Description: Zach and the newcomer Chiyoko duke it out in Africa. This turns out to be a battle of fate. (Winner: Zach)
Chiyoko is running across the Victoria Falls Bridge, apparently leaning out across and looking down at it with a smile apparently enjoying looking down from the high height at the waters beneath the falls themselves. She then sits down and looks up at the sky, smiling at some of the birds passing overhead as she watches them fly by, apparently waiting for someone or something.
Zach is standing on an observation deck, listening to an older man a little shorter than he is. The old man looks at Zach, pointing to the young lady on the bridge. "That's your opponent," the old man says. "We need to set some restrictions to this match. She doesn't look like she'll provide a-." He says this in a tone that suggests Zach will require a challenge in order to get anything constructive from this fight.
Zach's eyes narrow for a moment as he regards Chiyoko before smiling broadly. "No, Coach," Zach interrupts. "No restrictions." Zach turns excitedly towards the causeway towards the bridge. "I'm going all out on this one." He has the look of a kid turned loose in a toy store.
He spins to face the old man as he trots backwards. "This fight's why I signed up for NDP in the first place!" Zach says before taking off at a full run. Zach's coach heaves a sigh, before leaning on the railing to watch the match. He's smiling faintly; Zach's joy was infectious.
A couple moments later, when the camera crews are set up, Zach arrives. "I'm here!" Zach informs the referee, who is looking impatient. "I'm here!" Zach hunches over, planting his hands on his knees to catch his breath for a moment. He looks up at Chiyoko with a broad grin before pulling himself upright.
He points at the girl, an excited look on his face. "You better go all out," Zach says. "I don't think I'll be able to hold back for this fight!"
COMBATSYS: Zach has started a fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Chiyoko has joined the fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Chiyoko
Chiyoko jumps up as she hears Zach approach, standing on her feet with a bit of energy. In the distance behind her, a middle-aged man near a car can be seen looking on apparently either a random spectator or someone who might know her. She then tilts her head at Zach and says, "You feel weird. Most people don't make me feel like this..." and then smiles saying, "Oh well!" before she jumps up and down, stretching a bit and then saying, "Come on!", rushing towards him before making a pretty decent leap at him then crouching down and using the forward momentum to make an upward kick at him saying, "Whee!"
COMBATSYS: Chiyoko successfully hits Zach with Gale Kick.
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Zach 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Chiyoko
Zach takes the kick in the jaw, his head snapping back with the force of the thing. He snaps back to face the young woman, still smiling. He develops a visible aura of amber light, guiding the aura to his left hand even as he snaps out the jab. "Tell me how you feel," Zach says with a grin.
The old man on the deck winces. The brat's getting too heated, and the match has barely started. There's no helping it, the coach realizes. There is no way Zach could /not/ get excited about this match.
Zach is leaping clear of the exchange seconds after finishing the punch.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Chiyoko with Jab Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Zach 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Chiyoko
Chiyoko's head whips over to the side with the punch, before she looks back and says, "Um... Funny. Like I can see you without seeing you. Like I'm feeling something but it's you instead. Does that make sense?" before she handsprings back and says, "Oh well, it doesn't matter!" and punches out towards Zach saying, "Haaaa!" as a ball of energy flies towards Zach, part psychic energy and part kinetic force.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Chiyoko's Psychic Gust.
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Zach 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Chiyoko
"A little," Zach says as he slips to his left, allowing the burst to fly past him. His hair rumples in the wake of Chiyoko's blast as he brings his left hand up, index and middle finger pointing towards his opponent.
"But why doesn't it matter?" he asks curiously. He aims, and snaps off three small bursts of Soul Power at the young lady, trying to corale her into the next part of the engagement.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Chiyoko with Homing Shots.
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Zach 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Chiyoko
"Cause we're fighting, I don't have to know why you make me feel that way or how you feel to fight!" Chiyoko says, "I don't need to know how anyone feels... Except maybe my dad." and then runs in towards Zach and makes two spinning kicks before making a third upward kick at him saying, "And beating you up is more fun than thinking about how I feel!"
COMBATSYS: Chiyoko successfully hits Zach with Tornado Spike.
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Zach 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Chiyoko
The raw honesty, the sheer /purity/ of Chiyoko's otherwise troubling response takes Zach off guard. He takes all three kicks cleanly, staggering back to regard the young woman.
"Suppose you don't," Zach says with a touch of chagrin. There's also something... troubling about the girl's fighting style. Familiar, and not in a good way. Zach backs off. "Fair enough," he finally decides, reaching into the wellspring that is the source of his power. The golden aura intensifies as Zach watches Chiyoko. "Show me what you can do," he challenges.
COMBATSYS: Zach gathers his will.
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Zach 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Chiyoko
Looking at Zach Chiyoko looks at the aura around him and says, "Ooooh... Hey, how are you doing that?" then blinking and saying, "Wait... That can't be good. Gottahithimgottahithim-!" and running up to him, attempting to clothesline him across the neck before spinning around and kicking him while he's falling down.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Chiyoko's Combo Grapple.
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Zach 1/---====/=======|=======\=------\1 Chiyoko
Zach brings both of his forearms up to stop the clothesline before slapping a hand down to shove the kick aside. "It's not hard," Zach says. "You already know how to bring it out of yourself." Zach considers for a moment. "You did it when you threw that blast at me. Only, instead of sending it out, hold it in. Keep it inside of yourself until you need to use it."
Zach steps towards the young lady, thrusting a hand forward. A mass of red-gold energy launches from the fist, screaming towards Chiyoko. The temptation is there, to just throw it all out /right now/. Zach keeps that impulse at bay. He feels like it would be counterproductive in some way. He's learned, since starting on this path, to listen to his gut.
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Chiyoko with Blast Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Zach 1/-======/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Chiyoko
COMBATSYS: Chiyoko gains composure.
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Zach 1/-======/=======|=======\======-\1 Chiyoko
Trying to jump out of the way but taking the blast full on, Chiyoko falls back, bouncing a bit as she does so. "Uhhh..." she says, somewhat dazed as she tries to get up and says, "Need a minute..." apparently staggering and wiping off some blood from her nose saying, "That hurt..." while still trying to catch her breath and possibly regain her concentration.
"Take your time," Zach says, throwing a glance to the match timer before looking back to Chiyoko. "I've waited this long," Zach thinks to himself, "I can wait a little longer." He is not at all sure how this is going to play out, but win or lose, this fight has already been worth it.
"When you're ready," Zach says, he keeps his stance, watching for Chiyoko's next move.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Zach 1/-======/=======|=======\======-\1 Chiyoko
Chiyoko stares at Zach and grins with an appearance of malice previously unseen in her, "You didn't want to do that..." she says in a sing-song voice, before jumping back and forth past him, striking him with telekinetically bladed fists and then saying, "It's over!" and shoving an elbow into his chest with a telekinetic spike on the end.
COMBATSYS: Zach interrupts Tempest Rend from Chiyoko with Pile Bunker EX.
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Zach 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Chiyoko
Zach frowns for the first time in this fight. The malice is as clear, as pure, as her... disinterest shown earlier in the match.
Suddenly, Chiyoko is in his face, slashing furiously at them. "Energy constructs," Zach says appraisingly. He's not surprised; he's done that a few times himself. Blood splatters on the bridge around him. She comes in with the elbow, and Zach /feels/ the spike even before it forms up. He needs to stop it from happening.
"That's enough," he says simply, without malice as he places a hand on the young girl's ribcage. There's is no kinetic force, nothing imparted by body mechanic or limb speed, on that movement. However, Zach instantly produces a telekinetic spike of his own, launching the young woman away from him.
"Aaah!" Chiyoko says as she falls back before slowly getting up, "You-! I'm gonna... Ooooh!" she says, sounding angry in a way that might be childish or maybe a bit darker than that. She then starts the cycle of jumping past him with a telekinetic edge all over again, before attempting to strike him in the chest once more with a telekinetic spike. "It's gotta... Work..." she says as she finishes, before falling to the ground unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Chiyoko can no longer fight.
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Zach 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Chiyoko's Tempest Rend.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
Zach has seen the attack, and the combination of adrenaline and Soul Power serves to sharpen his senses to a degree beyond that of most mortals. He weaves through the blade fists, causing all of them to miss.
She's at the end of her rope here, Zach realizes. He simply twists aside to let the elbow miss him completely. He extends one arm, catching the girl before she faceplants before looking at the referee.
The ref knows when a fighter is done; he is already signalling for the bell. Zach eases the young girl to the bridge, setting her down away from his blood on the planks. He looks at the car, where he knows someone is watching this go down.
He thinks he should wait to see what happens.
COMBATSYS: Zach has ended the fight here.
Noticing Chiyoko fall down, Dr. Hayashi starts to walk over with a slightly faster than usual pace. Arriving nearby, he sighs and says, "Why does she insist on doing these things? Those previous tournaments were fine enough, but going to international fights... Why do I let her?"
Zach looks up and grins faintly. "It's hard to resist," Zach says. "There's something in the fight that calls to a fighter." He looks at Chiyoko. It doesn't seem like she's in danger, but waking up will not be fun. Zach rubs his hands together in an almost meditative fashion. A faint golden light, run through with streaks of green, sheathes the hands as he gently places one where the Pile Bunker struck her. The other hand is placed on her forehead; she will know what to do with the energy better than he would.
Zach looks back up at the man. "Though your last question is perhaps the more important one," he says. "Why /do/ you let her fight like this?" Chiyoko may wake up shortly, or maybe in a few minutes. It depends more about her than it does him at this point, but in the meantime Zach is going to learn more about this doctor who acts like her father.
Dr. Hayashi appears a bit nervous as he says, "I... Well, it's her choice. She'd try to run off and do these things on her own if I didn't help her so I might as well stick with her. If I didn't, who knows what would happen."
Zach looks thoughtful as he brings his hands away from the girl, shaking them once or twice as if to shake off loose water. "Who indeed," Zach says mostly to himself. He extends his right, free of the glowing energy, to the doctor. "I'm Zach Glen," the psion says.
He looks back at the young woman. "She seems a bit confused about what she is," he says. It's not a question.
"She does?.." Dr. Hayashi says, "I... Well, I never really thought about that. She's always seemed happy enough, going out on her own and being able to handle herself quite well. I know she has some psychic ability, but I don't quite know if she understands herself. It could be dangerous, if she tries to go on about this without understanding where here abilities come from or what they can do."
"I don't think that she understands," Zach says. He looks at the Doctor. "And your right. It can be /very/ dangerous. When she first... came into that ability," Zach asks concernedly, "Were you there for it? Did you see what happened?"
His mind is racing. There are... possibilities here.
"I... Knew about her abilities from the start, yes." Dr. Hayashi says, "I'll freely admit, some of it was unnerving when displayed. I don't think she considers fighting or anything at all to be, 'Good' or, 'Evil'. I think she just does what she wants in a lot of ways. But I don't think she would go out of her way to hurt someone either... A lot of trouble could come of that." he says, apparently sounding oddly calm and possibly detached while discussing his surrogate daughter's abilities and mentality.
"It really comes down to her, at the end of the day," Zach says. "And her... outlook on things will go a long way in how she uses her power, how it reacts to her will." Zach frowns a bit, looking over his shoulder. His coach is finally making his way up. "I can, I think, teach her how to /use/ her ability. It will take time, and a lot of effort, but it's doable."
"But I won't lie to you, sir," Zach says frankly. "What I am. What she is, it makes us targets. If she is willing to learn from me, I'll do what I can to keep her safe from those who would do her wrong." Zach shakes his head. "But the world's a pretty dangerous place."
"I know." Dr. Hayashi says, "She's gotten into fights over it before. She nearly lost one fight... I didn't know what would happen to her then, or me." before he pauses and says, "If you really think that you can train her... Well, I'll talk to her about it. If she can learn to understand her power in any way then maybe she might not be as distracted by, 'Strange feelings' or anything like that."
Zach lets out a short laugh. "I can't promise that," Zach says honestly. "But at least it will help her understand and react to them better."
Zach reaches into his pocket, and hands the man a card with a couple of phone numbers. "If you need me," Zach says, "For anything. Give me a call."
"Alright." Dr. Hayashi says before kneeling down and picking up Chiyoko in his arms, "I guess we'll be off then." he says as he moves back to the car in the distance.
Zach gives a nod, a short wave, and heads back to talk to the old man who is a bit shorter than he is. The old man starts to tear into a little bit, talking about taking unnecessary hits.
Zach takes it with good grace; he was right after all. This fight was worth it.
Log created on 21:11:28 04/20/2012 by Zach, and last modified on 14:01:45 04/22/2012.