Description: Makari Maksimillian tracks down Denji Akiyama, based on the advice from Farah. As the two begin to fight, Denji learns his friend is in trouble -- but who is that, charging onto the scene?! The Rising Dragon--!!
"Ha ha ha... ha ha ha."
Denji Akiyama is doing great.
"Ha ha ha!"
Thanks for asking!
Chortling pleasantly to himself, of good humor and good nature, the mountain boy and pseudo-monk swings merrily and gently upon a park swing built for someone significantly smaller. The three laughter children playing in the woodchips around him do not seem to mind; if anything, they seem to know Denji well. This is because Denji hangs out in the park quite a bit, which is because he is homeless.
But. /But./ He is on a team for King of Fighters. Appropriate, the king of all fighting tournaments. Somehow, somebody heard of him. Somebody must have been desperate. But this is Denji's chance at the big leagues. Not only to make some cash slightly better than his trivia night earnings. No, this is his chance to truly attempt to develop the ancient abilities that his family had long since forgotten: the latent chi mastery that has somehow, mysteriously, once again arisen in his generation's blood. He left the mountain not merely to learn of the world, which in and of itself is something of a merely aesthetic endeavor for Denji, but to come to a truer sense of who he is, and what his potential might be worthy of.
And if it's worthy of nothing--
"Ah ha ha!"
There's always the temple, and the mountain, and the shrine.
But for now, there's the lovely Farah-chan, and the mighty Wang, and trivia nights, and the big city, and people constantly stealing his money while he's sleeping on park benches, and the big city, and these laughing children, and the bright sun cutting through the winter sky.
Denji's life has been good.
Great, even.
Faint birdsong mingles with the creaking of metal hinges, and the scattering of woodchips, and the mirth of children, and one child at heart.
Makari is in a tree.
Not just any tree, but by sheer luck, he's managed to pick one very near the swing on which Denji is having a great time. At Farah's sort-of urging, the last Maksimillian has jumped ahead a few spaces in his list of 'the potentials', coming to the park to test Denji. Maybe, possibly, clear something up along the way. He's in a perfect position to finally make a perfect entrance.
Unfortunately, he's fallen asleep.
The enormous, armored man is fortunately high enough in the tree that he is completely obscured, but /un/fortunately is high enough in the tree that the branch - which was only holding his weight because he is very good at balancing - is starting to strain. It creaks gently, and then less gently, and then cracks /violently./
Makari wakes up, but he is already embarassed.
The branch gives way, metal banging on metal as Makari is vaulted forward, coming to full wakefulness in an instant, grabbing at the branch below him. The heavy grey fur cloak only foils him here, yanking him around off-balance as it catches in twigs and such. The net effect is a gigantic racket, all kinds of things dropping to the grass around the tree, a vigorous shaking from one corner.
No. /No./ His entrance against the woman was already a failure, he will not have a repeat of the waterfall incident! NEVER AGAIN. Makari pulls his cloak close, landing heavily on a branch that can support his weight, sprinting down it and leaping--!
The young man's impressive form vaults out of the tree, somersaulting once in the air to land powerfully behind Denji, thoughtfully away from the playing kids. Woodchips fly away from him in a small shockwave, because that always comes with a badass landing.
Slowly, Makari straightens, eyes locked on Denji to gauge his reaction, his face arranged in a grim expression that doesn't at all scream 'I just almost fell out of that tree.'
There is a leaf caught in his hair. He studiously ignores it.
A lull in the laughter, as the four of them glance curiously about. Blinking, slowing in his swinging, Denji reaches up to push his long bangs out of his eyes, purple and black robes ceasing to flap in the breeze as his gaze ambles about his surroundings. From whence this clanging? The strange ruckus has got all of their attention, but--
No, no, it's gone. Well, maybe a car broke down, or--
*whoomp*
"Gahh!"
Denji half falls out of the swing, an arm and a leg tangled in the chain as he gazes upside-down at the sudden arrival, eyes -- being now visible, as his long hair hangs down and pools about the ground -- widening at the sight of this fantastical armored apparition.
The children, needless to say, are struck dumb. One boy missing a front baby tooth lets a Terry Bogard action figure slip out of his limp hands.
"Wh-- Who-- are you?" the would-be chi sage manages as he slowly, awkwardly, extracts himself from -- no, not like that -- yes, there we go -- the chains in which he is entangled. With any luck, the silence that accompanies his endeavor is polite. Finally, he rises to his feet. "I should say I don't have any money," the easygoing youth adds, grinning lopsidedly, before pausing abruptly. "Unless /you're/ the one that's-- no, that's not possible. I'd have woken up, with all that armor."
This is a dubious claim.
"Or are you here for my King of Fighter's invitation?" he says suddenly, eyes widening -- though this time you can't tell, because his bangs /are/ obscuring them -- as he steps forward, stuffing his hands inside the voluminous sleeves of his robes. "Well, I can't let you do that. First, because I left it with Farah-chan. And second, because I've got to fight alongside Farah-chan!" He removes his hand from his sleeve immediately, just so he can clench his fist in determination in public view.
There's a lingering pause.
"I'm, uh... I'm Denji, by the way. Denji Akiyama."
Makari is very careful not to look directly at the children while he has Grimface on, because it might be terrifying. He does keep his eyes locked on Denji's until his bangs cover them up, and then goes with his best guess.
Denji gives him a lot of information very quickly, and in response, Makari draws his saber, making the motion dramatic so it parts his cloak enough to give Denji a glimpse of it. Damascus steel, elaborate hilt, ugly black rubber thing on the blade. We're not playing captain murder a dude here. "Makari Maksimillian. Last of the house of Maksimillian, student of Strolheim. I'm not here for any invitation." He takes a deep breath, and lowers his arms, the cloak falling to obscure his entire body save for his head and boots.
His striking blue eyes are already glittering, Makari psyching himself up for the fight. If it's anything like the last one, it's going to be great. "I've heard of you, Denji Akiyama - you are one of those with potential." Read: Fightpedia article updated by at least /two/ different people. "I am here to test that potential!" His boots shift, and he rolls his neck with a few quick pops, before grinning hugely, white teeth shining. It lights his whole face up.
"Prove to me you're not a waste of my time!"
COMBATSYS: Makari has started a fight here.
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Makari 0/-------/-------|
Thank goodness. Denji /hates/ Captain Murder a Dude. He played that with Juri Han once. Worst game ever. On the other hand--
"Holy crap!!"
It's still a sword.
Honestly, Fightpedia is a legitimate source. It's probably where whatever shadowy organization is currently running King of Fighters got his information from in the first place. Only a constantly updated online interface has the capacity to know which given park bench the invitation should be dropped off at, after all.
Okay, so, it's usually the same park bench.
"M... Maksi... millian."
Denji takes a deep breath.
"That's hard... for me... to pronounce."
Maku... shi... miri... an? Ano? Anu?
But the light in that eyes is far from sinister. Denji has heard of Strolheim once or twice, as most people have, but not having regular internet access, he hasn't done nearly enough research into the fighting world; not nearly enough as he should have. Still-- this guy is legit. This is a legitimate encounter. And--
Denji glances back over his should, peering through his bangs.
"Aheh..."
The children are watching.
"Let's set a good example, then."
Raising one hand, he grins lopsidedly as it immediately blossoms forth into verdant green chi, pooling about his grasp like the planet's own lifeblood.
"And give it everything we've got!"
One thing's for sure: fighting is more exciting than the mountain.
He whips forward, rippling through the air like a breeze through the mist, aiming to weave in and, staggering in an odd jerky feint, suddenly slip past the reach of Makari's weapon, closing in swiftly to grasp at his armored adversary. Torquing, fueled by the force of his own chi, he may just be able to lift the heavy man slightly off the ground, before twisting and, with a burst of green, send him plowing forcefully into the earth.
COMBATSYS: Denji has joined the fight here.
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Denji 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Makari
COMBATSYS: Makari endures Denji's Yokoburi.
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Denji 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Makari
"Please, then, just call me Makari." His eyes pick over Denji's style - something different than what he's used to. All of his other opponents since leaving Strolheim have been fairly direct, Denji's stagger-stumble flubbertydruthers catching him off-guard, which like, never happens. He starts to do something with his sword, sees that it's a terrible idea, and does something.
The strength of the Maksimillian Weaponmaster art is stupidly quick hands. By the time Denji has Makari in the air, he's already put the sword away. He lands, hard, announces, "Excellent!", and jabs his left hand out, trapping Denji's hand with the lower part of a double-headed battleaxe, a wolf's head etched on its face.
Up comes Makari, twisting the axe to pull Denji's arm away, and his right arm emerges with a second axe, identical save for its bear's head. "Your willingness to throw yourself in without hesitation..." He slams the rubber-blunted axe at Denji's midsection, trying to lift him up with it. "...it does you well!" Makari pulls Nikita away from the monk's arm, seeking to hammer him away with the broad side.
COMBATSYS: Denji blocks Makari's Power Strike.
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Denji 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Makari
Well, it doesn't do him /terribly/, at any rate.
"Gah!" is Denji's eloquent reply, as he finds his opponent to react with shocking swiftness, weapons rotating at -- where did those even -- he had those all along, didn't he -- the point is that axes, blessedly blunted, are surging at him with crushing intent. With his characteristic frenetic dynamism, Denji half-leaps and half-sprawls into the air, twisting himself around the first strike and the bracing himself against the broad second, clearly managing to deflect the majority of the impact but, not being actually braced against anything, is nevertheless flung away.
"Hurgh--!"
But young Akiyama, acting instinctively as always, attacks even as he retreats (setting aside for the moment that he did not in fact intend to retreat) by lashing out with a startling, arcing kick, his body torquing in a brave display of intuitive acrobatics. The pseudo-monk attempts to plant one sandalled, chi-wreathed foot directly into Makari's face even as he is propelled away, whereupon he will roll to safely, spraying woodchips everywhere.
The boy has forgotten all about his Terry Bogard figure at this point.
COMBATSYS: Makari interrupts Medium Kick from Denji with Biting Steel.
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Denji 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Makari
This time, Makari is wiser to Denji's movements. He's already perceived that the monk is basically frenetic, so the Strolheim student abandons the idea of 'watching for the attack'. With hard-earned instinct, he pivots, whipping his large frame at surprising speed to put his left side at Denji, axe sweeping up just as the kick lands, again trapping the foot and holding Denji in the air for an instant.
History repeats, but is also revised, as Makari's right hand darts under his cloak and comes out with the saber, Maksimilian. He steps forward, and past Denji, three rapid strikes flickering through the air in an instant. Following through, he settles himself, cloak covering his body fully again. Maybe he'll have a spear next, or a bazooka.
Makari takes some steps back. "Good, excellent! Farah was correct to send me to you next!" He watches Denji carefully - he already managed to confirm the two knew each other. "Shame about her, you think? That confusion in her mind, it will keep her from reaching her true heights."
Distantly, a brown-haired youth can be seen emerging from Southtown's entirely artificial forest. He's crouched, with his eyes peeled to a compass held in his right hand - he looks sad. HOWEVER: Upon reaching a fountain in the center background, the youth jumps atop it, arms upraised in jubilation for some second before he hunkers back into the woods.
And wouldn't you know it, in three more seconds, he's scampering back out towards that fountain.
"Kuhh--!"
What was supposed to be a graceful roll becomes a thorough sprawl as, limbs akimbo, Denji lands in a pile, forced to practically dig himself out of the woodchips before staggering to his feet again, at least not too poorly the worse for wear. He's not bleeding horribly, anyway. Thank you, black rubber.
"F-- Farah-chan? You met her?"
The mountain boy is briefly baffled, pushing aside his bangs presumably for the specific purpose of allowing Makari to see his eyes widen. "The confusion in..." He pauses, lips parting-- then shutting again, his eyes fluttering as, for the first time since the beginning of this encounter, Denji seems to shroud something, to hide something within himself. He's not particularly good at it; he can't contain the flicker in his gaze. But the nature of it is not clear.
He has no idea what Makari is talking about.
"Farah's... true heights, huh?"
And he's too embarrassed to admit it.
"Well... that's..."
Denji rarely encounters his own sense of shame.
"...what her friends are for."
Quietly, he resolves to see Farah again as soon as he can.
"We're going to help her through whatever problems she has!"
Swiftly, abruptly as always, Denji Akiyama lurches in, suffused at once with pearly green light. "Wang and I," he announces, sweeping out with a wide sleeve, a sleeve that seems to widen yet further as it trails a plume of frothing chi, "are going to fight by her side!" He may not know exactly what he's talking about. And he may be a bit of a coward, or at least a clown, for refusing to admit to it. But the determination in his voice is real, and his strike is coupled with conviction as he darts in only to sweep back, aiming to control the space between the two of them as well as strike Makari with the chi-strewn sweep of his arm.
COMBATSYS: Makari blocks Denji's Kagerou.
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Denji 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Makari
Makari moves methodically, his left hand coming out empty, reaching for the hilt of the zweihander sitting across his back. "Hoooh, too bad." Makari isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has an uncommon ability of perception. "I was hoping you could tell me something! I guess that just makes me the messenger, da?"
The zweihander comes down, and Makari steps forward, flinging his cloak back behind his shoulders, freeing up his limbs for the range of motion Strolheim Zweihander forms require. His right hand has a red platemail gauntlet now, its reason obvious as he grips the sword halfway up the blade and meets Denji's arm solidly, energy blooming around him as the hit still slides him back a foot. But, with a weapon like this, a foot is not much at all.
He keeps his hand where it is, reeling back around and feinting a chop at Denji's legs. "Wang! Aha, that was his name, yes. I have fought him too! He has potential, but so angry, so... in his head. It is hard for me to put the words together to describe it." Makari stops the sword cold, and steps in hard.
The whole fight, Makari's face has been lit up with joy. The initial grim facade is already completely crumbled - this is a man in his element, doing the thing he was raised to do.
"Hup!" Makari slams the flat of the zweihander at Denji, aiming to just bear him roughly into the air and press him up, both arms at full extention, taking him a good ten feet into the air. It's the fall afterward as Makari steps smoothly away, shifting his grip to hold the sword horizontally behind him, that hurts.
COMBATSYS: Denji dodges Makari's Creeping Wolf.
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Denji 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Makari
"Ugh..."
Denji is unable to prevent himself from flinching slightly as Makari somehow sees right through his fairly obvious attempt to hide his consternation. Alas, Denji has very little to offer in the way of genuine empathy. He is at least man enough -- and truly concerned enough -- to recognize that he must have let Farah down in some way. Even if he's not man enough to admit that openly to Makari.
"Wang? Angry?"
Okay, /very/ little to offer in the way of empathy.
"I mean... I guess."
Akiyama seems a bit puzzled, even as that incredibly imposing and absurdly-sized sword begins to swing his way. Though he doesn't lower his guard, he does seem to take a moment to contemplate the matter. "Now that you mention it... but I just put it down to his burning spirit for battle."
Maybe he just gives everyone the benefit of the doubt.
"Whoa!"
There's a lot of doubt.
But that leaves a lot of room for Denji's instincts, the odd calculations constantly and dynamically running behind his shrouded eyes, to shine. He twists about the zweihander, moving aggressively even as he avoids it, clearly attempting once again to close in past the long weapon's range. But he doesn't simply try the same tactic twice. To ensure he isn't caught by the follow-up slash, Denji takes to the ground immediately, rolling forward and to the side, athwart his adversary. Only then does he lash out with his legs in an effort to grapple with Makari's own rooted limbs, twisting to both unbalance his foe and hoist himself up to grapple with his arms and put all of his weight behind the wild attempt to take his armored upon off his feet again, before, hopefully, rolling away once more, and to his feet.
COMBATSYS: Makari blocks Denji's Medium Throw.
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Denji 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Makari
The Russian raises an aristocratic eyebrow at Denji, showing him what he thinks of that interpretation of Wang. He looks delighted when Denji darts around his form, punching out futilely with the pommel of his sword before Denji manages to tie him up and spike him to the ground.
He manages to splay out his back, armor thrumming loudly against the ground as he crashes. "In any event! I am glad at least one of you is not holding himself back! Looks like I'll have to treat you... differently!" Even in Strolheim, weapon fighting is relatively rare - most people are barehanding. The Strolheim Zweihander style is taught keeping this in mind. Sliding his right hand up closer to the tip of the sword, Makari bucks his legs hard, shoving Denji up enough for him to start fighting his way up, first with another sweeping pommel strike, a swipe with the blade's tip, and finally a strong bash with the rest of the blade. It's like he's fighting with a quarter-staff, and not a big, heavy sword.
COMBATSYS: Denji fails to interrupt Fierce Strike from Makari with Shinrou.
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Denji 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Makari
As the wise and mighty Wang would say--
"Grmpphh!"
It's A Disaster.
Denji, though dynamic and spontaneous in the manner of all true aesthetes -- strange but true -- and arguably something of a prodigy, has never before encountered anything like Makari's technique. Indeed, other than Farah's scarf, his experience against weapon-users is profoundly limited. His instinctive defenses are at times quite impressive, but against a chained attack, it remains possible for him to trap himself into a corner of his own making; always, Denji reacts each move at a time. There is something to be said for living each individual moment to the fullest.
There is also something to be said for seeing the whole.
Denji, weaving around the first rising pommel strike, thinks he has spied a moment of opportunity. He thrusts out full-force with his palms, hoping to catch Makari in the midst of rising and slam him back into the ground, a blow fueled by the raw force of the planet, or something along those lines. Instead the smooth follow-up catches /Denji/ halfway through, and totally unbalanced by his abrupt lunge, he's swept up in the maelstrom that follows to be cast aside, coughed up like a hairball.
Hair that splays everywhere as he crashes back into the woodchips, dazed and confused. With a shaking hand, the shaggy monk reaches up to clear his vision, rubbing sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his robe. But the children behind to shout. "Go, Denji-chan!" shouts the little girl, pumping her fist. "Go, Denji!" shouts the little boy with the gap tooth, shaking his Terry Bogard figure. "I'll let you wear my signed Terry hat if you win!"
Denji perks up visibly.
"Don't let that guy beat you," shouts the other boy, "just because he's bigger and stronger, Denji!"
Rising to his feet, Denji nods solemnly, his eyes focused and certain. Unnamed Little Boy 2 is right. Makari is stronger than any opponent he's faced one on one before, but he's no Juri Han. He's not on another level. Slowly but surely, the mountain boy rises to his feet, and nods to his adversary.
He can win this!
Makari smoothly regains his feet with his combo, improbably spinning the zweihander in his right hand above his head. "Hooo~h." He grins at the kids. "This is what they call the, ah, home field advantage, yes?" He lets the blade slip down his hand until gauntlet meets crossguard, and takes hold of the hilt with his left, holding the weapon behind his back, what looks like a completely open position - the Fool's Guard.
Makari takes a step back, and another, conscious of a pain spreading down his back, where metal met earth and body met metal. Makari doesn't wear much padding under his breatplate, because that's for pussies. "It is an interesting coincidence, I think! First I meet the small Chinese one, then your, ho, lady-friend. Honest, it is not the plan! But I begin to wonder if I see the hand of God in this." He grins again, hugely and whitely. "I ask you, do you believe in fate, Denji?"
With that, Makari stops retreating, and inhales deeply, holding it in swelled chest for a moment before releasing it in a long 'hhhhhaaaaaaaooooooh'.
COMBATSYS: Makari gains composure.
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Denji 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Makari
Well.
Ryu hasn't IMed her in months. He's off somewhere, she figures, wandering where there are no internet cafes. She hopes he's okay, despite knowing he's okay.
Ken's secretary said she'd pass along the message. But she's pretty sure it never got there.
Sean made a bunch of lame excuses until she wanted to punch him in the mouth.
Natsu and Shoma can't take the time off from their respective sports schedules.
Hinata just wasn't sure.
Shingo pretended she'd dialed a wrong number.
What we're getting at here is that Sakura Kasugano has not had a lot of luck in finding teammates for the King of Fighters tournament. She's not the kind to brood -- she could take this all as a sign that the universe is terribly unfair, and mope and brood and wear turtlenecks and take her father up on his offer to pay for community college. But that's not Sakura's way! Instead, all this means is that she's got more time than ever to prepare for the /next/ King of Fighters!
This is why she's in the park -- Sakura is running. She's got enough banked from her fighting career to not have to worry about much other than training, after all, so that's pretty much all she's done lately. In her Rising Dragons 2005 team tracksuit, no less -- hey, Ken pays for quality, long-lasting merchandise.
"Hup hup hup!" snorts Sakura as she runs, until she sees... a fight?! She comes to a stop not far from the two men having it out, watching Denji fail to intercept the swing of Makari's blade. She winces, and then as the two take a moment to recover and prepare, she rushes forward.
"HEY!" Sakura roars, being surprisingly capable of roaring for a Japanese ex-schoolgirl. "ROOM FOR ONE MORE?!"
Her fists are raised -- is Sakura giving them a choice?!
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here in the center.
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Denji 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
Denji appears shockingly intense. His eyes gleam with a stormy light; his bangs lift from his gaze, buoyed by what seems to be the wind until, a moment later, it is obvious there is no breeze. Plumes of green begin to surge from his fingertips; his robe begins to ripple around him.
This Makari Maksimillian has met and faced them all.
"Fate?"
With uncharacteristic self-possession, Denji quirks a smile.
"I believe--"
And then he flails in terror at that terrible sound.
"Gyyaaagghhh!"
Wide-eyed in shock, he turns to their sudden assailant in awe. What manner of beast could make such an awful sound? Swallowing to dampen his suddenly dry throat, Denji reaches up to place a palm on his chest, hoping to calm himself. "Wh-- Who-- What--"
Wait a minute, is that--
"S... Sakura... Kasugano...?"
The Rising Dragon herself!?
COMBATSYS: Denji gains composure.
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Denji 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
Makari, meanwhile, appears almost serene. It's maybe not the exact word - he gives off vitality and force just standing there - but it's an unchanging kind of vitality, whether or not things are going his way, even when the totally unexpected happens.
You're never entirely ready for Sakura.
Makari's head tilts, and his eyebrows shoot up. "Ha! Ha, haha!" The grin intensifies, and his left hand tightens on the leather-wrapped zweihander, leather creaking. His shoulders shift, adjusting the sword minutely. "A King of Fighters champion!" Her name escapes him - thank God for Denji. "I suppose you will have to answer my question another time, monk!"
His hands come away from the sword, and it hangs there, inconspicuously re-harnessed. With a shift, the heavy grey cloak falls over Makari's body, obscuring his arms, armor, and armaments.
"But, I should mention, I did not think champions came so... short." The cloak ripples, and four shoddy-looking daggers whiz toward Sakura, pommels-first. This is even better than testing an opponent's potential.
Now, he gets to test /his own./
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Makari's Red Dagger.
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Denji 0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
"HAAAH!" Sakura bleats as she does what she thinks Ryu would do. This, of course, is to swing her arms sharply and decisively and /punch/ the daggers away from her person. She ends up with a cut across her knuckles on one hand, and it certainly smarts. But she'll live.
"That's right -- Sakura Kasugano!" Sakura declares, raising her fists again as if she expects some sort of dramatic musical sting to accompany her. One does, but only because not far off a passing car has their radio up really goddamn loud. "And who's short?!" she adds. "I'm average for my age and build!"
Whether this is actually true, or something Sakura just assumes, the world may possibly never know. "And maybe you two can be champions too -- but you'll never know unless you put your skills to the /TEST/!" She runs forward -- and then leaps toward Makari! Her goal? To clamp her hands on his shoulders and press her sneakered feet to his chest -- and then kick off, so sharply as to launch him toward Denji! Can she succeed?!
Whatever happens, when it all comes together, it will look good.
"Haaahh!"
Which is to say, it will look cinematic. Because Denji, adapting immediately to these new circumstances as soon as he recovers from his general surprise -- for quite different reasons than Makari shifts gears -- finding that Makari is between him and Sakura, such that if Sakura's attack connects she may well launch his erstwhile opponent into him, /leaps/ dramatically. The Rising Dragon may not see him until a moment too late, given that a hulking armor-clad man is in the way, and the mountain monk, his dearly-in-need-of-a-wash robes flapping about him, has a chance.
"I'm gonna be a champion!!" he shouts, brow furrowed.
The children shout in approval of this new resolve. Actually, they're shouting because Sakura Kasugano is super cool, and they totally want her autograph after this. But it's okay, because Denji isn't thinking about them either. This is--
Descending upon Sakura, he lashes out with an aggressive stomp.
For Farah-chan!!
COMBATSYS: Makari endures Sakura's Sailor Shoot.
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Denji 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|----===
As it is, it already looks pretty rad. Just as Sakura contacts Makari's chest (with requisite clang of armor), Denji does a radical leap above him, hitting down and heavy kick or something. Makari (who is not /at all/ average for his age and build) starts sliding back, and thinks back to one of his father's lessons.
MANY YEARS AGO
A six-year old Makari pushes a heavy crate several times his size across Efim Maksimillian's training hall. His father assures him that this will help him someday, as targets occasionally hide themselves inside labyrinthine dungeons protected only by random bands of thugs and obnoxious switch puzzles. He has been at it for the past two hours, sweat streaming off his developing body.
Efim Maksimillian kicks in the door, waving an ironing board in the air, a mad light in his eyes. "A MAKSIMILLIAN WEAPONMASTER CAN WIELD EVERYTHING!" He beats the hell out of his son for the next half-hour.
NOW
Makari arrests his slide by reaching out, seizing Denji by his hair. This works, despite the monk's status of 'in midair'. With his other hand, he reaches out and gathers up clothes over the small of his back. "A Maksimillian weaponmaster can wield anything!" Stepping forward, he jabs rapidly with Denji's feet, his arms - and Denji - blurring. "I was born to be a champion!"
COMBATSYS: Makari successfully hits Sakura with Power Strike.
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Denji 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|---====
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Aggressive Strike from Denji with Shou'ou Ken.
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Denji 1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-======
It's like a car crash made of people.
As Denji and Makari file the paperwork for what amounts to a civil union of violence, Sakura is still in motion. She wants to come up and meet Denji mid-flight, and her intentions are rather boldly declared: "SHOU'OU--"
'A Maksimillian weaponmaster can wield anything!'
And just like that, Sakura's calculations are totally boned. She's surging upward, yes, but with such force and velocity that she can't really adjust her course. So when Denji is suddenly given a jet-fuel boost in the form of Makari swinging him like a ragdoll -- the two forms collide, and neither comes away a winner.
Sakura doesn't so much punch Denji in the face as shoulder-check him under the chin as a side effect of being bashed real good. The Rising Dragon herself is knocked away and to the ground, where she flops over herself and lies still for a moment. Just a moment, though.
Because then there's that effortless kip-up, and Sakura pulls off her Rising Dragons Team jacket, revealing the grey TAIYO HS ATHLETICS DEPT shirt underneath. "Champions?! You're gonna have to work a lot harder than that if you want to be /champions/ -- come on, show me what you can /really/ do!" From anyone else, this taunting would be vicious and bullying, in all likelihood. From Sakura, it's like being spotted at the gym -- she's so /exuberant/ about wanting to fight these guys!
Denji has a lot of hair.
"Aargbwbrhh--"
He has a little less, now.
A Maksimillian weaponmaster can wield anything, but the mountain monk really wishes that he wouldn't. The result of the catastrophic collision is, at least on one third of it, Akiyama rolling once again across the woodchips of the playground until his head slams into the plastic slide connected to the jungle gym, his eyes lolling around in their sockets. It's still a disaster. He's been hit with some crazy stuff by that madwoman before, but the sheer physical force of that strike was completely overwhelming.
She's a King of Fighters, after all.
Well, a-- she's a-- something of fighters.
"I... I won't... lose!"
When he next speaks, it is a couple moments later, during which time Denji has gracelessly but efficiently scampered up said slide to stand poised at the top, staring down at his opponent and previously-opponent with shining eyes, or at least a shining eye, the other being covered by his bangs. "I, Denji Akiyama, lone inheritor of Akiyama-ryuu Kobojutsu, a technique that has endured for a thousand years--" Conveniently not mentioning the several centuries for which it vanished from the earth, he raises a hand pulsating with verdant green chi. "--will demonstrate to you the power of the spirits at my command!"
It's pretty good for improv. But improv is all Denji ever does.
This, in fact, is the closest Denji gets to any kind of consistency. His palms slam together; his eyes focused intensely. He is bathed in a pearly green luminesence. "O gods of wind and water, spirits of heaven and earth, rise up! Eight thousand million deities, bless us with your presence! I rouse you from your slumber--"
Thrusting out his palms, an orb of massive chi projects before him. It rockets out toward Sakura, wild tendrils spiralling from it, as its shape begins to roil and change.
"Go forth!"
By the time it reaches her, it looks like nothing other than a giant boar, a chi-beast several meters in diameter which opens his mouth wide, voracious, to consume her utterly.
"DEVUOR MY ENEMIES!"
It's actually kind of intense.
Or it would be, if Denji's voice hadn't cracked.
Another tenet of the Maksimillian arts is that you never let go of your weapon, at least not willingly. A wad of hair and a scrap of clothing remain in Makari's grasp, and he regards it with mild surprise. He tosses them both aside, returning his arms to beneath his cloak.
Technically, there are a number of thinks that Makari could do here that would be great for teamwork. He could launch a flurry of attacks to distract Sakura from whatever Denji's preparing, do something as simple as the ol' ankle hook, or even perform the Maksimillian Striptease that no mortal can resist. The extent of Makari's teamwork is that he does not take a swing at Denji while he's distracted, with the intent of teaching him not to get distracted. "Haha, how confident! But then, you have earned it." While aware that he's still a novice, in comparision, Makari holds complete confidence that, if nothing else, he won't be backing down any time soon. He only has a few moments before Denji's blast comes off, judging from the increased tempo of his chant. All he does is take one giant step, leg erupting from beneath his cloak, dropping his heel right on top of Sakura's head and shoving himself into a backflip.
COMBATSYS: Sakura parries Makari's Light Kick!
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Denji 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|=======
COMBATSYS: Sakura endures Denji's Shinra Banshou!
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Denji 0/-------/-------|=======\=------\1 Makari
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Sakura 1|-----==|=======
While Denji makes his proclamations, Makari kicks -- and Sakura smacks it away without even looking. She's too busy listening to Denji tell his life story, before chanting himself up a... a boar.
"Oh yeah?!" Sakura cries, planting her feet in the ground and staring down the charging chi-beast. "BRING IT ON!"
The boar rampages into Sakura like some kind of ravaging rhino, and the impact knocks her backward, off of her feet -- out of her sneakers, to be exact. She might actually be down for the count on th-- wait, no.
The Fighting Fangirl stands again. She looks frazzled, and her movements make it obvious that her entire torso is a bit tender -- she might have some ribs floating around in there. "Denji Akiyama... well done," she says, rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck. "And you," she says to Makari, pointing dramatically, "mystery man, it's time for you to seize /your/ chance to shine -- if you can!"
Again, Sakura's endless enthusiasm makes it seem this is all a big game to her. Which it probably is, considering these are two people she doesn't know who she decided to beat up in a park, solely because they were beating each other up. "I may not have a King of Fighters team this year -- but I'll still show you the power of the Rising Dragons!"
The thing about Makari is that he's covered in weapons. So Sakura decides to make use of that. Charging at the man again, she doesn't try to launch upward or dive forward -- instead, she seeks to fake him out and then flip /behind/ him. At the same time, she grabs and pulls to rip free his saber scabbard, which she brings up to his neck in an attempt at a chokehold!
COMBATSYS: Makari blocks Sakura's Sakura Strangle EX.
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Denji 0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1 Makari
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Sakura 1|----===|=======
Oh my goodness.
Denji himself looks a bit frazzled, though maybe that's just because his hair is sticking all over the place after what Makari did to it. The Rising Dragon is fizzling slightly, but considering that was the best Denji's got, she doesn't seem all that worse for wear. Needless to say, Denji is pretty intimidated. Meanwhile, she's turning on Makari, who at this point the mountain monk hardly feels equipped to deal with himself.
This would be a great time to run away.
And, all his apparent determination from mere seconds ago fleeing abruptly -- because he lives /moment to moment/ -- Denji is half turning away to leap off of the jungle gym in the opposite direction, sweat beading around his brow, when he hears Sakura's words.
"You..."
Those fateful, fateful words.
"D... don't..."
This is it. This is the moment.
Eyes wide and shining, Denji once /again/ performs a total about face.
With this--
"SAKURA-CHAN!"
The wild-haired shrine-keeper's son leaps from high above, once again plunging down upon Sakura, having apparently forgotten the deeply terrible thing that happened the last time he attacked from the air, his arms and legs akimbo in what will eventually resolve into a crazy cartwheel-kick that becomes a tackle to the ground, all suffused in semi-potent verdant green chi.
"JOIN MY KING OF FIGHTERS TEAM!"
With this--
He'll impress Farah for sure!!
It was only an instant, but even as he deals with this, Makari saw it.
"Makari Maksimillian," he replies conversationally to Sakura, still grinning as Sakura charges at him. He positions himself, doing something with his arms - grabbing his axes, it turns out, as Sakura unexpectedly jams a hand in his cloak, flipping behind him. The moment Sakura touches the saber's scabbard, his expression changes in an instant, from his joyous affability to... well... it's like the face of a demon tearing out from within.
Very few things bother Makari, whose life has been pretty difficult. Holding back against him annoys him. Taking away his food upsets him. Touching the heirloom of his broken family line infuriates him. The muscles in his neck cord mightily, and he reaches up, tearing the scabbard from Sakura's hands. "Don't," he slams his head back at Sakura's nose. "Touch," he spins, hammering a giant boot at her midsection. "Maksimilian!" The 'l' is definitely pronounced differently, but in a nebulous way best described through a text-based medium.
Makari throws his cloak open and behind him again, pulling the zweihander over his shoulder and immediately rushing into his attack. Gauntlet on, he hangs onto the blade near the middle with his other on the hilt, slamming the sword up, down, up, down, stepping forward each time. "Four Pillars Support the Sky!"
He twists, both hands going on the sword's grip. "-to-"
Whipping the giant weapon in a great circle, he slams three giant horizontal strikes at Sakura, a breeze rolling off of him as he goes. "The East Wind Rattles the Window of God!"
This could probably be pretty bad if that sword didn't have the rubber blunt bit on it.
COMBATSYS: Makari successfully hits Sakura with Four Pillars to East Wind.
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Denji 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 1|--=====|=======
COMBATSYS: Sakura fails to interrupt Shizen no Chikara from Denji with Shinkuu Hadouken.
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Denji 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|--=====
Things aren't looking good for Sakura Kasugano!
In short order, the teenage fighting phenom has managed to both direly offend Makari and earn an offer of team membership from Denji. Now, follow the bouncing ball:
As Makari makes his proclamations in the interest of destroying Sakura utterly, the schoolgirl stands her ground, body tensed, chi building. A lot. The glow held in her hands is almost too bright to look at.
And then: 'JOIN MY KING OF FIGHTERS TEAM!'
Sakura is caught so off-guard by this that she swivels, and in the process reflexively launches her supercharged hadouken in the direction of Denji. It misses, and misses wide -- and its power is such that for a brief moment a column of terrible light tips toward the sky. Then Denji clocks her and she goes down. Instinctively, she pops herself back up--
--right into the path of Makari's rampage. All of this happens very quickly, descending into complete chaos in the blink of an eye. She is battered by Makari's blows, held in mid-air by their force until the last one sends her spiraling toward one of those little toy horses mounted on a spring. She hits it so hard that the toy horse launches over the horizon with a comical 'BOING.'
Was that a yes? Denji distinctly heard a yes.
No, wait, that was the combination of Denji himself shouting 'Yes!!' very loudly, as his tackle-kick impacts, and the intense ringing in his ears from a terrible and terrifying blast of super-chi tearing right past him and only just failing to totally obliterate him.
Oh, man, this girl is so sweet.
Eyes shining, Denji Akiyama stumbles to his feet again, swiveling immediately toward a hopefully no longer quite so furious Makari Maksimillian. "Hey, no more of that!" he shouts, overcome with excitement and emotion, the otherwise lackadasical monk's developing body (?) trembling with anticipation. "Sakura-san is going to join my King of Fighters team. The Somebody Buy Denji Lunch fighting team! And--"
Denji's expression -- abruptly, as usual -- goes blank. This man...
Fate. Fate? Does Denji believe in fate?
"M..."
He doesn't believe in much, but--
"MAKARI-CHAN!!"
He does believe in opportunity.
"JOIN MY KING OF FIGHTERS TEAM!"
At once, wild-eyed and enthusiastic, the Akiyama-ryuu scion lunges in fits and starts toward his erstwhile ally, seeming to stumble for a moment before suddenly burst forward, an orb of chi projecting from his palms once more: several feet in diameter, but formless, to smash through Makari's formidable defenses--
And reach straight to his heart.
<3
COMBATSYS: Denji successfully hits Makari with Ranki Rengeki.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Denji 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|--=====
After the third swing, Makari lifts the zweihander, still with two hands in a completely retarded stance to anyone who knows the first thing about German zweihander combat. While his face has lit up, his eyes have darkened.
'A Maksimillian never fights with emotion. Emotion will fail you. There is only Perfect Instinct.'
He freezes in place, eyes wide, hands creaking at the zweihander's grip. It's this position that Denji's chi orb finds him, blasting right into his head, dramatically rippling the cloak, Makari's pretty much developed body leaning sharply to the side - without falling. Smoke obscures his face for a long moment, enough that you start to wonder, hey. Did his head just get straight up blown the fuck off?
Finally, the smoke drifts away, revealing Makari's face by degrees, the impact point crosshatched like someone losing a fight in a shounen anime. The anger his gone from his face, and his eyes have that brightness again. He shakes his head with enough force to flap his lips, and lowers the zweihander, holding it in his right hand only. "Hhoooohh, about time." He grins.
With a snap of his arm, the zweihander flies out, Makari closing his hand ridiculously on the tip to doff Denji right in the forehead. "If you hadn't asked me after doing the same thing this girl has, and before she thought to! I was going to get offended!" Time will tell if he apologizes to Sakura for completely losing his shit on her.
Sakura wakes up after blacking out for a minute, thanks to yet another head injury that will likely leave her with symptoms of dementia by the time she's 30, and about zero short-term memory by 25.
She looks up and over at the fight continuing without her -- but Sakura's mind is somewhere else. She thinks back to Ryu, to Ken, even to Sean -- to the Rising Dragons team that won King of Fighters. But that team is gone. And maybe it's time to seize her own future, to forge her own destiny, to...
"DENJI AKIYAMA!"
Sakura is forcing herself up, visibly hurt and yet powered by some unseen force. (Unseen, but only barely. She might as well have chi dripping out of her nose.) "I ACCEPT YOUR OFFER!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Denji 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 1|------=|=======
COMBATSYS: Denji auto-guards Makari's Weapon Jab!
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Denji 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 1|------=|=======
"Ha..."
Denji looks a little delirious himself.
"Ha ha ha!"
Sakura's words of assent come a split-second before Makari's zweihander blurs out to-- stop poised upon Denji's fingertip, the blunted assault cut dramatically short by a spontaneous and swift maneuver. Such moments are among Akiyama's best, and, given how natural the movement seemed for being so abrupt, seem to almost arise from divine inspiration. Fools and geniuses. "You hear that, Makari-chan?" The mountain boy is wild-eyed, high on life.
Hopefully this name won't stick.
"It's your turn, now!"
As though aiming to beat acceptance out of him, Denji leaps at once, aiming to slip just past the giant weapon he's stopped short and slam bodily into Makari with a spinning dropkick, tucking after the impact instead of bouncing off in a fairly impressive feat of agility that almost defies the laws of physics. In fact, he really just reaches out to grab Makari before he bounces away, and uses that reversal of momentum to hurl him powerfully to the ground with an eruption fo chi. Assuming, of course, that impact happened.
If it didn't, this will all be rather silly.
COMBATSYS: Makari just-defends Denji's Tenrai Enbu!
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 1|------=|=======
Honestly, Makari doesn't even know what the -chan means. He looked up fighters, not the idiosyncracies of the Japanese language. Surely someone will tell him, and then he will disapprove.
Makari matches Denji's feat of agility with a feat of... something. Holding the weapon by the tip is about the most imbalanced way to hold it, with enough weight that most people couldn't even do it, and strong men's forearms burn in seconds. Makari takes it a step further, flicking his wrist up and then punching out, the blade whistling as it spins in the air fast enough for Makari to grab it, ground it, and pivot it into Denji's foot with an impact that rattles that forgotten swingset's chains. "Ho, you were right! It was!"
The Russian is not used to such niceties as 'formal acceptance', because the fighter-based TV that Strolheim allows its inhabitants to watch is usually very light on teamwork and heavier on one man beating up a million dudes. He doesn't even think of saying 'yes', he's just going to show up at the team lunches or however this works. At least he hopes there's lunches.
Makari plans to make sure there are team lunches.
So, already considering himself Denji's teammate, he does what he believes friends do, and that's punish for the /slightest/ mistake. Makari loops himself around on the grounded zweihander while Denji is still sliding past the blade, both legs locked together, bearing down violently on the monk's back. As he goes, he catches a glimpse of Sakura's powering up, and decides not to be too concerned.
Denji and Makari are awfully close -- physically, too, this time, instead of just emotionally. This is to Sakura's advantage as she goes Super Saiyan off to one side of the action. "HRRRRAAAAGH!" she cries, bracing herself and spreading her feet on the ground.
"THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIGHT!" Sakura roars, as her palms collect an even more ungodly amount of chi than before. She might as well be seen from space as she keeps building, and building, and building that magic hadouken. "ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU A TOKEN OF MY FIGHTING GRATITUDE!"
Then, with that warning, Sakura blasts the both of them, her Shinkuu Hadouken filling the air with like a goddamn tractor-trailer of light.
COMBATSYS: Makari successfully hits Denji with Strong Kick.
[ < > /////////// ]
Denji 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Denji with Shinkuu Hadouken.
[ < > /////////// ]
Denji 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Makari
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
Denji's magnificent displays of artful agility--
"Hwwoooargh!"
--are done with.
He was in the middle of doing something really neat to get around Makari's follow-up kick, really; even as he and the Maksimillian blademaster exchanged skillful blows and unprecedentedly effective defenses, the long-haired monk's body was contorting dynamically once again. This is all rather done with when an enormous fireball hits him in the side.
In the midst of the flare of light, only his shadow can be seen slamming into Makari's outstretched legs, his body limp and flailing, the sheer shock to his system having knocked him instantly unconscious.
Somehow, a faint, dazed smile remains on his features.
And his limp frame, engulfed in Sakura's energy, is flung right at Makari...
COMBATSYS: Denji takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Makari 0/-------/-======|
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Denji can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Makari 0/-------/-======|
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Makari with Shinkuu Hadouken.
[ \\ <
Makari 1/--=====/=======|
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
Makari should probably have been concerned about the powering up.
His armored feet crash into Denji's back, cloak flaring out as dramatically as possible, and he ends up looping right around, swinging on the zweihander like a stripper pole.
For the record, Makari's beachwear is a lemon yellow pair of posing briefs. He does not wear the cloak.
Makari has a brilliant thought as he rides Denji toward the gigantic fireball, the hadouken of legend, the platonic ideal of chi-based techniques. Pulling the zweihander from the ground, he holds up up and out of the way, twisting his hips like he saw in a video once.
JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO
Makari is huddled in the corner of his room, watching a surfing competition on a small, grainy, portable satellite TV. Krauser disapproves of any programming that is not directly related to fighting, so he kicks in the door to Makari's room and throws a statue of himself at him.
NOW
"I am doing the 'ten hangs!'" Makari brokenly announces as Denji impacts the Shinkuu Hadouken. For a moment, he is elated, as Denji is successfully bouying him along.
Then Denji just kind of passes through the blast, Makari dropping along with him. He continues to surf the Hadouken, but mostly face-first until the chi detonates, sending him spiralling away to land, upside-down, back-first on an especially sturdy tree.
His eyes unfocused, Makari manages to thrust out one hand, in a thumbs-up from his perspective. "Good!" He slides down the tree to heap at the bottom.
COMBATSYS: Makari takes no action.
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Makari can no longer fight.
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Sakura 0|-------|-------
After all of this, Sakura lets out a ragged breath. She looks tired, but immensely pleased. "Okay!" Sakura says, lifting her fists again, grin bright as she finds her second wind.
"Round two!"
Long pause.
"Guys?"
COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.
Log created on 02:18:58 12/15/2010 by Makari, and last modified on 23:32:55 12/21/2010.