Description: Raizo thinks that determination counts for as much as refinement and elegance! ... Which is good, because he's fighting Sakura here, as a test of her mettle for the third round of the Miss Southtown pageant. (Winner: Raizo)
Sakura still feels she has a lot of making up to do after the first round of the pageant, even after her pretty respectable showing in the second round! Luckily, the pageant organizers have seen fit to include a martial arts competition -- and appropriately so for the fighting capital of the world! So... she thinks she'll do okay... as long as she can hold her own against the Justice High principal in combat, of course!
For this round of the battle, though... Sakura's actually gone conservative in her attire. Kinda. A dark blue blazer with the Seijyun crest is professional, right? The tomboy supreme actually spending more than five seconds fixing her hair is professional, right? Eyeshadow, eyeliner... anyone see a trend here? About the only nod to the fighting fangirl's Taiyo glory is the really short pleated skirt -beneath- that blazer, but even still she manages to come across as more of an office lady than her usual schoolgirl self!
Okay, maybe she's playing this up for Yurika's benefit, who knows? The point is, there's a small orchestra gathered in the pit of the Seijyun Theatre -- though only the drummers are earning their pay at the moment. Drum roll, please?! Once the appropriate fanfare reaches a fevered pitch, the curtains rise, and Sakura is presented to the audience!
With a mic in her hand, of course! "Hello again! I just want to thank everyone for coming out today, I can really feel the excitement here! But don't be shy, folks... let's give it up for my, er... judge, and competitor in this next challenge, Mr. Raizo Imawano of Justice High!" She steps out of the way, gesturing her hand towards the parted curtain as she takes her position on stage right, barely containing a snicker at her own overdramatized introduction...
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Sakura 0/-------/-------|
Ah, but how will Raizo judge the Taiyo-turned-Seijyun Heroine? The old man is an inscrutable one, and any Justice student can tell you that his grading standards are always unpredictable.
But for now, at least, he's behaving as predicted, stepping out as Sakura introduces him, offering the crowd faint waves and one of those ursine grins - shouldn't he be doing the introduction? Well, certainly the go-to attitude is worth some favor from an old man that so strongly believes in forward action. He turns to Sakura as he reaches the middle.
/He/ isn't dressed up a whole lot. The show is for Sakura, after all; so his main concession to the dressing element is that he's wearing one of his halfway decent suits, rather than the older one he usually wears to a fight. He gives the outfit a good, critical look, since the man fights with claws and it's probably not going to be there in one piece for much longer. Best to give it the judge's eye now.
Finally, he looks up at Sakura, and says, "Thank you, Miss Kasugano. Now - are you ready?"
COMBATSYS: Raizo has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Raizo
This round of the pageant's only just begun -- is Sakura already winning points, then? She'll have to stick it out till the end to find out for sure! Bowing back to Raizo with a broad smile, she nods in reply to his question. ... though it's less of an approving nod, and more of a 'gimme a moment' nod, as she digs her hands into her blazer pockets, withdrawing two well-worn handguards, dark red in color. One look at those claws was enough to remind her about the principal's peculiar brand of brutality, no doubt. Tugging those handguards on snugly, she draws her right foot back, curling her fists in a standard Ansatsuken defensive stance. "Ready!" she announces confidently, coffee-colored eyes meeting Raizo's monocle.
If he liked her attitude in announcing the start of this round, he's gonna love how she waits only the briefest of moments before charging forward! She wastes no time at all, channeling her burst of momentum into one solid, powerful leaping kick, aiming to impact Raizo squarely in the chest and send him staggering backwards! "Hyaaaaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raizo with Strong Kick.
Glancing Blow
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Raizo
Raizo isn't a /brutal/ man, per se - in personal dealings he's actually quite tame, in fact.
But in combat...yes, brutality would be a good word. He nods. "Then, we shall begin," he says, despite the fact that Sakura's already halfway to him. But he's a fast one, too - he shifts his weight to the side, jumping away from the attack. However, he misjudges Sakura's speed a bit, and she catches him in the side, earning a soft "oof!" from the slab of huge that is Justice's principal. "Fast," he muses, as he sets into his own fighting stance - admittedly, little more than a slight hunch of his shoulders and baring his claws, ready to use the entire weight of his upper body to attack. And use it he does, baring his claws and bringing them down in a hard sweep across Sakura's flank.
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Sakura with Claw Stab.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Raizo
Kasugano hadn't expected the ursine administrator to move -quite- that fast -- even though she tagged him, she still finds it necessary to shift her weight sharply to the right, so that she can drop into a roll instead of dropping like a stone! It's just as she's springing back to her feet that Raizo drives in with a swift attack of his own. Sakura flinches to the side, clearly unused to seeing anyone near Raizo's size moving that quickly! "Uhh--" she stammers, raising her handguards to defend against the claws... only to feel the harsh sting of claws digging into her side! Sure enough, her blazer gives way to the sharpened claws, leaving behind four parallel trenches painted with red. As Kasugano yelps in pain, she leaps backwards to a safer distance, the corner of her blazer peeling away to reveal the shredded white blouse beneath it.
Gathering her hand to her wounds, Kasugano hisses sharply, mentally forcing the pain out of her head as she renews focus upon her opponent. That wasn't so bad, she tells herself, just a few little scratches! Nothing to worry about, right?! Swallowing hard, she nods back to Raizo... and charges right back at him! No point in going easy on the principal -- she charges right in with an uppercut to the chin, strong enough to knock that monocle right out! "SHOOOOOOOU'OOOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raizo with Shou'ou Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Raizo
Raizo's speed is often a surprise to those who haven't faced him before - or even recently. It's so easy to forget that a man readily compared to a cube of murder is capable of moving /that fast./ But sometimes Raizo screws up a little as well - underestimating those below him, particularly. Just because one is powerful does not mean one is unstoppable, and every so often, Raizo lets his power affect his judgment of how to run a fight.
For instance: he tries to dodge out of the way of Sakura's lightning-speed attack, and it fails pretty much completely! Sakura nails him hard in the chin, actually /lifting him off the ground/ and sending him staggering backwards. He manages to recover in midair (which apparently involved snatching the monocle out of the air, as he quickly slips it back into his eye), landing on his feet, but he's visibly a little dazed by the force of that attack. He doesn't stay so for long, however, allowing Sakura a small, pleased smile at her speed and skill, and then a punch in the face at her open guard!!
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Sakura with Strong Punch.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Sakura 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Raizo
Make no bones about it, Sakura's still feeling the aftereffects of that -first- swipe when she dives into deliver that uppercut... the technique relies on nearly all of her abdominal muscles, at one point or another! But the Seijyun undergrad is a fighter, and she can willfully ignore what she needs to if it results in something awesome! She lands a few moments later with a flutter of her skirt and a grin of renewed confidence.
She will find that this confidence is misplaced as the bearlike administrator matches her smile with one of his own -- and a brutal fist! So much for that moment of smugness, eh? Sakura foolishly forgot to keep her eyes on her opponent for that one moment, and boy, does she get clocked! She sails right off the stage from the well-placed punch, right into the middle of the orchestra pit! Cue the trumpets going -way- out of key!
Sakura extricates her hand from the mouth of a tuba, gritting her teeth at the situation in which she's found herself! Sure, the cameras were rolling, and they probably caught her going head over heels... but no, she's upset about having knocked over the orchestra section! Embarassing! She plays it off well, though, leaping back onto the stage, landing in a low crouch. "Haha, I guess I deserved that one!" That darn signature move, leaving her back to her opponent for so long...
Her arms unfurl as she rises from the stage, electricity lancing between her fingertips. Her hands adopt the glow of a tremendous outpouring of energy, cerulean blue intertwining with brilliant white for a rapidly-whirling vortex, which she gratefully turns away from Raizo's eyes. "Shinkuuu...." But only for a moment -- just enough space for her to wind up the pitch before slinging the whole kit and kaboodle forward -- roughly a meter in diameter, the raging fireball roars towards Raizo, threatening to send him flying just as far as she was! "HADOOOOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Raizo endures Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Raizo
"Hum," Raizo murmurs, as he watches the form of her recoil from his attack, and bobs an apology toward the orchestra pit. He stomps in her direction slowly, but she's forming something impressive - he needs to act! And in a more serious match - one where life and death were on the line, rather than a demonstration of martial skill - perhaps he would. Instead, he lets Sakura get that baleful attack off, firing a trademark blast of energy right at him, and he LEAPS INTO IT, meeting it with the full force of his body, and he plows right through, emitting a riotous "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH" as air is torn out of his lungs from pain and vacuum exchanges, but in the end it is the bear, and not the blast, that triumphs - blasted and burned, Raizo hits the ground in front of Sakura, says, "Impressive," and then grabs her by the head and, if it works, throws her at the back wall of the stage.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Raizo's Ningen Taihou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Raizo
Why is it, that when folks see her ENORMOUS HURTLING FIREBALL OF DEATH, people just want to run right through it, huh? Sakura's never been able to figure that out -- maybe folks just like the pain -- but enough people do it that she kind of -expects- it now. Hey, their funeral, right?
Sakura gulps a bit once she sees the administrator shove right through the attack, energy splashing dissipated to either side... but she maintains her resolve, leaping back as far as she can without landing back in that orchestra pit! Oh, right on the edge!
But when that monstrous hand clamps downwards at the Seijyun undergrad's head, her hands are interposed in the way! "Nnngh!" It's hardly enough to defend fully against the sheer differential in mass, no... but it -is- enough to keep Sakura's head from being torn from her body like a watermelon, as she's plucked right off the ground and hurled into the back wall!
Of course, once she -hits- that wall, the ball's back in her court -- she lands on both feet, using the impact to spring herself forward again! "You ain't gettin' rid of me that easily, sir!" Launching herself like a crossbow at Raizo, she aims herself at the principal's shoulders -- aiming to latch one flying lariat around his neck, while she flings herself over his shoulder. Should she manage this hold, she'd wrap both arms about the Justice administrator's neck and apply a fierce chokehold, kneeing him repeatedly in the back all the while! GUTS! "Hyaa! Hyaa!"
COMBATSYS: Raizo blocks Sakura's Sakura Strangle.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Raizo
Indeed, it is right back in her hands. Raizo turns, and Sakura's already halfway too him; his eyes widen in surprise. Even Raizo can be caught offguard, by someone fast enough. Sakura is certainly that.
"Good!" Raizo manages to taunt back, despite his surprise. But he's not ready for her attack, and only manages to bring his arms up to block, deflecting the attempted throw from his neck, although Sakura does get a solid knee to his back before Raizo staggers away, spinning around to face Sakura once more.
And then he moves, positioning himself. He doesn't have time to build up a lot of mass or tension, so instead he just launches - jutting his clawed hand forward, right toward Sakura!
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Sakura with Roppu Zuki.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Raizo
Kasugano's eyes widen, in turn, at the way Raizo manages to sling her off and then -charge!- She's already realized he's faster than he -seems-, but that doesn't make it much easier to get out of his way! She leaps backwards, but that doesn't do much good when he's thundering towards her.
The brass section only just resumed playing... luckily the audience is mostly focused upon the two fighters! Oh, but the poor strings section... not only do they have to compete with bass of Raizo's stomping about, but they also have to hit sharp high notes as Sakura is all but -impaled- upon Raizo's vicious claw strike, blood founting from the fresh wound as she staggers back, before doubling over in pain. There's no mistaking it -- she felt -that-.
One eye winced shut, she looks up at Raizo with fierce determination. Sure, she's wearing the Seijyun colors, but no one but a Taiyo student can offer a look like that! "HAAAAAAAAAAA--" she howls sharply, not only pushing back to her feet, but leaping sideways amidst a sudden updraft. Her hands remain near her wound, her forehead knitted in concentration as her feet touch down a good distance away. Teeth clenched, she spreads her hands to reveal a whirling mass of blue chi, then dashes suddenly towards Raizo! She stops just as suddenly, a few feet from crashing into him, slinging her arms forward to send the momentum slamming forward into the ursine principal! "--DOOOUKEN!" Will it be enough, though!?
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
[ \\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Raizo
Roppu Zuki is not a nice thing to be hit with. It's even worse when he has time to rev it up - prepare himself to thrust his whole body into the blow. When he can do that, the damage is pretty shocking.
Just like giving Sakura Kasugano time to rev up a Hadouken is generally not the best idea one can have. But Raizo does it again, clenching his fists and readying his muscles for the Taiyo-turned-Seijyun student's assault -- and there it is! And again, Sakura learns why Raizo is a very scary man, because even as he tenses herself for impact, as she runs at him - she throws the Hadouken, and he throws HIMSELF, leaping to one side of the massive assault, touching the ground only briefly, and then lunging right at Sakura, sheathed in chi and claws whirling and howling, "YASHA GURUMA!"
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Sakura with Yasha Guruma.
[ < > /////////// ]
Sakura 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Raizo
Sakura suffered a nasty gash at the beginning of the fight. She's been practically run through. These sorts of wounds would kill a lesser person, someone who hasn't trained with the best of the best of martial artists, but for those with heart, determination, and an iron will, anything is possible.
Except, perhaps, getting out of the way of a veritable whirlwind of spinning blades and turbulent chi. Kasugano had put everything she'd had into that last fireball of her -- draining her chi and her beleaguered body to the limits -- so the thought of compelling her body to leap out of the way of such a perfectly-timed attack is unthinkable! The first slash lifts her up into the air, with each successive strike sending her body flying a different way. Shredded bits of cloth and drops of blood fly as the blades seek their marks -- not exactly the best image for the Miss Southtown pageant, is it?!
But damned if Sakura's gonna give up, even now! Tossed aside from the attacks, she collapses on the floor, her jacket and skirt a mess, her (once-)white blouse shredded, what patches of skin remain visible a bloody mess... she nonetheless holds her head high, and proud.
"It's... it's been a while, y'know, since..." She coughs lightly, before pushing off the bloodstained floor with her hands. "Since I've fought anyone like you..." What's that? Anyone who can be, simultaneously, vicious -and- kind?!
As she brushes her nose with the back of her hand, she staggers a bit. She's holding back a -lot- of pain, here, but she's determined to show her best, most confident face. "But I've got to tell ya..."
That's when she leaps forward, sailing through the air and delivering a powerful sweep kick towards the burly administrator. "I can spin like that too!" she chirps, fully intending to follow that kick up with not just one, but six more kicks, aiming to knock Raizo's feet out from under him -- and then send -him- flying, just the same! She may not last much longer... but she's got to prove herself! The crown of Miss Southtown is on the line! "HAAAAAAAAA!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Raizo
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raizo with Haru Ichiban.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Sakura 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Raizo
Lucky people don't fight people like Raizo /ever/, but then again Sakura is too driven to be lucky. Too willful, too strong -- too dedicated.
Raizo likes that. He smiles, as Sakura falls, but it is not the malignant grin of Rugal or the hateful sneer of Vega; it is the smile of a teacher well pleased. And it grows only stronger as she rises up again, and he watches her carefully, gauging her movements. THis is always the dangerous part - the moment when she proves her potential to face even a man like him!
And prove it she does, as he totally fails to expect the strength left in her body, and Sakura sweeps his legs out from under him and then just kicks the everloving bears out of him, sending him hurtling downrange, the impact of his mass cracking floorboards beneath him.
"Oof," the Princibear mutters, as he slowly, slowly rises, looking just as bruised as she. He takes a slow, deep breath as he regains his feet, and then trundles toward Sakura, a slow stagger across the distance, fists clenched. "You are skilled, Miss Kasugano. Skilled and quick - you do your school proud." Which? Maybe both. He walks forward, crossing the distance slowly. He aches. He's in quite a bit of pain. But still, he comes - implacable.
And then he bursts forward with unexpected speed, shooting up into the air, somersaulting, and coming down with both feet aimed right at Sakura!
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Sakura with Heavy Kick.
[ < > ///// ]
Sakura 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Raizo
For the flicker of an instant, Sakura's face betrays... surprise. Not confidence, not determination, but -shock- at landing a hit on Justice High's arch-administrator. But it's lost in the moment -- she has to follow through, regardless of any disbelief she might be experiencing!
So when she lands that final kick... she rises with a smile of confidence, a sense of a job well done, that only grows once she hears the telltale crack of floorboards. Yes, she knows she'll be fixing that, but she can honestly say -she- wasn't the one breaking them. Even if she is the one bleeding over everything. She smiles back at Raizo, nodding slowly. "You're too kind, Mr. Imawano..." she counters, with questionable modesty.
But then Raizo leaps into the air. And somersaults. And Sakura is busy gawking up at the site to move out of the way until the very last moment... at which point her legs just -don't obey-.
Kasugano buckles, and is bisected neatly into two pieces from the sheer force of Raizo's mass guillotining down onto her.
Okay, not really. But Raizo's feet -do- slam into her shoulders, and they -do- send her flying backwards into the far wall, with a sickening *crunch* as her battered frame slams into the acoustic wall panels. Mmm, listen to that resonance!
Kasugano collapses forward, panting heavily as she catches herself with a hand. She's -- amazingly -- still conscious. Shaking her head in further disbelief, she once more pushes herself to her feet. Once more, she smiles back at Raizo, with one hand curled about her middle, as if holding herself together. And... she begins a slow, zombie-like shuffle towards Raizo. "I know this whole... thing... is supposed to show how much of a /role model/ I can be..." she states, with ragged breaths.
"But I gotta know... " With only that statement as warning, Sakura Kasugano lurches forward again... with the aim of launching an uppercut right into the ursine administrator's sternum. "... how far I can push myself!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\ <
Raizo 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Sakura's Shou'ou Ken.
[ \\\\\ <
Raizo 1/----===/=======|
Raizo lands, and smiles a little as Sakura zombies toward him.
He understands. And he approves.
A nod, from the bear man, quiet and respectful, but when Sakura shoots at him with the uppercut, he slips aside, shoving the weight of his mass out of Sakura's path with a surprising vigor. She'll probably be unconscious or near it, after that, but Raizo continues anyway: "It is my belief," he says, "that vigor, courage, and determination are as important in a role model as refinement and elegance. Society becomes good, when people of refinement are in number, but it is only when those of courage take the helm that it can be great."
He kneels down next to the girl, offering a hand if she's conscious, and picking her up if she's not. "You've demonsrtated greatness today, Miss Kasugano," he concludes.
[OOC] Raizo says, "And the Seijyun women are like 'OBJECTION!!'"
[OOC] Sakura AHAHAHA
Sakura does launch upwards with her uppercut -- she just misses. When she flies upwards, without meeting her mark... she continues following through. She's done this hundreds, thousands of times in practice, so it's not like she'd just fall over from missing.
No, she falls over -afterwards-, right after landing. Her legs just give out, and she collapses to the stage, panting heavily. She looks up wearily at Raizo. Blackness tugs at the edges of her vision, but stops just short of whisking her away to dreamland. She listens to his wisdom. Smiles. Nods. Agrees.
And yet... all she can muster is a simple, "Thanks... It was an honor."
At which point, she lists to one side, before slumping the rest of the way to the floor. Sheeeeee's outta there!
Log created on 18:48:00 07/10/2008 by Sakura, and last modified on 18:40:19 07/28/2008.