Description: Rose "Italian Stallion" Lastnameunknown vs. Kyo "Flashbeagle" Kusanagi. (Dance Master: Kyo)
Welcome to Saturday... Night... FEVER!
Wait, no, that isn't right.
No, it's still Saturday Night Fight, it just seems to be retro night for this particular match; gimmicks and costume matches go over well with certain key demographics, leaving those fighters who choose to put their fates in the hands of the fickle and possibly insane SNF organisers with no recourse but to accept their sad lot. So, tonight? Disco.
With some old Bee Gees tunes blaring through the discotheque that is Manero's Maniac Dance Floor - possible competition for the Duck Pond in retro aesthetic?! - and a crowd of spectators who are all ALSO dressed according to the theme, getting down with their bad selves in anticipation of the fight to come, there is only one question left to be answered: What of the fighters themselves?
Kyo Kusanagi looks... A little less than pleased, right now. Dressed in a leisure suit dug out of the depths of the SNF costuming department, complete with platform shoes and his shirt partially unbuttoned to show off the medallion necklace that looks like it might have been stolen from Robert Garcia, the Kusanagi heir seems acutely aware of just how tacky he looks. Of course, everyone else looks dumb too, so it's all in good fun, right? Right?
"Well, I hope she looks worse than I do," Kyo says to himself, tugging his gloves on - anachronism! - and finding some solace in the possibility that Rose might be worse off than him tonight.
Rose doesn't like the platform heels, either. What is really bothering her is the glossy silvery material that seems to be painted onto her body as if with lacquer. It isn't REALLY paint - it zips down the back, with a neatly placed pull tab. She has, at least, been able to retain her yellow cashmere scarf, which clashes with the silvery outfit.
She feels cheap, and itchy to boot. As such, she is lingering in the slightly disused dressing room that is serving as a pre-fight green room, and finishing off her second glass of sherry.
But time is wasting, and so, with a few careful steps to accustom herself to the thigh-high vinyl boots, Rose steps out, towards the dance floor. Her expression is stony, perhaps to spare herself the shame of realizing just what she's engaging in. And this isn't even who she was /hoping/ to run into. Though, perhaps Kusanagi will know things himself. Stranger things HAVE happened.
"Kyo," she says, with a nod of the head, as she steps onto the slightly elevated disco dancefloor. "You seem particularly... groovy this evening." Rose's hairstyle, at least, has not been modified. The SNF makeup teams know better by now.
Kyo's not the only male fighter dressing the part tonight. Enter Hayato. Sure, they've both got leisure suits, though Hayato's is a bright red (similar to the shade of his track outfit) with a white shirt beneath, also partially unbuttoned. And they both have gold (or perhaps 'gold') medallion necklaces and platform shoes. But Hayato takes things one step farther, as perched upon his head is a large afro. Not quite so big as to be ludicrous, but definitely more than Hayato could have enough hair to pull off. Really, the only thing out of place is Hayato's shinai. But hey, it was the 70s. The heyday of martial arts movies, so it's all good.
The Burning Phys Ed Teacher walks out onto the dance floor with poise. Weight shifted slightly back, legs kept a set width apart, with confident, steady strides. You can tell that he's a woman's man, with no time to talk. Well, no time up until he's actually out on the floor. Then he strikes a pose, pointing to the ceiling with his shinai in lieu of his finger and revelling in the cheers from the audience. Granted, he's not the headline tonight, but the people like a show. Particularly when the participants play along with it. The teacher regards the two main fighters for the evening's festivities with a grin. "You two ready to get down?"
Yeah, see, that's worse. Kyo's hurt pride is soothed somewhat.
"Tch," mutters the Kusanagi heir, resting one hand against his hip - pushing back one side of his terrible coat - and with his other he gestures vaguely at Rose. "Don't see what you're so sour about... You don't look any less trampy than usual." Yes, that's Kyo Kusanagi folks, always one to demonstrate how to win friends and influence people.
Maybe that should be 'win fights and insult people'.
The appearance of the Burning Phys Ed Teacher with his more gleeful approach to the retro fight draws Kyo's attention instantly... Though for the most part, the younger man's eyes focus directly on the 'fro. Damn... Talk about getting a little too into things. Also, there's decent odds that Hayato is one of the main reasons Kyo avoids gym class at Taiyo, beyond his simple laziness.
"Yeah, why not," Kyo says with a shrug of his shoulders, turning his gaze back towards Rose. "C'mon, Sparkles, let's get this sideshow on the road." And then, he beckons Rose onwards... Mostly because he doesn't want to be the first one to try dancing. This cannot end well.
"I am sure that Yuki appreciates your candor on these matters," Rose says with a soothing sort of tone in her voice, her arms folding as her scarf sparkles slightly. (It makes her vaguely resemble Dazzler.) She glances then at the bulky, powerful incoming man.
She then looks at Kyo, dead on. Her hips start to sway, matching the synthetic rhythm as the lights of the dance floor start flickering on. They're a pastel series, making a random walk through the dance music's rhythm. From above, they might be an entrancing visualization! The mirror ball spins -
Rose glimmers and seems to bifuricate. Is she starting out hard? No, not hugely. The shimmering multiplicity of Roses spread out and glimmer, fading as they seem to slide forwards to encircle Kyo. At the last moment, each of them twist around towards the heir to the power of Kusanagi!
One of them (to the left) is leading with a glimmering drill as violet light strikes through her scarf, while the others are merely fluttering their scarves at Kyo. This is why it may surprise him when - yup! - the one dead ahead is the real one, and she /is/ just fluttering the scarf at him. The glittering, sparkly, soul-power filled scarf!
The illusions strike momentary poses before fading back into the light itself, which may puzzle Hayato as well.
COMBATSYS: Rose has started a fight here.
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Rose 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
COMBATSYS: Hayato has joined the fight here.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
Hayato taps his foot in time to the music, swaying back and forth a bit, but he hasn't actually started dancing yet, aside from his brief intro. He waits for the fight to actually start, observing Rose as she starts moving with the music. And then... Rose also starts to dance? And Rose. And Rose. And... you get the picture. But while that display is going on, Hayato starts moving toward Kyo and the circle of Roses around him.
It's not a straight walk, though. Hayato moves in a series of slides across the dance floor, leading with a different leg each time, shifting his weight and putting his hips into it. He also moves his arms in rhythm with the rest of his walk right up until he gets within range of what has been revealed to be the real Rose. He does a sudden spin, ending with one hand pointing down and the other pointing up and back... possibly resulting in a smack across the back of Rose's head with the shinai. Certainly something that would require an apology if this were a normal dance.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Aura Scarf.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
Oh, what the hell, seriously.
Kyo is hard pressed to keep his attention on all the Roses while also trying to move with some kind of rhythm, but being a superior fighter and all around human being, he sort of manages it a little bit. It's kind of awkward, though; only his finely honed senses and reflexes allow the World Warrior champ to react appropriately to the eventual attack, as one of the illusions is moving at him... And he doesn't react.
Instead, he throws up an arm to bat aside the scarf fluttering in his face, and continuing to twist around with the motion, he aims to grab Rose by her extended wrist. "C'mon, I thought you would be good at this sort of thing," Kyo says, transitioning into pulling Rose /towards/ him, smoothly moving that into a twist and a dip of the psychic. "Don't old maids spend a lot of time dancing by themselves?!" And then, if all goes as planned, he drives Rose right into the dancefloor, by smashing his head into hers.
Hard.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Hayato's Medium Strike.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Kyo's Hatsugane.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
Those electric slides are something Rose, for once, can in fact factually see coming. This is because the music provides cues, you see, and she leans back to rest on her palm as Hayato's strike goes wide. Briefly extending one booted leg with a squeak of vinyl, she tumbles to the side, leaping up --
Just as Kyo grabs for her wrist, she snaps it back, finger waggling at him as she steps one pace back, letting her hips continue to move as if operating on their own frequency. "I've heard," she says, that hand going back to her hip as her scarf coils around her, like it was a snake instead of a strip of cloth, "that the word - is 'dancing with yourself'. But I should defer to the expert -"
Then she steps back forwards, that scarf tying itself into a glittering and oversized bow around her left wrist as she draws it back, aiming a sharp and rather light slap at the side of Kyo's cheek. The shame may hurt more than the strike, considering those girly arms! Though the scarf doesn't help, either.
Considering the method of his attack, Hayato's recovery time isn't particularly hurt by Rose evading the blow; it would take him a few moments, regardless. Before long, however, the teacher does straighten up, shifting into some slightly less over the top dance moves as Kyo and Rose clash again, taking the opportunity to try shifting around to bring some chaos to the other participant in this fight.
The actual attack itself isn't quite as well integrated into Hayato's dance moves this time, but hey, sue him. It's hard! It's much easier to just dance on over to Kyo's flank, then snap the shinai up before swinging it down to smash into the back of Kyo's skull.
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Hayato's Medium Strike.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Jab Punch.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
Marvel at Kyo's ability to maneuver quickly despite the platform shoes as he deftly slides out of the way of Hayato's shinai attack; truly the power of funk is a remarkable thing. As it happens, this slide also brings him closer to Rose, making it easy for him to get his arm in the way of the woman's attempt to slap him in the face, though there's a definite sting of energy thanks to that scarf of hers.
Kyo's eyes narrow a little, at this.
"It's not nice to slap people, y'know," Kyo provides helpfully, aiming to keep himself inside of Rose's range as he brings up his knee towards her hopefully exposed side. It's not quite /that/ rhythmic, but he's trying to boogie-fight. It's just... Not an easy thing to do, even for him.
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Kyo's Light Kick.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
Now it is Kyo who gets the heat! Rose doesn't seem offended at the parry of the slap's main force, taking a step back and suddenly pulling her leg up to engage in some sort of twisty capoeira block - and thanks to Disco, it works. Sort of. Kyo's kick hits a vinyl-wrapped knee, and Rose stages for a moment, tossing her hair back.
"Oh, well," she says with an expressionistic shrug, and a smile, "I suppose the music's moving me." She then takes another few swaying steps back, away from both men. Kyo would, over the POUNDIN' BEAT, hear Rose say /apparently from behind him,/ 'Forgive my enthusiasm. Still, you've gotten into it, I think. Enjoying the challenge?'
She then raises one arm above her head, the other curling behind it and twining with spread fingers as her back arches, head throwing back. This is accompanied by a sudden efflourescence of neon-green, turquoise-blue, and electric yellow light spreading around her like a magnetic aura, sending dazzling lights into several of the secondary cameras!
Maybe she actually went to discos when she was younger. She's like eighty-something, right, Kyo?
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/------=|
It looks like Hayato's going to have to pick up the pace a bit if he's going to provide a credible challenge for these two skilled fighters. Fine by him! He dances for a bit, watching the other two fighters... then makes his move. He takes a few steps, then suddenly leaps into the air toward rose. He tucks and rolls, then suddenly pops up into a pose in mid air. Given his current trajectory and height, it would seem that he's going to land with one foot on Rose's face and another on her stomach before he jumps off to flip back down to the floor.
Yeah, the music should move Rose... INTO A RETIREMENT HOME. Kyo grunts a bit as Rose manages to block his knee, with her /own/ knee, but even as the woman takes her swaying steps back, Kyo adds some space of his own, with less natural grace. Dancing isn't his forte, okay!? Especially not /disco/ dancing. "So what, did you get that outfit outta your closet or something?" he wonders of the psychic lady. "Reliving the days of your youth? Must be nice for a lady of your distinguished years."
By which he is of course saying: Ha ha, Rose is /old/.
Still, Kyo steels himself against his body's - nay, his very /soul's/ - resistance against what he's about to do, as he mimics the stance Hayato demonstrated for the crowd earlier, with his right arm upraised, index finger pointing at the ceiling... And a spark of flame comes to life at his fingertip, even as his own power begins to manifest itself. Unlike Rose's, Kyo's gathering power is otherwise invisible, instead felt as a pressure, a palpable weight, like something of terrifying import was coming...
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Hayato 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Rose endures Hayato's Strong Kick.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
Rose lowers her head, nose wrinkling into a little pout. "Of course not," she says, with a hint of petulancy. (She has no reason, after all, to pose too greatly with Kyo.) "I am not so -" Incoming foot!! Rose's head leans back sharply, which means that he gains traction lower down and THEN her stomach. Rose staggers, the light around her swirling madly as she does -- and she doesn't try to resist the flow of motion, either.
She does another temporary handplant, still exhaling in half-stifled shock at the force of the blow. She then shoves herself forwards, pressing back with the Soul Power - and she sails up, above Hayato's fro-laden head as she sails towards the Kusanagi scion! Her hands twist as she goes, aiming to clasp down on either side of Kyo's head and send a brain-bending shock of Soul Power through it as she tries to bowl him over!
This may not count as dancing, exactly, but it's certainly acrobatic. And colorful! That's like dancing, in a rave-y kind of way.
Aw, Kyo, now you've gone too far. A little good natured ribbing is one thing, but now you're just being downright mean, and Hayato is forced to break character. Granted, Rose is going to get an opportunity to give her own response to the age jokes before Hayato can, but while Kyo is dealing with that, Hayato moves to get behind the younger man. "Didn't anybody ever teach you that it's rude to bring up a lady's age like that?" Particularly when she's attractive, but Hayato can ask Kyo what the hell is wrong with him later.
Right now he's attempting to wrap his arms around Kyo's torso, then suddenly rear back. If all goes as planned he'll yank Kyo up and off his feet, then smash him headfirst into the floor. And despite the motions putting Hayato's head in an upside down position... the afro remains in place.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Hayato's German Suplex.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Kyo with Soul Drain.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Rose
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Kyo 1/-------/=======|
Fact: Kyo talks like this to everyone. It's his trademark! You wouldn't ask a guy to give up his trademark, would you? You wouldn't, for example, ask Raizo to stop looking like a bear, or for Ryu to suddenly develop a personality, now would you?
The sudden confluence of events at Kyo's location is, then, a bit on the uncomfortable side for him. He doesn't even try to avoid Rose's attack, which proves to be a mistake, as he gets zotted thoroughly by that 'Soul Power' and sent reeling... Right into Hayato's grasp.
"Whoa there, Coach, we're not even in the showers or anything," Kyo quips, apparently physically incapable of not being a jackass for longer than a few seconds, as he resists Hayato's attempt to suplex him through main strength, breaking painfully out of the teacher's grasp. And then what? Well, and then Kyo actually starts /strutting/ directly at Rose, and when he finally gets close enough to her, he hurls himself into a mid-air splits, which is kind of spectacular, aiming to boot her in the head with one foot... And then swing the other up as well, to kick the psychic a second time!
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt 75 Shiki Kai from Kyo with Aura Soul Throw.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|
Rose has accepted Kyo's tastelessness, but she's intent on showing her disapproval in other ways. She lunges forwards at the briefly off balance Kyo suddenly, when he attempts to strike her down with that leaping double kick. But the angle's slightly wrong. Perhaps it's the light. Perhaps it's the two glasses of sherry. Perhaps it's her no-doubt hilarious age making her steadily senile...
Either way, her lunge up to elbow check Kusanagi and send him to the ground backfires. One foot hits her shoulder, knocking her downwards, and the other strikes on the back of the head, sending her into the ground hard enough to crack one of the translucent plastic tiles! Not enough to shatter it, though.
"uk," Rose says, as she places her palms on the ground, raising herself back up...
It's rather ungentlemanly to hit a woman while she's down, but Hayato /is/ supposed to be as impartial as possible when it comes to the distribution of pain in this fight. That doesn't mean he can't wait a /few/ moments for Rose to pick herself up, though. That gives him some to dance on over toward her position. Legs, body, arms and shoulders... even Hayato's head moves to the music. Hey, it's fun. Particularly since he doesn't need to worry about anybody attacking /him/ while he's doing it.
And then Hayato suddenly spins about. It's a graceful spin, even when dealing with the platform shoes, and it flows right into a strike. Hayato raises his arm as he spins, and then once he completes a full rotation his arm comes down. Along with it comes his fist, crashing downwards toward the top of Rose's head in a blow that could send her back down to the floor she just picked herself up from.
That was... Pretty close, from Kyo's perspective. Not that it makes him feel less awesome - in fact, barely managing to avoid what would surely be an extremely painful reprisal puffs up his ego even /more/ - but it certainly is exhilirating. Landing spryly on his feet, the Kusanagi heir watches as Rose starts to pick herself up off of the floor... And there's Hayato, trying to drive the lady back into the dancefloor. Man, wasn't he the one just getting on Kyo's case? Wassup wit dat?
Still, Kyo isn't one to pass up an opening when it's freely given, so the World Warrior champ takes a moment to plan out his next move, grooving a little in place - none too skillfully, alas - as he looks for an opening once Rose finally gets her footing...
COMBATSYS: Kyo focuses on his next action.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Hayato's Counter Thrust.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|
Rose twirls around, still not up off the floor yet, as that incoming strike slams down - and smiles briefly at Hayato before throwing herself further to the side, managing to avoid skidding by the narrowest of scarf-assisted margins as she resumes an upright position!
"You know," she says as she lets her hips start swaying again, "I appreciate this role - but it always makes me think, why do they integrate it so often? Perhaps I just don't understand fighting tournaments..." She makes a note to ask Chizuru about it later, and then approaches Kyo, snapping her fingers -
Yes, apparently so. This may be distraction, however, considering that she suddenly falls back, arcing herself forwards in a twisting flip that seems to wish to return the favor, both feet aiming at Kyo's head! Fortunately for him, this is an improvisation, not some kind of specially trained gypsy technique.
Hayato's old, Kyo. (By some standards.) He's allowed to be hypocritical. And he's not insulting Rose when he attempts to hit her! Nor Kyo, no matter how much the Kusanagi heir might deserve getting knocked down a few pegs. Hey, he's spirited. Hayato can accept that. Right up until /he's/ the authority being challenged, anyway. But all that matters right now is smacking Kyo in the head with a shinai, and that's just what Hayato attempts to do.
Dancing back in as the other two fighters clash, Hayato once again strikes a pose that involves a lunging sweep with on arm, this time aiming to crack Kyo across the side of the head with the blade of the shinai. Highly effective? Perhaps not. But painful and potentially distracting? You bet.
COMBATSYS: Kyo dodges Hayato's Random Strike.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Strong Kick from Rose with Nue Tsumi.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/-----==/=======|
Perhaps Hayato's fair and balanced Chaos Agenting is proving to be to Kyo's benefit; were the Burning Phys Ed Teacher less fair-minded, he'd probably be ganging up on the Kusanagi heir, and even someone as totally badass as Kyo is couldn't stand up to that for long. He'd be bound to make a critical mistake sooner or later. Still, even intermittent situations where he has to deal with both Rose and Hayato's attacks are troublesome, and if there's anything Kyo hates... It's troublesome things.
Quickly taking stock of both Rose and Hayato's respective approaches, the grooving-in-place World Warrior clicks his tongue in a vaguely dismissive noise, slipping his head to one side to avoid the shinai entirely. "Too slow," Kyo says in the direction of the teacher, even as he catches one of Rose's kicking legs, pulling her out of her attempted flip and yanking her in close, seemingly going for the 'dirty dancing' route again... Mostly so he can punch her in the face, his striking fist alight with an eruption of those orange-crimson Kusanagi flames. "Too obvious!" he adds, for her benefit.
She might not really appreciate it, though.
Rose can, briefly, feel the heat! She looks like she's already engaging in anticipatory wincing as Kyo decks her, the kusanagi flames adding as she's knocked back - and catching her lapels on fire!! Yes, this is the joy of 70s fashion: this outfit, which is probably about as old as Rose, is also made of /flammable petrochemicals/.
The chi-based flames damp down to a smoulder rather quickly, but Rose is still briefly surrounded with acrid smoke as she steps back, carefully. She's swaying. Perhaps she's on the ropes. "Hahh. Well, I would hate to disappoint you, Kyo. So -" She draws her scarf up with a whirl, one foot stretching backwards as she lets her head lean back. The light around her shimmers, flares --
And coalesces into a swift shimmering semi-spherical solute of soul power, streaking with sudden force past Hayato and towards Kyo! Deal with that, boy!!
Hayato lets out a soft 'tch' as Kyo manages to lean out of the way of his blow. How unfair! Punching Rose in the face with fire is fair play, though. That's just the way these things go. And again Hayato moves to mix things up, but has the courtesy to wait until Rose manages to get back up. It doesn't hurt that it also provides some time for her dress to stop smoking; the smell is far from pleasant, and probably toxic.
Once she's back up, though, Hayato moves in on Rose. He's smart enough not to come in from directly in front of her, which leaves her clear aim for Kyo, but when she releases the soul power blast Hayato's shinai is swinging down toward her shoulder. It shouldn't affect the aim of her attack, but will she be able to recover from her own attack in time to respond to Hayato's?
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Rose's Aura Soul Spark.
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Hayato 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 1/---====/=======|
Surely, something like this can only end in tears.
Kyo sees that blast of Soul Power headed his way - it would be kind of hard to miss, given that he's not blind, and even then, one wouldn't have to be sensitive to the intricacies of that power to just /feel/ something THAT big - lights sparkling in lights, reflecting off of the mirrorball and the floor, not to mention all that extra lighting going on. With a flare of impressive pyrotechnics, the Aura Soul Spark smashes into Kyo full-on, explosive force rushing past him, and...
Oh, he seems to be still standing up, if crouched down a bit behind his guard, both arms raised up in front of his head. His arms have gone fairly numb by now, but a fighter like Kyo can push past that... Which he's going to have to, if he stands any chance against Rose. "Hey, it's okay, I'm used to being disappointed," Kyo explains, his right hand bursting into flame, raised above his head... And not in a disco pose this time. "Tell you what, though, I'll give you something good to dance with." The flame in his hand rages, intensifying in on itself, before Kyo suddenly springs into forward motion, skidding along the dance floor as he swings his right arm in a wide arc.
This arc, of course, unleashes a raging torrent of orange-crimson Kusanagi flames, a massive blast that seeks out Rose, looking to collide with the psychic and let her /really/ feel the burn. "EAT THIS!!" he bellows, his voice reverberating even over the music.
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Rose with Medium Strike.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Hayato 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rose reflects Orochinagi' from Kyo with Soul Reflect.
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Hayato 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
The strike on Rose's shoulder is hard enough to slightly disjoint the limb. Rose's face is a brief mask of agony, those red lips parting in a silent gasp of agony as she staggers forwards, eyes tightening and watering. She breathes in deeply as she recovers herself, straightening and letting her injured arm hang loose.
She gazes directly at Kyo as the music briefly hits the end of one song. In that second's lull, she can hear him. The pain is a ringing thing in her ears, but in a way it helps her - because with great pain comes great motivation to move your mind free. She remains still as that flame rages -- and then the music picks back up. The scarf swirls around, gathering on Rose's uninjured arm. She watches that flame streak and discolor the plastic, literally BURNING UP THE DANCE FLOOR --
She raises that arm up in a twisting motion, the scarf trailing up as her index finger points briefly up at the disco ball. The shimmering Soul Power meets the flame, and briefly inverts it - the flame seems to hang still for the fraction of a second, before being sent back at its rightful master!
Rose herself staggers slightly after this, but Kyo may have more pressing problems to contend with than this.
It's probably best for Hayato as well that Rose managed to stop and redirect that blast of flame. He was standing rather close to her, after all. Giant fireballs are rarely picky about who they immolate, when it comes to people standing in the blast zone. But she did... and since she seems to be nursing a wound now, it looks like Hayato's work with her is done for the moment. Beware, Kyo!
Hayato comes racing toward Kyo in the wake of the returned Orochinagi. Kyo will have to deal with his own attack being sent sailing back toward him, and then a moment later he'll have to deal with Hayato getting up in his face, bringing the shinai down for a blow right between the eyes. Which transitions into a disco appropriate pose, of course.
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Kyo with Reflected Orochinagi'.
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Hayato 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Rose
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hayato successfully hits Kyo with Medium Strike.
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Hayato 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Rose
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/------=|
As one might expect, Kyo's expression when Rose manages to completely redirect his fiery blast is one of flat annoyance. He should probably be used to these sorts of shenanigans from her, but he's a very stubborn young man. As the blast comes back at Kyo, he tries to repeat his performance of avoiding the brunt of the harm from the psychic's own massive blast... But he's simply done too much, his guard folding under the titanic weight of his...
Wait a minute.
Actually, by the time it gets to Kyo, the Orochinagi barely has any juice left... But that's enough to defeat Kyo's defenses, right at this particular moment. It's more annoying than anything else, and it's annoying enough that what follows - Kyo's attempt to get out of the way of Hayato's shinai once again - fails utterly, leaving him wide open to get smacked right in the face.
Okay then.
"All right," Kyo says, his irritation clear in his voice. "Time to put an end to this." Brushing by the posturing Hayato, Kyo dance-steps his way - quickly - towards Rose, suddenly lashing out at the woman once he gets close enough to her, his fist wreathed in and trailing licks of Kusanagi flames. If he hits the first strike, Kyo whirls around backwards, reversing his direction entirely for a second fiery strike, this one a backfist... Before reversing direction /again/ to aim a third flaming punch at Rose, a stylishly twisting uppercut.
At least he's /trying/.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Rose with Aragami.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Hayato 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Rose
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/----===|
"Such dramatics," Rose says, leaning backwards -- but the first strike hits cleanly, and this throws the psychic off her balance. Her brain can tell her 'he's about to hit you!' but that's a bit useless if she can't move her body in time, isn't it? The first strike knocks her back, the second sends her staggering, and the third knocks her off the ground...
Oh, and her stupid dress caught fire!! She lands off the dance floor, a helpful SNF staffer spraying her with a fire extinguisher that keeps her from getting more than somewhat singed, aided by the Kusanagi flame not burning so well compared to normal, match-induced fire.
"Oof," Rose says, seemingly unwilling to leap back into the ring and finish the job with one last blow to Kyo. But then, maybe she's hoping for...?!
COMBATSYS: Rose takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hayato
While Kyo and Rose are having the epic conclusion to their duel, Hayato suddenly blinks, then fishes in his pocket. Wasn't there a note of some sort that he was handed before the fight. He briefly reads it over. Oh. Oops. Well, it's not /quite/ too late. As Rose is falling, Hayato gestures with his shinai toward someone offstage. "And for a little final chaos from this agent..." There's a pause, then Hayato gestures again, more insistently. "I /said/, for a little final chaos!"
Suddenly there's a twang from the disco ball overhead, and it comes falling down from the ceiling, shattering on the dance floor in a shower of sparkles. A good ten feet away from Kyo and Rose. "...Oh. Damn." And a few moments later people are running out with fire extinguishers for Rose. "Well, uh..." Hayato pauses for a moment, then turns to the audience and raises his hand. "Dance on, folks!" They seem to respond positively to that, at least.
COMBATSYS: Hayato has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/----===|
Hey now, Kyo's fire is totally real fire; he doesn't need to dink around with turning chi into other things like lesser mortals do, by dint of his superior genetics and inherited ancestral awesomeness. "Heh... Looks like that's that," Kyo says, looking down at Rose with a terribly pleased smirk, whipping off the jacket to his leisure suit and holding it casually over one shoulder, his first two fingers hooked under the back of the collar. "Guess all the sparkly stuff distracted you, huh--" And then, Kyo is rather rudely interrupted, as the disco ball falls and shatters impressively.
In fact, Kyo gives a slight start of surprise and alarm at the sudden crash, but he recovers quickly enough, glancing back over his shoulder at the wreckage, and then casting a dubious look towards Hayato. All right then. "Hmph," the arrogant young man mutters, as he turns and starts to stalk /off/ the dance floor. After all, he won... Why would he stick around? The sooner he can get back into his /own/ clothes, the better.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:55:56 06/27/2008 by Rose, and last modified on 12:58:58 07/05/2008.