Description: Two teams, Whimsicality and Gradschool, eliminated in the first round, go to one of the classrooms of Strolheim for detention due to their shame. Sleeplessness. Pillow mimicry. Apathy. Revenge. Awesome chalkboard graphic. Substitute students. The color purple. Has anyone learned their lesson? (WINNERS: Todoh, Robert, Ayame) (EDUCATION LEVEL: K)
The classroom of Strolheim. It is not a place where you throw paper airplanes or gossip with your other students about a cute boy/girl/electronic/car. It is not a place where you set an apple on the desk and expect to get an easy pass on the next test. No. Strolheim trains some of the biggest, the baddest, and the best. The margin between 'pass' and 'failure' is a small one, often marked by one's pain threshold.
It is remarkably bright and clean. There is but one board, one displaying human anatomy and many of its particular weak points that are universal barring an individual's particular focus on defense in that area. The detail it reaches is nothing short of immense, written up in detail by one of the greatest martial artists of at least thirty years ago. That it remains in such good condition speaks well of either the respect Strolheim treats it, or how much Krauser may distrust copy machines. One of the two.
A breathtaking view of the mountains is the only eye candy to be had, for here, black eyes are made and those kinds of eyes are too busy regretting being punched in to really enjoy it. A few conventional desks, along with other unconventional wooden items, are off to the side. They are likely made for breaking. The stone floor awaits the schooling of those who are to lose. The teachers have lessons to teach to their students even after their early losses within this tournament.
Ryuhaku Todoh does not get to have a bunch of paragraphs describing his whimsical choice of place to stand. He will have to settle, humbly, for simply standing around with arms crossed as though he were waiting near the tactical anatomical display on the board. As though the world were on borrowed time from him. As though he were a cardboard cutout. Which he isn't, this time, because he's right there, crossing his arms, looking all impatient and irritated and the like. Which would be normal if he weren't... actually... involved.
A view of the mountains dominates one wall, a reminder to students of the expectations placed upon their shoulders - symbolic, if not literal, representations of the duties they will bear to their masters.
Another mountain soon dominates the door opposite this vista, entering the room with arms at his sides, dressed in his habitual business outfit, rather than any special gear. Raizo Imawano's only concession to the fact that he is about to fight is on one hand: A black, leather, fingerless glove.
"Familiar territory," the titan rumbles, looking around. He has to enter carefully, his bulk very nearly too large to fit through the door. The giant man arches one eyebrow - more like a ridge above his sunken eyes, and says, surprisingly eloquent for a man who looks like the offspring of a bear and an oncoming truck, "Master Ryuhaku Todoh, is it? I've been looking forward to meeting you."
A trip to an ancient German castle? It was something that couldn't be passed up. How she came to be here, under the assumed tutelage of one Ryuhaku Todoh, is hardly a story worth exploring. A search went out for a student most in need instructional correction possible, and after a few surveys, name searches, and bout reviews, somehow Ayame's name made it to the list.
And now she's here. In some classroom. At a desk. Feet propped up on the seat of the desk in front of her, leaning back, arms folded, eyes half closed. "Fly halfway around the world and /this/ is where I end up?" she complains with a long, exaggerated sigh. For /some/ reason she hasn't been allowed into the castle proper. Maybe one this match is over, she can conduct a self-guided tour of the valuable-... history of Strolheim, though.
She waves her hand toward Todoh, grinning just a little, "Are you going to grump your way through this fight, gramps? At least you've had time to get a good night's sleep. I just spent the last five hours on a plane and the slowest damn taxi ride up the mountain I've ever endured." She waves her hand, sitting up straight, dropping her feet to the floor, "Pretty sure scaling these hills on muleback must be faster."
She brushes her long, strawberry-blonde hair back over her shoulder before she goes to tapping her cheek thoughtfully, "Speaking of things that are old and decrepit, you better..." Her voice fades out entirely as Raizo Imawano steps into the room. "...better be going /first/." Slowly the girl stands, takes a few steps back, and inches toward the classroom exit. She's pretty sure she didn't sign a /bear/ waiver.
Zach carefully makes his way into the room, finding a corner to set himself in as he considers this fight that is about to go down. He glances between Raizo and Todoh for a moment, opting to let the two fight it out first.
Then he hears an all-too-familiar voice. His eyes go wide as he turns to regard the cutpurse. Zach glares at the young girl, as the desks and chairs rattle rather ominously. This could be trouble...
Todoh is, for most of Raizo's approach, motionless. Well, this is a lie. His foot is tapping. Oh, he's waited, yes. Waited as long as he did for that preliminary match with Hotaru? Who knows. At least he hasn't held an entire sports field hostage under his whimsy and self-importance... this time. It will probably happen again one day at a far broader scale. It will be a day that heroes are needed. Or at least loud young schoolchildren with funny fighting styles one won't see several months later.
"Hah! I haven't slept." He declares confidently. This is bad. "No place that fails to serve waffles is worth a good night's rest in. Believe you... /me/." His eyes narrow to the little angriest slits as someone far more respectable of this particular 'master' shows up. He hums a little something incomprehensible as Raizo comes closer. He towers over pretty much everyone here. He could probably /eat/ everyone here and still be able to ask for seconds. If he cared to notice his EX-STUDENT Zach, he doesn't show it as his posture slouches up against the board as the seconds pass.
Suddenly there is a loud snore.
Soon after Zach comes in, Aranha himself comes in a bit different from his usual demeanor. The usually relatively laid back capoeirista walks in with his smile absent and the Oakley Thumps are absent as well. His arms are crossed as he walks in clad in his usual fight clothes. The black tank that fails to cover the massive collection of scars he wears, white pants and black indoor soccer shoes.
From the moment he enters the room his eyes are glancing around at ways he can use the objects to get around during a fight and his eyes catch the board with the detailed write-up on anatomy.
The capoeirista returns his gaze to the objects and people, Aranha has seen Todoh in action first hand and he has a healthy respect for both Ryuhaku Todoh's power and insanity which both took a toll him even though his team won that previous fight. He gives Todoh a nod and then let's his vision travel across the room until his eyes finally stop upon Ayame.
While his demeanor wasn't exactly the usual laid back capoeirista from before, Aranha's mood takes an easily visible turn for the worse. And he notices that glare from his own team mate Ayame. He makes no secret of his own dislike for the cutpurse with his body tensing teeth gritting with rage as he hisses, "You!"
The bonus round was something that others were expecting, perhaps. But certainly not Robert, who only learned weeks after the first round of signups that someone had added his name to the register. And only after very dangerous and violent people had decided to interrupt his daily routine. Twice. He also suspects that his choice of "mentor" was no coincidence either.
Garcia himself can be found at the back of the classroom, leaning back against the wall with hands stuffed into the pockets of his slacks. Todoh would never have Robert as his student, and that's just fine, because Robert would never have Todoh as his master. Still, the two have reached an uneasy peace of sorts; and that is that as long as neither of them are talking, there's nothing to get their blood pressure raised about. And neither do they end up embarassing themselves in front of their opponents. For awhile, it seems to work. Todoh says nothing, Robert says nothing. Both brood, their replacement team mate mostly going ignored. No doubt she can sense the unspoken pressure between the two. And then...the opponents start to arrive. The silence is broken at last, and Robert himself would have been happy enough to keep his mouth shut (particularly at his nemesis announcing that he passed up on opportunity for rest and recovery), except for three things. One, he's talkative by nature, and it's boring as hell in here. Two...
"Woah. The BEAR principal?! Long time no see, man!" Robert's previously scornful expression is replaced with a cheery grin. "Looks like this is going to be more interesting than I thought." On that same note, we come to the third reason. It seems that the intensity in the air between him and Todoh is being challenged by that of Zach, Aranha, and his new partner. Who he admittedly knows next to nothing about. Lifting a hand from one pocket to idly tap against a dark brow, he offers a glance to the street waif. "Seems like the three of you have a history together, yeah?"
Todoh quickly corrects Ayame of her assumptions that he's put the castle accommodations to use in securing a nice, relaxing reprieve from previous battles and the tension between him and his Kyokugen 'student.' Ayame just quirks an eyebrow. "Let's add senile to your list of attributes, shall we?"
Feeling holes being drilled into the back of her head by the sheer power of evil glares, the teen twirls around to face Zach, giving him a quick inspection from head to toe, eyes coming to rest on his face as her right hand goes to rest at her hip, "I don't remember wronging you this month. If you've got a chip on your shoulder about something older than that, then I'd suggest you just get over it."
Aranha gets a reaction, however, as she shifts her attention to the young man and pauses, inspecting him for any hints of weapons that she should be concerned about before she beams a smile at him pleasantly, "That's right, me. And now me is going to set back and relax as this ancient master of literally hundreds of martial arts takes care of your whole team single handedly. Too bad, really, you won't get your shot at me."
She gestures eagerly toward Todoh just in time for him to start snoring and Ayame frowns slightly, glancing back toward Robert at last. "This is part of his old-man act before he snaps out of it and starts kicking ass, right?" Please be an act. Pretty please.
There are taller men in the world, but it is a rare few who can match Raizo on /mass/. He is enormous in every way.
Raizo grunts in surprise at Todoh's apparent disconcern. Few see Raizo for the first time and fail to do /something/, whether it be smile or scream and hide behind the nearest structural support. Case in point Ayame, whom he favors with a grin that does not look friendly in the least. It is hard being Raizo, he just does not have a friendly face.
But then Robert offers a friendly call, and Raizo smiles his way, as well, offering a wave and saying, "It's been a long time, Robert. Looks like you've been well. Your team certainly seems...unexpected?" This is probably an attempt to say 'I am so sorry this has happened to you' without actually using those words. The tension between his students and Todoh's latecomer catches Raizo's eye, and he grunts, "Try not to beat her up before it counts, boys," with a smirk. Ahhh, youth.
Raizo then rolls his shoulders, slips into his fightin' stance (which is, in fact, mostly just holding up his hands for a punching posture), and says, "In any case, Robert, I hope you won't begrudge me too much if I hit Master Todoh here very hard indeed," before he takes one step, two steps, and then swipes his claws hard across Todoh's front!
COMBATSYS: Raizo has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Raizo 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Todoh has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Raizo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Todoh
COMBATSYS: Todoh blocks Raizo's Claw Stab.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Todoh
That's right, this here establishment has great rooms for the weary up-and-coming super-fighter of this generation and the next and the next, and because of the lack of waffles Ryuhaku wants absolutely nothing to do with the proper quarters. Of all the indignities they dare inflict upon him! He might be able to forgive the whole Hotaru thing. Hell, he might let Robert's membership slide. But to stiff him on the waffles! Unforgivable.
He lazily wipes at his nose as he looks more and more ready just to fall over and go to sleep, because hell, he hasn't had any good sleep and they keep trying to chase him out of every /other/ place he's tried to sleep because for some reason or another, Ryuhaku Todoh does not do hotels or proper bedrooms. But he'd have to do BEAR CLAWS because that is exactly what happens as the claw hands are intercepted by that lazy gesture, ripping into the forearm deeply with blood splashing about. It is excruciatingly painful and altogether unpleasant, but for some reason hardly gets more notice from the old man than a half-formed nonsensical utterance and said arm jerking upward.
His moustache twitches from side to side a little as the uninjured arm rises and, very lazily, both swing down limp. There is nothing at all lazy about the forming mighty, powerful, blinding, divine, altogether great segments of yellowish-orangeish chi blocks, so minimalist in form but yet so potent in function as gravity largely ends up taking most of the slack that the old man himself is giving the whole thing.
At least he can now properly claim to be able to do this sort of thing in his sleep!
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Todoh's Kasane Ate.
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Raizo 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Todoh
When Ayame makes her statement barely holds back growl as he takes a step towards Ayame and it seems as though he's about to dangerously close to actually jumping the gun when Raizo grunts out his own statement. Aranha then steps back again with his arms folded. His voice takes a falsely cheerful tone,"Hai, Imawano-sensei."
He then returns his gaze towards Ayame, takes a deep breath and flashes her an extremely bright smile, "Not a problem. I'll just find you /after./"
Those big ol' claws are not for hugs, and Todoh discovers this...in his sleep!? Raizo frowns, not expecting the reaction. He generally expects people to snap awake when he mauls them, it's just how these things work. But he doesn't really have the time to be surprised; Todoh's returning fire, and even from this range, a kasane ate will be a pain!
Raizo's feet are faster than people expect. It is his really great advantage; he is in fact more agile than an immobile object. The bear man slips to the side, skipping around the Kasane Ate. Raizo notices Aranha deciding to indeed let the matter stand, for now, but doesn't ruminate on it, instead deciding to hasten their ability to run Ayame over by simplest expedient of taking another step into Todoh's guard and driving a fist the size of the man's head into his chest.
Robert's glance remains with Ayame at her question. "If I know Todoh, and regretfully I do, then his shining moment in this fight will be...uh...when everyone is least expecting it. Yeah." It's certainly...a true enough response, right? "Geez, I haven't seen such dirty looks since I washed Yuri's gi with something tye-dyed. What the heck did you do to those guys?"
He only has one response for Raizo's last remark. It doesn't even need vocalization. He just stuffs his hand back into his pocket and grins. Not just any grin - one of impish evil that gleefully devours his entire face. Begrudge Raizo hitting Todoh very hard indeed? By all means, be his guest! ...As long as he, you know, fights back a little in the midst of being thrashed and makes it easier for him to single-handedly show up the entire.
COMBATSYS: Raizo knocks away Todoh with Strong Punch!
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Raizo 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Todoh
If Robert knows Todoh, and regretfully he does, then his shining moment will be when everyone least expects it. Does this include or not include the ruckus where someone hits the desks with such force that dust and wood splinters fly everywhere?
Let's rewind it a bit.
Todoh's cut-open arm, limper than the other limp arm, dangles as he starts to slide down where he... rests? If he had slouched just a little more, Raizo would've hit the board. That Ryuhaku slouches at all means the fist gets a far better chance of hitting the most satisfying place to really hit anyone no matter who or what they are.
The face!
And now we're back to the present, where the smaller old man (can't call him /the/ old man with Raizo about, now can we) is sent flying ass over teakettle to some of where the desks and other such important wooden objects a classroom could need, scattering splinters and dust everywhere in a catastrophic cataclysm of crushed carpentry. It is messy! It is painful.
A hand rises up from the wreckage, shaky, slamming down on the desk weakly, which is to say it's not much of a slam at all as the rest of old man Todoh rises slowly. Maybe by sheer instinct, he is basking in this background element of which he truly belongs, away from the prying eyes of those two-dimensional fools.
His eyes are wide open, red with fatigue and maybe even a sign of higher blood pressure, blood dripping out of where his arm was sliced open earlier. It's pretty hard to clench a fist. Is this the part where he rises up, displays the true might of his family style, and utterly punks a prestigious man of an elite school whom bears such top-tier skills?
"Five more minutes," he mumbles as he flings a little bit of wooden debris in the vague direction of the PRINCIPAL BEAR.
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Todoh's Thrown Object.
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Raizo 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Todoh
Raizo accidentally punches Todoh in the face. ...whoops! At least he didn't use the claws, then Todoh would be picking ribbons of his manly countenance out of the floor. So now Raizo is on one end of the room and Todoh is on the other, and Todoh is throwing what used to be at least part of a desk. The distance gain gives Raizo the room he needs to skate around the attack, clenching one fist. "No, Master Todoh," Raizo says, shaking his head. He holds it up, and it begins to glimmer as he focuses chi and energy into it, his arm nearly vibrating from the strength of it.
And then he sprints - one step, two, three, four huge bounds, bolstered by his gathered energy, and then Raizo sets one foot and allows the rest of his inertia to exit through his fist, which is by this point probably located somewhere in Todoh's solar plexus.
COMBATSYS: Todoh fails to counter Roppu Zuki from Raizo with Kuzu Otoshi.
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Raizo 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Todoh
Oh, he doesn't like that attitude. Well, neither did his dad. But guess what, pal, you're not my dad, Todoh would vocalize if he weren't in the middle of trying to catch some winks because he really hasn't slept and the world should always conform to how things should be the way he sees it, always, else he beats the crap out of it until it complies.
"Harrumph," a weak grunt goes as he tries to steady his hands above him in a clap that is not... quite as loud as it is when he usually does it. It's kind of hard to really do much with a deeply cut arm and now that he cares to notice, he's having trouble breathing out of his nose. He thought his nose was lying when he tasted blood on his lips, but noooo, it actually is.
Raizo sprints for the next debilitating, powerful strike and Ryuhaku is... decidedly unsteady as he tries to face the giant in a decidedly cranky, arrogant manner that is stereotypically attributed to his age. The arms lower, his stance tightening for what part of a stance still /exists/.
He reaches for that length past Raizo's arm with that charging punch, but the most Todoh ends up doing is groping the sleeve as giant meaty fist hits solar plexus, bugging his eyes out with a terrible, horrible wheeze as he is thrust through some of the wooden wreckage and up against a wall facing that awesome mountain view, slumping down to a seated position. Is he down for the count?!
Lesser men would pretend to in order to avoid contact with another such deadly strike. Nope, Todoh's head looks up, dazed, as he wheezes for air, clenching and grinding his teeth. "I'll... I'll fluff you into a big pillow! Just... just... just you wait!" That he reaches up against the wall behind him forever declares him in the eyes of anyone who would oversee this fight as being still in the fight and he will come to rue this were he fully tethered to reality as it is.
Raizo arcs an eyeridge again as Todoh fails to react safely, and the smaller Master gets hammered into the wall. Raizo takes a step forward, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, sir," he says. "I don't like to embarrass an opponent quite like this, but..."
The titan rears back one one leg, and then slams the other down toward Todoh in a quick but, with Raizo's strength, nonetheless frightful, kick. "I'm married."
COMBATSYS: Todoh endures Raizo's Light Kick!
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Raizo 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Todoh
The kick descends down on Todoh like an executioner, for one day all those loitering tickets are going to amount to a capital offense and his execution may look like this. The master(?) alternates between wheezing and gasping and otherwise sounding like he'd be ready to plead for sweet, sweet oxygen as he tries to support himself up against the wall. The foot does not wait for drama. This kick wants to kick Todoh out of the running.
It slams down onto the shoulder that is trying to hold against the wall. CRACK! The very ground shakes underneath the power of the kick, but by sheer cussedness, Todoh holds his... lack of posture. He doesn't /lose/ any additional posture. It's hard to tell if there is, in fact, any to lose.
The injured arm, in spite of being injured to the point of legitimately requiring medical attention as soon as he's done fighting, races forth towards Raizo's neck in a clumsy grab, the rest of Ryuhaku's body following suit to take advantage of this opportunity presented...!
COMBATSYS: Raizo interrupts Strangling FACEPUNCH EX from Todoh with Yasha Guruma.
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Raizo 1/-----==/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Todoh
Thus far, his attempts at conversation with his associate have met with dead air. Then again, Robert was asking about personal details. Some folks are touchy about that. Now, it's on to business. "Eheh. It would seem that Meister Todoh may require our assistance..." This is punctuated by the violence soon to follow. "...soon. Those guys look like they have it in for ya...but that might work to your advantage." It's true, after all. Infuriating opponents is one of his own strategies, and this new ally certainly has done little to allay the animosity directed at her. He lifts the hand opposite Ayame to casually dig a pinky into his ear. "Me, I've fought the big bear guy before. Mean as hell, but a good sport. If you want me to make it so that no one will interrupt the business you have with your would-be boyfriends, by all means..."
(It should be noted that this is not said quietly.)
As Raizo waves Zach and Aranha off, Ayame is given less need to consider having to leave /immediately/. Her eyes stay locked on Aranha as he relents to his team leader's request before she gives him a teethy grin. "Hey, no worries. Actually, I got you something." Her left hand slips into a pouch affixed to one of her belts, pulling a white piece of thick paper stamped with black text between her fingers. Holding it up in front of her for Aranha to see, she flicks it his way, frisbee style, "It's a plane ticket out of here. It's okay if you want to cash it in right now and save yourself what I'm going to do to you if you try to mess with me again, ne?"
Proper antagonizing done, she stretches her arms out in front of her, interlocking her fingers and cracking her knuckles a little as she exhales softly. She can't help but observe the abuse Raizo is putting her stawlwart team leader through. Which probably explains why she glances back toward Robert with a raised eyebrow, "Uh... you're up next, right?" This whole trip to Germany thing is looking like a bad idea after all.
As Robert needles her a little about the hostility Zach and Aranha seem to have for her, Ayame shrugs, grinning back at him, "Hm? History? I barely know these guys. But..." She finishes her stretching, lowering her arms to her sides, looking Aranha and Zach over thoughtfully. "I think I'll take you up on that offer though. You go have fun with that guy." she nods toward Raizo before bringing her hand up and gesturing toward Aranha and Zach on the other side of the room, "Come on, which of you two clowns wants to get beat up first?"
Raizo doesn't let Todoh get that far.
"A good effort!" Raizo cries, letting Todoh get only as far as grapsing his neck before Raizo simply balls up, shoving himself forward, all of his mass directly into the Todoh-Ryu master. A sheathe of chi rises around him, burning as he drives himself bodily into Todoh in midair like a wrecking ball!
Aranha's hand snatches the envelope and balls it up before tossing it up and then tosses it into the trash can near the door way. His lips going from that cruel smile to a neutral expression in almost an instant. The rage in his eyes while still visible, gives way to a slightly more focused look on his face.
Aranha meets Ayame's taunts with a wall of silence as he cracks his neck, cranks his arms, and takes a few more breaths. Then he begins to pace back and forth almost like a caged animal while maintaining eye contact with Ayame the entire time.
If there was anybody, legitimately anybody out there that would call themselves an actual fan of Ryuhaku Todoh (and not someone paid to pretend to enjoy it as was the case of Todohfest '08), this would be one of the saddest sights in quite a long time.
The Todoh master(?)'s arm bends backwards uncomfortably as Raizo balls up and shoves himself into the man like a flaming wrecking ball that few men (or women) could ever truly claim to have survived. Between the wall behind him and the force of the blow, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Ryuhaku will be blown out to the mountains beyond--
Wait! A loud crunching of several bones afterward, it would appear that Ryuhaku is not destined with yet another crazy near-death experience, his tired, battered, bloodied body bouncing off the wall with hardly a breath or a complaint. Somewhere along the line when Raizo comes out of the ball, the man stumbles, swaying dangerously.
Some people... some people are born with an interesting gift that lets them draw upon their own inner strength as opposed to the world around them, giving them a little leg up in social situations with their ability to vaguely tell when someone is happy, when they are angry, when they are upset, or if they possibly want to hurt you. Ryuhaku does not have this.
What he does have is a honed ability in determining where he chooses to sleep. The stone floor, cold. The wall, equally cold and hard. But yet you have a tired old man - a tired, married old man, that makes the two of them - who makes several steps towards Raizo with something that could only be considered malicious intent given that one fist remains tightly balled in spite of injuries. It really should be a sign of worry from a man who truly keeps trucking on in spite of enormous losses in the face of the public eye.
Both arms rise up. A telltale sign! Flashy chi will form above him and crash down with the strength of angry soccer moms, displacing atoms and leaving dark matter in its way to surely doom the universe to the unknown like a one-man Hardon Collider! Raizo could be unmade right where he stands in attempting to defy such a blow, should he not submit himself to fate! The Todoh way will be paved by the trail blazed by such a techn--
Nope. He tries to wrap his arms around Raizo and just bury his head into him. When Todoh says he is going to fluff a pillow, you better damn well be ready to be an impromptu pillow. It says a lot when a hardened, esperienced, deadly fighter, for all his size, might, and strength, is considered a far bigger (and spiteful) alternative to resting on the floor below.
COMBATSYS: Todoh has reached second wind!
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Raizo 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Todoh
COMBATSYS: Raizo dodges Todoh's Quick Throw.
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Raizo 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Todoh
Zach remains in his chair during this exchange of taunts and punches and such. He doesn't speak, does not give any kind of verbal response to Ayame's mouthing off. A faint glimmer of purple seems to be seeping off of him, however.
The chairs and desks around Zach, however, have all tumbled and rattled away from the young man. One or two of them have simply gone to literal pieces, and lay on the floor.
Some things, one can get over. Being knocked out, and shipped half-way around the world to be experimented on by some creepy vampire chick... not so much.
Raizo doesn't expect Todoh's resurgence. It is the one flaw to Raizo's technique - some people have the sheer fortitude to get back up after he's done with them, and Raizo's method of beating them senseless with overwhelming force doesn't always deal well with that.
But this time Todoh is not fortunate enough to take advantage of that. Todoh comes at him, and Raizo LEAPS up, soaring over the other man and planting one foot on the far wall, and, with agility that should be impossible for a man his size, Raizo proceeds to triangle jump off of it and then somersault so that he descends toward Todoh - feet first!
COMBATSYS: Todoh counters Heavy Kick from Raizo with Kuzu Otoshi.
? Strange Hit! ?
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Raizo 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Todoh
Raizo Imawano has not dealt with Ryuhaku Todoh before. When Todoh grabs at thin air, he gets off some choice words muffled by the veil of a broken nose and all-around tiredndess. When Todoh says he is going to do something, there is a good chance he will make a suitably inane attempt to match however stupid the claim is.
And he said he will fluff Raizo like a pillow.
It should be impossible for a man so stunned by fatigue and pain to even really keep track of an unnaturally fast opponent! Even if Todoh were fully /awake/ he might have had trouble following him, but Raizo doesn't give much time for one to dwell on that. No. Todoh wants that pillow and he will have it.
The big bear somersaults in what should be yet another sure hit against a man so thoroughly outmatched front to back. The elder Todoh brings up his hands in some odd gesture or another that looks nothing like any other sort of telltale sign for whatever he does.
It catches the foot.
It not only catches the foot, it flips Raizo down into the ground behind him with more fervor and enthusiasm than a man so battered should be able to muster, at which point Ryuhaku wastes no time doing anything sensible like giving him a good, tough follow-up strike while Raizo is vulnerable. Nope.
He just gingerly flops down on top of Raizo like a small tired girl to their big comfy luxurious pillow and exhales a happy sigh. He snores again.
Robert's jaw just sort of hangs open for a long moment there. After a pronounced, stunned silence, his head slooowly cranes over to the side. "So, yeah. When everyone least expects it. That's his M.O., eheh."
Raizo had gotten confident. Todoh had lulled him into security with his innovative 'getting completely steamrolled' techniques.
So Todoh grabs his foot. Todoh slams Raizo into the ground hard, fracturing the rock with the force of it. Todoh...
...flops on top of Raizo and sighs like a little girl with her teddy.
And in so doing, Todoh gets in the range of Raizo's arms. The principal looks baffled for a few precious moments, and then heaves his own, less pleased sigh, and wraps his arms around the smaller old man, paternally, and then squeezes hard enough to shatter trees!!
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Todoh with Bearhug.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Raizo 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Todoh
And all this could have been avoided if Raizo gave him five more minutes. Possibly. This is undoubtedly the absolute lowest point of any Strolheim tournament match ever. It will never get any more embarrassing, any more... /deviant/ than this in a noble pursuit of training and honoring the greatest fighters the world has ever seen. Ryuhaku Todoh could have set the lowest low these castle walls will ever have witnessed.
And he's not one to care because this big angry bear of a man is his present pillow. It is not for any unseemly gestures or odd opinions or any sort of infatuation with Raizo. Raizo is yet another in a long line of people who piss Ryuhaku off. Todoh is merely appeased at getting exactly what he wants no matter how crazy this thing he wants is, and he would like for Raizo to stay still and let him sleep! The next person in line gets to nudge him at their own risk.
Raizo doesn't let this happen as he crushes the smaller man in between his arms. Todoh's eyes shoot open again, struggling as ribs crack (further) and less and less breath reaches him. His world his getting dark! Pain! He can't move his arms! He wiggles about helplessly for several moments on end.
He stops. Nobody makes a pillow out of Ryuhaku Todoh. At the brink of passing out from exhaustion and lack of breath, he cocks back a foot, shaky as it is held into the air like a last, glorious hope, and immediately tries to drive it into Raizo's groin to get him to let go and kindly go back to being a pillow because damn it, when an old man wants his beauty rest you GIVE IT TO HIM.
COMBATSYS: Todoh has reached third wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Raizo 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Todoh
COMBATSYS: Raizo interrupts Strong Kick from Todoh with Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Raizo 1/-======/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Todoh
Raizo is not an easy man to nutshot. He senses Todoh is not simply going to collapse, and so the bear-man has to take more measures. He releases Todoh from the deadly embrace, and instead, as Todoh moves, Raizo simply slams his fist into the other master's skull, in the process shifting his own posture such that Todoh manages not to deprive Batsu of any hypothetical little brothers.
Raizo is learning.
Todoh's face all but caves in against the mighty fist as his foot hits a meaty thigh. His own foot hurts for hitting that meaty thigh. Maybe he is fortunate he didn't hit Raizo in the brass balls because damn, that would hurt.
It is hard to make out a sneer on Todoh's face because it is hidden under blood and bruises as said hit forces him off of Raizo's body, and onto his butt in a sitting position which cancels out a fair amount of inertia. They're still close. The elder man works himself up to a kneel, yet another in a series of 'should be impossible to manage' feats when up against someone who could probably destroy ten thousand dudes with a single punch, and raises his hands up. They are shaky.
He has decided that Raizo does need some additional fluffing to be a better pillow, by which he means 'totally and completely own the whole crap out of' as he summons room service! Room service comes in the form of this line of maybe four or so segments of really glaringly bright blue-ish cyan chi and it is totally nothing unlike its yellowish-orangeish cousin in any way whatsoever, no siree. He commands it to adjust this pillow by swinging his arms downward in an evocative gesture much like any other instance where he swings his arms downward, the injured, sliced-up one descending a lot faster and giving the descending helpful room serviceman that is not a chi blast (except it is) an odd diagonal slant to the descent that gives Raizo an easy direction to roll to if he is of the mind and speed to do so.
This room service is so good it demands no tips, it'll just take it out of Razio's face account. Because Raizo's face is rich for the tipping from.
COMBATSYS: Todoh can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Raizo 1/-======/=======|
At which point Todoh flops over face-flat into the cold stone floor. He doesn't snore. This is for the very best. But someone will probably have to nicely drag him out of the way, if they are not of the fear that he'll suddenly spring up and take it out on them.
C'mon, what are the odds?
COMBATSYS: Raizo blocks Todoh's Meiou Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Raizo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Robert looks down at the fallen Todoh...cautiously, as if the man might sense his gaze and begin frothing at the mouth. The stark raving mad Master of Todoh-ryuu Kubojutsu lived up to everything he has heard both from Ryo and experienced in person first-hand. The beginning of the fight was nothing short of a pathetic display, but in the end...Todoh prevailed, in his very special way of prevailing. He almost feels sorry for the guy. Almost is a pretty strong feeling for Robert to have about a man who spits at the names of Sakazaki and Kyokugen, but...the guy has lasting power. To the bitter end. He had great will - awesome, misdirected will, but will all the same.
This moment of respect for the fallen Todoh lasts for approximately three seconds, after which Robert squints his eyes and sticks out his tongue. "Oh well, he did what he could." He then proceeds to pick up the shattered remnant of a student's table to roll, roll, roll Todoh one slow *thump* of a revolution at a time until the old man rests peacefully on a similarly cold chunk of stone floor that is conveniently out of the way. He discards the plank of wood by carelessly flicking it to the side, where it clatters to the floor noisily. It wasn't a fifty foot pole, but he had to improvise you see.
There is a very, *very* significant change in attitude as Robert moves to the center of the room, sizing up Raizo. They've fought before. They've recognized each other. Pleasantries have been exchanged. Instead of mincing words, the Italian man does something that he rarely does in his fights - taking up a position ten feet away from the hulking bear of a man, he takes a measured stance. Fists are clenched, arms are elevated slightly into the air, and his forehead is inclined downward a few inches respectfully. Exposed teeth betray his eagerness to begin the fight all the same, his mouth stretched into a grin of anticipation...but his display is earnest all the same. "Ossu!"
Not one to simply leave his face explosed for a manly FACEKICK, Robert smoothly slides into a measured stance with hands at his sides, hopping from foot to foot as he awaits Raizo's opener.
COMBATSYS: Robert has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Raizo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Robert
Raizo eats another close-quarters chi attack. It's not totally up close, and Raizo is halfway to his feet when Todoh unloads the attack on him, and the bear-man has to react quickly! He can't dodge, not this time; he's in an awkward position. He brings one massive arm up into the path of the attack, allowing it to wash across him and do relatively little harm. He huffs as the damage registers in his mind, and slowly, rises back up to his feet. He looks at Robert, grinning a little because Raizo grins at everyone. "Robert," the old man says. He rolls his neck, taking just a moment to relax. "I'm afraid I can't give you /everything/ you might want in a match, and I hope you'll forgive me for that. But..."
And then Raizo takes a pair of leaping steps forward, and snaps out at Robert with a sudden but no less /powerful/ punch! "Let's make it memorable anyway!"
With no one provoked into fighting her, Ayame calms down gradually. Not that Zach's rumblings or Aranha's silent pacings go ignored. But from across the room, she doesn't see any particular need to be on guard anymore either. Todoh, ancient master that he is, finally gets the rest he earned? She isn't so sure about that, but he did at least have his moment's of glory, just as Robert predicted.
Leaning back against the far wall, Ayame idly brushes her fingernails against her blouse, one foot propped up behind the wall behind her as she watches Raizo and Robert face off. "I sure hope you've got this guy, because if not, I'm totally out of here." Her brow furrows as she glances back toward the door, wondering what would happen if she tried to bolt now. Well. There's always the windows.
COMBATSYS: Robert endures Raizo's Quick Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Raizo 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Robert
Dancing from side to side as Robert is, one would expect Robert to dance out of the way, or at least put up some token attempt at defense. HA! Instead, the man simply firms up his stance at the last moment, teeth gritted in a manic grin as the punch solidly connects with the chest of Takuma Sakazaki's most masochistic pupil. Teeth are held firm, and doubtless the pain is very real, but the only budging the young fighter does is when his Italian footwear betrays him and screeches as the heels are forced a few inches back along the floor.
"Ha ha, don't worry. You've got a few good memories ready for me! In fact..."
It wouldn't be very becoming of Robert if he gave Raizo more than a split second to anticipate his next action, which is to drive a knife hand towards the Bear's midsection, a telltale glint of orange light visible as the strike is driven home. Seconds later, it's more than just a glint, radiating outward in a sudden sunburst that will detonate on contact if permitted. Otherwise, it'll just glint all kinds of shiny in midair. Useless, but shiny all the same!!
COMBATSYS: Robert successfully hits Raizo with Ryuugeki Ken.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Raizo 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Robert
Raizo's in trouble. Robert is fresh, and Raizo is...not.
Well, for now, the old man will have to settle for beating Robert up as much as he can! It's a team match, after all. Robert tanks that hit very well, and Raizo is left puzzled, not sure what's going to come next - and then Robert answers him by surprising him with a chi shot. Raizo is bad at dealing with chi projectiles, simply because his style depends heavily on getting right up next to a guy and then removing his entire body.
So Robert manages to get a hit in that Raizo wasn't expecting. Raizo takes the hit square, forced back by the hit. He could force his way in, keep the heat on, but instead, Raizo..sits there, grinning.
Watching Robert's every move. Waiting for the chance to strike.
COMBATSYS: Raizo focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////// ]
Raizo 1/--=====/=======|===----\-------\0 Robert
"Ryuugeki...KEN!!" The strike connects, and Robert recovers some very necessary distance for dealing with this hulk of a warrior. A good thing too, since Robert put everything he had into that one...this gives him a moment to catch his breath.
Not unsurprisingly, the Bear chooses to keep his unexpectedly gained distance at this venture. Waiting, watching for a good opening. As much as it'd be dandy to just rush in there and finish things in short order, Robert is too fresh to take a chance like that. He's operating with tactics at the moment, not his hanging on to the last bit of consciousness endgame just yet. Instead of rushing in he responds to Raizo in kind, adopting a horse stance - clenching one fist and tucking it in low at his side, extending his other arm forward in anticipation of the attack that will no doubt come. Eyes narrow, and loose papers begin to rustle along the edge of the classroom as the chi flow of the room alters and begins to gather around one Robert Garcia. It would seem that the two fighters are at a deadly impasse for now.
COMBATSYS: Robert gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Raizo 1/--=====/=======|=======\-------\0 Robert
Robert is focusing himself, gathering his strength for a big push. The two men gather their strength - focus their will for a single, vicious moment. This will not be a pretty, glorious clash. Raizo is exhausted; Todoh got in only one good hit, but several others hit Raizo hard enough that he's feeling it. That last chi attack from Robert didn't help. Raizo is tired. Technically he could leave it to the others...but to fall short of his best would be a tragedy Raizo could not possibly bear. And there --he sees it.
There. Robert himself probably can't even tell that his guard is slack while he charges his center. But Raizo can see it, practically glowing. Raizo clenches a fist, focusing his chi again. It glimmers, brightly, energy gathering there...and then Raizo is the first to move.
He plants one foot, and then shoves off.
He lands on the other, and again, his bulk flies forward another bound.
He lands in front of Robert. He roars, his voice like thunder, "IMAWANO..."
His whole body slides forward a foot, as his charged hand slides forward, backed by a glowing flash of claw-shaped chi slamming into Robert's gut. "...ROPPU ZUKI!!"
COMBATSYS: Raizo successfully hits Robert with Imawano Roppu Zuki.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Raizo 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Robert
TBrutal indeed. Raizo reads his opponent like a book. In two leaps, he bounds right past Robert's guard and delivers his full might like a bladed wrecking ball. The attack is made all the more dazzling by how it ends - one moment the Bear's opponent is standing there, solid and Regal. The next, attack delivered, he is simply *gone*.
Directly off to the side of where Robert had been standing is a man-shaped crater in the stone, no doubt where the awesome force of the Imawano Roppu Zuki had delivered Robert into the arms of.
Don't blink.
Just as the attention of most gathered in the room had likely tracked the location of the Kyokugen scion to the hole through which lies the outside hallway, that same section of wall is sundered *yet again*, fragments of stone splintering off as an object bursts imperfectly right back through the hole it came from, a bright aura of orange light flickering through the room as the Ryuugeki Master smashes into Raizo with kindred force. First bodily, crossed fists hammering into his opponent's chest - arms are thrown wide, seeking to drive open the arms of the titan that would no doubt seek to offer resistance. "Kyokugen-ryuu Ougi..."
Arms and legs then take over, delivering a blindingly fast combination of punches and kicks without hesitation, each as powerful as the last, the ending foreshadowed by that aura of chi condensing down into a single glimmering point, Robert's right fist, which then delivers a final jagged-knuckle uppercut that sends its owner spiralling into the air. "RYUKO RANBU!" And if luck is on his side, and he'll be damned if it isn't, the man plans on exchanging the favor by planting Raizo's *head* through the same stone he was just driven through, that of the ceiling itself.
COMBATSYS: Robert successfully hits Raizo with Ryuuko Ranbu.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Raizo 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Robert
Raizo is not fast enough. He's pleased that he hit so solidly, but then Robert reveals that he also managed to piss the Kyokugen warrior off! Raizo makes a gamble, crossing his arms to take the force of it - but Robert hammers through him, simply beating him into tiny pieces, and finally smashing an uppercut into Raizo hard enough that to hell with his head, Raizo's /entire body/ shatters the ceiling, startling a class above--
and then, with the last of his strength, Raizo redirects his force, gripping the hole he made, and throwing himself back down, spread out for a bellyflop.
At Robert's head.
He will be unconscious before contact.
COMBATSYS: Raizo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Robert 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Robert just-defends Raizo's Heavy Kick!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Robert 0/-------/----===|
That last attack took alot out of Robert, needless to say. He's nowhere near exhaustion at this point, feeling vaguely lightheaded and giddy from the sea of adrenaline that he finds himself swimming in, but the human body needs just a *liiiiiiittle* moment to recover when Ranbuing someone through the ceiling. As such, when Raizo drops back through his hole in the ceiling and rotates head-over-heel towards Robert in mid-air, the option of resisting force with force lacks the appeal that it might normally have.
Instead, Robert drops onto his back, lifting arms and legs. For a brief moment, it looks as if he intends to catch Raizo - a feat that would have no doubt end in much pain and embarassment for Robert under the bulk of the mighty Bear, but the action doesn't stop here. With a loud grunt, the Italian throws his weight backward and heaves while kicking upward, providing Raizo with a brief moment of renewed airtime.
Unfortunately for both mentors, this airtime ends. Ends...on Todoh. No doubt Todoh is at this venture dreaming about having single-handedly bested the entire Kyokugen clan, all but for Takuma, who lies crouched and weakened, awaiting the final blow. Or something similarly Todoh-riffic. It doesn't really matter, because whatever that dream is, it's suddenly interrupted by Falling Bear.
Robert just lies on the ground for a moment after that, arms and legs outstretched, panting in wide-eyed terror. He almost got crushed by *bear*.
Aranha's animalistic pacing stops when Raizo's body impacts upon Todoh for one last time and he glances towards Zach for one moment before he steps into the cleared out area. A glance over at Ayame is spared for just a moment before he looks at Robert.
Aranha doesn't say anything to the Italian. While normally the capoeirista would normally exchange pleasantries, the nature of the Secret Student has changed the nature of this fight for him as much as it had changed the nature of the fight for his psyker team mate Zach.
The capoeirista knows he can't afford to think about anything but the fight ahead of him especially of an opponent at the calibur of Robert Garcia and he decides to devote all of his attention to the fight at hand. He lifts his chin to the Italian in a respectful nod and then he begins swaying to the beat that is in his mind as he performs the dance that his martial art is known for.
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Robert
A reverse handstand, and Robert is back on his feet once more. Deep breaths man, deep breaths. New opponent. The man doesn't try to converse with him, and that's fine, since he's still zoning back in to the here and now as it were. "Whew!", is all he says as he cracks a grin...studying the beat that the man dances to.
When he feels the time is right, Robert swings one arm forward, flicking his wrist like a frisbee. While holding no object, another bolt of that orange energy flickers into view, this time concentrated into a golden sun rapidly closing the distance between the two. Yet another form of the many-faceted Ryuugeki Ken.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Robert's Ryuugeki Ken.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Robert
Aranha has seen what that bolt of energy can do and the capoeirista has decided he wants no part of it. His body maintains the rhythm he established at the beginning as he seamlessly weaves to the side and then closes the distance with a spin move as he drops low to the ground.
When the American Capoeirista is right in front of the Italian, he extends a leg low to the ground before kicking it up high while keeping a hand planted on the ground. That first kick will definitely miss but hitting was not the objective. Instead the momentum of the first kick is used to generate power on the second kick which is more roundhouse-like in it's delivery. Both feet hit the ground relatively quietly.
COMBATSYS: Robert interrupts Medium Kick from Aranha with Dragon Fang.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Robert
If there is one thing Robert knows well, it's kicks. He's full of 'em. Despite uninterrupted flow of Aranha's motion, the moment the Italian catches sight of that hand planting against the ground, he knows exactly what comes next. Instead of getting out of the way though, he steels himself for yet another impact and tucks himself low, hand clenched into a fist and levelled at his side. "Dragon..."
Just as Aranha's second kick cracks into Robert's shoulder, eliciting a wince, it acts as a catalyst for the Italian man driving the full force of his fist home into his opponent's midsection and driving his weight upward, knuckles digging in and dragging their way straight up his opponent's torso as he completes the maneuver by throwing his full weight into an upward lunge. "FANG!"
The Dancing Spider's dance is forcefully interrupted the moment that the fist gets jammed in his gut sending him flying right into the broken set of desks that Todoh had landed on earlier. He slowly rises to his feet and steps out of the debris but he doesn't move any closer. At least not at first.
The capoeirista whips his arm across his body as a glowing blue hand sends a spider web of blue chi at his target. Only when that web is released does he go chasing the web as moves to close the gap.
COMBATSYS: Robert dodges Aranha's Web Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Aranha 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Robert
Aranha isn't the only who bolts after the chi. Surprisingly, his opponent decides to do the same! Selecting to act before the web can expand further with distance and envelop him, the Italian bolts forward and drops his weight to the ground, sliding underneath the attack and clearing it entirely.
Coming up on the other side of the attack unscathed, Robert still finds himself confronted with a charging Capoeirista - something to which he responds to by driving a modest, if powerful, upward kick into.
COMBATSYS: Aranha fails to interrupt Light Kick from Robert with Malicia EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Robert
When Robert slides under the chi web. Aranha has something he ready for the attack. And so he waits and waits and waits and then waits a little too long before eating foot to the face and finding himself slding backwards into a chair.
After some time groaning, he slowly gets back up to his feet. And he begins to dance again as he struggles to find his rhythm. A problem he had even before he knew that Ayame was even around.
Letting Aranha find his rhythm once more may end up being a fatal mistake that could spell his own undoing, but let's face it, Robert hsa a bit of his own rhythm finding to do. Eating the most powerful technique of the Iwamano style will knock the beat out of anyone - along with whatever else you happen to have inside, be it teeth, organs, stuffing, and what have you.
Smoothly rising to his feet after knocking his opponent clear out of his personal space, Garcia takes a moment to take a deep breath and find his center again. His center was, after all, what Raizo punched into next week.
COMBATSYS: Robert gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Aranha 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Robert
Aranha can see Robert's breathing getting easier and that's not exactly appealing to the capoeirista. On the other hand, he's not getting attacked either and as a result, he needs to go back to basics. Back to what his strengths are and that would happen to be his speed.
His dancing speed increases as he moves in closer to the Italian, bobbing and weaving before he whips out a fast snap kick to the Kyokugen practitioner's side in an attempt to pierce the other fighter's defenses.
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Robert with Light Kick.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Aranha 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Robert
Fast the kick is indeed! As Aranha bobs in, the Italian attempts to make his own motion counter to that of his opponent's - the fatal flaw being that he's still feeling a little sore from the pounding he took earlier, and his opponent manages to unwittingly slip through his defenses and tag a kick right where Raizo had driven his point home earlier. Ooooh, that *smarts*!
So much so, that even as he continues in mid-motion to spin away from his opponent, Robert's fist lashes out swiftly with an attempt to rake knuckles against the side of Aranha's face. Hit or miss, Robert ceases his revolution several feet away and takes up his stance once more, eyes darting around the room and taking note of the splitered desks. It wouldn't be very becoming to trip himself up with further attempts at evasive maneuvers, after all.
COMBATSYS: Robert successfully hits Aranha with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Aranha 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Robert
Aranha put effort into making his recoil extremely fast so he'd be in good position to move away. Unfortunately Robert is just fast enough that in spite of all the speed he has, he just can't get away. The punch spins the capoeirista around and sends a mix of blood saliva flying from his mouth.
"That's it... I'm not going to let you get in the way of me getting one more shot at her. Even if I fall here. I'm gonna make sure I have another shot at the bitch. And if I don't get a crack at her here, I'm making sure Glen does and I'll just get mine later. I don't know what she did to him but after what she and her crew did to me, I'm making sure she gets it from someone." He doesn't go after Robert right away but instead he dances as he focuses in on his objectives.
COMBATSYS: Aranha focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Aranha 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Robert
And lo, Robert's opponent did fall back, and preach his sermon upon deaf ears. At first he seems vaguely interested at the vehement words of his opponent. But then they go on. And on. And on. They dance here and there, they touch upon people and places unseen - they bore. Or at least that's certainly the impression Robert seems intent on giving Aranha, punctuating the end of the lecture with an overly loud and drawn out yawn. "Ahhhhh~. That's great and all, man. I mean, she obviously means alot to you, but where would that leave me? Signed up without consent, assaulted by strange people...no offense bud, but I think you're the one who's gotta go. But hey, may the best man win."
Kyokugen is not Capoeira. There is many things that Kyokugen is not, and yet...it manages to have a little bit of all those things regardless. His earlier study of the room thus complete, the olive-skinned man bolts forward into a cartwheel that takes him around the edge of the room. He flips over tables and chairs. He semi-circles around Aranha, though his target is painfully clear...the only question is the manner and direction of his strike...
At last Robert makes his play for power, risking a flip *over* Aranha for the sake of initiative, whereupon he lands in a handstand and twirls in place with his hands, legs jutting outward as close to 45-degree angles as his flexibility allows, intent on clocking the vengeance seeker several good ones to the side of the head if he's lax on his guard.
COMBATSYS: Robert successfully hits Aranha with Ryuu Zanshou.
[ \\\\ < > ////////// ]
Aranha 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Robert
Aranha attempts to move with the attack attempting to defend against it but inspite of his best effort at a defense he just can't block, dodge or manage any type of defense. He's just knocked silly.
By rights Aranha should be done but he peels himself off the ground and stares at Ayame. "Ayame knows better than anyone that I am a patient man."
And then Aranha flies at Robert with a furious combo of blue glowing kicks. Spinning kick after kick comes as he attempts to drown the Kyokugen fighter with kicks. In the end, he tilts into a handstand and then delivers a tornado of glowing handstand kicks before he tilts over.
COMBATSYS: Aranha can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Robert 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Robert auto-guards Aranha's Royal Flush!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Robert 1/-------/=======|
It seems that Aranha will not be escorting Yuri to her wedding with Robert. Which is a pity, because that means he's still stuck with Ryo as a best man by default, and he's far more inclined to break Robert's neck for touching his sister than to deliver her willingly into the vile clutches of an Italian businessman in training. Oh well.
More pressing concerns at hand, Robert. FOCUS!
The earlier surveying of the room turns out to be dual-purposed, in fact. THe moment the twirling kicks land home, Robert is rotating and coming to his feet once more, immediately applying his heel to the edge of another desk fragment and levering it up into hand, just barely in time for the onslaught of Aranha. Try as he might to land a strike, the Kyokugen fighter plays the Capoeirista's exhaustion against him, using the plank of wood as a shield against the myriad blows as he bounds to and fro around the room, staying just ahead of the man until his opponent's stamina can have no more of it. One last bound away and Robert stands alone once more, dropping the blank to the ground and placing both hands upon his knees to pant and catch his breath once more. He absently thumbs up in Ayame's direction, completely unaware of what vile villainy and trickery the woman has commited in past lives. For now, she is his ally, and he knows nothing of her history. Only that two young gentlemen on the same team want to take her face of, but that doesn't unilaterally equal 'evil' in the fighting world at first glance.
For now, the Italian Kyokugen presses on. He still has one last fighter to get through.
COMBATSYS: Robert focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Robert 1/-------/=======|
"I'm sorry, Mister Garcia," Zach says politely. "I would really prefer if you stepped aside." Zach snaps his right hand low and to the side as energy swirls into the waiting palm. "However, you don't seem the type." The spinning energy firms up into a small sphere, spiraling in Zach's hand. "I don't know why you would want to protect her," Zach says. "Honestly, you seem like an decent guy. Why you'd want to protect a kidnapper who delivers people to be experimented on is beyond me."
Zach takes a single step forward. "But you're in my way right now," Zach lunges, flying forward under the force of the thrust as he drives that clump of psycho power forward. "So I'll just have to go through you!"
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Robert 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Zach
COMBATSYS: Robert blocks Zach's Impulse Flare EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Robert 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Zach
Robert raises one of those dark eyebrows as his next opponent...picks up the lecture right where his freshly defeated companion trails off. Zach seems to be radiating a form of energy that...certainly isn't being picked up by his chi radar. Gears turn, but there's no sense wasting much time thinking about it. He already has a hunch. "Alright, I think I've had just about enough of--"
Right, fighting. Zach charges in without giving Robert much chance to get in a word in edgewise, which is something that vexes him to no end. Hell. You know what? That's *it*. Crossing his arms at the wrists, he uses his forearms to deflect the brunt of the force driven at him, though the sheer power behind it is enough to make him stagger several steps back. Throwing his arms wide to deflect his opponent, Robert tumbles into a backward roll that places him in the vicinity of the blackboard.
Robert stands. He looks at Zach across the room quite blandly, looks at the blackboard, and nods his head. A case is removed from his vest pocket, which is opened to reveal a pair of designer sunglasses, the sort that only rich preppy people such as himself can afford to display in public. Slowly, with a serene sort of precision, Robert removes the sunglasses and slips them into place...and without explanation, suddenly whirls on the blackboard and attacks it with an inexplicable fury of chalk slashing.
--| ::::: |------.-------\ \ /-.--------------------------
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This feat accomplished, Robert swings on his opponent and swings his hand dramatically in the direction of Zach, pointing at him accusingly while the rest of his form remains stationary and absolutely *regal*. "I welcome you to the classroom of GREAT TEACHER GARCIA. Today, I am teaching fighting 101! PAY ATTENTION NOW, OKAY?!"
Swirling to the side, Robert's finger comes to rest in the direction of the fallen Todoh. Covered with Raizo as he is, it's still Todoh. "LESSON ONE: Tournaments. Battle is holy. Battle is honorable! One must fight alongside the partners he is given, even if those partners are cretins who denounce the honor of the very style a man uses to challenge the world!!" The clearly *insane* Italian then turns to regard Zach once more, a feral grin firmly in place. "Once the battle is joined, all else is meaningless. If it is not enough to improve yourself, to fight with the odds that you are given, to be the best that you can be...YOU ARE NOT WORTHY."
The chalk is then thrown at Zach.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Robert's Thrown Object.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Robert 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Zach
Zach skids to a halt, blinking at Robert's clearly insane demonstration. The flying chalk, however, gets his attention. The shorter man whips a sharp backhand at the writing utensil, shattering it in a cloud of dust. Glen winces slightly as he shakes the hand loosely, trying to restore feeling in the fingers.
"Fine. I'll take those odds," Zach snarls as attempts to slam a rising shoulder strike into Robert's midsection. The force of the movement is enough to lift the shorter man off of his feet. Zach twists in the air, driving a wide slash of psychic energy downward at Garcia. Unless the Italian has his footing, he'll likely be slammed into that chalkboard he just doodled on!
COMBATSYS: Robert interrupts Second Stance from Zach with Haiga Ryuu.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Robert 0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1 Zach
A shoulder is driven into the mad Italian's midsection. Quite solidly, actually. Unfortunately for his challenger, footing is indeed firm. Zach finds himself staring into the visage of the grinning, shade-wearing Kyokugen fighter as the wave of energy comes crashing down to him, lips seeming to only stretch comically wider with the pain of not bucking under the angered onslaught of his student. Failure is not an option, however. He is a TEACHER, and the lesson IS NOT YET OVER.
"Lesson two: FOCUS." With the same tender care that Zach displayed earlier in crashing into him, so too does Robert drive his fist straight into the chest of the falling Zach with opposing momentum, leaving the lad cruelly suspended on his fist in mid-air. "Bringing personal grudges with you into a team match..." The Great Teacher punctuates the word 'grudges' with a stationary rotation of the torso, driving a one-inch punch into his his student's ribs. "...WILL DISTRACT YOU FROM THE TASK AT HAND."
The lecture is concluded with a final, twirling uppercut that launches its owner into the air along with Zach, sending the latter spinning across the classroom in the wake of its aftermath.
Zach tumbles and bounces across the classroom before sliding to a stop. He stays down for a moment, before glaring at Robert. Zach slowly drags himself to his feet, eying Garcia for a moment. Still more of that bizarre energy is flowing off of him.
And then Zach charges in once more, skidding to a halt before he can collide with the Kyokugen fighter. After all, the collision is not the aim of the attack. It's about spacing. Zach lets out a yell filled with rage as his psycho power erupts in a wide, vertical column around him. Zach is almost lifted off of his feet as he arches back under the torrent of power, which punches a hole in the cieling!
COMBATSYS: Robert endures Zach's Storm Flare.
[ < > ////////////// ]
Robert 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Zach
And then there was one. Nah, Robert's still standing. Sunglasses cracked, a single madness-bugged eye staring at Zach through the ruined eyewear. Right. In. Front. Of Him. The grin is exactly as the younger man will remember it, possibly even more deranged at this venture. "Lesson...THREE...the most important lesson...of ALL...!"
Ignoring pain, ignoring exhaustion, and CLEARLY ignoring all sanity, the Italian tries to drive a knee into the younger man's crotch. "...Kyokugen RULES..." And unless the poor guy is on his toes, Robert will seek to metaphorically cleave Zach in twain with an orange, energy-bladed sommersaulting kick. "...TODOH-RYUU DROOLS!!!"
Why, no. He does *not* no that Zach is a former pupil of Todoh's, now that you ask. And if you were to tell him later, Robert would just say that this made the choice of phrase far more appropriate!!!
COMBATSYS: Robert can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zach 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Robert's Kuzuryuu Sen.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zach 0/-------/------=|
Zach hops back, once to avoid the knee to the crotch, and again to give clearance to Robert's second kick. He lets Robert land, or crash, or whatever. He waits a beat to make sure that Garcia is, in fact, done.
Then he looks at Ayame, using the moment to regain some stamina. "Come, girl," Zach says with a bit of steel in his voice. "Come get what's coming to you."
COMBATSYS: Zach gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Zach 0/-------/-------|
Okay, so he doesn't hit. But that doesn't take away from his point!! He proved his point by taking it like a man. Yeah. Somersault finding no Zach to cleave in twain, Robert simply goes flying across the room and lands face-up, back no doubt resting on something painfully hard and uncomfortable. He seems to be happy though, at least. Even in unconsciousness, the grin remains fixed in place.
Ayame has been content to sit on the sidelines all the while as Robert stepped up to battle the mighty principal of Justice High. Having tried to provoke Aranha or Zach into stepping in out of turn wasn't successful and that left her a little bit bored. Even as traditional martial arts were demonstrated to impressive degree, she barely seemed to be paying attention, having slumped back down into one of the desks.
When Aranha stepped up to face Robert, she had glanced up occasionally, taking mild interest in the exchange, before finding something else to do, including typing on a small PDA, flicking a pair of butterfly knives with casual ease, leaning her head so far back it looked like she might have drifted off, and generally managing to not draw a ton of attention to herself for a spell.
As Zach's turn to face the Kyokugen fighter came, she glanced up again, smirked faintly, then went back to her PDA with a shake of her head, looking very much like she anticipated not needing to actually step into this match at all. Robert had it handled. When he busted out with the Three Point lesson, however, she was finally paying attention, resting her chin atop her palm, brown eyes taking the entire scene in with an expression of evident amusement.
But now the dust has settled and Zach remains standing, contrary to her expectations, and Ayame arches an eyebrow as he addresses her. She's slow to get up, stretching her arms out to her sides then over her head before slipping to her feet with the clomp of thick soled Dr. Martins against the floor. "Hmmm..." She shrugs once standing up straight, head canting to the side just a little, "Not sure you're offering anything I'm interested in. But let's see how you do given a shot all the same, ne?"
An idle glance is taken toward the ceiling above as both her hands go to her belt, slipping her butterfly knives into her palms, already flicked open by the time they get there. "But here's something for you!" It is with a lazy, underhanded toss that the strawberry-blonde sends her left knife twirling through the air toward Zach. It is with a not-so-lazy bolt forward that she charges him directly, leaping across the distance into a spin, her remaining knife intended to slash a line across his chest before she lands.
It is while mid-air that she catches the originally thrown weapon, coming out her spinning landing in order to put it to use in an attempt to knife the young man in the side, just beneath his ribs. "Don't worry," she declares in transit, "We'll make this fast...!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Ayame's Medium Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
Zach slides to the side, keeping his feet on the ground. He smirks as he brings up his right hand, as if reaching to grab something. "Of course you aren't," Zach sneers as he sweeps the arm downward on a diagonal.
Psychic energy flares into existance, forming a large swath along the path of Zach's arm motion. In his hand is what appears to be some kind of melee weapon; a hazy-looking sword. "People like you aren't ever interested in paying for what they have done."
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Ayame with Zero Stance.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Ayame
As Zach slips out of the way of the pair of slashes, Ayame slides to a stop, occupying the space he had but an instant prior, a sharp blade in each hand, each one blood free. "Che," the girl grunts, starting to take a step back to put herself back into a better position from which to spring another attack.
But Zach's retaliation comes swiftly, his own weapon of energy catching her before she can gain the distance she sought. Struck cleanly by the violet flare of psychic power, a hiss escapes her lips as she recoils, tightening up as she struggles to fight off the lingering pain of the powerful hit. "Lucky hit." she manages after a half second of making a note to be more careful with anything else the young man flings her way. "Enjoy it - it's the only one you'll get."
The words are accompanied by her springing forward again. One knife disappears back into her belt, while the other remains at the ready in her left hand. She opens with a knee for his stomach, attempting to stagger the young man and leave him still long enough for her right hand to snatch hold of his ear and hold him in place. If she manages, the girl finishes introducing him to the sharp end of her left knife with a swift stab to his side only to finish by kicking him back hard and releasing her grip on his ear.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Ayame's Assault and Battery.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Zach sweeps the gripping hand down to meet the knee strike forcefully enough to stop the blow, but not enough to hurt the cutpurse. His free hand comes up to knock away Ayame's attempt at the grab even as the psychic stick comes up to meet the knife.
Glen has just enough time to tense up his stomach muscles to try and tank the kick with some result. He doesn't look happy; Robert put him through the wringer, and Zach /clearly/ wants to do very bad things to Ayame. Zach's response is another show of that same psychic energy, one she has seen before. The energy simply pours forth, not doing much other than warn her that the psychic has more energy at his disposal now...
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Zach 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Ayame
Zach's defense proves effective at fending off the worst of what the girl had in store for him. Unable to get a tight hold, she withdraws quickly, having learned her lesson about lingering in place for too long from his last attack. Feet squeak against the clean floor as she turns her right side toward Zach, staring back at him, giving him an only faintly amused look. "What's the matter. Hanging back? Rethinking this? It's okay to quit.
She closes her knife, slipping it away, her left hand dropping to the pouch affixed to one of her belts as she draws a short metal tube he no doubt recognizes by now. A hyraulic hiss accompanies the weapon expanding to its full six foot length. Were this a normal classroom, a staff might be hard to use properly. But fortunately, Strolheim students are given a lot more room with which to demonstrate their skills.
Gripping the weapon at a defensive angle in front of her, she holds her ground, chosing not to move either now. "But no, you've got your agenda. I get it. Has nothing to do with the tournament, does it..." She nods her head once, "All right then, come on."
COMBATSYS: Ayame calculates her next move.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Zach 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Ayame
"I'd be lying if I said that I planned this," Zach answers frankly. "But the opportunity seems to have presented itself." Zach shrugs as some of that rampant energy reflexes, and wraps around him. "It'd be a shame not to make the most of it."
With that, Zach closes the gap between the two quickly, bringing that stick-sword down with thunderous force, as if to simply break Ayame's weapon to pieces, and possibly her with it!
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to interrupt Blast Bash from Zach with Harvest's Reaper.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Ayame
Bracing herself as Zach charges, the teen fighter attempts to read the angle of his attack fast enough to retaliate preemptively. It isn't too hard to figure out what he's up to, but the strength behind it - that she didn't calculate accurately. Her staff flares to life, the girl intending to tear into the young man with a punishing combination - it's worth the pain incoming if she can pull it off...
He smashes through her retaliation, however, and the girl ends up knocked to the ground by the force of his strike, sliding along the floor for a few yards on her back before coming to a stop. Wincing, she rolls up to her feet, using her staff for support for a moment before standing straight again, exhaling softly. "So what's the grudge, hm? What's this all about for you? What're you going to turn this opportunity into?"
She shakes her head, attempting to clear her head. It's been a long while since she'd been hit by something like that. She feels like she should understand it better than she is. Looking back toward Zach, she eyes the violet energy that flickers over his fingers with such ease. "Guess you're better than I took you for. Maybe I shouldn't have napped through your round with that Italian guy, huh?"
Zach looks across the room at Ayame, an eyebrow raised. "You remember that time, when you knocked me out and shipped me halfway across the world," Zach says as he calmly walks up to Ayame. "That I wasn't the first person on your shopping list." Zach shakes his hand loose.
The psychic stick evaporates as Zach continues to walk toward the cutpurse. "I told you then, before I left," Zach continues, "That I had better not see you again. That it would not go well for you." Zach steps in, and snaps a quick punch to Ayame's jaw. "I tend to keep my word."
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Ayame with Jab Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Ayame
"Nope!" Ayame helpfully answers when he asks if she remembers what she did to him some time ago. "Sounds pretty serious though," she adds after a moment's consideration. "You must be special." She glances to the side, her stance relaxing slightly, eyes narrowed, no longer really looking toward the young man. "Hm... the only obvious special thing about you is your energy..."
The girl looks contemplative for a moment as he continues to approach, looking everywhere but him - floor, ceiling, back to the wall, her right hand tapping at her chin. "That does sound familiar," Ayame declares after a moment. Finally, the teenaged menace lowers her hand and snaps her fingers, "That's right!" Whirling back toward Zach, only to step right into the directed punch that catches her across the jaw with enough strength to send her slipping a short distance before regaining traction.
Shaking her head, she grins faintly, not seeming troubled in the slightest though her hand comes up to wipe idly at her jaw. "The casino..." Focusing back on Zach, "You're pretty helpful. Nice. All the same..." Her right, free of her staff, slips beneath the wrist guard over her left, drawing a small throwing knife out between her fingers. "You seem pretty serious. Hope no one died!" And with that she sends the small blade spinning with a quick fling, spanning the distance between her and Zach quickly!
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Zach with Sudden Fling.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Ayame
Zach would have a snappy retort right here. He does, actually. He is about a second from actually /voicing/ it when he gets a knife in the shoulder. That stops him for a moment, as he looks down at the handle of the knife sticking out of is arm. He frowns at it for a moment before yanking the weapon out and chucking it to one side. It clatters away into a shadow. Ayame doubtlessly has a few jillion more knives hidden in her clothes, but that is of little concern to Zach.
"The others were rescued," Zach says levelly. "By that Gedo kid with the bokken." Zach takes a deep breath, and fires up the Sturm and Drang of his unusual physiology. Violet light splashes around Zach once more, spilling onto the floor around him like fog from dry ice. "I had a nice view of the armored vehicle they crashed into the place."
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Zach 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Ayame
Aranha at this point had crawled off to the side to watch the rest of the fight. And listening as the two talked and fought even as the two were speaking it was helping the capoeirista put things together. The things he saw when watching SNFs, the things he saw when he was going on his own quest for vengeance.
He laughs from the side. Of course, that laughter is cut off by a coughing fit before he spits a bit of blood to the side. "You know. I don't know whether to shake that kid's hand or to be pissed that he got there before I did."
Ayame doesn't bring the fight to him as Zach takes a moment to pull the knife out of his arm and toss it aside. She seems content to just watch and see how he acts. "Ah," Ayame replies as he speaks up. "And you obviously didn't die, since you're here to tell me all about it..." She shrugs, her demeanor indifferent, "Sounds like it turned out all right. Yet here you are with a big chip on your shoulder."
She glances to the side as she hears Aranha speak up, frowning just a little, "I'd hoped you'd stay out of it for a while. Shows you what hope is worth, hm." Her right hand joins her left, taking a tight hold of her staff, holding it at an angle in front of her, brown eyes focused once again on Zach. "Interesting display." she notes of the surge of violet power coursing over him. "I can fight like that too."
Her hands tighten, knuckles turning white. Crimson chi whirls up in a tight aura about her feet, swirling into whispy energy that shifts from red to violet to blue by the time it reaches her shoulders. Her mouth curls into a predator's grin.
COMBATSYS: Ayame gathers her will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Zach 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Ayame
Zach simply grunts as Ayame does her own power-up sequence. He cracks his knuckles as he considers his next course of action. "I guess I'm taking the whole thing kind of personally," Zach admits. But enough talking. There is little need for words as far as he is concerned.
Only time for pain.
Zach cups his hands as he draws them towards his left shoulder. A ball of brilliant purple light gathers there as Glen twists slightly away from the cutpurse. The ball expands for a moment as Zach checks the trajectories. Noone behind the girl. Good. Noone else should bear the brunt of this. Zach roars as he thrust his hands forward, unleashing a horizontal column of violet violence directly at the girl. The horizontal column of light and energy promises a whole lot of trouble.
COMBATSYS: Ayame blocks Zach's Burst Stream.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Zach 0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1 Ayame
"Guess someone has to," Ayame replies, "Since I sure don't." She shifts her feet a little, allowing the energy to build up around her. "If you think all this story time is going to make me feel bad," she pauses, her tone suggesting a shrug but her concentration not permitting her so much freedom to move just then.
She watches the energy he builds carefully, but she shows no intention of avoiding it as she shifts her staff just a little, the weapon now glowing a subdued blue the same hue as the aura at the level of her shoulders. He unleashes the attack, sending a furious amount of psycho power directly toward the rooted girl. At the last moment she braces, shifting the polearm slightly, adjusting the aura around her to help mitigate, in some small way, the power of his impressive attack.
It takes more than simple energy to ward it off, however - a lesson she learns as she finds herself smashed into the wall behind her with a sharp gasp. Peeling off the much needed support as the power fades, she's still on her feet, however, brown eyes locking on Zach. Narrow now, calculating, no longer curious, playfull, or even teasing.
"Let me help you make this even more personal. I'm going to finish you!" She pushes off the wall with one foot, sprinting back toward Zach, the risidual energy of her preparation and subsequent defense concentrating into her titanium polearm itself, infusing it with a vibrant, churning aura.
In the next instant, she's upon him, unleashing a savage flurry of staff strikes. Only, the ends of her weapon keep changing, as well as red energy solidifies, briefly, into the shape of various weapons. An axe head made of chi, a bladed spear, a lance... each chi-weapon is put to use as the girl literally attempts to finish Zach with one all out, unrelenting assault. She'll pause only when she has to, having pushed herself too hard to keep going, and then going a bit longer all the same!
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Zach with Final Solstice.
[ \\\ < > ///////// ]
Zach 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Ayame
Zach's arms drop to his sides as he watches Ayame prepare her strike. Blood runs down one arm, the knife would not yet closed. Then the charge. Chi blade after chi blade tears into the young man. He tries to get something up, some kind of defense, some kind of protection. But the beating at Roberto's hands, along with the blood loss from the not-yet-healed knife wound take their toll.
Zach's shirts, and then the flesh underneath them, shreds. Blood now decorates the room in violent arcs of crimson. However, Zach is still standing at the end of it. The stance is weak, his knees wobble uncontrollably and at random intervals, but still he stands. One eye is swollen shut from a staff strike, and the other is covered in blood from another head injury. That open eye still burns with fury that refuses to die down.
Zach gives one last roar, pain and rage mingling into a single kiai as he finds the strength for one more charge. He brings back his left hand, and drives it hard at Ayame's midsection. He waits for it to connect, before firing off one last blast of psychic energy from the knuckles, almost as large as the burst before it, if a great deal shorter in duration. Regardless of the outcome, Zach slumps face-first on the classroom floor still bleeding. Hate to be the guy responsible for clean-up.
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Ayame stops Burst Strike from Zach with Midsummer Fantasy.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/-------|
Her frenzy of strikes comes to an end, the girl literally out of breath. Her body aches, lingering pain in her nerves from the Psycho Power that cut right through her energy defenses like a knife. Her jaw and shoulder hurt. And she's gasping for breath. But she's standing, staring back at Zach, a malicious grin occupying her features. "You're good. I'm lucky you were already punched and kicked around some. That Robert guy is no pushover." She tilts her head to the side slightly, standing up straighter. "But whatever you hoped to make this moment - your revenge, payback, fullfilling your vendetta... it's not going to be this time."
She takes a step back, staff snapping up under her left shoulder, gripped by her left hand near the end. The chi coursing over it fades, the shapes of the two handed weapons that had occupied the 'bit' of it collapsing into formless matter that spills down off the weapon like a crimson rain, vanishing an inch or so above the floor.
As relaxed as her posture may be, she hasn't let down her guard. She already did that once before and got sucker punched for it. There's a ton of energy churning around the young man, and to ignore that is to invite a harder hit. Nerves frayed as they are, she doesn't really want to imagine what would happen if he hit cleanly with all that.
Her defenses, this time, take on a different, more controlled form, however, as he slams forward with his charged fists. With his opening punch, her hand is there, a soft blue disk of chi intersecting it, stopping the physical force short and dispersing the violet energy around it. "Not this time," she whispers to him now that he's so close. "Just think, next time..."
She snaps her hand up to intercept the follow up strike in the same way as the first, forcing that powerful Psycho Power to wash around her, leaving her untouched this time. "I might remember who you are, Zach Glen." she finishes with a smirk as Zach crumples to the floor, dismissing the highly tuned energy she used for her defense with a wave of her hand.
A glance over the room is taken, eying Aranha on the sidelines briefly. The other combatants are checked each in turn before she releases a long, slow exhale, twirls on one foot toward the exit, and walks toward the door. "This place is a mess. I bet the castle proper will be much nicer!"
"MMF MH HMMMM!!!" Todoh's fist suddenly shoots up from under the confines of Raizo's superior size and bulk as he, beyond the limits of fatigue and injury, deigns that these kids are being too loud about their little revenge plots and psionic blasts and other such niceties.
The arm goes limp again soon after.
Great Teacher Garcia, on the other hand, remains quite thoroughly unconscious after his chaotic demonstration. Teeth are still bared in a manic grin of euphoria. Seriously, what's wrong with that guy? Oh, right...he's lived in the Kyokugen Dojo for a few years.
Log created on 19:42:06 12/07/2008 by Todoh, and last modified on 14:08:01 12/11/2008.