Description: It's been over a year since Sakura and K' crossed paths, and in that time Sakura has come very far. Now finally able to hold her own against him, Sakura quickly discovers that with relative equality (and a mellowing on the part of K') comes a new perspective: and a new facet to the interaction between them.
Friday nights used to be so full of magic for Sakura: the school week was over and the whole weekend ahead of her, with any semblance of responsibility far off on the horizon and easily forgotten. Since she's been at Seijyun University, though, it's been... different. Quieter. Sure, it's mostly the same -- the school week is over, and there's a full weekend ahead -- but that responsibility is still there, looming. She feels -guilty- for just wanting to shut it out. There's so much she should be doing for class, so much else she -wants- to do with her training, and it's frustrating.
Sakura has a lot on her mind, as a result, and no one to talk it out with. Sure, she could go to the clubs, but without someone designated to share her stories with, she'd have to backpedal and explain herself at every conversational turn. Not in the mood! Kasugano wants to burn off stress, not add more.
Maybe this, she wonders, is why Ryu became a loner rather than staying in the spotlight.
Of course, Ryu relaxes in seclusion, not in the midst of a metropolis with a booming nightlife. And predators would be a lot less likely to pick a fight with Ryu, than with a tiny Japanese girl in a babydoll t-shirt and black denim -- even though -either- of the Ansatsuken fighters could easily mop the floor with them.
Still, with her thumbs hooked in her pockets, Kasugano wanders around the streets of Chinatown, lights in red and yellow dancing across her face as she muses about nothing and everything at once.
Sakura isn't alone in having a lot on her mind, though the things that weight K''s mind are a little different. He'd walked out of that SNF yesterday, declining to take his chance against Kula. Against his better judgment, he'd done nothing. He'd come home afterwards and felt empty and restless, questioning his choice, unable to look Whip in the eye and finally just opting to get out of the house. He'd gone to see Geese and received another task instead of guidance.
It was enough to piss him off... feeling like a dog, compounded with lingering rage over the stipulation Howard had handed down in that match as a stupid 'self control' exercise. Enough to make him want to cut and run. Two of his weekdays he devoted to getting the blood beat out of him by Howard... and the weekends he spent paying Howard back for the privilege. It was an arrangement stupid enough-- on his part-- to make him laugh... but he had to acknowledge it as a necessary misery.
It was, he felt, the only way to get ahead. He could feel himself dropping behind, stagnating while others shot ahead, and now that he had things he had to protect it was imperative he have the necessary strength. He could not bear the thought that this might be his limit. His cap. And ironically, he didn't know that it was these selfsame crippling self-doubts which were holding him back.
For now... he could distract himself with business. This was the last stop he needed to make for the evening, and the sooner it was over the sooner he could go take a minute to just... figure out what to do.
A few buildings ahead of Sakura, the door of a Chinatown club eases open with a creak quickly overshadowed by raucous noise. It exhales a breath of smoke, a wave of pulsing music-- and eventually, the lean, slope-shouldered form of a familiar young man, dressed unremarkably in leather and dark jeans. Shaking off the oppressive heat and cloying smoke of the club's interior, that tall figure straightens out of its slouch briefly, letting the cool night air hit it. Moonlight glances off prematurely-white hair as K' lowers his head again, reaching into the inside pocket of his leather jacket for a smoke. His figure settles back into its usual diffident stance as he starts off, head down, seemingly trying to fend off the world. Though his path is eventually slated to intersect Sakura's, he hasn't noticed her. Not yet.
Sakura... really didn't have a plan for the evening. She just knew if she'd stayed at home, the thoughts would have driven her crazy, and if she'd called her friends for compansionship, they'd be ten times more worried than she'd want for the sole reason that she never actually calls people. Too much pressure! So there is always the hope that maybe she'll be suitably distracted, and maybe even air the thoughts she's carrying around.
And then there's the chance that she'll run into someone whose fight record has intimidated her for quite some time. Sakura lifts her gaze to the figure as he emerges, irises narrowing in focus as she places the features. She knows the guy -- even though he may not look like he normally does, it's hard to hide the shock of white hair. Anyone sensible would move to get out of the guy's way -- he just -looks- like trouble.
And yet, Sakura finds her pace slowing, her hands clasping together like a deer caught in the headlights. She's got nothing to say to him, nothing at all.
But he's a fighter, repeats the insistent voice of challenge in the back of Sakura's mind.
The other part of Sakura's mind goes: Hey, with the smoke and the lighting, and the dark-skinned guy in foreground, this would make an -awesome- shot.
Out comes the cameraphone. *ker-CLICK*
Kasugano looks at the photo in her cameraphone's screen, frowning somewhat at the poor picture quality. Low lighting? What's that?
Sensible people, even if they'd just taken a picture of the guy, would -still- have hauled ass by now.
Even with all the background noise, even though Sakura is still some distance ahead, even though a cameraphone -still- doesn't make much sound to begin with... K' hears that distinctive shutter sound very clearly. Chalk it up to enhanced senses. They might interfere considerably with his ability to stand cities for long periods of time, but in other applications they have their uses.
Like catching irritating little fangirls in the act of taking entirely unsolicited pictures of him.
That indolent, couldn't-care-less attitude of his warps instantly. If there was anyone in the world who couldn't fathom why they should get the hell out of dodge when confronted with the boy, his demeanor when irritated should quickly resolve their confusion. His head lifts slowly, jaw tightening around the unlit cigarette he's got ensconced right in the corner of his rapidly-growing frown.
He fucking hates pictures. And he hates unsolicited ones about fifty times more.
"What do you think you're doing..." The tone makes it clear in an instant he hasn't recognized her quite yet, probably due to time, the poor lighting, and the fact Sakura's got her face lowered to look at her picture. His pace picks up from its slow meander, threat stringing into his movements, the young man posturing aggressively in the way an angry wolf puffs its fur to look bigger than it is. Sakura better come up with something good in the next two seconds or so, she knows already how K' gets when he's cranky.
Kasugano hadn't taken the picture with the intent to start trouble -- heck, she thought she was far enough away that no one would have heard the shutter sound. Why do they even PUT those stupid sounds on cellphone cameras anyway? ... Oh, right... to let the subjects know when folks take photos of them. Whoops.
Kasugano hurriedly folds the cameraphone back up and jams it into her pocket. With a rushed smile, she responds in a chipper voice, "Oh, uh... nothing! Just texting my friends, heh-heh!" ... And she's a terrible liar, too -- everything about her stance just screams GUILTY!
To her credit, though, she hasn't made even the slightest attempt to run. She just stands there with that confident 'I didn't do nuthin, you can't prove nuthin' smile, /daring/ K' to finish his line of interrogation. It works in her favor, really -- hadn't she been wandering around without anything to do? It might be a bit harder to recognize her from sight alone, considering her lack of a headband...
Looming out of the darkness with the most unimpressed look possible on his face, K' gets right in Sakura's face as she starts stuttering out her excuse. Which isn't a good one at all. His yellow eyes narrow on her as she tries to explain things away, evaluating everything she says in thin silence. The kind of silence that stands on about a quarter inch of thin ice.
First off. If she really was just texting her friends, why not get a lot angrier at him misinterpreting what she did and getting in her face? Why look so guilty? Second off, why just stand there with that -infuriatingly defiant- look on her face? It's that look, really, which dooms her to K''s full attention; for the one thing people have to learn about K' and his sibling is to never, ever dare them. Whatever it is you're daring them to do, they most likely -will do it-. If not to prove something, then just to spite you.
However, the more he looks at that smarmy look, the more it tugs at his terrible memory. ...in fact, the irritating quality of that smile-- in the sense of the particular taste of the anger it inspires-- is very familiar. K' pauses, leaning down frowningly to get a better look at her, staring past the changed outward appearance and the low lighting. And when he does recognize her, he just slowly pushes a disgusted sound out of the depths of his chest. He leans back, lifting a hand-- and clicks his fingertips by his cigarette, lighting it.
"...I'm not an idiot, Kasugano," he eventually rumbles irritatedly, speaking as much in cigarette smoke as in words. His first breath of smoke hisses past his teeth as he talks, calling to mind the image of some disgruntled dragon. "Despite your insistence on -continuing- to believe I am."
Call it chutzpah, call it what you will... Kasugano likes thinking she's in a movie from time to time. It shows in the way she picks the flashiest, most cinematic way from point A to point B possible -- right up to and including that defiant look she addresses K' with. She knows he's powerful -- he's proven that many times in the past. But she also knows that she's strong enough to get out of a physical conflict /alive/, if maybe a bit bruised.
Still, even though she -was- defiant, she finds it harder to keep up that smile, shrinking under his withering gaze. At least when he gives that disgusted snort, she's able to take a breath!
Her eyes follow his hand as he lights his cigarette, triggering a fangirlish catch in her breath -- one she draws her hand up to her mouth to cover. That was so cool!
She's snapped back to reality shortly thereafter as K' declines the suggestion that he's an idiot. "H-hey, give me /some/ credit!" she insists, stepping back a moment as she clasps her hands before herself. "I was just curious to see if you'd still beat me down for talking smack..." Her mouth lilts upwards afterwards, as if she might have added 'you're going soft!' afterwards. But no, her mouth parts wordlessly for a moment... at which point cigarette smoke filters its way in. The girl doubles back, coughing violently for a moment to clear her lungs. The Seijyun campus doesn't allow smoking anywhere, officially -- and she rather enjoys it that way.
Gathering herself, she takes a position a few steps -away- from the smoke. Coughing once more, she continues with a hopeful if lopsided smile, "... Besides, uh... it got us talking again... right?"
She may be smiling, but her heart's still racing -- partly from the smoke, partly from the adrenaline coursing through her veins in anticipation of a fight. She realizes now -- maybe a fight is what she'd been wanting all evening.
K' has long since perfected the sorts of looks that stop attempted smiles and good humor dead in their tracks. The fact that his stare finally wipes the grin off her face draws a grim sort of satisfaction, mollifying K' in the way a cautious pat might mollify a cat. For the time being his claws are in, but that doesn't mean he isn't still very aware of them: sheathed and ready for whenever Sakura says the wrong thing.
If he notices her little moment over his method of lighting up, he doesn't comment on it. He just waits, eternally lazy, for the girl to either say something else or get out of his way. But -of course-, being that Sakura is Sakura, she prattles on... and K' is left flicking his gaze up to the sky, as if searching for patience there. He doesn't drop his gaze even when Sakura starts choking on his smoke... and he certainly doesn't stop smoking just for her benefit. Maybe it'll even drive her away faster, if he's lucky.
'I was just curious to see if you'd still beat me down,' she says. That finally manages to get K''s complete attention. Giving a throaty, but entirely unamused chuckle, K' drops his gaze, leans forward, and just looks at Sakura. "What, you -want- me to?" Her behavior in provoking him certainly seems to -suggest- that. "Please. Depends on what you -say- to me... but most of the time, these days, I haven't got the time to waste or the inclination to care. Your loose tongue is your own damned problem..."
It's about as close as he'll ever come to admitting that he -has- changed over time: losing much of the over-aggressive aimlessness that once drove his rage, and maturing into a person with purpose, a past, and a sense of what he will and will not do. But one thing that hasn't changed is that he certainly doesn't consider Sakura a friend. He doesn't really -have- friends, after all; he categorizes all the people in his life under other kinds of labels.
As such, 'it got us talking' just gets a blank look, before K''s eyes narrow. Something Sakura's probably seen only a -handful- of times from K' starts to infect his expression, then: the first hints of a smile. It looks like it could actually be a handsome expression, if it weren't so edged with an unpleasant nastiness. "Yeah...? So what've you got to say?" And he waits, perhaps fully expecting her to come up with nothing so he can simply pass on by.
So does she want to get beaten down? Not... /really/... but she wouldn't be totally averse to it either. She starts to voice that response, until she gets caught up on that 'haven't got the time' bit. "But you have time now?" she blurts out with an impish grin. ... Mind, she's also stretching her arms, folding one across her chest, and then the other... so she's clearly still in the mindset for a fight!
It's easier to talk big when you've got a few feet of distance as a safety buffer.
What does she have to say, exactly? Sakura pauses for a moment of deliberation, before raising a finger: "I kinda -do- wanna fight you, now that you mention it." She's still intimidated by K'... but she's not afraid to be honest about her feelings. "Kinda wonderin' where we stand, y'know? It's been a while..."
The confident smile eases up a bit, after another moment of thought. Eyes widening, she bows her head for a moment. "B-but you don't have to. If you're busy and all that." Looking up without raising her head, in a rare moment of shyness, she adds, "I don't wanna impose or anything, I mean, I know how guys get when challenges get issued and gauntlets get dropped an' stuff." Yes, it stopped being shyness halfway through her statement, but that's just how Sakura is!
Raising her head, she curls her fists and continues prattling on: "But yeah, I've... got a lot on my mind, and... maybe you do too! It might be good to burn off some stress, y'know?"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: K' has joined the fight here.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
For a moment, K''s gaze unfocuses. He's thinking about Whip, wondering if she's okay, hoping nothing else has got to her. Hoping that letting Kula go again won't prove another mistake. He's thinking about Geese, wondering if the training is going anywhere-- thinking it promising that he managed to hold his own against a woman like Chun-Li, but still riddled with doubt nonetheless. He's thinking about NESTS and all the other things associated with it. Shurui, Vanessa, and Alma's offer-- to come to a YFCC that seemed willing to protect him, even though it made no sense for them to do a damned thing for a person like him.
There's a lot on his mind, yes. And that fact is obvious in the way he's looking past her, seeming burdened. His only reply to her question of whether he's got time is a terse, "Never do."
He's quiet a few moments more. Then his gaze refocuses on her, her grinning met only with severity. "But it's something you learn to deal with." And that said, he settles... into doing a whole lot of nothing. Her stretches and warmups go unmirrored. It's almost as if, when NESTS built him into the killing machine he is now, they made him into something that's always combat prepped, always ready, never needing to warm up or throw a switch to get into that mood. He's always on.
Sakura says she wants to fight him and K' looks unsurprised, his yellow eyes appraising her with that look that suggests he sees and perceives so much more than one would think from his outward appearance and demeanor. He says nothing, watching her closely: seeming fully aware of her intimidation, and not above capitalizing on it with the natural, instinctive dominance of an animal.
Her initial challenge was all she needed to throw. The rest of what she says afterwards is useless fluff K' doesn't bother to listen to. "Shut up," he commands blandly, cutting her off, hooking his hands into his jeans pockets and leaning back. He doesn't look ready, but he's already in the fight mindset: his eyes narrowed squarely on hers as he settles in and watches her fidget with an unnerving attention. "If you want to do something... then do it. Don't waste my time or yours..."
COMBATSYS: K' focuses on his next action.
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K' 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
Never has time. Well, that's a deal-breaker! Sakura doesn't want to bother him if he's b-- oh wait, he's just giving oblique answers. She certainly seems comfortable enough to continue talking, to keep dispensing justification for a fight which is, at its core, devoid of meaning.
When she's told to shut up, her initial reaction is anger -- who are you to tell me to shut up?! Her lower lip curls up in typical resentment.
Within the next two seconds, she realizes that, by simply standing around and -talking- to her, he's extending a tacit invitation. If he really and truly didn't care, there's nothing stopping him from turning around and walking, away, right? Actions speak louder than words.
Her mercurial expression, once hopeful, then angered, now shifts to enthusiasm. "Alright, then!" Lest she forget the moral of the story, she launches forward rapidly, launching her bare right fist at K''s chest! Nothing flashy or fancy, just one explosive movement to initiate the battle! "Hraaaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Sakura's Fierce Punch.
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K' 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Sakura
Normally K' would be disgusted at the idea of wasting time and energy on such a meaningless exercise. But is this really quite so meaningless? It certainly bears some meaning to Sakura, who doubtless has been itching to test herself against this one-time tormentor. For K', the answer is not quite so obvious. He has no invested feelings in Sakura, no reasons to care about her, no particular thoughts about her other than that she's irritating. So why is he humoring her?
Perhaps, in his own reluctant way, he's come to understand that the desire to prove oneself is not a drive unique to him. And perhaps... he's just barely in a fair enough mood to humor Sakura's.
That still doesn't mean he won't derive some amusement from nettling at her. Something which he's succeeded at doing, judging by the way her eyes flash when he blandly orders her to hold her tongue. Had she voiced that aloud-- who are you to tell me to shut up-- doubtless he'd have gotten angry. Perhaps it's best, then, that she held back and said nothing. It's evident she's learned about K''s unique temperament and how to handle it, as shown by her realization-- one which, surprisingly, fails to occur to a shocking number of people-- that the very fact he hasn't walked out of the conversation at all is already a very generous concession on his part.
Even more generous is his decision to humor her... if only to see what it is she can do now. Still standing in that indolent posture that passes for his fighting stance, K' lets his eyes drift shut: listening and sensing for her approach. Sakura launches forward abruptly, and one yellow eye cracks open: slanting down to watch her as she throws her fist.
In the last moments before impact, Sakura finds her fist caught in K''s palm, his hand folding loosely shut about hers as he lets all that force transfer down his arm. He lifts a brow, briefly-- he can't deny that was more forceful than before-- before his grasp on her hand suddenly twists, his hand attempting to shackle her wrist and drag her towards him. His other hand lifts smoothly, open and relaxed, reaching towards her. Should he even be allowed to get so close, his fingertips brush loosely a mere inch from her sternum-- before his entire body sets, his hand slams shut with an audible noise, and power translates up his entire frame to fire that metal-sheathed fist straight off into her.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks K''s One Inch.
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K' 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura's smile dims slightly once she realizes her hand has actually been -caught- by K'... though really she shouldn't be surprised! Her initial salvo is almost always a punch, and almost always blocked. But the purpose is to get her close to her opponent, and to do so quickly -- in that end, it's successful!
She just would prefer he didn't grab her wrist like that! His grip's much stronger, after all, and she's got little choice but to let herself be tugged forward. When it comes to accepting the One Inch that follows, though... that she has a choice about. When those fingertips twiddle in front of her sternum, her own palm is in the way, shoving K's fist right back at him. When the actual attack comes, her palm will -still- be in the way, coupled with a fairly ample distortion of the fields of chi in the area. It isn't enough to completely stop the attack, but does disperse the kinetic force somewhat... as does Sakura herself being knocked back a good meter or so.
Clenching her fists tightly, she nods back in reply to K'. No need for conversation -- her renewed determination ought to be expressed clearly enough as she charges right back at K' -- leaping not towards him, but over his head! She cuts one quick somersault before chopping down with both hands, aiming to deliver that rotational momentum right into K's shoulders. "Yut-taaa!"
COMBATSYS: K' endures Sakura's Sakura Otoshi.
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K' 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
He can't say he isn't surprised that she manages to defend against that attack. On top of that, her defense utilizes chi... something he has never thought to use in that sort of defensive capacity before. He didn't think of his fire as chi-- it was something internal, something inside him, not an external force to be manipulated-- and his own natural chi, the chi he grew up able to tap, was not half as direct.
It's something to think about, that Sakura has gone so far in the time since he saw her last. And for the first time, K' starts to feel a little disquieted. Eyes narrowing, he lapses into some private, troubled thought: barely watching her as she recovers her balance from her backwards stumble.
That preoccupied look about him persists even as she comes lunging back towards him, aiming to clear right over him and swing a blow into his shoulders. In the last moments his head lifts, a quick glance angles over his shoulder, and he completely... fails to move, even as that force comes rocketing into his back. It knocks him downwards and one step forwards, his tall frame chambering close to the ground, one hand bracing him...
...and then, K''s lean body sets firmly in that half-crouch, potential energy building through him just before he spins sharply in a rising swipe. It's a familiar move, one Sakura doubtless knows well by virtue of having felt it far more times than she'd like... but with her in the air like that, it's debatable whether her experience with the fire-riddled, clawing uppercut slashing towards her can help her defend.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges K''s Crow Bite EX.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Sakura's had to learn. A /lot/. True, her conversation with him just now was... much like the early conversations she'd shared with K'. The ones that ended in her getting utterly brutalized. But her arrogance, her pride was totally intended -- facetious, even. She was mocking herself, to see if it would trigger a similar memory in K'. It seems to have met its mark.
Likewise, her chopping motions towards his shoulders, too, seem to have met their marks -- a bit too easily, really. He may have looked distracted just then, but Sakura knows K' a bit better than that -- his natural talent ought to more than overcome any particular preoccupation. He's ready for it, whether he knows it or not.
So Sakura's already on edge, as she continues leapfrogging past him. And when she senses the sudden surge of energy flaring up behind her, Kasugano relies on her own natural instincts -- curling back into a ball, and then violently flinging her mass sharply to one side. It's not much of a course correction... but it is enough that when Sakura opens her eyes -- her back arched back, arms and legs flattened to either side -- the flames from K''s vicious uppercut are blazing mere inches away. The force of K''s leap and that of gravity are enough to widen the gap between the two, but for that one instant, Sakura's heart had surely stopped.
Panting heavily with the indelible memory of her near-pain experience, she lands in a crouch, one hand touching down onto the asphalt. Judging from the sensation of the not-quite-Kusanagi flames still burning overhead, she's still got enough time to twist back to her feet...
And then follow up with a rising uppercut of her own, hoping to slam her fist into the NESTS refugee as he falls back to the earth. "SHOOOOOOOO'OOOU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: K' dodges Sakura's Shou'ou Ken.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Sakura
And Sakura has learned a great deal. That she could avoid his strike at all speaks to that. K' has not been blind to the happenings in the fighting circuits, much as he despises the entire idea of tournament fighting. He's observed, in a distant and half-interested sort of way, how Sakura has crept upwards-- and how she now places solidly within his own usual bracket.
It is, though he would never say it to her, part of the reason he wonders about the cap on his own ability. Part of the reason he works so hard to break past his perceived ceiling... part of why he let himself contract with Geese. Part of the reason he's sometimes afraid this is all he-- a failed experiment-- will ever be.
It's clear Sakura had her motivations for increasing her strength-- and K' is not stupid enough to be unaware of that fact that he was among them. It's a strange thing to think about-- that he could affect another person in such a way-- and one he has no time for. Every time he's whiffed this attack, his opponent has tried to capitalize on h his descent... thinking that being airborne could reduce his mobility in any way.
It doesn't. And the reason it doesn't is something highly unusual, a strange ability even among the legions of fireball-throwers and other oddities in the fighting world. Twisted in the air such that he's facing her again, K' -sees- that mirroring strike coming for him; and mid-descent towards the ground, he seizes hold of the chi around him and literally -warps- it: forcing it to drag him past her in an evasion faster than the eye can perceive. A cloud of black smears the air, visual representation of what he's done, and the boy seems to vanish clear out of sight: reappearing behind Sakura, skidding to a stop.
K' whirls instantly. He's lost some ground in slaking off his speed, and he is quick to attempt to make up for it. A burst of fire sears to life around him, wreathing him in a cloud of flames, and the boy twists instantly to send a kick slamming into the gathered fire: folding it into a bolt that snarls towards the girl.
COMBATSYS: K' successfully hits Sakura with Second Shoot.
- Power hit! -
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K' 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Sakura
There's something of a dancelike quality to fights like this -- one fighter leaves an opening, another follows into it, only to leave an opening of their own to be exploited. Where Sakura moved, K' followed and moved, only for Sakura to shift away and follow, and K' to evade again to counterattack. Fights can be a collaborative medium, with their bodies as the canvas... Maybe that's why they call them martial artists?
And Sakura's canvas is about to be painted all sorts of colors, as she was not quite as deft as recovering from her own uppercut as she was from her earlier leapfrog. Sure, she knew K' was -capable- of moving so quickly, but to think he'd be able to do it just -then?- Nevertheless, she sees the flames coming just as she's turning about from her uppercut. This time, there's too little time to maneuver out of the way, and Sakura gets swept away by the blast. K''s flames burn much hotter than her own chi-based flames -- the Ansatsuken prodigy can't rely on her own innate control to snuff these, so she fans her t-shirt rapidly as she flies back.
Which means she's completely unaware of the dangling wire from the telephone pole that slaps against her neck. And her velocity also means that she gets hopelessly entangled in the wire as her body wraps around it, pulling the wire taut. Suspended high above the Chinatown street, the fighting fangirl flails about helplessly for a few moments before finding that her arm was also snared. Stilling for a moment, she pushes her arm out... and the wire compiles, releasing her from the trap.
Gasping for breath, Sakura lands safely on her feet, one hand to her neck, the other dangling weakly below. Her eyes flicker back up to K' with a determined air as an embarassed half-smile crosses her lips. Yeah, you can laugh, she seems to be suggesting... but she'll need a moment to catch her breath first.
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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K' 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Sakura
Completing his movement and settling back into his slack, indolent stance, K' lifts his head slowly, looking through his messed bangs at Sakura as his fire slams into her. Tossing his head and flicking his hair out of his eyes, he straightens slightly in a stretch-- nonchalant, even considering what's happening to Sakura right now-- before letting his lean body slouch back into its careless posture, hands settling easily at his sides. He drifts his eyes closed... and then peeks one open curiously again when the expected sound of Sakura hitting the ground doesn't reach his perception.
He has to cast his gaze upwards before he can discern where on earth she's gone. And for a few moments, he just looks at the girl as she struggles with the tangling wire. At first his regard is blank, thankfully enough... but inevitably, that nasty smile starts to pull at his dour expression. Mouthing his cigarette (how did he manage to hold onto it all this time? The answer is practice), he lazily blows a stream of smoke and waits for her to get her act together.
"Pick it up." Is he talking to her? It would seem so, even though his eyes have slid shut and he seems more interested in finishing his cigarette than in her. A black sort of amusement laces his words, edging his smile into a smirk. "I haven't got all night..."
But even despite those scathing words, it's probably promising that he hasn't yet told her he's outright disappointed. And neither is he being entirely dismissive of her in the fight, either, judging by the way a sudden flicker of fire plays along his shoulders and down his arms, bangling about his wrists and burning along his figure in idle wait.
COMBATSYS: K' gathers his will.
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K' 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Sakura
The good thing is, Sakura's flailing had extinguished the flames before she had been hanging there too long. That would've been worse, but it was still pretty embarassing just the same!
But Sakura's embarassed herself plenty of times in the past. And the fact that she got even K' to crack a smile is a definite plus -- though of course she's not going to ruin the moment by calling attention to it. Instead, she'll just smile and bob her head with a call of "Yes, right away, sir!"
She says this while dashing towards the NESTS escapee, her left shoulder leading the charge. As she approaches, her form is silhouetted by a surge of blue light emanating from her gathered palms. Her form not influenced by Athena Asamiya in the SLIGHTEST, she leaps at K', while still a fair distance from him ... and lands within point-blank range, flicking her palms forward. In so doing, the fighting fangirl presents to K' the fruits of her labor: a giant, whirling blossom of chi, easily large enough to swallow either of the two fighters whole, with enough concussive force to snuff those Kusanagi-birthright flames -- among other things! "HADOOOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
K' 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
The smirk is shortlived. Even nasty looks don't linger long on K''s face. His expression soon planes back into its usual indifference, K' regarding Sakura calmly as she gets herself back together. He should have known better than to open his mouth, though, because talking prompts a response. It wouldn't even be so bad if Sakura didn't reply him in her customary peppy, over-friendly way. If she actually got riled once in a while, it'd be fine. But she doesn't, and K' briefly... lifts a hand, rubbing at the bridge of his nose wearily, essaying no response.
It's enough to give him a headache. He can't understand people like this-- doesn't know whether their behavior is fake, or if they actually ARE happy with being kicked around and verbally abused.
He doesn't dwell on it. She's coming in again, closing the distance, trying to blast him from point-blank range. The problem with that is that his fire is already prepared, seething about him in readiness to be used. Sakura slams the energy forward, but the Kusanagi fire is already there to guard: snarling around in front of K' to clash with Sakura's chi. Some of it -does- get through to its intended target, snuffing the fire in part... but the sacred fire is not so easily put out as conventional chi, and much of the force of Sakura's attack is effectively dissipated.
K' steps forward into Sakura then, following right behind his fire, a thoughtful frown claiming his features: though what he's thinking about is anyone's guess. Then in one abrupt motion, he snares a hand forwards through the sputtering flames, attempting to take advantage of the lowered visibility resulting from the bursting energy: trying to hook a vicious grasp into her shirtfront, hoist her off her feet (another entirely too familiar sensation, doubtless), and twist to fling her clear across the street.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges K''s Quick Throw.
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K' 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
Yep. Sakura really does enjoy being smacked around! If she can't do anything against her opponent, that's one thing, but when she feels like she has a fighting chance, she can laugh anything off! She's certainly not doing it for the -sole- purpose of making K' uncomfortable... but don't put it past her. She does get riled up, every now and then, but she's not there. Not yet, anyway!
Sakura frowns briefly at the sensation of her chi blistering right off of K''s flames... she'd expected the velocity to have counted for more than that, but live and learn! But she can see the writing on the wall, and when K' steps forward to reach through the flames, Kasugano crouches, leaving K'' to grasp nothing but hot air!
In doing so, she also uses the dissipating fire and smoke to her own advantage, as she's temporarily masked from K''s view. Of course he probably knows where she is, but she hopes to leverage this opportunity of not knowing -when- she'll strike, surging up again, balling both fists together and swinging them like a sledgehammer up towards K''s chin!
COMBATSYS: K' blocks Sakura's Fierce Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
K' 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
The instant K' feels air instead of Sakura's shirtfront or throat, he retracts instantly. He might not be able to -see- Sakura, but he can sense where she is... and he can guess what she'll do next. The infinitesimal sound of her heels grinding against the ground alerts him, his body mantling and his hand flicking downwards to intercept her strike: catching and stopping it much in the same way as he stopped her earlier one.
He leans down over her a little, applying force as he does: oppressing her in a rather familiar manner. He's frowning. It's a bad sign. "I'm getting -bored-, Kasugano. Recall I -agreed- to humor you..." he warns, eyes narrowing, before he abruptly tries to shove her away from him. His other hand cuts around, trailing a line of fire, and with a sharp upwards swipe he slings all that gathered fire straight towards her: the brilliant flames flashing blindingly in the scant space between them.
He isn't annoyed quite -yet-... but nonetheless, the implication behind the lackadaisical act-react he's engaged in thus far is that she had better do something to impress him soon. The problem is, K' is so unpredictable and idiosyncratic it's near impossible to predict what could suffice to defuse his displeasure, or what he could want.
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Eins Trigger from K' with Shou'ou Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
K' 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Kasugano grits her teeth as her axehandle is not only stopped, but shoved back down! Out of sheer defiance she continues the battle of wills, pushing back as hard as she can. It'd be a simple matter to relent, and divert to another direction or whatnot, but if K' is actually going to -say- something, she wants to hear it!
Mind, at such close range, she can also sense when he's going to be trying something, -feel- the sinews grinding across bones as the vibrations are transmitted throughout the body. She's aware of the flames -- actually a smidge jealous.
But as hard as she's been hit so far, as embarassed as she's been hit, the statement from K' that's challenged her most is to call her boring. Her master has been called the most boring champion in existence, among other things. And how can Sakura, so impetuous and rash, stand to learn from such a 'boring' person? Why... because she doesn't see it boring at all to incorporate so many disparate fighting styles into one cohesive form, picking and choosing from others as seen fit for differing scenarios. That's /mastery/. It's not -boring- to pick apart an opponent's style and use it against them, to frustrate them into making a mistake and then capitalize upon it.
It's not boring /at all!/ So K' likes violence? He wants to see Sakura riled up?! Well, here she is! ... Even if it only lasts a second, that's the second that -matters-, for it's the one in which K' shoves her back and unleashes a gout of fire at her. Her eyes grow intense for a moment, her smile tightening into a determined half-frown as she immediately pushes back against K'. He may be sweeping towards her, but Kasugano is charging forward anyway, slamming her left elbow into K''s leading hand! "Hnnnnnnn!" She may be jarred backwards a half-step, but that doesn't stop her; a split-second later she follows through with a strike of her own, feet leaving the ground as she channels her momentum fully forward, pivoting that elbow to the side as her trailing hand comes up for a furious uppercut, right into K''s sternum! "SHOOOO'OOU KEN!"
It'll be a second or two before she even -realizes- she's on fire, of course -- she'd put that out of her mind out of her sheer motivation to prove how unboring she could be. The nerve of that guy!
K' has a certain talent for bringing out surges of temper in, well, just about anyone. The boy is just that skilled at infuriating other people. He's pissed off Whip, angered Zaki, even gotten Kula to lose her cool once or twice... and while he finds the pastime of breaking another person's fake calm to be intensely gratifying, he hasn't yet realized-- or still fails to care about-- the repercussions of doing such. Whip shot him; Zaki punched him; Kula speared him through. The list goes on...
...and finally, in some sort of long-overdue justice, Sakura gets her chance to eke on there herself.
There is something vaguely interested-- and almost satisfied-- about K''s gaze when Sakura finally loses it. He has always been of the opinion that holding back is what lies at the core of any defeat, and that-- as he has already said to Sakura-- to save strength and fail to go all out is to resign oneself to being beaten. Perhaps he is a little disappointed still that he had to actively goad her to get her to go so far, but not everyone can have such a talent for harnessing and using rage as he does.
Most people only get that searing clarity in little bursts; much as Sakura does now. And the force of that strike knocks his tall but light frame clear back, slamming it into a nearby storefront. Slipping down to a loose stand against the wall, K' lets his head dip, fingers coming up to ruefully rub along his chin. He's lost his cigarette, and gained a little trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth; his fingertips brush the redness, and pause.
"Better," he eventually evaluates in a grunt, thoughtfully rubbing out that trail of blood and glancing at the smear of red. He lapses into silence, straightening up with an indolent crack of his neck, eyes narrowing on Sakura. For a long few moments he seems to weigh something in his mind, considering whether he wants to bother saying it. Considering whether he cares enough to offer the words he's got circling in his mind. It's much the same as when he encountered Hotaru, in the YFCC library. He didn't give a shit about the girl, but nonetheless something in him was stirred enough by her circumstances-- so similar to his own-- to make him talk. Sometimes, he's a font of unsolicited advice.
"Maybe you -forgot-..." he eventually starts. His voice is scathing. "But I already told you. You might be better at -defending-, now. But like you saw just now... you're not gonna hit me unless you stop holding back." Fire sparks along his wrist, K' playing with the blaze in an idle sort of way. He rolls the flames back and forth along his knuckles, his eyes shifting to watch the fire instead of her, focusing on the caged energy within him: focusing on the way his glove suppresses that fire. Ever moody, it seems K''s attitude has shifted back to its customary brooding. Perhaps the thought of Hotaru reminded him of his own problems.
His hand turns over, palm-up, the flames creeping into the cradle of his grasp. He seems to consider shutting his hand about them for a moment, snuffing them, but ultimately relents. "...So did you get what you want?" The question is, perhaps, purposefully open-ended. However Sakura chooses to answer, whatever she opts to do next-- K' seems content to simply wait.
COMBATSYS: K' gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
K' 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 Sakura
Sakura was certainly incensed by that one statement -- but as soon as she lands that punch, she's over it. It wasn't that she took 'boring' as an insult; rather, she took it as a /challenge/, and a challenge that she's subsequently met.
Really, if it weren't for the fact that her hair and shirt were on fire, she'd be laughing it up! "AAAAGH AAAAGH MY FACE" As soon as she can tell K' is at a safe distance, she springs back, swatting at herself in an attempt to extinguish the flames. After a moment or two she manages to do so, but not before her skin can flush red from the aggravation, and her hair gets even more mussed than usual!
But with K' now standing around... well, Sakura calms down. And smiles faintly, more or less comfortable with her embarassment just then, and content to listen.
It seems she agrees with his assessment... mostly. She can certainly respect his advice -- those same words shaped her training since the last time she'd heard them. "Yeah," she assents, "you're probably right on that mark." There's a time and a place to use one's full strength, though... and if nothing else, her training with Ryu has shown her better ways of recognizing those times and places. She chooses, at this point, not to voice those thoughts.
She curls her fists before her again, drawing back into the tried-and-true Ansatsuken stance as K' tilts his palm and lights his flames. ... But when he asks that question... Kasugano just inclines her head. Did she get what she wants? He... /has/ humored her. She /did/ get to punch him, to show him how much she's learned, to show that -- at least in some ways -- they can fight on roughly equal footing now. And she does have him to thank for that, in some way.
Kasugano squeezes her fists tightly; her aura adopts a blue tinge, framing her form. Smiling, she nods her head in the affirmative. "Yeah, for the most part."
But then that annoying smirk of hers creeps back onto her face instead. "Did you?" ... She can be annoying, too!
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
K' 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Sakura
Exhaling a breath, K' pays Sakura's comical flailing no mind: paying not a whit of attention to how much his fire has messed up her composure. Instead, he just considers what he wants to say-- rather, what he -cares- to say-- to the girl, and seems mollified when she has the good sense to just shut her mouth and listen to him. So few people have that kind of intelligence.
In fact, it's probably best Sakura doesn't attempt to qualify K''s words right now, because had she tried to insist there is a time and place for full strength... K' would have disagreed. Possibly violently. He's exerting a conscious effort to try to be tolerant towards Sakura right now-- difficult, since she's someone who has always ridden along the very edge of his patience-- but should she give him a reason to lose his temper, the blame will rest entirely on her head for whatever he might do to her after.
But with all that said, K' actually seems satisfied to leave things at that. In his eyes, it's unnecessary to carry this exercise to a bitter, bloody conclusion. There's just no point in wasting the time. He's had a long fucking day and is about ready to go home. Home-- where there's somebody waiting for him. The thought, so mundane to other people-- especially people like Sakura, who've always had a family-- is still very new to K', and the thought of Whip almost threatens to soften his hard eyes. Only for a moment.
Doubtless, there are still things that bother him about this entire thing. Sakura -has- showed how much she's learned... and it's not an inconsiderable amount. It's something that briefly draws his brows together, a frown threatening the fringes of his expression. No, his thoughts concerning this encounter are not entirely altruistic. K' is incapable of not thinking selfishly. But whatever it is that hides in the darker corners of his mind remains hidden: unshared and unspoken.
When Sakura abruptly turns his question right back on him, it shakes him out of his dark mood rather handily. Having his question returned does actually annoy him, the fire lingering about him flaring irritably in a visual representation of his mood. He bristles, posturing, all the pent power seething under his skin assisting in that sudden resurgence of threat from his corner.
"...No," he finally replies: short, and to the point. He turns his shoulder on her, letting go his hold on his power... letting it, and that pressing threat, drain away. With an indifferent lift of one shoulder, he begins to make as if to leave. "What I want has nothing to do with you... and isn't something you could help."
COMBATSYS: K' takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
K' 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Sakura
Sakura knows how close to the edge K' is. She consciously tries to get him as -close- to that edge as possible -- and /why?/ Why would she throw away her life so recklessly? Why... because she wants him to talk to her. If he's not agitated at all, he ignores her. If he's totally agitated, all he does is punch, immolate, and maybe roar a bit. Neither of those options is really good, so that's why she tries so hard for the third option -- annoy liberally till speaky-wisdoms fall out.
It's worked so far.
As for continuing the fight... she'd be fine either way. She's made her point, and if K' is done, then she's fine with that! She... has a family she can turn to if she needs it. She won't, tonight... but maybe she'd be more willing to in the near future.
But not because of this... diversion. Really, this fight did nothing to help Sakura sort out her problems. She didn't care if it did or not -- it was a diversion, plain and simple. A way to get her aggressions out of the way, to make room for the problem solving. So she's appreciative of -that-.
Still... it does kick her smirk up a notch to see K' wince like that. This may be the /only/ time in which she's felt she could exert any control over the NESTS refugee... and she kind of likes it, really! ... But she also knows that the illusion of control is a very tenuous house of cards right now -- he -could- go mental on her. And it'd be totally deserved!
But it seems she won't have to make the next move -- K' does it for her, by turning his back on her. Kasugano's stance slackens as she exhales a relieved breath. She doesn't have to act tough -- she's got what she was after, all along.
"You've gotten a lot stronger, K'." It's a simple statement, and not one she even expected to hear from her own mouth. She'd been /thinking/ it, certainly... and the line between a mental note and a verbalized one has never been clearly defined for Sakura. Still, she feels the need to add, "And so have I, I guess," followed by a shy glance down, and a pleased smile.
Folding her hands before her, she smiles at the receding form of K'. "Thanks."
COMBATSYS: Sakura takes no action.
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K' 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Sakura
K' has no further desire to pursue the fight. He had very little desire to engage in it in the first place, after all: doing it as a mere obligation to simultaneously sate his own curiosity and get her off his back. There might have been a time he would have taken pleasure in brutalizing her into the pavement until she was just a bloody smear, laying his frustrations into her because she was cheaper than getting a punching bag... but that was a time when she was about a hundred times more irritating, and he was infinitely more immature. Infinitely more inclined to solve everything with crippling force.
Now? If he's gotten stronger, as Sakura says he has, it's mostly in a mental and emotional sense. There is a certain stability and fortitude that comes with knowing you're a real person... knowing that you have a family, that you have a past, and that you've managed to reclaim some of it even despite all the forces that tried to keep you from it. That anger is still there, burning under his skin, urging him to take violent vengeance for what's been done to him, and he -intends- to obey that rage... but in many other ways, K' has been tempered... honed from the unfocused, aimless creature he was before.
And that's likely what gives Sakura her illusion of control. The fact that, for once, she's managing to escape without drawing significant ire: without K' deciding to actually throttle open and send her straight back to the hospital. But in large part, it is simply a factor of his increased self-control. His newfound ability to hold himself back, calculating and cold, focusing his anger-- just as Geese is teaching him-- rather than thrashing it to hit all and sundry.
There is just no point here to beating the blood out of Sakura, and he isn't about to waste his evening-- and ruin his gloves-- doing it.
But that frown... yes, that is an indication Sakura did get at K'. Something about this did trouble him. But he is unforthcoming about what it is, and after that brief knitting of his brows, his expression clears again: the momentary hint gone in an instant. He turns away from her and starts to slowly make his way back down the street. You've gotten a lot stronger, she says, but the words just ping off his back. For a few moments it seems they'll go unreplied, until suddenly--
"Kasugano." K' abruptly and inexplicably stops. Has he changed his mind? Is he about to come back to unleash all that built-up power in him and break her against a building side? K' glances over his shoulder, a dangerous sort of gleam flickering under his lowered lashes. He surveys her a moment, before he says shortly, "Delete that fucking picture."
He turns back around, his piece said, and fades out of view down the street.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has left the fight here.
COMBATSYS: K' has ended the fight here.
Log created on 13:11:15 07/13/2008 by K', and last modified on 01:51:04 07/16/2008.