Neo League 926 - #950: Rust vs Ibuki

Description: At long last, it's time for Howard Rust's return to the Neo League ring... and time for Ibuki to continue to prove why she was the one who was able to defeat Adon, the two-time Neo League champion. As the drama unfolds in Southtown's own Chinatown, a forgotten friend is left at home, only to watch from afar... is their story over? (WINNER: Ibuki)



The crowd is gathering in Southtown's scenic Chinatown! What is this crowd gathering for one might ask? A Neo League match that Ken Masters himself had promoted and set up. The side street had been closed for a few hours, barriers had been set up and the film crew had almost finished setting up for the event. In short things were looking like they'd be finished and ready to start in mere moments.

It'd been two days and in that time Ibuki had made full use of it to both relax and completely heal up after her trio of high powered matches that'd seen her fall from the top of the ranks. The location was an improvement this time, the ninja had to admit, but Ken was still going to pay for the 'harrassment' he'd indirectly given her. The smell of some of the nearby restaurants was slowly making the girl hungrier and hungrier, she'd already determined she'd be treating herself to something after her fight was finished, "Alright!!!" She enthuses as she stands up from where she'd been sitting away from the hastily erected ring. Leaping into it she throws a few quick kicks and punches to finish loosening up, "Are we ready?!!!" She looks over to the crew to see if everything is good to go...

The ninja girl will also be rather surprised whom her opponent was going to be this time, well once she actually takes the time to look and see who it is.

That night leaving Seattle was... well, the closest thing Howard could think of to reason as to what happened with Miu was that he said something wrong. He's fluent in Japanese, sure, but the way he's been taught seems to differ a fair bit from the reality when it comes to kids today.
He manages to secure a Neo League match with the one who defeated the two-time champion Adon in recent history... good! Through the working day, he decides maybe now's a good time to update his Japanese skills, you know... speak a little younger, come off as a bit more casual, maybe there'll be less confusion in what's being said. This young girl is definitely Japanese, so, his upcoming opponent might be a good test case for it.
After a whole day and afternoon's worth of having his face in front of some sheets of paper while doing things he probably should not have a sheet of paper in his face for, he's readying up for the first League fight in some time back in his apartment. He's put on his Kyokugen gi, tied it together with his yellow belt with a sense of pride and accomplishment... and yet, in the mirror's reflection is his presently unworn toolbelt.
It sits there on his bed, its most notable occupant - the rusted length of pipe named "Ol' Rusty" - a mere spectator. He gives it a sideglance... he's trained past the need for that now, hasn't he? He's matured his skills as a fighter in the wake of what the invasion did to him. Still, it's like looking at an old friend just being left hanging...
He decides to sit it on his couch and turn on the TV to whatever channel his match will be broadcasted on, and heads on out. (That this man thinks in passing that an inanimate object would care - or even be able - to watch television makes him suspect for a number of psychological issues.)
It's tense for him coming here to this locale. He's fighting someone who took one of the most famous fighters today - even if some naysayers say he's nowhere near as skilled as his fame suggests. He's just a man getting up there in years with his dreams fading by the day. Sure enough, he gets to Chinatown with little to no traffic in the way. He's going back into the ring without his old friend from previous fighting adventures, who will surely be watching him at home from TV. (Again, probably a good time to suggest a psych evaluation.)
When he parks just a ways away, there's already cameras on him. Being a guy making a comeback after such an injury is a big, big deal for one who had an obscure career prior. He tightens his belt once more and approaches the ring at a slow, measured pace.
Climbing into the ring, if it's not his horrible combover that gives him away, it's the sudden pop of his shoulder and one of his knees. The tension he feels getting into this is already extending to his joints. His body sometimes feels ready to seize up just from the stress and excitement of it all.
<< "Osu." >> He bows his head briefly. This part is respectful, perfectly ordinary. He really should leave it at that as he drops into a ready stance, but no, he's really wanting to make sure his grasp on Japanese is more up to spec now, to avoid having another Miu incident.
<< "Wassup, my homey," >> he says these embarrassingly not age-appropriate slang words in Japanese, << "let's get this shit rollin'." >>
His tone of voice and calm face stands in complete contrast to his word choice.

COMBATSYS: Ibuki has started a fight here.

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Ibuki            0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here.

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Rust             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Ibuki


At the familiar popping sound Ibuki pauses while she turns to face her opponent and she merely blinks as though she were clueless as to what Rust had just said she tries to keep herself from laughing or giggling as he was obviously trying hard and it'd be rude not to at least give him props for trying, even if it was ridiculously funny. She smirks underneath her mask as she responds, <<"Let us humbly begin this match between honored fighters.">> Being from near Kyoto seems to be have affected her speech, <<"Biyotch!!">> Or not! Then in English, "I told you I'd see you soon didn't it?" She winks playfully at this.

Taking up her fighting stance Ibuki smiles and shakes her head, she'd not been expecting to face off against this man...not in the Neo League but he had said he was a fighter she really shouldn't be surprised at all, "Ready for a serious match? I don't hold back for anyone even people I know!" She gives a brief flurry of blows to the air to show off a bit of her speed and to give Rust a chance to get used to it before the match starts...she doesn't hold back but she can help in other ways, she does like the guy after all.

COMBATSYS: Ibuki equips Wood Miraiin.

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Rust             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


Oh, good, he thinks this time he has it right, good, he really should've brushed up on his Japanese sooner! He really should have known there'd be a lot more subtle nuances to master beyond what the classroom taught - although that last word almost sounded like an insult... huh. He mentally shrugs.
Though there is definite physical confusion about 'seeing him soon.' The voice is kind of familiar, though from behind the mask he just can't put two and two together despite, oh, the same name, the same height, the same size, maybe even the same hair?!
His stance stiffens a little, stretching out his right hand - still very ugly to look at from the injury sustained in the invasion - as she demonstrates the very speed of her punches. Faster than the eye can see! Though, he still wonders what she means by 'people she knows.'
"Ah, we've... met?" He asks in English, but decides not to let his focus waver any further. He is fighting the one who defeated Adon, the two-time champion of the Neo League. This is his chance, his true chance, to see how far he has come since. For what might be a simple match... for him, there's a lot at stake.
The pipe lays motionlessly on the couch back in his apartment with this coming on live. It doesn't care any other way, because it is a rusted length of pipe and not a living thing.
"All right," he clears his throat as he draws back his right hand, "you're the, the one who took out the champion... even if by points, I can't win the season..."
He's rejoined much, much, much too late for that as his eyes narrow, spreading his legs down further apart. Unlike Ibuki, he's not a dynamo of energy. He's getting up there in years. The two have incredibly different styles and approaches, after all.
"I'm callin' this my championship bid." The badass boast is made. His mind sharpens, trying to focus on her moves. The little subtle nuances, anything and everything he can use to his advantage.
Let's see if he can start the first true step of his lifelong dream today, he resolves.

COMBATSYS: Rust focuses on his next action.

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Rust             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


Ibuki smirks and gives one shake of her head, it seems she wasn't recognized despite all the hint dropping she'd given him. She watches him very closely as he stiffens up and her eyes pick up the damaged to his right hand before she focuses on his movements for a moment picking out details that may help her later on in the fight, things she can take advantage of should she need to. That finished she decides it's time to speak up.

"Once or twice." Ibuki hints again but flat out refuses to just give him her identity, he's going to have to figure that one out on his own or not at all. Her stance tightens up for a moment as he basically call her out in challenge since she beat Adon, "Well, I might've beat him but I'm definitely not the top of the heap anymore...I'll give you a good fight at least!" Her tone cheerful as she decides her first course of action.

Leaping forward with amazing speed, Ibuki closes the distance all the while focusing on her target, at the last minute she springs up and straightens one of her feet out to try and transfer the momentum of her run right into Rusts sternum, that is if he's not careful about it.

COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Ibuki's Light Kick.

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Rust             0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


There's the sort of casual way that Ibuki dismisses her accomplishment. He's been struck by Adon, he knows what that man is capable of. How that man ruled the League with an iron fist, for a time. In lieu of that man, Ibuki comes the closest.
His left elbow swings into the kick, at which point Ibuki might find that this man is much too solid to be laid out by a simple quick kick, even to a place that shouldn't be taking such blows head-on.
Even with her admission she's not the top of the heap, every little motion suggests he is willing to - no, /is/ - treating her as someone who is at the top of the heap when he himself is starting to look at that downward slope of a hill. He doesn't have a whole lot of time left if he's going to be making his mark in the world of tournament fighting.
With the gritting of teeth, he thrusts his right hand forward in a straight, open-palm thrust - something largely telegraphed by how he drew it back moments before. It's something he needs to work on, but he strikes forth undaunted.
"Ryugekiken!!" He calls out the name of Robert's own variation of the Kyokugen chi fireball, but - this is curious. There really isn't any sort of chi component one can glean from it. Absolutely none. Just him thrusting the palm of his weaker hand in Ibuki's general direction with all faith that, for what amounts to the dramatic name call of a simple palm strike, he can carry what might he has through that simple strike.
It stands to reason that the palm itself would probably still hurt if he can get it to connect.

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ibuki with Random Strike.

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Rust             0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


Ibuki doesn't put much stock in things like rank or title, it's all what you can do and how you go about doing it that matters to the ninja girl. She's started out fairly light to see what he's capable of and he easily blocked her opening attack not that she'd intended to take him down with one blow or anything he'd quickly punished her for slacking on her end of things.

She'd actually expected a ball of chi to come flying at her so when nothing comes out at all...she's slightly shocked and it's that moment of hesitation that totally spells the end for her attempt to slip out of the attack's way before it hits home and knocks the air from her lungs as she is knocked back a step or two from her opponent. She then rubs one of her ribs for a moment having taken the hit there, what was it with hits hitting her ribs recently.

"Nice opening!" She enthuses before she takes a half step forwards, then slips downward to slide forward and attempt to slip through his legs, should she manage to make it through without him getting out of the way she wraps her arms around his neck and gives a massive snapping motion that'd probably kill someone not trained to handle this sort of leathal move.

COMBATSYS: Rust Toughs Out Ibuki's Kubiori!

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Rust             0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


He was also kind of hoping to get some sort of chi out, but, even then he's not letting that overcome the need to ensure a smooth, strong delivery of the palm thrust component itself. In this respect, it does its job - though some in the audience might be scratching their heads or even laughing.
He's a yellow belt in Kyokugen Karate, after all. In theory, you shouldn't really expect all that much from him in the way of its more advanced, technical movements.
Before he can really reply to her compliment, she's already slipped underneath him. Ibuki's skill is as such that she's weightless when she grapples him. A sudden move that can kill so many lesser men right on the spot. He's not sure where she is. He cranes his neck the opposite direction she's intending to turn it just looking for her.
The deed is done. There is a loud snap that echoes through the ring. The sort that gives camera crews entire pause as to whether or not there might already be a fatality in the ring.
The older man doesn't fall dead or show much in the way of flinching. No, a sigh escapes from his lips as, in an instant, Ibuki accidentally /fixes/ a kink he's had in his neck. The head jerking? Painful, sure... but something went wrong with the execution.
He feels renewed, as though this adjustment just took five, maybe even ten years off his neck. Strength flows through his upper body as his inner chi relaigns itself with this new, cleared-up passage. He picks up a movement behind him (as though the neck snap itself should have clued him in), and thrusts his left hand back to grab her by whatever - arm, preferrably - to try and toss her back in front of him in an indistinct, but forceful Irish Whip.

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ibuki with Medium Throw.
- Power hit! -

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Rust             0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


Ibuki is rather surprised when not only does her kubiori not seem to affect Rust at all but he seems to suddenly get charged up and even more into the fight than he'd been a moment ago. The ninja thought it'd gone off without a hitch, no pun intended, but after the rather loud popping sound he just doesn't seem to flinch at all nor the usual pained cries or at least falling on the ground...

Then all of the sudden he's grabbing one of her arms and hurling her over his shoulder?!!! Wait this isn't how it's supposed to go..not after that move, Ibuki's mind reels at this situation and soon she finds herself in a rather ironic situation of slamming her own head into the ground rather painfully the stars in her eyes as she stares at the lower half of her body as it crumples up in front of her face clearly showing how very very poorly she'd flubbed the landing on that one.

She's still for a moment, a very long moment, but the she stirs, flips her body over her head and then regains her feet, "Ugh, that hurt." She mutters before turning back to Rust and deciding that she's again being too easy on her opponent or somehow she's been holding back she leaps forward chi swirling around her foot as she immediately goes into a spin upon landing, the roundhouse aimed squarely at Rust's center, to be followed by a second even more powerful roundhouse cutting through the same spot as the first one...her foot trailing bluish chi as it rips through the air.

COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Ibuki's Tsumuji.

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Rust             0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


Even with this significant accomplishment on his part, the man is not letting this particular fight highlight slow him down with mental pats on the back or anything - although he really ought to thank her later for taking care of that thing in his neck, it's been driving him absolutely crazy.
Even though fixing it probably... was not her intention.
Like a rock that weathers whatever the Earth throws at it, he returns to his ready stance as she pulls herself back up. She's so fast that even when he's doing his damned hardest to watch her, it's hard to pick out her movements.
When he thinks she's attacking, he goes almost entirely by fighting instinct, tensing his left hand tight as his entire body goes rigid. With loud pops on his knees as he turns his left side towards her, his knee takes on the bright blue roundhouse kick. It shudders as the sting of chi adds significantly more impact to that.
The second roundhouse gets much more purchase, all but batting his blocking left arm away with another loud snap. Now the camera crews are wondering if she just fractured his shoulder - or maybe that she might be fighting a zombie of some kind, seriously, after taking that neck snap like that he's still okay to move?
"Gah!" He winces as pain shoots up his left shoulder, although in the big picture of things this is the far less painful result... at least, in comparison to having her actually get inside and nail him in the center. He shakes his head briefly. Head in the game, Howard, don't let up, don't let her take back the momentum of the fight!
Just as soon as Ibuki made it all better, the stiffness comes back in his neck. He doesn't have much of a choice, he reckons, as he rears his head back in a relatively predictable tell before thrusting it - and his upper body - forward a ways with such strength that his bare feet skid against the ring.
The headbutt alone is bad, but even with the mask it's probably a safe bet that nobody wants to be touched by that encroaching balding scalp and that sweaty, disgusting, not at all convincing combover.

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ibuki with Hardhat Rush.
>> Decisive Hit!! <<

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Rust             0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


The match continues to go against Ibuki as her attack is blocked as though it were some sort of ineffectual love tap, the ninja is starting to get a bit incredulous as nothing she's doing seems to even phase the guy it's actually a little disheartening after her recent set of major losses. She grits her teeth and her own resolve to win this match demands that she keep pushing until she breaks him into little pieces!

This, however, has to wait as she attempts to headbutt the hell out of her and she just can't manage to get out of the way it's like he's got a direct line to what she's going to do before she even does it as she tries to jump back and out of the way he's right there, how'd he manage to be right where she was dodging to?!! It's boggling her mind when all of the sudden she's again seeing stars due to impact of skull to her face...she's a tough girl though the appearance doesn't bother her as much as the impact itself.

Shaking her head to clear her vision she decides the only course of action is to capitulize on their close proximity and go all out, as she swings a fist towards his gut with a ball of chi with in it, the energy swirling in her grasp as she tries to slam it home, should it land a massive spike of her chi would slice deeply into his internal organs which she'd then release explosively outwards, "Tora!!!" She roars trying to gain some momentum in this match!

COMBATSYS: Rust fails to interrupt Raida from Ibuki with Weakened Cement Upper.

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Rust             1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1        [E] Ibuki


This man must have weaknesses /somewhere/. She has certainly witnessed his sluggish movement in prior meetings. The way his joints complain when he moves - or when he tenses up. She does get a small success in that prior volley that may not be immediately apparent - she did a number to the arm he usually uses by reflex to block with. It hangs a bit limp as his body absorbs the shock going up his shoulder from that kick combination.
Now's definitely her chance to nail him while his defenses are clearly and undeniably open.
He himself still has a trick up his sleeve - the headbutt is supposed to be a buffer, a filler for further movement. It gives him, freedom to prepare his arms for whatever, be it a defense or further attack. The way his right hand points away, he seems ready to exercise the latter.
In a moment of pure muscle memory, his right wrist swings about circularly even though he's not holding onto anything. He clenches it as tight as he can, given the injury, as if he needs that reminder. Right, Ol' Rusty's not with him now. Its days are likely done.
At home, the pipe tilts a little.
In the /ring/, Ibuki slams her fist into his gut cleanly. His abdomen compacts underneath it, a sure-fire visual sign that she's getting somewhere as he grits his teeth. C'mon already, swing! Even if the uppercut isn't the one he's called his trademark for years, he can't just sit there and let her follow that thro--
He swings upwards, all right, but muscle memory overcomes him. Though the are close, he still manages to do the hilariously unthinkable, the undeniably novice mistake that people wouldn't have expected him to make.
He throws an uppercut that comes much too short, even this close, his arm still thinking he's holding the pipe! If there was a pipe in that span of space, that'd be sweet chin music against Ibuki's jaw. In its place, something worthy for a blooper reel.
Ibuki's kiai seals the deal as the explosive energy courses through his core and throws him back up against the very ropes, a prolonged groan as he leans backwards against it. He coughs a couple times as he struggles to get air back in his lungs after that.

As her fist collides with his chest, Ibuki gives a small satisfied sound as she strikes home. That did a lot to renew her own shakey confidence, "Yeah!!!" She cheers but at that same moment her eyes catch the movement of Rust's own hands as she seeks to strike her back as she is attacking him internally with her chi, but she steps back and to the side slightly as his attack comes up short all on its own and she merely blinks at him....

Then he's launched away from her and the ninja girl has a lot of room to work with suddenly. She calculates a few things and decides to press her advantage while she has it and thus rushes him with her blazing speed closing the distance she looks up at him, "You're doing a lot better than I expected I'll admit that...but I'm not losing not this match!"

At this point she reaches out for his shirt, grabs it tightly and then attempts to slam her hip into his body for added power and leverage so she can send him hurling hard into the Chinatown pavement.

COMBATSYS: Ibuki successfully hits Rust with Medium Throw.

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Rust             1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1        [E] Ibuki


Whatever she did, it's sure taken a whole big chunk out of him as he blearily looks upon her speedy, mask-clad visage as she cheers. That feeling in his gut's about ready to make him feel sick, which - after that really nice feeling about getting his neck fixed - makes it seem like things are going the way most would expect. Ibuki is the one who defeated Adon, after all.
He's just getting his bearings back when she grabs him. There's something in there that shows he at least makes some sort of conscious effort to pull himself away as he gets his right hand on her shoulder in the beginnings of some sort of shove.
That point is rendered moot when she slams that hip into him and, as prescribed, hurls him into the pavement. She might glean another curious thing from here - he might not exactly be the most flexible thing in existence, but he shows a semblance of knowing how to take nasty falls as he throws his body weight to divert at least some of the impact.
Keyword being, uh, some - there's only so much 'knowing how to take a fall' can divert from the advantages of power and leverage she got in that maneuver, the older man grunting as he puts himself up to a stand.
"Me... uh, me neither," he tries to speak with some confidence even as one of his own hips start to complain on him. Another good, no, great solid hit like that, and Ibuki might have this man licked. Gritting his teeth, he knows just staying there on the defensive is probably going to be the end of him. The end of his career? Hardly, but he sure as hell doesn't want this new first step to go belly up. A sentiment that both share, for themselves - at which point the battle becomes far less about ability and more a battle of entire wills.
Touching his left hand on the ground briefly, he knows he's used to doing handstands off of Ol' Rusty before launching off of it or just... falling on top of someone, but those days are behind him now, aren't they? He's a Kyokugen guy, time to put that to work.
Kicking off the ground, he whirls his right leg forward in a low forward aerial kick, admittedly wasting oxygen and breath on having to call the name...
"Hienshippukyaku!!"
It's not really much of one, when there's only a single kick, although the forward motion's about right. There is a reason for the reservation, almost as much as still working on getting it right - he wants to make sure he lands squarely on his feet and not on his knees or butt or what have you.
It's still, by all appearances, just a low flying single kick.

COMBATSYS: Ibuki dodges Rust's Weakened Crashing Down.

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Rust             1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1        [E] Ibuki


Ibuki's gained the momentum and she truly doesn't want to give it up, she's a bit surprised given how easily he managed to foil her earlier attacks that things have turned around this much, it'd seemed like he was pretty much invincible to her blows earlier and now all of the sudden that wasn't the case...to say that she wasn't pleased would be an understatement but she wondered if this was a setup to something more major later on...

At this point he gets up from the blacktop and responds to her comment, "Then let's really show off shall we?!!" It seems she's suddenly reved up again and ready to fight a hundred Adons!!! As he leaps at her from the ground and tries to score a kick against her body she is already moving, letting herself fall backwards just out of ranged from the tip of his foot...her eyes cross slightly as she peers at it before she grins lets him pass her by with the momentum of his kick...

Then she draws one of her kunai and lets it slip into her off hand, stepping forward she attempts a palm strike towards his face before suddenly pulling her fist back in a feint, whirling around and making a massive slash with the dagger across his torso area!!

COMBATSYS: Rust fails to interrupt Aggressive Strike from Ibuki with Man At Work.

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Rust             0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1        [E] Ibuki


The man's leg comes up pretty short, but you know, he's... pretty okay with that, considering he manages to land in a crouch. His knee is a little less happy about it, as it absorbs the impact of hitting the floor. Not so debilitating as to stop him from getting up as Ibuki shows who is in full control of the fight's momentum as he finds his back turned to her, again.
Which is bad, considering the sheer differences in speed both exhibit. Ibuki is fast like greased lightning. Howard... well, he can certainly throw a punch or kick hard enough to displace the air when he really puts his back into it, but...
Rising up, it's time to put a stop to Ibuki's forward momentum. Time to really, truly and fully, put what Takuma helped drill into him fully into the limelight. What transpires comes down to a matter of spacing and unfortunate miscalculations by mere centimeters.
"Gen'eikyaku!!" He slurs the words together a bit too closely as he suddenly thrusts his left leg down at the ground right in front of where Ibuki's coming, but herein lies another weakness that works towards Ibuki's favor - he has trouble bringing his leg up too high. He can make this work, but he has to start low and kick up higher, over and over. Compare this to the Jackhammer Kick, which starts and stays low to begin with.
It's that period in time where the kick /is/ low that it stops short of Ibuki's toes (but might shower it in small debris), where her outstretched arm beats the length of that kick and palms him in the face.
It's amazing timing - the palm by itself hardly stings much, but it gets him off balance just as he's drawing back his foot, going into a short kneel as the dagger comes in and gets his exposed flank. He's much too tough for her to draw blood - arguably, much too tough for her to even pierce the uniform he's wearing.
He is not so tough after he took that shot to the core to be able to brush off the followup as it sharply pokes him, a loud, pained grunt as he takes a few steps off to the side, half-bent while his right hand clutches his side with a wince.
This could be it - this could be the very moment Ibuki might be able to put him fully down for the count and claim her victory, unless this man has anything - anything at all - left in him to fight back with.
His face look significantly less tense, and more along the lines of being out of things. Has she broken his spirit?

The tide has turned and Ibuki is riding the wave at the moment as she strikes home against Rust despite the fact that he again tried to bring the hurt down upon her. She'd gotten in close and made that last hit count while at the same time his own attack against her had wound up just like the last one falling just a bit short as he takes a good hit to himself.

Nodding to the man, she lets him get to his feet before the match continues, but he wobbles back and forth in front of her and she decides...it is best to finish this here and now no holding back there is only one thing she can do at this point and that is commit herself to the next attack completely. She draws another of her kunai and charges it with chi before suddenly hurling it not at Rust but his shadow to keep him pinned in one place and should that happen she then pushes her muscles and speed to their very limit...as she seems to litterally coming from all directions at once slashing, piercing, cutting, and impaling as she goes with her Kunai...while to the camera she's a mere blur!

COMBATSYS: Rust Toughs Out Ibuki's Yami Shigure!

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Rust             1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0        [E] Ibuki


He's having a hell of a time staying on his feet, faint as his consciousness is getting. He's trying his damned hardest to hold himself together, keep goin'. All this isn't going to be for naught, right? ...Right?
She throws her latest, a series of kunai. He thinks she missed when she pins them down onto his shadow, roughly around where one of his legs is.
Curiously, one of his legs start to seize up on the spot, the rest of him quickly following suit. He was never really sure what the point of that attack was, throwing those knives in what appear to be a completely clean miss before just going wild.
Now he knows... well, he'll probably figure it out later.
There's not really much time to dwell on the hows and whys of himself seizing up, when he realizes that is generally speaking how he readies himself for assault - in fact, he just lets whatever's going on take over, trying to make it work for him as he stiffens up his body with what dexterity he has in his left hand.
Whatever Ibuki /did/, it's near impossible for him to move anything, which puts him at the mercy of how she comes at some many different angles at once. It stings, so fast his body can only register these attacks happening exactly at once.
In trying to will himself to move, he doubles over with one of his hips making a crunching noise. It's a precursor - he's not even sure where Ibuki is. He raises one of his knees with the same amount of protest his body is making, as though trying to fight the paralysis these knives to his shadow have made.
He's bent enough that just about anything he does, at this point, is going to see him hit the ground, and he doesn't quite have full faculty of his joints! It's a losing scenario, his body already too weak to keep going... but he thinks he can manage just... one more good one.
One more good one for the road, if she's going to make him hit it!!
His knee bent in as much as he can, he snaps the leg out behind him in one final, powerful kick. Ibuki might not even /be/ behind him any more, but that is where it's going. The kick itself is powerful enough to propel him free of that hold - and, unfortunately, flat on his face like a limp ragdoll with stiff limbs, that final kick emitting a snap so loud, so violent that one can't help but wonder if he just completely disconnected his leg socket.
The prolonged time it'd take afterwards for him to show some movement is more than enough for Neo League officials to call it for Ibuki, unless the absolute unthinkable suddenly happens.

COMBATSYS: Rust can no longer fight.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ibuki [E]        0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ibuki with Strong Kick.
- Power hit! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  <
Ibuki [E]        0/-------/----===|


Ibuki's massive attack not only manages to land...but the flurry of blows she brings down upon him that follows is neither kind nor gentle. Though inspite of her slashing and cutting it doesn't feel right, like she's not going deep enough and all the wounds she is inflicting are superficial not that she wanted to kill the guy not at all but she knew she should be doing /more/ than what she was but it still seemed to be doing enough so she pushed on...

Then suddenly he surges forward with one last massive gasp of effort and attempts to put his foot into her ribs...and hit he does as Ibuki is right where he kicked for, she was leaping out of the way but she'd already pushed her muscles to the limit with that last move she just couldn't do anymore than what she had...thus rib bone is connected to Rust's footbone and Ibuki grits her teeth painfully beneath her mask to bite off the pained grunt the bubbled up her throat.

She barely registers the loud snap of his joints as she's still in a world of pain from her very tender ribs. After a moment of just standing there taking deep breath after deep breath she finally drops her fighting stance and lets out a loud sigh before looking down to her fallen opponent, "...You did amazing, good job all around. I wish I had half the grit you've got!" She smirks beneath her mask, "I obviously have some serious training to do!" With that whether he heard it or not she gets out of the NL officials way to let them treat the older man while she takes a breather.

COMBATSYS: Ibuki gains composure.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Ibuki [E]        0/-------/-----==|


COMBATSYS: Ibuki has ended the fight here.


Here's the kicker about the whole thing, he finds out - he actually /did/ throw his entire leg out of that socket, and his face is already contorted into the very face of pain as he lies crumpled on the ground. A referee has already walked up, knelt down, and for some reason copped a feel on his face. There's a few slaps. They signal to the rest to stop the match, it's over.
"Grblehglhegk." An odd string of consonants falls out of his mouth as he turns it, slumped over and in serious need of a stretcher. He's not going to be able and get up and walk like this!! Enough of him is together to hear Ibuki complimenting him, although he can only make eye contact with those poofy pants.
She comments she has some serious training to do, she says. He lazily raises an arm in some sort of confirmation of whatever, although there is some sort of deep disappointment inside. Whatever he had, it wasn't enough to take on the one who defeated the champion.
He's not yet champion material. Is it a lack of ability? Can he not overcome his age, or is there... something else just missing?
At home, the pipe falls over atop the remote. The TV turns off.

Log created on 01:34:32 01/15/2011 by Rust, and last modified on 12:35:11 01/15/2011.