Description: Four men (okay, three men and one woman) enter--ONLY ONE MAN LEAVES. Well, not really, but the premise is essentially that. Yes, these four fighters are pitted against one another inside this leftover from the 1967 Montreal World Fair, now a museum of...water. Whatever it is, it's now the home of this NO HOLDS BARRED SNF Title Match against powerhouses Ryu, that sassy Kyo Kusanagi boy, the chilly Kula Diamond and fighting super-genius...Ryuhaku Todoh? Surely this was a clerical error...right? Right?? (Winner: Ryu)
It was not long ago that the world had their eyes glued to the televisions over the fate of Southtown. Perhaps it was just the cool thing to do, for people have generally stopped doing that now. No, it's back to business in frighteningly short order, to watch people beat the crap out of one another!! The time for obscure names to come out of the woodwork, hamming it up for the camera in a variety of interestingly designed scenarios that are not always taken advantage of!
Many eyes lay on this one. While not designated the main event, it is guaranteed to draw in those who simply want to see the best of the best of the best slug it out for a belt that probably doesn't even fit them if they were to wear it literally. Yet, there are some who may simply be here for the fight and nothing else. None can say, except for themselves.
All are summoned to La Biosphere of Notre Dame Island, within the province of Montreal in the great northernmost reaches of North America... Canada. An educational museum about local ecosystems and especially water with a futuristic dome shape, all are gathered inside under a clear afternoon sky (so much for Saturday /Night/ Fight), with a bit of running water and a whole lot of little programs and information panels concerning things absolutely none of the TV audience cares about.
Within one of the hallways near the entrance lobby is where the fight is to take place, the entire facility shut down just to host the whole mess. Everything is set up. Lights. Cameras. Boundaries. Security. But there are murmurs about not having been able to get in touch with one of the competitors for the battle to the Champion's Belt. Hmm. What will they do about this...?
Some are back to beating one another senseless, yes. But there are a wide variety of reasons for beating one another senseless. There's fame, there's fortune, and then there's... training. Something most people do in the gym. Ryu prefers to do it by wandering the world, testing himself against natural obstacles, honing his senses, feeling the power inherent in the Earth itself. In the wind, the forest, the mountain, the ocean. In the many other world class fighters that have honed their own arts through a variety of unique methods and in a myriad of dangerous styles. There are few ways better to experience the strength of these legends than to compete in the finest tournaments, to fight for the accolades that so many seem to - inexplicably - covet. The title belt. It's not really styled to be part of the Ansatsuken Master's wardrobe. The fighters after it, however, are quite decidedly his speed.
The nomad is quite ignorant to the official preparations, or the fact that someone may be missing from tonight's fight. Instead, he's sitting off by himself in a section of the biosphere that's as isolated from the others as he can get in a decidedly enclosed system. Normally, he would be meditating, and indeed, there are moments of profound introversion that's almost tangible to the more powerful fighters as they arrive. The flow of the water fills him, the wind rushing around outside is felt by the nomad, despite its exile. The other moments? He reads the little blurbs that scroll about the various exhibits and ecosystems, absorbing the knowledge with apparent rapt fascination.
It's during these educational moments that the almost-visible aura of distorting air around him settles, his headband still, the edges of his gi static, and the power within him merely courses to a controlled, inner core... a charge that somehow exists wholly within, and taps its strength from everything without the King of Fighters. Like a well with its opening in the heart, and its source somewhere entirely undefined. The young champion's face is almost serene, if intense, his stern features calm, as if the learning and reverie merely compound his readiness for this challenge. Though he seems anything /but/ impatient, sitting coolly as he waits for the rest to prepare, and arrive.
And indeed, as the King of Fighters is here, so too is the World Warrior, Kyo Kusanagi.
...Does that seem backwards to anyone else?
Anyway, the recent 'Hero of Southtown', who seems to have accidentally welded fame for his heroic actions in rescuing a bunch of poor schlubs from the horrific experiments of NESTS - and especially one Krizalid J. Gotahospitaldroppedonhishead - to his already existing celebrity stemming from his incredible prowess in the ring and, of course, his legendary ability to mouth off basically anyone.
Seriously, even GHANDI would've punched him.
Since the freeing of Southtown, such as it is, the Kusanagi heir has made but a single public appearance, in his admittedly rather bizarre Neo League match against some guy named Ash Crimson, who was a completey freak, just for your information. Kyo did not like him one bit; to be frank, he gave the World Warrior the heebie jeebies. Possibly even a wiggins. But now, Saturday Night Fight has returned, and so too has Kyo Kusanagi, whose reign as SNF Champion was never ended in the ring, but instead by an attempt to shake things up. And now, well, now Kyo's here to get his damn belt back.
He liked it. It was /shiny/.
While the biosphere is a place of natural beauty that no doubt speaks to the gentle soul of the Ansatsuken master, Ryu nolastname, it frankly doesn't affect Kyo on quite the same level. Where Ryu prepares himself for the fight ahead through meditation and connecting with the world around him, Kyo, uh...
Uhhh...
Well, Kyo is sitting on a lawn chair (which he brought himself) and he's eating a Subway sandwich. Look, he was hungry. Just... Just shut up.
Lost, in a sense, and seeking direction in her life following a very disruptive end to her tenure with the Cartel that made her, Kula Diamond is at least on time to the match. One thing she knew she was good at was fighting. It might be about the only skill she could claim but at least she had it in ample quantities. And it was that skill she decided, for once of her own volition, to exercise further. It was taking a chance stepping into the public eye after the culmination of the Southtown siege. Some might recognize her as one of the many faces of the invasion, but most of her missions were conducted in the quiet of the night or against single targets so that wasn't her greatest concern. And to the public at large, they might not notice any difference in the quiet, unsually grave teenager as she stands alone off to the side.
While the power the King of Fighters breaths and demonstrates, her energy is quite visible. Small trails of sky blue, freezing cold energy trace around her figure, snaking around her arms and legs and cascading from her shoulders. Her hair, a frosty sky blue, is in perpetual motion; driven by the ebb and flow of power within and without the young fighter. That she was slated to compete in the top bracket of fighters didn't come as a surprise when the first new week of SNF got started. She had always performed remarkably well in the matches she was given back in the day.
From time to time, Kula glances over her shoulders toward one of the Biosphere entrances. Missing are the cadre of handlers and caretakers that would accompany her on any sanctioned outing. Doctors, scientists, and psychologists always shadowing the girl's every move to further the science of NESTS with each and every fight. Not having them present is liberating but she can't help but feel a touch lonely.
Hearing some idle chatter about a missing participant, she pays none of it much attention. Instead, from a distance, she watches Ryu, allowing her combat routines to absorb as much as she can about how he carries himself. Aproximating potential is a difficult thing but every piece of data helps. She would study Kyo too, but she'd already fought him before so had some basic familiarity with his Kusanagi family/Slacker arts, and, frankly, there's really not much to be learned about a guy sitting around on a lawn chair stuffing his face! Content to wait in quiet patience, the girl bides her time being a localized air conditioner.
"YEH HAH HAH HAH!! I found you at laaaaaaast!" Cries a most hated voice by veteran Saturday Night Fight execs - and soon, those new ones who have yet to ever deal with a certain old man who seems to make a sport of not only ever bothering to properly appear in ways people are encouraged to... but a man who seems to make light of their many attempts - and great failures - to try and funnel him in or out a certain way.
"I always thought it... strange, that you would go missing of all people! Feeeeeeeaaaar? Yeh hah ha! Of course you feel it! Because you thought you pulled the wool over my eyes, yes you did!!" So, where the hell is he? It's difficult to pinpoint an origin for that voice as it echoes through. Technicians whisper one another. The guys in charge say not to bother looking, he'll ham it up wherever they point the spotlight.
"But your deception ends today, yes! That's right!! You have eluded me for the last time, but I have patiently waited for the embarrassment of national TV for this, yes. Yeh hah hah hah!!"
A spotlight flashes in the center. They are expecting him to show. C'mon, show up, shut up so we can get this on the road already, the various members of the crew think. We don't have time to waste catering to your insane ramblings, why the hell do we even let you compete in Saturday Night Fight, let alone in...
/Something/ touches down on the floor next to Ryu, well away from that spotlight. For anyone who cares to look, it's none other than Ryuhaku Todoh, you know, that... guy. Wagging a finger with all the seriousness of a man long spurned, nay, /compelled/ to do this.
"Ryo Sakazaki!!" He points at Ryu. "You thought you could get away by bleaching your gi and turning your hair brown and joining some witness protection program or something to how great I truly am!! Tonight I shall take all your lifelong dreams and wear it as a belt! Right here! Right now! The best of the world, the greatest way of martial arts in the world... the way of Todoh!!"
That's right. Ryuhaku Todoh, officially 1-17-3 in Saturday Night Fight matches, the greatest that ever lived.
yYep. His eyes slowly turn to the other two kids - the hungry, reclining Kusanagi heir and son of a known Kyokugen conspirator, and... that girl with the ice or something he doesn't pay attention to names because it's hard enough to remember a name as great as his, see, but he's suddenly inclined to blame her for that slightly chillish air that's making his teeth chatter a little.
"B-Beat it, dweebenheimers!!" He sneers with the shaking of a fist. "This is between men!!" He stops and clears his throat to clarify. "A man and a little sniveling boy!!"
The crew can't take it any more. They're there, they're already a bit behind schedule, it's go time, maybe the gathered will do them a favor and get rid of him first, they don't even want to know what'll happen if this obnoxious (yet kind of frightening) nutjob - somehow - grabs the belt. They suspect terrible, world-ending events that must be avoided for the sake of all.
COMBATSYS: Todoh has started a fight here in the center.
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Ryu has wandered into the fight here.
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Kula has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Ryu
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Kyo has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Ryu stands slowly as the lights kick up, the announcers prepare to start, and the audience for the fight nearly lends its own thrumming energy to the King of Fighters who should be the World Warrior. But hey he was, so! It will take more than a ranting old man to shake his focus, but it certainly goes a step towards confusing him. What the heck is this guy even /talking/ about? Why is he /here/? Perhaps the unbelievable Todoh Arts are just something that has escaped his notice until now. Hands clasp before him, and the nomad bows evenly, keeping his dark eyes locked on Ryuhaku, "Sir." the nomad greets politely, voice calm and without offense or hubris, "I am not Ryo Sakazaki. My name is Ryu. I am here to fight for the belt, not to cause affront to your honor, or style." Because clearly that's what this has to be about, right? He does know the Sakazakis, and Kyokugen-ryuu.
Prior to Todoh's little ranting fit, Ryu's attention was similarly drawn to Kula. Incredible power, in such a young form. One that's almost familiar to him, both for the diminutive assassin's energy, and her form itself. She is more of a wildcard than the other combatants, in Ryu's book... though the pinnacle here is a chance to square off against Kyo Kusanagi once more. His last showing fighting the Scion of Flame was rather less than exemplary, and that makes Kyo the default challenge in this lineup. At least, he might be, if Todoh weren't in his face wagging a finger.
"Please. We are all simply here to fight our best, and try our abilities against others of similar caliber. There is no vendetta here." He reassures the potentially crazy Commander of Kasane Ates.
COMBATSYS: Ryu calculates his next move.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
"Oh my god, this is the best sandwich I have ever tasted," says Kyo Kusanagi. Expect that to show up in ads by, like, tomorrow.
He only gets to eat half of it, though, before Ryuhaku Todoh shows up and gets all crazy on Ryu, calling him Ryo Sakazaki - Kyo doesn't see the resemblance - and generally acting like a lunatic. Mournfully, Kyo wraps up the second half of his sandwich, takes a last sip of his Chou! Lemony Iced Tea, and then stands up, dusting off his hands. Freed from crumbs, he then pulls on his orange and black Kusanagi gloves, tugging the sleeves of his leather jacket back down over them. Fine, fine, time to get down to business.
"Don't bother trying to reason with him," Kyo informs Ryu, waving a hand dismissively. "He's just a crazy old lunatic... He probably snuck in here 'cause they cut off his meds." Really, where is Kasumi, when she should be caring for her clearly senile father? And on a related note, where can he get some tranquilisers to use on Saishu? Because really, a dude can't even take a nap around the Kusanagi dojo without getting dropkicked by that bearded old coot.
Kyo doesn't like old people.
"So we've got the crazy old man, Sno-Cone, and you, huh?" the World Warrior wonders, gesturing at each in turn, finishing with Ryu - Kyo, likewise, acknowledges the Ansatsuken master as the major threat here, though only by implication, because again this is Kyo Kusanagi. Raising his right hand, Kyo brings forth a flame, the sacred fire of the Kusanagi clan, and focuses on it, drawing on the power of his ancestors. "Let's get the farce over with so the grown ups can fight it out."
COMBATSYS: Kyo gathers his will.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
The idle standoff/lazy hunger sating is interrupted by an outburst of the most unexpected sort as the eccentric Todoh at last appears on scene, much to the relief of the confused SNF staff. At least /someone/ is glad to see the man. Kula begins to glance around, eyes widened slightly as she fails to immediately set eyes on the strange fourth arrival. Spot lights weave around the decked out giant sphere enclosure but they all fail to pin point the man until suddenly... Todoh. Todoh who encourages her and Kyo to beat it so that he can settle his fued against Ryo Sakazaki. Ryo, who is probably on the other side of the world right now suffering some training regimen inflicted by Todoh's true rival, Takuma.
Kula's hands tighten. She's never faced Todoh. She's never so much as heard of the guy before. She isn't sure if that means he's an ultra secrative nomad like Ryu or the living sack of bones, Oro, or what, but his antics definitely call to question how seriously he should be taken! She lets Ryu deal with trying to clear things up with him. That seems for the best.
Kyo is observed as the prodigy wraps up his sandwich and reluctantly pulls himself to his feet, and Kula takes in a breath, calming herself. Their last encounter was decidedly less than civil and the culmination of a failed mission to bring Kusanagi back into the NESTS' labs for further experimentation... those guys couldn't seem to get enough of that kid. She had rattled of that she didn't think he was so tough in the very process of running away last time. That means she's got to prove otherwise this time!
As the flames light along his fingers, dancing at his control, Kula can't help but feel a resonance with her own freezing cold blood. Tightening her hands at her sides, the azure energy that snakes about her builds in intensity as the crimson eyed teen focuses on the guy who's blood is responsible for way too many NESTS projects to keep track of.
The temperature around her drops, her hair whipped up in the localized air currents that respond to the young experiments remarkable aura, as Kula Diamond allows her own chi to build in strength. She can feel the power Ryu and Kyo bring to the match... why not draw some of it to herself for use as well?
COMBATSYS: Kula gathers her will.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
And there he is, face to face with his greatest rival! The one responsible for absolutely everything that went wrong ever since that day!! Teeth grind. Sweat beads already go down the old man's brow. Veins threaten to pop. Redness is in his eyes. Ryu has truly faced down people with greater rage, no, greater /malice/. Were Ryuhaku aware (or even really cared) of the young champion fighter's struggles, he would perhaps come to understand how he is able to stand against the face of the TRUTH (lies!).
"Tch!" The old man spits, eyebrow starting to twitch when he is dismissed so casually. "Pretend to take the high road, will yooou?" His voice darkens as his little creepy old man eyes turn as much as they can in Ryu's direction without his head having to follow. "You won't fool meeeeee. Yes. In fact, I'll--"
Kyo's helpful information snaps that train of dialogue to a halt. Just a crazy old lunatic?! He puts his hands on his hips disapprovingly, starting to squeeze away at his sides. It stings. A lot. His lip starts to twitch. Off his meds?! Well hell, why should I take little funny-looking things that don't taste good and force me to drink water with them, and then pay out the ass for them?! I'm a grown up, I can eat whatever I want! (That's what he told his mother the last he saw her in person a couple years back. His left ear never stopped aching since.)
He leans a little away from the summoned flame. For all his fallacies and insanities, this is a man who is highly skilled at taking chi and using it as a very effective blunt weapon to smack people with over and over and over and over, who has a good head on his shoulders (...no) for this sort of thing! The sudden chill irritates him that much further. He doesn't know whether to yell at someone to turn the thermostat up or down or what, as everyone puts on their best game face appropriate for this level of competition. They are the elites. They all have a stake at claiming to be the greatest. At least two of them have titles they have hard earned through blood, sweat, tears, and /effort/.
Ryuhaku has shed no shortage of any of it, but to what end? Petty revenge? Delusions of grandeur? None can say, as he stomps off somewhere along Kyo's direction. "Bah!! You want to play this way, do you?! Then I'll make you all suffer!! That's right!" Sniff. He slips about half-way from the lack of friction between his socks and the smooth lobby floor, something a cameraman snickers over.
"Jerks!" He helps himself onto Kyo's vacated lawnchair, brushing off the sandwich and having himself a nice casual leaning back even as the relativey nearby hot, burning flame of Kyo's ancestors threatens to make him want to relocate. Or get back up and ask him (un)politely to turn that noise down.
COMBATSYS: Todoh drops his guard to recover.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/------=|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Okay, driving poor Todoh off perhaps in tears was not part of the plan. The old guy seems just plain hurt. Which probably /was/ part of Kyo's plan, but Ryu isn't quite as heartless as the Kusanagi scion. The nomad frowns a bit, and watches the retreating Todoh, unawares of his inner struggle between the AC and the space heater. Hey, arthritis is serious pain, "I... we're all here to fight our best, not..." he trails off. Ryuhaku takes a powder, AND Kusanagi's sandwich. Ryu scratches at the side of his neck a moment, and reassess the situation.
The tumult of fire and ice is readily apparent to the attuned Wanderer. It fills his senses, courses through his own being. That pinprick light of impossible power within him seems to expand, seeking to encompass, assimilate it all. His thick muscles tense, the young champion's dark eyes wandering between Kula Diamond and Kyo Kusanagi. Decisions, decisions. In the end it is the hoagie-jacked hero who gets the nod, as Ryu channels his own answer to the ample hot/cold exchange going on in the biodome. Fiery crimson licks off his fingertips, a meteoric pulse erupting from his palms, and in a single heave of his arms, a densely packed burst of pure flame lurches forth, swirling about itself. Sparks seem to erupt out the back of the ragged burst of flame, a bolt of scorching energy orbitting it in dramatic fashion as it scorches the air between the Ansatsuken Master and the Kusanagi-ryuu heir, echoed by a trademarked,
"HADOOOUKEN!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Kyo with Shakunetsu Hadouken.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/----===|
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Todoh 0|-------|-------
Truly, who can surpass Kyo Kusanagi's ability to turn everyone else in a fight against him? It's natural that Ryu would want to face him first, given the fightinest hobo's preference for fighting the strongest person available; similarly, Kula seems to have some kind of grudge against him or something, albeit not as bad as the one she has or has had for K'. Of course, since she's one of those NESTS folks, so far as he knows, no doubt she has some kind of weird crush on his DNA, too.
Buncha freaks.
But in the end, it is Ryuhaku Todoh who gets Kyo's attention. To such a degree that Kyo, distracted by the commandeering of his chair /and/ the disposal of his sandwich, is caught completely offguard by Ryu's fiery hadouken, which smashes home and drives Kyo to the side about six feet.
"Hey, Sno-Cone. Keep Captain Caveman there busy for a few minutes, and I'll buy you some crepes later," Kyo offers towards Kula, hoping to prey on her mercenary love of sweet things. Yes, Ryu's attack was painful and powerful... But Kyo only has eyes for Todoh, now.
In fact, Kyo walks right up to where the Todoh-ryuu 'master' is sitting on /his lawn chair/ and ruining /his sandwich/, and reaches to grab the older man by way of palming his face. "Hey," Kyo offers, before suddenly surging forward, twisting and slamming his side into Todoh with enough power to send the other fighter flying. "GO GET YOUR OWN CHAIR, YOU ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT!"
The gathered energy answers readily to Kula's call. Just among the fighters present, there's plenty to around even if the environment itself wasn't ready to answer her beck and call to feed her need for immeasureable quantities of chi to manipulate. The ground at her feet becomes iced over as her hands clench at her sides. She hears Ryu try to continue responding to Todoh's accusations. Here to fight our best, not pursue petty vendettas or grudges, right? The girl prepares to try her hand at combating the Kusanagi scion all the same when Todoh decides to kick back and relax, sending Kula's combat protocols spinning into a whole new direction.
Unlike some, she has no qualms striking the man while his guard's down. The young assassin has ended the lives of men sleeping 'safe' in their beds without a blink of hesitation. She would pull no punch in ending Todoh's capacity to fight, thus quickly removing one of the wild cards from the equation. But a request from Kyo seems to snap her from her new probable course of action and the blue-haired frost wielder shifts her attention to the one he must mean by Captain Caveman - Ryu.
Taking in a breath, she tightens her hands, not entirely sure why she decides to go along with Kyo's request. Maybe it's the tantalizing offer of sweets. Or maybe there's an uneasy kinship with the young man who's mutated blood was used in her creation. Either way, she decides it's time to determine what Ryu himself is made of. It takes little effort to draw a substantial amount of chi to her raised, right palm as the girl takes in a deep breath. As Kyo's shout toward Todoh echos throughout the hollowed out sphere, the Winterborn teen exhales, sending a burst of gale-force wind bearing a small storm of sharp ice, razor edged rings of frozen matter, and a healthy coating of sleet to boot! For her own part, she stays put on her slowly expanding patch of ice as the ground at her feet responds to the intense contentration of bitter chill energy shifting about her.
COMBATSYS: Kyo knocks away Todoh with Hatsugane!
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Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
Todoh 1|----===|=======
Garbage sandwich! What good is it? Hm, perhaps a lot of good. The elder Todoh relaxes for all of a few seconds on Kyo's handy lawn chair that he has vacated. Little did Kyo - or anyone - suspect that in his younger years he was the world's greatest at musical chairs! (also lies)
Then Ryu ruins it by screaming something some such and-- oh boy that's a lot of chi, if he were wearing a monocle it'd pop. OR if he wore sunglasses he'd lift them up. His eyebrow will have to do. If it weren't for Kyo in the way he'd have probably had to think of, oh, doing something about it. Nope. Stupid Saishu's kid takes it. He lies back down and sighs rather grumpily while executives and camera crew alike collectively slap their foreheads. Never again. They will never make this mistake again.
Just as he leans back, he catches a nice view of the Kusanagi glove-clad palm suddenly on his face. "Gkh!" He helplessly grabs at the wrist as he sucks in the breath for another tirade of angry old man ranting moments before the young Kusanagi twists and sends him, indeed, flying to a far angrier, far louder, and (undoubtedly) far more concise tag line.
The old man goes flip flopping over a display with a crunch and a loud snap of something plastic (one hopes), then one end of a desk in which to suffer a series of papercuts from some disconcertingly sharp paper programmes, then the other end of the desk at which point a telephone and also a keyboard joins him on his journey, tumbling along until he stops at the end of another desk.
"Kff." The old man rises, one arm hanging onto that other desk for support. The large vase just above him immediately tips over and covers him in glass, flowers, cuts, and... okay, just glass, flowers, and cuts.
"Hrrrrmph." The old man stands as blood pours down the side of his face and stains some of his gi top, making no motion to brush the dirt or other collected items out of his face or even off of him. A keyboard cord, wrapped around his leg, is carted along for the ride and makes the most obnoxious scratching noise as it is dragged across the smooth floor. The telephone's idle signal is loud as it is dragged along by the other leg. There are beautiful hibiscus flowers in his head. He's probably broke four ribs in one shot.
A great and powerful chill greets him as he comes up - and soon passes - Kula. Shakily, his posture does not speak of anyone that should be comfortable standing, and indeed he leans a bit too heavily on his right as he claps his hands up above his head, the joining of hands echoing across the hallway as he centers himself.
A single venomous word escapes the old man's lips. "Tyro!!"
And then those hands come along down, summoning a most glorious sight - and only sight, perhaps by 'feel' it is below the notice of some of these people (their loss!! maybe) as orange-ish yellow blocks of chi coalesce out of thin air. It is not fire! It is not ice! It is not a world renowned spherical ball of energy that precludes an equally world renowned leaping uppercut.
It almost isn't even in reach of Kyo because damn, even the tip of that third, last link of that chi wave seems like it'd come up short anyway.
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Kula's Diamond Breath.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/----===|
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Todoh 1|-----==|=======
Oh. Oh man. Some Todoh sprayed /ALL THE WAY OVER/ to Ryu. Seriously. His gi is going to be stained with alzheimers. In actuality, the nomad can't help but wince as Kyo Kusanagi crashes full bore into the poor old man who just wanted to enjoy what was left of a $5 Footlong, which is of course all the Kusanagis can afford. If nothing else, it confirms that Todoh is not only damn stubborn, but a bit resilient. Because let's face it: he just got blindsided by two or three freight trains. Ryu would intercede on Ryuhaku's behalf, because he fully agrees that Kyo is pretty much a dick, but then he's sicced by the creampuff contract killer.
The condensed hailstorm ravages the air between the Wanderer and Kula, much in mirrored reversal to his scorching fireball. Ryu's dark eyes narrow, his muscles tense, his legs shift, feet sliding across the ground as he adjusts his orientation... and all but blurs to the side, a darting, electric bolt of white, red, and darker hues, his inner chi surging, coursing through every fiber of his muscles as he comes to a three point crouch off on the destructive Diamond's flank, and abruptly charges. Sure, Kyo was singled out to instigate aggression, but Kula has engaged him directly. Todoh has engaged Kyo. And aside from blindsiding the Scion of Flame with more fire, the obvious answer is to rush the iceassin.
The wintery warrior will find herself facing a sudden, lunging left, a gauntletted fist snapping straight for the center of her face, followed briskly by a rotation of the nomad's torso, delivering his right with ample body weight behind it. The crimson gloved strike launches from his waist, a bent elbow uppercut intent on cleaving forcefully into her jaw, "HYAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo overcomes Fierce Kasane Ate from Todoh with Yami Barai.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Todoh 1|-----==|=======
Alas for the comedy of errors that is Todoh's flight across the biosphere; Kyo Kusanagi is feeling especially merciless today. If the crazy old codger wanted to hop in with the big leagues, well, might as well show him the ropes, right?
It's not like Todoh will remember tomorrow, anyway.
For the moment, then, Kyo elects to ignore Ryu and Kula, letting the other two have their honour duel. He meant what he said, too - Kula's totally getting some crepes later, so long as she manages to keep the King of Fighters off of Kyo's back for a minute or two. Just long enough to deal with the lunatic Todoh, who it so happens is making his reappearance.
"Wow, you're still here?" Kyo remarks, wonderingly. "...The hell is a tyro?" the World Warrior wonders. Right in time to see a Kasane Ate headed his way. Truth be told, Kyo senses it as much as sees it, perceives the fluctuation in chi emanating from the old master.
And he smirks.
"What a crappy technique!" Kyo declares, whipping his right hand forward and unleashing a seed of flame, that blossoms into raging fire, devouring the Kasane Ate and continuing on towards Todoh himself, diminished by the effort of defeating the old master's attack. "Try this one instead!!"
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Ryu's Strong Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Todoh 1|-----==|=======
Even unleashing her blizzard in Ryu's direction, Kula is able to passively maintain situational awareness about the other two participants that are not her immediate focus. And what she detects is rather grim for the old man who's chance to shine under the glare of the spotlights reserved for the best of the best in the world. Her combat routines rapidly begin to rub Todoh out from being a relevant threat. Whatever menace he might have represented she suspects she won't be finding out /this/ time.
Ryu's evasive speed is not surprising. She expected him to be able to move like that. He is not the first legend she has fought by any means but the subtle power that radiates from him with every move suggests that he might be among the most challenge. Lowering her now ice-encrusted hand, she closes her fingers, sending scattered shards falling to the ground at her feet. She's drawn his attention now - buying herself a firsthand example of his capacity as a living legend but also forcing her to defend herself from the incoming menace.
The path of his punches are quickly read and it is into the path she sweeps her left arm, leaving in its wake a barrier of thick ice. Ice that he punches through without slowing down in the slightest - but by the time he has, her right hand has shifted up, forearm braced by her left, absorbing the impact in the boney part of her arm. By the time the following rising elbow comes, the girl has already weaved out of the way entirely, stepping off of her frozen patch of ground, eyes narrowed as she starts to circle the nomadic fighter, keeping equal distance between him and her with each step.
His striking power is significant as well as his ability to avoid her initial attack. She needs to put circumstances more in her court if she's going to keep up with someone like him. Her mind iterates over the techniques she'd seen him utilize so far. Kyo is still considered a viable threat as well but she's pretty sure she has a brief reprieve before she need worry about him any...
COMBATSYS: Kula focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ |||||||||||||| ]
Todoh 1|-----==|=======
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Todoh with Yami Barai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ |||||||||| ]
Todoh 1|--=====|=======
Now now, Ryu. Let it be known that the old man wouldn't stick up for you in such a situation either. Have you ever seen the man carry himself the way he does? He is the ultimate social nuisance. His influence, in spite of himself, for every reason not to follow his way, grows nonetheless. It will only be a matter of time before the world of fighting dips into the darkness (and beauty) of a world-dominant Todoh style practiced by each and every one, with all the terrible things that would behold.
Truly, in the background, Saturday Night Fight executives aware of some prophecy that was made up just now are praying that Kyo will be the one to break fate and save the world from the old man grabbing the ultimate belt, one of the highest accolades of a fighter's career - a sign, a /proof/, of their skill, strength, and worthiness of their fighting style. To let it fall into the wrong hands, never mind pretty awesome hands, would be far more dire than a mere turf war in Southtown.
...Yeah, for serious, this is the single most serious pose of the year, bask in it. Grasp it. Understand the weights, the chains of responsibility bound upon you all, that tonight your actions, or perhaps lack thereof, will decide the fate of the world's most treasured competitive sport in its state of vulnerability. For after the fall of Geese Howard, once thought as a true hero especially to a sport he helped nurture, so much is about to fall into the abyss with him. It is a time for heroes to stand tall and take it all back.
...Pffft, nah, this is the time to point and laugh at a rare example of Kyo having truly righteous fury and the crazy old sap that is way out of his depth, look at the flowers on his head and the equipment he's dragging with him, it's hilarious and embarrassing and stupid!
Kyo doesn't catch the man with his pants down in the followthrough, he catches him knelt down. Egad!! The single flame eats the Kasane Ate and brushes up against the elderly man's shins as he collapses into a clumsy tumble made worse because of those crunched ribs.
But the last laugh is his, for he turns this tumble into a sliding forward kick, arms pressed against the ground as he slides against the smooth lobby floor.
"HAH!!" He cries as though victorious, as if this were a calculated move on his part all along
...He stops a short ways in front of Kyo. Nope, that tumble didn't give him all that much momentum to work with. Undaunted, aside from the grunts and groans that come from frustrated exertion, the old man grits his teeth (and tastes some more dirt and glass shards) as he wiggles his striking foot forward a little in a series of gimpy little kicks, as though they would actually help him make that extra distance with all the force of that initial push intact.
...Nope. But will it make contact anyway in spite of the incredibly obvious struggling nature and telegraphed suggestions?!
Ice shields. Now that is an interesting trick. Ryu's eyes widen momentarily as his fists plow through the massive iceflow, much of his force blunted before actually reaching the powerful wintery agent to deliver the blows. Still, she is at least momentarily on the defensive. Though that moment may prove to be even briefer than the one that Ryu would estimate remains for Ryuhaku Todoh in his brave battle against the youth who hates when old men eat!! Really, every hobo, and every warrior, has the right to a delicious sandwich. At least until they are brutalized for touching it. Dark eyes dart to the side, considering the confrontation a moment longer.
The Ansatsuken Master frowns. Respect your elders pretty much clashes in every way with this, but so would broadsiding Kyo off of Todoh. It will just have to wait a moment. Besides, Kula is circling with predatory grace, and more than enough power to back it up. His footing falls sidelong, turning the nomad to maintain his view of the icy operative, eyes narrowing rather suddenly when she doesn't immediately attack. It's not the telegraph to his own assault, though it seems it at first, a swift motion coming as he readjusts his stance, footing shifting slightly wider, one fist opening to a palm. No, it's not menace in his furrow browed gaze... but recognition. Not of a person, but of a style, of the flow of energy through her, through Kyo.... how it all weaves together. He adapts to it, or attempts to, in an instant.
/Then/ comes the attack. Kula holds her ground, and her flanking is cut short as the Ansatsuken Master darts forward in another testing, defense-obliterating combination. A lunging elbow leads, and that open right palm suddenly lurches forward, seeking to grip Kula by her jacket and rip her abruptly off her feet... and into a knee that rushes for the lowest point of her ribcage. Once, twice, the flying leg would collide in a flurry so quick it nearly looks like one blow, before the chilly Miss Diamond would be hurled roughly to one side, with an abrupt twist of the nomad's shoulders, and a heave of his thick arms, "HAAAH!"
=====D O:} <-(Kyo)
COMBATSYS: Todoh has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Kula has left the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Kyo 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Ryu resumes wandering.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 1/-----==/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Light Kick from Todoh with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/-----==|
[ ||||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
At this moment, then, Kyo wonders something that a lot of probably wonder when they come face to face, fists to fists, and projectile to projectile with Ryuhaku Todoh:
Is this guy for real?
Kyo Kusanagi does, indeed, roll his eyes at the behaviour of the crazed old martial arts master, and especially his tiny little kicks, what's up with that; the Kusanagi heir even heaves an extremely put-upon sigh as he does so, as though he was wondering just what he did to deserve this. Was it getting those people out of the hospital? Was it rescuing that kitten and then Leona Heidern? Was it making fun of Heavy D!?
"Your range sucks," Kyo informs Todoh, as he steps in and stomps down on the other fighter's 'kicking' foot, trapping it to the floor. "Your offense sucks. Your defense sucks. Your pacing sucks. Your control sucks. Your /style/ sucks." Kyo looks thoughtful, for just a moment, as though going over the list in his head. "As a matter of fact..."
Kyo moves in a bit more, his right hand cocking back for half a heartbeat; then he unloads it, driving his fist into the underside of Todoh's jaw with tremendous force, releasing the sacred Ever Burning Flames of his ancestors at the moment of impact in a sudden burst, explosive power driving the probably insane Ryuhaku /away/ from the World Warrior champion.
"...YOU just suck!"
COMBATSYS: Kula fails to interrupt Combo Grapple from Ryu with Crow Bite.
- Power fail! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
While Ryu spares a glance to what is happening between Todoh and Ryu, Kula does nothing of the sort, her attention fixed squarely on Ryu directly as she traces a circular path around him, keeping him at a fixed distance. She had only fought one other Ansatsuken practitioner in her life. But the messy-haired girl's style was less refined, less advanced and Kula hadn't found it as much a challenge as much as the other girl was simply very determined. Ryu's style is well and truly further along, meriting closer inspection in a bid to understand it better.
But she isn't simply observing for the sake of doing so. She's hoping to be better prepared to retaliate when he makes his next move. And when he bolts forward, she's forced to put that preparation to the test. Turning her left shoulder toward him, she paints the air with her left hand, leaving in its wake another ice barrier designed to absorb the brunt force of his opening elbow strike.
The rest of her intent becomes immediately apparent as her right arm, bent back slightly, is suddenly infused with a surge of chi that promptly solidifies into a jagged gauntlet of brittle, sharp edged, spiked ice running from fist to elbow. She twists toward the left, bringing her right arm forward, bent and lowered in the opening stages of a vicious uppercut with which she has felled many a foe in the past.
That's when Ryu's full intent becomes evident, his other hand snapping forward to catch her by the armored leather jacket she has on, pulling the girl forward off her feet, aided by her own momentum. The two knee strikes connect cleanly as her focus is shattered and the ice covering her arm explodes harmlessly into a spray of melting shards. Hurled easily to the side, she lands in a rolling tumble - a tumble that she purposefully prolongs in order to roll up into a crouch and push her way back up to standing swiftly.
A pained exhale escapes her lips, but the girl is tougher than she looks, silently taking Ryu in from her new position but not charging him again just yet.
Is this man for real? That is a question so many ask in this line of work. If he were an imaginary figure - like so many hoped - there would be no ankle to stomp down, no style to deride, no soft, aging jaw to strike explosive fiery fist into. But we'll get to that in a second.
The old man's eyes bug out as the recently-signed, now crunched ankle goes *crunch* (not 'crunch', this shit is asterisk-worthy), desperately struggling to tug it out of the spiteful stomp with next to no success as Kyo goes on a couple lectures that so many other hopefuls (or non-hopefuls) should take to heart against the World Warrior.
Uncommunicative grunts of an unpleasant nature are the elder Todoh's response to every last critique, each one with an even more sour face and a somewhat more animated attempt to pull out of the grip starting from pushing against the floor to attempting to reach out to Kula's legs to use them as a crutch (but, good news for her - he's at least three feet too short of reach), rewarded at the moment of climax with a pat on the back.
I mean a Kusanagi flame-laden blast the jaw. Shut up.
The old man goes sliding against the floor once more. It is a less unpleasant trip than that ejection from the chair. To call any of the ride any more enjoyable, well, how do you guys feel about sliding through a couple other plant jars, one desk, and the final destination of a filing cabinet whose shelves seem all too eager to meet Ryuhaku Todoh as he departs from the Kusanagi bus shuttle with an applause of metal and filing papers on flesh?
(No, Yamazaki, don't tell us.)
A single hand shakily claims the desktop, pulling up the old man who just doesn't seem to quit, face flushed with blood, some tears, and icky unclean groundwater. Leaning against the counter, he dangerously tilts
Is this man for real? That is a question so many ask in this line of work. If he were an imaginary figure - like so many hoped - there would be no ankle to stomp down, no style to deride, no soft, aging jaw to strike explosive fiery fist into. But we'll get to that in a second.
The old man's eyes bug out as the recently-signed, now crunched ankle goes *crunch* (not 'crunch', this shit is asterisk-worthy), desperately struggling to tug it out of the spiteful stomp with next to no success as Kyo goes on a couple lectures that so many other hopefuls (or non-hopefuls) should take to heart against the World Warrior.
Uncommunicative grunts of an unpleasant nature are the elder Todoh's response to every last critique, each one with an even more sour face and a somewhat more animated attempt to pull out of the grip starting from pushing against the floor to attempting to reach out to Kula's legs to use them as a crutch (but, good news for her - he's at least three feet too short of reach), rewarded at the moment of climax with a pat on the back.
I mean a Kusanagi flame-laden blast the jaw. Shut up.
The old man goes sliding against the floor once more. It is a less unpleasant trip than that ejection from the chair. To call any of the ride any more enjoyable, well, how do you guys feel about sliding through a couple other plant jars, one desk, and the final destination of a filing cabinet whose shelves seem all too eager to meet Ryuhaku Todoh as he departs from the Kusanagi bus shuttle with an applause of metal and filing papers on flesh?
(No, Yamazaki, don't tell us.)
A single hand shakily claims the desktop, pulling up the old man who just doesn't seem to quit, face flushed with blood, some tears, and icky unclean groundwater. Leaning against the counter, he dangerously tilts forward and asks but one thing in a startingly clear, angry voice.
"Oh yeah?!" He heaves in anger and fatigue alike as he curses those octuple swirling images of Kyo, eyes unfocused, head swirling as he draws his head back.
A snort.
"Ptooie!"
A glob of saliva flies forth from the old man's mouth as he leans too far over the counter and flips forward onto his ass in a pain-laden daze. Where the rest of his body seems intent to call it quits, the saliva carries the very essence of the old man's spite for just about everything - a spite just as insensitive, just as selfish, as Kyo Kusanagi's. The theft of a chair and near-tainting of the sandwich was but a mere taste, lad.
As the saliva comes closer, it splits into three smaller globs barely linked together as they seem to... threaten to claim the remainder of the sandwich?! Noooo! Kyo, you must save your sandwich! To let them hit the sandwich would be for him to out-asshole you!
...alternately, if Kyo is not feeling so noble about protecting his own snack, it's pretty safe to say the man's aim sucks. No matter which version of reality you subscribe to, there is a Kasane Spit-e in play!!
COMBATSYS: Todoh has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||||||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
Not only is Kyo for real, he's really a jerk! At least Todoh is giving as good as he gets. In his own home dimension. There's a frown as the elder master of Todoh-ryuu is harshly criticized, as Ryu is bought a moment's respite by Kula, well, pretty much hurtling away. Still, he can hardly discount the wintery agent. Dark eyes steel, a fiery intensity burning deep within as he turns to face the deadly Miss Diamond once more, squaring one shoulder as he once again adopts the slightly modified fighting stance, his features returning to neutral. It's a calm that fills him, yet does not weaken him, or limit his apparent readiness to act... to move. It's been a testing flurry, getting a better feel for Kula's style, her resilience, her experience.
It's all exceeding expectations, "Well trained." He observes, quietly, as much to himself as Kula. Suddenly, he's more interested still. His hands weave through a brief, focusing kata, his other side forward along with his right foot when it ends, and that tremendous reserve within him suffuses him intuitively, every bit as quickly as he suddenly moves, launching himself skyward. Towards the top of the dome Ryu ascends in a flash of white, but unfortunately for his adversary, he's not jumping quite that far. His knee drops at the apex of the arc, redoubling his downward momentum, the force multiplied once more as he drops within range of where Kula recovers her footing, snapping around to launch a whipping, flying heel for her temple. Ideally, the landing will come smoothly, swiftly after, before a second rotation applies a firm sweep to Kula ankles, "HYAAAH!"
.... one thing is for certain. She is earning her crepes.
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Todoh's Small Thrown Object EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/----===|
[ ||||||||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
Nooo, not the sandwiiiiiich!
With reflexes only seen in the top tier of the fighting world - or in the particularly speedy examples of lesser fighters - Kyo Kusanagi throws himself in the path of Ryuhaku's totally gross spittle, getting one leather-clad arm in the way. He's a pro, he's used to getting gross stuff on his jacket, and he can always have Shingo take it to the drycleaner; his sandwich, however, would be ruined forever. Anyway, it's now clear that Todoh has brought his own doom down around his ears.
"Hey, you sad old failure!! What did that sandwich ever do to you?!" It wasn't a /Kyokugen/ sandwich, after all. That sandwich would have much cheaper ingredients, and always get stuck with a comedy ending.
His righteous wrath now provoked, Kyo runs full-tilt towards the wily old Todoh master; could he have finally lured the World Warrior into making a grievous mistake?! With a bellow, Kyo swings his right fist in a hooking arc aimed at the side of Todoh's head, flames trailing behind the motion of his fist... And once again erupting at the point of impact to add some extra 'oomph' to an otherwise straight-up punch. "Get LOST, already!!"
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Kula with Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/---====|
[ ||||||||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
In spite the painful combination, Kula does not seem frazzled by the combative threat Ryu represents. Maybe it's because there's little on the line for her. She's not in a fight for her life or on a mission to shed the blood of another. She's simply out to learn and explore, and try her hand against the best the world has to offer. And right now she's getting a rather direct, pressuring lesson in just what the upper threshold of fighters can bring to bear!
That he moves faster than she can is already readily apparent. That the Ansatsuken warrior strikes harder than she can also seems likely - provoding an interesting lesson in the striking power of even an average sized fighter when he's able to move his body in perfect, fluid motions to deliver punishing strikes. He takes to the air and Kula plans her retaliation, drawing her right hand back, encasing it in a semi-translucent sphere of ice as strong as the hardest steel. Bracing herself, she follows his trajectory, reading the earlier landing for what it is.
When he snaps his foot into a strike, Kula responds, her left hand whipping up, pulling a portion of the prepared ice into another barrier that absorbs the full impact of the wanderer's kick before shattering into a fine, white powder. She expects another attack from him - his lunges at her thus far have been multifaceted combinations - but accounting for it will keep her from being able to counter attack as quickly as she's convinced she needs to.
Her right hand swings forward even as Ryu sweeps for her ankles. His leg moves faster, however, and the girl is tripped up, falling to hard, seated position on the ground with a soft grunt. Not to be deterred, however, she lunges out with her right hand, pushing off the ground with her left, aiming to catch Ryu possibly before he can recover from the monentum of his kick as three prongs of razor sharp ice lance out for his center of mass. If successful, it may force him to back off slightly, but Kula is taking a chance in trying to hit him rather than righting herself back to standing as well!
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Todoh with Aragami.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/---====|
[ |||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
Officially, they call Todoh out when he slumps back to a sitting position post-spit. As if cognizing this fact - or at least simply being too dogged obnoxious just to consider lying down in a hole and dying peacefully so the truest champions of the world can have a nice match over a belt without someone like /him/ coming to soil it.
But nooooooo~!
Ryuhaku has to deal with eight Kyo's swirling and screaming around him as he hoists himself up with a sly little all-knowing grin, I'm more than man enough for all eight you, kid! Never mind that in the real world - the world everyone is watching - it's just one pissed kid looking to put him down with one punch.
"Yeh hah... hey, y'need... that maaaan--" To all accounts, even from respected experts, he dizzily leans into the right hook. From /his/ point of view, he just leaned out of the way of seven of them and shut up, seven out of eight ain't bad, he takes enough pride in this hallucination that - even as his head spits out three teeth and enough blood to much as a second-degree bruise burn forms on his cheek and he comes ever closer to teetering over from putting weight on his weaker angle... poor man doesn't take Kyo's heartfelt, well-meaning advice between true friends, he just leans up against the desk like a crutch, the other little x-factor.
"Faaaailure? Kehhhhh," he mumbles, "look whose... whose body is wide open nooooooow!" As if it weren't enough to jack Kyo's catchphrase, he gropes about for Kyo's sides and tries to hoist him up. Something that, at best, can only end in the man losing his balance and falling flat over on his ass.
There is no ambiguity about Kyo's fate if he allows it to happen. Letting this man get a hold on him is a one-way trip to that pile of loosened drawers and loose (important) papers behind that desk Kyo launched him towards not so long ago.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Ryu with Critical Ice.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/-======|
[ |||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
The offensive remains measured. Ryu holds nothing back, but paradoxically, he doesn't go /all out/ either. It's like he's experimenting with the unconventional defenses, intrigued by the tremendously resilient ice chi, and the deceptively diminutive warrior's ability at wielding it. He lands smoothly, sweeps the iceassin from her feet, but she's back up with remarkable reflexes of her own. Ryu's arms cross, he pushes back to his own feet, shifting to faciliate his own anticipated follow up... but the lance of frozen energy rips along his forearms, slips past his flexing guard, and crashes into his torso, ripping a gash in his gi and sending him reeling backwards momentarily, turning sidelong to absorb as much of the impact as he can. The icy shearing blast hurts, reddens skin, but his own reflexes are nothing to sneer at: and his planned followup goes off with a quick, on the fly adaptation.
Instead of reeling further, the Ansatsuken Master adjusts his footing, leaps back a half-step, steadying his stancing. For all of a half second before he's in motion again, lunging forward at the blue-haired engine of eternal winter. His breath draws in, arm coils back, his right side shifting to be perfectly in-line with her. The summoned energy is tangible, but invisible, flowing with resonating intensity through every motion. His eyes narrow, his weight drops, right leg falling forward as his curled arm launches out, palm open. To all appearances, it's a simple, if perfectly executed strike. His fingers are curled, each seemingly ironclad digit launched for a precise point, the impact aligned just below Kula's solar plexus. With the powerful thrust of the wrist comes a sudden outpouring of energy, however. It doesn't line the strike as is her tendency, but instead there's a distorting blast of wind, nigh invisible as it erupts as foot and hand drive outwards.
A secondary, more condensed shockwave around the point of impact, perhaps a testament to the sheer force behind it, a blow designed to launch the icy ex-enforcer away, a burst of chaos in perfect synergy, recklessness born from utter control, "HAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Kyo with Bodyslam.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/--=====|
[ |||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
And so, it comes down to this. Ryuhaku Todoh is many things, and most of them are negative in pretty much any context, but one positive thing can be said of the man: He's /persistent/. And persistance can pay off, even with such an enormous gap in relative ability. Kyo is caught by the stumbling grab of the crazed old martial arts master, and then heaved into a terrible slam that puts him right through that desk, looking rather bewildered all the while, so much so that his attempt to break is fall fails miserably. The mighty have fallen. The World Warrior has been thrown by a man who probably can't even remember where his own home is.
Kyo's brow tics dangerously.
"Well, hell. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, huh y'old coot?" the Kusanagi heir wonders, mostly rhetorically, as he picks himself up from the remains of the desk, dusting himself off. He brushes his hair back out of his face, looking at Todoh ruefully. He even smiles a bit, not quite a smirk, something more rueful. Has, perhaps, Todoh won the respect of the prickly and difficult to get along with World Warrior? Could the spirit of Todoh-ryuu have cooled Kyo's raging heart?
Kyo's next move is to simply aim a punch right at Todoh's face, so... Probably not.
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Ryu's Power Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Kula 1/------=/=======|=======\======-\1 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/-======|
[ |||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
Her sacrifice play and aggressive lunge land her the attack as hoped. Whether it was worth the trade of injury is a question left to the ages to answer. For now she simply will content herself with the knowledge that out of everything she had attempted thus far, at least one approach to slipping something past Ryu's defenses succeeded.
The battle of Most Obnoxious continues to rage on along the sides but the frosty haired girl pays it little heed. Following Ryu's motions, both in attack and defense, is taxing everything she has at her disposal. Her hand slips free of the icy hilt of the three slightly blooded lances that she managed to score a gash with, allowing the entire frozen accoutrement to collapse into tiny shards against the ground as she finishes pushing herself up to standing once again.
No sooner is she on her feet than Ryu is charging again, shifting from defensive reaction to offense in one fluid moment. She matches pace though with less movement across the ground and more emphasis on rooting herself in position. Ice molds along her feet, bracing her insulated boots to the ground with a firmness that will be difficult to crack. Arms raised, her own aura shifting along with her guard to buffer Ryu's own disruptive power.
The plan works, Kula losing not an inch to the attack. The ice holding her in place creaks, evidence of not being able to withstand even a fraction more force than they weathered. Successful defense achieved, she wobbles, breaking her guard to spring backward a retreating step to gather distance, sliding to a stop some meters away. A long exhale leaves her frosty breath visible in the air for a fleeting moment before it fades away in the heat of the greenhouse-like chamber.
And then she reclaims it all. All the fragments of ice left over from attacks, failed or successful, spread around the combat arena melt into a slurry of white energy as they swirl back in around the young fighter into a point blank verticle windtunnel of pure white chi. Ironically calm, Kula stands in the eye of the storm, focus maintained directly on Ryu even still as she builds strength, both within and the growing external manifestation of potential power seemingly broiling in eagerness to be put to use in strange juxtaposition to the young master of the element who seems as patient as ever to think this through.
COMBATSYS: Kula gathers her will.
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Kula 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
[ |||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
COMBATSYS: Todoh interrupts Quick Punch from Kyo with Quick Throw.
? Strange Hit! ?
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Kula 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
[ ||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
Kyo may or may not be looking at old man Ryuhaku with any sort of surprise or respect. Todoh's not even looking at him any more. Kid's done, been shown who's boss, and all his little chicken lookalike friends have wandered off, yep, he's brushing his hands even as the followthrough to the throw sees him stumbling onto his knee again.
Meanwhile, there is yelling behind the scenes. Didn't you just say Todoh was out? Well, yeah, but now he just threw Kyo at a desk. Sigh. Newbies, the director in charge cringes. Damn you, Kain R. Heinlein, for exposing Mr. Howard's shady dealings. We lost a lot of skilled camera crew because of you.
On the plus side, people at home get more footage of the hypnotically haunting but cool reflection of Kula's icy powers as they tear through Ryu's masterful guard, and the wonderful follow-up with the appearance of a mere strike whose true nature cannot truly be captured on film.
Somewhere in the background of that particular shot, a dim view of the Kusanagi glove goes for the back of that dastardly Ryuhaku's head. Don't think that just because what transpires next ends up getting obscured by that big bleached bimbo blizzard hamming it up means that what's going on behind all that noise isn't interesting.
It is outright /strange/.
Without even turning to face the young Kusanagi heir, he spreads his arms out. One forward, one cocked back. The punch only makes the briefest impact with the cocked back elbow before, by /some/ Todoh sorcery, he somehow catches Kyo unawares and lifts him up again.
He frowns in mid-lift. He sees right through this kid's ploy!! He wants him to play up his best and get him all tired out before he can step up and take care of Witness Protection Ryo!! Oh, that crafty Saishu's boy!
So he politely sets Kyo down on his feet and pats him on the head with all the fatherly kindness at his disposal. "You just... just run along now, boy, tell your, your daddy I'll shame his entire family l... later."
The unsteady old man's voice takes a turn from the 'punch drunk slurred' to the 'outright sinister' in very short order as he gingerly rubs his elbow. "Takuma's little master of disguise has a date with world-wide defeat!!"
He starts limping along in that direction, breathing heavily as saliva and blood drip like venom against the slick floor, eyes having difficulty focusing on that blurry cold mess in front of him. He's just gonna have to move /that/ one outta the way too.
Is Kyo gonna be a bad enough dude to spare his genderswap clone this blight upon all that is entertaining and fun about fighting the greatest warriors to prance about on national television within the next couple seconds?
Assuming that old coot's not about to trip over himself along the path.
Kyo and Todoh collide once more, an unusual and possibly outright insane trainwreck of very different fighting masters. Still, Ryuhaku holds on, Kyo strives determined to avenge the honor of his nearly despoiled sandwich, and their battle scales towards the inevitable climax. At least until Todoh just sort of snaps into stage four Ballzheimers and turns back towards Ryu instead. Kula's defense is admirable indeed, and for the moment, it absorbs all of the nomad's attention. The flowing shields of oppositional ice, the resilient will of the NESTS expatriot. Still she stands, with plenty of fight left in her... it's something that's rather remarkable to Ryu, for someone her age. Experience is evident in every motion, even in the eager charge of icy energy that surrounds her in a shimmering blizzard.
The storm fills the Wanderer, his feet sliding to a steady, squared position somewhere between the other fighters, sensing the abundance of energy that may soon be brought to bear. He doesn't bother informing Todoh once more that he is not Ryo Sakazaki. He demonstrates. Muscles tense, eyes close, and with a crackling, languid spread, what appears to be pure electricity surges around the Ansatsuken Master's fists. It courses up it arms, a bluish, wisping fire drifting from his shoulders. An aura that only intensifies with the passage of that steady, intense lightning.
It courses down his legs, crackling bolts seeming to erupt upwards from the ground, rushing in to him rather than surging out. The air itself lights with the passage of energy.... then more energy. It is a beacon the likes of which few teams of fighters could fully summon, as a swirling wind kicks up around Ryu, the Dragon's headband fluttering wildly upwards, his dark hair tousled further by the cyclone. He is at the eye of the hurricane as well - but all the power focuses within him, drawn to a deep, steady place. He basks in the gathered energy, even as his own spikes to match it. Dark eyes open on an almost serene face, despite the tumult about him, sable depths glinting with remarkable intensity, almost lit to a white hot fervor. The biosphere itself trembles ever so subtly, leaves whipping about everywhere as if a wind had inexplicably kicked up within.
COMBATSYS: Ryu gathers his will.
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Kula 1/--=====/=======|=======\======-\1 Kyo
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Ryu 1/-----==/=======|
[ ||| ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
The startling reflexes and awareness shown by Ryuhaku Todoh could only be those... Of a true martial arts master. The worst of Kyo's punch is blunted, and he's caught by the wily old man, who was clearly just pretending to be crazy to lull the Kusanagi heir into a false sense of security, by getting beat up horribly for the past several minutes. And now, now it's obvious to one and all that Todoh is going to unleash hell, and for a moment the World Warrior almost looks impressed...
Until Todoh just sets him down, and pats him on the head. Kyo's expression flattens, then.
"You..." Kyo trails off, watching as Todoh turns around and starts blundering towards Kula and Ryu. He could, of course, just let the old guy wander into the lions' den, and take his chances afterwards. That's a viable and highly tempting option, no lie. But even Kyo Kusanagi, with his obnoxious behaviour and outright disrespectful attitude towards his fellow competitors, has some fighting pride.
Not, like, a /lot/. But it's there. You just need a microscope. One of those crazy ones that sees subatomic particles and is bigger than most people's houses.
"Ffft... Sometimes I wonder why I bother getting up in the morning," Kyo mutters to himself. Taking two steps, Kyo hurls himself into the air, twisting his body parallel to the ground, tucking one leg in and extending the other at a perpendicular angle to his body; as he leaps, tracing a wide arc in the air, his foot makes the outer edge of that arc, so that he turns in midair at the same rate he moves through it, a deadly parabola aimed at a single target.
The top of Todoh's crazy old head.
"MY DUMBASS DAD SHAMES HIS ENTIRE FAMILY FINE BY HIMSELF, DOUCHENUGGET!!" is Kyo's battlecry, echoing throughout La Biosphere.
At some point, Kula's advanced, highly tuned, repeatedly improved combat algorithms utterly dismissed Ryuhaku Todoh from their parameters. It wasn't a conscious choice but rather something that simply came about as she passively processed details of the exchange between the Kusanagi heir and the undisputed patriarch of Todoh-ryuu Kobojutsu. He was calculated as not a threat, not something to be taken seriously, and no further brain power was allocated to account for his presence in the fight at all. That was well over a few minutes ago. Somehow, the old man was still alive and yelling. And bit by bit, Kula becomes aware of this fact from within the cacophony of her own personal blizzard, casting a brief glance toward Todoh with a soft blink that suggests in an instant 'He's still standing?' A slight shake of her head is her reaction as she wonders how her own combat evaluations underestimated how undefeatable the eccentric old man actually was. Odd.
It looks as if the World Warrior is going to be occupied a while longer. Thoughts of keeping Ryu distracted in exchange for the promise of a tasty post-match dessert have been mostly forgotten for the time being as she maintains a brief stand off with the Ansatsuken master. Shifting her focus back to Ryu, she observes from behind her partial veil of ice that he is preparing himself as well with a significant increase in power demonstrated.
A flicker of her mouth betrays the slightest hint of a smile for a fleeting moment. So this is how high the ceiling might be in this new bracket of fighters she is destined to face off against. It's more than she had imagined even after facing the tactical, calculating Igniz and the malevolent, rage filled Vega, she finds another seemingly able to surpass even them. Only his strength holds no dread for her. It simply is, just as Ryu simply exists. And if that is the barrier against which she is to throw her potential for the duration of this match, then so be it.
Only one step forward is taken before the girl crouches, planting her hands against the ground so that her gloved palms rest flush with the surface. A significant portion of the swirling storm of ice, chi, and freezing air suddenly channels back into the girl, funneled along the length of her deceptively narrow arms into the ground itself. A slick spreads out rapidly from around her as the ground becomes frozen with the sudden infusion of young Diamond's power.
It's the only warning Ryu gets to the attack that follows as from the ground a spire of jagged ice slams up, sending a cloud of frozen shards into the air as it attempts to crash brutally into the nomadic fighter. And it wouldn't be the first - a second sharp mound slams up secondly from his other side. As strong as steel and covered with a million tiny blades of shrapnel in its bid to weather the fighter's guard. A third spire is the final one to rise up between him and Kula, aiming a spearing attack on its angled journey from the earth into the becoming a frozen monument to Kula's mastery over the element as it too attempts to add harm to Ryu where he stands!
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Todoh with RED Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/-----==/=======|
[ ]
Todoh 2|<<<<<<<|<<<<<<<
You know what Kyokugen is?! Loud showboating and total wastes of effort over nothing, that's what (...so what about Todoh)!! Ryu's display is unconvincing of it being anything else. When many of your childhood memories consist of one of the most hated people of your lives showing off all these cool... poses, and grunts, and big energy things, sometimes your rage reaches out and expands to other venues. Like plexiglass. Boy, does old man Todoh hate that plexiglass, mmhmm.
Ryuhaku Todoh's continued existence can probably be attributed to the universe trying its damned hardest to delay humanity's understanding of the universe by a good ten years or so, a last ditch effort as rapid discoveries and progress are made in simply understanding - if not productively applying - the way existence works around them.
There he is, dragging his feet along as he draws closer to Ryu, his back foolishly exposed even as he drives within the danger zone of the rapidly falling room temperature that vexes him so. A part of him almost decides to spare 'Ryo' for the sake of finding some thermostat to mess with. But no. He's had it up to here with Saishu's little punk, the beating of his heart going louder and louder as his body attempts - in futility - to get him to lie down.
The drawn wind whips about and blows old man Todoh's hair back, the skin on his jaws wide to show that busted angry grin, and all but threatens to knock the guy over like a little piece of debris. He /is/ debris. Nobody's just bothered to clean him up and put him in the proper waste disposal (the nursing home).
Ryooooo, his mind hisses to itself silently as he puts his hands up, unable to hear Kyo's insulting yell above the sheer fury of channeled nature. It's so pure, in comparison to all those crazy-ass little kids with their 'chi' that isn't the sort of chi he grew up with, like that punk Zach! Yes. He will pay, as soon as he sees his idol Ryo fall.
Both hands go up as he summons those latent elements to do his building, channeling incredible(?) energy to a very simplistic task as it starts to form in the air behind Ryu. He is in mortal danger, for now it is the time in the fight where everyone throws their absolute best even when they are at their absolute worst in fighting health for whatever reason it continues to make sense and this is the part where everyone gets hurt really badly and now it's Ryu's turn and blah blah blah blah blah.
Until the very moment the foot strikes the old man square in the skull, faceplanting him against the slick floor to earthshaking effect. This should be it, completely stuffed, but within that split second between 'standing' and 'face down,' Ryuhaku claws at the air as though grabbing for Ryu. He is much too short.
The tiny little wisps of some aqua blue enregy or another form a barely visible chain of three tiny, thin segments pointed diagonally before disappearing. The floor being as cold as it is now, it has this fine, calming effect to that stinging jaw. Maybe he'll take a nap here.
COMBATSYS: Todoh can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/-----==/=======|
Mmm, yeah, that's some nice cold-feeling floor. Todoh starts to snore. You should probably get him to go fall asleep somewhere else, do you want to be tripping up all over him? No?
COMBATSYS: Ryu blocks Kula's Diamond Edge.
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kyo
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Ryu 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Todoh successfully hits Ryu with Aogi Kasane Ate EX.
?!? Weird Hit! ?!?
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Kula 0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/----===/=======|
Ryu can feel it coming. The gathering storm. The unrelenting delusions of Ryuhaku Todoh. It's all coming for him. Except of course the rage-filled, old man hating Kyo Kusanagi. His eyes focus on Kula, the premiere threat in the onslaught heading his way. His stance shifts as she drops to the ground, presses her palms to the Earth. It's as if he can already see what she's going to do. The chi coursing through him is centered, the storm does not so much calm as localize, no longer building, but neither does it dissipate. There's a tremendous surge within, and yes, it lacks the unrestrained, overwhelming malice of Vega, the unnatural strength of Igniz, the tainted rage of Rugal. Yet it is no less strong. More connected, a beacon that somehow balances in perfect synergy with the rest of his surroundings, a whispered shout of utter power, lauded by the winds themselves.
That first tremendous cascade of ice rolls up, erupts at Ryu. A crimson gloved fist treats it similarly to Kula's defensive constructs, smashing /through/ it, the shattered pillar erupting in all directions as if an explosive charge had been planted within it. His other fist lashes out in a rolling backhand, his entire weight thrown behind the shift as the second overwhelming wave explodes upwards, blasting it in two. The peak whips away, end over end, off into the biosphere to water the plants, while the base is treated to a secondary, kicking heel. Explosive ice shards wash over him, reddening skin. The final spear is met head on, a driving straight crashing solidly into the icy assault, cracking and crumbling right down from tip to base, before exploding everywhere, shrapnel washing over Ryu, a bruise rising on his hand, tatters torn in his gi by the sheer force still beyond each of the storm's coalescent ferocity. It's enough to dull the signature of the three-edged chi claw that rips into him from behind, though Todoh must have hit seven other Ryus with that attack too... because only the very end of the blast rips into him at all.
It draws a surprised look from the Ansatsuken Master, as after his perfectly timed defense, he staggers a half-step forward, like someone just whacked him in the back of the head. Todoh's legacy to this fight: smacking the disguised whippersnapper upside the head. It's somehow extremely appropriate. Seven of Eight illusory Ryus are torn apart as Todoh falls to the floor: 10-1 odds he is extremely satisfied by this. Meanwhile, Ryu recovers his senses quickly, and lunges in, seeking to leap past Kula's guard and deliver two quick jabs to the iceassin's features, followed by a triphammer straight from the opposite, crimson gloved fist, "Hyaaah!" Facing down Kula and Kyo together? That is now a less appealing idea. Perhaps Kusanagi will be broke and have to take her out to avoid buying crepes.
Rebounding off of Todoh's head, Kyo lands in an easy crouch, a position he remains in for about the blink of an eye before smoothly rising to his feet. "Well, damn. I'm glad /that's/ over with," the World Warrior remarks to himself, thankful that Todoh didn't make a second horror movie-esque rise from certain defeat. Maybe they'll all luck out, and he knocked some of the stuff rattling around loose inside old Ryuhaku's dome back into place, huh?
Nah, that doesn't seem too likely.
Now, though, Kyo can at last turn his attention towards the other two combatants, as it seems that Kula Diamond... Is totally getting her ass kicked by Ryu?! That is some serious weapons-grade bullshit, right there. "Oh, for the love of... Sno-Cone, what the hell is wrong with you?! I thought you were the world's cutest stone-cold badass, tearing up five unwashed karate hobos every day before breakfast, and then enjoying a delicious frogurt! With sprinkles!"
That one kind of got away from him, yeah.
Since it looks like the Kusanagi heir is going to have to step up, he heaves a sigh and brushes his hair back out of his face, before starting to draw on the gathered power he's accumulated throughout the fight with Todoh the Unstoppable. Bits of power plucked here and there from the air, but mostly his /own/ power, drawn from his blood, from his heritage, from his own fiery will. Where Ryu's strength comes from his harmony with the world around him, and Kula's comes from Kyo's own copied might, the Scion of Flame draws directly on the very source of that power, ancient and inscrutable, the sacred flame meant to scour evil from the world, to push back the dark of night and safeguard the weak.
Seriously, is it any wonder he's so goddamn arrogant?
Raising his right hand, Kyo leans back slightly, assuming a distinctive pose; in his upraised hand, a flame is born, a flame that's existed for hundreds of years. A flame that's existed since the beginning of mankind. A heartbeat later, the flame spreads, covering Kyo from head to toe in orange-crimson lumiescence, threads and tendrils of fiery power rising off of his body like heat distortion. "HEY, STINKFOOT!" Kyo bellows, his voice oddly distorted by the pure power raging through him and around him. His attention is quite overtly, directly settled on Ryu his own self, and the World Warrior's right hand pulls back as he suddenly slides forward, his arm sweeping in a wide arc in front of him, /unleashing/ all of that power in a single wave, a coherent flame, the Ever Burning Flame of the Kusanagi. The flames rage and peel off of Kyo's body to bolster the initial wave, becoming an enormous tide of fiery destruction, bearing down on the King of Fighters, Ryu.
"/EAT THIS/!!"
COMBATSYS: Kula endures Ryu's Medium Punch!
>> Decisive Hit!! <<
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Kula 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/---====/=======|
And as Kula unleashes the fury of her pent up power, she keeps her head held high, allowing her to watch just precisely how the Ansatsuken warrior responds to the three-pronged attack. That he weathers it remarkably well isn't a surprise. It isn't her most powerful technique. What she's planning, on the other hand, /is/. After seeing him in action, she expected as much. In a stark contrast with her own passive approach to defenses, throwing barrier after barrier for Ryu to crash against in his relentless onslaught against her is the wanderer's own active smashing through each of the frozen spires before they can carve into him as they were intended to do.
The sky is filled with the rain of diamond-like shards as each of the monolithic masses is smashed asunder. Much of the matter is sent far beyond her ability to even influence and had he been able to attack back immediately before the young fighter had recovered from the exhertion of her powerful attack, he might have caught a window in her defenses with which to attack cleanly. It's Todoh's... strange moment in the spotlight that buys her precious seconds, however.
Pushing back up to standing, Kula extends her hands, palms up, fingers slightly curled. A rush of wind and bitter cold gathers back toward the girl as if toward a vacuum was carved into the air. In the blink of an eye, the girl has reclaimed a significant portion of expended energy. But beyond that, she supplimented it with even more of her relentless power into a point blank maelstrom of bitter potential.
It is toward that snap-wind focus of chi that Ryu rushes forward, unabated by his encounter with her previous outpouring of chi. Kyo's observations are heard over the bedlam of her own whipped up energy and while Kula doesn't spare a second to glance his way, lest she lose focus on Ryu for a split instant too long, she does have the wherewithall to respond. "Not every karate hobo is cut from the same stone," she pauses, "But add sprinkles and frogurt to the crepe promise, and maybe we'll see."
Ryu attacks, his fist swinging in with two swift jabs as Kula holds her ground. The punches, for once, are not met by ice-walled barriers or even the soft yet durable leather of her jacket sleeves. He strikes her cleanly, each punch connecting with the full weight of a determined champion level fighter. The impact is enough to turn her head with the force, leaving her struck by the three hits that follow, each of them forcing her back even further...
But the lack of defense was not without intent. For with those steps that brought him to her, Ryu brought himself to the very center of her focus... Even as Kula slides to a stop a couple yards back, her cheek reddened, her bottom lip bloodied slightly, the crimson-eyed fighter is still focused on him. It doesn't even take a gesture - merely a thought to bring it all crashing down.
In that instant Ryu will find himself under assault with all the frenzy of the worst winter's storm as shards of ice, a ton of sleet and snow, super-cooled water, and pristine white chi that makes even liquid nitrogen seem warm seek his blood, his strength to keep on fighting. And in that moment, he finds himself between the twin storms of fire and ice...
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Ryu with Freeze Execution.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/-======/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Ryu with Orochinagi EX+.
+ Epic Hit! +
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
It's a tremendous maelstrom of ice and fire. Seeing it coming and stopping it is an entirely different set of circumstances and goals. Ryu can sense it, see the combination of half the apocalypse myths of the world culminate and come at him. He's covered in ice, surrounded in a prison of frigid cold. Before he can leap side, it saps his strength, it drains his readiness to move. Then it pins him down. He falls, crushed under shearing windstorms of winter's fiercest fury. His clothing is torn, his flesh is bitterly ripped, ice leaving a ragged sort of agony to the rending injuries. Hailstorms pummel him bruised, his vision blurs.... and then it all happens again.
There's no time to gain ground between the two assaults. A torch of pure Orochi-sealing fire rips through the icestorm, and launches Ryu out of it - while subjecting him to the pain all over again. It's all he can do to cling to consciousness. He should already be out cold, should already be swimming in agonizing darkness. Fire licks at his wounds, scorches the bleeding scratches black, sears the edges of his gi, then burns away the top completely. He rolls clear, coming up nearly against the edge of the biosphere with a low groan. Then, the impossible happens. He focuses his mind, he presses a palm to the floor. He pushes himself up to a crouch. The Dragon's gaze snaps up, first with only one eye, as the other, more swollen one takes a moment longer to focus on Kyo and Kula, "Well at least we know...." he spits blood to the ground, "The /two/ of you are strong enough to win this fight." There's a bit of that rare, slightly uncharacteristic ire in the snark.
They just made a deal in front of him. Launched a dual pronged attack. Ryu doesn't particularly approve of bribery in any of its forms, doesn't particularly like contests like this being tainted in any way, shape, or form. Oh, and he doesn't really like Kyo or Kusanagi's attitude, either. So there's a decided spark of anger in the nomad's eyes, channeled inward, his teeth gritting, his muscles flexing. Even if all he can do right now is find the strength to stand. Stand, and glare.
COMBATSYS: Ryu gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/=======/=======|
To be perfectly honest, Kyo is as surprised as anyone that Kula elected to work in concert with him like that, unleashing hell on the reigning King of Fighters. He's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.
"Oooh, sick burn from Captain Starchypants," Kyo taunts, throwing up his hands in a gesture of mock surprise. "Look, you and me and the entire damn world already know I can beat your ass, Ryu. If you're going to get all pissy about it and throw a temper tantrum, though, I'm sure we can get somebody to change your diapers and get you a bottle. Personally, I don't really care to hear it, but hey, I'm a generous guy... Maybe a little music will make you feel better."
It's at this point, then, that Kyo rubs his thumb against the side of his index finger, playing for Ryu the world(warrior)'s tiniest violin.
The thing /is/, though, the only 'deal' Kyo made - which may or may not have been serious, from him; it could just have been part of the Kusanagi heir's usual endless stream of banter, taunts and sass - was only until he was able to dispatch Todoh, which he really had figured would've happened much sooner.
"But when you're right, you're right," Kyo notes, a reluctant tone in his voice. "Hey, Sno-Cone. Heads up!" is the only warning he offers Kula Diamond before he rounds on /her/, his right fist swinging around in a hooking punch aimed at the side of Kula's head, flames trailing behind his fist and erupting at the point of impact, if any; should that first punch land, Kyo steps in and brings his left fist up in a short backfist uppercut aimed at the underside of Kula's jaw, replete with a second burst of Kusanagi flames, and then he clasps his hands together in an axehandle position, bringing them /both/ down at the top of the onetime NESTS assassin's head.
Fair's fair, after all.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Kula with Aragami.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Kula 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Kyo
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 1/=======/=======|
The assault takes practically everything she has. The whirlwind of gathered chi is expended along with most of her reserves as she unleashes the strongest technique in her arsenal. And in the end, her sacrifice play works. Unlike the last time she risked all to land a hit against the Wanderer, however, she clearly came out ahead on this exchange. If there's satisfaction in the results to be found, it won't be seen in her eyes as she observes with a certain clinical detachment her powerful attack collide with Ryu only for him to suffer it's very antithesis in the form of a swath of legendary flame.
Against just about anyone else, that would be a fight ending combination. Especially after the number of rounds that had transpired in the Biosphere thus far. But not with the nomad. He pushes himself back up even as Kula takes a couple of steps back, breathing hard from the exertion and the biting back of pain of so many strikes to the face that she's lost count. She isn't oblivious to Ryu's reaction as he musters the wherewithall to stand again, but it doesn't provoke much of an apologetic response from her.
"I doubt... you have never attacked a target in unisen with another." Her words are neutral as if a statement of fact rather than judgemental. It's the nature of a fight - honor, rules, fair play... none of those have ever registered with her. Concepts such as those certainly were not a factor when she invaded homes in the night to dole out executions at the behest of a Cartel steeped in crime and murder.
But if there is more to come of it, Kyo steps up to the plate quickly, ready to shift targets now that it seems that Ryu has been cut down in threat level significantly. She whirls on Kyo quickly as he speaks up but a step too slow to guard against the incoming right hook. The flame wreathed impact is jarring, driving her to the side as the world flickers black to her dimming vision. The second teeth rattling hit to the underside of her chin sends her reeling, head knocked back; an easy target for a finishing hit.
But when he comes in for that axehandle double-handed slam, Kyo impacts instead another sheet of thick ice that stands the test of his flames, propped by Kula's upraised hands as the girl slides to a stop. Ears ringing, head throbbing, she's beyond the point of conversation if she had any words for the Kusanagi scion to begin with. Instead she lets her actions speak for her as she crouches, fingers of her right hand touching the ground for an instant to secure her balance before she /leaps/ up into the air.
In the wake of her jump comes a torrent of chi and ice as she pulls even deeper from the air around her. A mid-leap pirouette has her gathering all that power up into a single, concentrated sphere that hovers for an instant... before she drives it back down toward Kyo with a swift kick.
Thus toward the flame wielder arcs a sphere of ultra-concentrated power, with air and liquid driven far beyond the solid point but kept from crystalizing by Kula's own force of will. That is until it impacts, that is, upon which point that energy detonates in a hemisphere, launching a storm of jagged ice and a blast wave of that blisteringly cold chi of young Miss Diamond's!
Of course, both Kyo /and/ Kula have a point. Kyo's is somewhat lost in the random bluster, but still. Kula did indeed keep Ryu busy while Todoh was dispatched - even if just ignoring Ryuhaku probably would have set him on Ryu in the first place. Assuming he got all crazy again after finishing Kyo's sandwich. Whatever happened to that thing, anyway? Kula's assessment is also correct: Ryu has attacked in tandem, though /never/ for crepes! It's probably the payment that gets under his skin, that... or the fact that he's basically burning, freezing, and leaking blood all at once. It's enough pain to almost overwhelm him. He doesn't particularly want to keep moving. Yet at the same time, the Ansatsuken Master definitely wants to keep fighting. It's one of those cosmic paradoxes, boiled down to simply warrior hobo level.
It doesn't mean that honor and fair play have no place in a fight, however. They're principles that he's somewhat devoted his life to, on a level somewhere notably behind the simple, natural attunement of his training, striving for something that seems out of reach for most. Something that many simply steal from others, grab for without regard for those harmed. In this case? It's Kyo's turn to face down a twin charge of immense power. Kula may be tapped out compared to her initial might: but Ryu is not. The body is broken, but the spirit? The spirit burns bright. Hands are cupped to his side, and a flashbulb focuses between clenched palms. It's not so much that it erupts and illuminates the biodome... no, it seems to almost take the light present, and rip it all to that singular point for a split second. The sparkle from Kula's ice fades for an instant, the sky itself seems to darken, and then the pinprick of light rushes back outwards at, well, the speed of light, "SHIIIIIINKUUUUUUU..."
Left in its wake is a coruscating sphere of darkest cerulean, the fires surging around themselves in an all-consuming vortex. It tugs at the nomad's long headband, it rustles the nearby plants violently. Muscles flex, and the not-quite-fire ball expands in his grasp. Flaring light and darkness combine, and with a powerful heave, the densely packed sphere is projected outwards, dragging a violent trench through the ground between Ryu and Kyo by sheer force of its simple passage. The wildly trailing energies reflect the searing main blast, echoed by a fervent, "HADOOOOOUKEN!!!" It's not quite an Orochinagi, but that's largely a matter of energy source.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Kyo with Diamond Shoot.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo blocks Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
If there is an immutable fact of the universe, aside from Kyo Kusanagi's overwhelming, reality-rewriting level of awesome, it is this: Kyo is /really good/ at making people want to hit him.
Case in point: Right now.
Recoiling in an attempt to catch his balance after his attack on Kula, a brief moment of annoyance flits across the World Warrior's expression at the realisation that his attack wasn't enough to take Kula out of the fight. It was a calculated risk - maybe not /that/ calculated - and now, of course, the Kusanagi heir has to deal with the fact that both the other fighters still standing want to do him harm. Naturally, neither one disappoints.
With the frozen power of Kula Diamond and the concentrated force of Ryu's chi bearing down on him, Kyo's options are limited. He draws on as-yet untapped reserves, forcing his tired body to move faster as he simply aims to leap out of the way of Kula's attack... But he can't quite make it, the icy force slamming into him, knocking him to the ground with wisps of frost snapping at him, his breath misting in the air. And there's still that freight train of a Hadouken coming his way.
Whirling his legs, using circular momentum to pull himself out of a prone position and into a low crouch, Kyo is barely able to meet Ryu's attack with a stable defense; the World Warrior's own chi flares, a circular force kicking up debris around him as the Shinkuu Hadouken slams into his upraised forearms. Kyo's teeth grit, as he presses his own spirit against the projected energy of the King of Fighters...
And in the end, the worst of the attack dissipates, letting Kyo get back up to his feet. His jacket is pretty ruined, though.
"Tch," mutters Kyo, taking off and tossing aside his torn, chi-seared, spat-upon and frostburned leather jacket, leaving him in just his white t-shirt and almost elbow length Kusanagi family gloves as far as his upper body goes. "I /liked/ that jacket," he complains, to nobody in particular. But it's Ryu who regains Kyo's attention, and he leaps at the fightin' hobo in a pretty straightforward jump kick, his right leg thrust out at Ryu's face. "Huaa--!!"
When Kula lands from the attack lobbed Kyo's way, she's in bad shape. Gasping for breath, it's more of a crashing to the ground rather than a graceful touch down like she would have mustered earlier in the fight. She wobbles, her legs giving out, the girl dropping to her hands and knees with a grunt. She isn't even entirely sure if her attack directed Kyo's way connected or not. In a time not long ago she would have likely given up a sanctioned fight this tough - simply sat down and said she was quite finished with it because it was hard and she didn't really want to push herself any further.
But there have been subtle, quiet changes to the girl since then even if most of it is in secret kept from the world at large. To most she probably seems the same as ever. Ruthless, wielding incredible power and a very precise, effective fighting style honed far too well for a girl of so few years. If that's all anyone thinks all the better, she theorizes.
But now she pushes herself up, moving to a crouch for a long while as Kyo is driven back by the impresively powerful attack from Ryu. The magnitude of chi drawn into the single projectile is not lost on the girl perceptive to such things. By the time Kyo takes to the air to attack Ryu back, young Diamond has risen back to standing. She hasn't much left in her she knows, pushing well past the point of pain and fatigue. She's made it this far. She isn't giving up yet.
Her right hand lifts to her lip and with a pass of her fingers, she freezes a bleed solid before wiping her sleeve across her mouth to smear away some of the left over blood. Her left hand tighens, the girl steeling her resolve. She can fight a little bit longer. Maybe she won't make a difference in the fight. Maybe she's already done more than she expected setting out to join this bout of champions. Her mind is a storm of doubts and desires to continue on.
But the truth of it can only be found in the heart of the battle and that's exactly what she's determined to find out.
COMBATSYS: Kula focuses on her next action.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Ryu interrupts Heavy Kick from Kyo with Shin Shoryuken+.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Kyo
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Ryu 1/----===/=======|
Kyo does definitely have some immense skill. Not even counting being the master of wanting to make people hit him. The icestorm rips through him, but his guard holds true against the mightiest Hadouken Ryu knows how to fling. That in and of itself is impressive. For Ryu, the battle has turned from an almost relaxed (by his measure) test of Kula's defenses, analysis of her chi, into a pitched struggle to stay on his feet. His demeanor changes, his entire stance changes. The power to stand seems to rise from within, and without, more than being something possessed of simple physical endurance. It's as much defiant will as it is strength of muscle. All his focus remains on the battle at hand.
His glare may have softened, but the intensity hasn't lessened. The Dragon's gaze shifts from Kula, to Kyo, to Kula, to Kyo... keeping both within the range of his scan as much as he can. The icy agent is drained, he can tell that much... but still dangerous, for the moment. Kusanagi joins the ranks of the more heavily battered, but he, too, remains a threat. Then he charges full bore at Ryu. The Ansatsuken Master studies his momentum. He's tired, as well. Most of his resources spent. Ryu, on the other hand... his spirit surges upwards, he gathers all of his momentum into potential energy. Muscles tense, his legs set. It's an execution that comes in the same half instant that Kyo's foot flies in for his skull. Ryu shifts, twisting a half-turn to the side. The Scion of Flame's jumpkick grazes off his skull painfully, but almost all of Kyo's momentum is preserved. Ryu's focus is on weathering the renewed pain. Blood sprays from his injured face, but he barely winces. His left foot slides back... and then all of his weight shifts back forward.
Kusanagi lands. Right in the path of a brutal low uppercut to the ribs. It's enough to stop many strong warriors in their tracks. Then there's the followup. Ryu pushes off the gloved fist buried in the flame-wielder's guts, drops low, and throws all his weight around. It's the right fist that delivers the true meat of the technique, a ravaging, rocketing uppercut with force enough to set Ryu hurtling skyward with the simple motion of delivering it. All that gathered strength is focused behind the singular motion, behind the tremendous, reverberating impact of that rising fist. It reaves across Kyo's torso, crashes into his jaw with a tremendous shockwave, launches both Ansatsuken Master and the elder hating heir to Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu skyward. Though only the former ascends with any hint of controlled grace to the motion.
"SHOOOOOORYUKEN!!!"
If there's anything that causes Kyo to give Ryu at least grudging respect - which is honestly the only sort the Kusanagi heir has to offer - it's that he gives as good as he gets, in the context of a fight anyway. There's a faint sound of annoyance from the flamewielding World Warrior as his attack ends up being a lot less effective than he'd hoped... Which turns straightaway into a look of surprise as his landing brings him right into that damn uppercut. It seems to strike almost everywhere at once, the searing force of Ryu's chi and the more blunt trauma 'fist' aspect crashing on him like a rising wave. It destroys Kyo's shirt, so he ends up looking almost as raggedly dressed as Ryu himself, but at least he doesn't end up doing a total Sagat impersonation.
See? You wear a shirt and you don't end up with huge scars on your chest. But you can't teach a Muay Thai fighter anything; just look at Joe.
There's a bellow of pain from Kyo, of course, because he's many things but some kind of invulnerable stoic is not one of them, as the force of the Shoryuken drives him into a backwards flip, tossing him away from the Ansatsuken master. That freakin' hurt.
But...
"Aw, man," Kyo mutters, spitting up a gob of blood on the floor, his gaze rising as he pushes himself up, focusing blearily on Ryu. Well, let's see what Kula can make of things now, but Kyo isn't about to just lie down. Lurchingly, the Kusanagi-ryuu fighter gets into a low run, aiming himself at Ryu as best he can, and when he gets close, he swings a single uppercut of his own at Ryu, although this one doesn't carry Kyo off of the ground, or anything.
It /does/ involve an enormous explosion of Kusanagi flames, though.
Hit or miss, what happens with Kyo next is obvious; he falls to his knees, and then flops onto his face, rather comically. Also it sounds like he mutters something about Ryu's mom on his way down to the floor, but it's difficult to say.
COMBATSYS: Kyo can no longer fight.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
Requiring a moment to even steady herself, Kula is nothing beyond a witness to the exchange of attacks that suddenly transpire before her eyes. Kyo's aggressive leap in only to be followed by the demonstration of a technique with a fearsome reputation all its own... The crimson eyed experiment tightens her right gloved hand to match her left. She may only have one attack left in her. Two at best. Kyo may not be able to fight any longer... but she has to be sure that her sole target remaining is Ryu.
The Kusanagi heir calls the matter into question when he manages to charge again, his fire dancing to his command every bit as bright as before. But her analytical eye can tell even before he drops to his knees that the young man has given it all he's got. Constant harassment from Todoh, punishing techniques from Kula and Ryu a like have taken their toll. A soft exhale accompanies her decision to brave Ryu's combat prowess one more time.
Pushing herself into forward motion, the girl bolts for the Ansatsuken warrior, digging deep to pull chi to her fingers again. It is a three step combo she subjects the fighter to in her bid to force an attack through his defenses. Her left palm slams forward, forcing a hemisphere of flash-formed solid ice into the path between the two. Her right, ice-encrusted fist follows with a body shot for his ribs. And finally she lunges, left hand, practically dripping with that skin-freezing cold chi as she goes for his neck, attempting to pull the other fighter to the ground, slamming him onto his back and possibly robbing him of the power to continue fighting!
COMBATSYS: Ryu dodges Kyo's Dokugami EX.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Ryu
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Ryu with Charged Combo.
- Power hit! -
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Kula 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Ryu
Ryu rotates a singular, graceful turn at the top of his technique. It's a controlled, surveying twist, dispersing some of the remaining energy as he drops back to the ground. He lands on one bent knee, pressing his hand to the ground as his eyes snap upwards to Kyo. Yes, Kula is deadly: but she's also exhausted, analyzing, and it might buy him a moment. Might. Unfortunately, the swelling on his left eye makes it a bit more difficult to keep track of /both/ of them at once. Kusanagi manages to charge once more, with impressive speed and power considering the strike he just ate, but Ryu is ready for it.
He darts away, the Dragon moving in a white blur, launching himself into a sidelong lunge that brings him out of the way of the brutal uppercut, the flames licking at his skin as he weaves away... right into the path of the icy assassin. Wintery chi bursts against his side. Ryu reels. His footing nearly breaks. Blood spouts from his mouth as his guts are slammed by the ice-enshrouded fist. He lurches backwards, feet skidding across the ground. She leaps, dark eyes track her, almost impossibly, stubbornly... as he's clotheslined to the ground. He slams back into a skid, kicking out of the lurching fall and leaving a decidedly bloody smear on the ground along his path. Rolling back to a crouch, Ryu does the unthinkable.
The Ansatsuken Master launches himself /right back in/ at Kula, sprinting a step, then three, four in sudden succession, both hands launching for the front of her uniform. It's a sudden, forceful heave meant to dislodge her from her footing, whip her up and around, and with a sudden twist of his torso, sweep of his foot, /slam/ the icy agent down on the opposite side of him, firmly projected into the ground with a profound kiai. It's a simple technique: like most of his repetoire.... yet executed with an almost spiritual discipline that elevates it far beyond its origins in judo and jiujutsu.
COMBATSYS: Ryu successfully hits Kula with Seoi Nage.
[ < > /////// ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Ryu
The attack was swift, the girl feeling the pain of having pushed herself so far. Burdened with simply surviving the constant pressure from Ryu throughout the majority of the match, she was forced to expend her reserves far more quickly than she would have otherwise. Usually still strong even late into a bout with energy that seems nearly endless, for once the child aged fighter knows what it means to be truely exhausted.
Even as she drops Ryu with her aggressive lunge for his neck, she's slow to push herself back to standing up straight, having lost most of her fearsome speed in the final bid to catch him off guard. The ice from her attacks begins to thaw as her capacity to keep it solid slips rapidly and even the blood she froze at her lip has started to seep again as the girl's strength wanes.
But as close as it may be, Ryu is still moving - finding a well within himself to burst back toward her with the speed of a fighter still fresh even after the the length of the grueling fight. Only his injuries threaten to slow the master now. Incapable of escaping his grip and not quick enough to root herself to the ground with her icy chi, the girl finds herself pulled clean off the ground and slammed right down on her back on the other side of the gi-clad nomad.
That it is the end of the match is clear to her even before her back impacts the ground. She hasn't the strength to stand again. That doesn't mean she isn't going to do all she can to attack. The counter attack comes instantly as Kula rolls onto her left shoulder and drives her right hand up, knuckles extended, striking before Ryu might have completely recovered from his flawless slam.
The strike is straight, pausing for only a split second before driving home for the final impact in the King of Fighters' stomach with piston-like force. It's all she can muster as a gasp would be the last sound she made before rolling onto her back once more, the presence of her vibrant, chilly power lulling back into a more diminished state, her hair losing its frosty hue as the color melts back to a dampened strawberry blond color.
COMBATSYS: Kula can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Ryu just-defends Kula's One Inch!
[ \\\\\\\\\ <
Ryu 0/-------/--=====|
The traditional judo throw, elevated, finds its mark - he'd voice a silent prayer of thanks, but Ryu doesn't really have time for that. He doesn't have time for much, truth be told. As Kula is thrown clear, the Dragon takes a quick step back, retreating from the point of impact. It's a tactical decision, one that gives him a hair's breadth more room to maneuver as she rolls up, and right back in. Her fist launches in, clear for once of that impressive, uncanny wintery chi, but it's met by a solid palm. This fight is over. Ryu senses it in his bones. Feels it in every sinew. .... and so he steps into the assault, aborts it prematurely. It's not a giant wall of ice: but it might as well be. It's like punching into a brick wall. A straight arm catches Kula's gloved strike, a reverberating impact sounding out into the biosphere. To Kula's senses, it's as if the energy behind her strike is simply absorbed, channeled up the appendage, consumed by the well within the Ansatsuken Master.
A well which seems to only reach outwards, grow larger, more dramatic as the fight draws onward, as its wielder slows by every conventional measure. It is as if he fights harder, reaches deeper. A foot slides backwards with the momentum, and all of the force seems to dissipate into that guarding hand, a reverberating wave washing up through him. Immediately following it, Ryu leaps clear, with alacrity that belies his wounds, his exhaustion, landing a distance away in a crouch, and drawing a deep, clarifying breath.
He has little left to do besides rise, the Wanderer closes his eyes as his headband whips up behind him, a slow, respectful nod offered to each of the other challengers. He folds his arms over his chest, centering himself - and profoundly ignoring the announcer who overexcitedly screams out about the outcome of this CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH OMG.
COMBATSYS: Ryu wanders on to find the next challenge.
Log created on 22:20:02 07/10/2009 by Kyo, and last modified on 01:12:03 07/21/2009.