Description: When you think of the heigh of martial arts action, naturally the first thing that comes to mind is... Power Rangers?! Marvel as the Red and Pink Rangers do battle with the nefarious Green Ranger. Gasp in shock and awe as techniques never before seen are unleashed! Tremble as, in the end, evil is... Triumphant? Way to go, guys. (Winner: Ryu)
"Rangers! Rangers! An unknown alien has crash landed in New York City, and another in Hollywood! We suspect these attacks are connected as part of a larger plot, the WORLD ITSELF may be at stake! Split into two teams and hurry! You must track down the monsters before they can kill again!"
Cut to Times Square in a small-scale B Movie grade panic, a bunch of extras running wildly, screaming and flailing limbs as a lumbering behemoth with giant buck teeth and bloodshot eyes roars and staggers after them, flailing clawed yet rather stubbly arms in an answering call. That's right Power Rangers, the mass of violent intentioned dirty brown fur can only be SADISTIC SQUIRREL. The monster tackles (more falls onto) the closest 'victim' and smoke effects go off all around the area of park blocked off for the fight. It almost manages to conceal the egress of the stuntman, as he's replaced by - nay transformed INTO - a pair of oversized acorns. The evil squirrel raises them high above his head, and regales the crowd gathered around the panic zone with mocking, overstated laughter. Surely this joke of an opponent cannot be Ryu!?!? No one could fight in such a costume!
So far, it's next to impossible to tell - at least for the crowd. Mai and Tenma could probably recognize the villainous diversion for what it is - one really damn weak monster. Where is the King of Fighters?!? What nefarious surprises are in store for our heroes? Is this even what was scripted?!??!
Find out only on Mighty Morphin' SNF Rangers.
You know, Tenma Kiryuu is starting to think that somebody at the SNF creative offices doesn't like him very much.
Oh sure, not too long ago he held the Contender's Title, and that was pretty cool... But it seems like the sword-wielding Gedo punk always seems to get stuck in weird dressup fights. There was the Star Trek convention, for intance, or the Lord of the Rings fight. And now? Now he has to dress up like he was in some crappy Super Sentai show.
Frankly, he would think that this would be more Kenji's sort of thing.
"Can't even breathe right in this frickin' thing," the Guardian King mutters darkly, within the plastic confines of his Power Ranger helmet, his long hair bound up within to keep it out of the way. Worse than the helmet, though, is the clingy skintight spandex of the rest of the outfit, which were it not for the slight padding of the bathing suit region, would leave precious little to the imagination. Sure, he's in pretty good shape and all, but he's also a teenager, and thus not entirely comfortable with the idea of parading around in front of a large crowd of people whilst feeling naked.
Regrettably for the poor shmuck in the evil squirrel costume, Tenma is the first of the two 'Rangers' to make the scene, and his usual accoutrements - specifically, the bokken slung over his shoulder, radiating an aura of bloody chi - sort of ruins the illusion, but whatever. Face hidden within the plastic helmet, Tenma scowls, and sets about beating SADISTIC SQUIRREL with that aforementioned bokken until either the costumed 'terror' leaves, or Mai shows up to demonstrate some common sense.
Also, fortunately Tenma hasn't seen himself in a mirror yet, and the helmet's restrictive field of vision makes looking at himself rather difficult; he TOLD the costume department that, if he was going to go out there, he had to be the red one. And, well, he's not, though he doesn't know it yet.
No, because you see, they put him in the pink outfit.
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Hey, guess who /is/ entirely comfortable with the idea of parading around in front of a large crowd of people whilst feeling naked?! "GANGWAY!" Mai Shiranui, the Red Ranger, launches over a subway entrance on a motorcycle via a wooden ramp that has been helpfully set up by some union guy who's probably doing this on his day off. Although the Power Ranger helmet (it's molded to look vaguely like a parasaurolophus, the 'crest' opening at its tip for her long, long hair to spill out of) blocks any trace of emotion behind its impassive silver molded-shut mouth and tinted visor, Mai can be heard laughing her head off as she performs the jump. "Whoo!" she exclaims upon touchdown, hopping off of the bike as it continues to move, letting it skid along until it smashes into that union guy's car.
By the time that happens, though, Mai's already moved on. Also noteworthy about her costume: unlike Tenma's more traditional Power Ranger outfit, Mai -- fashion ingenue par excellence -- has taken it upon herself to modify the costume, replacing the pants with a ridiculously short skirt that does nothing to hide the all-but-trademarked red Shiranui thong. "Go go Power Rangers!" she calls jubilantly, striking a wide-legged dramatic pose with her fist in the air, before rushing forward to aid Tenma. "Don't use all your energy on this one, Pink Ranger!" she says, gracefully kicking the poor schlub in the back of the knee. "This is just a /minion/ -- which means our real enemy still lurks, probably nearby!"
"RAAARGH" *THUD* "Ow!" *CRACK* "ArRARuughg" *WHACK* "I'll.." *THUMP*
The giant squirrel is hammered backwards by Tenma's unrelenting whacking, saved only by the thick, awkward padding of the oversized suit. The might of the pink ranger's bokken hammers Sadistic Squirrel back and forth only until Mai makes her motorized arrival, and promptly kicks the legs right out from under him. Squirrelboy goes back up, crashing hard to the ground and laying there groaning as a THIRD ranger drops out of the trees - the green ranger. His costume is similar to the others, though he (THANKFULLY) lacks Mai's skirt, and the helmet and armor is differently accented (which is to say he gets more than a leotard, boots and gloves... barely). The counterfeit ranger POINTS at Mai and Tenma and tries ENTIRELY too hard to sound malevolent, "Ha ha. Ha. Ha! You have fallen... into our trap!!"
Flashback to an hour ago: 'Look, I'm not going to wear the monster outfit. Who could fight in that thing!' 'That's the whole point, you have to overcome the odds, and..!' 'No you don't understand, it's not safe! I doubt I could even see out of it, it's not happening. I'll just fight them like this.' (in the white gi, DUH). 'But... Ryu... look...' cue one of Howard's PR goons, 'This fight has a payout to Children's Miracle Network. It could be some dying child's wish to see a Super Sempai Fight with you in it, and the costumes of THE hit series in the USA.' '.... really? It is?' 'It ABSOLUTELY could be.' '.... alright what other options are there?'
Fast-forward back to the present, the deadly, overpowered green ranger flexes a fist (are those spraypainted sparring gloves?), "Welcome to your DOOM!"
It's for the sick children of the world!
It's only once the devil squirrel has been taken care of that Tenma finally pays attention to the rest of his surroundings.
The first thing he notices is Mai's lack of pants, and the second th... Okay, no, wait, he's going to be a few seconds.
...
... ...
...Okay. The SECOND thing he notices is that Mai is, in fact, wearing the Red Ranger costume, modified though it may be. That makes his eyes narrow, though they're hidden behind that black visor. Clearly, there must be some sort of mistake here, the Guardian King tells himself, because there's only one Red Ra... Wait, what did Mai say?
"WHAT?!" Tenma demands, his loud, strident voice slightly muffled by his plastic prison. There's a brief distraction provided by the, uh, Green Ranger now, but Tenma doesn't have time for that. "Y... You wait a second," he says, pointing his bokken right at the (much) stronger fighter, but brooking no disagreement! His attention, instead, turns to Mai, and it's a measure of how incensed he is that he doesn't /appear/ to be staring anywhere he shouldn't. "What did you call me?!" Oh man, somebody is totally going to get a wooden sword shoved right up their nose today.
"Don't you look at what clothes you're putting on?" Mai says to Tenma with a giggle, accentuated by tilting her shoulders away from him and holding a flattened hand's fingertips to her molded, immobile mask's mouth -- in case it wasn't very clear that she was giggling. "I bet dressing yourself is a real adventure!" She skips over toward Tenma to stand close to him, the better for the cameras to zoom in on dramatic poses -- her skirt flounces readily.
Striking another dramatic pose -- actually a rather mocking impersonation of a Shaolin kung fu stance -- Mai directs her attention toward the Green Ranger. "Gasp!" she gasps. "The Green Ranger! He who once stood among us as a noble and kind soul, corrupted by evil and greed and selfishness and rottenness and surliness and other bad feelings for bad people!" Mai hops, stance changing again. "Well, we may have taken your bait, Green Ranger, but you're the one who'll be looking for a way out when the Pink Ranger and I are done with you! Kii-ya!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu has started a fight here on the right meter side.
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|-------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Mai has joined the fight here.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 0/-------/-------|
That padding doesn't seem so concealing and protective now, does it Tenma? Conversely, the only concern of the green madman seems to be the battle to come, whatever tricks of almostninja theatricality Mai chooses to pull! ... by not wearing much of anything. Let's not take too long pondering the fact that she was trained by her own grandfather. Of course, while Mai's concept of ninjaing may be skewed from the norm (whatever THAT is), Ryu's capacity for acting like a homicidal villain is lost farther afield than the Fountain of Youth.
"Color blindness will not save you!" Ryu helpfully amends, voice distorted by the electronics in his helmet, his dramatic words coming out like Darth Vader - or Dark Helmet.
An assault on Tenma is forestalled by Mai's challenge. The green ranger turns and stares blankly at her a moment, quite obviously struggling to come up with the right response, "It is YOU who will be escaping!" He exclaims darkly as he suddenly rushes the red ranger, launching himself the last span in a heartbeat, whirring a singular rotation suddenly through the air. His right foot whips outward like a rotorblade coming about in a straight missile for Mai's jaw, "Haaaaah!"
They tricked him. They TRICKED him! "Sh-shut up!" comes Tenma's muffled voice, now sounding less angry than embarassed, in response to Mai and her giggling. This is a terrible turn of events, but luckily for Tenma the best kind of therapy is hitting someone really hard... And here he is in the middle of a Saturday Night Fight match! Though it's an open question as to just how hard Tenma CAN hit someone like Ryu...
But anyway.
As Ryu goes for his assault on Mai, Tenma has to wait a second to find the proper timing... Hopefully the 'Red Ranger' can handle herself against that spinny foot of doom. But once Ryu, presumably, lands from the attack, Tenma lunges at him, fully extending his swordarm before him, trying to catch that green costume with the tip of his wooden blade; if he manages that, the bloody chi seems to almost 'latch' onto Ryu, and Tenma twists, swinging his sword - and Ryu - in a wide arc over his head before releasing him to hurtle away. "Tch--!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Mai with Senpuu Kyaku.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 0/-------/--=====|
"Kyaaaa--!" Mai says as she's kicked in the face, helmet's padding protecting her from what would have been, if not a broken jaw, at minimum a horrific purple bump. She spins in the air, having been knocked off of her feet by the blow, and continues to spin all the way to the ground, which she impacts with the sound of spandex not protecting anything.
"Ow-- Pink Ranger! He's thrown down the gauntlet -- with his foot! Let's show him a thing or two about real Power Ranger spirit!" Mai swings her legs up, flexes her shoulders, and kicks to her feet, shaking some cobwebs out of her vision before running toward Ryu. As Tenma attacks, she times her leap, jumping to reach out and grab Ryu by the head--!
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Mai's Shiranui Gourin.
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Tenma 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Ryu interrupts Asura from Tenma with Hadouken.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 0/-------/---====|
Of course, the villainous ambush is always a success! It's up to the heroes to come back and triumph despite being... well, in this case, kicked thoroughly in the head. Sometimes it takes the power of love and friendship and all that jazz, however - will Tenma and Mai find their inspiration and overcome?!? Both certainly give it their all - the helmeted Ryu glances from side to side quickly as both Tenma and Mai rush him. The leaping ninja clasps harshly around his skull, even as the Gedo warrior jabs his chi-imbued bokken forward. The surge of chi seals Ryu's doom, or so it would seem...
Somehow, the Ansatsuken Master turned power ranger anticipates the strike, crouching ever so subtly and LAUNCHING himself skyward, premature to Tenma's urgings. The sudden wrench frees him from Mai's further plans, and the agile green-clad warrior twists immediately overtop Tenma, but even as he begins to descend his palms thrust downward at an angle towards the younger fighter. From his fingertips, rushing forth from his hands comes a swirling surge of suddenly conjured, wildly luminescent blue chi, "HADOOOUKEN!!" comes the call, and the white hot blast clears the spartan distance between the nomad and his target in short order, propelling him backwards a short distance to land facing both his adversaries - as the Hadouken lands on Tenma.
Ken would have had a perfect movie quote for this moment. Ryu stands and watches his opponents, waiting for the inevitable reprisal.
As the glare of the Hadouken fills the visor of his plastic helmet, Tenma thinks to himself: Well, this can't be good.
Blasted down and back by the burst of chi, Tenma tumbles arse over teakettle for a few feet, ending up in a seated position. And yet, that probably could've gone worse, at least for Kiryuu. "Ugh... Yeah, I guess that was pretty good," he mutters, pushing himself up to his feet and shaking his head to clear it, one hand pressed against his helmet. This is no time for complete recklessness, clearly...
So Tenma, in his delightful pink and white spandex costume, settles in to watch Ryu, holding his bokken in front of himself, diagonally, in a two-handed grip. Wait for an opening, that's the ticket. Even Ryu can't have a /perfect/ defense...
COMBATSYS: Tenma focuses on his next action.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Mai 0/-------/---====|
As Ryu breaks free of her devastatingly stylish throw maneuver, Mai simply flips through the air and lands on her feet in an Olympic-gymast arms-up feet-pointed stance -- before whirling around to face Ryu again. "Careful, Pink Ranger!" she calls. "He's summoning /evil magic/ to try and corrupt you, as he too was seduced by the power of /evil/!" She's grinning broadly beneath her helmet. This is too much fun. "I'll distract him -- find the good within yourserlf, Pink Ranger, and focus on it, Pink Ranger! Let the good wash the stain of evil away! Focus!" As she narrates this spiel, she lunges to try and kick Ryu in the temple with a roundhouse.
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Mai's Strong Kick.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 0/-------/---====|
"Ha ha ha ha!" The evil magic is indeed strong here! Or at least, in some dying child's imagination. Tenma recovers, refocuses on his surroundings, and Mai... well Mai's just brimming with energy, and enthusiasm! It's tangible in the chi around her, and somewhat infectuous. The 'maniacal' laughter dies off as the Green Ranger turns to face the Shiranui Kunoichi, grinning behind the opaque visor of his ornate plastic helmet. His amusement doesn't keep him from being fast on his feet, however - the grass shifts with his sudden motion as the nomad weaves low, gracefully dropping and twisting to come up facing Mai as she lands, open hand held forward, "You had better hope he comes up with something good, Red Ranger, your days are numbered!" Ryu lunges forward, snapping a quick, feinting jab into the air with his forward left, dangerously close to Ms. Shiranui's face...
And then sharply twisting to bring his right side forward, throwing all his weight behind a sudden, forceful straight aligned with her solar plexus, "Haaah!!"
"WOULD YOU STOP SAYING THAT?!" Tenma bellows, clearly needled by the constant reference to his being in the pink costume. Oh man, at this rate he might just switch sides after all! Still, even his outburst can't entirely disrupt his own focus, as he lets out a loud huff of air within the confines of his plastic helmet, gloved hands tightening their grip on the wooden haft of his bokken, and then...
...Well, Ryu seems awfully sensitive to chi, so he's probably going to notice this, as Tenma sweeps his bokken through the air, one-handed, in a vertical slash... But there's too much distance between himself and Ryu for any hope of landing a blow. No, the important part is the red afterimage that follows the blade, from whence is born a roiling crescent of blood and chi, a gory crimson projectile that tears through the air towards the 'Green Ranger', hoping to catch him while he's busy with Mai. "EAT THIS!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Mai with Medium Punch.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Mai 1/------=/=======|
"But it's your n--ACK!" Regardless of what Tenma's nack is, Mai just got punched. Hard. She whimpers, knees knocking from the force of the blow, trying not to hurl on the inside of her oppressively muggy mask. "Evil... certainly... packs a punch," she wheezes, quickly forcing herself to woman up and deal with the pain -- which she flaunts by backflipping away from Ryu. "Get him, uh... Somewhere Between Red and Purple Ranger! At least -- I think that's where pink is on the color wheel! It's been a long time since I've had to consult one!" Her breath caught, she lunges again -- in the tradition of various members of the Shiranui clan who went on to distinguished military service and posthumous medals, she seems to be favoring a kamikaze approach. "You hit him that way, Self-Conscious About How Feminine He Appears Ranger -- mouthful alert! -- and I'll hit him -- /this/ way!" Ninja tricks abound as Mai leaps and spins, whipping around with a burst of flame to meet Ryu! And remember, kids, spandex /melts/.
COMBATSYS: Mai successfully hits Ryu with Ryuu Enbu.
- Power hit! -
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Tenma's Dharmapala.
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Tenma 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Ryu
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Mai 1/-----==/=======|
The oh-so-pretty Pink Ranger does indeed charge up a notable amount of chi, the bloody blast cresting towards Ryu rapidly indeed. It's a distraction that serves the duo well, in the end - Ryu twists to slam a braced elbow sidelong into the blade of energy as it reaves inward, flexing his arm around to deflect the blast outwards, its sting largely mitigated by the nomad's resilient guard... and his own fierce, centered inner chi. Ryu looks back to his other opponent, the heroic ninja... and barely has time to start to move before the explosive fire launches him backwards. Owwww.
The chi explodes around him, the searing energy burns... as does the flash-melted spandex. It's not enough to destroy the uniform, thankfully, but even the sudden surge of heat leaves the Green Ranger's chest tattered, skin beneath reddened by the intense heat. Ryu lands in a roll, nonetheless, coming up suddenly and launching himself into the air. He sails the distance between himself and Tenma in the blink of an eye, a graceful arc carrying him through the air....
Then, in the last moments of descent, his right heel rockets downwards, fist mirroring it as his other arm flexes, and his left leg bends upwards in a perfectly executed, devestating flying kick, the Ansatsuken Wanderer's voice crying a fierce kiai.
COMBATSYS: Tenma interrupts Strong Kick from Ryu with Head Breaker.
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Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Mai 1/-----==/=======|
With Ryu electing to spread the love around, Tenma's pretty sure there's some hurt bound to come his way soon... And wouldn't you know it, he should have his own psychic hotline! But now, at least, Tenma feels moderately ready to deal with whatever Ryu's going to throw out. This, of course, might be what they call a 'false sense of security'.
Still, whether or not it's some sort of madness, it serves Tenma... Moderately well. Rather than, as a sensible person would, attempting to avoid or deflect the mighty kick from mighty Ryu, the Gedo swordsman instead elects to lunge /into/ it. As such, rather than strike true, the possibly bone-crushing kick grazes painfully along Tenma's side, even as the supposed 'pink' ranger grabs Ryu by the front of his tattered spandex bodysuit, and with a wild bellow uses their respective momentum to smash his plastic helmet right into Ryu's, hard enough that at the very least, both costumed helms crack a little. "GRAAAAAH!!!"
"Good move, Pink Ranger!" Mai chirps! "Now, time to let me have a crack!" As Tenma delivers his huge headbutt, Mai runs around the rose-garbed teen -- only to leap up onto his shoulders and front-flip off, aiming to leap /over/ Ryu and thrust her strong legs out toward the /back/ of his head!
COMBATSYS: Ryu interrupts Light Kick from Mai with Shin Shoryuken EX+.
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Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=======\==-----\1 Ryu
[ \\\\\ <
Mai 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
The idea of the leaping kick was to knock Tenma away - instead, the Gedo youth manages to show impressive resilience, not to mention raw determination, in meeting the nomad's landing full-on. Unable to defend himself, the helmets crack together with resounding force, the impact echoing in Ryu's skull for a moment as he reels backwards, half his visor shattered, one dark eye looking out from the cracked plastic...
To see Mai's rushing ascent. Up she goes, over Tenma, in an improvisation that's impressive indeed. Many would be caught off guard, more still would be dropped by the potent kick levelled during her flight overtop of the Ansatsuken Wanderer... but improvisation to strange and eccentric styles is something Ryu is known for, and this trick is not unlike the one pulled by Tenma moments before. Even as Mai kicks downward, Ryu twists, and steps back. Her foot misses his skull, and while her offensive momentum guarantees her a grazing hit across his chest, the strike is not unlike skipping a tennis ball off a brick wall, and lacks the proper foothold for flipping off to safety...
Instead, one gloved fist launches up to meet Mai, the sudden, snapping uppercut followed by a full twist as Ryu crouches, and launches his opposite fist skyward in the trademarked, devestating Rising Dragon Punch, "SHOOOOORYUKEN!!!" comes the echoing cry as Ansatsuken Master and Kunoichi are both hurtled skyward, the nomad twisting two fluid rotations at the apex of the legendary uppercut.
As the uppercut hits, Mai's dinosaur helmet /explodes/.
"What--?" Tenma wonders as Mai lands on his shoulders, and he looks up just before the kunoichi manages to leap off. This proves to be distracting. Still, there's flipping from Mai, and then a whole lot of uppercutting from Ryu, and an exploding dinosaur helmet... That's just savage. Saaavaaaage.
Tenma even winces a little.
But you know what, Tenma Kiryuu is not one to be afraid, even in the face of overwhelming power; he's fought Geese Howard, and Kain R. Heinlein. He's fought people who, let's face it, could probably roll over him and not even notice it, in a fight... But he's not the sort of person who lets that get to him. The idea, the simple, reasonable idea that he cannot win, even against someone who outstrips him so completely, doesn't even enter into the Guardian King's thought processes.
Insted, he lets out a faint chuckle, muffled by the plastic helmet. "Not one to hold back, are ya?" he wonders, rather rhetorically, before he throws himself at Ryu again, twisting around to bring his bokken to bear in a vicious, two-handed slash, upwards across the other man's torso. "LET'S GO!!"
Mai lands on her back after a fluttering, slow, 'I just about got Shoryukened out of my panties' descent, like a leaf wafting to the ground and kicking up some pixellated dust when she lands. She tries to stagger to her feet, but fails. "Has... evil won this day...?" she asks, dinosaur helmet gone, eyes all but rolling back into her head. "It is on you... Pink Ranger... to decide... can you save the world... or will it fall... to the darkness... the darkest... shade... of green..." Mai collapses forward, unconscious.
Just before Mai's head hits the ground, though, she musters up the strength to do one last thing -- who knows where or how she was hiding her fans in that costume (how is this any different from normal), but one is out and in her hand. "Go... go... Pink... Ranger..." she wheezes, flicking open the fan and throwing it with her last reserve of power.
COMBATSYS: Mai can no longer fight.
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Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Mai's Kachou Sen.
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Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Ryu with Fierce Strike.
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Tenma 1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
The Red Ranger lands hard - not much fight left in her... but the Pink one is just getting started. Ryu's eyes narrow, or at least the one visible behind the broken visor definitely does, the haggard nomad's gaze darting from the Gedo warrior's charge to the whirring fan, and then back again. In a graceful motion the Ansatsuken Master lunges forward, towards Tenma, as the Kunoichi's projectile whips by his back, missing by scant inches. Ryu seeks to shift his momentum suddenly sidelong, but Tenma's charge is swift and true, the power he raises the bokken with echoing through the park as Ryu is slashed backwards, the reaving edge of chi ripping another angular gash from his costume, the Ansatsuken Wanderer staggering backwards.
No... he's not out of this yet, nasty as the return strike was. The nomad unhesitatingly rushes right back in on Tenma, seeking to grab the offense-minded youth by the front of his costume.... and quite abruptly drop his weight backwards, shooting one leg up to act as a lever in THE classic, efficient sacrifice throw, meant to send Tenma sailing free at alarming velocity.
The attack cry for thise assault? "You will join us!!!" Hey, it is THE classic villain line. .... right?!?
COMBATSYS: Tenma endures Ryu's Tomoe Nage.
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Tenma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0 Ryu
Continuing to whirl around as his bokken manages to cleanly hit Ryu, Tenma can feel it... The pulse of the fight, the way the Ansatsuken Master's chi ebbs and flows in the middle of it, and if he can just find a good way to exploit it...
Still, Ryu's terrifying speed has some thoughts of its own, and before he can do much about it the Gedo swordsman is grabbed by Ryu's hands, and pulled into that backwards throw, pushed off by the more experienced fighter's foot and sent flying.
Tenma hits, rolling but unable to really reduce the force of the throw, but that's not the point; the POINT is that he's able to work through the pain, to get himself onto his feet before he really ought to be, stance widening and his bokken swinging behind him, his left hand pushed forward, fingers contorted in a light mudra position. Focus.
Focus on a single point, and that point is Ryu.
In the space of a heartbeat, the red glow around Tenma's wooden practice sword intensifies, reaching a fever pitch; blood and chi obscure the sword entirely, until Tenma seems to be holding a blade wrought from pure blood, and as the Kiryuu demon hunter's power intensifies, the crack along his battered pink helmet widens. He's ready.
Springing forward, Tenma rushes along the ground at Ryu as fast as he can manage, and once he gets close to the green-clad Ansatsuken Master, he switches to a skid, using his momentum and swinging his bokken around in a powerful two-handed slash, aiming to catch Ryu right along the side. If it strikes, there's exactly the force one would expect, an impact of solid, blessed wood and bloody chi, but...
...Tenma's chi will actually then move THROUGH Ryu, disrupting the very flow of life through the other fighter's body, stealing his strength and vitality as much as cause actual harm, leaving a chill numbness in its wake!
COMBATSYS: Ryu endures Tenma's The Sealing Sword.
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Tenma 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Ryu
Tenma's training, it seems, revolves around his senses, the flow of the world, of everything that lives within it. With Mai and the potent Shiranui fires out of the equation, the nomad has a chance to really /feel/ what Kiryuu is up to. The Hunter gathers his strength, and all but shoots forward - Ryu can see it coming, but only just barely. He can feel the tremors that run down the bokken, the harmonic chord struck by this youth's chi. It's a synchronicity with nature that exists in the energy of only a few masters, a rare path indeed in the modern day.... a similar one to the one walked by he and Ken in Gouken's shadow. But the Ansatsuken Wanderer is no Demon - indeed, he is one of the furthest things from it. His chi flows in balance with not only himself, but the very air around him, the ground beneath his feet. The chill impact cracks into resilient ribs, and Ryu lurches sidelong, the cold wave reverberating through his being. It fluctuates, it burns with its sealing touch, and then the harsh impact ebbs, Ryu's feet touch the grass solidly once more, his grimacing face snaps back to Alert, intent on Tenma before him.
The surrounding chi all but rushes back into the void, the Seal shackling little as nature moves not to reinforce it, but to correct its own harmony. Wind shockwaves outwards, and Ryu launches full-on into Kiryuu, whipping about time and time again in a rampant whirlwind of whirring kicks, level with Tenma's skull, "TATSUMAKI SENPUUUUU KYAKU!!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma fails to interrupt Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku from Ryu with Initial Breaker.
[ < > ///// ]
Tenma 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Tenma can no longer fight.
> ///// ]
|=======\=------\1 Ryu
Only once has Tenma ever had to use his skills against anyone who could rightly be called a 'demon', and they didn't manage to get back up from that particular technique. Fighters of Ryu's caliber though? Yeah they're more problematic there.
But Tenma's still going, still able to feel the flow of things. Can he exploit it, is the problem, especially when faced with Ryu's speed and power. This time, not so much. He holds his ground as Ryu regains his balance, and seeing that the Ansatsuken Master is getting ready to make his own attack, Tenma pulls his bokken back once more, turning himself sidelong to Ryu and holding the wooden sword parallel to the ground, across his torso. Tenma's free hand hovers near the tip of the blade, providing a point to level it.
Ryu whirls through the air like some kind of fast... Whirly... Thing... And Tenma, for the second time, lunges /into/ Ryu's attack, his bokken stabbing out, hoping to catch the Ansatsuken Master, but this time he can't manage it. The kicks send the wooden blade wide, and hammer into Tenma, shattering the plastic mask completely and sending the younger fighter sprawling, unable to really get back up.
As the last of the fight goes out of Kiryuu, the aura around his weapon dissipates, vanishing with a sound like a slowly exhaled breath.
Millions of children watching worldwide begin to openly weep.
Pushing past the effects of the assault and avoiding the impact of the beating he's taken to this point are two very different things. Ryu lands out of the trademark technique in a forced crouch, unable to immediately find his own footing. He focuses his inner chi, recovering his bearings as he draws a few deep breaths. Kiryuu isn't moving.... Mai isn't fighting.... that can only mean one thing.
THE TRIUMPH OF TRUE EVIL.
Grimacing once more, the Ansatsuken Master pushes back to his feet, standing over the fallen Rangers, "Yes, now you will be the bait for the rest. Not even your FRIENDS can save you now!!" A sequel? A new episode?!? Another brutal, colorful leotard-clad confrontation? .... one can only hope not, but who ever knows?
The bruised, rather worse for wear Wanderer makes his way towards the borders of the park, clearly meaning to get his bearings away from the spectators. That Kiryuu boy... he'll have to find out more about that one. That... was not a technique he's used to feeling.
COMBATSYS: Ryu takes no action.
> ///// ]
|=======\=------\1 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Ryu has ended the fight here.
Log created on 13:39:02 09/01/2008 by Tenma, and last modified on 00:13:55 09/04/2008.