Description: Cherry, Hotaru and Roland team up in a crumbling church to take on the might of Kain Heinlein. An appropriate venue, because it seems some higher power is watching out for them... (Winners: Cherry, Hotaru, Roland)
Another sanctioned fight, another filthy, run down, practically condemned building to do battle in for Hotaru Futaba. Last time it was a dingy, rust corroded industrial plant in Metro, this time it's a dusty, deterioating old church building in Europe. The old building is likely to be torn down soon, but not until it's had its chance to serve as a stage for this week's proverbial 'boss fight' a brave trio of younger combatants to take on the powerful, world famous Kain Heinlein!
Dressed in comfortable, pristine white pants and blouse with a snug Chinese styled blue vest, Hotaru looks over the interior of the old building, her expression a bit unreadable for the moment as she quietly wishes she'd get warned about these kinds of venues in advance so that she could wear darker colors. Given how frequently she appears in the weekly fighting events, this isn't the first time she's had to battle against Kain or suffer the pain of his black flame laced attacks, and thinking about how best to contend with him takes her mind off the piles of moldy hymnals and rotting pews rather quickly.
Stepping further into the old building into the large, open chapel, the girl's shoulder brushes against some old drapes only to come away with a thin layer of dust. Pausing to brush at her shoulder, the pig-tailed fighter glances up at the gaping hole in the roof providing most of what illumination makes it into the room. Teamed up with two of the newer fighters to appear in the leagues, she feels a bit pressured to look out for them when it comes time to actually fight against a masterful fighter such as Kain. Of course, she hasn't MET them yet, so that could change.
Resting her hand against the back of her neck, the girl takes one last sweeping look over the large room that will serve as the actual stage for the fight before backing up near the entrance from the front antechambers, deciding to wait and meet her teammates there. It's usually nice to get to know other fighters she hasn't met before. Hopefully they can congeal as a team and keep up with Kain!
Kain isn't much for religion, but he can appreciate architecture. Too bad this church now doesn't have much to boast of, if it ever did. Kain's entrance isn't particularly dramatic, at least not at first. He strides in through the front door, dressed in a finely tailored white suit with blue trim. The drama is added a few moments after he enters the church itself, when a flock of doves nesting within the building suddenly take flight, streaming out through a large hole near the ceiling. People claim that some animals have a sixth sense, and will flee in the face of disasters that humans might not be able to detect. Something to think on, to be sure.
There is one thing to be said for this location, though... Kain is under no obligation to hold back. Not that he usually does. But this situation allows him to let loose a little bit. Overwhelming displays of power are good for his reputation. Of course, with three opponents he'll have to be careful that he doesn't let his guard down just for the sake of some flashy effects. Little harm in doing so before the fight begins, though. Kain waves his hand and the candles on the chandelier hanging from the ceiling spring to life. But they burn black, casting an eerie light over the interior of the church. They'll stop burning as soon as Kain stops concentrating, of course... but he can keep up a parlor trick like this fairly easily.
A ruined chapel? But with some of the windows still intact? It's like a gift from God... or at the very least, Jerry Bruckheimer.
Her intended debut to Saturday Night Fights was interrupted by pressing business, and her scheduled engagement atop an ice cream store had to be delayed. Of course, given the terrible pun that precipitated her being put in that event in the first place, Ms. Aguirre does not consider this too great a loss (ps luv u starscream). An epic three on one against one of the titans of the fighting world, in a building full of breakable stuff (and birds with only four frames or less of motion)? AWESOME.
And it's like the appropriate merchants in Paris were waiting for her arrival.
Such a shame that Hotaru really needs this moment of peaceful downtime to think things over. Why? Because there is a terribly loud rumbling from outside the building, getting louder and closer with each passing second... and crescendoing as Cherry -- riding an inexpensive motorcycle she purchased locally -- flies through one of the remaining stained glass windows like a stunt driver, suddenly leaping off the back in midair as the bike continues on without her.
As she lands in a crouch a few feet from Hotaru, then rises to brush her hair from her eyes, behind her the motorcycle hits a wall and suddenly explodes in the distance, causing the stone walls to rumble with the impact.
A pause, and then the Fighting Diva looks behind her. "Wow. And I only put ten euros in. Why are these cheap bikes so *volatile*?"
What.
Well, this is a rather improvisational outting for Roland. He has only come for the potential to get some quick cash, even if he had considered skipping out due to the somewhat out of the way location. In the end, when told the food and lodging was complimentary, he was easily coerced. But jet lag is a cruel mistress when ignored, having reaped fresh wares posing as a tourist to con other conmen. Well, mug is probably a better word, but he's happy he came. ...to the area, not the fight. Having to get scorched half to death by Kain isn't going to be worth it. The dead last to come, dragging his feet with massive bags beneath his eyes, he rubs at his face and blinks to get used to the decrepit darkness. "Oh. You're Hotaru... fu... fu... the bed. Futon? No. Something. Hi. Are you eighteen? OH. Seventeen, I remember." Completely losing interest at that point, he glances at the church. He reeks so much sacrilege it's amazing the place doesn't erupt into flames, old or not. Ergo it might, if not through holy means. Not noticing the broken glass was from the girl preceding him, he tips his hat to Cherry. And to Kain, "...Please don't kill me." Yes, it's best to put everything into perspective first. Hopefully, the fate of this fight won't rest on his lazyass shoulders.
As Kain steps into the larger room, Hotaru moves to the side, quietly watching him pass. To say that there is some trepidation in facing him again would be safe, given the way he relentlessly pursued her all over Howard Arena the last time they fought just to make a point to Jiro while the young Kasagi exhausted himself into oblivion trying to stop him. Time dulls the sharpness of painfull memories, but there is one thing she hasn't forgotten and as the veteran fighter toys with his black flames, lighting candles with a dismissive wave of his hands, she can't help but remember what Jiro told her about what he made the boy do. To fight the man who tricked the ever impressionable Jiro into killing another is unpleasant business. Especially since she knows matters such as revenge or getting even hardly fall within the scope of a broadcast match.
She inhales then exhales slowly, trying to focus her thoughts and get such unpleasant business out of mind. Doing so becomes /drastically/ easier as one of her teammages comes smashing in through the stained glass window before leaping down to stand next to the Kenpo artist. Staring at the red-head with wide eyed surprise, she shifts her hand from resting against the back of her neck to rubbing her cheek instead, "Hello. You must be Cherry," she states with a bit of a grin. "That was quite some-" she starts speaking up with regards to the other teen's entrance only to realize that they've been joined by another. At first glance, she's pretty sure Roland is just some guy that's wandered in off the street, "Ah, excuse me," she chirps in his direction, "We're actually about to have a sanctioned match here, you're going to want to find somewhere else to..." Bum around.
But he seems to know who she is. Kinda; struggling with her name, then asking her age, then dismissing her out of hand. "...Futaba," she murmurs, but he seems to have already taken to pressing Kain for the favor of not being killed over the course of this match if at all possible. So that's apparently her third partner, for what he's worth. Clapping her hands together, pretty much nominating herself as the team leader for this impromptu trio, the girl continues on as brightly as she can muster, "Okay! Let's do our best, and keep an eye out for opportunities to help each other." She looks at Roland for a long moment, wondering if he's going to be keep an eye out for anything besides a nice place to /nap/.
Having lit the candles, Kain then seems to stop paying attention to them, although in reality he does continue to take note of them. It's just that it's only a minor distraction, at worst. Seems nobody has anything to say to him except Roland, and Kain doesn't think much of what he does offer. Kain doesn't have much respect for the plea, but at least it means Roland is being honest about his own abilities. That's worth something, although not nearly as much as actually striving to do whatever is necessary to defeat your opponent.
Heinlein raises one arm briefly, using it to knock free a few slivers of stained glass that landed on his shoulder after Cherry's impressive entrance. Sure, the window was probably the most valuable thing remaining in the church... but it would have gotten destroyed sooner or later in this match anyway. Slipping his left hand into his pocket, Kain idly taps one foot while he waits for his opponents to get prepared and the start of the fight to be officially declared. Perhaps they'll appreciate the opportunity to offer up some prayers, given the location.
"Entrance? Yes it was, thank you!" Cherry says evenly, giving Hotaru the once over. Blue. Pigtails. Chinese clothing. Yessssss... the Japan is strong with this one, Master. If she cannot be turned, destroy her! "I really dig the ethnic look, so few people can pull that off." Was that a compliment? Who can tell. As Hotaru turns to say something to Roland, the Fighting Diva's green eyes track her gaze over to Roland, and one dark red eyebrow goes up. "I can't tell if you're going for 'Chinatown'-style noir or Ash from 'Evil Dead'," she says at last, indicating the duster with a quick sweep of the hand. Teammate number 2 does not appear as reliable as the ethnic girl. Hmm.
Taking a few steps to the side, Cherry stretches and then gets into her fighting stance, distantly recognizable as a kung fu stance though with subtle variations, most notably the position of the feet being closer to how a sprinter stands before leading off. She rakes her gaze over Kain and grins. Not a complete fool, she did her homework; this guy is one of the baddest of the badasses, the meanest of the mean despite his cool demeanor. An uphill battle all the way.
...Naturally, she simply says out loud: "Tee hee." Enunciating the syllables rather than giving the short laugh.
"The suit SCREAMS 'stage magician', but I love the hair," she offers to her opponent with a nod. You have to admit, it IS fantastic hair. He probably conditions daily, which Cherry approves of. Hair is very important. She seems about to open her mouth to say something else -- something unwise, from the crooked and sardonic twist of her mouth -- but is thankfully interrupted by the SNF people giving the go-ahead for the fight to start. Beaming, Cherry grins at Kain. "No hard feelings, okay? And please tell me what shampoo you use."
And then she's ripping through the air at high speed effectively from a standing start, completely without warning. One foot is extended in a classic kung fu jumpkick, a fiery aura surrounding it in the shape of a dragon's head. "ALLEZ CUISINE!" she bellows, looking to deliver a flaming boot to Kain's perfectly coifed head.
COMBATSYS: Cherry has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
"People say a lot of things about me, but nothing good." is offered in a disturbingly cheerful tone for something so negative, observing Cherry for a good few moments as if she were a high grade of meat as opposed to anything else with a rub of his chin. Of course his duster isn't for show. It's weighed down with many useful items! At least partially. And not in this fight. "Uh." He's really not sure how to approach this, and has assumed no combat stance. That would presume he has one in the first place. Fists raise in some mockery of boxing, before he slithers forward bobbing and weaving. Before at the last moment instead flicking out an origami swan, which is rather neatly infused with his own chi. Hurling the harmless item towards Kain, it erupts into green flame upon contact with anything nearby. Potentially damaging to the church, maybe. If nothing else, it's probably not expected... he has that going for him throughout this fight.
Hotaru responds to Cherry's observation about her appearance with an easy smile, seemingly pleased to here it, regardless of whether it was meant as a clear compliment or not. "Thank you." she continues with a slight nod of her head before taking a step forward and to the side, blue eyes coming to focus directly on Kain. Cherry's way of addressing him provokes the slightest eyebrow twitch in the Kenpo artist. Provoking the likes of Heinlein seems like a fast tick to Painsville, population: The last person who smarted off to him.
The girl stays quiet, herself, crossing her arms in front of her for a moment before slowly exhaling and slipping into a loose ready stance, her body moving with a certain rythym, arms raised, palms open and partially forward, shoulder turned toward Kain. A second breath is taken as the girl closes her eyes and releases one last exhale to clear her mind of distractions such as the duster-clad Roland and wondering about his potential uselessness.
It comes as no surprise, perhaps, that Cherry takes the aggressive lead the instant the signal to go is given. Hotaru hangs back, watching her go, hoping to get a sense for the other girl's style in that brief moment. She glances to the side toward Roland to see him just sort've standing there and her expression tenses a little. At last it seems he's interested in doing something, taking the folded paper and hurling it Kain's way. Experienced as she is, she can spot that it isn't just harmless paper. But that means the vastly more experienced Heinlein will have an even easier time not being fooled.
"All right," the girl states, tensing up for a moment before pushing off, her foot using a stone step behind her for support to give her a boost of speed in her initial charge. Sprinting forward, her attack seems at first a reckless suicide dive into Heinlein, but as the girl gets nearer, the real threat becomes more apparant. Her hands come in together as if to ready a powerful palm strike, but before she actually attacks, the girl goes for his coat-sleeve covered arms instead, seeking to get enough of a grip on them that she can convert all that forward momentum into a rapid flurry of stomping kicks, the girl perhaps leaving some of the dust from the floor on his nice clean suit as she seeks to make it to his shoulders and at last backflip away, "Ya, ya, ya!"
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Cherry's House of Ninja.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Roland's Roulette.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain blocks Hotaru's Shin-Jou Tai.
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
Generally Kain is not the kind to dignify remarks like Cherry's with a response. He doesn't seem to be making an exception here. The kick, of course, can't be ignored. Kain brings an arm up, catching Cherry's foot with the back of his forearm. There's no noticeable give under the impact, and then Kain suddenly exerts force right back against Cherry's foot, pushing her back from him. Meanwhile, Roland's origami crane is on the way in. The exact nature of the attack is unknown, but Kain isn't going to assume that it's harmless just because it seems to be a simple piece of paper. He smoothly moves out of the way, letting it burn up harmlessly. But then Hotaru is on top of him. She manages to grab him by the sleeve, but a twist of his body prevents her from getting the clean strikes with her kicks she was probably hoping for.
With Roland attacking from a safe distance and Cherry pushed away, that leaves Hotaru in the best position to be attacked. Since she didn't manage to cleanly connect with her kicks, Kain is able to move even as she's still flipping away from him. He follows, keeping pace with her and preparing to greet her when she lands. His right leg snaps upward at a sharp angle as Kain attempts to drive a kick up into her stomach just as her feet start to touch the ground. Black flame surrounds his leg as he does so, then explodes on impact with easily enough force to send a human body flying away.
Her attack may be pushed away, but not so hard that Cherry is out of the fight by a long shot. Rebounding from her quite fast opening move, she effectively bounces off Kain and lands on the ground in a crouch before springing back to her feet just as Hotaru moves past her and in for that grabbing attack... well, and as an origami crane floats by as well. That seems almost like slapstick to the Fighting Diva, but she lets it slide; after all, she's seen weirder used as a weapon than origami cranes even in her short time in the pro fighting world. Besides, the sudden burst of green fire it's consumed by as part of the strike proves that more than anything else.
But Cherry can't just sit on her lack of laurels; as far as she's concerned the only way for these three to have any sort of chance against Kain is to keep the assault going as quickly as humanly possible and take advantage of every opening. Case in point: he delivers that kick toward Hotaru, and as far as Cherry's concerned that's an opening she can't ignore. Suddenly vaulting toward Kain *backwards* at a low angle, she reaches down to grab that extended kicking leg and send the black fire-using fighter off balance long enough for her to turn her descent into a shove with her legs that sends him sprawling to the ground. A little complex, perhaps, and not likely to hurt all that bad... but perhaps the strange striking angle will give her the upper hand in terms of landing the blow in the first place.
No! Roland is completely demoralized his useless crane had no effect! Not really. He uses the opportunity to try and get behind the other man, and work on his blind spot. After all, being non-threatening means he can try to hit him once or twice before pretending to be defeated. The frightful displays and liquid ease of the other participants is somewhat surprising to him, feeling a touch out of depth given his own halfassed approach to such things. "Hrrm." Flexing and twisting one hand, a long blade slithers free before he approaches, using raw force in an attempt to jab it right into Kain's back with a hearty twist. It's probably not dangerous even if ignored, but this little steam engine seems quite intent on ‘I think I can!' ...He's just a lot easier to break the will of in contrast.
COMBATSYS: Kain successfully hits Hotaru with Schwarze Lanze.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
She can tell things are about to get rough as Kain successfully defends himself against her opening barrage. There's still the chance to backflip away and recover from this missed opportunity to land a solid opening strike, she believes... But Kain proves otherwise. Before she reaches the ground she notices he's coming for her. His speed is frightful, his timing honed by almost a decade of additional experience. Her only hope is to make a fast escape the moment her feet touch the ground.
She doesn't get that far. Kain's foot slams upward, catching the tiny fighter in the stomach with crushing force. If the physical power behind the blow wasn't punishing enough, the explosion of that blisteringly hot black flame that accompanies it more than seals the deal as the young fighter's body is completely consumed in it, her attempts to try and combat the undesired invasion of violent chi with her own aura completely overwhelmed. A sharp cry echoes out into the room as the pig-tailed combatant slams against the wall with a sickening crunch before sliding to the floor, peeling off the wall to land on her knees, held up by one hand as the flames flicker out around her. Her left hand presses against her stomach, her complexion quite pale as she struggles to keep it together. When fighting her peers she might expect an attack that painful when it's the best they can do. Against Kain, though, it was simply his opening volley.
Getting back to her feet is a struggle, using the splintered back of a nearby pew for support as unfocused blue eyes try to take in the situation again. Okay. She can keep going at little longer, maybe, but she's going to have to do better than that to make any difference. Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to ignore the pain and nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Slowly she brings her arms up and draws back into a ready stance, eyes narrowed as she gets her bearings back. Her next strike has to matter, she tells herself, even if it's the only one that she lands.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Hotaru 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Cherry successfully hits Kain with Quick Throw.
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Hotaru 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain fails to interrupt Power Strike from Roland with Schwarze Schleife.
- Power fail! -
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Hotaru 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
Things seem to be going pretty well for Kain in this fight. But... things have only just begun. And the tide can turn quickly. First Cherry manages to grab him by the leg. This is... an annoyance more than anything else, but she seems stubbornly resistant to being shaken off. This gives her enough time to make use of leverage to topple Kain over, right as Roland is coming up behind him. Kain is /aware/ of Roland's approach, of course. Even as he's falling he tries to twist around, intending to teach Roland a lesson about trying to sneak up on Kain. Perhaps he does manage to teach a lesson... but if so, it's the wrong one.
Kain is still falling backward as he twists, managing to add the momentum of his own fall against Roland's stabbing motion, driving the knife in. And since he's rotating, the knife gets dragged into the side of the wound as well. There's a short spray of blood as the blade slips free and Kain falls, landing on his hands and knees. His face isn't visible from that position, but anyone sensitive to the flow of chi might feel a sudden chill that has nothing to do with the natural temperature of the building.
Feeling Heinlein's weight fall behind her in a truly satisfying way, the Fighting Diva uses her 'shovedown' of Kain with her legs to springboard out and to her feet... of course, since she was grabbing for his kicking leg, she also got a nice, up-close and personal view of the serious asswhupping he delivered to Hotaru, so her face is lined with a bit of a wince even as she lands and glances over to spare the pigtailed pugilist a look. Well, she's not shattered into tiny pieces on the ground, nor is she immolated like a Final Fight thug smacked with a molotov cocktail, so this is a good thing overall. "Hang in there, Pigtails," she offers, because she Cares About Others(tm).
She turns back to Kain just in time to see Roland shiv him something fierce, causing her to raise an eyebrow. Origami, knives... he's certainly a dab hand with random stuff so far. Deciding to continue taking the fight to Kain, the redhead drives forward at him in a completely stupid and telegraphed fashion, swinging out her left arm at chest height to smack him in the torso from the side at the same time she looks to smack the heel of her hand right into chin.
She also takes the time to ask Roland, while doing this: "You don't have a sister, do you?"
"Oh, sweet, I hurt him." Roland states, sounding to be far too pleased with himself. "He's going to kill me now." His tone didn't change in the slightest, skipping backwards while flicking blood from his blade. Not much of it given the sheer strength of his attempted blow, but more then he truly expected. The other hand similarly snaps out a blade, now possessing two of them. "Sister? Nope, only child. I do have an item, though. Ayame!" He turns to the cameras, raising his voice so it can be heard. "YES, WORLD! ME AND AYAME ARE LOVERS!" He beams happily, putting a thumb's up. Hopefully that will get the tabloids screaming. And if it annoys her in the process, all the better. But somewhat more pressing is the need to try to hurt Kain more. He braces himself, before suddenly bursting into green chi. His movements and speed become much sharper, erupting forward and rearing both arms back. Hopefully Kain will not be expecting an ambush of competency, long enough for both his arms to slash down and across his chest, adding more then a little bit of burn to the attempt! "C'mon, at this rate I might get a bit of arrogance, Heinburg!!"
Staying off to the side for that brief moment, Hotaru merely watches the two other fighters mob Kain for the moment, more than holding their own in the process. Cherry's encouragement gets her a slight nod from the badly hurting girl to let her know she heard her, even if she's decided to address her by a new moniker rather than her name, albeit quite an apt one. "You two are doing good," she calls out, finding her voice at last, fixing her attention back on Kain.
Sensing the change in the ebb and flow of chi within the once hallowed walls, she knows that what's in store after that successful round of attacks could very well be devestatingly painful for someone unfortunate enough to be caught in up in Kain's retaliation. The banter between Cherry and Roland is ignored entirely as she draws deeply from within herself to give the team her best shot.
When she finally moves, it is faster than she had at any point this fight, a blue and white pig-tailed blur dashing toward Kain. She hurdles over one pew, then leaps over two more in order to come down into a landing directly to the side of the veteran fighter. Before her feet have even touched the ground, the surge of energy she's drawing into herself in that instant would be impossible for him to miss. She assumes for a fleeting moment a low crouch, one foot out before the other, "Tenshou...!"
And then it happens, a powerful backflipping kick, a geyser of chi powering the strike with strength far beyond what she could muster alone as she tries to take the deadly German clean off his feet.
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Cherry's Strong Punch.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Kain with Gold Rush.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kain with Ten-shou Ranki.
- Power hit! -
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Kain
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Cherry 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/------=|
Sensing what's coming and dealing with it in time to defend against it are two different matters entirely. Hotaru's speed at the moment is practically the best she's able to pour on, and even though she was struck brutally hard, she is overall still pretty fresh, strength-wise. And she's willing to put everything on the line on this attack.
The crushing flip kick leaves her ascending into the air, carried up by momentum into a clean flip right back down into Kain with enough force to finish driving him to the ground. "...Ranki!" It's all the small fighter can do to keep him down, kneeling on him and pressing her hands against his chest as she pulls together one of the largest chi bombs she's ever made. And with someone like Kain so close by, is it any wonder that so much energy is available to be drawn into the spiraling sphere of energy building up around the two?
Gritted teeth, intense concentration, and a desire to push herself harder than she normally would against another opponent result in a culminating explosion as all that built up strength collapses back down around the two, funneled by Hotaru directly into Heinlein's chest, lashing out at him directly with her own blue, concussive chi, striking back against the weilder of those painful black flames with all she's got. A soft sigh heralds her attempt to finally hop back and recover from one of the unfortunately more memorable techniques out there.
Cherry's attack is well telegraphed and easy enough to avoid... Kain simply steps to the side and out of her reach. Unfortunately, it seems he hasn't quite been paying enough attention to his location within the building. When Roland comes running in, Kain is in between him and a wall. Heinlein does bring his arms up to guard, but he's slightly distracted by bumping into the obstruction behind him. And that's enough for Roland to break through his guard, slashing him across the chest with green chi and slamming him into the wall. And that's when a loose stone from the balcony above is knocked free, falling to break over Kain's head. This leaves him more than a little dazed when Hotaru comes slamming into him.
The blasting from Hotaru is bad enough, but it's a good thing for Hotaru that she leapt back after the technique. Because the rest of the balcony, and a good chunk of the wall, simply can't take any more. There's a loud rumbling and clouds of dust as a great deal of ruined church comes collapsing down on top of Kain. And when the dust starts to clear, there's no sign of Heinlein beneath the pile of broken stone.
Until a moment later when stone and dust flies everywhere once again as Kain, bloody and dusty, explodes out of the rubble, reaching for the nearest opponent... who happens to be Roland, although Kain's vision is too blurred to pick him out by sight. Kain's left hand shoots out, seeking to grab Roland by the face. Kain's fingers digging into his skull will hardly be pleasant, but really Kain just needs to hold him for what's next. And that's fire. A /lot/ of black fire. A blast that shatters the stone for several feet around as it surrounds both Kain and Roland.
Grimacing as her punch doesn't connect, Cherry makes a clucking sound as she ducks back away to make another go at it... and is interrupted promptly by carnage on an impressive scale. She literally skids to a stop as Hotaru's big blue burst almost grazes her front, and her backstep thankfully takes her away from the area just as Roland's attack buries Kain under if not a mountain, then at least a reasonably sized hilltop of rubble.
She pauses, before saying, "Well. Nobody could possibly survive all that dust." Goodbye forever, fourth wall!
That's when his hand shoots out for Roland's throat, and she raises an eyebrow. Clearly, someone can survive all that pun. Er, dust. "Wow... well, now the suit is explained. Clearly, you're a vampire." Yes, that's a perfectly rational explanation. Still, it's not nice to grab people by the throat and try to immolate them, so Cherry perhaps a little stupidly rushes right back in at Kain, picking up a sprinter's speed before leaping upwards and then doing a complete forward flip, looking to drive both of her feet into the suited man's back and drive him into the floor, *hard*.
COMBATSYS: Roland endures Kain's Strong Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 1/-------/=======|
"Hah!" Roland states, sounding to be far too happy with himself. This man is one of the best in the world, and he's managed to actually put a few marks in him! Maybe he underestimated his endless bastion of talent and personal skill. The crushing debris seems to make him settle on the same thing as Cherry, standing up and brushing himself off. "Well, I managed to get through this without being hurt..." Uh oh. Maybe he shouldn't of said that. Grimacing at the looming specter of raging flame, he feels more hopeless then he can recollect. Well, pretty much ever. But he begins to boil with green aura once more, even as that palm grips him by the face. "Hrrm shun bob ab fitch!!" is snarled out, rearing back his arms just as the inferno of black flame tears into him. But in the same motion he launches forward himself, having dug his feet into the stone. Given he was meant to be turned into a marshmellow rather then punted a hundred feet, he somehow endures, blindly lunging through the wall and spiraling twice, twin more lacerating green slashes offered to the stomach before he tries to sink both as far within Kain as he can; were he to succeed, this'd probably be the first thing others would see instead of his corpse, kicking blindly forward to dislodge a potentially phantom Kain. Hrrgh!!
Hotaru springs back and debris and rubble come crashing down around Kain, seeming to bury the fighter and end this match rather definitively. The pig-tailed combatant takes a few more steps back, sneezing from the dust thrown up by the collapsing wall, her once-white outfit now a dusty grey. Cherry speaks up and the Kenpo artist shakes her head, "I wouldn't count on it..." she murmurs. She was the closest in proxitimity to him before the collapse, and she could tell that for all the fighters have done to him, Kain wouldn't down for the count. Not even with that!
Her concern bears out as Kain tears into Roland, getting a grip on the seemingly lucky fighter and unleashing a devestating amount of chi into him from that choke hold. Breathing in then exhaling as she digs deep to get a second shot of strength to continue on, she pauses long enough to watch her two teammates have another go at it, shaking her head just a little at Cherry's assessment of Heinlein. Perhaps not a vampire, but considering what she knows of the man's philosophies, he's villain enough in her mind.
At last the girl advances, pausing from a yard out to drop into a low crouch then spring into an attack against the German, arms windmilling as she attempts to draw his guard high to ward off the lighter attacks and leave it unclear where the real danger lies. As her feet touch the ground, however, she launches into the real meat of the attack, a powerful, one handed palm press, the girl slamming it forward, lending torso and leg strength to the fully committed attack against Kain's stomach. "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Kain dodges Cherry's Heavy Kick.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Kain with Jackpot!.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Kain with Soushou Shin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Kain
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 0/-------/-------|
Once more Kain gets out of the way of Cherry's attack, but this time it's more of a stumble. And he stumbles right into Roland's path. More green energy cuts into him, though with all the blood and dust it's hard to make out just how much it might have actually injured him. It's certainly enough to leave him reeling right into the path of yet /another/ attack however, this one from Hotaru. Kain takes the blow to the stomach and is sent staggering backward.
Heinlein lifts up one hand, black flame flickering about his arm as he eyes his opponents. There's a flash of golden light in the palm of Kain's hand, but it's weaker than what some people might have seen before. The reason why soon comes, as it fails to develop further. Kain slowly sinks to his knees, then collapses into the pile of rubble. Thankfully nothing further falls from the ceiling onto him once he's already down.
COMBATSYS: Kain takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kain can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Roland 0/-------/-------|
Instead of Kain's back, the redhead's feet slam heavily into the stone floor, cracking it heavily as she pushes off to hop forward and turn around. Must be ready for counterattack! Must... stay... moving! Must...
...figure out why the pretty blond is on the ground.
There's a moment while the Fighting Diva tries to piece this together, considering Kain's reputation, and she just blinks at Hotaru, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Well, uh... you two sure beat the hell out of him something nasty," she admits. This is not the shining example of her abilities she was hoping for with her first major televised appearance. But, it's a win, which is nice for both her record and her pocketbook.
"..." Roland walks up to the downed Kain and gives him a swift kick in the ribs. "Bastard, that hurt." After a few seconds, another boot is done. Hell, he'll never get another opportunity to do that. Having a complete nobody do that to one of the most distinguished, successful and talented legends in recent fighting history is suicidal, but see if he cares. His hat is removed and brushed upon his trenchcoat, hacking up soot and beginning to wobble away. "Alright, I need a lot of alcohol, and to find a way to hide from Ayame for the next two weeks." is grumbled, giving a sort of lazy over the shoulder wave to the pair. He's managed to help solidly take down not one, but two fights in his short career in Saturday Night Fight! At this rate, many people will get the wrong idea about his competency.
COMBATSYS: Roland has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
The blow to Kain's stomach is perhaps in a small way payback for the body crushing blow he dealt to her at the start fo the fight. The palmstrike delivered, Hotaru draws her arm back, slowly regaining her balance after such an aggressively inclined assault.
It proves to be just enough to finish the fight, the pig-tailed fighter taking several steps back from Kain even as the veteran slumps to the ground. She doesn't share Roland's confidence in getting close to the man even after he's been down for a moment but instead is content to keep her distance, her expression somber. Sad, she muses, that the most powerful chi user she knows of is such a monster. She's torn between respecting his frightening strength and reviling him for how he would want to use it.
But the moment passes, the girl tearing her gaze away to look toward Cherry, her expression softening a little. "Well... not exactly the best case in coordination, but it got the job done. It was nice to meet you, Cherry." the girl finishes, bowing toward her and turning toward Roland, only to watch him seal his fate with a boot to Kain's side. Ooooookay! Pretending like she didn't just see that, the girl turns to vacate the premesis, and get all this dust cleaned off!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has left the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Cherry 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Cherry has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:26:58 06/27/2008 by Kain, and last modified on 19:41:31 06/29/2008.