Description: Magnificent men clash against those beautiful ladies in the first round of King of Fighters! Thrill as Gen and Chun-Li are the only people wearing clothes! WATCH OUT FOR: Haggar's buttcheeks! (Winners: Oyaji Team)
"How typical..." Making the Ladies' Team fight in an onsen, of course, ensuring that they'll be wearing skimpy outfits to please the fans. Rose would never admit that she does have at least some joy in the fact that she, an 'old lady', can still excite young men. It just wouldn't be very masterly of her, would it? She steps into the white-tiled onsen, the few regular bathers apparently not bothered by the goings-on that are about to happen, the wide center lane roped off to provide an arena for the fight about to take place.
She wears a bikini styled after her usual clothing, the top wine-red, with a pair of polished brass buttons--one at the top of each cup--and a bikini bottom in a dark, dark grey color. And she's still wearing her cross-strap pumps, heels clicking on the floor--and of course her scarf, tucked neatly about her shoulders and arms.
She waits, silently, imposing even in her abbreviated costume, awaiting the arrival of her opponent, one Mayor Mike Haggar. A man she's heard much of, but never met--a true scion of Justice, or so it is said, and a man that Rose certainly would have some interest in meeting, even if it weren't for the King of Fighters.
As she waits, she leans--on nothing, casually, creating a coruscating sphere of energy and playing it around her, like some Very Strange Yo-Yo.
Haggar is already here, although Rose might not have noticed him. He is in a state of absolute relaxation, lying face-down beneath the surface of one of the pools near the center lane. His mind wanders. He realizes this is his second time he's been asked to fight /in/ a hot spring, and just like last time, the same outfit was provided for him. It makes him... wonder.
Gradually, Haggar becomes aware of a slight increase in the buzz above the water. It's a dignified sort of buzz, suited to who he's heard his first opponent is going to be, someone he's wanted to meet in person for some time. Welp, time to get on with this. Just soak for a few more minutes.
Lord above, this feels good. He should see how viable it is to get something like this installed in his city, get a little more multicultural. He'll have to have some meetings with lobbyists from the Little Japan district. He should really get up, and start the fight. He's been holding his breath down here for ten minutes now.
Ugh, they're shining the light. Fine! Fine.
Mike Haggar, mayor of Metro City, erupts from the nearby pool in a rush, water surging around him as he leaps straight off the bottom, turning, landing with a loud thud in the lane. He is wearing nothing but a dark green fundoshi and a twisted headband of the same color. He looks... self-concious about it, glancing behind him after landing. That 70-year old woman is /locked on target/. That's a little humiliating. He faces forward, tilting his head to the side with a series of pops. "Rose. It's good to meet you, in person." Standing straight, he gives her the solemn nod of American Respect, before smoothing water from his mustache and crouching down, arms spread into his wrestling stance.
His eyes flick toward the sphere of energy, and his mouth tightens. She's definitely going to throw that at him later, and it's going to be annoying.
The Soul Power Master straightens, as Mike Haggar explodes from that pool; the sphere of power explodes like a firework, dissipating into sparks that fade like snow on a summer day. Well, well. At least he's also dressed appropriately--so to speak. And giving the viewers at home something else to stare at. (She doesn't think they'll appreciate seeing Gen that way, though.) The 70 year old woman's gaze makes her smile--she's too polite to laugh--and then she inclines her head towards the Mayor.
"Mayor Haggar. It's good to finally meet you," she says, her voice a cool alto, easily heard over the echoing sounds of the onsen--splashing, talking, all that stuff. "I've been meaning to--" She breaks off, suddenly, and slowly turns to face one of he camera crew, her gaze boring straight into his soul, like a laser drill. She holds that gaze for perhaps ten seconds, and the man sweats... turns red... and finally lowers his head, shamefaced.
"My pardons. As I was saying--I've been meaning to meet you. I suppose that this contest provides a perfect venue." She sketches a bow-curtsey, making it look good even without a skirt, and then straightens again... content to wait, it seems.
From Haggar, at least, there are no dirty thoughts. Is this going to get incorporated into every pose again? It sure is. You see, his wife is dead. Aside from that, he is... guarded. Not just the natural guarded mindset of someone uneasy - he's actually blocking his mind, to what degree someone without Psycho Power is capable of. Looks like he's learned a few things.
Anyway, if Rose is going to give him the opening go, he's going to take it. He slowly approaches with a few loping steps, pausing, approaching again. "Let's have a good fight!" He announces, suddenly springing forward at the same time.
He turns as he jumps, jaw set, arms flying up to counterbalance. His legs, ramrod-straight, snap forward, his body spinning as he crosses the distance in a dramatic burst of speed. "Hooreagh!"
COMBATSYS: Haggar has started a fight here.
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Haggar 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Rose has joined the fight here.
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Haggar 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rose
COMBATSYS: Rose blocks Haggar's Drop Kick.
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Haggar 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Rose
Rose, fortunately, isn't attempting to read Haggar's thoughts. While it's certainly a tool she has used in the past... this is a 'fair fight', so to say, and as such, she's not trying to more underhanded things she could. She only touches his mind enough to know that he's attempting to block her attempts--and she smiles.
She's smiling even as the flying kick slams into her guard, her forearms raised in defense; the impact forces her to sway backwards, something about that impact a little more than it would seem at first glance. "Calm yourself, Mayor. I wouldn't presume to try such underhanded methods in a fight like this." This is, after all, -not- a fight for her life... Pushing off quickly, she springs backwards a good five yards, planting her feet and lashing out with her yellow scarf, a pulse of energy building along it and racing down the length of it--
--and flaring into a coruscating pulse of energy, power flaring and sparking as it flies for Haggar's torso. She isn't bothering to check if he's maintaining his mental guard--she's already told him she isn't. Whether he believes her or not, that's up to him.
Mike "2 Bao" Haggar totally called it, god damn /fireballs./
COMBATSYS: Haggar endures Rose's Soul Spark.
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Haggar 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Rose
Haggar lands the kick and springs off of Rose, flipping in the air to land on his feet. Some people are sassy about doing that when you drop kick - he happens to be great at that. His mouth pulls into a line as Rose's scarf snaps out, prompting him to step back... and then in shoots a fireball. Growling in irritation, he simply shoulder rushes it. The Spark hits his body and slows him just a step before he powers through, going into a quick roll to regain his momentum.
He pops back up and keeps moving, bodyblocking Rose to try and knock her back. "Don't misunderstand!" He reaches, giant hands seeking to grab onto Rose's waist and pull her back in. "I got a whole lot on my mind right now, but they're my problems. I don't want 'em bleedin' over, even accidentally." Despite his concern(?), he has no problems trying to yank Rose around and break her balance, breaking out the big guns right off the bat as his arms go up.
The mayor surges forward, rising up on the balls of his bare feet, spinning on the sodden floor of the onsen. His arms break through the air, covering a terrifying amount of ground as he moves slowly forward like a ridiculous meat blender.
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Rose with Spinning Clothesline.
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Haggar 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Rose
One might think that it would be 'easy' to avoid such a technique. But that would be belittling the technique of the Mayor--and Rose certainly can't do that. Her attempt to avoid the spinning mayor is for naught--and she's hurled halfway across the onsen by the terrific impact, Haggar's arms having caught her under the chin--and swiftly across the torso. It's only purely through instinct that she's able to avoid a nasty blow--head to tile--flipping and skidding on the toes of her heels and one hand.
"Indeed," she says, "I see how you gained your fame... your power is as I expected it to be." She smiles--no hard feelings, one way or the other--and then she begins glowing.
Soul Power fluxes through her form, power blazing and shining from her form--part and parcel of the energy she commands, blue and white and purple and shot through with other colors.
COMBATSYS: Rose gathers her will.
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Haggar 1/------=/=======|=======\=======\1 Rose
Haggar winds down from his spin, dropping low, fist pounding into the tile as he drops to a knee. He grins. "Hah! Don't get too cocky, now, it's just the beginning!" He pushes himself back up to his feet, and manages to take exactly one step forward.
That's about when Rose /EXPLODES WITH POWER./
Haggar's first confident step is not repeated, and in fact, is retracted. Remember when he said not to get cocky? That's called 'hilarious hypocrisy.' The Mayor takes another step back, and drops into a lower crouch, eyes a touch widened, rubbing at his mustache and jaw, swiping his hand through his hair. If his power is as Rose expected, Rose's power is something Haggar was not entirely prepared for. He wheels his shoulder, and carefully places his arms. "Hrm."
COMBATSYS: Haggar focuses on his next action.
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Haggar 1/------=/=======|=======\=======\1 Rose
Given the chance to power up, Rose just smiles a little. It isn't a sure path to victory--when talking about fighting titans, as they are, nothing is -certain-... but it's a little gratifying to see Haggar's faltering. But... now to -take advantage- of it. She could, really, just keep him at bay with a series of Soul Sparks--that might be the smartest thing to do. But there's an element of showmanship to be had in King of Fighters, and so just doing 'the smart thing' isn't the best thing to do.
Thus, Rose takes a calculated risk--knowing that Haggar is sharpening his senses--something she can feel even without trying to sense him--she applies speed, lunging forward, then stops about a yard distant, reaching across herself with her left hand--taking her scarf in hand...
...and whipping it out at Haggar, the thin cloth suddenly reinforced by an aura of that power, crackling like electricity and turning the silk into a lashing bludgeon, rather than a thing to caress the skin--the power suffusing the scarf leaks out, making it glow an unnatural color.
COMBATSYS: Haggar blocks Rose's Aura Scarf.
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Haggar 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Rose
Already, with this little bit of observation, Haggar's figured that Rose's scarf is... a big deal. As Rose charges, his gaze sharpens, and he steps back - and pushes off his hand, jumping to meet her in mid charge, left hand out.
Palm meets scarf, muscles in Haggar's neck standing out as he shoves it away, Psycho Power courses down his arm. Later, he'll try to describe it to Takuma over a weird foreign beer and just end with, 'It hurt like crap!' Everyone will probably laugh at him. It's weird for Haggar to be the /young/ one in the group.
But, anyway, now Haggar is /in there./ The nudest Mayor wraps his fingers around Rose's scarf as he steps forward, planting his foot, and bringing his fist back. "Not bad... but can ya handle this?" Water shining off his skin, he curls his fist, and drives one fist at Rose's midsection.
COMBATSYS: Rose fails to interrupt Violent Axe from Haggar with Aura Soul Spark.
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Haggar 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rose
Impact. As Mike Haggar draws his fist back again, light flashes off his right eye, shining brilliantly.
His fist comes around again. And again. Shoulder and elbow pumping, he does not relent, moving with blurring speed to slam into Rose a full twenty-nine additional times.
You can count it.
Smoothly, after the last strike, he glides forward, balling his fists and driving them up, knocking Rose into the air. "You're finished!" Waiting until just before she hits the ground, he slams his fists back down with an impact that creates waves through the entire onsen, fully emptying the small one-person pool directly in front of Haggar onto the tile.
Finished? No... not yet. Very close, yes. But -finished-? Rose's attempt to stop the man was, well, stopped, itself--and she is indeed hammered, bruises purpling across her abdomen. And yet...
And yet she rises, the gleam in her eyes undiminished. "Finished?" she says, her voicebox thankfully untouched--a tremor in her voice indicating the extreme amount of pain she's in.
She wobbles... then straightens herself again. "No... not -quite- finished, Mr. Mayor... I admire your power but you will, as they say, 'have to finish me'." She doesn't use the words as a taunt, as some might--they're an expression of her willingness to fight to the end, to give him her all in a fight that, ultimately, means very little to her personally. It is... an expression of respect. She wouldn't quit out on a fighter she respects, and Haggar has earned that respect.
Haggar takes a moment to recover, bringing his arms up and stretching out his back with a crackle. "Good. Great!" Haggar grins fiercely. He's been many things in his life, but it always comes back to the traits that made him a success as a pro wrestler - showmanship, and the love of competition. He keeps up the pressure as Rose gets up, charging her, hands locked together again.
This is good, he needed this. After the mess before... his mental defenses are starting to slip as he gets caught up in the moment, and even through the exultation in the fight, there is a weariness and bone-deep frustruation dripping from him. Something's gone very wrong for the mayor recently, which may explain his particular intensity here today.
"Fight as long as you can! That's the way it should be! Go until you can't, and try to keep going from there!" He pulls up short, bare feet skidding on the tile, and ducks low. Once again, he comes up in an axehandle, charging forward, chopping up at Rose's body.
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Rose with Quick Double Lariat.
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Haggar 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Rose
The impact is, again, titanic, Rose's body betraying a mind still agile, still active--but Haggar's done a titanic number on her. Truly a juggernaut... and yet she stands--rises to her feet once more, from where she'd landed on her knees. But on her knees is not how she'll end -any- fight...
"Mr. Mayor," she says, her voice thick with pain, and yet still elegant, "I salute your skill. You are one of an exceptional elite..." And, oddly, she -doesn't- mean people who have defeated her. She seems almost ready to concede the match--but instead she drives forward, perhaps for a final clash, her scarf acting as if on its own volition, coiling around her right arm, and then, as she thrusts that arm forward...
The energized scarf stretches out, reaching for Haggar's chest, the glow an electric, actinic blue in color...
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Haggar with Soul Spiral.
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Haggar 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Rose
Haggar tries to put arm to scarf once more, but with such an unusual point of impact, he finally misjudges. The hit blasts him right in the chest, and he staggers, dropping to a knee (hilariously putting him at eye level). Blue energy crackles around his bare chest, and his muscles unconciously flex and tighten in pain.
But he's not done, either. "You ain't half bad yerself," he gets out, acknowledging Rose in the same way, if in fewer words. Haggar's got a good advantage here, though. See, they're in close. Haggar barrels his way back to his feet, left arm rising. After all the clashing and tremendous moves, he seeks to put paid to the fight.
He seeks to put paid to the fight with a single crack across the jaw.
COMBATSYS: Rose dodges Haggar's Quick Punch.
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Haggar 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Rose
The fire burns brighter in Rose, now; it can't erase the pain that dulls the senses, but it can give her the sharpest of instincts. The advantage is still Haggar's, to be sure; if Rose wants to even -think- of winning, she can't hold back anymore, can't bide her time as she would normally. No, she just has to be the best she can. It's obvious he'll try to take her out swiftly--it's what she would do, were their positions reversed--and so she ducks her head backwards and away, that punch whistling just past her jaw, so close she can feel the breeze caused by the movement, washing over her face.
And her reaction is equally swift--as she sweeps her hands out, snapping a turquoise-blue, circular lens of energy, roughly the size of Haggar's chest, into existence, hopefully right into him, the blue shot throuh with yellow-green and pearl white, humming into existence for seconds before fading away.
For Rose, it's as if time is slowing, all her senses brought to hyperalertness by the very edge of consciousness she teeters on.
COMBATSYS: Haggar Toughs Out Rose's Turquoise Soul Overdrive!
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Haggar 1/=======/=======|-------\-------\0 Rose
It's a phenomenon many have seen before, and many will in the future. The moment Haggar's fist whips past Rose's face, he comes to a decision, sets on a course of action, and nothing will dissuade him from following it.
The arm ratchets back, and the Wrestling Mayor does not move away or try to cover himself, his blood up, what remains of the water steaming off his skin even in the wet air of the onsen. Rose pulls up a disc - Haggar has no respect for what it represents, putting his head down and stepping through it. The Psycho Power lances into him, and he starts to roar, shattering the lens apart with sheer willpower.
Both of Haggar's arms sweep forward then, locking around Rose's shoulders in an embrace with no tenderness in it, leaning back and hauling her up to his own eye level. His eyes are shadowed by his brows as he swings his neck back, taking a deep breath.
His skull swings inelegantly down at Rose's, soft glamour meeting square-edged efficiency. He pounds once, twice, three times - and then he simply lets go, dropping to a knee, breathing heavily.
COMBATSYS: Haggar successfully hits Rose with Repeated Headbutts.
Glancing Blow
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=------\-------\0 Rose
Somehow, impossibly, Rose avoids the first two swings of the brutal, heavy-browed head. Weaving desperately, on the edge still... and then the last one finds its mark, somewhat--enough to drive her off the edge. She has but one recourse left to her, as she staggers back--one final, whipping attack with her scarf, lashing the air about her with a wild, gypsy grace... and then she sinks to a knee, regardless...
The gesture conceding the fight, and honoring her opponent in one elegant movement. Whether Haggar survives or not... it was an epic battle, one she very nearly came back from the brink from... and that she cannot be disappointed in. And regardless of what may happen in this first match, whether Ladies' Team is eliminated or her teammates can pull through the fight against what are, to be sure, overwhelming odds...
She is, personally, satisified with this match, if not with the tournament in general.
COMBATSYS: Rose can no longer fight.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Rose successfully hits Haggar with Aura Scarf.
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Haggar 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
COMBATSYS: Haggar takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Haggar can no longer fight.
Haggar tries to throw himself back, out of the way of the final scarf swing. His usual recourse to the end of a fight is to just swat it aside, but doing that to a scarf that is lit on brain would be foolish. His feet scrabble at the tile, his hands find purchase...
...not soon enough. The scarf leaves a glowing blue swipe across Haggar's chest, and he was already right on the edge. He skids back a foot, legs up in possibly /the worst/ angle for more than a few cameras, and they drop.
Everyone holds their breath.
Slowly, Haggar's arm raises, fist balled, one thumb up in the air. "Some'un roll me inna nice pool," he gets out, and his arm falls back down. It takes four technicians to slide him across the floor, and he floats serenely on his back to deliriously watch the rest of the match.
The battle between Haggar and Rose is not an extended one, by most estimations... but the amount of power released in those rampant, back-and-forth moments is staggering to most all of those same estimations. Pieces of a soul, facing off against a man trying desperately not to go to pieces... it's quite fascinating, judging from the way the diminutive Chinese man next in line for Oyaji Team watches it unfold. Pupiless voids of stark white track Haggar and Rose in turn, the elder master seeing far more than any should. As the Soul-Seeress and the Meat Mayor collide in mutually assured destruction, the legendary assassin clad in fine silks of black and silver brushes down his wardrobe, strokes his beard. Lets out a soft note of grunting disapproval. For whom, it is unclear. This may even be one of the ways the Triad shadow shows approval.
"YOOOOSH!!" The announcer cuts in, "DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!! SECOND ROUND. GEN VS. CHUN-LI!" The countdown, short as it is, begins.
There's little more than a nod passed to Haggar as he's wheeled back, he and Rose removed from the battlefield as Gen steps up into it, tracing his long, white beard anew with a casual sort of flourish, his short legs unnaturally graceful as he moves. It's strange to many in the crowd to see the boisterous, muscular, mighty Mike Haggar replaced by... well, a very short, grey Chinaman. Where Haggar's strength roared like fire, like an irritable ox, Gen's whispers low with anticipation, swirling winds coursing into concealing caverns within his very soul, reaching depths alarming - forces unknown by mighty hurricanes. It's a subtle thing, barely detectable to most, particularly given the old mentor scheduled to face off against Chun-Li is not nearly so well known. The warm breeze that passes through the bathhouse shifts notably, swirls about the robed figure, seemingly in tandem with one deep, stabilizing breath, as his attention shifts fully to the girl once trained.
Xiang Chun-Li is dressed in her nicest and prettiest and violentest qipao, because she knew that even if they didn't face off, Gen would be there. It's important for her to impress her old mentor, who may or may not have taught her the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. Still, when Haggar and Rose smash each other dead forever, it's a bit of a surprise to the Ladies' Team's resident Hurricane Kicktrina. Her! Versus Gen! Right now!
Any hesitation is completely masked. Chun-Li steps forward, her own fighting aura one of crystalline order and discipline -- she's a cop and she fights like a cop. She's even able to ignore the unsavory aspect of fighting in a bathhouse. "Master," Chun-Li says, in deference to Gen, before giving him a deep and respectful bow.
As her body raises, Chun-Li eases herself back into a fluid, ready tai-chi stance, legs spread and palms out. "I look forward to showing you how much I have grown!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li has started a fight here.
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Chun-Li 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Gen has joined the fight here.
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Gen 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
Chun-Li snaps out a quick kick nearly before the exclamation mark in her previous line of dialogue can be dotted. It's not meant to be a grand declaration of progress, but something closer to a feeling-out process. She has no doubt Gen will deal with the motion swiftly and mercilessly, but it's important for her to know just how much so in both.
COMBATSYS: Gen blocks Chun-Li's Light Kick.
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Gen 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chun-Li
One thing's for certain... Gen taught her how to kick. And how. The bow is answered with one from Gen in turn, mirroring the respect - if not the depth - offered by his onetime apprentice. There's no smile for the Strongest Woman in the World - not just now. Those blank eyes lock onto her, the old master's stern jaw sets, his sterner beard flutters on the invisible breeze, the elder assassin prepares. "Let us hope you, at least, are ready for this." To face off against him? Perhaps. The dourly enigmatic, slightly crotchety offering is not expanded upon just now, the diminutive warrior instead drawing his own hands to the ready, two digits extended from each clenched fist like weapons, one leg bending high as he shifts deceptively unstably on the anchoring limb. Deceptive, indeed, for striking out at the old master proves to be like launching oneself headlong against a steel-cast mountain.
One arm, strong beyond his years, beyond his size, flexes and bends aside, dropping to intercept that kick as it swings in, its equal and opposite number. The force is nearly equal to bring it in at a matched velocity, the impact jars into dense frame, barely slides the old master's stance back, his legs shifting in a blur of motion as he crouches and jumps, almost as if without actually crouching first, given the sudden nature of the recoil. Up, arcing a low, graceful, swift course directly over Chun-Li, her teacher shifts, snaps about, launching one kung-fu-slipper clad foot around for her skull, a stroke timed to actually propel him over, and behind her, ideally. With a renewed, more audible, "Hmph."
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li blocks Gen's Saizu.
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Gen 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Chun-Li
Drifting grey-white vapours are not unusual in a setting such as this. The bathhouse is ever filled with a foggy haze, and though clearly this is not a normal day of business inside the Dogo Onsen, so are the upper echelons now. It's subtle, not blocking the view for the diverse crowd cheering as they variously lean over the handrails or stand upon their tiptoes to keep an excited eye on the action. Rather more striking is the faint golden glow suffusing one particular person in the crowd... the Templar, Amy Johnson.
She has been unable to control her stirring energies, because the hum of power rising from these two teams is intense - it boils the very blood of a fighter. Between Rose's pervasive psychic abilities and Haggar's sheer, brutal force, the stage has been set to prepare for the legendary master and his one-time apprentice. Amy is another who has claimed that title, who would claim it again, and her stormy eyes are yet more intent upon this second round of the battle. Gen is of particular interest, but Chun-Li... well. What female martial artist does not perceive her as an inspiration?
"Good luck, Master Gen," the Templar breathes, unheard in the throng, a hand straying idly to the silver cross about her neck as she watches the opening blow keenly. King of Fighters is everything she could have hoped; it will have been worth the journey no matter what, if only to have seen this with her own eyes. Her wayward thoughts of approaching Gen are brushed aside for now, as she shifts up against the thin wooden barrier, blocking out the crushing bodies to either side to focus completely. She means to enjoy this as much as learn from it.
The return kick promises to rattle some teeth, which is why Chun-Li opts to let it rattle some arm-bones, instead. Indeed, the old master's flip-addled stroke of violent contact is effortlessly strong enough that broken bones are a legitimate concern: but if Chun-Li was scared of breaking her arm, she wouldn't be the World's Strongest Woman, now, would she?
Eating the kick by swinging an arm in its path, Chun-Li lets out a small grunt at the impact.
SOME TIME AGO
Chun-Li successfully blocks one of Gen's kicks for the first time. We can tell that this is in the past because the colors are desaturated and because "Unskinny Bop" is playing on a nearby radio.
About six hours later, Chun-Li regains feeling in her upper body and stops throwing up from pain.
NOW
With Gen having landed only a brief distance from her, Chun-Li seeks to close the gap between them. She moves with spirited quickness to bring him closer to her by feinting a lunge for a kick -- but whirling her body instead to grab at his tunic and bring him down, that he may kiss her knee in the worst way possible. And then, if that courtship occurs, she plans to flex her leg the rest of the way to pop him away like a fly ball. It's a peculiar father-figure relationship.
COMBATSYS: Gen dodges Chun-Li's Kirin Shuu.
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Gen 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Chun-Li
The swift strike is simple, efficient, and unerringly executed. Despite not striking the less resilient target, Gen lands evenly, all his weight easily dropping to that single, bent leg, as if the impact were next to nothing. Which, given the accomplishments of the elder fighter... may not be far from the truth. There's a huff of air to follow the grunt, breath drawn, released... and blank eyes are already locked back on Chun-Li as she turns, and proceeds to re-engage her onetime mentor. Her decidedly deadly not-father smiles, but it's not a warm or inviting thing, but apparently the satisfaction of pride mixed with... well, a touch of sadism as the challenge is upped. His raised leg drops, his stance not unlike her initial one, feet wide, hands not so much open - as clawed like the talons of a bird of prey.
THEN, Chun-Li's waste of a good dinner punctuated in extra, grueling chores for a second. Then, her weak arms prompted days, WEEKS of training where she got no respite from repeatedly seeking to break the unbreakable with her forearms... until she could do it. NOW? Now, Gen answers in turn. The Triad shadow leans away, weaves back in the slightest of slides, her lunging hands coming up only on the hot spring-warmed air, grazing over cloth as the alarmingly fast oldbie reciprocates. In his own way. Fingers curl in towards his palm, left hand lashing out once, twice, thrice... as if as one, at points left and right and dead center of Chun-Li's face. He doesn't actually hit her, but the blows reverberate nonetheless, as if cleaving through the energy that surrounds her, striking inward at nerves, conduits that suddenly would misfire in a million and one unnerving ways. Before his right hand comes around in an underhand heelstrike aligned to clock her in the jaw, wordlessly. He's a great communicator.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li full-parries Gen's Improvised Grapple!
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Gen 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Chun-Li
Gen seeks out Chun-Li's face and other vital areas of interest, but each time finds himself rebuffed. His strikes are so swift that to watch Chun-Li nullify them requires a camera with a high-speed lens. She has learned the lessons of tai chi well, and its concept of balance is at play here, for every strike that Gen offers isn't so much blocked as redirected.
Her palms divert every blow, taking just strong enough grasp to maneuver Gen's energy-cleaving blows past her head and over her shoulder. Chun-Li spins and steps away, letting her body sink back into a stance of readiness. She doesn't showboat, and she doesn't brag. But there's a gleam in her eyes that she can't hide -- a happy little flicker of accomplishment.
But it's only a flicker, and it's gone before it can even be called an instant. Chun-Li immediately seeks to seize on the advantage, bringing her palms together and thrusting her body forward in a deep, low lunge. Before, she sought to close the gap through grappling -- but now, she lets her soul do the hard work. Blue chi sparks and sheds from her hands in a glowing pod, caught in some invisible riptide and hurtling toward her mentor. "KIKOUKEN!" she shouts, the first word of the battle.
COMBATSYS: Gen auto-guards Chun-Li's Kikouken EX!
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Gen 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Chun-Li
Three times, Chun-Li intercepts the strikes that would cleave the conduits of nature itself, and the final hammer never falls - Gen is old, born far from yesterday. White brows arch, not so much in surprise, as in acknowledgement. Or perhaps, in challenge. There's little time to discuss the accomplishment, however. That upsurge of chi within the Strongest Woman in the World is felt, tingles the back of the old master's neck, drawing a half-smirk that ghosts across Gen's features. One trick she didn't pick up from him - his own chi channels inward, fuels feet and fingertips, turns his core into a nigh-impregnable fortress of focused power. The flaring blue energy flies forward, and Gen slides back into a defensive stance.
Fist clenched, save two extended fingers braced by hand and thumb, the legendary assassin launches his guad at the utter last moment. Instants before the near point-blank Kikouken erupts into his chest. Those penetrating digits circumsect the sphere, fist buried in its fiery midst. The fireball, all in an instant, struggles, weakens, swirls downward, coursing along Gen's arm as silver-embroidered black sleeve ripples in the maddeningly potent artificial wind, "Taught you everything, did I?" The legendary assassin quips drily, crossing the distance in his own fashion. Flying high, a kicking foot leading in a classic, (anti)heroic flying kick, sole leading for Chun-Li's skull as the other foot flexes, coils up beneath him... only to follow its partner in a brutal, aerial roundhouse. It's been an exquisite warmup?
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li fails to interrupt Uken-Shakudan from Gen with Hyakuretsu Kyaku.
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Gen 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Chun-Li
When Gen bears down on Chun-Li, she has a number of routes that are possible. She can try to dodge. She can try to shield herself. Or she can try to pluck Gen out of the air. Unfortunately, she chooses the last one. It doesn't work out that well for her. Her legs snap up with their signature agility, so limber that it's literally a crime, and... Gen smashes into her knee with his heel.
It's a miracle her patella doesn't pop off like it was spring-loaded, launching into the audience and scaring the children and so on. But Chun-Li doesn't even have time to react to the intense pain. Her attempt at a kick is destroyed, and so is her face, as Gen's roundhouse damn near shears it off her skull.
Chun-Li is flipped backward so violently that she lands on her belly. Blood streams from a freshly busted nose and her cheek will swell up to the size of an elephant's in due time. She doesn't seem angry, though. At least, not at Gen. There's no censure of her master -- just silent lamentation of her own self, and how she was wrong to get overconfident.
In a spray of blood and cracking protest of bone and flesh that doesn't originate from the elder assassin's not-at-all-arthritic form in the first place, Gen lands lithely, kicking his foot to the side in the same motion with one quick snap, a slight spatter of crimson cleansed from his slipper with the forceful motion. The old master watches Chun-Li recover her bearings, and shakes his head once, "You'll have to get up faster than that. You could be dead thrice by now." It's got to be an exaggeration. Maybe. The Triad legend's concealed, dense frame suffuses suddenly with a coursing pulse that originates somewhere deep within, unseen. It's nearly tangible, the slight, air-distorting tremor than emenates from Gen's diminutive form, as energy chi fills him.
"This is no time to take a break!" He's a sensitive older gentleman. Despite the harsh snap, however, the assassin -does- hold back for the moment. ... though whether it's actually for Chun-Li's benefit is eminently debateable. "Get up, show me what else you have honed over these years. I trained you to cleave through destiny, not buckle and die!" Which is, given Chun-Li's father's fate and her particular aims? Entirely possible for the World's Strongest Woman, in Gen's estimations. He slides back into a defensive stance, white voids of eyes narrowing, hands clenching into too-dense weapons of war.
COMBATSYS: Gen calculates his next move.
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Gen 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Chun-Li
Gen's bark triggers some primal Pavlovian response within Chun-Li. Immediately, she's a student again, being told to kick higher, stand straighter, stop eating like some kind of disgraceful Kyokugen disciple, et cetera. And every time, she listened and obeyed. Just like now -- Gen's words have her kipping back up to her feet in not even a second flat. She seems to be full of a renewed spirit, god help her.
"Haah!" she cries, moving forward with a power and grace that wraps aggression in tranquility and ends up equally at home in either. She looks like she's going for another Kikouken when suddenly she's upside down.
Chun-Li's legs come at Gen like a cyclone embracing the midwest. Her technique is flawless, so it's only a question of catching Gen at some brief instant where his /isn't/. She cries as she thunders forward:
"SPINNING BIRD KICK!"
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li successfully hits Gen with Spinning Bird Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Gen 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Chun-Li
There's a small grunt, satisfaction, from the elder assassin at Chun-Li's reaction to the urging. None of the fervor is misdirected, no hesitance.. no doubt.. no protesting pride. She acts. Acts with precision, strength, and ample training. It's something that the old master gets a rather brutal picture of, as his skull is repeatedly reamed by the power in those legs, the spinning assault inverting his own twisting kicks and amplifying them, perhaps. Driven backwards, Gen slides on his feet, blood launching from his mouth and nose as her feet collide in kick after kick, blowing through his attempt at a guard and crushing cartiledge and flesh with much aplomb.
The Triad legend skids free, crashing to his knee, fingertips dragging along the ground as he comes to rest at the edge of the heated pool, white eyes snapping back up to perhaps his most masterful student. This time, the diminutive old master does smile. It's warm, pleased - if a bit menacing through the blood that traces his teeth and mouth in places. "Precisely." Gen concurs with his beating, apparently. Or something like that. "But you hunt no simple prey, girl!" The protest is probably little to do with Gen himself, in the end. Particularly as he amends, "You seek out death itself, ruthless and implacable!" ... then again, he could mean himself, really. The hand that braces him flexes to his side as he pushes to his feet, as eyes narrow, attention squarely on the Strongest Woman in the World.
In a flash, Gen is no longer there, but he is.. well, /here/, from Chun-Li's perspective. He crosses the distance in a flash of motion, afterimages barely left time to form as the black-clad assassin launches out as if guided by that singular stroke. His path would take him in on Chun-Li's flank, seeking that instant, undefended hole in her technique in turn. A palm strikes out - or more appropriately, the fingers of that palm. One, two, three, four. There's no tap to explode the woman's heart sought, at least not this time. Perhaps not quite as merciless as first reported - but the point apparently stands. The ancient, deadly technique taps points of precise, essential circuitry around and over her heart itself, with deceptive force. Most are inclined to check for exit wounds in their back. ... should they get the opportunity to check at all.
COMBATSYS: Gen successfully hits Chun-Li with Zan'ei.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Gen 0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Chun-Li
For a moment, Chun-Li is still.
Then the World's Strongest Woman is exploded backward as if Gen's move had been to slip a land mine beneath her. She bounces on her shoulder, thrashes and kicks, essentially having a heart attack. But she doesn't back down, even as she sputters herself to her feet and her stance is like a broken toy's.
If nothing else, the act of defiance constitutes one important thing: it's the first time she's gotten up from that.
"Hhh hhh huuuhh hhhh," the Chinese warrior woman sounds, breathing like a horse gulping air as she prepares herself for one last go of things. If she fails -- which she accepts as a possibility -- she will at least have gone out trying. But by the time her brain even remotely considers that, her body has taken over for her.
It starts with one kick and then continues on into infinity kicks. The goal is as much to dazzle and disorient as outright attack -- legs rendered as three-card monte. But instead of the queen, there's a punt up into the air -- to be followed by a blazing, chi-drenched flip and a spin into yet another Spinning Bird Kick. Once more, with feeling, and all that.
COMBATSYS: Gen dodges Chun-Li's Housenka.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Gen 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Chun-Li
That she survived, that she stands... this seems to impress Gen, even if Chun-Li didn't successfully evade or defend the legendary, lethal technique. One white brow arches as she finds breath, finds stance with it. There's a motion of that striking hand, whipping it off to the side... as if it were a blade struck through with an Iaido motion not unlike the one he made, killing on the draw, and leaving the weapon coated with blood. The stance slides back out wide, hands hovering before him like talons, those empty eyes holding to her evenly. There's no time to assess, no time to lecture or teach, not through anything but ready action.
It's that action that he takes, the man who taught her to strike that quickly answering the blurring kicks with his own alarming alacrity, darting left, right, back. Feet barely touch the ground at any point, the elder assassin's actual form difficult to discern - indeed, impossible, for most of the onlookers - from the three or four others left in the last three or four places that he was forced out of by those snapping, meteoric strikes. He paces Chun-Li's assault, backpedaling for each push forward. Weaving with agility that seems nearly translocational, and probably has something to do with quantum mechanics.
He doesn't rise with her leap, ducking clear, and rolling into a somersault as he retreats from the still-seeking, punishing legs. The eruption of chi that comes with the finale grazes past him as he tumbles a second time, clear and around to one flank. He teeters on the edge of the pool, nods once to the famously mighty woman who stands in place of the girl he trains... "Good." Is his only word, despite his own defense approving of the technique, the word having the air of coming to decision within himself. For the moment, that decision seems to be to answer her in his own fashion.
It's not as extensive as the onslaught unleashed on him, but the technique follows the same philosophy. One striking, flexed talon of a hand launches out. It launches out uncountable times, at points from face to waist, as if seeking to pummel Chun-Li in her everything, all at once, the old master sliiiiding forward as he throws ample force into the flurry assault.
COMBATSYS: Gen successfully hits Chun-Li with Hyakurenkou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Gen 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Chun-Li
Chun-Li threw so much into that rampage that it's inevitable that she end up a bit depleted by its end. Not as quick as she should be -- not off her game, but not at its A-level, either. And in that moment of weakness, she is punched in the face.
Literally one billion times.
Chun is up for a second. She looks determined, focused. The fight hasn't left her and those punches have barely even affected her! What did Gen do? Tickle her?
Then she starts to move her hand, to raise it to strike her mentor. And that's when Chun-Li's central nervous system pretty much just shuts off. She topples to the ground, and if she can even think clearly in her bright new mini-coma, she can at least be confident that there's no shame in losing to a man such as Gen.
No shame, but certainly a rematch. One day.
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Chun-Li can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/------=|
The nigh-infinite punchings do end, soon enough if not as soon as one might wish for, and Gen comes out of the assault ready to defend against whatever Chun-Li levels his way next. Which, in this instance, turns out to be a half-finished high-five, or some such. There's a small huffed exhalation as the Strongest Woman in the World falls away instead, the diminutive Chinese master moving to stand at the side of the fallen warrioress. To finish her off?!? ... not today.
Gen stoops, kneeling lower than his miniscule height normally provides for of its own accord, and lightly pushes a bit of Chun-Li's hair away from bun, and ear, "You are not ready." The old master laments, at first glance kicking her while she's down in another way, "But you are ready to become ready." Which makes all kinds of more sense, after a fashion. The elder assassin rises, and strokes hand through his beard as he turns away from Chun-Li, glancing back to her thoughtfully, "Soon." The singular promise fades as the announcer shifts in, counting down to the elimination.
"CHUN LI. ELIMINATION. ROUND THREE.... COMMENCE!!" An invitation for the next potential Queen of Fighters to step into the ring, if ever there was one.
COMBATSYS: Gen drops his guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Gen takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/------=|
Vanessa doesn't really have anything like decency, so the fact that the brochure called it into question mostly earned a quizzical eyebrow. She's been here - observing, as is her wont, one gloved hand on the curve of her hip, the other lazily resting against the wall of the onsen. Her usual halter button-ups and suspenders would be a little uncomfortable, here; she's opted for a low-cut one-piece in white and red, a pair of Oakleys slapped on over her eyes despite the fact that this is an onsen, not the beach.
She frowns at the battles. Haggar and Rose, one to one. Eyes briefly tick to Haggar warming himself up over in the onsen. As minimal as it can possibly be, huh? She can't help but laugh.
And then, Chun-li, thoroughly trounced by the old master. Siiigh. She rolls her shoulder, pushing off the wall as Gen sets down for his offered rest. Gen's pretty tough...she fights hard, trains to be able to take on men like Igniz and Gen, but at that level there's luck as much or more than skill in the equation. And backup. Backup's good. Backup's something she doesn't have right now.
Still... She lets herself grin a little, slipping the shades off her nose, tossing them in the direction of the film crew to hold on to and possibly sell.
Round three, someone yells, and she clenches her fist tight - gloved even here, silken things that offer no comfort to the recipients of her punches.
She waits for the crew to wheel Chun-li off to be treated for her thorough Genning, and then glances at the old Chinese man, cocking one, fine eyebrow. What the hell do you say to a guy like this? "Ol' man," she says with a bit of the old drawl, one edge of her lips quirked up. "Guess there's no point conversin', huh?"
She sets her feet. She hears, "THIRD ROUND! VANESSA VERSUS GEN!" bang in her ears, and when the "BEGIN!" sounds she pushes off right away. Don't let him have a second, a nanosecond, push in and keep pushing! She blurs across the wet floor like it were vapor, a rapid sketch across the distance, swinging a hook punch for the old man before the slide even fully ends!
COMBATSYS: Vanessa has joined the fight here.
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Gen
COMBATSYS: Vanessa successfully hits Gen with Dash Puncher.
- Power hit! -
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Gen
Despite the rather humid climate, and the fight to this point within it, Gen remains largely composed, even in fine silks. The underworld figure and the ex-INTERPOL agent that he trained might seem an odd arrangement, at a glance, but the Triad shadow seems unlikely to speak further on it as the Chinese woman is cleared out of the proverbial line of fire. Possibly into Haggar's line of fire, however. Speaking of new challengers... the enigmatic assassin turns his head as Vanessa steps out, one white brow arching.
There's a quiet grunt from Gen, "Another." Precisely what the diminutive Chinese fellow means by that is left up in the air. Another vigilante. Another woman on a revenge trip. Another fighter in the roster that the senile old goat may or may not have forgotten completely, "You are an even bigger foo.."
He doesn't quite get it out before Vanessa whallops him in the face, the old master's skull snapping around with the reverberating impact, one foot dropping behind the other as he reels back, his admittedly elderly skull surprisingly resilient, his stance stable... but not without a degree of surprise as he's staggered back, sliding down into a crouch. "Hmf. Guess you are serious." There's a certain ominous note to that, granted.
Gen lunges to his feet in short order, straight in on the swimsuited boxer, his left hand snapping out suddenly, hand flexed as it flies in to assist an abrupt forearm chop for the redhead's throat, right hand snapping out in an inverted palmstrike, tapping once, then /slamming/ in for Vanessa's ribs, a stroke that might be felt out one's back. Thankfully, this would not prove (quite) the case. "But are -you- any more ready for this.. than Chun-Li?" The question comes somewhere between just before, and in tandem with the attack. Almost curious.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Gen's Combo Attack.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Gen
Vanessa hears what he was saying, but seems to let it roll off her. Then again, she's a largely inscrutable woman - she smiles even when she's furious, drinks when she's got a plan. It's the sort of personality that's singularly difficult to pin down. She squints a bit when the hit impacts. He's strong, she thinks. She knew that - nobody who could take down Chun-li is /weak/, least of all anyone she'd call /Master/. "'s somethin' they taught me back home," Vanessa says, with a nonchalant quirk of her lip, feet sliding back and forth, juking and weaving. "Live life to the hilt, right? Seems like the sorta lesson a guy like you'd know pretty well." She grins, a little too wide to be strictly friendly. And then Gen tries to break her entire body off.
Vanessa's good, and fast - forearms moving in quick, fluid movements. Gen is fast, but Vanessa manages to make her movements count, thrusting to avert the chop to her throat, the other arm intercepting the slam toward her ribs. She can feel the force reverberate through her skeleton, incredible strength! "Tch," she mutters out. Old guy's got some muscle on him, she thinks. Not actually good for her, aren't tiny old Chinese guys supposed to be flimsy and stuff? "Can't say I'm in the business of sayin' how ready someone is to face a master, ol' man," the Boxing Queen notes, switching her feet a few times to try and get the ache out of her shins that seems to have propagated from her /wrists/. Her feet are bare, the floor is wet, she's making a thousand little mental adjustments to her stance and positioning to keep herself stable. This is not really ideal. Then again, fighting him is not exactly an ideal in the first place. "But I try to keep a good outlook!" She laughs, and then lunges - blurs across that distance again. She's fast, that's her /thing/, she blinks across the distance and Gen's only warning is a thundered, "BODY!" as Vanessa swings a shattering left hook, and "BODY!" as she swings around with a right, "BODY BODY!" again and again! "BODY BODY!" and fifth and sixth, and "UPPER!" she cries out, and tries to send Gen's old body through the roof.
COMBATSYS: Gen blocks Vanessa's Machine Gun Puncher.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Gen
"So long as one's reach does not outstretch the reach of their flabby little arms." Gen concedes, partially. Okay, only very slightly partially, at least at first glance. The short old man may or may not be an expert on the topic - there's certainly nothing soft about the assassin's guard. The latter retort brings little more than a grunt from the Triad legend, apparently satisfied with the response. Or at the very least, tied up in dealing with its punctuation. The sudden assault sets Gen back in a wide, steadfastly defensive stance. Time after time her forearm resounds into forearm, into palm, into the back of Gen's clenched hand. The old man sets a stern countenance as he retreats under the pressure, decidedly tacticly.
The moment that uppercut reverberates through his arms, feet skidding back rather than leaving the floor, the seemingly ironclad old man smirks darkly... and lashes out with his left hand. Many, many times in quick succession, that hand seems to strike high, low, all at once, lashing out in untold variety in a blur of sleeve and striking knuckles. Not unlike a technique another Chinese fighter on Vanessa's team may possess... and also a decided variation on the one used to knock out the other vigilante, as Gen stalks forward behind the blurring flurry.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Gen's Hyakurenkou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Gen
Gen concedes to her. A little. Kind of. In a sort of sidewise way. Well, at least he refrains from doing the Igniz thing and declaring her a fool for daring to ever step to the almighty glory of /blah blah blah/.
A series of powerful blows she releases, and is surprised to see him taking them in his own turn. Eyes narrow, a fraction, reassessing her options. She'd been hoping that would go through. But then, where Vanessa unleashed a quick barrage of mighty blows, Gen follows up with a million billion of the same, crashing into her...
And Vanessa moves quickly. She can't block all of them, he's faster than that, but the way she jukes and weaves it may as well be; hits miss their mark, miss entirely, shoved to one side or the other by her arms. It's exhausting. She can't play this game forever. But she manages to walk away from it this time. Like Chun-li's little trick, she thinks. Scary. Gen stalks forward behind the unstopping wave, and Vanessa, a technical fighter through and through, gives inches to him in the process...but she does not let him get a clean blow, and just when she gauges he's completed his swings, Vanessa lunges, grabs Gen by the robes - and slams her face toward his with a shout!
COMBATSYS: Gen dodges Vanessa's Headbutt.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Gen
It's an early lesson among many in his long, long life, for Gen. Almighty glory is.. a rather relative concept. To the beginner student, the adept seem virtually mystical. The masters? Inconceivable. But so it goes, and many lose sight. For his part, the elder assassin doesn't seem to be here to self-promote. If anything, the old master is subdued about who he is, why he's here... not so much, Takuma Sakazaki or Mike Haggar, though. Gen certainly rolls with a colorful crew.
Vanessa's defense draws a small nod from the short master, but there is no relenting in that flurry. Instead, he punishes her guard, tests the defenses further, and as Vanessa turns his aggressive stance against him, Gen retracts it, like waves receding from the beach. The Triad shadow is there, and then he's not, darting in a sudden, momentary blur as the redhead grapples in.
He falls back only an arm's length, however. As her grip catches air, his seeks it at the extension, quickly turning the momentum once more. His fingers seek to close harshly over one fist or forearm, before Gen simply cartwheels through the air, a sudden spin that brings him around towards Vanessa's flank, seeking to twist her arm painfully in the first motion, and flip her around into a brutal landing of her own with a sudden, driving sweep of one deceptively short leg.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa fails to interrupt Medium Throw from Gen with Puncher Vision.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Gen
Vanessa's the color on her crew. It's just the way she is, has been - the public has caught glimpses of some great rage, but for most, and increasingly even in duress, the fiery boxer seems to keep herself surprisingly composed, with a grin and a laugh for all.
Though that's not to say she's a fool, either. Her eyes are sharp, attentive. Eyes narrow as she fails to catch him. She doesn't have a lot of room to manevuer in this fight. Mistakes are costly, but risks will have their rewards, too. She sees him darting back, and getting in position. Throw. She's tired - those hits from before wore her out. Then, she's got to...!
She swings in, blurring forward with a sudden surge. The air ripples behind her, images of her speed, and--"WHOOF!"
She's not totally sure how she ended up on the floor, but she sure did. Vanessa stares up, trying to get air back in her lungs for half a second, before she quickly rolls up to her feet. Can't afford to stay down. She just...can't. She quickly falls back into stance, one hand snapping up to slide one of her suit straps back into place, quickly.
Just never get Chun-Li going, she can jump like a crazed simian and giggle insanely with the best of them. It's possible his assessment is colored by the years between that training and the present day. The redhead certainly stands her ground. Gen observes the stance, the attempt to turn his assault around on him glimpsed in the periphery of his mind, deftly flanks Vanessa as she rights herself. Finally, the old master charges.
It's a motion forward, then abruptly sidelong, kicking off the side of one of the bathhouse's walls and twisting in. Clawed fingers strike in, a singular, penetrating motion like the talon of some predatory bird, aligning to dig in for Vanessa's midsection, and twist - firing a surprising amount of complaints from one's nerves, if Gen has his way. It's followed by a flat-palmed slam, stepping bodyweight in solidly as the singular, projecting attack seeks to destabilize the redhead's still-aggressive footing anew.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Gen's Improvised Grapple.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Vanessa 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Gen
Maybe that's why she didn't squint too hard at Vanessa drinking at their team meeting. Regardless: The old man hammers in. Vanessa's defenses are pretty good, it seems, but she's losing the battle on offense pretty badly. Got to even the scores, but can she count on herself to hit when it counts? She's feeling it all over - and this guy, even from just that one good hit, has got her nearly reeling. Slow breath. Accept him. He's fast, but she knows how to deal with fast!
He swings at her midsection. She has no intention of letting him get away with whatever he's trying - hands snap down, shove Gen's assault to the side. He's too close, too aggressive, for her to have the time to build up her whirlwind assault, but power starts to whip around her arms anyway, the mists from the onsen starting to fade away, tracing rapidly up and around her arms and body. She shoves through and inward; jukes to one side to avoid the slam to her midsection, feels it somewhere anyway, feels the protests of her arms as she deflects him, and then, yelling a cry as she pours all her strength into the swing, the mists of the onsen spiraling around her punching arm as a whirlwind explodes into being, and she lunges at Gen with a howl to drive it into him, drive it through him, and hopefully subseuqently drive /him/ through the /floor/.
One of the straps of her bathing suit slides down; she lets it go.
COMBATSYS: Gen interrupts Puncher Finish EX from Vanessa with Juraku.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Vanessa 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\0 Gen
One thing's for certain: This next offensive? Both are going to feel that collision in the morning. Gen's swift assault largely deflected, the old master mixes up his game, stepping up to meet the redheaded boxer's charged offensive full on. He recovers a stable stance quickly, agile and ready to move despite his years. WHat may not be so expected is that he uses that quick adaptive form to drive back -against- the clobbering haymaker. Even as it slams into and across his brow, his right, closer fist darts out... only to recoil in an instant, as if testing the distance in one blurring preparative motion... or perhaps simply feinting for the left, which comes across Gen's body to grab Vanessa's loose suitstrap, along with the shoulder beyond.
Dropping forward, his center of gravity headed floorward, but not in a knockout. Instead, he draws Vanessa forward by that lunging hand, and only then does his right fist crashes out in a triphammer blow opposed by her own weight... or perhaps simply the momentum. Blood runs from the old master's mouth as he runs a hand through slightly stained beard, smiling out of one corner of his mouth. "Mm." It's a good start, by his reckoning. And he's just exploding with praise about it. After a fashion.
Vanessa swings - all her strength and power into it, trying to equalize the odds or at least put some /hurt/ into this. No time to think, plan; just fight.
She can sense he's going to get up to something mid-swing, but as always in a fight like this, the moment occurs almost too fast to be perceived. He feints her; she plows through, only to find Gen grabbing her falling suit strap, using it to get grip with his wrinkly old hands!
Vanessa is bad at tracking throws, but she knows that she struck, mostly - he had to absorb a lot of the blow to get into that position. Unfortunately, he uses the position gamely despite the power he had to eat to gain it; Vanessa staggers back, energies dissipating as Gen slams her hard, and there's choking sounds in the back of her throat as she tries to get air back in her lungs. She takes a couple seconds, wobbling indecisively...
He's bleeding from the mouth, grinning a little, emitting that little hum of...something. Vanessa wipes a little blood from the corner of her own lip with those black gloves, and mutters, "Not...bad," possibly not actually at Gen. She can feel the world spinning. She could push on - she's not /that/ hurt, she can feel her arms aching to release another barrage of strength, but...
If it were life or death, it'd be different; if it were Igniz, or Zero, or one of those other bastards, then maybe, she'd consider it. Chizuru's up to something, but...she can't pull this one out. And if she did - if she by some miracle laid Gen out - they'd still have their third.
Vanessa laughs, a quiet, "Guess I'll take that," as the dizziness finally seizes her, and she falls flat on her back, dazed.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Vanessa can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Gen 0/-------/=======|
Log created on 21:14:05 02/14/2011 by Haggar, and last modified on 13:58:58 02/26/2011.