Description: A team matchup set in Howard Arena has one very insidious stipulation. Hakuya and Roland are to betray their teammates at fixed intervals during the fight, testing the adaptability and readiness of both Kula Diamond and Kyosuke Kagami. See if you can even figure out when Roland is trying to sabotage things?! ( Winners: Kula vs Roland )
Appearing in Howard Arena to participate in a Main Event is a pretty normal occurance for one Kula Diamond. Ruthless as she is effective in combat, the unusually young fighter has a proven track record of being a complete menace in the arena, making her a popular choice for the type of impressive battles that main events promise to bring the viewing audience. The location may be a common sight to her, but the circumstances in which the matches take place always have strange variables tossed in. Sometimes they rebuilt the staging to suit her power over ice and frozen matter. Or there might be a striker to call upon. Or maybe it's a free for all madhouse of dangerous fighters pit against each other...
Or maybe it's like this week. A premise that seems so simple on the surface. A simple, good old fashioned, honest team fight? It seems too basic on the surface, but Kula is ready for the change of pace. The dust covered stone surface of the arena is occupied by young Diamond who appears to be as calm and indifferent to the gathered crowd as possible. Quiet, relaxed, arms resting at her sides.
She hardly seems that menacing at first glance. Until one notices the spiraling swirl of ice crystals drifting around her figure or gets close enough to fill the ambient chill in her proximity. Frosty blue hair drifts behind her shoulders, lifted slightly as if driven by an air current localized to her. Anyone who's seen her fight knows that the ice she can pull from thin air is not to be taken lightly!
And from another entry, another youth made his way out towards the center of the arena. Garbed in what passed for a school uniform, Kyosuke Kagami of Taiyo High was here to represent and participate. The Morals Committee member wore a stoic expression, though when he glanced out up to the stands, he recognised a small contingent of supporters, school colours in hand. He had their hopes to fufill, and some of his own aswell. Not exactly one of the common contestants of late, though not entirely unknown, it was sometimes difficult to schedule these events when he had other responsibilities. None the less, he'd never improve if he skirted training, and he had a lot more reasons to push himself to the limits...
He didn't particularly care for being trounced again by his brother.
Coming to a halt, he lifted a hand slightly accepting any cheering, but his gaze was focused now on Kula Diamond. His lips tugged slightly in a faint smile, and he inclined his head in silent greeting, before lightly touching his fingers to his glasses.
Fighting in the main event was not something Hakuya was used to. He'd done it once, maybe twice over his admittedly short and spotty career in the SNF, and both times he'd lost. Once to Kain, which was more or less inevitable, and once to... Kula Diamond. This time the field isn't iced over, it's a simple slab of concrete which... is comforting, considering how Kula had used the icey field to startling advantage. But Hakuya had no doubts she'd be no less dangerous this time. Even as he arrives, a bit early for the match, he looks at the deceptively powerful ice wielder, noting the fact that the lack of an ice field doesn't mean ice crystals still don't form around her.
Yeah... she'd be a tough fight, even with another supposedly strong person on his side.
...Despite that, he smiles, and casts a wave to the girl in a completely guileless, friendly greeting. Yeah, that's how Hakuya rolls.
And while the warm friendliness is genuine, he can't help but feel nervous inside. He'd been told what the /real/ aim of this match was before they'd let him on stage. He had to... betray his comrade, someone he didn't even know. As Kyosuke walks on stage, Hakuya gives the tall man a nervous smile and dip of his head, never meeting his eyes. How was he supposed to do this?! This was almost too cruel... for a person like Hakuya, he just wasn't -wired- to betray people, or do mean things. Hell, Kula had practically put him in the hospital for a month by spearing him with ice, and he'd acted friendly towards her!
Ah... he'll get through it... somehow...
And here comes a minor blip in the Saturday Night Fight league, the ever adaptable and ever desperate Roland Brown. He holds up a sign towards the camera that reads 'Join Todohryuu!' and throws a thumb's up towards the camera. Then flips it over, and the other side reads 'Kyokugen sucks!' With that bit of PR work done, he throws the card aside and strides up into the ring. He was told to backstab a little girl, and had just said 'Fine' almost before the person finished the sentence. He's somewhat surprised Ayame's not his rival in this kind of battle. He can instantly tell that Hakuya lacks the ruthless child beating vibe that is important for this manner of combat! Oh well.
Kyosuke though has a much more menacing feel to him. He shifts between him and Kula a good few times, stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner. If he plays his chips right, he might be able to get her hobeaten and try to avoid too much repercussion. At least neither looks liable to take such underhanded tactics well. He settles a couple meters away, pulling at his sleeves to adjust the weathered leather while taking a heavy draw upon one of his clove cigarettes. "Well, let's win this. I want a damn paycheck, not another beating."
COMBATSYS: Kula has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hakuya has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Kyosuke 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Kula 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyosuke
One by one the others enter the stage, stepping into plain view for all the world to see. For newer fighters, the threat of stage fright is quite real. And even those who have gotten past that initial nervousness may find the opponents they're set up to face a daunting task. She doesn't see any trace fear in Kyosuke's approach even though she doesn't recognize him as a regular, however. She returns his nod of acknowledgement with a seemingly ready smile. She hasn't quite slipped into her combat mindset yet, leaving her coming across a bit more 'normal.'
Eyes, crimson in hue when contrasted against her frosty colored hair, come to rest on Hakuya next. She recognizes the durable young man from a particularly epic bout some time ago. His nervousness is noticed with her predtator-like instinctual perception, and she can't help but wonder as to the source. He hadn't exhibited anything resembling low confidence last time. And last time the battle field was strongly skewed in her favor... He raises his hand to wave and she does likewise, waving her yellow insulated gloved hand back at him just as pleasantly. She definitely has no reason to bear him ill will.
And at last she has her partner. Roland Sylvester Brown. Her focus shifts to him as he strides onto the stage and opens with his little PR stunt. She notices the coat he's wearing and wonders if it was a wardrobe decision based on who his partner was. "You don't need to be worried about getting cold." she states with a muted grin, "I can aim my attacks just fine."
And with all the fighters in place, it's time to demonstrate just that. "We should do fine as a team," she answers his request to win the match. "I'll help you if you need!" And with that, she's off, bolting forward with her well established speed. Her feet slip over the stone, as if she were gliding on ice skates rather than dusty rock, advancing like a bullet straight toward Kyosuke.
She coils up mid-step from a couple yards out, only to spin out of the next step into a verticle spiral through the air and whipping her right foot out with a fearsome amount of force. The flare of white energy being put to use just before she strikes might be all the warning the Taiyo student gets before her ice-encased foot attempts to collide with the center of his chest and drive him backward!
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Kula's Medium Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Kyosuke
Kyosuke was known well enough in Taiyo, but as to his reputation in the other schools...not nearly, unless it were Justice, and even then the number of people who knew he was the twin to Hyo weren't exceedingly outstanding. As it was, Hakuya remained a somewhat unknown outside of catching bits and pieces of his fights from across the television broadcasts. Usually he left it on when he was writing his reports or recorded it digitally to study later. It was one kind of training he could still do, and for someone like the Imawano, half the battle was fought with the mind.
He had already pegged Kula as the one to watch, though Roland swaggered enough-- it was Hakuya's nervousness that stood out like a flag. He squinted briefly behind his glasses, filing his private notes away. It wasn't a meeting that inspired trust, but it was easy to pass it off as nerves, right? "Save the worrying for later Suigetsu, it'll only cloud your judgement and hamper your abillities." Reaching out, he'd seek to lightly and briefly rest his hand on his shoulder before adding some space to pair off with their opponents, "Goodluck, and remember, we're doing this as a team!" Managing to embue his words with a genuine urging, it was true though. Kyosuke didn't take too kindly to betrayals, how might he react to Hakuya's requirement? Time would tell.
Speaking of time, there was little of it to quibble with once the fight started, Kula was out of the gate like a thoroughbred. She did provide enough of a warning to the student however, and his hand whipped out as he twisted his body to take only a glimmer of the force behind her brutal kick. "Swift..." He murmered, and his eyes smiled as he responded in turn, attempting to keep that grip as he'd blocked, spinning as he ducked his body low...and his leg snapping out for her own abdomen in a powerful blow that would knock her into the air.
Ah, well, Kula smiled back. That's... good. Though he's somewhat better able to greet the ice wielder than he is his own partner, it doesn't help his nervousness any. Though he might be, slightly, intimidated of the girl due to her power, he did reasonably well against her last time, and she had an advantage over him on that fight. No, the real source of his nervousness was doing what he had to do in this fight. Ruthless child beating vibe? None here, not at all. And Kyosuke was far from a child, by the looks of him! Glancing over his partner, Hakuya feels both a little reassured and not. Kyosuke looked, well, strong. What would be the man's reaction to having his partner turn on him in the middle of combat?
Considering Kyosuke is... cheering him up? Well, who knows. The Suigetsu heir blinks a few times as a hand is laid on his shoulder, and kind words are spoking. Looking up to Kyosuke with something like surprise on his face, Hakuya is again, both reassured... and not. How was he supposed to betray someone so nice?! But, what his team mate says does make a lot of sense. He needed to focus... and do the best he could on those instances when he was able to actually fight the other team. He -was- in this as a team, after all, he just... had to do something not-so-teamly every so often. Right, okay. He could do this.
And as Kula and Kyosuke enter their melee, Hakuya decides the best thing he could do right this instant... is to run interference. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he looks to Kula's lightning-fast kick, gives a little sympathy wince for the pain Kyosuke must feel in blocking, and then turns back to Roland. He didn't know -anything- about Roland, it was true... but, he was about to find out. "Alright!" Hakuya shouts to no one in particular, then dashes forward towards his chosen opponent.
As he closes the gap, Hakuya twists his body, then lashes out with one sneakered foot to try and kick at Roland's side stiffly. The kick is followed through, with Hakuya's entire body twisting around, and the other leg coming up in a full roundhouse kick to Roland's head. Not finished just yet, should those two kicks finish, the Suigetsu heir drops to the floor and performs an oddly dance-like maneuver, twisting on his shoulders while both of his feet lash out for another round of kicks in a wide arc, before rolling back onto his feet.
COMBATSYS: Roland fails to interrupt Heavy Kick from Hakuya with Sleight of Hand.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Kyosuke
The bonding between Roland and Kula is much less minor. She claims to be good, he'll ... not really care, as no matter what in the near future he's only got to worry about the stranger opposite. He looked to be vaguely distracted, more intent on smoothing the front of his coat then paying attention. Hakuya happened to be kind enough to shout out at the onset though, and he draws himself into a suitably aggressive stance. His left hand sneaks into an outer pocket, clenching on something as eyes narrow. Waiting, patiently. Before then hurling something through the air, with his own exclaimation. "AHA!" A waft of sand... which misses due to the peculiar manner of Hakuya's assault. Suffice to say, without blindness on his side, Roland is in a terrible position. He's struck in a forearm, which he intended to guard. Shattering his excuse for a defense, the second slams him in the face, causing him to stumble away. Only to get nailed in the ass and back, swandiving across the arena and sliding a couple feet in a manner that's really laughable, if Kyosuke or Kula bothered to spare him any attention. About two dozen mistakes were made from start to finish... at least he goes all out in being inept! "...ow."
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Kula with Leg Launcher.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Kyosuke
Her ice laced boot is defended against as Kula attempts to crush Kyosuke to the ground. It forces her to land a bit earlier than she had intended to, her left foot touching down force as she makes a hasty correction. What she doesn't read fast enough is how smoothly the student goes from defending to attacking, not wasting time with anything in between as he converts his defensive momentum into an attack right back at her.
Caught, she tries to pull free to no avail, leaving her yanked forward, her guard open for him to kick her hard enough in the stomach to send the smaller fighter up into an upside down flip before coming to a landing on her back a few yards off. Shaking her head, she sits up, left hand going to rest at her stomach, thankful at least for the NESTS engineered leather jacket that helps reinforce her defenses against such blunt force strikes.
Tucking her feet beneath her, she spins back up to standing, crimson eyes going back to focus on Kyosuke. So little is known about him. How he thinks, how he fights. What his style is... there are advantages to staying out of the limelight as a fighter. It means fewer people know what you can do when you decide to visit it once again. Deciding to test his ranged defensive tactics, she brings her gloved hand to her mouth, palm up, taking in a sharp breath in spite the pain in her abdomen.
A shimmer of white courses over her body, culminating in her right hand at the same time the girl exhales, turning what would normally have been a harmless breath into gale force winds full of sleet, sharp ice shards, and razor edged rings of frozen matter all blasting toward Kyosuke in a bid to figure out what the glasses wearing young man can do. The more combat parameters she can feed her fighting instincts, the better answers they will come up with for her to deal with him. Of Roland, she barely notices what transpires between him and Hakuya. She's banking on him to be at least capable of holding his own for a short bit.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyosuke with Diamond Breath.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
Kyosuke would like to have been able to pay close attention to both fights, his own chosen by Kula, and what his teammate was embroiled in. Sadly, he could barely register him on the field, absently noting that Roland was having a hard time of it...but no more than that, because the petite girl demanded that much. It was true, any experienced fighters tended to send out feelering attacks, to better get to know their opponent-- Kula had a mind to do it, so was Kyosuke in his own way. Each reaction was scrutinised by his sharp mind, and he was loathe to find that inspite of knowing-- he had still limitations.
The sudden rise of ice and blitzingly lashing wind that arose with so simple a movement took him ofguard, and inspite of seeing the barreling glittering razors funneling towards him, his attempts to fast track himself out of its path failed. Miserably, "TTTTccchhhhhaaaa!" His jacket was sliced, and through that to his skin, several lines of red bled out into the stark white, leaving him looking as if he may yet collapse from the strain. He had dropped his knee so as to balance his weight better after being forced back, and strove to contain any pain he felt, inwardly checking the damage, whilst looking at Kula with renewed respect. She was strong, utterly belying her appearances, it would take some new tactics to approach her, he couldn't afford to be lax in /anything/.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke calculates his next move.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
Perhaps those words of encouragement - such as they were - from Kyosuke had done wonders! For even though the execution of Hakuya's attack is fairly slow, if punishing, the Japanese teens' focus, or more likely just pure luck, means his victory in this case. Sneakered feet whip out four times, each colliding with the man named Roland, and ultimately sends the older man skidding to the ground. Hakuya rolls up from his shoulders onto his feet, and then springs to a standing position, ready for any kind of follow-up attacks from Roland... and none come. "Huh?" Hakuya asks, blinking a few times. Looking from Roland to his own feet, he seems a bit perplexed. Maybe he should apologize for attacking so suddenly? ...No, if this were someone he knew, like Marisol, and he apologized mid-fight, Marisol would've just gotten angrier. What she would've wanted...? Would be to be attacked again, so she could blaze through the totally lucky strike and visit some pain on Hakuya.
So, that's what he'll do.
As Kyosuke and Kula do their own fight on a completely different scale and level off to the side, Hakuya pays no attention to them beyond the vaguest awareness of their positions. He focuses on Roland fully. Dipping low, the grappler begins to rush forward, seeking to grab up Roland by whatever the Suigetsu heir can grab, and then rush down the stone stage, moving as fast as he can. After a short, furious sprint, the young Guardian King suddenly halts his momentum, swinging everything he's built up into a 180 spin, and putting all of that force behind his opponent, and then spiking Roland down into the concrete slab of the floor.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya successfully hits Roland with Tidal Crush.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
Never let it be said that Roland is an effective fighter. Hakuya had more then enough time to get back to his feet before Roland does the same, about as vulnerable as a pregnant cow rolled over while picking himself to his feet. He's still reeling once he turns to face the man, rubbing at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He certainly doesn't seem angry at the moment though. More on the verge of a mild concussion. Which certainly isn't helped by the sudden rush forward, and before he can fend off the ineria he's whirled around. Hakuya might realize then that Roland weighs a hell of a lot. Well past two hundred pounds. Given he's quite fit, that has to be excess baggage from his coat. Which helps mightily when he hits the ground with his face so hard a few mild cracks pop in, and he flips forward to sprawl out. "...!!" He fetals for a second, but then pulls up his knees to his chest. One hand then the other slams into the ground, twisting his hips. "Roland..." he begins, slightly gurgling. How peculiar. But wait, there's more. Now he's launching himself straight upwards, rotating violently as he tries to slam both steel heeled boots into Hakuya's face! "ROCKET!!" SWOOSH! One of his signature assaults!! The crowd would go wild if he had even the slightest hint of a fanbase.
Kula lowers her hand from her mouth, clenching her fingers closed to shake off the encrusted ice left on her glove after the blizzardy attack. Crimson eyes study Kyosuke intently, trying to read the nature of his preparation, still trying to get enough information on how he fights to let her NESTS engineered fighting instincts try to unravel it. She remains absolutely calm, glancing over the battlefield briefly in the slight reprieve she's been offered, only to notice Hakuya across the way doing a real number on her partner.
She had told him she would help him if he needed, and with how he's taken a beating thus far, the girl decides that he probably needs it. Her icy breath attack doesn't have the kind of range it would take to hit Hakuya from that far, however, so she's forced to break position and bolt his way, risking leaving herself open to Kyosuke for a moment. If it buys Roland time, it might be worth it after all. In a team match, the teammate isn't to be completely ignored, even if she's growing uncertain as to his effectiveness. Casting Roland a glance that does little to hide her skepticism, Kula does what she can to try and buy him time.
The girl's left hand is charged with white energy, but it's her right hand that leads, going for Hakuya's neck to lock him into position. Her left hand follows almost immediately after as she tries to plant it right on the Gedo student's face, exposing it to a blisteringly cold infusion of that vibrantly bright white energy she wields!
It can be called a reprieve if one wished, but it was an oppourtunity for Kyosuke to collect himself, and to observe his opponent...preparing to pick apart her defenses, and maybe check in in this case on how his team mate was doing. Not too shabbily, but he wasn't willing to hedge his bets that he could deal with both Kula /and/ Roland on his own. Kula was a handful enough for him, and whilst the other had proven his adeptness thus far, he would return the favour. One might consider it cruel to beat down on a foe who was struggling, but when it came to sound strategy...Roland was the more obvious choice at the moment.
Instead of throwing himself towards Kula, once targetting the mess of attacks in the limited space he leapt right on into the fray-- his arm drawn back as atlast he summoned the force of his chi into the fight. Crackling spheres of energy formed about his fist and left ghostly images as he sought to crash it down onto Roland's head. Two on one was easier, was it not? And the coat wearing man was the weakest of them all at present.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya just-defends Roland's Roland Rocket!
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
COMBATSYS: Hakuya blocks Kula's Medium Throw.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
Roland gets spiked, and how. But the man is pretty resilient, that much is true. Hakuya's attacks haven't been pleasant tickles, they've been pretty punishing, and it should be putting the hurt on most fighters. But the older man is moving after only a second's delay, launching himself up and thrusting steel-toed boots at the grappler's face! Sliding a foot backwards, Hakuya seems to brace himself, his arms raising in an X over his upper body. At the same time the heels of the boots impact on him, the young teen pushes upwards at the same time he ducks, effectively making the boots only graze his guard rather than impacting heavily on it. There's little time, however, to celebrate, because his senses, rather than any cognitive thinking, tells him that someone else is coming to deal some punishment too.
This not precisely knowing where it's coming from means Kula grabs his throat in a rather painful choke hold, a choked cry being uttered, before once again his arms raise, as if shielding his face. The blisteringly cold blast of energy still stings, but the impact is a great deal lesser than it could've been. He could've taken that right in the eyes. Once Kula releases him, he stumbles a bit, staggering away from the slim girl, and almost seems to catch his balance one moment... before he remembers.
Oh yeah, time to sabotage. Thinking wildly for a few moments, he catches his balance... and then suddenly, the next, he's stumbling again, looking like he'd only had a tenuous grip on the balancing act. Hopefully, anyway. Staggering, he attempts to knock himself into Roland, clumsily getting in the way of Kyosuke's attack, or hopefully doing so, anyway!
COMBATSYS: Hakuya assists Roland.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke successfully hits Roland with Shadow Breaker.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Kyosuke
Well, Roland will be little more then a footnote in this fight. A very painful and horribly beaten footnote. He hadn't been given even the slightest attention towards Kyosuke, more marveling at the fact one of his mightest assaults just got slapped aside in a harmless manner. Landing in a crouch, the slump into him as arms pinwheeling, sounding more confused then anything. "What the he--" SLAM. He's struck with catastrophic force, his hat flying off as he is sent into the ground with a howl of pain, mist of blood and stone chunks sent airward. He rolls away, grasping his face as blood runs down it, gasping and blinded. But he manages to get back to his feet, blearily looking towards Kula. He's supposed to do something that will saboutage her, isn't he? Although he's a hair from defeat. Being useless is enough of a crime, he believes. So instead, in a manner that might surprise Hakuya, he opts to suddenly shoot towards him, two steel blades erupting from his forearms. Sliding one foot along, he then arches them upwards with a snarl, attempting to cleave him with a vorpal eruption of emerald energy from hip to shoulder, hopefully sending him quite airborne in the motion!!
Kula finds her attack defended against rather effectively by the Gedo student as he pries his way out of her grip spared the worst of the frigid chi meant for him. She's about to pursue again when she becomes aware of a factor she hadn't taken into close enough consideration thus far - Kyosuke's tactical ruthlessness is no kinder than her own. Crimson eyes glance to the side just in time to see the jacketed youth assault Roland in an impressively destructive manner.
She chides herself. She hadn't considered that approach - that he would pour all of his power into going after her partner the moment she gave him an opening. It teaches her a harsh lesson about the student's approach to tactics and how she'll need to plan for it for the rest of the match. Roland may very well be completely out of the fight at this point, but she'll just have to make the most of it - to deal with Kyosuke first, then handle his partner.
She isn't angry about what's been done to Roland thus far even if his condition is a casualty of her mistake. For now she'll just have to keep pressure on Kyosuke to get him to back off her partner! And attack she does, drawing her right arm back, a surge of that blistering chi rushing along her limb into her hand where it solidifies into a sphere of translucent, diamond hard ice...
Two steps forward before she swings her weighted right hand out even though she isn't close enough to actually strike Kyosuke directly. The real menace becomes clear when three varied length lances burst out of the half of the sphere closest to the Taiyo student. If Kyosuke is interested in effective battlefield tactics, it seems Kula is about to try and give him a lesson in it with sharp, piercing pain!
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke blocks Kula's Critical Ice.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Kyosuke
It had likely been a tactic that even Hyo would have thought-- it was the obvious choice, and if he'd failed to manipulate the opening he'd have been a sorry fighter. There was little room for praise from his brother, and even if he might have felt a tinge of empathy for the unfortunate Roland, they were all here to fight and accepted the risks that entailed. He'd met the floor with vicious unrequieted love many a time, and when Kula was his partner...there was no room for being dainty about it.
Speaking of which in dainty, Kyosuke had been close enough to notice Hakuya's little 'slip', afterall it'd be bad taste to end up hitting his team mate rather than his opponent, and had to time it well once the latter had completed his go...For the time being all it had earned, was an eye-squint, no more.
Kula wasn't about to let up though, and he recognised she noticed her mistake. If he read her right, she would take little time to correct this error, she was intelligent enough to adapt. Hakuya would be on his own to deal with the injured, albiet determined Roland, leaving off to tackle Kula. And literally too. Just a little faster this time, her hints clear as to the ice manifesting about her. Pressing foward, he had expected almost another projectile, but instead had to deal a sudden eruption of spikes, one, two speared past him, searing a path across the sides chest, spared impalement by the third as he lashed out, shattering it into harmlessness. His poor jacket though, another two holes added to it, he shrugged out of it long enough to charge...seeking to get a hold of the smaller girl by the shoulders. With one grip he'd sweep her around and then throw his weight foward in a roll, crushing her to the ground with little remorse or hesitation before landing back onto his feet.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya fails to interrupt All In from Roland with Blind Crescent.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Kyosuke
Well, while he didn't go knocking Roland out of the way of the attack, or running TOO much interference, neither does it seem like Kyosuke is about to turn on him and beat him to a pulp! So, a partial win here! Roland goes down, and Hakuya immediately catches his balance, glancing towards Kyosuke for a moment in a nervous way. But neither of them have too much time to really ponder on the issue, because they're getting attacked again. Kula launches for Kyosuke... and Roland launches for him. Almost literally. And /where/ did those blades come from? Did they just pop out of his skin?!
This question actually delays Hakuya's reaction for a split second, so startled by the sudden appearance of the blades that he doesn't quite know what to do. But he moves, finally, if only a fraction of a second too late. His hands seek to intercept the inwards-sweeping hands of Roland, and for just a moment, he manages to stop them, just as the green chi flares up. But he hasn't set his body the way he needs to be, and so the meager resistance is something like a weak push that momentarily interrupts the flow, for no good effect on Hakuya's part whatsoever. The blades and chi slice him heavily from hip to shoulder, and he's knocked into the air with a loud cry of alarm and pain.
Flopping nearly bonelessly to the ground, the Suigetsu heir lets out a groan, and shifts, slowly getting back up. He'll need a moment.
Well the blades popped out of the sleeves, but it's probably not something many people have for uses such as this. Of course, one shouldn't make the mistake of thinking he's a weak fool despite his bumbling. He's dangerous on the offensive. It's just in every other circumstance in his entire life ever that he's questionable! "Well, maybe I'm getting a second wind..." He grasps the air with a hand and yanks, sending his hat spiraling towards him in a rather violent manner. But without looking he snatches it out and then begins to spin it on his finger. "Let's see if you can finish me off or not!!" Suddenly he pulls a cord dangling from the beaten leather, and a crescent of blades erupts from the brim. Before he spreads his stance and then hurls it towards Hakuya with a snarl, aiming to plow into his chest and send him stumbling backwards!! Hopefully, with a lot of aesthetic blood splattering!
COMBATSYS: Kula interrupts Strong Throw from Kyosuke with Crow Bite.
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Kula 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1 Kyosuke
As Kyosuke manages to survive her deadly, aggressive attack, Kula snaps her right hand back, discarding what remains of the ice into a swirling vortex of unshaped chi overing over the palm of her gloved hand. Waste not, want not after all. Without an arena coated in snow and ice like the last time Hakuya fought her here, she doesn't have an infinite supply of the stuff to draw upon, though those who have seen her fight might be forced to wonder at that given how long she can keep the charged attacks up.
Once thing's for sure, she's diverted Kyosuke off of Roland and bought her partner a sliver of time in which to act. It's the best she can do. Hakuya is a tough kid - tough enough that she can't keep both him and the strawyberry blond busy at the same time. He charges forward, braving the worst the frosty girl can bring to bear, risking an aggresive reach for her shoulders. She's starting to decipher his style, however subconsciously it may be, and this time the attack is read accordingly.
That chi swirling over her right fist shifts, coating her forearm with a thick gauntlet of jagged, spiked ice, lending both weight and sharpness to her next strike. And as Kyosuke goes for her shoulders to get a tight grip, she turns her left shoulder to him, letting him only get half the hold he sought. She can't stop him from pulling back on her hard, but she can put an end to the entire attempt as she crouches slightly then springs, twisting her body so that her right arm comes in with a punishing uppercut into Kyosuke's chest. It's part strike and part brutal shreading as the ruthless ice user takes to the air in a spiraling trajectory.
Ice crystals rain down around her as she spins, discarding the guantlet from her arm to avoid slowing herself for whatever action she choses next, coming down to a landing a few seconds later, several yards away from her starting point, stopping in a half crouch. Swiftly the girl stands and turns back toward the rest of the fighters, still quite ready to go.
And what was Hakuya doing?!
Kyosuke was more than busy, infact he had one lucid moment of realisation the first micro-second his attack had been turned from what he had initially intended, then began the pain which ended with him pretty much falling like a leadened stone to the floor of the arena, a fine new collection of injuries that bled likely internally along with atleast a couple cracked, maybe broken ribs. Take a second? Right, Kyosuke took...a few. He was down, but not out yet. The Imawano blood wouldn't allow him to give up, and certainly not to dwell on his injuries longer than it took for him to shake them off. He just hoped his brother wasn't seeing this.
Still, Kula had satisfied expectations, perhaps exceeded them in the strength. Getting back to his feet, an arm cradling his injured chest, somehow his glasses had miraculously survived. The spare was in his coat strewn somewhere else. He had a determined expression on his bloodied face, marred from the earlier ice-storm, but there was no anger there. Only focus, after a brutal attack like that, one would expect you'd take a moment to reassess, recoup. Kyosuke did neither. It wasn't the time too, and he darted in, his sneakers barely touching the floor before they picked up again and once in close, she'd be able to feel the charge to the air...
"HYUUUUUURRYYYAAAAHHH!" Moments before his hand swept up before him, and the ground literally exploded before him and hopefully beneath her feet, in a torrent of energy. Raijin. Lightning, a sinuous electrifying wall of chi speared up into the heavens.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya fails to reflect Blackjack from Roland with Solaris Sunder.
- Power fail! -
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
The success seen by Hakuya in the first part of this fight seems to be not focus, not skill, but luck. Because no sooner does his luck end, than does it turn around. Just as he's getting back up from his failed attempting at striking through the sudden blades and chi Roland whips out, he glances up - just in time to see a freaking /hat/ with blades flying at him. There's very little time for conscious thought here, and so when this happens, the years of automatic, conditions defensive responses kick in... and he raises his hand. There's some kind of crackling of energy about his hand, but whatever he might be doing, it fails.
The bladed hat comes too fast, and there's too little time ot prepare. The blades rip into his hand rather than being deflected, and it continues on, slicing open his forearm, bicep, and then ripping into his shoulder. A highly 'aesthetic' spray of blood goes up from that shoulder, and he cries out sharply. Stagging backwards, the Suigetsu heir grabs at the fresh, bloody wound, and seems to be much too in pain to consider doing anything at the moment, his blood not only having sprayed up, but now dripping all over the stone stage.
Oh, Roland knows exactly what's taking place right now. Hakuya's obviously not used to fighting people who will throw sand in your face, kick you in the nuts, sprout blades from thin air and throw bladed hats at you. The trick is to remain on the offensive long enough to continue shutting him down, before he can regain his train of thought! He's begun charging towards the other man, yanking back his hand and causing the attached wire to cause his hat to stop dead in midair. Before vaulting forward in a lunging kind of leap, which really has no purpose given he's driving his heel at a sharp downwards angle to peg Hakuya right between the legs. Hard. "CROTCHSHOT!" is called out, too late to be of any tactical use. It might make less sense if he wiffs or it's otherwise defended against, however. But he's obviously not cashed in his chips yet; on the verge of collapse or not, he's going to throw himself into the ring again and again! As long as a paycheck is on the line, anyway...
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Kyosuke's Super Lightning Uppercut.
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Kyosuke
Rising up to standing after landing from her attack, Kula rises back up to standing quickly, turning around to cooly take in the state of the battlefield. Her efforts to buy Roland some time seem to have paid off, giving him a chance to prove more useful than she was about to write him off as. That he seems to have a style that revolves around being unpredictable and attacking in ways most fighters would consider uncouth. Knowing little of honor among combatants, it doesn't bother her in the slightest if it gets the job done.
Her attention shifts back to Kyosuke as he pulls himself back to his feet. The strike she dealt him would crumple most of her more harmless targets. That he's up and charging back is an indicator of her calibur of opponent. It means she needs to try harder to get this done. Sensitive to the energy he draws on, she can understand, on some level, the degree of effort he's pouring into his next attack. Her defenses will need to be certain or she may lose her edge quickly!
Turning her left shoulder toward the Taiyo student, she locks her feet in place with boots of thick ice that seize to the stone. Her right hand raises, tucked close to her stomach, palm facing toward her incoming opponent, fingers splayed. The timing is critical, especially since she doesn't know the precise nature of the intended attack, and won't be able to until she sees it. His arm sweeps up... and where's the attack?
Gasping, the girl realizes that it's from beneath that the chi will explode. The correction is split second, the ice at her feet shifting at the last moment to put a barrier between her and the spire of lightning that errupts around her. It knocks her up into the air as her defensive shield explodes into vapor, but by then the attack has lost the worst of it's vigor and she lands a few yards away, one hand against the ground, hair resting against her shoulders as she takes in a sharp breath.
That was close. Time to eliminate this threat before he can pull that off again! She pushes from crouching to sprinting with no loss in speed, drawing her right hand back, white energy coursing ov her fist before solidifying into a translucent outer 'glove' with two icy spikes jutting out over her knuckles.
It's that hand that Kyosuke need worry about when the girl strikes again, slamming her fist forward, going for a solid, direct chest strike; small sharp spikes leading the way.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyosuke with Medium Punch.
# Disabling hit! #
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Kyosuke
He was aware that Hakuya wasn't exactly having a good string of luck right now, much like himself...On the other hand, that didn't mean he'd forgotten. He had an inate instinct to want to support his team mate, but at the same time, he needed a moment to break away from the veritable ball of ice-demon who was repeatedly at each turn, thwarting now such a thing. That last had pushed him, draining his energy for crucial moments and his recovery was slower than usual. Not slow by many a standard, but with Kula, it was too slow by a long shot. The strike hit home in his chest, just as how she planned it and the spikes embedded, neatly cutting into his left lung. Shoving himself away, he dropped to a knee a few feet away from the small girl, the taste of blood on the back of his throat. His breathing was hampered now, and with his lips parted, he knew that the outcome was looking less rosey by the second.
He had two choices, and this time sided with the conservative. Roland should heave a sigh of relief, but once he caught his breath, if Hakuya hadn't completed the task. He, would.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke gains composure.
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Kyosuke
COMBATSYS: Hakuya Toughs Out Roland's Light Kick!
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Kyosuke
Kula and Kyosuke rage on while Roland and Hakuya duel in a battle of ever-changing luck, and despite the two titans off some distance duking it out, the young Suigetsu can't even pay them a whit of attention beyond a vague feeling of where they're at. He has to focus on Roland, has to push through this bevy of strange attacks. It was true that Hakuya wasn't really used to fighting someone who used... tools? to fight. Normally, weapons (or lack thereof) were presented upfront, and two people fought each other head on. Roland was using tricks. Which he wasn't morally opposed to or anything... it simply was that he wasn't used to it.
But a kick to the crotch, that's something pretty straight forward.
As Roland lunges forward, Hakuya does too. He pushes through the pain of his wound, bleeding all over the place, and then simply... hip-thrusts? forward. He seems to jam his own crotch into Roland's foot, somewhat lessening the impact of the boot, but also catching Roland, hopefully, a little off-balance in the process. For no sooner does the foot hit his bojangles than does Hakuya's good arm suddenly surge forward, and with no bells or whistles, aims to just sock the older man right in the face.
COMBATSYS: Roland blocks Hakuya's Strong Punch.
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
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Roland 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Kyosuke
Well, Roland has kicked a lot of groins in his day. And I mean a lot. He's planted his toes well within the glorious crevice of many leg junctions. Interposed it before countless flies. But in all his time, nobody has ever tried to hump his foot. The result is his eyes widening, and he recoils with a look of shock. "Did you just--" Forearms lift, but his heart just wasn't in it. The tides were turned! Hakuya's fist slams into Roland's wrists, which in turn smack him right in the face. It looks comical, which is appropriate. He's seeing stars, and going down a proverbial flushed toilet in terms of conscious. "Must... use... Monte!!" he manages to hiss out, two blades erupting free and surging with green fire. Before he shifts forward, spiraling twice to lash towards Hakuya's stomach, and then lunging in a vicious cross towards his torso. Before slumping forward so violently he rolls onto his back, down and out. He did his uh... best? Well, it turned out to not be his worst! God speed to you, Kula!!
COMBATSYS: Roland can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
> ///////////// ]
|=====--\-------\0 Kyosuke
She manages to slow Kyosuke down further with that puncturing punchs of hers before snapping her hand back and drawing up her defenses once again. Though she has a better feel for the way the student fights, she hasn't gotten to the point where she can predict the choices he'll make in every situation. That takes time and more exposure to a style to cement down effectively. Fighters of similar styles tend to think the same, lean on the same tools and options. But she hasn't fought many using Imawano-ryu.
As he holds his ground to salvage his breath, Kula exhales softly, her breath a visible vapor before fading away. A glance is cast toward the exchange of attacks between Roland and Hakuya. About to become a bit more taxing for her, it would seem, her combat algorithms already starting to account for having to deal with two fighters at once. It's certainly something she's been trained extensively in.
Her expression is sober, calm, even as she eyes Kyosuke, she seems to offer neither pity nor friendship. Only that same distant, cold demeanor she's maintained throughout the fight. When she attacks again, it's with that same forward speed, perfect for getting through the guard of others and forcing an opening in their defenses. She leads left shoulder first, aiming to plant that directly into Kyosuke's chest, right where her stabbing punch left it's two-pronged mark moments before.
This time, she's more aggressive, however, trying to use the opening to shatter his guard and let her get a grip on Kyosuke's throat with both of her hands. A not so friendly infusion of that brilliant white chi would follow before the girl twists to the side and tosses him away, perhaps thinking to have finished dealing with him all together!
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke interrupts Charged Combo from Kula with Lightning Uppercut.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hakuya
> /////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Kyosuke
It's true, for the time being he had a bit of anonymity on his side, but Kyosuke wasn't the type to hold to such a thing as getting him through fights. The Imawano twins had earned their right to be considered commendable fighters, albiet Hyo some would argue more so than his strawberry-blonded brother. They wouldn't be wrong, he'd tasted the sharp-edge of his sword more than once, or the curled fist of devout attention to detail and progression. Maybe one day Kula'd have the 'Justice Experience'.
From the looks of things, Hakuya was attending to business on his end, and opted to remain where he was...Preditors may sense the weakness in him, the slowed reflexes, the weared draw of his breath, laboured and shallow. The trick was in the eyes, where body may have grown weary with injury and bloodloss, there was no sense of defeat therin. And it wasn't a trick of the reflection of glass, Kyosuke almost seemed to smile, brushing his fingers across his face-- it was almost a silent invitation. Finish him, he wasn't going anywhere...
And she obliged him, but this time he was prepared. He twisted his body, moving with the 'impact' of her shoulder, allowing more of a glancing blow before frigid hands lay like a vise about his neck. Before they could tighten however, that familiar curl of chi, no where near as before but the crackle of static was warning enough. But this close, his hand came up between her grip, snapping it aside as the torrent of electrical blue-white chi cascaded between them, allowing no time for her precious shield and with all the gentleness she had afforded him earlier.
COMBATSYS: Roland successfully hits Hakuya with Three Card Monte.
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Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\===----\1 Hakuya
> /////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Kyosuke
The fist impacts, and slams Roland's wrists right back into his face. The comment about his crotch is left unattended to, because really... Hakuya hasn't ever been kicked in the crotch, and he never would even consider going for it. It just seemed so low class! ...But he was certainly aware of it, of course, being a viable and well-loved tactic amongst street fighters. His grandpa had taught him that one (don't ask). So when Roland is knocked back a little, the Suigetsu heir staggers backwards some, the pain of getting beaned in the rocks being something he can work through,,, but still pretty damn distracting!
And he can't afford to be distracted, not with Roland going on the offensive again. The man whips his blades up, slashing, and the grappler tries to raise his arms to block, and just can't do it. The blades work through the guard, slashing at him repeatedly, making him even more of a bloody mess, but the damage doesn't seem as bad as it could've been, likely because the teen tenses up, taking the hits with some degree of pure guts to defend. Roland then flops down, leaving Hakuya victorious! ...If /really/ bloody.
...Wait, wasn't he supposed to do something right there? Oh right, right. The whole... betrayal thing. Blinking his eyes, Hakuya looks down to Roland, then over to Kula and Kyosuke. He frantically tries to think of something to do that could be construed as an accident, but bumping into Kula probably wouldn't work, since he did it already. So what's a boy supposed to do? ...What he's supposed to. Rushing towards the two titans, Hakuya lets out a roar of combat! That turns into a rapidly babbled apology: "I'm so sorry Mr. Kyosuke I really don't mean to do this but I've got to!"
Rather than racing towards Kula, he instead steps towards Kyosuke, and attempts to get his arms around the Morals Commitee member. If he's successful, Hakuya will lift upwards, and quickly suplex the older teen into the ground in a quick toss.
That her combination isn't going as planned is abundantly clear as Kyosuke forces her shoulder tackle into a glancing strike. She still goes for his neck - a quick grip and she can squelch this sudden counter attack before it gets too troublesome... But it costs her, leaving her defenses down, making her an easy target for the solid pulse of chi. It hits the girl dead on with enough strength to take her off her feet, leaving a lingering sting that might even play a small bit of havoc with her internal chi control.
Landing in a sprawled, seated position, she keeps herself propped up, wincing at his effective retaliation. It's time to pull out a heavier attack, the girl decides, sweeping her feet beneath her and rising up to standing, arms at her sides, bent at the elbows, palms facing upward. Energy begins to build, an aura of shimmering white at her feet. She'll attack at range and put an end of having to deal with his pesky point blank chi surges.
She leans forward, planting her hands against the ground, a slick of ice forming over the stone immediately around the girl as she keeps her face lifted, crimson eyes focused on her target. White energy continues to swirl about her arms and beneath her in that rapidly building aura.
But just before she's about to unleash all that power into her attack, Hakuya runs into the way and the girl pauses, holding that attack at bay. What is going on there? The first thought is that Hakuya is trying to take the bullet for Kyosuke. But when he goes to grapple him, she's forced to conclude otherwise. That's not it at all. The shout of apology is baffling and one eyebrow archs just slightly at the display of betrayal. Still. If Hakuya is going to attack Kyosuke, for whatever reason she can't possibly fathom, she isn't going to destroy him along with the Taiyo High student. He might prove useful after all!
Which is why she waits, restraining that built up energy as long as she can manage. In the end, she has to drive it forward or forgo all of that built up potential. She opts to attack. Kyosuke might hear the rumble in the stone - a short warning of the attacks to come, before suddenly spires of ice launch up from stone, one after another, attempting to fence him in and trap the young man. Glinting crystals fill the air as the spires burst forth, each one so very focused on slashing, scraping, and, in the worst case, skewering the young man!
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyosuke with Diamond Edge.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Hakuya
> //// ]
|=======\==-----\1 Kyosuke
COMBATSYS: Hakuya successfully hits Kyosuke with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Hakuya
> / ]
|=======\===----\1 Kyosuke
Did he expect this? Maybe on some level, Kyosuke would be able to admit there'd been a moment where perhaps something had gone awry. And rather than just a fluke, some blip on the otherwisely flowing trend of battle, it had been the opposite. Intentional, planned, and in this case perfectly executed to utterly throw the Imawano off. Literally, and metaphorically. The earliest warning from the other teenager had been the hastily babbled words, barely coherant as an apology for something-- suprise showed clearly on his face as instead of Kula, Hakuya reached out to embrace him. No hug of friendship, but betrayal.
The youth was supposed to be his team mate! Too late to struggle, frankly uncertain as to whom his foes were supposed to be, he hit the ground hard. Hard enough to cause his eyes to widen in pain, and cough up a swath of blood when he struggled to roll to his feet. He managed to get to his knees, a pool of crimson between his hands as that just aggravated all of his previous injuries. Merely a preview.
"Suigetsu, what're you--!" Managing out harshly, before Kula stepped in. He could sense the pool of energy she contained, all concentrating in his immeadiate area. He barely got to his feet and not nearly in enough time to do much more than vainly attempt to avoid being skewered like the last shrimp on the platter with a fork. Kula was violating in every way, and the Taiyo Morals Committee member remained standing only by virtue of using one of the icy spires as a brace. He could feel the strength flow from him, more added to that small puddle, it was almost artful the slick splatterings of blood.
He took a step foward, and turned his face in Hakuya's direction, a look of disappointment echoing across his features, before he allowed one last surge of chi to coalesce into a quintet of crescents, "CROSS-CUTTER!" Roaring, the weaving projectiles of chi twined through the air to draw into one, speeding towards not Hakuya, but Kula. It was the last he could contribute to this fight.
COMBATSYS: Kyosuke can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Hakuya
But he'd given plenty of warning! Plenty of opportunity to miss! Wh... bu... awwww. This is precisely the vertible rainbow of colors of emotions that pass over Hakuya's face as he gets up from the suplex, looking incredibly guilty. The SNF people had put him up to it! Seriously! He just gives Kyosuke a /look/ like a dog that knows it's done something bad but is sorry. Puppy dog eyes. Maybe even a quivering lip. The look of disappointment is the worst, to Hakuya, who didn't want to do it in the first place. But he'd gone and done it. Why? Well, it wasn't like there were any serious repercussions if he didn't. His pay would probably be docked. But that's about it.
The real reason is because, if you don't do these things, why make up interesting fights at all?
Hakuya wasn't much of a showman, but he understood at least this much. So, when Kyosuke flings out his attack, not at him, but at Kula... well, Hakuya resolves that now that he's freed up to fight as best as he can... he going to do exactly that. Turning towards Kula, he sets himself firm, and then rushes forward, right after the lightning chi. He steps in, and with a bold look of determination, he rushes towards the slender girl.
Once he reaches her, his feet plant firmly, and riding the edge of the Cross-Cutter's chi, he comes in immediately after it. His hands snap out at the same time, dual palm strikes aimed to slam into both of Kula's sides. They draw back, then slam forward again, this time intent on striking her chest and stomach. Should all go well, Hakuya then turns, and rushes his shoulder at Kula's midsection, using main strength to try and knock her away with a powerful force.
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Kyosuke's Super Cross Cutter.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Hakuya
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Hakuya's Howling Harvest.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Hakuya
Her formidable technique lands. She had mostly expected as much. There aren't many who can avoid an attack designed to thwart some of the best fighters the world has to offer. With range, deadly precision, and fearsome power, the spires she commands have a track record of ending many of her opponents. Her mind still tries to make sense of what drove Hakuya to suplex his teammate into the ground. Perhaps there were terms she wasn't aware of for this particular bout. That might almost explain Roland.
Crimson eyes take in the exchange between the two. Kyosuke is not without power yet, that much she can tell. The question is how he's going to put it to use. For a moment it seems he may turn it against the young Gedo student as payment for his interference. But in the end he sends those twin chi waves rushing through the air in her direction! Right arm extended, the girl creates another one of her ice barriers. She doesn't leave it up to them to keep her safe, however, but only to dull the speed slightly. Skipping to the side, she's out of the way when the barrier is blasted through, turned from ice to vapor in an instant by the force of chi.
Which leaves her facing Hakuya. Whatever turned him to throwing Kyosuke has run its course, because now he's coming back after her it would appear. And how he has her full. Attention. Eyes narrow as he charges forward before the girl lets her instincts drive the way rather than actively trying to predict his attacks. And it works. Shirking back from the dual palm slams, she leans around the follow up strikes and is at last forced to skip backward then to the side to avoid the shoulder charge.
A sturdy boy, she's determined in the past. And with determination not to be taken lightly. Still, she's confident she's got the upper hand here, and she intends to prove just that as she draws her right arm back. The spires from her previous attack begin to dissolve in to snowy dust and almost liquid-like chi as the girl starts to draw all that spent power right back to her right arm.
Gathered energy surges into a spiral, conic shape, almost like a drill bit made of chi far more cold than liquid nitrogen. It happens in an instant - all that power drawn together so fast - and then she strikes, closing the distance between her and Hakuya with swift, forward movement, right arm cocked, a wake of power left trailing behind her right arm before the girl slams the entirety of the attack directly toward Hakuya, letting the young man make his defense or go down trying!
COMBATSYS: Hakuya blocks Kula's Fierce Punch.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=======\=====--\1 Hakuya
Both strikes are dodged with startling alacrity. The lance of chi slamming into a through a barrier of ice that only barely manages to slow it down - enough, however, that Kula can skip to the side. Likewise, Hakuya's own attacks are dealt with with similar fleetfootedness, palms whiffing through air repeatedly, and the shoulder ram making Hakuya break his stance to step through the momentum, spinning in place afterwards. It's perhaps fortunate that that attack is made from stable footing, because if it hadn't been, Kula's follow-up attack would be met with a lot less resistance than it does. Even though he sees it coming, as the ice-wielder needs to 'wind up' so to speak her drill punch - a move he's familiar with - his feet shuffle, and he tenses up, perhaps remembering how punishing the strike was the last time he encountered it.
Gloved (and bloody) hands come up, and the ice shards slam against his palms, making him grit his teeth, growling out in twisted pain. The fist itself then impacts, striking hard against his palms, and forcing the Suigetsu heir to stagger backwards a few steps. Letting out a panted breath, perhaps because of his expectations causing him to freeze up, he seems mildly surprised that he wasn't, uh, knocked to hell just yet. Hurt, a little tired, but not out yet! "Alright!" He shouts for a second time, a surge of adrenaline and enthusiasm making him rush forward again, and he seeks to wrap his arms around Kula's waist.
Should he be successful, the Suigetsu heir first lifts the girl up into the air, then slams her back down. At the same moment, a kind of blue energy follows after Kula, doing nothing... for the moment. No, the real problem is Hakuya picking Kula back up, and slamming her down once, then twice more, each throw down the blue light becoming stronger, suffusing the area. Once more, the ice-wielder is picked up, but this time she's thrown into the air... and then suddenly the blue light simply -bursts-, and without seemingly any kind of explanation, Kula would be launched back to the floor with violently explosive force.
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Hakuya's Midnight Sun.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Hakuya
Determined to finish Hakuya with her chi infused assault, Kula pushes hard against his guard, trying to crush through it, and leave him open to a devastating strike that she expects to bowl him over with. But his feet are grounded, his traction sure, and eventually the girl is forced to relent, having pushed against him as hard as she could.
Snapping her right hand back, she releases a short gasp of breath. She is getting winded. All her defenses and ice laden attacks are beginning to take their toll. She's slowing down, a little bit. But the girl is forced to endure hours of ongoing training back at the NESTS labs. Being tired isn't an excuse to sit down and give up. Nor is it a reason to get caught by the attack Hakuya intends to catch her with as the young man attempts to grab hold of young Diamond in order to carry her through a punishing chain of slams and built up chi.
She senses the chi build up before it even manifests, sensitive as she is to such things. Interesting, as the young man hadn't put much of it to use throughout the match. The key now is to not find out precisely what it can /do/. Once again her agility spares her the attack intended for her. It isn't that Hakuya is hopelessly slow... but that Kula is so frightfully fast. She springs up and over him as he goes for that embrace that would begin a chain of punishment bound to get her attention...
But the moment her feet touch down behind him, she retaliates with such brutal speed. "Keep practicing," she helpfully advises. It's what she has to go through every day, herself, and perhaps she expects Hakuya to keep improving if he's to keep having to fight her in matches like this! Kicking back up off the ground into a spinning pirouette, her right leg snapping out, a block of weighty ice over her foot as the girl attempts to batter Hakuya's upper back with two swift, spinning kicks. It's made worse should her left foot touch the ground, as she'll finish her combination off with one final crushing kick designed to truly send the young man flying this time!
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Hakuya with Ray Spin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Kula 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hakuya
The Gedo High teen's grapple goes completely dodged, as Kula simply shows how brutally /fast/ she is. Hakuya isn't all that slow - maybe a bit slower than his team mates, though he made up for it in different ways - but Kula's just on a completely different level. As such, when his grapple fails, and she has time enough to advise him on what to do then attack, all before he can even /think/ to turn around and get into a defensive posture, he's left with extremely few options to not get totally kicked, here. Blocking was out of the question, as was reflexively relying on his reflection abilities. No, there is only one hope for Hakuya. The plan is simple: trip himself up by sliding his own feet out from under him, and let Kula sail over him.
If there weren't that maddening disparity in their speeds, he might've been successful.
As it is, he -starts- to do this, and even dips slightly. But then Kula's right leg is swinging around and slamming into his upper back, followed by another, ice weighing the slim girl's body so she has more force when those blows land. The Guardian King staggers forward, one step, two - and then there's another foot, coming from the opposite direction! Slamming into him cold, he's knocked off his feet and sent flying a couple yards, before he slams into the concrete block that makes up the fighting ring. The boy rolls a few times, then comes to a stop. Considering all the slash wounds he had from Roland, none of that could've felt that amazing, and his blood trails over the ground to prove it, as well.
"One more," Hakuya says under his breath, probably inaudible. "One more," he says again, and his hands press to the ground, shakily pushing himself up. His feet get under him, he sways, lurches, then rights himself. "One more!" He cries out, panting heavily, looking... well, bad. Sure, Kula's just liable to dodge this one too... but he might get lucky.
A step is taken, he sways, then steadies himself. Then, he simply launches himself headlong into a rush. The motion is sloppy, but he's displaying incredible tenacity not uncommon in fighters to try just one more strike. His hands snap forward as he reaches Kula, and he attempts to grasp the ice-wielder by her jacket. If successful, he'll twist, turn, and launch the girl into a spinning hip toss, so she passes by him, and is aimed to be landing on her back when she impacts. But before even that can happen, Hakuya whips his body around, and brings his foot up, heel seeking to drive into the slim girl's body, spiking her into the ground.
Regardless of whether this hits or not, he'll then wobble, and collapse, face first.
COMBATSYS: Hakuya can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Hakuya's Blind Crescent.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/-----==|
She didn't anticipate him getting up after that. She /really/ didn't anticipate him charging back at her either. But Hakuya proves her expectations off on both accounts. As he presses against unforgiving stone, ignoring the pain of injuries or the drain of so much blood loss, the very young fighter leans her head to the side just slightly. Is he serious?
His repeated cry indicate that yes, he's quite serious. Swaying after his first step, the girl wonders if he might tumble before he even gets to her, quite aware that the possibility exists. Crimson eyes stay focused, however. She could probably simply skip backward from him in his condition; probably even run circles around him while she was at it. Backwards. Hands clasped behind her back. But the girl isn't one for showing off and, while she doesn't quite understand it on a conscious level, there's something inspirational about his dedication to give it his all no matter the odds against him.
She holds her ground, however, perhaps interested in testing just what kind of strength his quite apparent resolve has given him. Leaning forward slightly, arms raised, the girl meets his grip on her jacket by grabbing hold of his upper arms with her yellow glove covered hands, staring back at him, fighting against his hold in a direct contest of force, mouth curling into the most curious of faint smiles. "You're nice. Not like me." she declares.
Hakuya's final burst of strength and superior familiarity with grapples is enough to pull the slight fighter forward off her feet in the end. But instead of on her back, she manages to flip herself completely around in that very narrow timing and push herself away before his finishing kick has a chance to strike. Sliding to a stop in a half crouch a yard away, the NESTS assassin stands up slowly, waiting for any further indications that she might need to defend herself, breaths coming deeply after the exhertion that has gone into the match.
When it's clear there's nothing left to do, she exhales at last, a tired, long sigh, leaning forward to rest her hands against her knees. The temperature around her loses some of its chilly edge and the frosty blue in her hair melts away to leave damp auburn locks resting against her neck. These matches she keeps ending up in are no joke!
COMBATSYS: Kula has ended the fight here.
Log created on 19:42:29 01/25/2009 by Kula, and last modified on 03:11:39 01/27/2009.