Description: Blanka: Horrible monster, or poor misunderstood soul? (The answer depends on whether or not you are a melon.) Despite his good heart, Blanka definitely has an unfortunate appearance. Superstitious people might even think that he's a demon! And if they did, they might call a demon hunter. Of course, those aren't that easy to find, but Tenma Kiryuu isn't that hard to track down. So hey, why not? Tenma's already got all the tools he needs for demon hunting, so they just need to give Blanka a big spiked club and they're all set for a nice little story match: Tenma, sent to vanquish the oni haunting the old shrine! But, is he really as bad as people think? (WINNER: Tenma)
"You mean, Blanka just have to stand around here, with club, and melons come to Blanka? Blanka can have as many as want, as long as he hits them with club and looks scary? Blanka used to bein' scary. Sound like good deal..!" The hasty assurances from the few people that were willing to come along are enough to ease any lingering hesitation from the giant beastman. After all, Blanka is /used/ to people asking him to be scary. It's kinda the thing he's known for, in the fighting arena. Big Blanka. Scary Blanka. Etc, etc. He's good enough at shrugging it off - even moreso when melons are on the line! As the group scampers off, he rubs his chin, and hefts the kanabo over his shoulder.
"RAWR! Blanka is very scary! Fear Blanka! Bring Blanka melons! Scary, raaawr!" He swings the spiked iron club around a few times, accidentally knicking one of the stone cobbles when he sets it down. Instantly contrite he hunkers down and tries to put it back together, fussing with it to the exclusion of all else. "Oops! Blanka hope noone get mad about this..!"
Yes, when you've got a 'demon' to deal with, who better to send than a supposed 'demon hunter'?
Whatever the nature of Tenma Kiryuu's ancient family arts, the fact of the matter is that they would appear to be uniquely suited to the task at hand, that of dealing with a melon-obsessed, bestial green oni attacking the shrine. Okay, so it's a little silly, and some people - like Tenma himself - might consider it somewhat embarassing, but it's what the people want to see! And he's getting paid for it!
"I can't believe I'm actually going to go through with this," the Kiryuu heir mutters to himself, dark blue eyes watching as Blanka tries to fix one of the courtyard's cobblestones, his expression one of disbelief to mirror his words; even if he is big and green, who would actually buy that guy as a big scary demon? There's something kind of hapless about him, like a hulking green puppydog that talks in the third person. But no, no; Tenma has to consider his pride, as a fighter and as a /man/. He agreed to do this, he can't just back out now. There's only one thing to do.
It's time to go /all out/.
Vaulting off of the red shinto archway, the Gedo gang member lands in the courtyard some distance away from Blanka, and as he straightens up the tall young man extends his right arm, levelling his wooden practice sword point-first towards the Green Machine. Notably, the hardwood blade seems to be emanating some kind of red /mist/, like a smoky, cloudy aura. As it happens, this aura is /blood/.
"No melons for you, /demon/," Tenma announces, feeling like basically the biggest ass in the entire world as he does so. Ugh. /Ugh/. "Your plundering days are at an end!"
Man, who is the monster here?!?! Blanka backpedals just a little as the Gedo goon lands inthe courtyard with sword extended. Eyes open up in surprise when he speaks - but Blanka recovers quickly enough. After all, he's supposed to be the fierce one, here! He's more than enough monster for the right amount of melons, and in this case, he may not have gotten quite enough promised to him - but the play's the thing..!
"No... no melons?!?! This is unacceptable! Blanka will rain fire and.. and.. other stuff on the village until melons given! Thus sayeth Blanka!" With that, he swings his own iron weapon wide, a flare of blue-white lightning running off his hands and through it, causing the scent of ozone in it's wake. It's a lazy strike, a first jab in an effort to test the mettle of his opponent - perhaps not fierce enough for the job at hand!
COMBATSYS: Blanka has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Tenma has joined the fight here.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Tenma
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Blanka's Random Weapon.
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Blanka 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Tenma
It's a fair question; Tenma Kiryuu is kind of an awful person, after all - just ask anyone! - so he might very well qualify as more of a monster than Blanka. Although, perhaps that's all a matter of perspective.
The swing of the iron club might be just a testing strike, but that doesn't mean it's not potentially dangerous; Tenma switches positions suddenly, stepping in with his trailing leg and twisting his chi-emanating weapon around to brace it with his left hand along the back of the wooden blade, just in time to catch the spiked iron club against that blessed wood instead of Kiryuu's own blessed face. The impact transmits through the weapon into Tenma's arms, a stinging pain and numbness driving up his limbs, but it's a lot better than the alternative.
Recovering from the impact, Tenma drops low and lunges forward, thrusting his bokken out point-first again as he tries to slip under Blanka's guard; the red energy around the weapon collects at the tip, concentrating itself there, and if he manages to touch the green man with that point it actually /sticks/ to him, at least long enough for the Kiryuu heir to actually flip Blanka up off the cobblestones, sweeping his wooden blade and the 'demon' over his head in a wide arc before releasing the latter, hurling him away.
COMBATSYS: Blanka blocks Tenma's Asura.
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Blanka 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Tenma
Tougher than the thought - Blanka will have to be on-guard through this! The impact of iron on wood sets Blanka's hands to stinging, and his shoulders ache from the attempt to push the warrior away with his swing. He opens his eyes wider, and affects a toothy sneer, one of his best 'evil monster' looks! "Strong enough - the demon will be stronger, and melons will be mi--oof!"
Too much talking, Blanka! He isn't quick enough to recover, and that point catches him in the midsection, throwing him up into the air where he flies with the greatest of ease. He lands, tucked into a ball - and then curves around the small pathway, building up speed and trying to barrel right into Tenma before he has a chance to recover from the slicing arc!
COMBATSYS: Blanka successfully hits Tenma with Rolling Attack.
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Blanka 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Tenma
That is not the ideal result.
Tenma turns to watch Blanka as the beastly green man manages to catch himself mid-flight by tucking himself into a ball, which seems like a perfectly solid acrobatic technique, good recovery; but then things go completely off the rails crazy. Like some sort of actual demon, Blanka manages to change direction and keep up his momentum /while still tucked into a ball/ and turns himself towards the Kiryuu 'demon hunter', which is one of the more surreal things that's ever happened to him. And that is, as it happens, saying something.
There's no time for clever plans or cunning deceptions, there's certainly no time to get the hell out of the way... So Tenma does quite the opposite, stepping /into/ the oncoming Blanka in an attempt to force through the attack and find an opening to exploit. This does not, regrettably, happen. Instead, Tenma pretty much gets run over.
Taking just a moment to stare up at the sky from where he lays flat on his back on the courtyard of the shrine, Tenma asks the heavens silently: What did I do to deserve this? It was all the being an arrogant jerk, wasn't it? All that staring at girls' boobs?
Hopping back up to his feet, Tenma turns to look at Blanka again. "Yeah... You've got power, sure. But power and strength aren't the same thing. Here... Lemme show you!!" He sweeps his bokken upwards, and then swings it down in a wide red arc, too far from Blanka to ever hope to strike him with the blade... But the red, red afterimage that follows the sweep of the sword gives birth to a red, red crescent of roiling, bloody chi, that streaks through the air towards the Green (not particularly) Meanie!
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Blanka with Dharmapala.
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Blanka 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Tenma
THUMPATHUMPA, sounds just like when a set of tires goes over a speed bump. Or in this case, when a Blanka rolls right over the demon hunter. Bouncing atop Tenma once more as he continues on his merry way, Blanka manages to come to a stop and spin into a standing position. He beams, and tosses the iron club over his shoulder. "Hah! Blanka have plenty strength! Evil is super-strong, no way you can defeat it!" Boastful bragging indeed -- though it's shut up quite quickly as Tenma swings his blade again. This time, there's no room to maneuver, and Blanka can do nothing except try to escape the wash of blood-red chi that slams into him, taking him from his feet. Staggered, he stumbles, down to one knee.
"Al--alright. That strong. Very, strong. But not strong enough to keep Blanka down - or to keep villagers safe! RAWWWWWAR!!" He howls out bestialy at the sky, a impressive display of pyrotechnics wrapping around him, blue and white lightning arcing to and fro as he beats the iron club against the ground!
COMBATSYS: Blanka focuses on his next action.
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Blanka 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Tenma
There's nothing quite as satisfying as landing a solid hit on somebody, especially right after they ran you over while curled into a ball. It just sort of speaks to a visceral, elemental part of human nature, and possibly to some kind of sublimated hatred of green balls of meat. Tenma can certainly see that Blanka is getting into character here - at least he hopes it's just acting, it's not like maniacal supervillains are unheard of around here - but that doesn't make it any less satisfactory when the bloody projectile slams into the 'oni', who then starts to crackle with electricity as he does... Something.
Probably not good, Tenma's finely honed fighting instincts tell him.
"Oh ho, aren't you Mister Intimidating? But..." Heedless of the fact that he might in fact be rushing himself right into /a trap/, Tenma charges at the lightning-charged, club-smashing Blanka, jabbing once with his chi-emanating bokken before making a short hop off the ground, twisting himself over to bring his bokken down vertically while adding the momentum of his twisting motion to the slash, a slamming attack all the way to the cobblestones.
"...I'm just not smart enough to get scared!!"
COMBATSYS: Blanka interrupts Power Strike from Tenma with Direct Lightning.
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Blanka 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Tenma
While not maniacal, Blanka is quite good at playing up 'scary and evil', with emphasis on bestial strength and animal rage. He's in full swing now - the blur between real and act a extremely thin one, to be certain. As Tenma boldly charges in and leaps up, Blanka brings his own iron club back in his best Shoma impersonation. On the downswing of the other fighter, Blanka brings his heavy weapon in to bear - and at the last second, the crackling sizzle of electricity goes from a buzz to a roar. Channeled up and into the bat, it impacts Tenma's own blade, the iron bar Blanka uses exploding into bits - but not before it discharges all it's force into the other fighter. For his part, Blanka's knocked back on his keister by the blast, only rolling into a crouched guaridng position after a few seconds worth of stun. "... Better get scared, little man." he says gruffly, starting back to his feet already. Monster indeed.
While Blanka is knocked back by the impact and subsequent eruption, Tenma - after making a /very/ surprised expression - is hurled much further away by the lightning discharge, hitting the stones of the courtyard some distance away and then skidding a bit further, sizzling faintly as smoke wafts off of him. That... That hurt some. Pushing himself up, Tenma holds his head with his free hand as he regards the now slightly distant blanka with one dark blue eye, a few stray black hairs sticking up in disarray thanks to the voltage the green fighter introduced rather forcefully to Kiryuu's body.
"Think so, huh?" Tenma wonders, his mouth pulling into a lazy grin as his attempts to be in character falter, overwhelmed by the pure, simple enjoyment of the contest at hand. "We'll see who's scariest... Me, I'm just getting started!" Getting to his feet, the tall young man wobbles for a moment before rushing right at Blanka, sweeping his bokken up in a two-handed slash at the bestial fighter, before he leaps up and then makes a second slash /downwards/, using gravity to give the strike some extra oomph... And /then/ he aims to kick right off of the 'oni', flipping back to land on his feet a hopefully safe distance away.
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Blanka with Deep Strike.
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Blanka 1/----===/=======|=======\=====--\1 Tenma
Oh, yes. Oh, Blanka thinks so! He's shown Tenma some of his best - and he thinks he's seen what Tenma has left in him. Blanka's certain that he has what it takes to be the bigger monster here! With the wobble in his opponent's step, Blanka gets a feral glean in his eyes, the quickening step of his opponent matching the triphammer pace of his heart. "Fine then... I ready!" Blanka wraps both his hands around the heavy iron club he'd just held, and as Tenma comes in, he begins to swing at the sword, intending another brutal impact..
The club he just broke in the previous explosion.
Suddenly, Blanka realizes he only has half a club, and the short end of the stick -- literally! He throws it aside, and attempts to move out of the way, but the impact from Tenma's bokken smacks him silly, knocking him from side to side, the final kick just icing on the cake, sending him sprawling, to stare up at the sky. As he lays there, he asks the heavens silently: What did I aroo to deserve this? It was all the being an aroogant jerk, wasn't it? All that staring at girl's melons?
Groaning, Blanka gets to one knee, then to both feet. He huffs his breath out, rubbing at a bit of blood that's fallen from a cut at his temple. Gruffly, he admits to his opponent a truth he's found. "You may be tough enough.. to protect village. But Blanka have.. more to give." With that, he bounds forwards and just brings his head in, right towards Tenma's nose. It's one of those headbutts that is horribly telegraphed - and with his already dizzied self, it may not be the most tactically sound move. If it hits, though - it'll be one of the most effective..! "HURAAAGH!!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma blocks Blanka's Rock Crush.
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Blanka 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Tenma
If nothing else, their love of melons will surely be able to bridge the gap between Tenma Kiryuu and Blanka.
When the green man goes for a telegraphed but surely dangerous headbutt - Tenma has quite a bit of experience with headbutts, they have been kind of /a thing/ in his life, which probably explains a lot about his personality - the Kiryuu 'demon hunter' waits until the last possible moment to juke back out of the way, letting Blanka play out his momentum instead of giving him opportunities to correct his course, dust kicked up by his sneakers as he skids back from the headbutt... Which itself smashes powerfully against Tenma's upraised bokken, the force of it knocking him backwards, sending a stinging pain up his arms again.
He wouldn't want to have to do /that/ again.
"You're a dangerous guy," Tenma admits, now that there's a bit of space between himself and Blanka, and his stance shifts again; facing the green fighter sidelong, Tenma's right hand extends behind him, holding his bokken in a way that the curve of the wooden blade forms a horizontal crescent behind him, while his left hand extends forward, his fingers lightly contorted in a mudra position, an aid to concentration as he focuses on a single point, his chi focusing and expanding to envelop his bokken completely, until he seems to hold a sword of dark red energy. "But there's only one thing to do with a demon, you know."
Suddenly erupting into forward motion, Tenma throws himself at Blanka and twists, swinging his bokken in a massive arc, aiming to slam it into his opponent... At which point, all of Tenma's gathered chi will move /through/ Blanka, disrupting the flow of life and energy through the bestial fighter's body, stealing away vitality, attacking his very ability to fight!
"BE SEALED!"
COMBATSYS: Tenma successfully hits Blanka with The Sealing Sword.
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Blanka 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Tenma
With a whiff of his head straight into the solid wood of Tenma's bokken, Blanka is dealing with a powerful ringing, a shockingly dizzying impact for the bestial man. Staggering forwards, he tries to raise his arms up - but really, there's nowhere for him to go. The counterstrike catches him solidly across the chest, and the wave of chi hits him like a combination of freight train and taser. There's a juddering shudder of his limbs, and he flops forwards against Tenma - loosely trying to hold on to the other fighter. Gold eyes stare at him, and his voice is pretty wheezy, energy sapped from him.
"Blanka not /really/ demon... right?" There's a flicker then, an attempt at sparking bright like he did before - however, the sizzle's gone from his step with the weapon's impact, and the aching fatigue that settles deep in his limbs. Instead, he kinda just goes loose and drops to the ground in a heap, exhausted and bruised. Battered, but as he flops over onto his back, he's laughing under his breath. "Hope noone.. ever do that to you. You... enough monster it might hurt too." He winks once - and then he's out like a light.
COMBATSYS: Blanka takes no action.
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Tenma 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Blanka can no longer fight.
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Tenma 0/-------/----===|
The massive expenditure of energy doesn't leave Tenma himself unaffected, the tall young man taking a moment to recover himself after introducing Blanka to the most powerful technique of his family's ancient martial arts, but soon enough he's standing up properly again, the smoky red aura back to its regular intensity as he rests his bokken against his shoulder, his other hand at his side, thumb hooked into the pocket of his school uniform slacks. Tenma regards the fallen Blanka as he delivers keen and important words about who the /real/ monsters are.
Tenma slowly frowns as he remembers this part. Right, right.
He isn't going to participate, either, when a SNF official off to one side catches his attention and starts mouthing 'do it, come on!!' at him; this causes Tenma to sigh, and then he looks right at the camera.
"That's right, you shouldn't judge people by how they look, whether they're some crazy green monster guy or, I dunno... Some hot chick in a bikini or something. Maybe this guy actually spends all his free time playing with orphan kids and rescuing puppies, and maybe that hot chick is a serial killer, or one time she punched a nun. The point is: It's what's /inside/ people that really counts, how awesome and not annoying they are as /people/, instead of what they look like on the surface."
Tenma taps his bokken on his shoulder a few times, looking thoughtful. "Although if she was /really/ hot, I mean you could still f--"
Mercifully, that's when the camera cuts out.
COMBATSYS: Tenma has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:16:07 05/30/2011 by Tenma, and last modified on 18:00:28 06/07/2011.