Description: On a rooftop in Croatia, the son of Geese Howard faces off against the crow girl of Seijyun High. Rock Howard is well known for his fighting prowess outside of the Neo League, whilst Miu Kurosaki has only really gained notoriety since she took part in the league. In the end, both fighters are pushed to their very limits, but only one person can emerge victorious from the fire of combat.
Croatia's city, Dubrovnik, isn't excatly what's known as a 'fight mecca'. But the city does have good places to fight--and those places are well-attended when a fight is on. The Neo League accepts nearly all venues as a fight venue--one can fight in a a dirty English bathroom, if one wants, or in front of a reclining statue of a Siam woman. Fighting the rooftops of the Old City of Dubrovnik... well, that's a treat.
Rock's been here before, mind--to Croatia, if not to Dubrovnik specifically. He rather liked it here--a place where, if his father's name wasn't recognized, his status as a fighter was, which made things rather pleasant. Directed to the rooftops well before the sun began beating down, Rock is standing at the edge of the largest rooftop, gazing down at the city below, his red eyes flicking back and forth as he thinks about absolutely nothing.
While the blond-headed Howard boy is doing that, the cameramen and other apparatchik of the Neo League are getting set up--at the four corners, across the street on another set of rooftops. One thing Rock likes about the League--it's less flashy than the old Saturday Night Fights. No need to be publically announced, to strut in to the sound of some cheesy, overblown entrance music, none of these horrible weird fight conditions that are placed on the fighters of SNF--just a pure, one on one battle, a brawl if you will, in the classic dueling style. Rock... appreciates that.
Miu Kurosaki has been tearing the league up something fierce, and even if she recently suffered her first defeat (in the league) at the hands, and ass, of Raiden, she's still topping the charts. Bookmakers are still laying good odds that she'll take home the title. And, as she had sworn she would not turn down any challenge, she has made haste to Croatia, after defeating Amy Johnson in a very interesting fight. From nighttime and storms in Japan to the burning heat of the Croatian Sun.
The girl looks a little tired as she steps out into the middle of the rooftop, from the entrance. Rock is easily recognizable. He is, after all, the only son of Geese Howard. Miu is hazy on the specific details of that particular evil organization, but she's not one to hold reputation against others. She judges them by what she knows them to be responsible for, and the sins of the father are not the sins of the son.
She takes a deep breath. The crow girl of Seijyun High, once again, starting to call up her inner power, using it to beat back the fatigue her rather extreme lifestyle is inflicting on her. "Rock Howard." She says, quietly, and yet, still, very audible despite the distance between the pair. "I am Miu Kurosaki. I am here to accept your challenge."
Rock turns away from the rooftop edge, nearing Miu comes out the door. THe other good thing about the League--no one around to interrupt the proceedings. His gaze travels the schoolgirl's body, up and down, assessing. Instead of a formal greeting, Rock grins just a little. He is older, but probably not by too much, so he feels okay in being a little casual here.
"You look tired," is what he offers. "But then, from what I understand, you've been tearing the circuit up, so I'm not surprised... must got a bug or something... and you're been doing very well." He pauses a moment, then nods to himself.
"Rock Howard. Nice to meet you, Miu Kurosaki... and an honor to fight you." Crossing the rooftop, he first walks directly in front of Miu, maybe five feet away, and offers his best (It's not -very- good) bow--then he turns and walks away, about five -yards-, or so, then turns again and puts his hands up.
"When ou're ready," he says, easily, confidently.
Miu isn't going to turn down Rock's invitation.
She appreciates the relaxed way he treats her. She also appreciates his mild concern for the fact that she doesn't look her best; from most other people, it would have seemed condescending. But Rock is both her age, and known to be a very, very good fighter. So, she takes it in the spirit it is meant. That, and she knows she looks tired. She is tired. So very tired.
She could rest later, though. For now, there is work to do.
"Thank you."
And those words spoken, probably the last words of the match unless something surprising happens, Miu steps forwards, completes a half-turn on the spot, and throws her hands out. Three burning white feathers streak from her palm in the motion, aiming to strike diagonally across Rock's front, with the familiar snap and splash of psycho power. Now that she is calling upon her inner strength, that familiar place in the heat of battle is found, and all the fatigue and stress seems to fall away. At least, for a little while.
COMBATSYS: Miu has started a fight here.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rock has joined the fight here.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Miu
COMBATSYS: Rock dodges Miu's Kakure Amagakeri.
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Rock 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Miu
The last words... for Miu, perhaps. Rock? He tends to talk, at least in casual matches. It's hard to quip as much when you're fighting a crazed madman bent on subduing you and taking your genes for use in some crazed scheme--or just turning your brain into mush to then manipulate you to his will. "Interesting," he says, as the feathers form, and streak out towards him. They don't deter him awfully much; he shifts left, right, then left, weaving between the three feathers as they streak towards him; in the back, the camera crew shift out of the way, should the feathers be able to reach them.
"Well then," he says, as he shifts back into line after the last feather; his feet plant, imperceptibly, and then he launches himself forward. He, too, is falling into that warrior mindset--when he looks at Miu, he doesn't *see* a dour gothy girl. He sees a target, a worthy opponent.
So it's without regret that he throws himself forward, feet an inch off the ground as he drives for Miu with an extended left elbow, the first strike in his salvo--the second being the right palm that comes after, a flare of purple windfire chi blazing up as he strikes for her upper chest.
COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Rock's Hard Edge.
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Rock 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Miu
Miu is mildly surprised that Rock can evade her attack so nimbly. There aren't many people who choose to just, dodge. But, he does, and that implies that she's going to have to work rather harder if she wants to keep up with the young man. This is, good, isn't it? This is the sort of thing she wanted. To find opponents who could really push her.
Rock lashes out at her with his elbow, and the girl slides around to the side, dancing around, and behind. It, had been much closer than she would have liked. She really /is/ going to have to work very hard if she is going to keep up with this young man.
To probe just how fast he actually is, the girl steps forwards, hopefully before Rock can fully recover from his lunge forwards, and her fist lashes out. It's a blindingly fast smack forwards, aiming to just bounce off Rock's back, with a stinging impact and a tiny flare of white sparks from the impact...
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Rock with Jab Punch.
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Rock 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Miu
The impact startles Rock--but it doesn't really -hurt- all that much. Well, it was a swift attack. He lifts an eyebrow as he turns. "What was that?" he asks, conversationally, as he spins around. "That wasn't much of a hit," he continues commenting, "but you're fast... that's something." Now he's facing her again, those red eyes glittering, his lips curved up in a grin.
"Gotta relax a little, Miu. Try to -enjoy- it!" And with that he fires off his -second- attack of the fight--well, sort of. He feints a jabbing punch, his left coming in from high, but checks it halfway there--he just wants to draw her attention high. What he -really- wants to do?
He really wants to trip her up, his right foot flicking out and around to the left in an attempt to click her heels together and dump her to the rooftop.
COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Rock's Light Kick.
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Rock 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Miu
Miu snaps her leg to the side, and though Rock's foot slams into her, she is not moved, the majority of the force taken out during the counter motion, sliding his leg back and away from her. She had seen through the feinting maneuver, not because of any psychic sense, but because that was precisely what she would do if she were him; keep talking, draw attention up, and hit low.
The girl's expression hasn't changed an iota since she stepped up onto the rooftop. But, Rock's words do actually make her want to respond. Her brow twitching for the briefest of moments.
"... I am enjoying it." She says, her tone slightly confused. "Can't you tell?"
And that said, her hand snares one of those fluttering feathers that always seem to surround her. The bright white object flares in her palm, and she brings it up sharply, aiming to stab it into the son of one of the most feared men in the world, where it will explode in a shower of bright sparkles.
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Rock with Kirameki.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Rock 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Miu
"GUH!" Rock reels from the explosion of sparkles; he staggers back, then shakes his head. "Right... guess I should stop playing around, too," he murmurs to himself. "No, I really can't. You're as blank as a blackboard in summer," he replies, to Miu, as he tries to center himself.
Underestimated her, he chides himself, shouldn't've done that... right. Treat her as you would any other opponent. Don't get cocky, don't get sloppy... don't be lazy.
The mental exchange takes all of a second, and then Rock moves, throwing a punch combination--right hook, left jab, right body blow--wanting, at least, to keep her busy. He hasn't yet figured out his plan, one hundred percent, but he'll surrender himself to the flow of the fight for a little bit and see what turns up...
COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Rock's Medium Punch.
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Rock 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Miu
Miu has been accused of this before, to be fair. It is, after all, the source of her nickname. She's the crow girl of Seijyun High. She is creepy in the extreme, and nobody can ever really tell what is going on behind those strange purple eyes. Not normally, anyway.
Rock comes in, and it takes everything Miu has to keep away from the older fighter. Ducking and weaving around the combination of punches, a trickle of sweat beads on her brow, and when the punches have passed, she steps forwards, inside of Rock's guard.
The grip she aims for is somewhat clumsy, aiming to literally just grab the front of Rock's shirt. If it wasn't for the fact that energy pours out of her at the same time, this would not be much of a threat. As it is, though, she does her best to just throw Rock at the floor. A swift, desperate move, trying to distract Rock and break his momentum just as surely as he had tried to break hers.
COMBATSYS: Rock counters Quick Throw from Miu with Gedan Crack Counter.
- Power hit! -
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Rock 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Miu
Alright, enough arleady! Rock tells himself. She's got him disorganized, discombobulated... but he is goddamn -Rock Howard-. He pulls back from the punch combination--and just in time--to see Miu reaching for him. And something sets in his face--his eyes and mouth. It isn't quite a frown, and it isn't an expression of anger or displeasure. It's an expression of pure determination.
Miu's grasping hands are, in turn, grasped by Rock. This isn't a romantic gesture, though he isn't trying to crush her hands--instead he's using them as a fulcrum. Grip, a quick push back to offbalance his opponent... and then he's throwing his body into a whirlwind of motion, right leg exploding up and around as he twists his body through a swift rotation, which ends up with his right heel burying itself into Miu's shoulder, pounding into her body heavily before Rock withdraws the leg and regains his footing.
He doesn't apologize--but he doesn't look unsympathetic, either.
Miu takes the blow, and her teeth grit. Her eyes narrow. She, hadn't been able to do anything about it. Too quick to see, before she was being swung up and around in a rather painful demonstration of Rock's skill. The pain is intense, and as she rolls back up to her feet, putting some distance between herself and Rock, her hand comes up to rub at her injured shoulders.
She doesn't press the attack. Nor does she say a word. Her lips are drawn in a tight, thin line, and she closes her eyes for a moment. Exhaling, she finds her center. That had been unexpected, but it was not the end of the game by any stretch of the imagination. She just needed to remain calm, cool and collected. She had been doing well. She would have to make sure she did her best to ensure that Rock doesn't have the opportunity to catch her so catastrophically a second time, that is all. She could still do this, she's certain. She still has a lot more to give.
COMBATSYS: Miu gains composure.
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Rock 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Miu
Rock is starting to get pumped up--he's starting to really -feel- the fight. So when Miu doesn't press the attack... he's more than willing. That flow of battle is sensitive. The changes to it... cannot be controlled, entirely. Rock doesn't let Miu fade back too fast or too far--she gets a step or two but then he's following her up, intent.
What's he going to do? He's already determined that, physically at least, he's stronger than her--not a big surprise. He's sturdier, in some respects, as well, and if he can keep her off-balance he can find the best points to attack her weaknesses from. But he can't let her rest. He's got to force the issue, and trust in himself and his skills.
After that second step, it's his turn to reach out for Miu--right hand snapping out, attempting to grab her by the front of her own shirt--and pull her forward, jerking her really, as he steps out with his left, leaving his right leg out to trip Miu over. But she's been -fast-... and probably only getting faster. He'll have to work hard for this one.
COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Rock's Quick Throw.
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Rock 1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1 Miu
Miu lets herself be grabbed. But, most likely annoyingly for Rock, she does not go down cleanly. Instead, she tenses as she goes over his leg, hits the ground, and rolls...
As she comes up, the girl's intensity is practically a palpable force on the air. She can feel the flow of the fight, and she can feel how important this is, how much she /needs/ it to work if she is going to make her comeback... everything she has, she gathers up inside her, and for a moment, it even seems like the world around the pair grows dimmer, whilst Miu herself glows brighter. Outlined, sharply, in a bright, inner light.
Secretly, she hopes that Moe Habana is watching. Because this, would probably entertain the girl. But she needed to let out her tension or she was going to explode...!
"CHOU YOMOSUGARA!"
God only knows where that came from, but there's no secret about where the attack comes from. Exploding out of her outstretched hands, a huge lance of psychic force bursts out of her, glowing white and massive as it aims to pierce through Rock, and then swallow him whole in a cone of feathers. The whole thing glows bright white, almost painful to look at, before it turns dark black, the deepest, most intense shade of nothingness there is...
And then it will explode, hopefully sending Rock rocketing back with it as it does.
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Rock with Chou Yomosugara EX.
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Rock 1/----===/=======|-------\-------\0 Miu
The power lance plunges right through Rock; gritting his teeth, he just barely holds in a scream of pain as he's flung backwards. But when it's all over... well, he's still standing. Bowed, and battered.. but not down, not in the least. "Very... good..." he hisses. And then he seems to come back to himself. Those red eyes narrow again, and he puts the pain out of his mind. He'll revisit it later, if he has to. Right now... he's drawing on his emotions. Almost like a Jedi, really... but his emotions are much more visible, at least, in this moment.
His right hand rises, in a clenched fist, and it flares with power--pure golden energy, his lifeforce taken tangible form--pure form, not the tainted purple of the chi he normally wields.
Then... like a comet, he's streaking across the rooftop, right fist cocked back to deliver a devestating blow powered by his will given form.
COMBATSYS: Miu dodges Rock's Shine Knuckle.
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Rock 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Miu
Time seems to slow.
It is everything that Miu can do to realize that Rock isn't /down/ yet, which is impressive enough in its own right. But for him to immediately counterattack... and in such a dramatic way. Miu doesn't have long to think about what to do, in fact, she has maybe a fraction of a second in which to react, and, she does. Leaping into the air, she spins, and comes down the other side, trailing twin white streaks as she does so.
Suddenly lunging forwards, the girls energy spins around her as she completes a set of three spins forwards, leaving a corkscrew trail behind her as she does so, before coming *up* suddenly, trailing a large splash of white energy which aims to crash bodily into Rock.
COMBATSYS: Rock fails to interrupt Shubatsu from Miu with Rising Tackle.
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Rock 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Miu
Miu seems to have his number, straight out--Rock's unbalanced, and, when she comes at him, he tries to take the initative--but that burst of energy is faster than he had anticipated. Rock is sent flying once again, smashing into a a chimney housing; he rolls forward off it, then gets to his feet.
"Haven't had a fight like this in a while..." he says, half to himself, though he can certainly -remember- it... but that was a fight for his life. This? This isn't so urgent...
But something in him is definitely saying that there must still be a way to win the fight. To do -something-. It isn't that Miu's a girl. It's a matter of professional pride now.
He pushes forward, doggedly, his red eyes darker now. "Come on then..."
Miu wipes her brow with the back of her hand, as Rock flies upwards. She's, starting to tire. It is exhausting, fighting at this level, but, she wasn't going to let herself slow down now. She has to keep the pressure on, because if she gives Rock the time he needs to get back on his feet, he's going to make her pay for it badly.
She doesn't follow, however. Instead, she hops backwards a step as Rock rolls up to his feet, and she summons her power up once more. Swinging her arm forwards, three of those feathers come shooting out in the arc one more time, scything across the distance between the two fighters.
Thankfully, the camera crew at the Neo League have long ago learned that if you aren't pretty quick on your feet, you won't last long in the business, so, although property damage might be mounting up... civilian casualties are, so far, off the table.
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Rock with Kakure Amagakeri.
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Rock 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Miu
He evaded them before; now, hurt and damaged, the feathers slam into his chest, driving him backwards--to his knees. And there he stays, for a moment. He's... on the verge. He knows it. But he can't bring himself to just give up, to surrender defeat. It's one good thing about the Howard blood--persistence. Persistence refined by his training with Terry Bogard.
That self-same persistence won't let him remain still, however... and so soon enough he surges to his feet once more, driving himself forward across the gap, thinking--knowing?--that it might just be futile... but with the power Miu's shown him, the strength and skill, he can do no less than give her his all. He shoots the gap with another curling right hook, almost like the blazing attack she'd avoided earlier--though he's certainly lacking a step or two, now.
COMBATSYS: Miu interrupts Aggressive Strike from Rock with Psi-Launcher.
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Rock 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Miu
The blow snaps Miu's head to the side. Blood trickles from a split lip. She, is /hurt/.
But even as he was striking at her, Miu was moving forwards herself. The girl's hands glow with that inner strength, and she grabs Rock firmly by the shoulders. Having to almost stand on her tip-toes to manage this feat, her eyes are closed, and her teeth gritted. One of the few times her expression has changed in a fight; there is pain, there, but there is also focus.
And it is that focus which helps her see it through. Bringing Rock around hard with her as she turns on the spot, bright sparkles trail after the young man, and, with the last of her strength, she ploughs him bodily into the ground. Left panting for breath, on her knees next to him, Miu is sweating like a pig in the Croatian sun.
This is... not dignified, to say the least.
Rock's last act--conscious or not--is possibly his most explosively cinematic--for as Miu is plowing him into the rooftop... he's summoning the last burst of energy he's got, focusing his fading thoughts like a laser to get this done--to truly give her everything he's got, to lose knowing that, at least, he fought as best as he could... or at least, the best he could have at the time.
So his back slams into the rooftop--and then his hands slam into the same surface. Only they're glowing purple-white, and the moment they make contact, the world around him explodes in a geyser of hissing, whirling, wind and fire, purple energy released in a pressure-vent of energy. None of it will harm Rock, of course, but then... he's already out anyways.
COMBATSYS: Rock can no longer fight.
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Miu 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Miu blocks Rock's Raging Storm+.
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Miu 1/-----==/=======|
Miu realizes, at the last, what it is that Rock is doing. That the energy is not, in fact, the dying embers of Rock's power before he fades out.
It is more like, 'the last dying sun' of Rock's power, and she does not want to be caught in it.
She throws herself backwards, and her arms cross over her chest. She tucks her head in, and, although the energy washes over her in a white-hot blast as intense as she had feared, when it passes, she has not been vaporized.
Not quite, anyway. She's badly singed and burned, her outfit is ruined, but, she staggers up to her feet, and finally lets herself breathe again. Her arms, shakily, fall to her sides, and she nods slightly.
"Thank you."
And with those two words spoken, Miu starts the long process of limping back down to the bottom floor. She would /need/ to spend some time resting up after that.
COMBATSYS: Miu has ended the fight here.
Log created on 10:35:00 01/15/2011 by Miu, and last modified on 14:30:53 01/15/2011.