Description: Strolhelm. Ryu vs. Chizuru. (Winner: Chizuru)
There are qualifying rounds - and then there are qualifying rounds. Not only is Krauser personally familiar with the former World Warrior and current King of Fighters champion, but both his and Chizuru's performances in their initial rounds more than 'qualifies'. Analysts and cameras are nowhere to be seen when Strolheim's representatives present Chizuru with the location of her next opponent, by means of a precisely drawn map leading up into the peaks overlooking the village, and all the winter-conquering gear the priestess could need to fulfill her rather unusual quest.
The agent of Strolheim offers little by way of extra information - either she will climb and fight, or she will not. Neither outcome is overly worrisome at this point, and the presumed will of the Lord of this deceptively peaceful hamlet is nothing to discount.
For his part, Ryu receives only a letter, high in the cliffs of the Germanic countryside. It tells him to wait, that his opponent will appear... and so wait he does, meditating alone deep in the hollowed cave that winds deep into the cliff face Chizuru has been directed to, the mouth and opening tunnel dropping out rather abruptly indeed to the crags far below - the inside surprisingly spacious, an epitome of pristine beauty, iced over on many surfaces, the untouched sheen refracting light all the way to the back.
It's impossible to miss, even without the map. By the time Chizuru makes her way up, the place itself is practically resonant with its own peaceful seclusion, the strength of the very mountain.
Chizuru does not use much of the gear offered. She too has gone out to meditate in the mountains, often for very long periods of time. All she uses is a thicker, heavier robe over her normally light jacket. She didn't even change her boots.
She can feel Ryu - or someone - up there as she approaches. She doesn't fear being ambushed; there's no malice around her. Just quiet, serene strength. It doesn't bother her. She has it, too - at least when she's calm. Right now she's just a little cold.
Chizuru does not disturb Ryu at 'work', nor does she go far enough into the cave to disturb him. She takes perhaps four steps into it, to get out of the cold wind, and waits for him to be ready. He may simply be able to detect her, after all.
Many more 'conventional' fighters scoff at the idea of training in absolute seclusion, true wilderness - those places where it can still be found. Ryu has found that those who have, and have truly listened... seldom turn away. It's something the sacred guardian has more than a bit of experience in herself, more than likely - both the natural balance and insightful whispers of the energy in these serene places, and the distortions of will.... and pride. Few, on either side of the proverbial and oft-debated 'fence', can truly claim higher purpose - most who believe they can, are simply so consumed by selfishness of one form or another as to transform their own desires into ultimate mandate, the 'right' that must be made by their might.
The nomad would argue that there is little strength in such a path, whatever one manages to wreak. He senses no such ego from the spirit that arrives at the precipice, however. There is a sense of purpose in her arrival here, as Ryu would estimate there is in most everything that the Yata Priestess does - the energy of the world is refracted through her, spinning a unique pattern. Just as Ryu's own immense inner reserves, she seems to him to pass along as if coursing through the rapids. Where some radiate malice, raw power, sheer energy - the Ansatsuken Master seems to dwell in an open rapport with the very air and soil around him, energy coursing to him, and through him, the eye of an unseen storm, embraced by the well of nature he taps - perhaps because his role is not that alien to hers. For all his strength, talent, could-be glory, the man known only as Ryu desires very little: to exist within that balance, to experience this beauty, to hone himself and understand.
That that must be defended, that many things can sway even the best, the strongest from their course is something he understands... all too well.
Rising, simple leather moccassins shift on the smooth stone as he turns to face the opening of the cave, walking out to the edge of the ice cavern to face Chizuru. He doesn't speak, not immediately. He bows, respectfully, hands clasping. He does not fully survey Chizuru until his dark eyes rise once more - formal, polite, respectful. There is something... different about this woman, and ambush is the farthest thing from his mind.
Chizuru is, if anything, more tied to worldly natures than Ryu is despite her aspect as a quiet priestess. She must be, to keep the Seal focused and intact and bound into the world. She does try to keep her ego in line, though - by choice, not by necessity. There have been Yata priestesses who used their ability to amass greater power than they already had. They tend not to last very long.
Chizuru returns the bow, picture-perfect, and holds it just an instant longer than Ryu. She has money; he's a vagrant. She has a business; he has nothing. But she respects him for what he does and how he acts, and she's not afraid to show it - at least not now, in the middle of nowhere, at a time like this.
And then she does speak, breaking the silence. "A pleasure to actually meet you," she says, with a slight smile. "I was afraid we would miss each other, on the mountain... but it turns out there was no chance of that."
It can be dangerous to judge a book by its cover - certainly true of the reserved, graceful priestess, but the path of the Wanderer has been walked since the beginnings of time, and is scarcely limited to vagrants or bums. (Though they are all, almost certainly, damn hobos.)
Focused brown eyes project a steady ease, and also some aspects of the strength within the current hermit atop this particular mountain... there is no doubt that he is eager for this, that he yearns for the tests of combat, to see the style of this odd woman in action. He is quiet only a moment longer before he answers, his tone even and polite, with a warm undertone despite the intensity of the coming storm, "And you. I was not sure who they would send. I am Ryu, and I believe it goes without saying that you are here to pass the test of Strolheim. ... or perhaps simply to experience it?"
There is a half-smile, relaxed as the words themselves... Chizuru doesn't look like the sort who cares what anyone thinks, much less an anachronistic German nobleman. So her purpose here must be her own, and that makes her more interesting than most any of the glory-and-approval seekers right there.
Chizuru's reasons do not include Krauser's approval, it's true - but she hasn't told anyone what it is, or what she wants at all. She just...shows up.
And then stops showing up when it is convenient for her to do so, which royally irritates some organizers. Fortunately, there are not a lot of things that the eccentric cannot patch over with money.
"To experience it; that is as good an explanation as any," Chizuru says, keeping the same soft smile on her face. Her expression rarely changes; she would be an excellent poker player if she cared to, which as a general rule she does not. "Or to allow others to experience it. And you, yourself - I would imagine that you too are here only to... experience it. Isn't that so?"
"In a sense." Ryu admits, apparently inspired to think about it for a moment, his gaze drifting upwards, a thoughtful air to his sternly chiseled features. There are many reasons he walks the path he does, both personal and those dedicated to the memory of the only father he has known, the master who set him on his course so many years ago... or perhaps merely saw the destiny that boy could forge, and hoped to leave things better by way of legacy. A sentiment Ryu can indeed understand, and one reflected in the paradigm of Master and Student - and this tournament.
To experience it is, as Chizuru puts it, as good an explanation as any. It sums up the myriad of reasons and hopes without giving away many, if any - while Chizuru is guarded, practiced in her interactions, Ryu is frank and blunt - obvious. Yet not without secrets of his own, and good reasons to keep them.
He slips out of his leather shoes, kicking them aside, back into the cave, bare feet stepping out onto the cold stone as he draws a deep breath, and secures the clasp on the padded gloves he pulls tight over his hands - a protective measure seldom seen in matches on this level, but one he seemingly religiously adheres to. Those hands shift forward, weaving through the air and into a ready guard, one held ahead, his right coiled back... prepared.
"Whenever you are ready to begin." He invites, centering himself, and clearing his mind of the many thoughts his opponent's arrival has sparked.
COMBATSYS: Ryu has started a fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/-------|
Chizuru learned a long time ago never to give all her secrets away. Then you have no secrets, and no way to surprise people - and that's no way to live your life. Or win a fight, if your interests scale that way, but Chizuru lives her whole life by that.
She grinds her heel slightly into the ground, checking how frozen the ground is. It appears to meet her approval, because Chizuru only does it the once, brushing it straight with the main part of her foot. "Then perhaps I will," Chizuru says, still calm and even, letting Ryu get ready.
She bows again as she raises one hand into her own defensive position. It looks lazy, as if she just felt like holding one up, palm out, at about chin level. She does nothing else, just holding her position and focusing, letting Ryu make the first aggressive move. She's the Watcher, not the Actor; she prefers to react.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has joined the fight here.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Chizuru calculates her next move.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ryu
Pacing sidelong, Ryu moves the view beyond Chizuru from the exit tunnel - no need to be fighting down that treacherous walkway, exhilerating as it might be. He has yet to fully take this stranger's measure, even... he can sense her purpose, he knows that she is /strong/.... but there are fingerprints in a fighting style, in the subtle fluctuations of energy throughout a fight. Bare feet slip smoothly wider, anchoring the nomad in place momentarily as he faces off against his opponent, apparently satisfied with his position as Kagura readies herself. Reactionary or no, there is no discounting the sheer potential he can feel surging through the deceptive young woman....
A mystery indeed, but more importantly, a worthy opponent - it's screamed to every synapse in the nomad's brain, his hobo sense tingling madly. Her preparations do not go unappreciated - her trap is sprung almost joyfully, the nomad closing the gap in two sudden, blurring strides, the third snapping around with the weight of his upper body, levelling a downward-angled straight at her sternum, seeking to deliver a reverberating blow despite the cushioning of his crimson gloves.
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Chizuru with Sakotsu Wari.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
Ryu is fast.
Chizuru was expecting him to be strong; there are /stories/ about him on the fighting circuit. 'Powerful' is another term that she hears about him all the time. Fast... not so much, but that one caught her by surprise.
Chizuru almost looks like she's dancing aside, but doesn't move far enough in time; she was trying to only move slightly out of the way so she could hit him as he goes by. That, however, was probably a mistake, as he drives that fist into her stomach with enough power to force her backwards, nearly doubling over.
She turns her rise into an attack, leaping into the air and over Ryu entirely, landing low and sweeping with her arm to tangle her long, dangling sleeve in his legs and yank him to the ground. She says nothing; like Ryu seems to, she prefers not to talk during combat. It may be a quiet day.
COMBATSYS: Ryu fails to interrupt Reigetsu from Chizuru with Light Kick.
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Chizuru 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Ryu
Chizuru is staggered back, that much is according to plan - the shifting of her internal chi and the alert readyness with which she approaches the battle is taken in by the Ansatsuken Master, but there is little need for words of encouragement or observations, here - a duel of intersecting fates atop a mountaintop is also a tale old as time, and true to her nature, Chizuru brings a few surprises to the match.
She drops low, using the nomad's offensive momentum against him, or trying to. As she goes for his leg, it shoots forward - and then her sleeves join the party. His limbs yanked out from under him, his plan to abort Kagura's offensive by delivering a sudden knee to her face are in turn thwarted, and Ryu hits the ground hard, back first. The air threatens to leave his lungs entirely, but in the end he wastes almost no time in kicking upwards.
Rolling into a swift crouch, he faces his opponent once more, nodding slowly, and raising his fists once more.
Just because she got the speed advantage on him this time doesn't mean that Chizuru is reconsidering her first assessment. He's fast, and they seem to be fairly evenly matched as far as raw skills go. That means she's going to have to get tricky to have a reliable chance at victory - and for all that Chizuru is only here to see how other people fight, she would like to win if she can. There's no better way to test a person than to fight your hardest against them.
Chizuru does not let up on the attack. She presses in, feinting with a sweep of her arm before lunging in low, rising as she swirls upwards - and simultaneously stays on the ground, an illusion confusing whether she is actually attacking high or low.
The low one flickers and starts to fade, but by that time it may be too late.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Ryu with Shinsoku no Norito.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Ryu
While the hybrid style imparted upon Ken and Ryu from Gouken is anything but 'simple', in the end... Ryu is also not trained in some of the trickier aspects of chi manipulation. It's not a trick he's never seen - mostly from ninja - and it legitimately surprises him from this unassuming warrioress. The blurring feint causes Ryu a moment of rare stutterstep in his instincts, as he simultaneously wants to move low, and guard high - and Chizuru all but barrels him over. It's unlikely to catch him so off guard again, but for the moment the advantage is quite clearly hers. Coming down hard on the rocky ground once more Ryu rolls abruptly, tumbling back to his feet.
It hurts - the sting is only partially abated by the refreshing chill of the wind that rushes around the entrance to the cave, sounding off as the audience for this particular bout. He's not about to let it slow him down, though - not yet. Ryu all but throws himself out of his recovering crouch and lunges for Chizuru, seeking to catch the priestess off-balance, or simply lunge inside her guard once more - he doesn't distort his signature, but it is as if he redirects his momentum with innate grace indeed, all but launching in for the grapple..
Should he find it? He would twist about, heaving the priestess upwards by her robes, and drop all his weight back in a fluid roll. Bringing his foot up to her midsection, the nomad would seek to launch Chizuru clear in a classic, forceful sacrifice throw that is clearly intended to launch the Guardian rather harsh into - or perhaps off of - the far wall, the nomad's kiai reverberating around the cave.
COMBATSYS: Ryu has left the fight here.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Chizuru with Tomoe Nage.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Ryu
Chizuru is fast and skilled, but Ryu is equally fast and skilled - and at this level of talent, instants are everything. The lunge is a fraction of a second too fast for Chizuru to react properly to, just a hair too close for her guard to come up, and she finds herself going at a wall remarkably quickly in very short order.
She twists to break her fall from the wall and absorb the worst of the impact. Oh, it hurts, but not as much as it could. She could have broken something, or knocked herself out, but she is still decidedly in this fight - and smiling. Oh, yes, she thinks, he's quite skilled at this. Perhaps this wasn't a waste of her time.
Chizuru holds her distance for about five seconds, doing something with her internal energies, obviously preparing something. It bears some similarities to the way some fighters build themselves up, except for the fact that it doesn't last nearly as long and seems to be focused solely on her left hand. A golden glow builds there as well as she focuses -
Before finally, she lunges, running across the icy rocky ground and holding a sphere of gold-tinged chi before her, the shimmering orb full of what sealing power she could produce in only a few seconds! She tries to contact Ryu with it, temporarily locking his power in, where it belongs, instead of letting it out.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Ryu with Reigi no Ishizue+.
+ Epic Hit! +
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Chizuru 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 Ryu
Rolling with the momentum of the powerful throw, Ryu tumbles back to a crouch, and then shoves gracefully back to his feet in short order - he's up before Chizuru recovers, and has a front row view of the charging of power that follows. The tremendous surge of chi is more than tangible, and the nomad's dark eyes lock to it. There is something unusual, something he hasn't felt before in the energy - but he remains confident, right up until the end.
The charge is met with technical perfection, centered chi homing in to oppose and deflect the force of the attack as crossed arms meet it full-on, intent on absorbing the impact - which turns out to be entirely internal. Like a rush back through him, all the focused power crackles and fades, like a tide he can no longer hear, and the Ansatsuken Master staggers backwards, away from Chizuru, falling to his knees and gasping for breath. To a man who's known nothing but the music of those currents from his earliest days, who senses his world by their ebb and flow as much as his eyes or ears, it is like he's suddenly been deafened, blinded. For the first time in a very long time, the Ansatsuken Master feels uncertainty, confusion. Doubt.
He coughs, spitting dryly onto the cave floor, "What did you.... do to me..." he gasps out, struggling to reconnect himself, recover his senses, and his guard. Is this what drowning feels like?
COMBATSYS: Ryu gains composure.
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Chizuru 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Ryu
"A seal," Chizuru says, quite calmly. It doesn't bother her that he is lost, confused - this is sort of a test, after all. Chizuru can't go without testing people. It's just not in her nature. She stands, some distance away from him, holding her hand up in preparation for defense or attack, fingers spread.
"Just a seal. Not one that will hurt you, or even last much longer than it has." Chizuru, while she speaks, is resting slightly; that was a lot more exhausting than she cares to let on. "But perhaps one that you should experience, at least once, so you can continue to defend yourself!"
Her rest doesn't last forever. She darts forward, keeping it simpler this time; one foot comes up almost impossibly high as she makes a little hop, the heel aimed solidly for Ryu's chest. It's a lot more powerful than it looks, given it seems to be an incredibly awkward position for her to be in.
COMBATSYS: Ryu just-defends Chizuru's Heavy Kick!
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Chizuru 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Ryu
A seal. Gouken knew about these, but his speeches made them seem far off. Dangerous, some, but rare in usage in modern fighting. Truly, this opponent's style is something special - but adaptation is something that the nomad has built his entire style around. He draws a deep breath.
'Be quiet and subtle, like the forest. Only if you listen, will you hear.'
The ringing in his ears dies off, and with a sudden rush that matches the cutting seal, the coursing energy of the mountain, of the ground beneath his feet, of the wind whipping by outside rushes back to him, his inner chi resonating as if burning up through ice, fueling him once more. It courses into his limbs, his muscles tense, and already he quietly chides himself for losing his focus in the first place - overcoming that will have to wait for the other hurdles before him, however.
The nomad all but dances around Chizuru in perfect synch with her assault, the axeing kick flying up, as Ryu steps aside, and around her, slapping one gloved palm solidly over her ankle, deflecting the strike to the opposite flank as he himself closes his eyes, centers himself, his will on one simple task: Defend himself. The ice is melting, but it's not enough. The time in which he was cut off, a lesser foe with equal power might have killed him - or worse. Push past it.
It's as if the motion, the attack spurring him to action, ignites something in Ryu. The shell no longer melts, but suddenly evaporates, a deep well tapped from within the Wanderer's spirit, and perhaps somewhere well beyond - a primal, elemental force that yields sovreignty to no single force, a boiling blue coalescence of swirling, searing energy that blasts forth from Ryu's fingers, blasts from his hands as he shoves opposing palms forward, seeking to blast Chizuru rather forcefully away with a point blank blast that's as much proclaimation as counterattack, the cave echoing with a fervent cry...
"HADOOOUKEN!!!"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru reflects Hadouken from Ryu with Tamayura no Shitsune.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Ryu
He's very skilled, Chizuru thinks to herself. Ah, if only Kyo applied himself so! For all her work, she hasn't been able to make him learn, or train, or improve himself in such a way. He'd rather slack.
Chizuru springs away after her blow is deflected, landing on one foot and apparently not in any danger of falling over despite the precarious balance - on heels, no less. Her foot returns to the ground a moment later, and she takes one step even further away, approaching one of the inner walls of the cave. There is not as much room for her to run and dodge now.
So she doesn't. When the primal blast comes at her, Chizuru holds her ground, raising that one hand and pressing /out/ with the same force that she pressed into Ryu before. She cannot launch a blast of her own, but her aura, projected across her palm and through her fingers, remains intact before her; the Hadouken hits it and she catches it, releasing it back the way it came only a moment later, the sphere apparently unchanged except for trailing tiny flecks of golden yellow.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Ryu with Reflected Hadouken.
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Chizuru 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Ryu
Thankfully, it's not really an issue to Ryu /who/ winds up eating the supercharged blue-white burst of chi - because it comes back at him in short order. Chizuru's swift motion, as remarkable as the repositioning is, is nothing compared to her deflection of the legendary fireball, which hurtles back in on Ryu and explodes in a shockwave of blue and gold as he tries to throw himself /through/ it. Damn. Why does that always work so well for Alex, and not for him? The explosion is a testament to the initial power of the blast, however - to the senses within him breaking free, tapping his power despite the priestess' impressive efforts. It is a test he welcomes, and while the pain as he's blasted backwards and into the cave wall is quite notable, as he recovers his footing, there is a small smile on the nomad's sternly chiseled features.
"You.. are not like the others." The heroic champions he's met, recently. Slicing their path through the world as surely as their dark mirrors... granted with arguably better results. But Chizuru is not consumed by her purpose, yet it dominates her actions... but in sacrifice, not greed or singlemindedness. It is a parallel that Ryu senses, and can't quite make full sense of. Yet, she acts with care for all, not one - Her spoken intentions give that away, even without the enigmatic aura and alarming ability, "What is it you seek?"
It is a question perhaps deeper than the moment allows, and murmured more to Ryu than his nearby opponent... still, Chizuru would get to hear the curiousity, before the nomad suddenly sprints forward a step, then two, leaping the final distance with a single, blurring rotation. He sends his right foot cleaving outward for Chizuru's skull, a rotorblade launched in perfect tandem with his swift, forceful ascent, intent on delivering a jarring blow to the Yata Priestess, "HYAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru blocks Ryu's Senpuu Kyaku.
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Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Ryu
"I suppose that I wouldn't be." Chizuru sounds somewhere between amused and thoughtful. "Most of the people here are here for the glory, after all, or to 'win'." She, of course, couldn't care less about her victory. That isn't what she looks for.
The foot flies toward her and Chizuru's upraised hand becomes an advantage; she catches the blow on it instead. It's still hard enough that her hand goes partially numb from the impact, and she's forced a step back from the force of it - now she really /is/ against the wall, one of her feet planted against it.
She slides down several feet and begins to focus her chi. Fortunately, it doesn't seem nearly so aggressive; she merely pushes it out, toward her extremities, making it ready for use. If she heard his last comment, right before his attack, she has chosen to ignore it - for now.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru enters a meditative state.
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Chizuru 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Ryu
"Illusions." Ryu dismisses, by way of accord. He naturally agrees with Chizuru's words, and perspectives on this tournament, from that angle. Yet such places are undeniable catalysts for many things, a veritable cornucopia of powerful men and women, with powerful desires. While the Ansatsuken Wanderer may seem listless to many, his nomadic lifestyle has a purpose: his path has drawn him to these mountains for a reason, as it always does, and he is quite calm about finding it.
Perhaps it is before him now, even - certainly, the sealing energies raise many questions within Ryu, and perhaps answer a few as well. For every mystery one uncovers about the universe, there are always three more, after all. Ryu isn't about to count Chizuru's meditative focus as 'fortunate', however... the priestess is preparing to fight all the harder, that much he is sure of. She is not done, and neither is he - even as he speaks the single word, landing out of his deflected spinkick, he presses forward.
A step, and he drives a forceful left elbow full on in time with it, shifting his bodyweight with the singular, rib-shuddering strike, levelled evenly at Chizuru's solar plexus, seeking to bounce her right back off that unforgiving wall once more, "HAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Chizuru with Medium Punch.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Ryu
Chizuru, feeling both revitalized /and/ energized, feels she is absolutely ready for what Ryu is going to throw at her. The rush is always there.
Of course it doesn't last long, and for all her energy, she still can't dodge aside; she twists and turns just so, but the elbow strike drives into her and actually lifts her up, back into the wall. That hurt, and she's alreaady off most of the energized rush she just had.
But that doesn't mean she's going to stop. Her meditative focus might have been disrupted, but Chizuru is still up - not great, but up. She slides away from the wall, coming in with another low kick toward Ryu's legs - but that was the feint, as the real blow is the palm strike toward his face a moment later, an arc of her arm moving it just so.
COMBATSYS: Ryu fails to interrupt Strong Punch from Chizuru with Shin Shoryuken+.
- Power fail! -
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Ryu
Phase One: Complete. Phase Two: ... well.
The problem with this plan is that Ryu is not exactly running at 100% - it took a lot out of him to break back into an already hard-fought fight, and like Chizuru, he's feeling the exertion. Pushing past it in the will is one thing, and on that front he succeeds: his inner chi courses through him, a visible crackle of bluish lighting coursing through him as he drops low as Chizuru rebounds off the wall. It's a dense, coiled package that is all but inevitably going to erupt - unfortunately, instead of overpowering her sweeping kick, Ryu takes the palmstrike full-on in the chest as he lunges foward, breath rushing from his lungs in a pronounced whoosh, the dazed nomad hurtling backwards to crash into the far wall, instead. Turnabout is fair play.
Groaning, he slumps to the ground, planting one arm behind him. ... just, going to take a moment... to shake that one off.
Fighting for breath, the Ansatsuken Master raises an arm, feeling for the wall behind him as his vision slips back into focus, and he begins to drag himself back to his feet. Air comes back, quickly pushing past the intense strain, but it's all Ryu can do to redirect his attention to Chizuru once more, the gathered strength ebbing into the air with the connection of her brutal strike.
Chizuru straightens up from her strike, having been fully aware that she interrupted something - it's not real hard to feel the gathering power, even if nothing comes of it but tension. She can probably just feel the tension, in fact, the building pressure - even if she doesn't show it.
He hasn't given up, Chizuru notes, which is good. The strikes she's delivered would make most people give up - if they were still concious at all, as she hits a lot harder than her rather delicate build makes it look like she should be able to.
She only waits a few moments before delivering the follow-up, a low sliding kick that is not a feint this time. This is the real thing, a fast-moving slide on the icy ground to try to take Ryu down with her.
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Chizuru's Light Kick.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Ryu
If there's one driving force behind Ryu, it is to fight on. It is more than his lifestyle, it is more than training - it is introspection, a test of himself, an experience in learning about the world itself through the people and places in it. Chizuru's ability to match him even so late in the match is indeed impressive, the tenacious priestess pushing him to the very edge. A deeper breath fills his lungs, dark eyes narrowing as Kagura rushes in, and throws her strength behind that sliding tackle that could rather painfully drop him to the ground.
In a flash, the nomad's legs bend, and he launches himself upwards, and slightly forwards, a swift frontflip carrying him upwards with alarming, highjump force. Of course, the gently arching ceiling of the cave chamber is not nearly so high as the sky, and Ryu comes to an inverted crouch on the opposite arc... for the instant before he launches off that angled surface with the strength of both tensed legs, snapping his right down to lead his momentum into a singular, directed flying kick intent on carrying him forcefully right back into Chizuru. Or more specifically, introduce his rocketing jumpkick to her skull, still striving to recover the upper hand with every intense motion - a study of efficiency and force, yet the Priestess would be able to sense the discipline behind it, as well. Despite it all, the gloved warrior holds back, focuses his skill along a very specific intent - not that the resonating impacts would /seem/ overly merciful, in the moment.
"HAAAAAAH!!!"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Ryu's Strong Kick.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Ryu
Chizuru's patience, her ability to watch and learn - those are, or may one day be, as legendary as Ryu's ability to keep fighting. He may have raw endurance; she has adaptability and knowledge, and is trusting to them to carry the day at least as well as his strength does.
She sees the flying kick and responds, smoothly rising from her half-crouch at an odd angle, sliding to the side with a smooth, almost boneless motion as she lets him pass on by. He presumably lands; she follows him until he does and she acts then.
Chizuru steps forward and sweeps low as he does, arm reaching out to snake between his ankles. That alone is almost harmless, but she gives a very precise motion of her arm when she does, attempting to tangle his legs with her enormous sleeve and yank him off balance entirely, pulling him down to the ground where he /just might stay/.
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Chizuru's Kaiten.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Ryu
Ryu lands hard, legs bending to absorb his impact as he crashes with rock-rumbling force into the space where Chizuru had, until instants ago, just stood. He snaps his head to the side, quickly tracking the swift priestess' adept motions, adapting his offensive... and defenses. He pushes back to a ready stance, hands sweeping through the air to rise before him, jaw gritting as Chizuru comes in low... but her adept sleeves do not fool him this time, he's moving a moment earlier, launching himself to the side, overtop of the sweeping grapple. He lands shoulder first in a quick, graceful tumble, coming up in a crouch, one which serves only to provide the nomad with transitionary momentum as he launches himself forward, directly as his opponent.
The strength of the mountain, the determination passed onto him only from years of dedicated effort... it's put to the test, here, and as the fight goes on Ryu only becomes more certain that this is indeed, a test. Something that needed to occur - destiny is never concrete, one must be open to it, seek it out... but it can be salvation, or damnation. Already, he has learned much simply by analyzing the last of the Yata's movements - the subtle tides as she summons such incredible strength from within. So he pushes onward, swinging into a perfectly executed jumpkick, his heel aligned with Kagura's collarbone, the aerial torpedo seeming to nearly carry him forward of its own accord, as his right foot tucks up beneath him in practiced equilibrium.
No, he's not done fighting, at all. Not if the determined (Ken would say stubborn) Wanderer has anything to say about it.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru auto-guards Ryu's Medium Kick!
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Ryu
The kick /was/ perfectly executed. Chizuru cannot object to that; it is nearly as perfect a strike as she has seen out of him, and seems like it is likely to hit her solidly.
But it does not; at the last moment she weaves, using her sleeve like a matador uses his cape, brushing Ryu's heel with it almost gently. She doesn't want to be hit with it, and so - barely - she was not, but like a matador, she lets the proximity and the danger make it beautiful.
She is getting tired. Even she wears out eventually. It's time to end this and she knows that very much, and so Chizuru makes her attempt. Chi glitters over her as she holds her aura tight before releasing it, summoning a second Chizuru from the depths of her spirit. The two of them together let loose a synchronized attack, perfect mirrored motions with wide sweeping gestures, alternating high and low in a wonderfully choreographed series of strikes that she makes look a lot less practiced and more fluid than most might.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Ryu with Sanrai no Fujin.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Ryu
Tired, yes - these endless strikes begin to wear him down, as well. Landing out of the deflected - nay, nearly assimilated strike, Ryu finds breath, and looks at Chizuru with a new measure of respect... the style he's seen in this fight is not only unique, but turns out indeed to be the sort of lesson that is all too rare in and of itself. The dual Chizuru's quickly overwhelm Ryu's guard, and it's all he can do to try to keep his wits through the hammering synergy. The dual assault does finally snap one final puzzle piece in place, however... several times has Ryu fallen prey to this sort of trickery, but this time.... part of him understands it. The extension of self, a harmonized duality that is not only dangerous and difficult to defend, but similarly uncommon in fighters of this age. Sealing, duplication - Ryu's defenses fall, and he collapses, bleeding, from the final strikes. His consciousness wanes, but his eyes rise to Chizuru, and a weak half-smile forms on his face.
"I will.... remember this." He promises, the words appreciative if anything - where others would be malevolent, perhaps swear revenge, deny her victory.... Ryu seems to respect it, even be grateful for it. At least, until his gathered power erupts through him, the will to fight focused in one final, all-out instant.
The ground beneath him rumbles, energy courses up through him from the heart of the mountain itself, and Ryu launches upwards in an uppercut that will cleave soundly to the ceiling of the cavern itself, intent on taking Chizuru with it. All the gathered force within the nomad's body releases into that singular, potentially devastating strike. Thank god for those gloves.
"SHOOOOORYUKEN!!!!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu can no longer fight.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chizuru blocks Ryu's Shoryuken EX.
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Chizuru 0/-------/------=|
"Oh," Chizuru assures Ryu, "so will I."
She has no time to do any more because of his earth-shattering final blow. Chizuru knows she cannot completely avoid that one and so she does not try; she plants her feet, steels herself, and prepares to stand strong against that one devastating strike.
It hurts. It hurts a /lot/, in fact; Chizuru's attempt to block it with her arms and hands is slightly misguided, but she manages to keep the worst of the strength and energy away from her, standing strong until it passes by her and is no longer her threat.
She almost falls, but recovers some time later, shaking her arms in an attempt to get the feeling back. It is a totally casual gesture; she is no longer prepared to fight. Which is why she offers, quite politely and with all apparent seriousness, a hand up. She isn't trying to mock Ryu. She's trying to thank him.
Ryu very nearly bounces off the ceiling, fist brushing the rock before he drops back down, landing hard on the ground, and falling forward. One elbow catches him from faceplanting into the rock, but a low groan does indicate just how close he came. He shakes his head, seeking to clear it, as Chizuru recovers herself and steps forward. It takes a moment for the man known only as Ryu to find his bearings enough to lift his head, and then one crimson gloved hand, to accept the help, pulling himself slowly to his feet, and lifting his other hand to his neck, "Well fought." He congratulates, inclining his head respectfully towards the priestess, "This was the sort of meeting I had hoped for, coming to this place." He offers, frank and sincere. Where the last of the Yata is reserved, layers upon layers, the nomadic champion seems an open book, "My campsite is not far, in another nook off the slope proper. If you wish to join me for tea, before your trek back." And some food.
The young warrior is suddenly quite hungry indeed. Wonder what could have brought that on?
At another time, Chizuru may have taken Ryu up on that.
Right now what she wants most is warmth, and to speak to some allies of hers. "Quite tempting, sir," she says, with an honest smile, "but I must decline, I think. I'm expected back down, to speak to some friends of mine."
She already offered her hand, and he took it, so she bows instead; polite, possibly a little too formal for the nomad. "But I look forward to seeing you again. If we both stay here, for the time, we are sure to cross paths." Because she'll /look/ for him if she has to.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:25:37 10/06/2008 by Chizuru, and last modified on 13:54:40 10/20/2008.