NDP 2011.11 - NDP #9: Karin vs Hokuto

Description: The Neo Development Project Begins! Karin and Hokuto battle it out to see who's the better fighter! (Also: LaShey makes a Cameo as Karin's Cheerleader) (Winner: Karin)



The Metro City Airport is kinda on the crowded side today, if only because a fight has been sanctioned on airport grounds. Security is doing everything they can to keep the crowd from getting too close to the fighters, so that nobody needs to get hurt if they don't have to.

On the one side is Karin Kanzuki, clad in her regular Red Schoolgirl attire. She's in the process of fitting her gloves on, ready for her opponent to be ready. At her side is Ishizaki, her butler who is simply there to make sure the young Kanzuki heiress doesn't get too much hurt.

There's also one other person at her side, who won't be fighting in anycase. Karin allows herself a bit of a smirk, as she says, "It's time for Karin Kanzuki to get back into the spotlight, I think. It's been a little while. I'll make sure to win this."

Shey has been brought along by Karin to watch, and addmittly Shey was quite interested to see her fight. There'd been a little issue of no ID, passport but that been handled by Karin's family right? She's here to well be Karin's gofer and such. She's oddly wearing some sporty clothing but seems rather uncomfortable but seems eager to watch the fight.

And on the other side stands Hokuto Mizukami, quiet, polite and reserved heir to Mizukami-style Karate; initially, she meets Karin's confident musing with a featureless gaze, and then:

"Hey." She cants her head towards the nearest camera man without taking her eyes off of Karin. "Come here."

It's been several years since Hokuto's last televised fight; between then and now, she has shed her traditional blue and white gi in favour of a flowing, salmon-coloured blouse with a white flower lining and dark green jeans. Long, brown hair once kept meticulously atop her head by hachimakis or simple ribbons now brushes her shoulders, and a pair of polished tambos occupy hands that were once perpetually empty in combat. Once the cameraman has overcome his bewilderment well enough to approach, she drags her gaze from Karin long enough to say to address she and he both:

"I want to make a bet: double the purse if I win. My next purse if you win--to keep things interesting." Half a beat passes; her gaze lists towards Karin. "I mean, interesting on top of the return of Karin Kanzuki, obviously."

After rolling her neck around briskly - and kind of loudly - she re-sets her eyes on Karin and offers the schoolgirl a vague, affable smile.

"What do you say? Think of it as an investment."

Karin arches an eyebrow when Hokuto challenges her to bet on the fight, and hmphs a little, as she flippantly responds, "Karin Kanzuki doesn't have any need to make petty bets over a fight." She pauses for a moment for effect, before pointing a finger out at Hokuto and continues, "Which isn't to say I don't believe I'd win. I'll take that bet and win just to spite you! Ohohoho!" She laughs a bit, before shifting her stance to fight, continuing, "Let's not waste anymore time!"

COMBATSYS: Karin has started a fight here.

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Karin            0/-------/-------|


Either Hokuto is nonplussed or Karin's mockery has stricken her dumb; either way, the young girl stares impassively at her affluent opponent. She doesn't even blink until after the laughter has faded into the crowd noise.

"Okay, then," she finally murmurs to break her several seconds of silence; a couple of small wrinkles crease her brow too, they come and go in the time it takes her to say those two small words.

And then to /back/ those words, she fluidly shifts from 'standing there and doing nothing' to 'offensive posture' to 'darting in and jabbing one of her tambos directly at Karin'. There's no finesse behind it - and with the way she drops her shoulder just before sticking her arm out to strike, it's even kind of telegraphed - but that's by design.

It is, after all, a feint.

As the summoned cameraman staggers to get clear of the fight while not missing any footage, Hokuto keeps her eyes - and second tambo - ready for when she meets Karin's defense; if the schoolgirl blocks the first blow, she'll try to catch her unawares with a sharp, sweeping blow against the side of her head afterwards. If it's dodged, Hokuto will give chase, seeking to keep Karin off-balance in the opening stages of the encounter.

If something /else/ happens, of course, she will probably just be set on the path to handing over a ton of money to someone who probably doesn't need it.

COMBATSYS: Hokuto has joined the fight here.

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Hokuto           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Karin


COMBATSYS: Hokuto successfully hits Karin with Chuugeki Hou.

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Hokuto           0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0            Karin


Never let it be said that Karin is without confidence. Perhaps she's got a little too much, though, as she tries to catch the blows, hands moving to block each strike, before going wide eyed as she realizes her that she's made the first error of the fight by falling for the feint.

Karin finds that she's left herself open for Hokuto's offense and gets struck a few times over for her trouble. She grits her teeth, but keeps standing, instead moving quick to counterattack the other girl, ducking in to drive a pair of palm thrusts in, before going for a third overhand strike for Hokuto's head, "Guren Ken!"

COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Hokuto with Guren Ken.

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Hokuto           0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0            Karin


Not only are Hokuto's attempts at parrying the incoming blows futile - taking those initial palm thrusts on her forearms instead of her body turns out to be of little help at all - the final strike atop her skull dizzies her briefly, enough to necessitate keeping her tambos crossed tightly near her own body for defense rather than risk further punishment for only modest gain.

The possibility that she might successfully deceive her opponent /and/ be bruised in turn did cross her mind at the outset, but the possibility that Karin was, you know, full of shit was too; no more, though. Now she watches, waits, circles; the schoolgirl's briefly blurry figure snaps into perfect focus, and as she begins planning for the latter stages of the fight, Hokuto's eyes narrow appraisingly.

COMBATSYS: Hokuto focuses on her next action.

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Hokuto           0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0            Karin


Shey is jut watching the fight for now, one blue eyebrow goes up. That's a lot of money to be betting around, a whole lot of money . Still the fight is starting to get interesting as she watches the two fighters just start to really have it out. She's also finding she wants another brawl her self but that's going to have to wait, prehaps if she signed up for this league hummm

Despite Karin's own cocky words, she can't help but feel thrilled over the fight in and of itself, and there's a visible smirk curling on her lips, "Did you think that Karin Kanzuki was completely full of herself, being a high society girl? I'll have you know that I'm no pushover."

Karin then dives in again, aiming a few rapid palm strikes to find an opening, before unleashing a overhead whirling of her palms at Hokuto.

COMBATSYS: Hokuto dodges Karin's Strong Punch.

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Hokuto           0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0            Karin


With her tambos already in place - and Karin resorting to more palm strikes - Hokuto makes parrying this new rain of blows look effortless; each time one of Karin's palms comes an inch too close, a polished oak tambo is pressed against it with just enough force to keep her at bay. At first, she counts palm thrusts, seeking a pattern; when she can't find one, she defaults to trying to find some lesser rhythm in the schoolgirl's offense--and before she can do /that/, Karin improvises.

So Hokuto does too; Karin's flourishing finale whips air currents across the one-time seiden's face when they pass harmlessly above it by a margin of inches--less, maybe.

"Mmm," Hokuto voices with the barest of interest.

As soon as those hands have passed, she straightens from her sudden backwards arch, and in a deft flurry she seeks to capture one of the rich girl's extended limbs between her own tambos and use the misplaced momentum to flip Karin to her back before balance is regained.

"I believe you; it's alright."

COMBATSYS: Karin counters Quick Throw from Hokuto with Yasha Gaeshi.

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Hokuto           0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Karin


Karin was not about to let herself be thrown around (this time), and rather than allowing her momentum to be taken advantage of, she rolls with the throw attempt and cratches onto Hoktuo's arms. Once over, she carefully lands back on her feet and uses the added momentum to spin and twist her opponent about to send her to the ground instead.
She then puts some distance between herself and Hokuto, as she says, "I won't be beaten that easy!"

Shey watches as the fight goes on and she's cheering at this point, it is getting good, and she's made up her mind she's going to sign up in this league but she may need to hide her face after all not even she's sure who she really is is. But for now this is a very good fight and she seems happy enough to watch and learn from the fighters. It's also interesting to watch Karin when she's not, punching Shey through walls.

Hokuto has to catch herself beneath the Arrivals/Departures board to avoid stumbling to the ground; she doesn't comment on having her offense stifled so easily, but the thin line of her lips tells the story well enough on its own. After righting herself, the tambos disappear into her sleeves with a brisk flourish; giving Karin a little more of herself to grab a hold of is beginning to seem like rather a poor idea in light of her reflexes.

Her eyes swiftly dart across her opponent's body and her mind races to process the fight and her opponent thus far:

Lots of palm strikes.

A penchant for aggression.

An enormous ego.

A distinct lack of chi usage.

A light bulb goes off in Hokuto's brain, and simultaneously the air around her ignites with the colours of the rainbow. The blazing chi leaves colourful streaks in the air when she springs from the wall to close some of the gap between herself and Karin, and after sticking the landing she shoves her palm into a trash can to send it hurtling at the schoolgirl like a cannon shell; as the object tumbles end over end towards its target, /it/ actually leaves streaks of chi 'borrowed' from Hokuto's own aura glowing in the air behind itself.

COMBATSYS: Karin endures Hokuto's Shourin Geki EX.

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Hokuto           0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin


Karin goes wide eyed when she sees that Hokuto is able to summon chi and use it to her advantage. She snarls and keeps on moving. Rather than going on the defensive, Karin full bodily runs into the trash can, and gets it smashed into her shoulder.

Rather than let it slow her down, she keeps moving, and maybe even moves faster as she drives her palm strikes harder at Hokuto's chest, and follows it up with a sliding tackle.

COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Hokuto with Guren Ken.

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Hokuto           1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0            Karin


Before she knows it, Hokuto is slumped in the dented impact glass separating the terminal and the runway; a trail of destroyed chairs leads from the window to the Arrivals/Departures board.

She has seen better days, it must be said.

"Nngh..." she groans, blinking rapidly in the vain hope that it'll rid her of the stars dancing before her eyes. "Hggh--" She braces against the edge of the cracked glass around her, and with a firm shove she manages to push off in a bid to catch Karin unawares with a tackle of her own.

Of course, even if she succeeds she'll probably end up tumbling to the ground as gracelessly as her opponent; her violent trip across the airport terminal hasn't done her much good.

COMBATSYS: Karin blocks Hokuto's Shinkyaku Geki.

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Hokuto           0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1            Karin


Karin was just getting back to her own feet from the slying tackle when she sees Hokuto come at her, and grits her teeth as she gets tackled, her legs knocked out from under her, and shifts herself in order to tumble as best she can without crashing onto her head from the impact. Karin rolls and tumbles a bit until she's stopped moving against her will before slowly getting herself back up to her feet.

Karin rubs her foreheard a moment and shakes her head a bit, before shifting back into her fighting stance and makes a dash for Hokuto, this time trying to get in up close so she can leap and grab onto her opponents arm, before using her momentum to slam Hokuto using her an armdrag takedown.

COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Hokuto with Yashiro Kuzushi.

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Hokuto           1/------=/=======|=======\=------\1            Karin


Hokuto rolls free of her opponent almost as soon as she hits the ground... which mostly just saves her from being tied up in an actual grapple of some sort; she doesn't actually manage to make it any further than a crouch once she's stabilized.

This makes trying to surprise Karin with another lunging offensive pretty difficult; if the scintillating blue chi blossoming between her palm and the floor is any indication however, little things like 'head trauma' and 'back pain' and 'impending poverty' aren't enough to put her down for good--not /yet/ anyway.

Swallowing, she lifts her head to scan the terminal as crackling blue bolts arc through the cracks in her fingers and dance briskly along the floor; by the time she's able to lock her bleary vision on Karin - okay, more accurately, like three blurry Karins all standing side by side - she's gathered enough of her will to let a ball of blue destruction explode from her outstretched palm with a raspy cry of, "Kiren Eki!"

Nevermind that without being rooted in a proper stance, the recoil of unleashing the technique drops Hokuto flat to her back with a loud *THUD* and a groaning, "Aughh..."

COMBATSYS: Karin endures Hokuto's Kiren Eki EX.

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Hokuto           0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1            Karin


Karin hops back to her feet and watches for her opponents next move with a shift into her fighting stance once more, trying to gauge how much life Hokuto had left in her, her hazel eyes locked onto Hokuto while she's getting up. However, the crackling of Chi being generated alerts the Kanzuki heiress to the next move, causing Karin to sprint towards Hokuto, trying to race her way to counter the oncoming Chi attack.

When the blue ball of chi is unleashed, Karin snarls and refuses to back down from her charge, instead taking the blast right to her chest, wincing in pain but pushing through it. She closes the distance and grabs at Hokuto in order to launch her into the air with a throw, and tries to leap up after her, her palms whirling as she tries to strike Hokuto repeatedly through the flight, before her opponent ends up landing, yelling out, "KOU'OU KEN!"

COMBATSYS: Hokuto fails to counter Kanzuki-ryuu Kou'ou Ken from Karin with Goukyaku Nage.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Karin            0/-------/------=|


COMBATSYS: Hokuto can no longer fight.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Karin            0/-------/------=|


What looks at first as if it should be a graceful arc of two martial artists doing battle above the spectators' heads soon terminates with Hokuto dropping from the air like a stone after taking one palm strike too many.

Mercifully, she won't be expected to cover the Sunglasses Hut kiosk that broke her fall.

Karin winds up landing considerably more gracefully at the end of the arching leap, and straightens up once she's regained some balance, and grits her teeth as she turns around to face her opponent, making sure that Hokuto is down.

With a sigh, Karin brushes the locks of her hair out of her eyes, and says, "Since I've won, I'm going to take my winnings, as we agreed." She pauses for a moment, before shrugging and continues, "But seeing as I'm a charitable soul, I'm going to donate that portion of my winnings to you, just so you don't walk out of this without anything to show for it."

Even while she's being genuinely generous, one cannot help but feel she's being a smidgen smug about it.

COMBATSYS: Karin has ended the fight here.

Log created on 17:30:51 11/19/2011 by Karin, and last modified on 10:09:13 12/02/2011.