Description: SNF Champion Kyo Kusanagi is no stranger to challenges, but this challenger is... a little strange. The Halloween-themed challenge for the Champion Belt between defending Kyo and challenger Frei Tsukitomi-Renard takes place in, of places, a housewares store. Of course, after the pyrotechnics both fighters put out in this surprising battle, they may need to close for remodelling... (Winner: Kyo)
So, it's Halloween, sort of. Southtown Mall has been largely co-opted by Saturday Night Fight this weekend, setting up a number of undead-themed matches throughout the establishment; nearly every store is occupied by hired extras and the usual onlookers, except this time they're dressed up in zombie costumes, the more enthusiastic ones shambling a bit and moaning for braaaaains.
So, in Home Sweet Home Decorations, a battle of epic proportions is about to begin... Apparently. What's for certain is that the Champion's Belt is on the line tonight, in a match between Kyo Kusanagi and some guy he's never even heard of, at least so far as he can remember.
Kyo's memory can be bad, sometimes.
Since it is HALLOWEEN, the SNF costume department has knocked itself out on the fighters as well, and so Kyo does not appear to be wearing any of his more typical, signature fighting outfits. Instead, he's wearing something borrowed. Something blue. Police blue fatigue pants, hanging down over the tops of shiny black combat boots; a matching blue short-sleeved BDU shirt, lighter blue on most of the body and darker at the shoulders, with a lightweight plate over the breast in darker blue, and a grey-blue long sleeved shirt with elbow pads; the only thing that spoils the costume is the appearance of his black and orange Kusanagi gloves sticking out from under the sleeves.
Kyo's hair has been lightened from its usual dark brown to more of a sandy blond, and parted more to one side than usual; white writing on his costume completes the outfit, a police badge looking emblem on the back, and coloured ones on the shoulders. The Kusanagi heir stares down at the legend 'RPD' stenciled on the front of his costume, and he frowns thoughtfully.
"I don't get it," Kyo mutters to himself.
The current opinion of the SNF fan forums is that Frei Tsukitomi-Renard has either completely lost his mind, has tired of fighting and wants to go out in a bizarre murder-suicide, or any of a variety of other completely whacked out theories as to why the young chi scholar would challenge, of all people, Kyo Kusanagi. Usually the first thing they point out, for example, is his unsuccessful bid to take the Warrior's Belt from Mike Bison. And now he's trying for a belt one step UP? Is he mad? Kyo's never been one for a public persona of tolerating nonsense, either, and Frei is... not exactly the most serious individual in the world. The 8ball of the interwebs is pointing decidedly at 'Outlook Not So Good'.
But for his part, the red-haired YFCC instructor doesn't really seem to care. After all, he's the one who issued the challenge in the first place. And secondly, this is Halloween... meaning that Frei, with his ridiculous sweet tooth, is in a haze of sugar-induced glee. Perhaps he was overdosed on candy corn when he made this request?! But he hasn't withdrawn it. He even SHOWED UP tonight. The question on many people's minds is: why, for the love of God?
He too is in costume, though one slightly different, being of smaller build and frame than Kyo. The core outfit is the same: a pair of somewhat baggy dark blue BDU-style pants, and a matching blue top, though Frei's is short-sleeved, ending mid-bicep. A pair of relatively small, molded and padded shoulder pads rest over his shoulders, and his red bangs spill out from underneath a dark blue beret worn at what might be called a 'rakish angle'. On his hips are slung a toolbelt with a single black pouch, and what appears to be a relatively realistic handgun in a leather holster. The beret and sleeves of the shirt are both marked with a patch: a circle of lettering around three stars, and a block on top reading, well... S.T.A.R.S.
Entering the store and espying Kyo, the young sage gives the Kusanagi scion a wave, getting into fighting position and giving a nod to the SNF staff. "Thanks for coming, I appreciate it." Is this a fight or a tea party, Frei? "Hopefully we can have a good fight."
It's not like this is the first time Kyo has been rewarded for making himself available for a Saturday Night Fight match with a confrontation against somebody he's never heard of before: That Memento Mori guy came out of nowhere, too.
So, when someone draws attention to themselves above the shuffling and listless groaning of the faux zombies, Kyo looks up, casting a dubious glance at Frei, what with the beret and all. "Yeah, well, it's not like anybody else has had the balls to challenge me since I won the belt," the World Warrior says, shrugging his shoulders. "Just don't disappoint me... I really hate wasting my time." It takes effort to come out to one of these, and to put up with the endless string of 'genius' ideas the Saturday Night Fight production team come up with, after all. And Kyo is not one to expend effort lightly.
Rolling his neck to limber up, Kyo raises his fists and settles into the uncomplicated, straightforward stance he favours, attention focused on the Master of Unlocking. "I'm feeling charitable today, so... C'mon and show me what you got."
COMBATSYS: Kyo has started a fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
That response makes Frei tilt his head a little. He knows of Kyo Kusanagi; who in their line of work *doesn't*? But something about the man in the flesh is a little different than expectation. Maybe it's the hair. Still, he came here for a reason, and that reason is to fight. And of course, he has no intention of disappointing Kyo ON PURPOSE, and thus feels he can meet the Kusanagi scion's criteria relatively easily. "I think I can manage that," he says with a placid smile.
And then he's offered the first shot. Well... why not take it? "Alright then. I'll do my best. Because I'm a member of, uh..." A pause, as he glances at the patch on his shirt, and then turns back to Kyo. "...STARS. Whatever that is." Hands come up and arrange the beret so it doesn't fall off, and then apparently he's ready to go.
Why is it apparent? Because the young sage charges his opponent, one hand glowing a faint green-white as he snaps out the *other* hand for Kyo's wrist. If he can get a grip, Frei takes a heavy step, plants his foot, and then pivots with all his might, looking to spin Kyo in a horizontal circle and then toss him right into a nearby rack of... what appears to be throw rugs. As he does so, he opens his other hand's closed fist, the glow becoming a burst of windy chi to speed him on his way.
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Frei's Charged Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
Truth be told, Kyo is somewhat curious about just what Frei can manage; usually even when he finds himself in a mismatched fight, which happens pretty often even if you discount Kyo's monolithic arrogance, the poor sap he's fighting manages to display a trick or two that presents a challenge even for one so mighty as the Kusanagi heir himself. Only time will tell, of course, if Frei has anything of the sort.
Caught by Frei's grabbing hand, Kyo offers up no resistance to the subsequent whirling, simply allowing the monk to spin him and then let go, but when that added push of wind chi comes along, Kyo's expression pulls into a smirk. Oh, okay, it's gonna be like that; but the World Warrior demonstrates an alarming amount of control over his flight, managing to hit the ground before the rack that was his intended destination. He rolls, still colliding with the throw rugs though with only enough force to produce an annoying clicking as their hangers rap against one another.
"C'mon, how do you expect to beat me like /that/?" Kyo wonders, throwing himself into a low run that covers the distance between himself and the sage with a quickness, swinging his right fist in a hooking punch, aimed at Frei's face. Flames, the bloodline power of the Kusanagi summoned forth with a contemptuous ease few users of chi techniques can boast, trail behind the arc of his fist, fiery power waiting to detonate at the impact of Kyo's fist against whatever. If he lands that first hit, Kyo steps in for a second, swinging his left for a second, heavier punch than the first, but with its own burst of flames, and then Kyo whirls around, swinging his foot in a heel kick for left side of Frei's head! "Show me something BETTER!!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Frei with Aragami.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
Well, he's not the World Warrior for nothing, is he? Frei's not as experienced, but even he can tell that his grip is a little too light, the whole thing a little too easy for him to have really gotten away with that attack. Thus he's at least somewhat prepared when Kyo rushes back at him... but not for something QUITE that fast. Plus, Kyo's attack has another surprise in store for the YFCC fighter. Certainly not something he was expecting to find in this fight at all, and a sensation he hasn't felt in a long while... a prickling at the back of his neck, a sense of unease.
A familiar power.
He does his best to stand his ground, hoping perhaps to weather Kyo's fiery assault and surprise the Kusanagi scion, but it's not meant to be; Kyo strikes with impressive speed and punishing force, the first two blows setting him up and the third kick knocking him down, as it were; he flies backwards and lands in a display of Yankee Candles with a loud crashing noise.
There's a clinking sound as candle jars roll aside, the redhead pulling himself out of the rubble. Blinking, he shakes his head -- the beret magically staying in place, somehow -- and then, curiously, sniffs the air. "Hm... clean cotton," he recites, reading a jar near his head. "Not bad." Yeah, that stung, but has Kyo knocked Frei into free market-induced consumer senselessness?! Not hardly. But his mind is wandering a bit.
"I don't... know I expect to beat you," Frei admits, getting back into stance. "It could happen, but I don't think I *expect* it." He says all this in a surprisingly honest, open tone, his facial expression guileless... or, more cynically, stupidily innocent. It's the truth, to him, though. "I guess I came here for a different reason. But I think I get what you're saying."
Taking a deep breath, Frei pauses, then... takes the frontal assault again? Maybe not smart, but he can't think of another way to do things at the moment. Both hands drop to his side, glowing blue-white, but rather than throw them out at Kyo, the sage suddenly stops *just* inside Kyo's range, hopefully. With an inarticulate shout, he points his palms not at Kyo, but at the *floor*... and a sudden chill in the air is the Kusanagi scion's major clue that something bad is coming. In point of fact, Frei is simply going to freeze the air around his opponent solid, creating a momentary but powerful coffin of glistening blue ice.
COMBATSYS: Kyo effortlessly blocks Frei's Reiki.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
Though Kyo has put most of his weight behind that attack, throwing himself largely off-balance... It would be foolish to underestimate the strength of his defense. "Souns like a defeatist attitude, to me," Kyo says, and if there's any sort of attitude that's utterly alien to him, well... It's a defeatist one. As the monk closes with him, the Kusanagi heir is forced to make another quick decision, particularly since Frei doesn't stop until he's /right there/, and starts directing freezing chi downwards. He's half expecting the floor to get frozen to trip him up or something, but no; the intent becomes clear, soon enough, and that's not something he really feels like having happen.
As the air around Kyo starts to freeze on its own, the reigning World Warrior champion grits his teeth, and calls forth the Kusanagi flames again; the ice building around him suddenly has to contend with raging fire melting it back, as Kyo burns his way free from the icy prison Frei tries to lock him in.
"Not strong enough!" Kyo chides, reaching through the remaining frost in a bid to grab Frei by the front of his costume, and then lunge /into/ the monk, collding shoulder-first his opponent hard enough to send him flying into another of the store's many rather breakable-looking displays. "Hua-!!"
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Kyo's Hatsugane.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kyo
Was it all a ploy to see how Kyo would use his flames? Actually... yes, it kind of is. Even if the actual attack wasn't particularly effective, it did confirm that nagging feeling in the back of Frei's head that he's felt this way before. He has. It IS what he thinks it is, sorta kinda. It's not clear, however, if the nod he gives is in regards to his little test, or to the statement he makes after it, stepping back from Kyo and preparing himself for the inevitable retaliatory strike. "Only for particular types of 'victory'," Frei says evenly.
And then the grab. Frei's not fast enough to avoid it, and gets sent stumbling off balance... but unlike before, he has it in him to recover a little quicker. The shoulder ram meets a sudden iron defense on Frei's end, the young sage turning at the last second and crossing his arms in front of him, the shoulder blow slamming into his guard, sending him sliding backwards across the linoleum floor a few inches but not going flying... which is for the best, since the faux zombies are starting to be stacked a little too deep.
Frei shakes out his hands, wincing a bit. That stung quite a lot. But Kyo made a reasonable point that needs addressing. "If I came here with the goal of beating you, you're right... that would be defeatist. But I have other things in mind. I wanted to test myself against someone really strong. So I guess no matter what happens, I've achieved that." He finishes this statement with a genuine smile, deciding that he'd rather take a second to reassess the situation than launch himself at Kyo a third time. Fingers clench and unclench. "But I have a duty as your opponent to give you my best, which I promise I will."
COMBATSYS: Frei focuses on his next action.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Kyo
At this, Kyo's expression once again turns dubious. "So... Basically you volunteered to get your ass beat by me on purpose?" he asks, backing up a little bit to control the distance between himself and Frei. "That's, uh, that's quite the plan, Napoleon. You're not some kinda freako masochist or something, are you?" Because man, the fighting world has quite enough of those, and they weird Kyo /out/.
But since Frei is graciously standing there and doing nothing - at least, physically - Kyo has something of a decision to make. Does he press the attack, perhaps walking into a trap laid by the wily chi sage? Or does he start his own preparations, readying himself to dole out a beating of mythic proportions?
"Heh," chuckles Kyo, a smirk pulling at his mouth. "Hey, whatever floats your boat." Kyo's right hand raises, palm up, and a flame rages there, the orange-crimson Ever Burning Flames of the Kusanagi. He focuses on the flame, drawing upon the power of his bloodline, the might of Kusanagis long past... It's an ancient power that Kyo wields, with the weight of ages, and as it gathers to him it creates a palpable pressure, like the slow approach of something momentous, just out of sight. Surely Frei, sensitive to chi as he is, will feel it.
Something bad is coming.
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Kyo
The question actually makes Frei laugh a bit... probably because he's met a few people who fit the description of 'freako masochist' in the fighting world that spring to mind when Kyo says that. "Not exactly," he responds, chuckling. "I mean, I may get beat, but I'm not going to just roll over and die for you, you know?" And that is the truth. After all, part of Frei's claim to fighting fame is his resilience; learning how to take blows from people with Kyo's level of power is a useful skill no matter which way you slice it. "I don't exactly get off on pain, if that's what you mean."
And then the building of power starts.
It does briefly unnerve Frei, simply due to the *strength* of it all. He's faced his own share of powerful foes in the past -- Kain Heinlein, for instance, who has his own powerful flames, even if they aren't *quite* the same as this -- but there is something *different* about this. A wavelength, perhaps. The green eyes narrow, trained on Kyo carefully. Something bad probably IS coming, come to that. Hm. "I admit, though, you interest me... some things have happened in this fight I wasn't expecting." Frei's content to leave it at that. If that power really is what he thinks it is, Kyo probably has enough problems without letting the whole TV-watching world know.
Frei appears to be content to keep his distance, however; even as Kyo gathers all that power, Frei contentrates and holds out his hand, palm up. Seven glittering spheres of pure white light swirl into existence, tracing chaotic patterns just above his hand. "Seven holy stars..." the red-haired fighter murmurs, before turning and flicking his wrist outward toward Kyo, adding the command, "Go." The seven 'stars' spiral through the air at Kyo in an unpredictable pattern... a little slow-moving, perhaps, but if they manage to strike him in the aggregate, it's not going to be a good feeling at all.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Frei's Seiya.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Kyo
As Frei's power hurtles through the air towards him, Kyo's eyes narrow faintly. He can't really move out of the way without breaking his concentration and ruining what he's doing, but it's not like he's completely defenseless against the incoming attack... Especially with all the power he's got sitting around him right now. Hand still aflame, Kyo brings his arm down and gets both of them in the way of the incoming 'stars', little flares of fire erupting as each one impacts his guard. But... None of them manage to really get /past/ his defenses.
"Guess you shoulda gone for eight holy stars," Kyo suggests, straightening up. His still-fiery right hand snaps out, tracing an arc through the air in front of him from low to high, and it releases the flame it was holding; the little burst of Kusanagi fire hits the floor, and then streaks out towards Frei, barely seeming to burn the store's carpet... But if it hits, the monk likely won't be so lucky. "Burn!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Frei with Yami Barai.
> Determined Hit! <
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Frei 1/=======/=======|=======\-------\1 Kyo
He'd love to say that this was yet another attempt at testing Kyo's flames, but the truth of the matter is that Frei misjudges the arc of that fiery projectile by a mile and a half, hoping to skip sideways out of the way and starting way too late for that to work at all. He grimaces as the sacred flame twines around his body, gritting his teeth and trying his damndest to fight it off through sheer will alone... but it's not something he's really used to dealing with, and it doesn't work terribly well. At the very least it keeps his costume from being burned off, perhaps. Knocked to a crouch by that, the YFCC instructor's eyes squint nearly closed for a moment, before he finally stands back up, taking a deep breath. Or four.
"Hehe. Maybe," he admits, to Kyo's offhand comment about that last attack. "I've always felt seven was a lucky number, though." That statement's a little easier than trying to explain the origin of the phrase 'seven holy stars', at the very least; the redhead somehow doubts that Kyo would be interested. "I guess I need to try something a little flashier, maybe..."
He closes his eyes. That in and of itself is pretty damn stupid; there's nothing stopping Kyo from walking up and popping Frei in the nose, though that presumes the sage is relying on sight alone. His hands come up, palms up, both this time. In one hand, a sphere of bright white light gathers; in the other, an orb of purple-black darkness. Opening his eyes, Frei slams both spheres together; they become a swirling aura of light and darkness that surrounds his body, in point of fact lifting him somewhat off the floor, if his down-pointed toes are any indicator. He might not have the raw searing force of Kusanagi fire... but Frei is not without his own unique abilities. He glances to Kyo, and simply says: "...ready?"
Then he's off like a shot, screaming across the ground like a chi-enveloped arrowhead, not even touching the floor. Once Frei gets close to Kyo -- if he can, at any rate -- he stops that forward momentum and, sweeping both hands forward, lets that gathered chaotic power loose in a torrent of light and dark energies that looks to consume Kyo wholesale.
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Frei's Samsara.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Kyo
The almost ritualistic preparation the monk undergoes, well... That manages to pique Kyo's curiousity. The impressive display that follows, as Frei all but flies over the ground towards the Kusanagi heir, that just makes it more interesting. So much so that Kyo doesn't even offer up a defense to the attack, instead stepping into it, letting that torrent of light and dark was over him. He's like a stone in the middle of a rushing river, and while the energy ultimately moves past him without stirring him too much... Just like that rushing river, it does wear down the proverbial stone a bit.
"So, was that it? Was that your best?" Kyo wonders, his costume rather singed but the fighter himself overall undeterred, especially as he leaps off the ground and swings his foot right at Frei's head. "You're gonna have to work harder if you want to get /my/ best!!" Kyo bellows, switching his weight in midair to swing his other foot up for a second kick, if the first one gets any bite at all.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Frei with 75 Shiki Kai.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Kyo
He's certainly durable, is Kyo Kusanagi... of course, one doesn't get to be King of Fighters or World Warrior without knowing how to take a punch... or a kick, or a multicolored energy burst to the face. Perhaps that's in Frei's benefit, because he's not expecting Kyo to be entirely daunted by that attack, and as the Kusanagi scion comes back for him, he's prepared... much more so than he would be in another situation. Sadly, preparation can't always make up for a gap in experience, and Kyo's kick blurs past Frei's attempt to turn it aside with one raised forearm. The sage is surprisingly light considering that he's proven to be also fairly sturdy, and he's sent flipping up and over a shelf to land in... something. It makes a crashing noise, for sure, but it's not visible from the point of impact.
When he re-emerges, this becomes apparent: it was Christmas ornaments. Little colored balls and snowmen on hooks dangle from his clothing; a top-of-tree star lies on top of his head, glittery but forlorn. And boy does Frei look like he's had the living daylights beat out of him, primarily because he has. But he still has the energy to say: "Ho... ho ho. Merry... Christmas."
Was that his best? Well, it was certainly Frei's most 'powerful' attack, which may stand in for 'best' given certain rubrics. "Maybe," is all he'll say. He wants to see more of this fighter... that, and he wants to not give in until the very end. "I guess... we'll see." And then he's rushing Kyo. Not that this has a great track record, but Frei's willing to give it one last shot, snapping out a hand as he gets close to try and grip Kyo's forearm. If Frei can get that grip, he suddenly pinwheels both arms, 'spinning' Kyo in the air straight up, much like a throw that Geese Howard is known to use. Once Kyo is popped up, the YFCC instructor grits his teeth and thrusts both hands up, palms out... and hopefully, the Kusanagi scion's body is met on the descent by a sudden, powerful burst of earth chi... raw concussive force to blast him up and away.
COMBATSYS: Kyo endures Frei's Shindou.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Kyo
"I think that's the wrong holiday," Kyo says facetiously, once Frei emerges with Christmas ornaments attached to his costume. "I gotta admit though, it's always impressive to see somebody take such a beating and keep going. You've got stamina at least, and that's something. I guess." There you go, that was almost, sorta kinda a compliment, maybe. If you squint your eyes and tilt your head just right.
Once again, the monk is rushing at him, and Kyo shrugs almost imperceptibly as he steps in, and allows his arm to be gripped. He gets thrown, which indeed is a familiar experience for him, and as he starts to fall back to the ground, he realises something is wrong... Which is about when he gets blasted back UP by the concussive force drawn up from the earth.
Kyo lands with a quiet thud, his fall not a controlled one... But he does manage to get back up with startling speed. "What's next, you gonna attack me with Heart?" the World Warrior and Saturday Night Fight champ wonders, raising his right hand again. "Oh wait, we forgot one though, didn't we?"
Which is approximately when Kyo bursts into flame.
The power of the Kusanagi rages all over his body, but it doesn't seem to touch him at all, simply enveloping him in orange-crimson fiery energy, tendrils of it rising off of his shoulders like heat distortion. His upraised right hand once again carries a brighter flame in its palm, the focal point of all this terrifying, sacred power. Only for a moment, a bare heartbeat, though, before Kyo slides forward, sweeping his right hand back, and then across his body, unleashing all that gathered Kusanagi flame in one, gigantic wave. The flames on his body peel off to bolster the wave, swelling it to titanic size, a hellstorm that seeks to consume Frei utterly, as Kyo emits an oddly distorted, resonating bellow:
"EAT /THIS/!!"
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Kyo's Orochinagi+!
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Kyo
His resilience, his facility with chi, his surprising inventiveness. A few people, here and there, have suggested reasons why someone like Frei, who actually doesn't have many earmarks of a great fighter, can actually produce sometimes amazing results that don't seem to make any sense. But if you asked the man himself, he'd probably say that the real trick is to make sure you stay calm under pressure... or more importantly, that you just be yourself and work through it.
He owns his nervousness, for sure. He's already had a small taste of Kyo's consuming flame, and that itself was ridiculously painful. What the Kusanagi scion is gathering for now will be several times worse than that in magnitude. Considering that Frei's feeling the proverbial and literal burn, barely on his feet, it's... an intimidating thing, at the very least. How to deal with it? The last time he barely managed to not be overwhelmed.
And then Kyo gives him the answer.
What had Frei told Balrog before, when the clawed fighter assaulted him in a back alley? 'I had forgotten how much more comfortable I am here, fighting to make a point.' And his point here was that he's capable of standing toe to toe with the best and the brightest... maybe not enough to take them out, but enough to make an impression. To show what he's learned is not for nothing. And that realization produces a moment of great clarity for the chi sage. Time slows down a bit, in his perception, and the lines of force in that fiery blow -- mystical or otherwise -- are revealed to him, laid out plain as day.
The redhead extends one hand, palm out. It doesn't glow, or anything of the sort, but the Orochi-destroying pulse of flame flows around his form like a wave hitting a breakwater, spilling off to the side in great crimson gouts. In the end, Frei is left unharmed, looking... placid.
He stops, then smiles at Kyo. "That... was Heart," he says at last. Might as well run with the joke, right?
But there's no time to waste. This is still a fight. Frei's hand drops to his side, fingers extended as if he were going to make a knife-hand thrust. Instead, however, he lets it dangle at his side as he runs at Kyo in a crouch, a silver-gold metallic glow forming around his striking hand as he does so. When he gets close, Frei suddenly sweeps that hand up in a parabolic arc, hand and aura of metal chi both looking to cut through Kyo's defenses, the strike making a sound like a tuning fork being struck if it connects.
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Houken from Frei with Nue Tsumi.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Kyo
Well, it's not like anyone can accuse Kyo of holding back on Frei; that really was Kyo's most powerful attack. Though lately it doesn't seem to be performing at quite the level it ought to be.
"You have /got/ to be kidding me," Kyo mutters, as he sees that Frei stands undaunted and unharmed in the wake of that enormous wave of blessed fire, though honestly the /store/ isn't doing nearly so well. If nothing else, Kyo can count on a little collateral damage to make him feel better. But Frei did take the straight line Kyo fed him with the Captain Planet reference, so honestly the World Warrior probably deserved that.
When Frei comes at him again, though, Kyo knows exactly what to do. Clearly, the monk has a few dangerous tricks up his sleeve, so it's in Kyo's best interest to not let him pull out any more of them. As Frei's hand sweeps up, it suddenly /stops/, caught in Kyo's iron grip, the Kusanagi heir's own hand moving almost too fast to follow in order to catch it. His other hand is the really troublesome one, however; first Kyo wags it in a 'no no' gesture, and then he slugs Frei as hard as he can right in the face, a sudden explosive eruption of Kusanagi flames serving to punctuate the nonverbal statement!
Ow.
Well, Icarus, you flew too close to the Sun, it would seem. And to say he got burned is an understatement; Kyo doesn't need his fire to hit with crushing force and a good old fashioned firepunch to the face literally sends Frei flying, slamming into a nearby shelf with a definitive *crunch* noise. There's even the nicely cinematic slow-motion shot of Frei slooooowly sliding down the surface to drop into a crouch, breathing heavily.
Then his beret falls off.
THe redhead actually stares at it in disbelief for a moment. Through ALL THAT it stayed on, and now it's finally fallen off his head. In spite of it all, the YFCC instructor starts laughing at that. "I guess... that's a sign."
Hauling himself to his feet with considerable effort, Frei looks toward Kyo with a suddenly serious look, and then bows to him, a little raggedly but it's there. "Thanks for taking me seriously," the chi sage says in an earnest tone. "I learned a lot. One more... for the road."
There's a pause, and then both Frei's hands glow with auras of purple-black darkness... the pure form of yin chi, the energy of cold and death. His steps are unsure from fatigue and injury, but nevertheless Frei lunges forward the last few steps and tries to tag Kyo with a simple punch to the chest, followed by a series of punches and kicks, all coated with that dark energy, cold to the touch. Regardless of what happens, though -- even if Kyo catches him a second time, delivering another telling blow -- Frei is done, and sinks to the ground afterwards, satisfied he did his best.
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
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Kyo 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Frei's Ashura Ressenjin.
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Kyo 0/-------/---====|
"Well, you're not /complete/ crap, so I guess you should be proud of yourself," Kyo says, in response to Frei's thanks. Of course Kyo takes him seriously... It'd be an insult to himself if he didn't. Except for those times where he does something dumb because it'd be funny. But, come on. Fake Shoryukenning Sakura? That's hilarious.
It's impressive enough that Frei is still able to get up and launch a last, desperate attack on the Kusanagi heir, but of course wouldn't it be all the more impressive... If it hit? The energy-empowered punch, however, does not, instead getting brushed aside by Kyo... And the followup attacks meet the same fate, dealing only slight, stinging injuries to the SNF champ, who is left still standing afterwards, battered and a little winded. Not that he'd ever amit to having found Frei a challenge at all.
With a faint snort of amusement, Kyo turns his back on the floor-reclining monk, and starts to stalk off. His job here is, after all, finished. "Keep training, maybe one day you'll make me break a sweat," Kyo offers, by way of a salutation. Isn't he a nice guy?
COMBATSYS: Kyo has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:05:48 11/01/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 12:24:06 11/10/2008.