Description: Takako's Challenge Tour continues in Korea, bringing her in front of the explosively powerful Zach Glen. (Winner: Zach)
Andong Village in South Korea is home to many fine cultural attractions. A historic dam, the seat of an old dynasty, it is a place tourists often come to, and the village trades on its fine and noble past. Today, however, it is the seat of one of the last Neo League matches that Takako will be fighting in Korea on her wandering throughout the land.
She has received word from the organizers that Zach Glenn will be coming to fight her. She knows of him, though she has only seen a few of his fights in the past. She knows that he wields a potent and explosive power, and that if she isn't extremely careful in her actions she will be defeated. Then again, this is nothing new. She did not enter the Neo League to find easy victories, nor opponents who would take it easy on her. She entered the Neo League to push herself to her limits, and she has been resoundingly successful in that, even as her score has slipped lower and lower in the rankings.
She is currently sat in the middle of the village square, which has been cleared for quite some way around to make room for the fight. Her eyes are closed, her bokken laid across her knees. She is meditating, or something like it. Focusing her mind on the battle to come... to divine the path to victory!
By contrast, Takako's opponent knows little about her. The boxer walks into the square, looking around for a moment out of habit; it's good to know your surroundings. You might need an escape route. Not that he thinks he'll need it here. Zach's not usually one to run from a fight. He spots the young lady, appraising her like he tries to with every fighter he's not familiar with.
The first impression is that she is like stone. Patient, enduring. Durable, and steadfast in the face of pain if the expression on her face (along with the past-broken nose) is any indicator. On the other hand, he got her letter. The language, the tone, tells Zach she has no fear of anything, and seeks a challenge. He smiles faintly at the thought.
"Got your letter," Zach says jovially. He nods to the referee before slipping into a mostly orthodox boxing posture, left hand slightly extended and closed into a loose fist. "I am ready whenever you are," he says in a tone that would suggest that he is taking this seriously.
COMBATSYS: Zach has started a fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|
Takako gets up to her feet when she becomes aware that Zach is nearby. She stands up slowly, and brings her sword into her hand in a practiced motion. The weapon is a practice one, for sure, but she handles it as though it were the real thing. To do otherwise would be to dishonor the weapon; to treat it as less than it deserves to be. She is not a particularly jovial sort, but she does nod her head to Zach. "Good." She says.
And then she takes up her stance. She bows briefly, to show him the same respect that he is showing her.
She doesn't wait a moment longer than she needs to, though. In an instant, she is coming forwards. A shout - the cornerstone of her style - on her lips. For such a small creature, she is very... loud.
"KIYAH!"
And the sword comes driving in, aiming for the tip of Zach's nose...
Only to stab downwards, suddenly, aiming to feint into his collarbone instead.
COMBATSYS: Takako has joined the fight here.
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Takako 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Zach
COMBATSYS: Takako successfully hits Zach with Determined Breeze.
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Takako 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Zach
Zach isn't taken aback by Takako's scream. It's not that it's NOT loud, or even loud for someone so small, so much as it seems to fit what he's figured out about her.
Avalanches are falling rocks. Loud, destructive, not relenting for anything in their path. Or they could be snow, but that's not the matter at hand here.
The wooden sword slams into Zach's collarbone, eliciting a grunt of pain from the psion as he tries to slip back from the strike. He keeps his eyes locked on Takako, weighing every movement, every bit of her posture he can take in. Granted, his ability to analyze fighters is not the best, but the psychic doesn't exactly charge in without getting information either.
Granted, his method of doing so might be a bit more aggressive than some. Zach steps in, trying to weave past the sword that acts as much as a barrier as it does a weapon before snapping off a single jab to Takako's face. Mid-swing, golden energy slides along the limb, forming into a guantlet like one might see on a suit of armor!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Takako with Jab Punch.
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Takako 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Zach
The shimmering energy impacts with Takako's face. The blow strikes true... but it does not really budge her very greatly. Though her head whips back, the truth is... she'd been expecting to be hit a little harder. Perhaps that's just because she's been hit a lot by very strong people recently. Or perhaps her head is gradually becoming resistant to impacts.
Whatever the case, if Zach wants to know what type of element Takako is, he is about to find out.
She growls low in the back of her throat, and the wind around the area begins to grow. Her chi surrounds her in these buffeting winds, and then, suddenly, it explodes outwards.
Coupled with a bellowing ROAR, she is entirely surrounded by swirling, cutting winds. It expands out from her very rapidly, aiming to catch and buffet Zach with bursts of air that slash and cut.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Takako's Explosive Tornado.
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Takako 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Zach
The hurricane winds come as a bit of a surprise to Zach. He finds it intriguing to say the least. He narrows his eyes, focusing on something not quite there as he starts backstep from Takako's exploding winds. The boxer slips left, slips right to avoid the dedicated blasts that come screaming at him.
Zach skids to a stop as the winds die down. He has an intense grin on his face. "That," he says, "Was pretty cool." Amber energy slides along his torso as he takes several quick steps to get back into striking range. He's opted against throwing out a blast of raw energy; perhaps like Takako, Zach enjoys a good scrap occassionally.
However, that doesn't mean one should fight /stupidly/. The psion plants his feet once he's lined up his shot, just off of Takako's right flank. Torso and hips rotate to help drive a thunderous fist, augmented by that potent energy at Zach's command, at Takako's liver!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Takako with Liver Blow.
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Takako 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Zach
Takako tries to stand firm against the blow, but she's unable to keep her stance as the punch drives into her, and the energy punches into her organ. Takako... is not a great conversationalist at the best of times. She's definitely even less conversational after she's had some serious damage done to her internal organs.
The girl's teeth grit together hard, and she does her best to recover her focus. It is irritating that he'd gotten out of the way, but it wasn't surprising; energy is still a mystery to her. She releases it sometimes, but her control is lax at best.
Instead, she swings her sword around. The girl rallies swiftly, and returns to the offensive, trying to complete a simple horizontal slash across Zach's chest. She's practiced it a thousand times. But never after having taken quite such a penetrative blow to her liver.
COMBATSYS: Takako successfully hits Zach with Medium Strike.
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Takako 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Zach
Zach grins a bit as Takako continues to bring the fight. Reminds him of him, in some ways. He shifts back, too slowly, and catches the sword firmly on his upper body. He wobbles back a couple of steps, rubbing where the sword struck with his right hand.
"If that had been a real sword," Zach says, "You'd have cut me in two just then." This gives Zach a certain appreciation for the woman's strength and determination. "Which begs the question."
Zach dives back in quickly, driving a shoulder into Takako's upper body as he grabs for Takako's arm. If he makes the grab, he'll perform a simply over-the-shoulder throw to take Takako down before dropping a mass of Soul Power directly onto her!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Takako with Medium Throw.
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Takako 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Zach
It is always the throws that do it, Takako is convinced. It isn't the energy that knocks the fight out of her; energy burns, but energy always burns and it is a sensation she can fight through. You can't just stand there and /take/ a throw, though. Lifted off her feet, she rebounds heavily off the ground, and it completely breaks her stance, her momentum, her offense.
It really is very angering.
"People always ask that." She says, irritably, as she gets back up to her feet. "Why do you not use a real sword?" She spits to the side, and both hands take a firm grip on her sword.
Then instantly, she is coming forwards again. Her sword leads the way, aiming to crash into Zach, and send him hurtling into the sky. If she manages this, he will find that she is soon meeting his eye...
And in an instant, he is slashed around from five directions, so quickly it seems almost to happen instantly... before he is slammed back towards the ground.
And Takako will land, with an angry hmph.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Takako's Fujin's Echo.
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Takako 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Zach
Zach knows something big is coming; the aura from the young woman is intense, and it seems like Zach's struck a sore point with the teen. Takako comes in quickly, and Zach is not at all certain of his ability to slip even the first strike.
However, turtling up is typically a more certain thing. Zach hunches in on himself, catching the upswing on both arms with bone-bruising impact. The force of the strike, despite being dulled by the interruption, is still enough to lift the psion off of his feet. Adrenaline spiking, Zach senses more than sees the next five strikes coming in, and manages to parry the blows with his foreams before being driven to the ground.
Where Takako lands with some grace, Zach thumps hard to the ground. That the boxer keeps his feet in the landing speaks more to training than anything. Glen exhales slowly, bouncing on the balls of his feet to get feeling back in the limbs. He turns to Takako, resuming his stance.
"Well, I /am/ curious," Zach says honestly. "No offense was meant." However, while he may not have meant offense, he also does not mean to stop the match. The psion closes in again, throwing a flickering jab that is followed up by a more committed punch to the gut. More of that burning soul power accompanies both strikes!
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Takako with Rapid Combo.
- Power hit! -
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Takako 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Zach
Takako is about to answer, but the wind is driven out of her by the blow to her gut. The girl had been trying to prepare, but that knocks much of the momentum out of her again, and just burns her up with rage. She's... furious. She could not be more angry, and although the sweat is standing out thick on her forehead, she decides to get around the problem that she can't breathe easily by /not breathing/.
So she is in fact utterly silent as she throws herself back into the fight. Her sword comes slashing around over and over, a trio of crushing strikes that aim to crash into Zach and through his guard. She's bitten the side of her mouth to try and keep her focus, and blood is trickling from the corner of her lips, and her eyes blaze with fury.
Takako tries to fight herself in a fight - to overcome her limitations. She can't do that if she can't breathe, and it drives her to furious distraction.
COMBATSYS: Takako successfully hits Zach with Violent Hurricane.
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Takako 0/-------/--=====|=======\===----\1 Zach
Zach makes a fairly critical mistake at this juncture. He /sees/ Takako charging in, despite the abuse that he's piled on her. Resolve is one thing, but this. Zach steps in, getting ready to slip the strikes once more.
Takako has more to her than it would readily appear. Perhaps his assessment was not all that far off. The strikes come crashing down, the sound of wood of flesh ringing out across the square as Zach staggers back under the assault. The woman is relentless, he thinks.
Zach thinks he can use that, stepping back for a moment to consider his options. Mostly he's looking for a choice opening. Perhaps making one would be a better choice. He steps back in quickly, snapping off a swift punch towards Takako's head once more. If nothing else, it might enrage her enough.
That might be a horrible idea.
COMBATSYS: Takako fails to interrupt Light Punch from Zach with Kami's Roar.
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Takako 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Zach
Zach tries to punch Takako in the head.
Takako rears her head back, and slams it brutally forward into Zach's fist.
The resultant crunch is her nose finding his knuckles, and the angry growl that this elicits from the younger fighter. She bleeds profusely over his fist, and her teeth grind together tight. The impact was, of course, not exactly what she intended to do.
But she isn't down yet, and she isn't giving up.
Instead, she steps up harder into Zach's extended fist, and spits /more/. Literally frothing at the mouth. It... looks like he has succeeded in pissing her off, at least?
Zach takes two steps back, shaking his left fist. Concern is starting to show on his face. A fight is one thing, but this is feeling like less and less of a fight as the thing progresses. He regards Takako warily.
He heaves a sigh of regret. For professional fighters it is a duty, one would almost say a holy obligation, to fight every fight to the best of your ability. While Zach may make money off of fighting... in his heart, he is a long way from truely calling himself a professional. This key failing has cost him fights before.
The psion pauses, waiting to see what Takako does next. This may cost him again.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
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Takako 0/-------/-======|=======\====---\1 Zach
Takako is bleeding pretty profusely, but if anything, she's more frustrated that Zach doesn't finish her off than anything else. She can feel that she's on her last legs; she's been there a lot recently. She doesn't want his pity. And the concern on his face is just infuriating. As if he is refusing to take her seriously just because he's roughed her up.
"What are you waiting for?!" The girl bellows, "... DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"
The wind comes back, and Takako grasps it. Her heart roars her fury at this ... this /insult/ to her capability. Her sword is raised above her head, and as she brings it down, the air between herself and Zach is torn asunder by a roaring wave of sharpened wind that echoes her bellowed cry of defiance.
But using her energy takes a toll. It surges through her, and though Zach may have tried to spare her... she has no interest in being spared. Pushing herself to the very limit, and beyond, she sinks to her knees after the energy is unleashed, and then down into the dirt, unconscious.
COMBATSYS: Takako can no longer fight.
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Zach 1/---====/=======|
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Takako's Bladed Gust EX.
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Zach 1/---====/=======|
Zach's eyes narrow. That did it. However, he can see she's scrapping a hole in the bottom of the barrel. He takes in a deep breath as Takako prepares her last gamble. He locks eyes on the woman, preparing to take her next move head-on.
The winds howl once more with Takako's rage as her blade rises. The blade comes down and the torrent of wind is beyond intense. Zach doesn't bother trying to blast it aside, instead thrusting both hands forward as if to /catch/ the blast of wind.
However, not bare flesh but a golden barrier of energy, tightly controlled spins outward from the waiting palms to disperse the cutting winds. Blood flies from cut palms before the blast dies down. Zach waves them with a wince, closing up the wounds with a slight effort of will before walking over to Takako to try and minister to her wounds as well.
Such bravery should be rewarded, and the best thing Zach can do for that (as he sees it) is to try and shorten her stay in the medical ward.
Log created on 17:27:27 05/28/2012 by Zach, and last modified on 20:18:06 05/28/2012.