Description: In the first round of the King of Fighters tournament, an epic clash rages back and forth. Though facing Kyo Kusanagi and his formidable Hero Team, New Face Team (now with 66% new faces) proves decisively that you should never underestimate the underdog, by going completely nuts in a variety of fascinating ways. But in the end, can they stand against the legendary flames, or will they be burnt away like so many others before? Read or /never know/.
PLACE: RIO DI JANEIRO
TIME: 10:06pm
he Theatro Municipal... a great and wonderful landmark, the brightly-lit columns rising above the street level on a warm Rio night. Frankly, however, anyone would be lucky to see the building; its exterior patios and balconies are thronged with fighting fans from all over the world screaming and waving, and down below the street is much the same. Taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime event, the streets are crowded with musicians and dancers, like a second mini-coming of the famous Carnival. However, the plaza in front of the building, along the Rua Evaristo de Veiga, is blocked off for one reason and one reason alone:
The King of Fighters 2011.
Overhead, the night sky above Rio is dotted with fireworks, and the sounds of the crowd and the music fill the warm, fragrant air. To Moe Habana, who grew up in northern California and then moved to Southtown, it's like being on another planet... never mind the fact that for the first match of the tournament, they're sending her out to lead off! The Taiyo senior is practically bursting with pride and sensory overload, which is probably a side effect of not knowing the probability that her team management sent her out first to deal with cannon fodder because she's third string(*). Still, as countless Oscar nominees have said over the years, she's just happy to be included, which is why as she enters the ring and the crowd... sort of cheers (it's not like she's a household name), she's still pretty damn cheerful.
(* high)
"WELCOME TO KING OF FIGHTERS!" mangles the Brasilian announcer, opting for something approximating English. "TONIGHT YOU'LL SEE FIGHTING MAGIC HAPPEN! BRING HANDS TOGETHER FOR... MO HABANA!"
She doesn't even twitch. Instead, the Mistress of the Slicing Fist decides to do some katas, working her way through it, punctuating each syllable of her sentence with a punch or kick that cuts the air with speed. "IT'S!" *punch* "PRONOUNCED!" *kick* "'MO-AY'!" *pose*
The crowd roars. They can't help it.
SOME TIME AGO
DR. TRAN'S HOTEL ROOM
Yashiro bursts through the door (without knocking because he's an ASS), then stops dead in his tracks because it is /completely trashed/. There's not a single intact piece of furniture left, and carved in the bathroom mirror in big slashy letters is 'WHERE IS SHE'. In the middle of this maelstrom of destruction, Tran sleeps like a baby angel.
Without saying a word, Yashiro turns around and treks back to his own room, vowing not to be outdone at his own FANTASTIC ROCKSTAR LIFESTYLE by the /new guy/.
NOW
Dr. Richard Tran is just barely, /barely/ keeping his shit together. He's pacing. He's clenching his hands into fists, over and over. Teeth grind. He's been like this for days, on edge, /somehow/ even more violent and moody than usual.
And hell, he doesn't even know who he's fighting, yet.
In fact, up until Moe herself takes it upon herself to correct the announcer, Dr. Tran has been assuming he will fight a crotchety, curly-haired bartender who may or may not be an incredibly unhealthy shade of yellow. In his defense, he's not really thinking straight right now.
Stalking forward without waiting for the announcer, Dr. Tran is already starting to give off a thick coat of steam. The poor Brazilian man hurries to the finish.
"HERE COMES..." dramatic pause "...DR. TRAN! LET'S GIVE IT UP!"
Tran opts to make an announcement of his own, ignoring the roar of the crowd as if he doesn't even realize that it might make it hard to hear what he's saying.
"IT'S! PRONOUNCED! GO TO HELL!" It may serve as some consolation to his more hardcore fans that his stinging, rapier wit remains sharp as ever.
History will look at this as the moment where it all went wrong.
Moe seems pumped! KoF is a major event, so why shouldn't she be happy about it? These guys are from Brasil, so why should they know how to pronounce her name? There's no sense getting ruffled about it. Oh hey, there's her opponent showing up. He... well, that's an interesting look, but it's not like Miu Kurosaki seems like anything from a distance either, until she actually lands a blow. Maybe this g--
When the Japanese-American focuses on Tran, REALLY sits there and looks him over, it's like a switch goes off in her head. For the briefest of seconds, her pupils dilate, even. Something is... really really wrong.
"C'mon, guy," she says calmly to the announcer, even as she pulls on her handguards and slams a fist into the opposite palm in a disturbingly Sakura-like manner. "Ring the bell."
Looking startled at the sudden showdown, the announcer... backs up slowly, and does just that. "ROUND WAN! FAAAAAAAAAAAA-EET!"
The bell hasn't even had time to totally die away before Moe is dashing across the fenced-off arena, looking to swing a snap kick right into Tran's jaw. "LET'S DO THIS."
COMBATSYS: Moe has started a fight here.
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Moe 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tran has joined the fight here.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Moe
COMBATSYS: Tran blocks Moe's Medium Kick.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Moe
Moe might be pumped, but her excitement only makes Dr. Tran's anger harder. That /enthusiasm/. That /excitement/. That /instant willingness to violently attack him/.
Nevermind that somewhere in that rage-muddled brain, the doctor already had plans to completely destroy Moe Habana on a molecular level. This is /justification/ (that he doesn't need anyway). As far as he's concerned, she's just a corpse that's still breathing, which means as a doctor he has an obligation to make sure she's for-reals dead.
Things might not actually be making much sense, but Tran still has enough presence of mind to raise a steam-sheathed arm to absorb Moe's kick, knocked to the side slightly by the impact.
"I'll..." The doctor hisses the words and then abruptly rebounds, the back of his hand swinging wildly around in a slap that's all the more vicious for the steam-explosion that accompanies it.
"I'LL DO YOU!"
It's possible that if he wasn't completely berserk right now, Tran would literally die of shame on the spot.
COMBATSYS: Tran has awoken to his Rage.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Moe
Moe says, "ohhh geez."
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Moe with Medium Punch.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Moe
And suddenly, Moe's on the other side of the ring.
The resulting punch that Tran delivers is so vicious in scope, and the effects so dramatic, that the crowd -- the ENTIRE CROWD -- goes from raucously loud to INSTANTLY SILENT in the blink of an eye. The last noise that's heard in the sudden vacuum is the metallic *CLANG!* of Moe hitting the arena divider fence... and then going over and through it.
It's a while, before she gets back up, and when she does she looks... messed up. Whatever the hell Tran just did, it hit her like a ton of bricks being wielded by a man made of bricks with the Brick Power buff at 10 stacks. A little trickle of blood runs down her nose, which the Taiyo senior wipes off her face with one handguard before narrowing her eyes at Tran. All traces of happy-bubbly Moe are gone. And she doesn't look dissuaded by that blow in the least. If anything, she looks *even more determined* than she was before. "I dunno what it is about you, Short Round," the schoolgirl says, cracking her knuckles. "But I seriously want to mess you UP."
There's a wide-eyed pause, as she considers what she just said, and the last time she felt this way. Those guys, at Seijyun...
"GET READY!" Moe shouts, rushing Tran in a dead run and attempting to get a grip on his shirt or coat. If she does, the Doc goes over the shoulder and onto the ground behind Moe... who then proceeds to slam her fist down as hard as possible on his NECK.
Oh dear.
COMBATSYS: Moe successfully hits Tran with Hanekaze.
- Power hit! -
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Tran [E] 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Moe
...is that it? Even Dr. Tran seems to be stunned for a moment. Where did...where did /she go/. It takes him a bit to realize that oh, she's just over there now.
It occurs to him that that probably means she's a ninja.
In the moment where the doctor is distracted, screaming his suddenly /overwhelming/ anger to the heavens in the midst of a silent crowd, Moe recovers sufficiently to strike. He is essentially caught completely unaware.
In what seems like no time at all, now Dr. Tran is the one teleporting, except it's into the ground, and immediately afterward somebody is PUNCHING HIS NECK OW. His scream of pain is temporarily downgraded to a raspy exhalation of agony.
And yet, despite what is clearly some pretty amazing damage to temporarily mute him, Tran doesn't seem to feel it. Almost immediately, he's reaching up for the young girl, grabbing at her outstretched arm and collar simultaneously, trying to pull her down to him.
And then the doctor's body /contorts/, sending his head flying up to meet hers on a terrible, terrible collision course.
COMBATSYS: Moe blocks Tran's Charged Combo.
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Tran [E] 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Moe
You can even SEE the 'what the hell is going on here' in Moe's eyes as Tran reaches up to grab her, and she'd hoped that would at least put him down for the count long enough for her to recover and take a deep breath or two. It is not; she has maybe seconds to react to the horror movie-style grab but she manages it, letting her body go loose and ignoring the sudden forward fall. Her arms cross in front of her face just in time, as Tran's steamy headbutt slams into her guard painfully, scalding her arms and sending her stumbling back a few steps. She... might be able to deflect an attack like that again, provided she has MAJOR SURGERY TO REPLACE HER ARMS.
Sadly, at this point, it's 'put her down or put her out'. Moe shakes her head, and tries to get into the rhythm of this again, shaking out her arms and stepping from side to side, quickly, trying to stay in motion. "Well, you got power behind your moves, I'll grant you that," the Habana scion says, trying to fight that voice in her head that's urging her to really just rip this guy's FACE off. The intensity of it bothers her, probably because she's not use to it. Thankfully, that makes her *question* it, which is why she hasn't given in and done something crazy l--
Oh, Moe, no, don't do *that*.
The thing she is doing, in fact, is rushing back in. She knows in the back of her mind that this isn't tactically sound, that she should be analyzing the situation and trying to figure out a way to deal with this, but she just... can't.
Her blood is boiling. Howling, even.
"Not my fault," the Taiyo senior says, rushing forward, fist cocked, "that you've got all the grace of a HUTT!" And then she swings that arm forward, intending to coldcock Mr. Headbutt with all the schoolgirl superstrength she can muster.
COMBATSYS: Tran parries Moe's Strong Punch!
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Tran [E] 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Moe
There's impact; but it's not enough. She /blocked/ his headbutt. How /dare/ she. It's a mockery. It's yet another attack, not just on him (like the fist she is swinging at his brain), but on his very /dignity/.
A part of the doctor tries to protest. She's not doing anything /wrong/, exactly, it's just cooincidence that she's a schoolgirl and capable of defending herself against him, that they're even fighting right now!
Unfortunately for that part and its efforts, Dr. Tran has long since ceased believing in the very concept of cooincidence.
"SHUT UP!" He swats her punch aside with a short, clipped smack that (mercifully) does not explode and/or shatter her entire skeleton like peanut brittle. It does, however, leave him right up in her bidness, face to angry, steaming face. Seriously it is just pouring out of him, out of his mouth, his nose, even his /eyes/ have little trails of it rising up.
And then he chops his hand across his own chest, leaving a trail of its own behind. The steam solidifies instantly into a thin, razor sharp boomerang, which seems to fly forward completely of its own volition. And, in the interest of making sure there aren't any other misunderstandings, Tran adds a personal note.
"NOW DIE!" Eloquent.
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Moe with American Hero Cutter EX.
- Power hit! -
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Tran [E] 1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1 Moe
Something's wrong.
At the *very last second* Moe suddenly yanks back, looking at Tran in confusion (and let's face it, a little bit of despair, he really just no-sold her punch terribly well). It is only this last minute, instinctive, totally subconscious moment of self-defense that keeps what follows from becoming a tragedy rather than a setback. The steam-arang suddenly flicks out toward her and Moe grits her teeth, trying to buckle down and power through it, but that's not meant to be. Possessing the force of a fury-fueled Tran, the steam blade slams into her already burned and battered arms, sending the Taiyo student back across the 'arena'... against her will, as her set feet drag shallow troughs in the concrete. She's left hurt, confused, and now separated from Tran by a longer distance than she'd hoped.
'Now die?'
Suddenly the girl is sprinting toward Tran so fast you can almost HEAR the Bionic Woman sound effect kick in. Dropping low, she extends both arms, hands palm out, and starts to twirl toward Tran in a spiralling dash attack, shouting "YOU FIRST!"
And if she gets that far, well...
COMBATSYS: Tran parries Moe's Sakura Fubuki!
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Tran [E] 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Moe
And there she goes again, all the way over there. Goddamn /ninja/, even when he thinks he's doing well, there they go, being all tricky and zipping around and doing everything they can to completely piss him off.
Well, Tran's had enough of that. Even though staying back and waiting for Moe might, tactically, be the best option, the doctor doesn't have the patience for that shit. He rushes her, charging toward her just as fast as she charges toward him. She goes down, twirling, and there's a bright, completely inexplicable flash of light.
Suddenly, Tran is on the other side of Moe, completely untouched. Another important detail: rings. Small white chi rings of varying sizes, running up both arms, razor-sharp blades jutting out on both sides. They're rotating slowly, but in the space of a moment or two they speed up until they seem to be completely smooth like chakrams.
And then he turns around and tries to brain her with one of them.
"GGGRAH! NO! NO, YOU!"
COMBATSYS: Moe fails to interrupt Dr. Tran Licks an Onion EX from Tran with Enbi.
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Tran [E] 1/-======/=======|====---\-------\0 Moe
That's not... he just... she is going to turn around. She is going to turn around and kick him in the HEAD, as hard as humanly possible. She really, really is going to--
And now the camera pans to Moe, on her back, across the arena, staring sort of blankly up at the Rio sky. This is not how she imagined her real, big time professional fighting debut going, not at all. The fact that Tran has, more or less, basically beaten her to within a centimeter of unconsciousness in record time doesn't even register... there's always going to be somebody stronger or more skilled or both, losses happen. But for some reason getting punked so hard by THIS guy... it's gnawing at her.
That she doesn't know WHY is another thing entirely, and that's even more annoying. It's as if every time she gets close to him, Moe feels that... strange pull-push sensation you get trying to put the same poles of two magnets together. As if they just about are on the same wavelength but the harder you try to make them connect, the harder they push in the opposite direction...
As she gets up, wiping the blood from her face a second time, Moe resolves to mention this to Kyo... provided he's even speaking to her anymore, after the fiasco that is this fight.
"You want the win," she bites out, getting into a... let's face it, terribly wobbly stance, "you're going to have to earn 110% of it."
Like most things seem to be lately, it's infuriating. Completely infuriating. In fact, Dr. Tran should be overjoyed at this point; he's completely beating the pants off of a schoolgirl. There should be fireworks and celebrations and a parade, not this constant /burning/ running through his entire body, driving him on and on with barely any rest.
That vague knowledge that something's not right, naturally, only serves to make him angrier.
Unable to sort out what he is thinking from moment to moment, much less pinpoint his deep-seated emotions and motivations and what exactly is making him act like this, the only choice left to him is to continue onward, to fight and fight until he can't anymore, until there is nobody left.
"Win?" Moe, proving impressively resilient, is still first on the plate. The doctor rushes at her, hand outstretched to straight up palm her face, to lift her with unnatural strength.
"THERE ARE NO WINNERS!" And then there's another explosion.
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Moe with Quick Throw.
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Tran [E] 1/=======/=======|=======\-------\0 Moe
Moe really wants to evade that attack, but her body's not going to agree with her in this case. Tran's just done too much damage, and she's far, far too exhausted. The result is that he gets a grip on her, delivers his line of ultimate judgment, and then there is an explosion of steam! Sweet, burning, and most of all *obscuring* steam.
This is why, when it clears, Tran might be surprised to find Moe standing... right in front of him, rather than across the arena like she should be after that Dracula knockoff act he just pulled.
She has... maybe a couple seconds left in her. But that might be all she needs to at least give whoever comes into the fight after her a headstart. Plus... well. There's still that urge to clock this guy one really hard.
Her hand is a blur as she attempts to ram it into Tran's stomach in a vicious close-range gut punch, followed by a straight armed hammerblow intended to send Tran rocketing across the venue from Moe... because for whatever reason, even compared to other schoolgirls, Moe appears to have been endowed with a great and terrible physical power indeed. She also shouts, since it is appropriate, "THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS, _YOU AMAZING JERK_?!"
COMBATSYS: Moe can no longer fight.
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Tran [E] 1/=======/=======|
COMBATSYS: Tran parries Moe's Tsukiyomi EX!
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Tran [E] 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
For good or for ill, her final energies spent in one last howl, Moe topples over backwards into unconsciousness. "Sorry... Kusanagi-san..."
Shingo arrives from elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Moe, Dr. Tran is well-versed in the art of 'hiding in a cloud of steam while you prepare your ultimate attack/recover/practice your sudoku'. That shit is ingrained into him. Maybe if Moe had chosen a different cloud to hide in; dust is always a popular choice.
Plus, as has been established again and again, Moe is a ninja. /Obviously/ she would be hiding in the one place Dr. Tran can't see, just waiting to completely ruin his shit. Obviously.
It helps that the girl's on her last legs; she's not exactly moving fast right now. It's with obvious contempt that Dr. Tran smacks her initial gut-punch well-clear to the side, following it up by grabbing her arm on its way to him so that he can hold her up and shout right back in her face, spittle flying freely.
"WHAT POINT?!" Tran shoves the arm away and lets her fall, dominance clearly established. He begins to pace back and forth again, no longer having a real target. He gives Moe's unconcious body a light kick or two, but there's no real emotion behind it anymore. It's not enough. What's the point if she's not even concious?
And so Dr. Tran plays the waiting game again, barely able to stay in one spot as he waits for somebody to make themselves a target.
COMBATSYS: Tran takes no action.
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Tran [E] 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|
Yashiro arrives from elsewhere.
Reiji arrives from elsewhere.
K' arrives from elsewhere.
Things have gotten pretty topsy-turvy up in here. While the Hero Team's Reiji was finally able to put an end to Dr. Tran's reign of terror, he was eliminated himself in the process: Which puts the Hero Team two fighters down, with one remaining... While the New Faces are only one down, with two to go. It seems like a pretty bleak situation, and many people would be perfectly justified in giving up, right about now. Throwing in the towel. Putting a kibosh on the whole affair.
But... Kyo Kusanagi is not, by any stretch of the imagination, 'most people'.
In his carefully chosen ring attire of 'whatever he happened to feel like wearing today', specifically a pair of dark boot-cut jeans, motorcycle boots, a plain black belt with a wallet chain (to keep his wallet safe, of course, because he'll probably want a sandwich afterwards) along with a plain white t-shirt, the distinctive fingerless Kusanagi gloves he wears whenever he fights, and a black leather racing jacket, with the outlined sun of the Kusanagi emblem writ large on the back, Kyo hops over the safety barricade and lands easily inside of the fighting ring, adjusting his gloves as he strides forward.
"Okay, kids, the pre-game show is over. I dunno about you all, but I laughed, and I cried, and I learned something about myself. Now,"
Lifting his right hand, Kyo summons a brilliant crimson flame there, trapped in the cage of his extended fingers, before clenching his fist to snuff it out.
"Who's ready to start for real?"
COMBATSYS: Kyo has started a fight here.
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Kyo 0/-------/-------|
Yeah, it's a situation that calls for discretion stepping up as the better part of valor; KYO KUSANAGI is a rough third course when your warm-ups have been comparatively dainty. Tran's outstanding performance had left New Face's corner in some sort of paralyzed glee - they had NOT expected to get so far on their first fighter - but now, NOW... Well, already, the fighters' minders have started voicing their concerns.
"He's KYO KUSANAGI," states one of the team's trainers.
"Absolutely not," agrees CYS' lead publicist. "We can't have any of you damaging your faces; you're sending out that Shingo boy, or you're forfeiting!"
Several other support crew nod assertion- hell, even some of the AUDIENCE is. CYS' publicist is already throwing in the towel and reaching for Chris' shoulder.
"Come on, Chris, I'll buy you an ice c-" Chris is not there. That towel hasn't landed, either. These two facts are very related.
Kusanagi will find CYS' youngest member standing across from him, errantly tucking his team's towel into a back pocket, and fixing positively -glowing- eyes on Kusanagi. There's far less youthful appeal there than one might expect; instead, Chris' entire countenance shines with a particularly vengeful vitality, and his lips mimic a more wholesome smile- Chris simply is not in the frame of mind to be any sort of genuinely happy.
"-You're- friends with Iori or something, right? Boyfriend? I don't really give a shit," mutters the barely-teen, lifting his hands before him, fingers curling inwards and outwards in an odd, compulsive rhythm.
"You should know where he sleeps though, right? Someplace I can find him? Heh."
COMBATSYS: Chris has joined the fight here.
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Chris 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kyo
Naturally, then, Kyo finds himself facing off with, to use the technical term, 'a goddamn kid'.
"Ha ha ha, seriously?" the Kusanagi heir wonders, largely rhetorically, as regards Chris with an almost rueful smile, giving his head a brief shake. "You're the one following that crazy douche with the steam? Who's your team's anchor, Little Orphan Annie?" As ridiculous as he might find it - and make no mistake, he finds it /extremely/ ridiculous - Kyo is canny enough to be aware that there's something less than wholesome behind that cherubic smile, even before the kid starts mouthing off at him. "Am I going to have to fight a baby after I beat you? Because man, even I have limits."
Professional fighting, man. It's a crazy world.
Tilting his head a bit at Chris, the World Warrior champion actually /considers/ what the younger fighter said. "I dunno, did you check your mom's bedroom?" Kyo wonders, it not being in his nature to be even remotely helpful, and then he erupts into forward motion with such furious speed that he almost doesn't hear the announcer actually start the match.
"ROUND THREE," the announcer shouts almost forlornly in the background. "FIGHT!"
Not wasting any time, Kyo swings his right fist in a hooking punch, aimed at the side of Chris's head; the motion of his hand is followed by a guttering trail of flame in the air, and if he should manage to strike, a small explosion of sacred Kusanagi flame erupts where his punch lands. Nor is Kyo content to leave it at that, either... If the first punch gets any bite at all, the Kusanagi heir steps in, swinging his left fist in a near mirror image to his right, complete with more fire summoned from nothing, finishing it off with a /third/ punch, a thunderous uppercut delivered with his right fist to the underside of Chris's jaw, with a third and larger explosion of flame than the first two.
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Chris with Aragami.
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Chris 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Kyo
Ayame arrives from elsewhere.
He might be young, but Chris takes Kyo's platitudes better than the bulk of those the Kusanagi Scion might have fought against. Every quip the older man happens to throw Chris' way simply provokes more amusement to crawl across his features, and by the time Kyo's finished and the round begins, CYS' youngest star has responded with... absolutely nothing. His expression remains wolvish, his smile suggestive of a cat and some sort of trapped rodent, but--
"ROUND THREE," Chris' eyes shoot wide open, glacial irises quivering as though he'd been stabbed in the very back. Behind him, his minders and fans have already started lifting eyebrows, parting lips to shout some sort of encouragement. None of it matters a whit, really; by the time the first cries of "GET MOVING, KID!" ring out, Kyo's summoned up fires 'round that attacking fist. He closes the gap tremendously quickly, and this close, it's easy for one to see what's happened to the younger of the two combatants.
Chris' knees are shaking, his fists fail to form, his feet are practically glued to the floor beneath them. Already, he's started hyperventilating, his eyes have started to take on that pre-bawl shimmer, waterlogged in record time--
*FWOOH*
*PHOOHM*
**PHWUGH**
Chris, immolated, sails through the air to land head-first on the ground ten feet behind him, a shattered wreck, blood set to trickling from his shattered jaw, bubbling in the two seconds it takes to completely evaporate from his skin. Surely it's traumatic pain -- surely, it's the sort of thing that sends lesser men to the hospital on a stretcher.
"I..." His voice crackles forth, parched from the abating fires, and he manages to pull himself to hands and knee, head hunched forward. The boy examines his other hand curiously; it's as though he expected there to be something there. There is not.
"...Nothing?"
COMBATSYS: Chris gains composure.
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Chris 0/-------/--=====|=------\-------\0 Kyo
Settling easily back into the simple fighting stance of Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu in the aftermath of hella punching Chris, Kyo is mildly surprised to see that the teen's response is to do... Nothing? Kyo might almost wonder if Chris hadn't wandered into the wrong place by mistake, or if this was somehow never supposed to happen, if the rest of the New Faces are just there to pad out the team, and somehow that guy whose name Kyo can't actually remember was somehow expected to win the whole enchilada Like... Some kind of publicity stunt, or something.
Unfortunately, they did not get matched up with the right team, if they were hoping for musician-related leniency.
"If you're trying to make me feel bad, I gotta tell you I'm fresh out of 'giving a shit'," the arrogant Kusanagi says, stepping forward and reaching down in a simple attempt to grab Chris by the scruff of his neck. "Why so interested in Yagami, anyway? Upset that he didn't want to come out and play? He's pretty temperamental like that."
Should Kyo get his way, here, he's going to help Chris out by hauling him up into the air! ....And then flipping the kid over in a sort of judo throw, to smash him down into the stage of the Theatro Municipal. Don't worry, though, because Chris won't be by alone: Kyo will /follow/ him down, to slam his shoulder into Chris with the help of his superior size, and also his old friends 'gravity' and 'momentum'.
"And he can really hold a grudge!"
COMBATSYS: Kyo successfully hits Chris with Issetsu Seoi Nage.
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Chris 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Kyo
Iori arrives from elsewhere.
"Mnnnh..." Chris spends a minute or two staring floorwards, somewhere between racing, irrational thoughts and mind-searing pain. It's admittedly a comfortably numb place, but the circumstances do not allow for it to STAY numb. Why is he having trouble breathing? Where's his speed gone? Has Tran somehow sucked the entirety of New Face's talent -into himself-??! Maybe Yashiro was right, maybe Indian people -are- vampires. Nonetheless, it's not fixing anything right now -- the situation continues to be exactly
"...some kind of nightm- UHN!" Chris emits a wholly feminine sound as Kyo -grabs- at the scruff of his neck. Suddenly airborne, CYS' drummer manages, barely, to flail around in spite of the torture it inflicts on dried-out flesh. "I... I--!" His retort - it was bound to be amazing, obviously - is cut-off by the sudden, unappreciated appearance of the Teatro's flooring. Once again, Chris impacts the ground head-first, and -this time-, he's not even conscious to feel Kyo's elbow slamming into his back.
There's actually a full ten seconds that has the kid lying there, motionless except for the occasional concussion-indicative twitch of fingertips or forearm. Of course, this -is- Chris we're dealing with. Just as the KoF official is about to declare him K.O.ed, the Sweedish boy -slams- a hand into the ground, and lurches into a much better-controlled position. His face, unlike before -- really, unlike -ever-, is simply a rictus of maniac fear mingled with sheer outrage. It's probably why he's shaking like he is.
"I..." He's breathing quickly.
"...So, Kyo, you're saying you..." Chris pulls himself to his feet, and begins approaching Kusanagi, slender legs propelling him at a speed that isn't quite his norm, but nonetheless emotionally-backed.
"You wanna be on THE LIST with him?? You wanna die too!! Make us look like idiots??!" It's not a very childish thing to say - but Chris' sudden, flipping kick towards Kyo's chin isn't really a childish thing to -do-.
It is a statement.
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Weakened Hunting Air from Chris with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Chris 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kyo
Something, Kyo's senses tell him, is /wrong/. It's not even a normal kind of wrong, or a normal kind of sense... Even the Kusanagi heir's superior awareness, a product of the abilities he's gained through his birthright and through what Saishu Kusanagi would like to consider training (but most sensible people would've considered child abuse), through years of participation in the highest levels of the fighting world, refining body, mind and soul. But even then, he's not really sure /what/ it is, just a vague sense of disquiet.
Maybe Chris is just /that creepy/. After all, he doesn't even have a last name!
Kyo is back up on his feet in a heartbeat after slamming down on top of the young drummer, backing up a few feet to give Chris some room and to avoid any sneaky reprisals, which gives the World Warrior a good view of the younger fighter's strange trembling, not to mention the rather freaky expression on his youthful features. And then, shit gets appreciably real.
Chris accelerates towards him, propelled by that strange fury, and Kyo watches the drummer's approach with his usual casual disregard. The LIST? Does he want to die? Man, like there aren't enough people already out to kill him! "Nah," Kyo says, sounding quite unperturbed. Chris changes directions suddenly, his movement breaking abruptly into a flipping kick, aimed for Kyo's chin, but... Suddenly the young fighter's foot stops /dead/ before even reaching its goal, Chris's ankle caught in the vice grip of Kyo's gloved left hand. In a single smooth, unbroken motion the Kusanagi heir lashes out with his other fist, driving it into Chris's exposed side with yet another eruption of divine flame, letting the impact carry the boy away.
"Seems to me you're doing a good enough job of looking like idiots on your own."
Chris -does- have a last name. Ask him when he's sober and you aren't Kyo Kusanagi. It is Dahlvig, because Anders Dahlvig is the CEO of IKEA, and that is who his streetwhore of a mother claims is his father.
Right now, Chris (Dahlvig?!) is living through the unpleasant experience of -hearing- his ankle ground into powder. There's a brief moment where Chris happens to just -hang- there, writhing about in Kyo's grip like a fish out of water, free leg lashing back and forth in an ultimately useless effort at swiping the older teen's face, shoulder, arm -- anything. It's a pretty comical instance, if you can look past the grimace on Chris' face, past the way his fingers are clenching in upon themselves like they're -waiting- for something to choke out.
It's also an -instance-. One blink of an eye later, Kyo's planted his flaming fist soundly into Chris' back and sent the Swedish youth sailing -back- into his home corner. The flames aren't quite as intense as they were with Kyo's opening, but Chris has also been -through- the big burns already. There's simply not much left to immolate. He lands once, twice, and then -skids- into the bench his teammates sit upon, ass-over-teakettle, neck and head at angles so antagonistic /something/ must have snapped.
As before, he twitches. As before, that twitch culminates in one hand solidly claiming support on the ground, but -this time- Chris manages to cast one wholly baleful glare at Kusanagi. His eyes are briefly windows into a hateful place, his teeth ground against his lip enough to set it to bleeding again, and his entire -body- is set to tension, flexion. Despite this effort, Chris isn't -going- anywhere, and he gradually loses that effort. As his body relaxes, so too does his expression, his eyes regain their typical -feel-... and he passes out.
Very, -very- hesitantly, one of his minders squirts some water on his face from one of those sweet boxer's water bottles.
COMBATSYS: Chris takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Chris can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
Sometimes, that gap, that difference in /caliber/ can have consequences. Horrible, horrible consequences, particularly when the individual on the higher end of the scale isn't particularly interested in going easy on their opponent. Now, Kyo is hardly the sort to go intentionally brutalising a weaker opponent, the way some fighters out there might: He's not gonna stick Chris full of knives like some sort of Yamazaki, for example. But in the end, this is the King of Fighters. This is the real thing, the biggest stage in the world.
It's not a place for hugs and playing nice.
With Chris out of the fight so definitively, Kyo is similarly done with the young drummer, though he meets that brief, hateful glare with a steady look of his own, the Kusanagi heir sadly more familiar than he would really like to be with palpably murderous intent being directed at him. What sort of a life do you have to live, where you actually become jaded to the idea of people wanting to kill you just for being you?
Kyo Kusanagi's sort of life, that's what.
"So," Kyo asks once Chris has passed out, dismissing the younger fighter from his mind completely as the kid's minder squirts water in his face, presumably trying to wake him up. "You guys did have one left, right? Or d'you just wanna call it there?"
COMBATSYS: Kyo drops his guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Kyo takes no action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|
From the very beginning, Shingo Yabuki has been sitting in the most uncomfortable of wooden chairs. He is not far from Chris' final resting place, squirming to try and find the softest spot for his rump, all while a lined notebook lays open in his lap. Completing another - and likely last - quick scribble in red pen, his other hand feeds himself a... bacon sandwich.
There's two. The second is beside him, on an empty chair. One says 'Good luck' and the other reads 'Shingo' (which he is currently eating). It's written in ketchup. His mother made them.
When his idol, the amazing Kyo Kusanagi, calls for his next opponent, the Japanese teen's head turns swiftly, glancing in askance to his teammates, but they offer nothing. Instead, he is prodded in the shoulder, directed by an attendant to the arena. Shingo looks flabberghasted. He had thought-- but-- "Re..really?" The man nods, and Shingo, closing his notebook and slipping it into his inner jacket pocket, walks the plank off into shark-infested waters.
He's still chowing down on that sandwich, trying to stuff the entirety of his last meal into his mouth, taking deep breaths in through his nose, and so when he confronts the Kusanagi heir, Shingo says, "Kufanaffi-fan!" And he bows, always polite. "Wueese oo your uest!"
Gulp!
"Thank you for this opportunity!" The boy straightens, removing his cherished gloves from his pants pocket and pulling them on. Shingo flexes his fingers and smiles the brightest, most blinding smile imaginable. Then, he twists over, leaping, rising, falling - actually flailing - and lashing out at his sensei with a heavy kick. This is accompanied by a yell of, "SHINGO KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"
Why is Shingo a member of the New Face Team? It is a story to be told later on, probably through flashbacks, but the point is... He is. He is because of this moment, granted to him by some higher power that might just want to see the teen suffer, but Shingo is happy all the same!
COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Kyo 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Shingo
COMBATSYS: Kyo interrupts Shingo Kick from Shingo with Oniyaki EX.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Kyo 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Shingo
"What?" Kyo says aloud, his confusion and surprise obvious when he actually realises that Shingo Yabuki is there.
"...What??" the Kusanagi heir wonders again, more irritated than before, when it becomes clear that not only is Shingo /present/, but that the reason his supposed disciple is here is /not/ as one might expect, to cheer on his beloved mentor and all around heroic good guy, Kyo Kusanagi... But rather to bolster the ranks of his opponents, the clearly nefarious New Face Team.
"What," the World Warrior champion adds, finally and in a flat tone, when Shingo leaps at him with his distinctive variation on an ancient Kusanagi-ryuu technique - self-taught after seeing it only once (because Kyo wouldn't show him any moves twice).
Apparently, Shingo's choice to turn that technique against Kyo has /offended/ the perpetual highschooler, who meets the falling arc of Shingo's foot by leaping /into/ it. The kick glances off of the plane of Kyo's leather-clad shoulder as the fighter himself rises into the air in a whirling, twisting motion, fists outstretched with the sacred flames of his bloodline alight, the better to batter Shingo with while /also/ setting the good-natured young man afire. "Uraa-!!"
Oh no. He has offended his famous mentor.
Don't misunderstand, Shingo's intentions were as pure as his heart - he only wanted to fight Kyo. If it weren't for that, then his answer would've been no. The teen wouldn't have joined the New Face Team.
And it is perhaps to the New Face's chagrin, but Shingo has been cheering for you and your team the entire time, Kusanagi-san! Please don't hit hi--
"Gack!"
His Shingo Kick suddenly turns into Shingo /On Fire/, the boy rolling in a weird ball, flopping at the end on his back, still smoking. The sky is lovely here in Brazil! His mom would appreciate this place, the Japanese teen is certain.
Wait, this isn't time to be thinking about moms! Pull yourself together, Shingo!
A bit battered, chin bruising, he hops to his feet. Shingo's stance is a perfect imitation of his teacher's, and he bounces on the soles of his Nikes before charging forwards and headlong into assured destruction.
"I'm sorry!" For what? The boy barely squawks out his apology before Shingo's momentum is turned into a harsh elbow, a backhand-punch and concluding hip-check. Yet another attack borrowed from the Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu style... Because Kyo is such a jerk that he only ever showed his pupil each technique once, and then demanded lunch in payment.
COMBATSYS: Kyo effortlessly blocks Shingo's Nie Togi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Shingo
Landing in the aftermath of that /perfectly executed/ Oniyaki, Kyo crouches low for a brief moment, which is certainly enough time for Shingo to a) stop being on fire and b) get up and go back on the offensive. Apologising? What in the blazes is he apologising for in the middle of a fight? "Stop apologising!!" Kyo chides his 'disciple' irritably, already picking out the signs of what Shingo's going to do next without even having to think about it. That's the problem, of course, with using techniques derived from a specific martial arts style against an expert of that style: They usually know how to get around them.
Usually.
Kyo's arms come up, meeting the harsh elbow and deflecting it with a rough slap of palms on Shingo's arm, the stinging impact behind the younger fighter's momentum enough to send a brief twinge of numbness up the World Warrior champion's arms. The worst part, though, is how /easy/ he makes it all look, precisely timed without any obvious effort put into it. "If you're gonna fight me, do it properly, Shingo! It's not like I'm gonna go easy on you."
He really, really isn't, you know.
True to his word, Kyo throws himself forward at Shingo, swinging his right hand in a heavy, wild haymaker at the side of the teenager's head, guttering flame following behind his fist: It's much like the punch he threw at Chris, except this one has a lot more 'oomph' behind it, flames erupting at the point of impact, if any.
After that first strike, if it lands, Kyo /keeps going/, stepping in and swinging his left hand up in an almost lazy backhand, tracing an arc of flame over Shingo's front, before actually stepping /into/ that, turning the motion into a fiery, rising shoulder-block to take Shingo off of his feet... And then transitioning into the same Oniyaki technique he used just moments before, a twisting uppercut wreathed in flame to finish things off.
On the upside, at least Shingo knows Kyo isn't holding back on him.
COMBATSYS: Kyo knocks away Shingo with Dokugami!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Shingo
Shingo is not, like so many others before him, bothered by Kyo's insulting demeanor or callous words. Instead, the Japanese boy feels as though his mentor is encouraging him - Kusanagi-san isn't holding back! He's treating his one and only student like an /equal/. The Japanese teen could cry tears of joy! Or maybe sing a song! "I'm sorry!" For apologizing. He's INFURIATINGLY polite. "Kusanagi-san, my next attack will surely hit!"
At least being treated like an equal (this belief does not take into account how Kyo feels) isn't going straight to his head? Good on you, Shingo!
With his attack deflected, but having committed himself so completely, the boy's rotation concludes when he lands on the ground and scrubs a gloved hand sheepishly through his short brown hair. It is the only pause in this non-stop action. As his wonderful idol hurls himself forwards, Shingo has that 'deer caught in headlights look', before he is left temporarily blinded by the flaming fist a'crashin' straight into his temple. SHINGO DOES A BARREL ROLL.
Or he would, if he weren't set on fire again, blown off his feet, flipping over once in the air, landing face-down. There is a collective, audiable wince from the audience.
Shingo cringes, but this will not get him down! He will get back up! He will keep trying! He's... got a bit of a bleeding nose. "I mean... this time! Yes!" The Japanese teen rises only as far as it takes to assume a sprinting position, then he just runs for everything he's worth at his teacher, pumping himself up with, "Let's go, Shingo!"
The first fist he swings in at Kyo's head is just the beginning of what's to come, if it connects. It is followed by another, and another, the kid just HAMMERING away at the Kusanagi heir, punching, punching, punching, stumbling past, tripping on a rock-- ... "Ouch, my toe!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo successfully hits Kyo with Burning Shingo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ]
Kyo 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Shingo
"Come on, it's not nap time yet," Kyo chides in the aftermath of his delivering a severe fire punching to Shingo. Settled back into the simple stance his particular form of Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu prefers, the World Warrior champion faces off with his student, offering... Well, it's /sort of/ like encouragement, as the younger fighter picks himself up off the stage, demonstrating both pluck /and/ determination. Kyo, perhaps unsurprisingly, has never really 'gotten' pluck. But, clearly, it works out okay for kids like Shingo.
When Shingo charges at him full-bore, Kyo moves to defend, to intercept the first strike and then no doubt to the same to the successive ones... But this time, at least, Shingo manages to get through Kyo's somewhat battered guard, to knock his arms aside before he can fully raise them and, thus, batter away at the Kusanagi heir with a succession of punches, successfully reminding Kyo that this is, in fact, a fight, and not just 'Kyo Kusanagi acts like a smarmy asshole and beats up teenagers in front of the entire world, to the cheers and acclaim of many'.
Kyo remains rather surprised when Shingo stumbles past him and stubs his toe on some debris, tripping.
Then Kyo slowly starts to turn around.
"You know what? Fair's fair, Shingo. You got me pretty good there," Kyo admits, finding it within him to gracefully and beneficently - perhaps even /magnanimously/ - congratulate his sort-of student on a job well done. "So as a reward..." Kyo's right hand catches on fire. "...Why don't I show you how that's supposed to go?"
Swinging his fiery hand out, Kyo creates massive COLUMN of orange-crimson Kusanagi flames, the Ever Burning Flames of myth and legend, the very flames that caused a mysterious cult to launch a concerted attack on his person and actually end up partially defeated by his mother - he thinks the survivors might actually be still helping to repair the dojo - the column stretching from the much-abused, thick aged wood of the stage all the way up to the ceiling overhead, and also unless Shingo manages to get out of the way, the column is also located 'right where he is'.
Kyo, then, rushes /into/ the fiery column, unleashing his own furious assault of punches on Shingo, to strike the younger man over and over and over again while not only having set Shingo on fire, but also being on fire himself, which quite honestly might actually be overkill and, in some parts of the world, attempted murder even on a fighter.
"THIS IS...." Kyo's voice rings out, oddly modulated by the sheer overwhelming power of his bloodline flames. "...THE FIST OF THE KUSANAGI!!"
COMBATSYS: Shingo endures Kyo's Mu Shiki EX.
> Determined Hit! <
*KNOCKED AWAY*
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Kyo 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Shingo
But Shingo doesn't move.
In fact, his resolve strengthened by a rare compliment, he holds his ground, whirling back to face his teacher. To not do so would just be an insult! The boy's jaw sets, expressing his sheer determination openly, and he is consumed by a column of flame. Shingo actually /endures/ its assault, on top of Kusanagi's own. Near the end, the injured teen finally concedes, bruised, beaten, bleeding and smoking, he is blasted back as if shot from a cannon.
Slamming hard into the barricade - or maybe a couple empty chairs - he is on the very brink of passing out. Beside him, on the floor (oh, so it was some chairs) is his other bacon sandwich. Shingo glances towards it sluggishly, then back at Kyo. He feels some of that pep returning, at least enough for one last attempt...
The boy's movements are slower than before, with this being his final effort - he climbs to his feet and those Nikes start pounding across the ground. "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Suddenly, the teen is leaping into a kick, clearing the distance put between himself and Kyo. Shingo brings his next leg around to strike again - it's a rising succession of hits meant to knock his mentor off his feet and into the air!
If Shingo doesn't miss entirely.
COMBATSYS: Shingo has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Shingo
COMBATSYS: Kyo fails to counter Kinsei Oreshiki - Rouka Guruma from Shingo with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Shingo
That was so totally amazing, you don't even know. In fact, Shingo so /very much/ doesn't know that it doesn't actually take him out like it should.
Kyo finds himself facing off with Shingo again, at which point the younger man proves that pluck and determination are far more dangerous than previously thought, as the Kusanagi heir's sort-of student charges at him and unleashes a tremendous kick. Of course, Kyo thinks, he can totally see his way through this... He reaches out to stop Shingo's kick dead and--
--Gets kicked?!
Kyo's attempt to reverse Shingo's attack back on him instead leaves the World Warrior champion wide open, repeated kicks carrying him up along with the other fighter before the technique finally ends, sending him crashing down to the stage below. Could Kyo's overconfidence have bitten him in the ass? Has he, somehow, managed to make a terrible mistake? Whatever's happened here, it's suddenly become very much a /contest/, rather than the unfortunately one-sided beating it started out as.
Kyo pushes himself back up to his feet, watching Shingo a /hint/ more warily than before, as he settles back into his proper fighting stance.
Why watch him warily? That's silly. The teen topples out of his final kick and hits the floor in a messy roll, just as his mentor crashes. Sprawled out on his stomach, Shingo wonders why he still feels the urge to keep going. His vision is clearing, his head is unfogging-- He decides he is dreaming, at least up until the point where the kid rubs his nose, and, "Augh!" the Japanese boy cries out in pain, resisting the urge to clamp BOTH hands over his tender, bleeding face-triangle. Yeah, that's right. Face-triangle.
"How was that?" He asks, wobbling arms supporting his weight, but Shingo is so proud of himself and beaming from ear to ear. He knows the score! Perhaps Kyo might even deign to grace him with another compliment for his success!
Nah.
When both fighters are on their feet, Shingo is feeling a little more confident than before, especially with this surge of energy. He is incredibly tenacious! "Here I go, Kusanagi-san!" The teen heralds his arrival before he takes off, but not really. It's not far to go, one lunging step and swinging fist carrying him directly into Kyo's personal space. Yet another Kusanagi-ryuu Kobojutsu technique, but sans the Ever Burning Flame - it's super effective!
COMBATSYS: Kyo effortlessly blocks Shingo's Aragami Mikansei.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Kyo 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Shingo
The parts where Shingo ends up falling all over himself actually just makes it worse. Kyo Kusanagi is something of a prideful man, after all, and while many people have in the past expressed exasperation that he bested them while often talking an endless stream of shit at them, Kyo in turn finds it a bit galling that Shingo is actually pushing him this hard while also smacking his head into practically everything in a five mile radius.
"You're definitely less shitty than I remembered," Kyo says, when Shingo fishes for a compliment, and if one were to look at it the right way they might even find one in this latest bit of invective from the Kusanagi heir. Of course, it's also possible that Kyo's own memory was faulty, and he was just remembering Shingo as occasionally punching himself in the face, and accidentally getting locked in the bathroom at Taiyo High.
Giving Kyo warning might be Shingo's next mistake; Kyo sees the incoming punch, particularly since the other fighter said what he was doing, and Kyo swings up one arm to intercept the punch, letting it smack againt his leather-clad forearm, the impact blunted and subtly redirected to lessen the harm. "Wrong," Kyo says. "It's like this!"
And then Kyo swings his right fist at the side of Shingo's head again, a smoother and decidedly /faster/ version of the same hooking punch Yabuki just used... Except that flames trail in the air behind Kyo's fist, and should it strike erupt in a small explosion to add some more power to the attack.
COMBATSYS: Shingo blocks Kyo's Aragami.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > //// ]
Kyo 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Shingo
What? He has NEVER punched himself in the face.
He's actually like a dog, chasing cars. Parked cars.
Okay, so maybe that's a terrible analogy, but one gets the point. Shingo is clumsy and a bit dense. There's no pride here, because he's not at a level yet to justify it, unlike Kyo. The teen understands why the Kusanagi heir is so full of himself, and idolizes him accordingly.
But hey, idolizing Kyo won't stop Shingo from trying to punch his mentor in the face! This is his absolute best effort!
"You really mean it?" Oh Shingo, he wasn't being nice! But Kusanagi's one and only pupil always views Kyo in a positive light, even when he's talking trash (or maybe he's just oblivious) - Kyo DID teach him these techniques, after all. /That must say something of his moral character/.
The impact of his fist is blunted against a forearm, and the scion responds in kind. Shingo mimics his teacher, gloved arm raised - inexpertly, but still effectively - so that he blocks the flaming punch's path. He chirps brightly, "Like that?" Obviously having misinterpretted his mentor, has this become a learning experience!? "Okay then!"
Alas, Shingo cannot shoot flame, regardless of which part he mentally notes.
At that moment, with Kyo in such close proximity, he attempts to thrust a hard shoulder into the Kusanagi's chest, for once not throwing himself completely off-balance in the process. Go Shingo! You can do it, Shingo!
COMBATSYS: Kyo counters Ge Shiki - Kake Hourin from Shingo with Nue Tsumi.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Kyo 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Shingo
The real question is, what does it say about Kyo that he seems to be constantly surrounded by people he finds enormously troublesome - often because they're so nice, and pure of heart? People like Shingo, for example. Or Goro Daimon, the big-hearted big man of Judo. Or there were even some times he had Athena Asamiya hanging around, and she's practically a /saint/. And yet, somehow, all these people see something good in Kyo Kusanagi, despite all obvious evidence to the contrary.
The absolute worst was after he got all those people out of that hospital, during the Siege of Southtown. People actually started thinking he was a - guh - /hero/.
Shingo comes at Kyo again, as he naturally must, but this time the Kusanagi heir is more thoroughly prepared to deal with it. He takes a subtle, almost imperceptible step back at the last minute, one hand grasping Shingo's leading shoulder as the younger man tries to strike him with it... And then he straight up slugs Shingo in the face with his other hand, the divine flames of his bloodline exploding on impact.
"I think it's about time you pack it in, huh?"
Seishirou arrives from elsewhere.
That's because under all that jerky exterior, Kyo isn't such a bad person. Shingo could probably see the good even in Iori Yagami, though the man kinda frightens him a little.
--Okay, a lot.
He utters no more than an, "Erp!" Shoulder grabbed, getting a fiery punch in the face is extremely unpleasant. Shingo starts to fall sloooooooowly back, blood flowing freely down his front, staining his white shirt. Eyes clenching tightly shut in pain, the boy makes what might be ANOTHER last attempt, but this time to remain upright via wild grab for anything that could potentially stop him from toppling.
This means Kyo.
If Shingo manages to catch his mentor by the shirt, or whatever, he continues to pitch back, and likely just drags the Kusanagi off his feet by accident, "Ahhhh, I'm sorry!"
Regardless of the outcome, the Japanese teen winds up on his rump, again, on the wooden floor, which is equal to the chair in uncomfortableness. Shingo must ask himself: If this is a tournament, why didn't they ensure that the participants had good seats? Or maybe his teammates took them all...
COMBATSYS: Shingo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Kyo just-defends Shingo's Quick Throw!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kyo 0/-------/-======|
Say what you will about punching a good-natured and kind-hearted young man in the face (it's generally considered both uncouth and somewhat mean) but in this case Kyo finds it kind of satisfying! Oh sure, there's part of him that appreciates the challenge, that relishes the fact that Shingo was actually able to put up a solid fight and push him to his limits... Although Kyo's own overconfidence might have contributed to the way things went, too. What's alarming, though, is that as Shingo falls backwards, the younger fighter grabs Kyo by his jacket, pulling the World Warrior champion with him.
But today, Kyo Kusanagi is having none of that.
Initially going with the accidental tug, Kyo then pushes off the ground; he leaps, essentially, /over/ the falling Shingo, breaking his sort-of student's grasp in the process and landing quite deftly on his feet, feeling understandably /exceedingly/ proud of himself. "Whew," Kyo says, standing up and straightening his shirt and jacket. "Well, I've seen people do worse," he tells the fallen Shingo, whether or not he's actually /conscious/ to hear. "Keep it up and maybe you'll be able to beat me... Once I'm old and grey, moving around like a slow-ass Sakazaki."
And then Kyo starts to walk off the stage, his work here done as the Hero Team manages to pull out the win.
...Barely.
COMBATSYS: Kyo has ended the fight here.
He is conscious, but not for long. Looking back over his shoulder, face bloody, Shingo turns his nose into his rolled-up sleeve and wipes it there. The boy manages to smile at Kyo afterwards, bright and sweet as ever, "Ha ha, maybe, Kusanagi-san. I just wanted to fight you..." 'As an equal.' is what he is unable to say. Shingo trails off because he starts to slump, passing out instantly and somehow while sitting.
In his dreams, he's looking at the blue sky again. How did Shingo see it the first time? Kyo just literally punched him that hard.
Then, Shingo learns how to shoot flame.
Damn, such an awesome dream. He'll be so sad once he wakes up.
Log created on 22:18:45 02/18/2011 by Tran, and last modified on 03:27:04 02/25/2011.