Description: Ingrid vs. Ichiro: Brought to you by NESuTSu. ( Winner: Ingrid )
It's not often camera crews swarm the Hibiki Dojo, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with any publicity stunts currently being attempted. That's the case today, with cameramen from the Neo League setting up hoards of state of the art equipment in order to catch the coming action from every possible angle. The bright colors will make the low contrast somewhat hard to capture, but these people are experts who can overcome nearly any obstacle.
One of the fighters here for the event is here already, currently the number two ranked contender. Ingrid is looking forward to the fight, but actually seems somewhat preoccupied, looking around the dojo with keen interest. The table definitely draws her eye- though it holds no trophies currently it shows that great things are clearly to be expected of the hybrid Karate Muay-Thai style known as Saikyo. One might think she's delusional to not laugh internally at the thought of Saikyo holding a championship- but when you get right down to it Dan Hibiki is currently a better martial artist than she is, and that's just how it is.
Normally Ichiro Oe would be looking around the Hibiki Dojo in wonder as he enters the brightly decorated room for his latest Neo League match, this is the first time he's ever been in a martial arts dojo, but as he enters the... uniquely decorated room the last thing that is on the young man's mind are his surroundings. Smiling coolly and wearing expensive looking designer sunglasses as he waves to the select crowd of spectators that have managed to find a seat at this modestly sized dojo, the captain of Taiyo High's lacrosse team seems to take his time and play up the crowd as he stops to sign autographs on his way to the middle of the dojo where the ring area has been set up. Instead of the red Taiyo High Lacrosse practice jersey he normally wears over his shoulder pads, Oe is wearing an expensive looking silver jersey emblazoned with the NESuTSu corporation's logo on the both the front and back.
"Sorry I'm late," Ichiro apologizes offhandedly as he finally makes his way towards Ingrid and buckles on his official NESuTSu lacrosse helmet. "I was in a meeting with my agent," Ichiro says with a smug smile into the camera. "Working out some of the details on my new line of sneakers, the Ichiro Number 1's. We're hoping to have them out by Christmas. You know how it is," he adds a smile. Pulling a lacrosse stick from his NESuTSu sponsored lacrosse bag, Ichiro looks about ready to fight when a tone sounds from somewhere within his pocket. "Oh wait, sorry, I gotta take this," he apologizes as he pulls out one of those slick new cell phones that's closer to a computer than any sort of phone and quickly presses buttons as he replies to a text. "Marty, you're a joker!" he chuckles as he sends the text on it's way. "Alright where were we? About to fight, right. Ready when you are."
Ingrid isn't paying much attention when Ichiro arrives, but it's quickly gotten as he shows up in full Mr.Personality mode. Normally she chats up the cameramen and crowd quite a bit herself, so it's fun seeing someone else doing it as well. His attitude, however, is very much different from how she composes herself- and quite honestly that is rather fun too. "Oh," she comments with a smile, "That's alright. I'm afraid your original opponent couldn't make it due to having more important commitments, but luckily I was held in reserve."
She walks forward as Ichiro states that he's ready to fight, and gives him a quick study. "Ready, hmm? Very well. I'll allow you to make the first move, then. You do look like you could be dangerous, but I think I have the advantage here." She lets her arms slide to her sides after moving onto the tatami mats in the center of the dojo, and gives him the slightest of smiles. "Shall we begin, NESuTSu-san?"
COMBATSYS: Ingrid has started a fight here.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Ingrid focuses on her next action.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-------|
"More important commitments? Hmft," Ichiro replies incredulously. The implications of that statement don't seem to make him very happy judging by the sour look on his face. "My name isn't NESuTSu, by the way, it's Ichiro Oe, I am sponsored by the NESuTSu Corporation," he informs her as he gestures to the logo on the jersey, "They are a GREAT company, and I fully endorse all of their... uh, products..." Wait, they DO have products, don't they? Ichiro will have to remember to ask Mr. Ignatius about that later. "...you should be seeing me on commercials pretty soon, so don't forget my name!" he adds with a bright smile. Even though Ichiro's new sponsorship status seems to have... affected his personality a little, it's hard to not let the charming kid that he is at heart shine through it seems. "...oh, and I'm the captain of Taiyo High's lacrosse team." Almost forgot that bit. Anyway, now that the introductions are taken care of...
"I look dangerous, eh? Well you seem to be a pretty good judge of talent! I mean, they don't just give these sponsorships to anybody, right?" Wait, they don't, do they? No, of course they don't! That said, Ichiro pulls a solid rubber lacrosse ball from his pocket and gives it a bounce on the dojo floor. "Anyway, you asked for it, here it comes!" Scooping the ball out of the air with the pocket of his lacrosse stick, Ichiro quickly twirls the crosse and wrenches it forward, sending the ball streaking towards Ingrid's midsection with enough force to bruise a little, but it's not really the be-all end-all of shots. No sense in starting out with the high heat right away, you gotta give the crowd a show after all.
COMBATSYS: Ichiro has joined the fight here.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ichiro
COMBATSYS: Ingrid dodges Ichiro's Medium Fling.
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Ingrid 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ichiro
"Oh, please excuse my mistake. Ichiro Oe, you say? I'll be sure to remember that." Ingrid looks at the logo once more and seems to ponder it, "I'll have to take your word for it, I'm afraid I've never heard of them before. They appear to make fine sporting apparel, however." The blonde stands where she is and gives him a slight nod, "Yes, you do appear to be quite strong- I'll have to be very careful around you, I'm sure."
The bounced ball is watched carefully as Ichiro handles it. The blonde waits as it's picked up and hurled from the crosse, standing still until it's almost upon her before shifting to the side, moving just out of the way of the rubber ball before making a hard cut, rushing straight forward towards Ichiro. She comes in blindingly fast, not seeming to going for a 'light start' in any sense of the word. Instead she shoots in towards him to get right up in his face, more aggressive than she normally is, and swings her right arm upwards. Very nearly touching him with her hand she releases a powerfully shining stream of golden psychic power, the motion fast and simple in execution but releasing a very potent energy in a small arc, seeking to immerse Ichiro in it.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid successfully hits Ichiro with Sunburn.
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Ingrid 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Ichiro
Glancing down at Ingrid's outstretched arm, Ichiro looks like he's about to twist and dodge out of the way of the impending attack himself, but the blast of psychic energy engulfs the young superstar and sends him rocketing away from the girl and crashing into the wall of the dojo and, causing the brightly colored paper to shred and soundproofing tiles to fall off of the wall as they are knocked loose by Ichiro's back. "Hnnnn...." Ichiro groans as he blows dust from the tiles off of his face. "Uhhn... This jersey... is a little too restrictive... I'll have to talk to Mr. Ignatius... about that..." he mutters as he puts a hand down on the dojo floor and pushes himself up to his feet, causing some more of the tile soundproofing to clatter to the ground. Dan isn't going to be happy about that. Let's not tell him.
"That's some energy you have there..." Ichiro remarks to Ingrid as he finishes dusting himself off and assuming his normal athletic stance. It's very familiar. Every time he runs into that sort of chi or whatever it is, it always seems way more painful than the normal stuff he's used to. "Time for some of my own!" he adds, but his exclamation doesn't seem as confident as usual. Locating his lacrosse ball on the ground, Ichiro dashes towards the sphere of rubber and slides as he scoops it up into the net of his crosse once more. Rolling to his feet, Ichiro cocks the stick back over his shoulder as the ball erupts with golden chi, then flings the ball against a wooden beam on the side wall of the dojo, causing to ricochet off at an odd angle and carom once more off the ceiling before it flies down towards Ingrid's head. It also leaves scorch marks behind. Sorry Dan.
COMBATSYS: Ingrid overcomes Bounce Shot from Ichiro with Sun Burst.
Glancing Hit
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Ingrid 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Ichiro
Well now, that had quite the effect, didn't it? Ingrid didn't exactly expect Ichiro to get blasted away like a rocket, but sometimes people are just that way against energy like hers. She once again stays where she is as Ichiro picks himself up and recovers from the blow, paying no attention to the damage inflicted upon the building- the only /real/ problems could be soundproofing tiles. But even that's a relatively minor thing compared to the things that happen to some places.
"Thank you, I'm rather proud of it. I've spent a very long time honing it into what it is today." The blonde brushes her hair over her shoulder and awaits as he runs up and scoops the ball up again. This time she doesn't move at all, however, staying exactly where she is. A curious raise of her eyebrow is given when the gold energy forms around the ball, and she smiles slightly. Lifting her hands to just below her chin, a bright flash of gold surrounds her. She realizes she's miscalculated when the ball is actually flung- the thing streaking upwards instead of straight at her.
Just above her palms a small dull sphere of energy forms, and the ball bounces off the ceiling- right at her head. Luckily at her head. The thing should smash right into her face, but she's got a bit of an impromptu shield at the moment. Rather than blowing the little sphere at Ichiro immediately she holds it for a moment longer than she usually would, and the lacrosse ball slams into it at an odd angle and ricochets away. The sphere in Ingrid's hands quivers dangerously, but -just- seems to hold. That could have blown up in her face rather badly, and quite literally too. And if it's still around, why not use it? She blows on the little sphere and it floats on it's way towards Ichiro, looking nice and harmless. He probably knows better than to believe it is due to looks alone, of course.
COMBATSYS: Ichiro fails to interrupt Sun Burst from Ingrid with Cross Check.
- Power fail! -
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Ingrid 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Ichiro
Frowning as his lacrosse ball is deflected away harmlessly; Ichiro gives the little sphere of energy one of those 'ah screw it' looks that are usually so dangerous. "Haaaaa!" the young athlete shouts as he charges toward Ingrid, ducking a shoulder as he prepares to make contact with the orb.
"...Gaaaaaaah!" Ichiro cries out in pain as the sphere detonates and sends him sprawling yet again. Okay, trying to charge through that thing wasn't a very good idea, but he doesn't really have a lot of options here. Ignatius said that Ichiro would be fighting against the best, and apparently he was serious. If this is where Ignatius thinks that Ichiro belongs, then why is he getting destroyed so easily?! There must be something wrong. "...I don't feel so hot..." Ichiro mumbles as he pushes himself up to his feet yet again and assumes a rather wobbly fighting stance.
There are two parts two any fight: Skill and Luck. Either one in sufficient quantities is good, but when you have both on your side things can go very right for you, and very wrong for your opponents. Ichiro appears to be on the harsh side of things today, because while his risk was a reckless one it ends up going far worse for him than it normally should be. Ingrid's in no positions to answer those questions for him, partially because it's not her place and partially because she can't actually hear them asked because they weren't spoken at all.
What she can respond to are his words, "I'm afraid you appear to be one of the people who have extremely negative reactions to my power. Don't worry though, resisting it is something that will come with time." She's not going to play up the teasing attitude she was earlier, with him in that condition. She doesn't exactly want to 'go easy' on him either- asking him if he needs time to recover would be nothing less than an insult. She can, however, do her best not to attempt to massively assault him now that he's ailing, which might just be the most prudent course of action anyway.
So rather than simply lobbing energy and trying to obliterate him with psychopower alone she steps up and executes a sudden flashkick, hopping just far enough off the ground so that she can bend her body backwards and then snap her legs out for his chin as her body whips back into a normal position. There is energy streaming out of her feet, but it's not the overpowering sort she used before- though still potent and not just for show.
COMBATSYS: Ichiro fails to interrupt Sun Arch from Ingrid with Cross Check.
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Ingrid 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Ichiro
Negative reactions. I'll say! Looking kind of woozy on his feet, Ichiro isn't really prepared for a direct physical confrontation as Ingrid rushes him and snaps off a quick flash kick to his dome pieces, causing Ichiro to flip backwards onto his back. "Gnnnnnhhnnngg..." Ichiro groans again. Lots of groaning. It looks like he's pretty much out of it, but something inside the young athlete makes him pull himself up to his feet once more. "...not... used to this stick..." Ichiro offers weakly as he sways on his feet like a drunk, gripping the silver stick in both hands and flexing the metal shaft emblazoned with the NESuTSu logo a few times.
Oops. The one thing Ingrid did /not/ want to do was prolong Ichiro's suffering, if at all possible. The fact that he gets back up is certainly admirable, with how disoriented he looks, but Ingrid can't simply walk off and say she's not smacking someone who looks so out of it again. The fact that he's still up at least says he is tough, though. A soft hum escapes her, and she strides forward towards him. Her arms reach out and she attempts to take him by his left arm and twist it around behind his back. If successful her right hand reaches up and presses gently to his back, a sudden, chaotic release of energy centering on her hand forming. The psychic power shoots tendrils of energy this way and that as she holds him there before extinguishing as quickly as it came, at which point Ingrid will simply release Ichiro.
COMBATSYS: Ichiro fails to interrupt Sunspot from Ingrid with Sudden Fling.
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Ingrid 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Ichiro
COMBATSYS: Ichiro can no longer fight.
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Ingrid 0/-------/=======|
"...no..." it all Ichiro manages to get out as Ingrid approaches. Fishing another lacrosse ball out of his pocket, the lacrosse captain tosses the ball towards the girl weakly only to have it hit the floor in front of her and roll away sadly. Then his arm is twisted up behind his back like a schoolyard bully is trying to get his milk money. THOOM. Ichiro is fried one last time by a blast of psychic energy to his back as Ingrid holds him up for a moment before he is released to collapse to the floor unconscious as the sound of autographs being ripped apart can be heard in the now quiet room.
There, this time at least he won't be left staggering on his feet with only enough strength to fail to throw a lacross ball hard enough to hit her. Seriously, that was bad news right there. It almost seemed like she was trying to showboat when all she wanted to do was let him down easy. Maybe just blasting him at full power was the best way to go about it- unconsciousness is merciful, right? Normally one for the crowds Ingrid isn't feeling up for mingling with them right now, actually feeling bad for the way she treated him earlier. Maybe she can make this up to him sometime, but she's not sure how.
Log created on 23:54:54 07/23/2008 by Ichiro, and last modified on 04:11:50 07/24/2008.