stage wit the whld warrorior himself - I'd hoped for a simpler fight for my initial step here." He's casual enough about the array of power that the Kusanagi youth weilds, knowing exactly what it can do. All he can hope for is a chance to expose weaknesses, and catch the man unaware.
To Kula, a brief appraising glance, and the man shrugs again. "I'd hoped to fight you instead, honestly. But what happens can't be helped. I suppose Geese Howard's mind works in mysterious ways." With that, he drops into a ready stance, a typical Ansetsuken style - after all, he had plenty of time to study Sakura when he had her brainwashed. He takes a breath, and then focuses his eyes on the fighters. "When you're ready." he simply says.
COMBATSYS: Vega has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Adelheid
As for Kula's presence, Kyo doesn't even outwardly acknowledge the wee experiment's existence the entire time he spends waiting. Not even with her staring at him, though he's acutely aware of the fact that she is; even if he wasn't such a fighter of the caliber he is, it's hard to miss a creepy little girl staring at you creepily, you know? No, nothing seems to disturb Kyo from his DEFINITELY NOT SULKING, until the appearance of 'Mori' himself, the newcomer springing lightly onto the fighting stage. Then, and only then, does a change come over the arrogant Kusanagi heir.
"Yeah, well, you can't always get what you want, huh?" Kyo wonders, with a faint smirk as he turns his attention towards his opponent. His right hand moves, summoning with contemptuous ease those orange-crimson flames that are the mark of his heritage and bloodline, the very power NESTS tried to turn to their own use... Seemingly to their sorrow. "Don't worry though, at least you'll know you got your ass kicked by the best, right?" Another simple movement banishes those flames, as Kyo's smirk widens. "Besides," he says, his voice laced with amusement. "I'll make ya famous."
And then, Kyo bursts into a forward run, since Mori was nice enough to offer to let him start. No, Kyo's not particularly concerned about sportsmanship, why do you ask?
Once he gets a bit closer, then, the World Warrior takes a twisting step and throws himself into the air, tucking one leg in and extending the other in a wide arcing kick, his foot tracing a crescent through the air as he twists sideways, though his goal is simple: Boot the newbie right in the head. "Hua-!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Vega 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Adelheid
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Kyo
And then there was three. The final participant arrives, a bit late at that. Not a great start to a fighting career, but he's hardly the only one to demonstrate tardiness when it comes to maintaining event schedules. It's almost like a core component of any wouldbe fighter to be notoriously indifferent to time and the being on thereof. Mori's arrival is the first thing to finally pull Kula's stare off of Kyo, the young, leather clad girl taking in the appearance of the new arrival.
He doesn't register as anyone important, nor does she sense anything of importance about him. Long auburn hair frames the face of the curious girl, especially when he addresses her directly. Her hand comes up, violet eyes blinking with surprise, yellow-glove clad hand pointing back at herself with a confused expression. Why woudl he want to fight her? Who is he?? Off stage, several NESTs scientists and other caretakers for the young experiment jot down notes, exchanging furrowed-brow glances with each other, all of them wondering why this nobody has taken special interest in their project child.
Though it seems that it's time for the match itself to get started, as demonstrated by Kyo charging in at the first possible opportunity. It's a bit sudden, the girl not having been ready for things to get rolling so quickly, leaving her slow to do anything besides stand off to the side out of the way of the two combatants. A breath is taken, a controlled inhale followed by a slow exhale - a white shimmer of energy passes over her, leaving in its wake sky blue hair and a small flurry of blue ice crystals whirling around her. The temperature in her immediate vicinity drops just a couple of degrees in the process.
Well, if this is truly Kyo verses a newcomer, then this Mori fellow is going to need some help, right? Such is Kula's reasoning as she brings her right hand to her mouth, palm up, fingers toward the Kusanagi boy. Another deep breath is taken then a swift exhale blown over the palm of her hand. A harmless enough seeming gesture at first - but it's no kiss she's blowing Kyo's way but rather a pulse of air, a frigid blast propelling forward crystalline shards and razor sharp rings of frozen water within it, all of them bearing down on Kyo from the side. Maybe she's trying to put out his flames for Mori's sake!
COMBATSYS: Kula has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Adelheid
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Vega 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
COMBATSYS: Vega auto-guards Kyo's RED Kick!
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Kula 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Adelheid
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Vega 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
That smirk - he'd seen it before, after Kyo and Iori had laid waste to him on the mountaintop. It's enough to make the dictator seethe under his careful facade. Taunt him, toy with him, assume him weak... 'Mori' is surely intent in proving to the Kusanagi man that even without his power, he can crush the youth like a bug. It's a fitting test, in the end - one he'll have to deal with, and the consequences be damned.
As Kyo and Kula both spring into motion, 'Mori's attention is more focused on Kula. It's a brief look, only to see which way she faces - when she aims owards Kyo, he turns his full attention to the Kusasnagi warrior instead. He brings his guard up, seeing that smirk and hearing those words, and lashes out in return. His guard is flawless, the impact moving 'Mori' to the side a foot, but leaving him with his hand on Kyo's foot, held mere inches from his head. Pale eyes meet Kyo's, and his voice is even and smooth.
"Fancy. Slow." With that, he attempts to tighten his grip on the foot that's raised, and brings his own back foot in a simple sweep along Kyo's landing leg, aiming for the knee with a blur of speed. He's not trying anything fancy himself, no - without the power of his psycho energy being used, he knows he can't allow himself overconfidence. He eels back immedeately after, trying to keep out of the range of Kula's incoming attack.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyo with Diamond Breath.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Vega's Quick Throw.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/-------|
The way his kick is stopped completely by Mori gets a curious sound out of Kyo, immediately before two things happen in very quick succession: First, he gets his leg kicked out from under him, which puts him in a very bad situation as Kula's icy breath comes his way. There's not much he can do about the latter, unfortunately, the girl's frosty attack impacting him fully, but he at least manages to roll to break most of the impact of his fall, ending up in a low crouch some distance away, ice melting in his hair.
"Gosh," says Kyo, towards Kula, in a tone of VERY feigned innocence. "You must not be very popular with the boys, huh?"
Awww, Kyo, that's NASTY.
But, Kula's not his opponent, at least at the moment: That's Mori's job. And it's one the mystery man seems better suited to than one might first have expected, given his unknown status. "What rock did you crawl out from under, anyway? I gotta admit, that was pretty good... Guess I can't half-ass this." And so, Kyo snaps his fingers and whips his right hand out, setting a 'seed' of fire arcing towards the granite underfoot... Which turns into a blossom of Kusanagi flames, tearing across the stage towards his opponent. "...BURN!!"
If Kula's skill in combat were less instinct and more active cognizance of her opponents and their skill levels, she would probably have realized something was up when the newcomer fighter managed to contend with Kyo's incoming kick so handily. But as-is, she doesn't notice a thing. Her hand lowers from her mouth slowly, snowflakes drifting down from the ice encrusted protective glove.
Kyo's remark in the young girl's direction provokes a number of snickers, laughs, and chuckles from the crowd. Oh Kyo. That cad. But if anyone was expecting the blue haired moppet to get embarrassed by the remark, they might be surprised as Kula merely blinks, her eyes posessing a hint of red when contrast against her lighter hair. "Well," comes the reply, as she raises her pointing finger, "I've been told that a lot. So it's probably true." The resultant awkward coughs in the crowd is accompanied by a lot of people avoiding each contact from each other for a long moment. Of course the last time she was told that the connotations were perhaps quite different.
Calmly, the ice wielder lowers her hand, turning toward this Mori fellow. There's no reluctance to strike him every bit as hard as she had Kyo, which is why when Kula darts forward, she attacks him just like she would anyone else, peer or otherwise. Her feet gliding over the arena tiles as if moving via the aid of skates, she slides to a stop just shy of Kyo's opponent in order to swing her right foot up in a sharp snap kick aimed for his torso. The bottom of her insulated shoe is occupied by a long, thin blade of ice as it seems she's going to try and slice the fighter open with an ice-skate before springing backward to get her distance from them both if possible.
COMBATSYS: Vega dodges Kyo's Yami Barai.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Vega with Medium Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/------=|
"You're right, Kyo Kusanagi - you can't." With that, 'Mori' bursts into motion, the man moving at the last possible second, eeling out of the way of Kyo's lames, letting them pass harmlessly by them. The dodge looks effortless, and would surely be impressive, had he not chosen to dodge to the side that Kula stands on. Oops, small mistakes do happen. There's a split-second where 'Mori' reaches for his power to teleport out of the way of Kula's incoming kick - but instead, he allows her the hit, feeling ice carve across his chest and the shock of frost on his skin. It's a painful event, to be sure, but a test of her power as well. Narrowed eyes watch the both of them, taking in the two fighters as he covers the slash across his chest. He's not breathing hard, not yet - but he's certainly not able to lash out with all his might.
"You're both very good - but I may have a surprise or two left in store." The man starts forwards again, stepping away from Kula and turning his back to her, to focus on his real opponent. For now, that's Kyo. He cocks back his hand and throws an awkward punch at Kyo's head, never meaning to land it. Instead, he uses the followthrough from the punch's miss to bring his leg up and around in a wide roundhouse, aimed at Kyo's kidney. A little fancy, but still within the range of acceptable risk.
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Medium Kick from Vega with Nue Tsumi.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/----===|
Man, Kula is so innocent, Kyo /almost/ feels bad about what he said to her.
Almost.
Still, Mori's ability to avoid his flames, rendering a second attack useless, nets an annoyed sound from the Kusanagi heir; he's all for a challenge, sure, but nobody likes being toyed with. ...Though, again, there's that whole 'double standard' thing rearing its ugly head. The remark from 'Mori' makes Kyo straighten up and raise his fists, returning to his particular Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu stance, just as that awkward punch comes his way...
And Kyo grins, a faint chuckle escaping him.
"You think you can hit me with something that obvious?" Kyo wonders, as Mori's roundhousing leg collides with the World Warrior's hand, the strike amounting to nothing as that leg slaps against Kyo's gloved palm. At the same instant, he moves right into Mori, twisting around to release his arm holding his opponent's leg, his other fist lashing out in a vicious fiery backfist right upside the newcomer's head. "DON'T MESS AROUND WITH ME, PUNK!!"
Darting back from Mori, the NESTs operative takes a moment to observe the results of her handiwork - the slash left behind evidence that she did at least leave a mark. That's somewhat chaotic, right? It feels kind of strange just randomly attacking people that aren't trying to attack her back, the entire experience quite outside the guidelines of her training as a deadly combat weapon. But if it's what she's supposed to do out here, she'll make due!
Kyo intercepts the kick and punishes the mysterious newcomer for his effort and Kula glances back and forth between the two for a moment, eyes coming to rest on the so-called Mori after a moment. Finally she glances toward Kyo, shaking her head, "I've met a lot of punk bitches where I live. If he was one of them I don't think he would have been able to defend against you so handily." she observes, gloved finger tapping her chin thoughtfully.
"Speaking of which," she continues, the violet leather clad girl darting in swiftly for Kyo, "It's your turn," she finishes, her hands coming up, fingers unclenched as she reaches out to try and clamp a grip on his arm with one hand and his shoulder with her other hand. There is a flare of bright white even as she moves toward him, and should she get the contact she seeks, the flame wielder might find himself encased in a giant block of ice.
Completely transparent, it's easy enough to see through the large crystal of frozen water, but it may not be so easy to ignore it as the force that it would apply to one captured within it would be crushing, excruciating in nature. It can only last as long as Kula can channel it, however, and in a matter of seconds she'll simply lower her hands and the block of ice will explode into a fine powder.
Damn. Simple misdirection never would work on someone so skilled - a World Warrior is made of sterner stuff. Playing the role is causing Vega some extreme pain, something he's certain to remember when he's back in Shadaloo, soaking his wounds, numerous they will be. Still, within this arena, he cannot risk /too/ much - not at this point in time, not yet. As Kyo has just evinced by putting a flaming fist into Vega's head and knocking him to the ground, risking too much leads to loose teeth.
He rolls back as Kula makes her next move, and he takes a second to focus on his next plan, his next strategy. Fighting blindly will only lead him to ruin, in the end - without some semblance of skill, he'll never prove himself well enough to get that which he desires.
"Consider this an end of the messing." With that, Vega moves with a honed speed, swinging his fist in a series of strikes at Kyo's guard, intent on crashing through it - perhaps not with the first or even the second punches, but the rapid succession of punches ramping up to a ugly effect in the end.
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Kula's Ice Coffin.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Vega's Fierce Punch.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/----===|
The look Kyo gives Kula when she starts talking about 'punk bitches' could charitably be described as a 'bitch, are you for real?' expression. Indeed, he's just about to comment on that when the scary little girl tries to grab him, something he would rather prefer didn't happen; so it is that Kyo kicks off into an almost completely horizontal backwards leap, skidding along the ground to avoid Kula's touch.
"Y'know, girls like you shouldn't talk like that," Kyo says, waving a chiding finger at Kula, of all the things to choose to do. "People are gonna get the wrong idea 'bout you, and..." Oh, Mori's trying to punch him. Twisting, Kyo gets both his arms in the way of the strikes, his skill blunting the worst of the repeated impacts, each one forcing him a little bit further back, causing twinges of numbness to run up his arms. But in the end...
"Sorry, did you say something? I thought you mentioned an 'end to the messing'. Unless you meant 'in your pants'," Kyo wonders helpfully, calling forth another blazing Kusanagi flame, focused in his palm. And as that flame rages, Kyo's power builds, a palpable force radiating out from him, a pressure that grows with each passing heartbeat... "Come on, Spanky. Show me you're worth bothering with."
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/----===|
Her grasping hands catch only empty air, causing Kula to pause, coming up short. He's a rascally one, that Kyo. Lowering her arms to rest at her sides, she listens to Kyo reprimand her language. The wagging finger act provokes the faintest pout from the icy girl. Angel said she wasn't supposed to call the labrats back at NESTs punk bitches. She didn't say anything about not using the moniker anywhere /else/. Stupid words, so confusing. It always feels like there's some weird double standard she doesn't quite grasp!
Breathing in, Kula exhales with a quite 'huff' sound, a bit put out at having walked into another verbal snafu. "What kind of wrong idea?" she asks, her voice barely audible over the sound of fist smacking against arms as Kyo defends himself against this Mori fellow. But it's unlikely to provoke a response, what with Kusanagi so busy tormenting his poor opponent. Poor mystery fighter.
Flame rages around the crowned World Warrior and Kula's own aura responds in opposite kind - unable to match the magnitude of the heat that rises up off the young man, she can at least counter a certain degree of it as a small, localized storm begins to build up immediately around herself, icy and snow circling around her, driven by a small whirlwind that seems centered just on her. A moment of build up before she can unleash a much larger attack on whoever she happens to pick next!
COMBATSYS: Kula focuses on her next action.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/----===|
Now. Now would be /perfect/. Now would be the best time for 'Mori' to launch himself at Kyo, to wipe that perpetual smirk and sneer off his face. Pale eyes narrow, the man taking a deep breath as he intently focuses on /not/ doing that, instead on keeping up the appearrance that he planned. This fight is nothing like what he wanted, and in the back of his head, he can hear Howard's mocking laughter as he watches Vega get thrown between fire and ice. His fists clench with tightly-held emotion, and then he slowly starts to advance.
"I don't have the tools you do, Kusanagi. I just have to make do with muscle and bone." It's said through clenched teeth, this 'deception' making him look weaker than he is, though it galls him to do so. He could let out the power behind his eyes, the stuff that clamors at his soul. But for the sake of remaining 'dead' to the world at large, he eats that, stuffs it down and away. Not yet, not yet. Instead, he barges in shoulder-first at Kyo, intent on taking the man down to the arena floor and following up with a hard elbow. "I may not be in your league, but you'll remember this night!" Can he back up words with action? It's a tricky thing indeed...
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Vega's Strong Throw.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/---====|
Yeah... Kyo's pretty good at making people /want/ to wipe the smirk off of his face, isn't he? The whole problem there is that it often seems to be a lot more difficult than one would prefer it to be. With Kula biding her time, Kyo is free to deal exclusively with Mori's attack, getting his arms in the way of the shoulder block even as it drives him back, though he doesn't fall to the ground for the rest of the attack; instead, he skids back on his heels, kicking up granite dust and a faint whiff of burned rubber sole.
"Sure thing, Pip," Kyo says, nodding in a not at all dismissive manner. "This night, and all the other nights I beat up some poor sucker who thought they had what it takes!" Just flesh and bone? That's LOSER talk, if you were to ask Kyo. Everybody's got what they got; whining about it won't change anything. Naturally, then, this is the point where Kyo suddenly lashes out with his left fist, a hooking punch with terrifying speed an an arc of sacred flames behind it, trying to catch Mori right in the jaw; if that first fiery strike lands, then Kyo steps in to launch a second one, a quick uppercut with a searing eruption of Kusanagi fire at the point of impact... And then, he whirls around, twisting himself in a fast roundhouse kick, his heel aimed directly at Mori's temple. "Now pack it in, WHINER!"
Chaos Agents are usually impartial, selected to come in, make life difficult for one fighter or the other without rhyme or reason. At least, that's the typical interpretation. Kula's experience with them however has been a little different, thinking back on the opportunity ZakiZilla took to met out some kind of vendetta on the NESTs operative, teaming up with K' to double team her. As such, the girl isn't entirely unfamiliar with the idea of bringing personal agendas to the Chaos Agenting job and as she holds back, building up a greater portion of energy around her, she continues to watch Kyo and his mastery over those Kusanagi flames he weilds with such casual ease.
She can't help but be curious about how well he can contend with a larger attack from her. The small blast of ice laced air earlier wasn't enough to give her a real sense for it. And he avoided her subsequent attempt crush him within an icy tomb. She was designed to fight K'... and in her experiences, she found herself capable of holding her own against him. But what about the one who's blood is to blame for all of this? How well could she do against him? Is it possible for the girl benefitting from grafted genetics to contend with the source? It is in an attempt to find out that very thing that she attacks next -
Her right hand extends out to her side, drawing from the air around her a collection of ice that forms a sphere over her clenched fist. Translucent, as clear as glass but strong as steel, Kula springs forward for Kyo, drawing her arm back as she skids to a stop a yard and a half out and swings her right hand forward. The half of the sphere closest to Kyo shifts, moving as swiftly as water as it juts out, forming sharp, piercing lances spearing out for the young man as Kula attempts to literally run him through with the jagged ice lance, leaning forward into the deadly attack, intending to answer her questions with blood.
COMBATSYS: Vega blocks Kyo's Aragami.
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Kula 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/--=====|
Were his chin bigger, the old chin, Kyo would have struck true. Luckily for 'Mori', that body is dead and gone, decaying somewhere far away from prying eyes. He still feels the heat of Kusanagi flames, the singing power of the man's burning spirit - but the impact is braced, caught and pulled away from with the other man looking surprisingly healthy for all of it. He brushes at the sweat that beads his cheek, eyeing Kyo again, nodding his agreement. Fair enough - the youth still thinks him less than a challenge. Time, perhaps - to risk it all.
No longer talking, no longer probing the man's defenses, Vega simply moves faster than before, putting his effort into crashing through the other man's constant guard. A series of kicks that start low and then rechamber high are swept at Kyo's ankle, knee and then his head, each intent on striking vital points. If he can force the man to drop his guard further, Vega might still have a chance. If not, at least the ensuing pain will be brief, and he won't have to listen to Kyo's loud mouthing again any longer.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyo with Critical Ice.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Kyo just-defends Vega's Medium Kick!
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Kula 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Kyo
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Vega 0/-------/--=====|
Awww, that's cute. Kula thinks she can hit him hard! Kyo, naturally, sees this not as a danger but as an /opportunity/, to create a better situation for him to kick Mori right in the butt.
How wrong Kyo is.
Attempting to ride out Kula's attack, he's actually caught quite offguard by the force of the rising lances of ice, which indeed catch him full on, his utterly nonexistent attempt to mitigate the damage any leaving him wide open to some rather grievous harm, bloody gouges dug through his shirt and jacket.
Okay, now he's pissed off.
"Y'know what, I'm sick of this crap," Kyo says, even as he's picking himself up, finding himself faced with Mori's first in a combination of kicks... So he just stops the first one cold, stomping down on Mori's foot to trap it against the granite for a moment. "It was a good effort, Pip," Kyo says, addressing the mysterious Memento Mori. "But I'm afraid it's time you left the stage. No hard feelings." Of course, there's always hard feelings, when Kyo's involved. Just usually not /from Kyo/.
Quick as a wink, his right hand comes up, raging flames held in his palm... And as they reach a fever pitch, Kyo's very body bursting into flames, threads of fiery power rising off of his form, the Kusanagi heir slides forward, sweeping his right hand over and then down in a wide arc, unleashing a hellstorm of the sacred bloodline flames, a titanic blast of orange-crimson, the flames peeling off of Kyo to suffuse the blast even as he releases it, seeking to consume Mori utterly. "EAT... THIS!!"
Her icy lance connects cleanly, carving injuries into the young man who thought to simply work with the attack sent his way to accomplish something flashier. That it got a reaction is proven both in the blood it split as well as the young man getting back to his feet, his voice expression irritation - perhaps to mask the pain? The long haired menace draws her hand back, slipping it smoothly out of the ice sphere, allowing the entire lance to fall to the arena tiles and shatter into small crystal shards.
For her that answered the question she had pondered - her icy power can indeed wound the bearer of the Kusanagi flames. Of course, to everyone else it looks like she's just doing her Chaos Agently duty, even if it was biased toward Kyo for a little bit. He's a big kid though, he can handle it. Besides, is there anyone in attendence that thinks he didn't have it coming after all that mouthing off? Not... likely.
But unfortunately for the mysterious Mori, the girl's attention shifts back toward him next. There's still quite the flurry of icy energy whirling around her and it is from that energy that her next attack is drawn. Leaping up into the air, a swath of snow left in her wake, the girl tucks into a flip, extending one arm to scoup a large portion of the built up energy along her limb. She comes out of the flip with a kick aimed to drive the entire collective mass of icy chi down toward Mori in the shape of a giant... snow flake.
There's nothing charming about the incoming chibomb, however, as the flakes edges are jagged, razor sharp, and wherever it should land, it explodes into a blossoming hemisphere of small ice shards flying out in every direction, making it a difficult matter to defend against indeed. Kula, for her own part, simply drops down out of the leap, landing in a half crouch before rising back up to standing straight.
COMBATSYS: Vega dodges Kyo's Orochinagi'.
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Kula 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Vega 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Vega with Diamond Shoot.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Vega 0/-------/=======|
The Orochinagi. Vega's seen it before, yes - he's felt it, even - the attack that destroyed him once, long ago. When he was weak, when he was stupid, drunk with power. This time, he will not fall to it. As he watches the power build up, 'Mori' works his foot free, slipping it out of Kyo's trap. The blaze of orange fire comes in and down at him, but Mori isn't there at the end. He's eeled away again, singed clothes showing just how close he came to destruction there - how very close he was to being finished off.
"So that's the fabled power of the Kusanagi? I've seen be...NGH!" Vega doesn't get a chance to turn the knife any, no - he'd turned his back on Kula, and the razor sharp blasts of ice crystals rakes his back wide open, sending him to his knees. Stronger than he remembers, she is - well worth looking into after this fight. His eyes twitch with subsumed pain, and his gritted teeth form a thin smile. "You.. may have been a beter fiht, Kula." he says simply, then forces himself back up to his feet, and into the air. Intent on clobbering Kyo while he's still reeling from the effort of using the Kusanagi flames, 'Mori' goes up into the air, and attempts to bring both feet straight down on Kyo's noggin. "H...HAHN!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Double Knee Press from Vega with Nue Tsumi.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\ <
Vega 1/-------/=======|
Tilting his head slightly as his attack - his 'ultimate' attack, no less - is avoided entirely, Kyo is pretty surprised to see how easily Mori is nailed in the back by Kula's icy projectile... And then, of all things, the mysterious fighter has the gall to diss /him/? Well, he's got balls, Kyo will give him that. Of course, he's going to have to do something about that, post haste.
When Mori goes up high, Kyo gets his chance; the incoming attack is fairly telegraphed, given the height the mystery fighter has to get, and all... It's not the slowest attack Kyo's seen by any means, though, so he has to make his choice fast.
Kyo chooses to step into it.
One of the Kusanagi heir's arms snakes out, catching Mori by the ankle before he can land his attack, and yanking him downwards on Kyo's own terms instead of the more head-stompy ones his opponent would prefer. "HERE'S SOME FABLED POWER FOR YOU!!" Kyo bellows as his other hand comes up even while he brings Mori /down/, slamming his fist into the other man's jaw quite powerfully, with an eruption of Kusanagi flames at the precise moment of impact.
Sometimes, you just have to go back to basics, you know?
Mori says that perhaps she would have given him the better challenge and Kula just blinks back at him, pointing at herself with that glove clad hand just like she did when he first mentioned interest in fighting against her early on. What is his interest in combating her? She has no idea who he is or why the relative new face would want to pit himself against her lethal style of fighting. "If so, you need to watch out for the ice better," she helpfully advises with a friendly smile, lowering her hand to rest against her side, red tinted eyes observing his ascent into the air.
The previously unheard of competitor comes crashing down with catstrophic results as Kyo takes control over his momentum and drives a painful blow into his jaw, giving him a taste of the power Mori so recklessly derided a moment before. The assigned Chaos Agent watches carefully as the Kusanagi scion finishes with his retaliation then observes Mori for a moment, evaluating if he has any fight left in him or if her role in this battle has come to an end at last.
But she gets the feeling he's going to attack, going to try to give Kyo one last hit to leave his mark, taking his last shot, and Kula turns her attention back toward Kyo, determining that she needs to attack him again after all. All of the built up ice she had swirling around her has faded over the course of her last two over-charged attacks... and while she could dredge up more ice to fling around, she's starting to feel kind of tired and that seems like way too much effort. And effort is hard. And she's about ready to be given her patronizing pat on the head for a job well done and go back home for a nap.
Which is why when she rushes Kyo next, it is without the skating speed she had exhibited earlier, and without the swaths of frozen chi, jagged ice, or steel-like crystals. Instead she rushes in close, drawing her right hand back before slamming it forward, fingers extended. There's a good chance Kyo will recognize the technique, copied as it is from the one that came before her - her hand pauses for an instant, fingers just shy of contact. And in the next split second her fist clenches, gloved knuckles slamming forward, aiming to crush into Kyo with far more power than that last inch of momentum should properly convey.
Of course, even if it connects, it doesn't quite bear the power of K''s. But it she's not trying to kill Kyo here and now either!
Enough taunting of Kyo, and he finally gets what he wants - Mori's felt that power that Kusanagi carries in him, he's able to endure and judge it. The fight's over, all's said and done as he crashes down - Vega's true intentions completed, the best that they could. Testing himself against the man who crushed him without use of his powers, surreptitiously working to learn more of Kula's repitoire as well - these were all important things, and the bruises and scrapes and cuts will all heal, but the knowledge he's gleaned, he'll be able to keep for quite some time to come.
Kula's right though - as she starts to move, so does 'Mori'. He hasn't given everything yet - but he's close. One last effort, slow with the ache of muscles that don't work quite right as he peels himself from the arena floor. His hands push up from the ground, and he throws himself vertically up, feet first and spinning - the move possibly reminiscent of the Spiral Arrow of Cammy White, though awkward on a male form. The last time he used this move, he was Elfa - and her center of gravity is far and away much different. He aims to time the impact with hers, and to try to land not-so-awkwardly on the arena floor, to remain standing though whatever pain Kusanagi inflicts. That, after all, is the way of a warrior.
COMBATSYS: Vega can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Vega's Strong Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyo with One Inch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Kyo
Yeah, uh, whatever it is Mori is trying to do, Kyo's gonna have to say 'no' to it; he slips out of the way of the mystery man's mystery attack, the air displaced by Mori's passing rustling the World Warrior's hair and jacket. Unfortunately, this leaves Kyo in a bad position, and once again, he makes the wrong choice in dealing with Kula's attack. His arms come up to try and stop the blow, the one he's seen from K' in the past, but too late he realises something.
He should've dealt with hers the same way he dealt with K''s.
Instead, Kula's gloved hand goes right through his guard, hitting hard enough against the battered Kusanagi heir, battered it seems /mainly/ by Kula's attacks, to drive him stumbling back... But he definitely stays on his feet, despite the pain he's in.
Why? Because he's still got enough juice in him left to keep going.
"Not bad, I guess," Kyo says towards Mori, wherever he ended up. "But you still lose." And then, Kyo's gaze goes to Kula, who he just sort of stares at inscrutably for a long, silent moment. It looks like he might do something, might speak or attack her... But instead, he turns and tucks his hands in his coat pockets as he starts to walk away. "Next time, try to show me something interesting, okay? I'd hate to lose by technical knockout 'cause you're so boring you put me to sleep."
Remember that thou art mortal? Bitch please, he's /Kyo Kusanagi/. Mortality is for lesser men.
COMBATSYS: Kula has left the fight here.
> //////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Kyo
Log created on 22:16:31 06/06/2008 by Vega, and last modified on 17:44:45 06/09/2008.