Description: While preparing for their KoF battle, Yuri and Zach do a little sparring to prepare themselves, although Yuri may find herself overwhelemed... (Special guest appearance by Howard Rust!)
KENYA
It's Kenya. They have lions and tigers, right here in Kenya. Zach is waiting at the base of the mountain that is hosting the Mountain Lions' 'official stage,' and seems to be waiting for someone. Or maybe even someONES. He has his travel bag slung over one shoulder, and occassionally glances at a new watch.
She has to show up eventually, Zach thinks. After all; for all the trouble Yuri is about to get this fledgling team into with her act of defiance, the least she could do is be somewhat timely. Zach feels a need to give the youngest Sakazaki a shake-down run. He's fought Rust, Quon and Antoine, and feels he has a decent grasp on what they can do. He lacks that with the tagalong girl, however.
Time to change that.
While she's defiant with her father big time, Yuri is not one to defy her teammates. In fact, as soon as she got the notice that Zach wanted to spar with her, she took off as quickly as she could to try to make it on time. As it stands, she's only late by a minute or two, but she rushes up with her trademark smile on her face while wearing her favorite uniform.
"Hello Zach!" Yuri says excitedly, taking out a bottle of water to drink it down before she warms up a little. "So you wanted to spar with me, huh? That's awesome! I can't wait to try out my Kyokugen Karate style with your style, Zach!" She grins as she rolls her neck around, stretching her shoulders at the same time as well. "This is gonna be sooooooo cool!"
"My style," he thinks with a grunt as he rolls his shoulders. Before settling into a boxing stance, his hands close to his face in a classic 'peek-a-boo' style. He snaps out two un-powered jabs to get some bloodflow going while Yuri gets herself warmed up.
"I gotta warn you, though," Zach says carefully, "I'm not very good at holding back, and frankly, I don't want you too either." Purple energy starts to burble and roil across his frame as he slides the gauntlet off of his right hand. "Ready when you are," he says evenly.
COMBATSYS: Zach has started a fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
"That's exactly how we should be fighting," Yuri replies, still smiling as she finishes her warm up. "We should be holding nothing back so we prepare for the main event." She winks at Zach and then adds, "Just don't cause me any permanent injuries, OK? The last thing we need is to have one of us crippled during the tournament, with the other giving our team a bad name."
Yuri gives one last stretch and then jumps into her fighting stance. Most notable is how she bounces on her heels while she stands ready. "Come on, let's go!" She says eagerly.
COMBATSYS: Yuri has joined the fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yuri
COMBATSYS: Yuri takes no action.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Yuri
Zach gives a faint grin. "Right then," he replies. Zach takes a long dashing step in, aiming to close the gap between the two fighters. He reckons, perhaps incorrectly, that Yuri's close-fighting game is suspect at best. /Most/ woman fighters tend for speed and perhaps range.
Zach plants his feet, and snaps out a crisp jab that is not too different from the jabs he showed earlier. The main difference is the purple energies around his arm crack into focus, forming into what seems to be a cestus around his left fist!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Yuri with Jab Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Zach 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Yuri
A lot of women use speed, yes, but not Yuri. She's more of a defensive girl who uses blocking rather than speed to protect herself. Of course, even the best blockers get beat sometimes, and Yuri is no exception. That fist is too quick for her to defend in time, and while she comes up quickly, it's just a tad too late, and Yuri is knocked backwards a little.
"So close," Yuri says, shaking off the brief stinging sensation before staring at Zach again. "That's what I'm talking about!" She says with a thumbs up. "Now, it's my turn!" Yuri goes at Zach and attempts to deliver a projectile of chi into him while yelling 'KO'OU KEN!'
COMBATSYS: Zach overcomes Ko'ou Ken from Yuri with Pile Smash EX.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Yuri
Zach disengages with a short hop back as Yuri stumbles. She throws one of the trademark moves of the Kyokugen-Ryu. When Zach thinks back on it later, he will realize that his snap response may not have been the most politic.
Zach breaks his stance, throwing both hands in the air with the speed of trained reflex. "PILE SMASH!" Zach yells out as three sheets of raw soul power rip into existance, held up only by his will before he sweeps his arms down towards the girl. The Zach-style Kasane Ate, also known as the Pile Smash, slams through the Ko'ou Ken and hurtles towards Yuri.
Rage Timer activated?
COMBATSYS: Yuri fails to reflect Pile Smash EX from Zach with Saiha.
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Zach 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Yuri
"Awww, that is totally uncool!" Yuri says, watching her projectile not only fail, but also pretty much backfire on her. She scowls, but then goes wide-eyed as a projectile comes flying back at her. Thinking quickly, Yuri brings up her chi shield in hopes of reflecting it back, but it's too soon and her shield disappears just as the projectile gets to her, knocking her onto the ground.
Yuri tumbles sideways a few times before pushing herself back up and looking at Zach once again. "That was just luck! Next time I'll see to it that I do it right the next time!"
Zach does not advance on Yuri. Not just yet. He simply watches passively as the girl regains her balance. Zach even gives her the moment she needs to re-orient.
That is not to say that Zach is doing nothing at all.
The air around the boxing initiate ripples before blooming with more of that purple energy he handles in fights. Some of it knocks the dust away from around his feet while he eyes the young girl.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Zach 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Yuri
"Come on, I'm ready!" Yuri says, gesturing towards Zach, narrowing her eyes as he starts to focus on himself. "What's the matter, you waiting for me?" She hmmphs. "Well, if that's how you wanna do it, then that's fine! I'll wait!" Yuri stands patiently in her fighting stance, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
COMBATSYS: Yuri focuses on her next action.
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Zach 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Yuri
"Fair enough," Zach says complacently before dashing in close again. He plants his feet one more time, getting almost in Yuri's face. "Let's test that theory."
Zach torques at the hips, soul power flaring to life around his right arm. He drives the punch out from the shoulder, stepping into the straight for added force. That psycho-kinetic cestus snaps into focus again as Zach propels the punch directly at Yuri's face!
COMBATSYS: Yuri fails to interrupt Blast Bash from Zach with Yuri Chou Upper.
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Zach 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Yuri
"Ready! Come on!" Yuri says, razzing Zach briefly before watching his moves and attempting to deliver her modified version of the famous Dragon Punch, which has become her signature move... but fails miserably. The punch hits her in the face and sends her flying across the area, causing her to land in a semi crumpled state.
"Hey, that wasn't supposed to happen!" Yuri says to herself as she forces herself up and dusts herself off. "This isn't supposed to be like this!"
"It isn't supposed to be like /what/?" Zach asks in a level tone of voice. He does not advance on Yuri, simply watching the young girl as she recollects herself. He doesn't launch into the lecture quite yet. He needs to push the girl just a little bit further.
He has just the thing.
Zach does not press his advantage at all. He simply watches Yuri, and opens his throttle just a little bit more. More of that violet power ripples out of Zach's body while he watches with a level stare. He's not here to spare the girl's feelings. That is, in fact, nowhere on his list of priorities in this exercise.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Zach 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Yuri
"I was just thinking out loud!" Yuri snaps at Zach. "I'm just frustrated this is so one-sided, as I thought I've been developing better than this!" She stomps her Chuck Taylor sneaker into the ground. "I know I snuck out of my home to be with you guys, but now I feel like I'm gonna slow you all down!" Yuri then remembers her bottle of water nearby, and take it and begins to drink up.
COMBATSYS: Yuri gains composure.
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Zach 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Yuri
Zach's eyes narrow as Yuri... takes a break during the fight? He does not take the obvious tack; to taunt Yuri with words. He knows the exact thing to say to utterly demolish Yuri's fighting spirit, and while her feelings are not much concern to him at this point, Zach is not without mercy. He takes a slightly different route.
"Your actions, as understandable as they might be, are going to get Rust into a lot of trouble at the dojo." Zach scowls as he mentally lines up his next attack. "His learning there, this tournament, they mean more to him than you can imagine."
Any second now...
COMBATSYS: Zach focuses on his next action.
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Zach 1/----===/=======|=====--\-------\0 Yuri
"Sometimes everyone needs a moment to calm down," Yuri snaps, looking at the scowl on Zach's face. "And trust me, I'm the one who's gonna get the brunt of the punishment from my dad! Of course, he's just doing it because he's a big baby and isn't happy that I was able to sneak out!" Another stomp of her sneakered foot, and then, "Let's just focus on the fight, OK?"
With the last word, Yuri leaps into the air, controlling her jump as best as she can, and then attempts a flying kick at the standing still Zach.
COMBATSYS: Zach fails to interrupt Light Kick from Yuri with Burst Strike.
-**- LUNATIC HIT!! -**-
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Zach 1/-======/=======|======-\-------\0 Yuri
Zach steps in as Yuri comes flying in. His intent is fairly simple, really. He plans to knock her out of the air with an even stronger right straight than he delivered earlier. "You're missing my point," Zach says, keeping a good deal of emotion out of his voice still.
Zach throws the fist forward, causing a small gust in the wake of his strike. However, he mis-times the punch, causing it to go /under/ the young girl's leg even as it connects cleanly with his jaw. There is a good amount of feedback up Yuri's leg; that was a decent strike. Zach, however, is still standing even if his intentions may be hard to read at this point.
Yuri grins as she drops to the ground in a crouched position and cracks her knuckles. She can sense that Zach is planning something, but doesn't know what. All she can do is try to figure out the next best course of action.
And then it hits her...
Yuri brings her fists back behind her, and then sends forth a large blast of chi after a moment of focusing.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Yuri's Haoh Sho Ko Ken.
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Zach 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Yuri
Zach ducks under his peek-a-boo gaurd, willing up a slim barrier of soul power to help dull the edge of the chi-blast. He scowls as the dust clears. "That's it?" Zach asks as the winds reveal slight damage to Zach's clothes, giving him a sort of survivor look. "Is that really all you have?" He asks a bit louder as the violet shifts to a sunlight yellow. Despite himself, he has started to get into this fight.
"Let me show you how it's done," Zach says as he mimics Yuri's set-up movement. His hands are closer together as they come forward, but the intent is unmistakable. The blast is only technically a projectile. It is more like a beam of soul power that carves out a trench between the two fighters as it roars towards Yuri!
COMBATSYS: Yuri fails to reflect Burst Stream from Zach with Saiha.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1 Yuri
"Come on! I'm ready!" Yuri says as she watches Zach imitate her in a sense, and then watches as he sends forth another projectile. Yuri tries to bring her shield up again, but this time it's too late. Yuri goes down hard and lands in a crumpled position, bleeding and bruised with parts of her uniform burned as well.
"Damn," She whispers as she pushes herself up. "I really underestimated Zach," She comments as she brushes herself off weakly. She's feeling humiliated and frustrated at the same time, and tries to catch her breath so she can return the favor.
Through the plains surrounding the famed Mt. Kenya comes a familiar sight-- well, sound, first, the sound of a knee popping loudly echoing through the place where Zach and Yuri are having their friendly duel before their first - perhaps greatest - test as a team. Which is to say, the very, very first round of King of Fighters 2011.
"Cripes, that, that didn't take long," he mumbles to himself as he follows the sight where he saw that last big great beam. "Hey!" He calls out to the lot of them. "I got, I got their van fixed."
Zach has absolutely no intention of letting Yuri catch her breath. Instead of that stepping dash he has been using, Zach uses a burst of soul power channelled through his legs to hurl himself towards the Sakazaki scion at breakneck speeds. Yellow energy trails off of him like whisps of sunlight as Zach brings his left hand down and behind him.
He skids to a stop inches from Yuri, and from all appearances his attack angle will require him to come up to meet the young girl. He does not disappoint, planting his feet and lunging with enough force to almost lift him off the ground as he slams a coated left directly towards Yuri's jaw!
He is following through with the punch when he notices Rust's presence. "Be with you in a moment," Zach says politely to the team captain.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Yuri with Medium Punch.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Yuri
Weakened and almost out of steam, Yuri has no chance of avoiding Zach's punch. She staggers backwards, almost losing her balance and falling over, but something keeps her from falling. It's that last burst of chi in her body that causes her to burst forwards, and attempt to leap into Zach. If she succeeds, she'll deliver a flurry of kicks into him, and then deliver one last kick to knock him away.
If not, well she's going down. Either way, though, she's done for...
COMBATSYS: Yuri can no longer fight.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Zach with Hien Hou'ou Kyaku.
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Zach 0/-------/=======|
"You guys haven't, uh, haven't set anything on fire over there or anything... right?" Mr. Rust calls out, knowing full well the very powerful capabilities of Zach and Yuri alike, where both are capable of summoning large concentrations of power at once.
It is hard to tell whether Zach is simply too slow to avoid the flurry, or if he just takes the combination of strikes to get a feel for them. Either way, he will have some interesting bruises tomorrow. Assuming that his own resevoir of energies does not simply smooth them over before he wakes up tomorrow. "Actually," Zach says a bit earnestly, "I can't set anything on fire with my energies. Just smash it around a lot."
Zach simply stares at Yuri for a moment, his normally expressive face a mask. "I don't know about her, though," he says after he walks over to pick up Yuri's water. He then carefully picks the young girl up. He's not gentle about it, but he isn't needlessly rough about it either. "Either way, I think she may bring us more pain than anything down the road." He cracks a slight grin. "Maybe we could box her up and send her back to Southtown?" he asks with a bit of hope, and a little humor in his tone.
It's entirely possible he's joking about that. He has to know that Ryo and Takuma would probably take great umbrage to that.
Meanwhile, Yuri is unable to make any snide remarks to Rust and Zach. She's too busy lying facedown on the ground, barely even conscious. She's worn herself out big time, but hopefully she'll be able to utilize what she learned to her advantage in the upcoming tournament fights.
"Y-Y'know exactly what I mean, Zach!" Mr. Rust calls back, annoyed, as he finally comes into plain view from behind a tree, wiping his brow. This has been a very, very busy day, and the last thing he needs is to end up being fined on behalf of anything that might've occurred out in these parts. He's been a complete worrywart since a particularly heated conversation on the phone with the substitute teacher in his place over at Pacific (and the following return call by the principal, man oh man did he have to excuse himself from the company of his teammates).
"L-Listen, Zach, it's already bad enough that I don't know if she got her, her vaccines and stuff comin' here." If he knew ahead of time that she was going to do this, he'd have made sure she get all the health-related issues in place, because picking up diseases from abroad is no joke as he comes along over in front of Zach and Yuri alike.
"I know, I know you're smiling, Zach, but if Takuma were here, right now?" He nervously draws a finger across his throat. "It's... it's really complex, what's goin' on there. We, uh, we don't really have much of a choice now, I'm... I'm sorry to say."
He lowers his head. "If, if you two are done breaking one another, we gotta get goin'. Van's runnin' again."
Zach gets a bit serious. "If he were here right now," Zach says in all seriousness, "I think he'd use this to further his stance on the matter. He's a teacher, after all." Zach turns toward the van.
"And if he decides you need to pay for her stunt, then he'll have to deal with me on that," he says after a moment, a trace of defiance in his voice. "Not much of a threat, sure, but hopefully he'll respect a bit of backbone."
Meanwhile, Yuri has pushed herself back up and is staggering towards the two men. "The van is ready? Good, let me get in so I can take a nap," She says weakly. It looks like she's gonna need a looooooong nap from the look of things.
Who knows how Takuma would react to all this at this point - the only thing Rust can surmise is 'pain' for at least one person involved, at least himself. "He, he might but... let's, let's just hope it wouldn't come to that, all right, Zach? This trip's been... been really rough."
As Yuri frees herself to stagger along, Rust decides to offer himself as support. "Okay, when we, when we get back to the van, Yuri, we gotta make sure you aren't gettin' sick or anything. You, you really can't take chances here."
And with that, it is time to call it a day in a van ride.
Log created on 16:52:09 02/07/2011 by Yuri, and last modified on 18:40:22 02/07/2011.