Description: Eager to challenge his friend, Blanka participates in a title match with Hotaru Futaba over the Warrior's SNF Belt. Only, everyone is in for a surpise when the beastial fighter arrives with an unexpected addition... ( Winner: Hotaru )
The YFCC has gone through some changes.
Of course, many of them are for the sake of publicity, a thing that the writers and producers of Saturday Night Fight find massively appealing. To this end, a massive, scrawling banner stretches across the front of the center, reading out, simply: 'GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY!' To this effect, a large, red ribbon has been tied around the building -- signalling the beginning of a new change.
Outside, the press clatters like a pack of hyenas. Inside, it is no less busy; SNF staff busy from place to place, setting up. The YFCC looks pristine, savor for the clambor of fans -- allowed in while the press waits outside. And in the distance, towards the back?
Geese Howard, by his lonesome, bedecked in a nice black three-piece suit and blue tie, stands towards the back of the YFCC's lobby waving to the fans and the press with a delighted smile on his face. In his other hand, the man holds a single, gold-plated shovel -- a necessity for such events. Public relations had said it would make Geese seem more down-to-earth and relatable. Something Howard has never been particularly fond of. But, he waves, and the fans cheer, the press outside surging forward in the flash of cameras and roar of muted questions.
"Lemmings," he says to himself with a grin and a friendly, casual tip of his hand.
From the sidelines, the title belt defender, Hotaru Futaba, gazes over the newly refurbished lobby. The money provided by the arrangement with Geese Howard has already been put to use and the Youth center is looking better for it. She had won the belt before coming to find out more about the nature of the man behind the entire enterprise. But as she looks over the crowd gathered, the preparations made, and the facility itself getting such media attention with this highly anticipated event, she finds she doesn't regret her years of participating in these things. For whatever it is the King of Southtown does outside of the public eye, bringing the world the consistantly largest venue in the sport of competative fighting is still a good thing, whatever the purposes behind it might be. The girl shakes her head slightly, lost in her own thoughts for a moment before snapping her attention back to the present.
To have Blanka step up to give her a challenge was great news. Her last tenure holding the belt ended with it going to one of the most despicable sorts the sport has to offer, Mike Bison. Foul mouthed, rude, obnoxious, unsporting, unfairly powerful Raging Buffalo Mike Bison. At least this time around, the contest may end with the prestigious title going to her good friend, the jungle raised Blanka.
Dressed up slightly for the occasion, she appears ready in her signiture, Chinese styled traditional fighting attire. That it's a cut above what she wears to most events is evident in the expensive floral print, royal blue designer fabric embroidered with golden cords and glinting buttons that seem to sparkle depending on the shifting angles of light. Short, white sleeves and small, golden bracelets at her wrists occupy the girl's arms and her black hair is decorated with two large bows, each tying off its own twintail.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she focuses inward, trying to close off the distractions of the crowd, mediate, or significance of the event. All she has to do is give it her best effort, just like any other match. "Yosh," she whispers, azure eyes opening to glance back toward the wealthy, immaculately well dressed Geese Howard. How can one man bring so much good yet be the cause of so much evil, she wonders silently.
He'd been told to appear, that his challenge had been accepted.
He'd been told to appear, that he was to fight Hotaru Futaba.
Blanka enters from the front doors - after all, he's not a skulker, nor is he a raging maniac. Green-skinned, orange-haired fighters are not a commonplace thing, but Blanka's enough of a scene presence that those who would commonly attend a saturday Night Fight would freak out overmuch. If so, they'd probably try to hide said freakout from Blanka himself. He's proven to be a little testy about that sort of thing in the past.
In his arms is a bulbous figurine the size of a man. From the 'waist' up, it looks like Blanka, done in some thick plastic and stuffed. Below, it turns into a tube, set on a rounded base with heavier weight in the very bottom. As he bounds in and sets it down, it weebles - it wobbles...
But it doesn't fall down.
"Blanka bring this as gift for YFCC. Blanka know what it like to be young fighter in tough.. enviaroonment. Everyone needs lots of practice fighting, and knowing how to get up after getting knocked down, figarootively!" Really, he does. Admittedly, his life was more worrying about being /eaten/ than being addicted to Glow, shanghai'd into a evil organization or the like, but in the end, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. He proclaims his gift loudly, and even give it a push to demonstrate - and then another, hypnotically. Snap out of it, Blanka!!
He does so with a shake of his head, then approache Geese Howard. It' a moment where the giant green man stares at the man, before speaking, with a firm nod of his head. "Blanka.. very happy to be given chance to compete. Blanka like meeting new people - happy Arooward trying hard to let Blanka do that. Blanka.. go fight now." With that, he howls happily, and turns and /leaps/ towards the 'ring' - pausing only briefly to stop and grab the hair of the Blankeeble. He hauls it in with him and sets it up next to himself, across from Hotaru, already preparing herself for the fight, so serious! Blanka has to get another small smile from her, and he's got the way to do it!
"Hotaroo! You fight not one, but /two/ Blankas today! We bow and prepare for the fight, and are ready!" He pushes the wobbling fake Blanka forwards, and then mimics its' 'bow', and the backwobble as well. Yes, he's being silly - but he doesn't mind being a clown to Hotaru. No, no, she's one of the few he'd always do things like this for.
That said and done, Blanka turns towards Geese, the person who is 'the man of the hour'. Mister Howard probably has something important to say, and Blanka is ready to hear it, and the word 'Fight'! He tenses up, excited and anticipating and prepared...
And he sneakily streeeetches his arm out to adjust the wobbling simalcrum, turning it to look at Geese as well.
The fight is about ready to appear. The contestants are here -- the press once more roars in tandem with the fans as they spot Hotaru and Blanka, with his ingenious Blankeeble, preparing themselves for the fight. Just beyond them, Howard waits, icy blue eyes sweeping over the center. It's official. Money from Howard's own funds have entered into this place. It is under his thumb -- anything that certain flame-spouting experiments could have clung to in this city are gone. After all, Geese told him -- he is a vindictive man.
And it makes him smile all the more pleasantly as the press push towards the edge of the guarded boundaries.
Slowly, Howard looks towards Hotaru. A silent nod is given to her in acknowledgment -- before a growling, animalistic voice catches his attention. Looking towards his left, he sees Blanka. Inwardly, the man wonders about the foresight of bringing flea spray. Outwardly, he smiles broadly, placing a single hand on Blanka's shoulder. "Of course! It's a great pleasure to meet you in person, Blanka. I've heard many good things about you; you've come far from where you've started, haven't you? I think we could all learn a thing or two from your story."
Releasing Blanka to go on his way, Geese observes the two fighters, nodding once in affirmation. "The best of luck to both of you, hm? Give them a fight they'll never forget." And, with one smooth motion, the King of Southtown sweeps outward, opening the doors of the YFCC and letting the roar from outside boom into the lobby itself.
"The Young Fighters' Community Center," Geese begins loudly; the crowds' uproar begins to dull over the boom of Howard's commanding voice, "... has fast become a symbol in our great city. A symbol of hope -- of a bright future for our children, that they may grow to accomplish great things, and not become engulfed by crime or corruption. I'd like to see those lesson passed on to their children, and their /children's/ children -- and as long as I draw breath, I will make sure, personally, that this Center remains the beacon of hope we have come to know it as!" The people cheer. Geese smiles. He steps outside, lifting his shovel up.
"But I don't think you're all here for speeches, eh? I think it's time for the moment you've all been bearing the heat for! Let the groundbreaking ceremony..."
The shovel drives into the ground, and the concrete outside is split from the sheer force of Howard's downward thrust in one, booming crack.
"BEGIN!"
COMBATSYS: Blanka has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
The world is a complicated place, muses the young Hotaru Futaba. With money comes power and the ability to do wonderful things like support this vital community service. But the means of obtaining it are so often clouded in less than virtuous circumstances. She happens to be a rare orphen with an accountant and trust fund manager. Abandoned by her family but left with the Futaba fortune, she has, at times, wondered the exact circumstnaces of how that money was all made. Some of it through her father's fighting venues... her mother's company ties... but were there other deals struck in the shadows? Is her money no better than Howard's? It can't ever be simple, she rues, lost again in thought.
But her mildly dispondent reverie is cut short as Blanka arrives. Her smile is distant at first as she simply watches him, eyes widening with a hint of curiosity at what he carries with him. The girl has 'friends' in High School aplenty, but there has always existed a certain gulf between her and the other students with them not being able to really understand what it's like to be in a real fight; to push oneself to the best of one's abilities, to weather pain, ache, and blood with the promise and hope of getting better and stronger for it. But in Blanka she has a true friend - a peer that can understand the sport she's made such a focus in her life. Seeing him enter the YFCC with his fabricated copy sheds a small ray of warmth against gloomy thoughts.
As he speaks, his endearing, broken sentences coming coming together in a perfectly intelligble way, her expression warms, smile widening. Sometimes the perspective of the beastial fighter seems laced with more pure wisdom than her smartest teachers at Seijyun. As he introduces his copy to the girl and pushes it forward into a matching bow, Hotaru at last laughs, "Well, that hardly seems fair," she replies just loud enough to be heard over the rustle of the surrounding crowd as people shuffle into their final seating arrangements. "But I will do my best."
Geese begins to speak. The final moments before the match. The adrenaline rush of impending action is a rush that is hard to get anywhere else. The girl stretches her arms, not not out of necessity, as she's already done her warmups beforehand, but it helps her think about focusing that built up excitement into the match ahead. Her earlier thoughts are scattered by the humor of her good friend and now all she can think of is the contest to come. Blanka is always a tough fight.
Geese shouts begin, but Hotaru doesn't move immediately, not about to blitz Blanka unannounced. "Okay, Blanka, here we go!" she exclaims. The crowd is forgotten. Even the event's sponsor becomes an unimportant detail in the back of her mind. All that matters now is the green skinned friend across the way. And his Blankeeble. That's pretty hard to forget.
And then she moves. From standing to sprinting, she charges swiftly forward, closing the distance with several quick steps, a blur of blue and white. It's when she gets a yard out that the girl shifts, however, dropping into a lower stance, her right leg forward, left leg bent, propping her up along her verticle center, arms out at her sides as if she was intending to take flight like a bird. The position is transitory, a wind up to the strikes to follow, as the young Kenpo artist lunges next, her left hand leading, aiming for the center of Blanka's torso with an open palmed strike that might menace his balance.
Her body twists to the left in the process, bringing her right shoulder forward, letting her right hand slam forward with more strength and momentum, this time aiming more to one side of Blanka's chest, hoping to capitalize on any lost balance by knocking him over entirely. "HAA!"
COMBATSYS: Blanka blocks Hotaru's Fierce Punch.
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Blanka 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
All told, he's made Hotaru smile. That's really the beginning and the end of 'what matters' for Blanka. The beastman has succeded in his immedeate goal, and now his long-term plans have freed up, to be dealt with - 'Give Hotaru a tough fight'! He knows how important these matches are to her - and while he's said that he treats them like time to play, it's more serious than that. It's important to him to test himself, it's important to him to meet new people, and to celebrate with the ones he's met by giving them what they're looking for. Sometimes that involves dressing up oddly, or bringing a toy along with him - but sometimes, all he has to do is give his all in a fight, and that's enough. Today is one of those days, really - but it never hurts to make Hotaru laugh first.
She lunges towards him, and he's already moving - sliding to the side and pulling the figure into the path - interposing it for himself, leaving himself safely outside of the range of her open strike. He holds it braced for the first punch, and then lets go to laugh and clap for the creativity and ingenuity - but the second strike and shoulder rush slam the weeble backwards, catching Blanka in the nose and knocking him off-balance, onto the ground!
"Aroo! He turned against me so soon! Hotaroo, you can see he likes you too much!" He flips himself back up to his hands and feet, crouched down like a tiger ready to pounce - and he doesn't dissapoint. Rushing forwards, he hurls himself like a ball in her direction, intent on bounding forwards and possibly through right where she is! Bounce, bounce, blur of green and red! Crash into Hotaru!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Blanka's Rolling Attack.
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Blanka 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
Her first palm strike plows into the sturdy Blanka lookalike, but Hotaru doesn't stop there. She's committed to hitting something with that one-two combination, even if it's the wrong target. Her right hand slams secondly, but this time the results are a bit more favorable as it results in a bump right back into Blanka as a result. Not exactly precision honed talent put to use, but it's a start? Maybe...? She isn't overcommitted, however, drawing her arms back quickly to reassess her distance from the powerful fighter. With her stature being what it is, she can't get too reckless. Her style of fighting requires careful attention and precision movements to get by! She looks serious again, eyes focused intensely on him.
Until he speaks up again. She can't help crack a smile in return, "He did help you too though. Maybe he's a chaos agent." she surmises, her voice subdued yet not lacking in mirth at the idea, standing up straighter, planting her feet, and readying her guard. The time to do so is preciously narrow as Blanka crouches. He's preparing for a big attack to come her way and the girl decides not to sacrifice her range to play evasive just yet. If she can stay in close a little longer, she might get a clean hit in!
The trade off is having two hundred pounds of Blanka crashing into her guard. She lets him crash into her right shoulder and upper arm, her left hand bracing her right arm a little to keep her defense sure. Her feet slip a little, a soft grunt of exhertion escaping her lips, but it beats getting bowled over!
Managing to just barely avoid a stumble, Hotaru's retaliation is swift as the Kenpo artist decides to attack back with a technique that incorporates multiple core aspects of her style. A quick hop, a pair of high, windmilling palm strikes, aiming to bring his guard high... Should her feet touch the ground, however, she'll slam her right hand forward, palm first, aiming for a centered strike. Pouring all of her arm, torso, and leg strength into a single coordinated point of impact. Her left hand shoots out in the opposite direction, providing critical counter balance... and just so happens to smack the Blankweeble solidly in the process! "YAA!"
COMBATSYS: Blanka endures Hotaru's Soushou Shin.
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Blanka 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
Blankaweeble as Chaos Agent!! Such a shock! This must be so - otherwise, the thing would only be helping him, laws of momentum and center of gravity notwithstanding! Blanka grins a bit more - and then notices the tension, the attempt to focus up and prepare herself. Blanka's real stratagem has come into play - to deal with Hotaru by throwing her off her coordination, to take chances by chucking surprising looks at her, confusing little misdirections - and by being such an utter goofball that she can't keep her balance and focus!
As he lands from his rolling attack, she's already stepping up and in - and he can't move out of the way. Instead, all he can do is dig his toes into the 'arena' floor, giant green tootsies clutching with a superhuman might. He goes down as the impact catches him in the torso, falling backwards without being able to throw up a guard..
But he's still smiling. There's something he knows!
As his back hits the ground, his hands slam down and he uses them and the dug-in toes to come /right/ back up at Hotaru, hand cocking back for what can only be termed as a 'mighty, mighty punch'! Giant green man grins, ferally as he does so, the speed with which he returns amazingly similar to the slightly-less punched weeble behind her! "Blanka wobble.. but not fall down!!!" He says as he lashes out with a heavy, rocket/rocking-fast punch to Hotaru's head!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Blanka's Fierce Punch.
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Blanka 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
She pours her all into that strike. The lunge, the windmilling palm swings, and the final, concentrated single point of impact are all central components of the girl's style of Kenpo as taught by her father and evolved by her as she's grown up, seeking inspiration from any other styles she's been able to over the years. But coupled with Hotaru's impressive striking force is her caution in avoiding going too far, leaving herself an easy target for counter strikes. She doesn't have the durability to survive the kind of hits many opponents can, which means with every bold attack there needs to be a balance of control and awareness.
Her arms remain extended for a moment after the girl slams Blanka back, dishing out one of her harder hitting techniques. With him having fallen, it seems that she's bought herself a moment's time in which to figure out her next move... But he ends up recovering in a way almost no other opponent can! With his toes dug in, he can rebound in a way that nearly catches her entirely off guard. Fighting like the weeble, he recoils right back at the girl with no loss in speed and definitely no shortage of crushing force.
She was only just recovering from her attack when he makes his move; a split second slower and she wouldn't have been quick enough to pull it off. A large green fist rushing her way perhaps put a bit of an extra rush in the girl's step as Hotaru pivots around the strike and to the outside of Blanka's trajectory... It's all done in one smooth motion, young Futaba whirling just out of the way right before that fist would have clocked her solidly in the head. "So fast," she whispers, marvelling at his quick thinking.
She doesn't stop moving as she completes her spin. Now is possibly HER chance to counter attack. Taking from Blanka's lead, perhaps, the idea of combining defense and offense in one continuous motion, the teenaged martial artist snaps her hands out for his outstretched arm, aiming to get a tight enough hold on it to pull him into a circle right back around into the direction he came from, applying pressure to twist his arm at just the right time to possibly send him topping over into a tumble to the floor!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Blanka with Quick Throw.
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Blanka 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
Blanka comes up for the punch.. but /where/ has Hotaru gone?!?! The green-skinned, gold-eyed giant is caught dumbfounded for a split-second, to be instead face to face with 'himself', the Weeble that had been behind Hotaru suddenly his opponent, so fast that she moved. It's a second before he can locate her - tenths, hundreths, really - and that's all the time she needs! His first knowledge of where she is at now is the hand at his wrist, gripping. What follows is rather painful, a crushed smush against the floor, tumbling and 'caught' with a bounce or two. He's slower to get up, but still amused, eyes bright.
"Hotaroo.. always better than Blanka was. Practices a lot. Blanka just have.. this!"
With a bound forwards, Blanka tumbles, spins, and shoots straight towards Hotaru - faster than before, fast as fast can be. Were they somewhere else, someone might call him 'Sonic', but that name's been trademarked by Guile for a while. Instead, he's just a blur of beastman, racing right towards Futaba, spinning up dirt and muck as he tries to run her straight over!!
COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Hotaru with Ground Shave Rolling.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|=======\=------\1 Hotaru
She manages to avoid and then follow up with an attack that sends Blanka tumbling over. Coming out of the spin herself, Hotaru rights her balance, shifting to face his direction, shaking her head to clear her focus. This match has been fast, intense, and is forcing her to use every means available to keep ahead of him. So far it's been working. His fanged grin is met with a smile of her own, cheeks hinting a subtle pink as he compliments her ability. "I don't know about better," she replies with a slight shake of her head. "Blanka is very skilled."
He revs up. She's already defended herself against this earlier in the fight, hasn't she? Her mistake is underestimating the sheer momentum behind the green blur this time, thinking she can just buckle down and weather the spinning mass of beastman and catch him on the rebound again. It worked last time, right?
*KAPOW*
Like a bowling pin, Hotaru's guard is smashed right through, leaving her lying on her back, a dazed expression, almost completely unsure what just happened but quite certain that it /hurt/. "Ooo..." she groans, sitting up where she lands. "Someone get the license plate on that Blanka..." Resting her hand to her bruised forehead, Hotaru quickly scrambles back up to her feet. Unsteady at first, she seems to get her balance enough in the end.
Only, her focus comes to rest initially on the weeble, giving it a curious look as her vision struggles to settle. That looks like him.. but kind of not... Oh, right! Whirling around, she finds the real deal and takes off in that direction directly for him. She steps in with her right foot, her left foot crossing over in front of it as Hotaru literally spins herself around, exposing her back for the briefest of moments before her right hand comes slamming in with a horizontal, solid chop! "YA!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Blanka with Medium Punch.
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Blanka 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Hotaru is probably not the only dizzy one! Blanka is also a bit dazed, the sudden burst of speed making him wobble a bit, to and fro. Much like his weeble counterpart, Blanka has taken a fair amount of beating, but other than a bit of unsteadiness, he hasn't fallen down. Swaying to and back, he turns towards Hotaru, who is about to face off against.. the weeblanka! Blankeeble. Whatever! He'd be desperately glad for the breather, but it isn't to be, as her fog clears faster than his, and she rushes in with her spinning chop, catching him in the side of the head.
*KAPOW*
Blanka's sure that someone put a few stars up in his eye, as he suddenly can't see straight - backing upa few steps, he tries to recover, and to focus on what has to be done next. He's not executing well, but he's still having fun, the knock-down, drag-out battle really just an excuse to tussle around with Futaba. He grins, tiredly. "Blanka.. gonna have to try /harder/ to win. Hotaru worth.. championship belt!" With that, he bounds towards her - and then over.
It's a quick leap, not much for getting him positioning, save for the ability to put him closer to his 'clone'. He reaches out for it, and then slaps it with a mighty paw, putting momentum atop momentum into it, and reaiming it on the right path, right towards Hotaru's head. "Blanka get help.. from TAG PARTNER! GOOO!"
COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Hotaru with Random Weapon.
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Blanka 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Hotaru
As Hotaru lands her punch, she continues to finish her spin, coming out facing Blanka from three steps back, arms raised to the ready, expecting immediate retaliation while she's this close in. But Blanka has another idea than a direct attack as the deceptively agile fighter springs forward and over the pig-tailed combatant. She expects a mid-air correction, perhaps some kind of dive by which he'll come crashing down on her... But while she whirls around just in case, following his trajectory, he continues on.
And that's when he pulls out his trump card! Unorthodox, improvized tactics are the hardest to read. There's no rhyme or reason to them, no pattern to observe ahead of time to properly prepare. They just happen. And it's those unexpected twists that catch a thinking fighter like Hotaru off guard so often, and this case is no different. Blanka calls in his backup tag partner and sends the thing barreling at Hotaru's head with all the impressive force his paw can give it. It does the job, for as the smaller fighter desperately scrambles to get out of the way the last moment, it collides directly with her, taking her clean off her feet to crashing tumble to the floor!
Rolling onto her side, the girl rests her hand over the point of impact. She's got a splitting headache now. But that's the costs of doing business in a sport like this. She's slipping fast though and knows she can't keep going much longer with blows like those. It's just a matter of time before she collapses. "Well," she states, pushing herself back up to standing slowly, "Two Blankas are definitely more difficult than one!"
In her condition, conserving her strength is irrelevant. She'll have to go all out with her next attack, pour everything she has into it. He might get a sense of the build up as she instinctively begins to pull chi in from the world around her before bolting forward. All of her previous speed is nothing compared to this moment, a surge of blue aura surrounding her as she slides into a crouch in immediate proximity to Blanka. "Ten-shou...!"
He's fought her enough to know what's coming, but can he defend himself in time? A crushingly powerful chi-loaded flip kick would be the girl's opening assualt as she starts remarkably low to avoid counter attacks. Should she connect, however, she'll convert all of her momentum into a diving tackle to take him to the floor, ending up kneeling on his barrel-sized chest, and unloading an incredible chi explosion into his sternum. With this possibly her final moments, the small fighter pours her all into the attack!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Blanka with Ten-shou Ranki.
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Blanka 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
Really, it's what he wanted. He got to play - and while he's tired, beat up and panting, he' still smiling. He's almost a little kid out in the arena, childish joy in the fight, no matter what kind of bruises Hotaru leaves behind. In the end, they'll both be better in a few hours, and it's been a good way to get himelf tested by a friend. Even if, in this case, he's found wanting.
He knows what is coming, and tries to throw himself out of the way. The Blankeeble catches him on the rebound though, tripping up the jungle man's feet and keeping him /just/ slow enough that Hotaru catches him on the shoulders with the kick. The followthrough hurts, he'll never deny that, a sizzling dsplay of physical and mystical energies that pushes his body well and duly past what it can withstand. He's buzzing slightly as his head hits the ground, rictus grin on his face even though he's been released from the explosion of blue-white chi.
"Blanka.. had fun. Good fighter. Strong fighter, Hotaroo. Always give everything. Never fall .. down." With that, he reaches up, pats her on the shoulder - and passes out with a light clunk.
But still - the Blankeeble stands. So is it truly a victory for Hotaru?! One Blanka will /always/ remain standing! It will wobble.. but /not fall down/!
COMBATSYS: Blanka takes no action.
> ////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Blanka can no longer fight.
> ////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
The mighty build up of chi explodes back down through the girl, pouring into Blanka. He maybe able to dish out extremely powerful lightning attacks, but Hotaru's chi is nothing to take lightly either. She poured everything into that attack though, and as the resultant, invisible blastwave fades, she has barely moved, still kneeling on Blanka, her hands now propping her up instead of trying to hold him down.
Arms trembling, the girl grins faintly, a certain resignation in her expression. She can't get out of the way of whatever he decides to do next, exhausted as she is now. It's been a good fight - the sorts that tax her resources, push her to her limits, and make her keep coming back again and again to try and correct, improve, and toughen up. But just as she's at her limit, so too is her green skinned friend.
As Blanka begins to speak instead of strike, her eyes open, focusing on that face that has ostracized him from most of society. But that beastial visage, frightening for some, holds no fear for Hotaru. She sees the face of a friend and through those eyes, the heart of a good man beneath. "I won't," she answers him quietly as his hand rests on her shoulder, "I have friends like you helping keep me up."
His head clonks back, the match is over, and she has that tiny bit of reserves left to slip to her feet. The earlier knock to her head takes its tool worse than she gave it credit for, however, and as she rises, the change in elevation strikes her dizzy, causing the girl to fall. A tumble back to the ground would be in short order but for the Blankweeble so perfectly positioned to stop her fall as Hotaru grabs it by one mighty, plastic arm and manages to pull herself back up to standing upright in the end.
At her body's limit, she bows her head to the audience, then turns and bows deeper to Geese Howard, a nagging in the back of her head throbbing at the fact that she's giving respects the very man that chased K' out of Southtown. The same man who has facilitated so many enjoyable matches with her friend Blanka. The world is indeed a very complicated place, she muses silently.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
The fight comes to an end. Close, tense -- a truly awe-inspiring event worthy of the groundbreaking of a new day for the YFCC. Ultimately though, only one can stand triumphant. The dust settles, the damage clear between each. The crowds are hushed.
And finally, one Blanka falls.
But it is certainly not the Blankeeble.
As Hotaru Futaba gets to her feet, there's silence. And then, the sound of one man clapping. Geese Howard, standing towards the outer edge of the awed audiences, applauds the fight with a smile. Soon after, the audience joins in, cheering in waves of praise as Hotaru Futaba slowly but surely recovers herself.
"A match well-fought!" says Howard above the roar of the crowd. "You've certainly given this place a rebirth they won't forget. And these people seem to have enjoyed it, too!" The crowds grow louder, before Howard inclines his head towards Hotaru once, politely.
"With spirit like that, I'm sure this place is in the right hands." His, anyway.
That said, Geese turns towards the crowds; reporters crowd around him as the cheering continues, and Howard is lost within the masses.
There's so very much to do, after all.
Log created on 15:34:59 01/31/2009 by Hotaru, and last modified on 22:05:14 01/31/2009.