Description: The Neo Development Project is a thing of great interest to many people now. To some, it's a chance to make big bucks while playing in the smaller end of the swimming pool of fighting skill as a stepping stone to greater things. When Howard Rust comes to speak with Ken Masters about his eligibility, Zach Glen swings by to state his own feelings about his own place in it. From here, Ken reveals to the other two men his own hopes and dreams for the future... and then decides it's a great time to have it out with a fight out on the beach.
The Neo Development League finals are going strong, and while the first round has finished, the second round still has yet to finish. This leaves Ken with a fair bit of free time for the time being, and its rather welcome with how busy things have been in regards to it. This is the time that makes it great to hide out and just relax.
Of course, his own staff fails to realize that sometimes he wants to be left alone, and freely hand out his location (which just so happens to be a beach not to far from where Masters Stadium itself is located.) The waves are prime, and make it easy for blonde Ansatsuken to partake in some oft forgotten fun in the waves with his family. Unfortunately, his wife and son have already left, leaving Ken alone on the sandy beach to his own devices.
So since the sun is still high, and not many people are there to pester him, its time to partake in one of his often neglected hobbies -- The blonde man lays there content on the sand, a pair of rather old and worn sunglasses adorning his face as he does what every good looking blonde guy does.
Get the greatest tan that ever existed.
The first round did not end well for the Kyokugen Dojo. Everyone who came over from Japan to come by and cheer her on before going on down to Sunshine City for a demonstration had high hopes for her going all the way. Getting to the final eight was certainly a feat, sure, but the disappointment still lingers in the air.
Howard Rust ends up missing the other two matches following it in attempting to console Yuri and/or check on her recovery or some such to the point that it crosses his mind... hey, he thinks, I really should get this whole NDP entry thing sorted out. He hasn't heard back from the Masters Foundation about it. Maybe Ken won't be too busy (pfft, during the finals of the highly successful Neo Development Project, what is Rust thinking) to figure out what the paperwork holdup is.
Instead he gets an amusing series of run-arounds and referrals before one of Ken's staffers either takes pity on the man or just mistakenly decides to tell him where he is. It's an odd side trip to the beach, but, the sooner he gets that filed away the better in just lining all his ducks in a row.
Except now that Mr. Rust is now left wandering the (admittedly, very nice!) beaches, and has been for the last half-hour or so wondering if he might've been sent on a wild goose chase. There is one man laying down there getting some sun. Howard, on some level, thinks maybe it's not a good idea to disturb them, but, on the other hand he really has no other lead and the guy he's looking for is extremely famous! Certainly, he'd have known if that guy were around.
"Uhh, hey," the aging man wearing a bit too much for the good beach weather clears his throat as he stands a ways to the side of the sunbathing man, "sorry to, uh, disturb you, see," crap, now I know I'm being rude, does he really know? He starts rubbing the back of his head.
The purple mass on his head seems a bit darker than usual. This is because the sun's rays actually do not want to get any of its UV radiation all icky in its presence.
"I've been lookin' for Ken Masters for the last couple hours, been... been a hell of a time tryin' to find him, last heard he was here. If you've heard anything..."
"Looking for me?" Ken nudges his sunglasses up to quickly glance at the intruder, sitting up as realization as to who has seemingly come calling this time around. A casual grin adorns Ken's face as he slides the sunglasses off entirely. It's obvious that the people who wander this beach are either use to the fact that Ken frequents it, or just really don't care in their own right.
"How're you doing Howard?" The words leave Ken's mouth as if he were regarding an old friend, quickly moving to his feet to extend his right hand in greeting. The horrible purple mass upon the elder man's head makes Ken arch an eyebrow, seemingly questioning just what sort of taste Rust REALLY has to get something like that.
"So, I hear that you're wanting to join the Neo Development Project. I've been hoping you'd be public again, just.. not in the way you were recently." There's an obvious tone of hesitation to Ken's words, the man obviously choosing them carefully to not cause a misunderstanding. "So what made you hunt me down? You could have just called me, you know."
"Ah, no, I m--" It takes a second for Howard to really process that the 'me' in this question is actually Ken and not some guy who didn't hear Ken's name correctly, at which point the older man kind of slumps with a look on his face that speaks entirely of 'good grief.' Either he's happy he finally found Ken or he's still a bit on edge after just being sent all over the stadium and finally out for a walk at the beach. Relief and defeat have never really been so ambiguously close to one another.
One wiping of sweat off his face later, he takes in Ken's handshake with his right hand (why is Howard still wearing work gloves out here?).
He nods at Ken's analysis of the hows and whys. He knows! That's good, that's good. Not good enough to make the weak grip of his right hand's handshake any better, but good enough that his spirits lift up ever so slightly despite a goodly amount of frustration over the last day or so.
"Y-Yeah," Howard clears his throat again, "uhh, actually, your guys just kinda... sent me runnin' all over. But, uh... yeah, guess I shoulda left another message." Common sense has escaped him yet again in a time of great awkwardness born of a small series of slightly unfortunate events. No tragedies, but even now it sometimes seems he just can't get a break (even when in this one particular instance it pretty much is his fault).
"If you're just, takin' a break, didn't mean to... to interrupt that, your guys made it sound like that, ah, that you were there on business or somethin'." Cripes, I feel like I'm even dumber for all this as I speak, the middle-aged man inwardly tells himself.
"But yeah, I'd sent in the, the application 'n everything... I mean, I know some of my friends got word back, got in... pretty quick-like." It speaks well of how the Masters Foundation has been welcoming the up-and-comers, a far cry from the darker and harder days of ever getting really anywhere into organized fighting circles like back in his twenties.
"There... there wasn't a problem, was there?" Ken heard he was interested in joining so Rust there is pretty sure the Foundation got his application.
"Well.." Ken moves to sit back down on the sand, glancing out at the waves. "The problem is that you're not an up and comer anymore Howard. You're something else. You're not a master, but you're not someone who is new to this anymore. You proved that in China." It seems to be a bit hypocritical, considering that Sakura has a King of Fighters title under her own belt.
"There are others who are more famous, of course that still participate.. but its a matter of respect. You have more of the worlds admiration and respect then they do." The blonde Ansatsuken master scratches his chin, idly thinking over the ramifications of this sort of thing, nodding his head slightly. "That doesn't mean I don't want you involved still. I've got something bigger in mind. Just like I told Guile. There comes a point when you just.. have to stop hoarding your secrets and actually start passing on the secrets you've learned."
"Speaking o'," calls out a familiar voice. Zach Glen made his way up the beach between fights, looking only slightly abused. That /could/ be considered a step up from his usual fights. He looks between Rust and Ken. "I think this needs to be my last season in the NDP, Ken," Zach says to Masters, addressing why he was here in the first place. "This last fight, and a couple others, left a bad taste in my mouth. Winning didn't feel like winning, you know?"
The psion looks at Rust for a moment, looking away for a moment. "Sakazaki... did pretty well, considering who she was up against," he says quietly. The statement clearly cost him something. "Don't tell her I said so, though." Zach gets back to the subject at hand. "You're... you probably won't get much out of being in NDP, Rust. Unless you're out for easy money, anyway."
I'm not an up and comer? That's what's on Rust's face as Ken takes a seat back in the sand. He looks about ready to interrupt Ken's explanation and thought processes in an outburst of shock at this when he's had so few fights in the professional rin--
China. That's why. China. He's the man who was left standing after that final catastrophic explosion of Vega's terrible, hateful manifestation of his own soul given power. The man who saved Nepal, and a handful of other countries along the way. The world sure doesn't see him as an up-and-comer.
It speaks to a great internal conflict. The Rust of years ago would be extremely overjoyed to hear and be told that he has a chance, that he's capable, that he could really take home the prize and be considered one of the best of a generation. Now, it is as though he were a kid realizing he's too tall to play in the bright and fun plastic tubing, and his heart sinks just a little more while the waves seem to crash just a little harder against the coast.
It is as though the ocean were going 'haw haw.' (In reality it's trying to get the toupee to go shoo, for the entire ocean can't hold its lunch in its presence any more.)
"I, uh... I see," Howard kind of mumbles out while Ken's scratching his chin. He doesn't perk up when Ken says he doesn't means he doesn't want him involved still, in some way - something bigger? Passing on secrets? What does this sound like?
"You mean, uh," he starts waving his finger as it's on the tip of his tongue (Howard was a high school teacher these last few years, how does the idea Ken's getting at /escape/ him at a time like this?).
Zach's voice gets a head turn, as Rust inwardly thinks that'd be one other person who sure didn't give Ken a phone call either, and now feels marginally less stupid about his day, as he talks about how it'll be his last season here.
"Yeah... she, she really did," he concedes with Zach. He saw that Haoh Sho Ko Ken and frankly he's amazed it didn't shatter the protective barrier. Not that he'd /want/ it to, but holy shit that was a Haoh Sho Ko Ken like almost nothing he'd ever seen - he got the same chills he usually does whenever Takuma is throwing one (...at him).
"Well, Zach, I'm... I'm not gonna lie, money is a bit... tight." It's a hard thing to concede, but he sure didn't think of it as 'easy.' "I mean... you got a, a lot of fights under your belt," far more than himself, "and... and Jones, had a whole career 'bout his skills, and... y'know, thought I'd qualify. I guess, uh," it's hard for him to really imagine that he /is/ ready to play with the big dogs at last, even after somehow managing to survive and stay on his feet against Vega, "I'm... sellin' myself too short there now, huh."
The news of Zach's intentions leave Ken quiet for a few moments, mulling it over in his head. "Hmm. I think that might be a good idea. Especially because of the path you're choosing for yourself." The words are sincere, even if they are tinged with a hint of regret. The blonde man shrugs his shoulders slightly, as if he's trying to truly find a way to be comfortable overall with the idea.
"Both of you are something more then what the Neo Development Project envisions. You're no longer fresh faces to the world, and overall.. You're no longer students, but you aren't masters yet either. It's a slippery slope as to just where you are, and really.. Thats where I need you the most in regards to the NDP. I need you to be the thing that the newcomers strive for. They dream of the masters, but they strive for what lies in between."
Ken runs a hand through his hair, quickly shaking out any sand that might be trapped within his blonde locks. "When I said that there comes a time to when our own secrets must be passed on.. I mean that we shouldn't focus on wether or not we need to pick and choose who should be taught, but that we have a duty to ensure that the next generation CAN surpass us. We're the wall they have to over come. We're the light on their own path. We all have our own to follow, but there are going to be those who chase after /us/, and we need to be bright enough on our own path, so they can see their own. If you understand that at all."
Zach nods a bit. "A little," Zach admits. "If I take any other students, I'm fairly certain I'll be encouraging them to enter the NDP, though. It's generally a good learning experience, I would think." He takes a deep breath.
"It's just... that fight with Neuer just now. That wasn't a fight. If it'd been up to me, I wouldn't have taken that fight unless he asked me for it. I don't know what I got from it, other than knowing I can beat someone down," Zach says softly. "And I already know I can do that."
Howard missed that first round, but given how Zach is looking so shortly after that battle (even moreso, given Zach's particular penchant for bouncing back), it does match what he's heard about that first final round turnout - the feeling he might be beyond the scope of the NDP.
Given how Mr. Jones went and (more or less successfully) made sport of Yuri, Howard has to wonder, inwardly, if there's going to be a couple established guys who'll continue to try and coast for relatively easy money for however long they're going to be allowed to while Ken states his feelings of both men before him - the younger Zach and the older Howard - as to how he sees their roles in the future development of the up-and-coming fighters.
Something to overcome. It strikes something in Howard, whose silence may be betrayed with the rolling of a shoulder (and the accompanying pop - there's that pop, he's almost missed its absence).
"Mr. Masters, uh... Ken," it's kind of funny to think he may be on a first name basis with one of the most influential men in the world, but Howard speaks, "I, I can understand that. I'm a teacher," /was/ a high school teacher, but even though he's technically still in the initiate rank belts of Kyokugen, is already being trusted with helping mentor and oversee the white belts, "that's... that's something we all understand, Ken."
"I know, I'm... I'm in my forties. The age that a, a lot of guys retire at." You have your legendary figures who fight well into their fifties or sixties, but they are much, much, much fewer and further in between. "I'm not... gonna disagree with that view, Ken, but... after all I've gone through, just to get here," and he sure has gone through a lot of things that seemed ready and willing to keep testing him and trying to pull him away from his hopes and dreams, "I don't... I don't feel like lyin' down and being crawled over just yet."
"We all know there are people we can take down while picking our noses and carrying a conversation on with someone else. It's not that we can or should do it.. Its the fact we're able to that makes us realize we're strong, but thats still weakness." Ken seems to be a fountain of useless quotes and merely smiles sadly as he recalls the source. Of course, Rust's own comments make Ken stop.
"AGE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MARTIAL ARTS! There are MANY warriors who throw that right out the window. Tenacity is what seperates us from those who decide that its time to retire!" An unexpected surge of emotion bursts forward from Ken as he stares at Rust, taking slight offense to the words the older man just spoke. "Do we roll over and let them pass us with ease? Never. That's not how it works. We're the walls they have to surpass. They have to figure out how to climb over us, and it never will be easy. We're there to smack them back down, and they get to try over and over."
Ken turns his full attention to both of the men now, mulling over his own thoughts for the briefest of moments. "You're the present. They're the future, and we can't make it easy. The NDP is there to teach them this. I want you both there to assist me in it. Geese Howard has yet to respond, and Sagat himself is interested in it still. Kyokugen be damned. Ansatsuken be damned! The future of martial arts isn't something that has to be so closely guarded anymore!"
Zach listens to Ken's comments about strength, but stops short when Ken goes off on Ken. He rubs at his head from Ken's intensity, but there is still a bit of a grin on his face when he glances at Rust. He doesn't have much to say at this point.
In fact, he feels like he's already said /more/ than enough.
Rust doesn't quite jump at Ken's shouting. The war in mainland Asia may as well have desensitized him somewhat to loud noises (or perhaps served to damage his hearing a bit further than his construction work in his younger years most certainly has). That /stare/, though, that intense, focused stare. The eyes of a man of great dedication looking far into the future to what he believes to be a shining light for all he's interested in, compared to a man whose life was mired in incredible difficulties and deep disappointments getting anywhere with his life.
"I kn--" --ow more about age than you do, he wants to interrupt Ken as he continues by clarifying (almost forcefully) his statements about being the wall they need to overcome. The inner older, grumpy middle-aged man in Howard Rust internally wants to speak up and shout back. Isn't that what he and Zach are doing every day, now, with their students they train alongside and teach? Passing on their knowledge? It's hard to want to try and talk over Ken given the sheer inflection of ferocity and conviction he puts in addressing this.
"Geese Howard?" Asks one Rust in near-silence after Ken's tirade, who remembers hearing the reasons as to why the Southtown Invasion took place years back. /Children were attacked/ over him (albeit schools known to have very powerful fighters, but still, children!), lives were ruined - he remembers hearing a rumor about a young lacrosse player being captured and losing an eye somewhere - so much damage was done over Geese and his supposed involvement with the underworld. Would Geese's involvement invite the same amount of harm and trouble by these same powers to these up-and-coming fighters Ken would want to help nurture? /This/ is what strikes some real fear into the older man, who takes half a step back in the sand as his thoughts communicate some of his fears.
"I've, I've never hid anything 'bout my skills," so Howard says as he gathers his composure to take a full step back forward while Zach's flashing the barest grin at him, waving a finger at Ken out of one of his usual speaking habits, "you want me to sit down 'n talk with some of the... the up 'n comer types, I can do that."
Takuma will get cross with him if he's not getting tuition fees. The Kyokugen Dojo isn't... exactly... in the best financial situation. (Is it ever, given the high dropout rate?)
He seems to want to say something else, but he turns his head off to Zach and just lowers his hand. The ocean crashes a bit more loudly against the coast to punctuate his silence.
Zach looks between the two men, wishing, for a moment that one of them had some asprin. A second later, he realizes that asprin would likely do no good for what is causing the headache.
A moment later, Rust calms down, and some of the pressure on his mind decreases a bit. The psion glances over at Ken, trying to mentally brace himself for more.
"Did you know Howard, or even you Zach.. That the Southtown War was also instigated by Vega?" Ken did infact, notice the fear on Rust's face when he mentioned Geese Howard. A slight hardening of Ken's face however tells a different tale then the older man and the young psion might remember.
"Ryu and I fought him in the City Hall. I don't think many people really remember that, and overall it was a rather difficult thing to explain to the world at large. Now, I'm not trying to say that Geese is an innocent man, and should be forgiven for all the crap he's pulled. He's admitted as much that he's a dirty old bastard himself to me himself. But he did say something that I agree with. It's better to keep a close eye on him and keep him close, then it is to let him run free without anyone watching him."
There isn't really much more Ken can truly say in regards to the disgraced mafioso, but he does move to place a hand on both men's shoulders. "I don't want you to just sit down and talk to them. I want you to teach them what you're really about. Even if it means kicking them in the head and giving them a concussion, do it. Show them your own strength. And if anyone complains about it? I'll take care of it. This is my plan overall, so really I'm the one who should deal with the fall out some of the more narrowminded might have."
Zach's eyes narrow when Vega's name comes up. He never really learned the /reasons/ behind the Southtown War. Nothing about the players driving the thing. He just remembered dealing with a massive invasion of the YFCC. He looks at Rust, then at Ken, as if trying to sort through some things. Zach lets Rust wrestle with his own issues, and opts to address the ones bothering the psion.
"That /sounds/ all well and good," Zach says. "But beating down people who can't really fight back..." Zach's face twists with distaste. "It isn't right." He glances over at Rust, wondering what is going through the man's head. He knows that that kind of thing Quon tried to fight against. It's something he himself has tried to oppose where he could.
Considering the circumstances where Howard often appears to be the last man to know something, or the last person to ever really notice something going off, Howard straightens up a little at the mention. "I... I had a couple people tell me during the... the whole thing."
Back then he was a man running around scared for his students. It's kind of hard to imagine the Howard Rust of /that/ time being the Howard Rust who would eventually be one of the central figures of the war against Vega's bid for complete and utter world domination.
He frowns at the mention Ken makes about Geese's nature - an openly dirty man of dirty dealings by Ken's admission. One of his fists tense up ever so slightly as some gears start turning in his head as to where all this, he thinks, must be going towards.
When Ken puts a hand on their shoulders and relates what he means by all this... it's almost like he's never been to the Kyokugen Dojo during business hours before. If nobody knew better they'd say Takuma Sakazaki was one of the world leaders in egregious child abuse. Rust knows full well Kyokugen isn't about cushy feel-good fitness, it's an extremely physically demanding martial art that calls for the ability to push forth and exceed past physical limits through ludicrous amounts of exercise and punishment.
...Hence the tuition fee issues and financial woes.
"Ken, wait, Ken," Howard raises a hand up on Ken's wrist, "l-let me get this right. The... the reason you're pushin' for all this. Look, stop me if I'm wrong, okay, if I'm wrong," he clears his throat once, "'scuse me."
"You... you want us to push these, these up and comin' types, right," this has been established so far, "so... so that you... we... we're not caught in this, this stalemate with people like... Geese."
With his other hand he's checking his pockets to make sure something's still there and hasn't fallen out (again). It's a suspicious gesture, but one that doesn't seem to lead to much else in itself as he continues speaking. "So... so you mean we're not the... the walls you're talkin' 'bout, you mean... helping the future guys just... exceeding the bad we got today, that they'll be strong enough when... when we can't be there any more."
IT does bring up sad memories of Quon's eventual decisions in the wake of Vega's fall. How... many more Quons would everyone be looking at?
A slight nod of Ken's head may reaffirm some of what Rust is thinking. "In no way do I want to ever think that picking on the little guy is the right thing to do. But.. right now we have to admit that the world is in fragile state. Yes, we could muster our own forces once again against whatever might rear its ugly head.. but how would that really leave us? We'd be broken, unable to really move forward in the way we kind of can now."
Ken walks away from the two men, moving to grab a towel from the sand not far off. "Geese was right when he told me that if he really wanted to, he could start another war.. and quite honestly, we'd lose. Bad. Not that I'd expect him to, but it still left a very bitter taste in my mouth. That's not a dose of medicine I myself ever wanted to take. He also agreed that it isn't just be him that could do it, as there are many others who are quite capable of amassing the amount of people with ease."
The towel gets placed over a shoulder, leaving Ken staring out at the ocean, face obscured. "Martial arts spends its time seperating itself from others, so it can protect secrets. I agree there are things we don't need to teach the world how to do without the proper training, but.. It won't stop them from trying it themselves. Sakura Kasugano is a prime example of this. I know I'm rambling, but.. we need to teach the ones that chase after us the proper way. I know theres going to be a lot who disagree with me on this.. but think about what you want to do Zach.. How much of that is really different from what I'm saying?"
The world seemed to pull itself together right quick in regards to the attention and spotlight put on the fighting world, so far as Howard could tell... but given the amount of trouble people of significant strength can and have caused, how much of this is genuine and not just done out of fear of the heroes that saved them possibly turning back against them in the future...?
As Ken relates what Geese claims about the ability to start another war they'd /lose/, Howard goes back digging through his pocket to pull out an odd silver bangle. Perhaps this claim makes him want to be extra-sure he's holding onto it, as he runs a thumb over it while Ken poses that question over to Zach.
Zach stares at Ken for a very long moment, clearly torn. On the one hand, fighting folks like Brett and Takako and other beginning fighters seems too much like bullying. On the other hand, there's /truth/ to what Ken is saying. He considers for a moment, catching Rust's nervous gesture out of the corner of the eyes.
"So..." the psion says after a long moment, "You'd want us to be validators, of a sort, right? Making sure that people are, I dunno, ready to move up to something like the Neo League?"
"Its much more then that. I want you to be teachers. Martial arts isn't about beating people up. A LOT of people don't realize that. The NDP, and your school is a prime institution to prove this difference once and for all. Its not just about being caught in stalemates with those who would use their power for domination. It's about empowering the next generation entirely to be.. well.. What we are."
The blonde Ansatsuken master turns around to stare at Rust and Zach once more, trying to find a way to fully convey his true intentions. "The next wave is ready to break. Our wave is starting to receed in its own right. Can any of us say we've left them to where they can stand on their own, without having to look to us for guiadance and leadership? None of us will live forever. Its why I felt this idea for a school was such an amazing idea. Its just.. the right thing, and its what the next generation will need. The NDP is just one aspect of my trying to leave the ones that follow after me with an idea of.. I guess its I just want them to grow and come after me."
"I guess its because I want to have that ultimate challenge like every true warrior."
It's hard for Howard to imagine /Ken's/ and /Zach's/ wave beginning to recede, with that analogy, given they're still pretty young and very much growing in some ways! ...Well, perhaps he himself is too, in some ways an old (...middle-aged) dog having learned a couple new tricks these last... four, five years? Turbulent years, they were.
"Uh, all due respect, uh, Ken," Howard looks up from that odd thing he's been holding and safekeeping for the entire trip, "as, as it is... aren't... Zach and I already... doin' that? Teaching. I mean. Teaching." Even if he has some of his trepidations about Zach being a mentor to younger people like himself given that really recent outburst concerning Adon!
The older man scratches the side of his head with his free hand, as though wondering if they might be beginning to speak in circles.
Yeah, Rust, that idea has Zach a bit mindblown too. "...My school's not about martial arts /at all/, though," Zach says after a moment. "Really, it's kind of a side-thing." Zach is silent for a moment, "Nevermind how many psions gravitate towards that kind of thing." In fact, Zach only knows /one/ exception to that, and he's family.
"Anyway. Back to topic," he says quickly. "If you want me for post season stuff, or some kind of mid-season testing thing, I guess I'd be okay with that. But... as much as I want to help people learn... I don't think... No. I /know/ I'm not done learning yet."
"Its.. hard to explain. I mean. We may never stop being students, but we're also guides. Its not JUST being a teacher.. I'm using it in the losest of terms really. It's so many things. Mentor, opponent, challenger. Its all sorts of things." Ken really isn't quite sure as to how he can truly explain it.
He isn't quite sure as to just what exactly else he can say, but he does nod towards the two men. "Whatever you feel that the new comers are in need of, help them get it. If its a gentle nudge in how you think they could develop their own abilities? Do it. If its giving them a true challenge to over come? That too. I mean.. Thats really what I want."
"Well... that... makes sense." Howard thinks he might know what Ken's getting at. Keep teaching/mentoring whatever, but... more of it? Somehow? It seems about as plain to understand as he can really get, given the circumstances, slowly nodding along with Ken. But does he really understand the scope of Ken's vision in the big picture? That extremely far-reaching eye into the future with all the up-and-coming martial artist children that are everywhere nowadays?
Especially ones that can effortlessly kick him in the teeth and then some.
"All right, uh... well," the oldest man among the three of them shrugs his shoulders, "with, with that established... anything else, I mean... while we're here."
It makes a certain amount of sense to the psion. If nothing else, he is already grasping towards that idea. Zach jerks a thumb towards the arena. "I got nothing. Ought to see who I'll be up against in the next round." Zach is, really, hoping Ayame wins. He's /love/ another shot at her in a sanctioned fight. Munin would be an easy win, and all, but he'd rather have the challenge Ayame would present.
A slight grin appears on Ken's face as he moves off towards a bag not to far away from them. He digs around in it, only to pull out an old crimson piece of cloth. His hands grip it tightly as he wraps it around his hair, obviously to keep it from going everywhere as he's been letting it grow out once more. A pair of tattered gloves are then retrieved from the bag, and neatly slid over each hand.
"I think the best way to reward you two for hunting me down like you did is with a friendly spar. Okay, I'll rephrase that. I want to fight the two of you." The natural charisma that Ken gives off in his day to day affairs suddenly starts to pour forward, as the obvious feeling of chi starts to exude from his body. While the two other men may be shocked by this turn..
"It's up to you if you want to do this.. but I'm not going to hold back, and by no means, should either of you." The blonde Ansatsuken master slides his feet into the sand, gripping ahold of the grains with his toes for traction.
It's obvious this is what he really wants.
COMBATSYS: Ken has started a fight here as a boss!
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------------===
"Friendly spar?" Howard mumbles out as he wipes a bit of moisture away from the side of his head. He did just spend a fair amount of time running around on the beach a tad overdressed. The way of Kyokugen does call for significant amounts of physical fitness, but... maybe he should've taken a page out of Yuri's book and brought himself some bottled water as Ken puts that old bit of cloth around their head.
He casts a glance along over to Zach as he finds some secure (he hopes) pocket of his toolbelt to put away that silver trinket thing he's been holding.
When it comes between friends who have known one another for a good long while, things can be communicated in ways that aren't easily picked up on to the naked eye, but between Zach and Rust it should be plain and simple as to what the other one is thinking.
'Let's do this.'
Alternately, 'I just spent a lot of time getting the runaround to see Ken and I just got told I'm too good to be a part of something that really would've helped me out financially and I'm okay with beating the crap out of him for it.'
Either or, nodding his head once in silence as he brings his right hand atop the makeshift hilt of Ol' Rusty, a pop in his elbow as he leans forward and prepares to draw.
"Friendly spar." Rust says again, perhaps less a confirmation and more something to remind himself (which gives credence to the idea the glance communicated the latter statement).
COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------------===
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Rust 0/-------/-------|
'Friendly spar', Zach thinks with a snort. Zach slips into a Detroit-style boxing stance, clearing planning to go balls-out offense. Amber energy slides along his body in preperation for a fight.
The psion's pulse is racing; Ken Masters is widely considered to be at least as much of a legend as Ryu. Getting just /one/ clean hit off of Ken (in a non-insane state) would be a pretty good achievement by itself. This... will be a pretty big challenge, and it ought to at least make up for the match with Brett.
"Get in his face," Zach says to Rust as he starts to circle the Ansatsuken fighter. "Try to get him at the flanks." Zach? Talking strategy? What IS this?!?
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------------===
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////]
Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
"Excellent."
Ken could explain more of what he intends, but really the time for talking isn't there anymore. Now its time for battle, and both of the men are willing to go through with this. Right now he has two men that are both highly dangerous in their own ways, one of which being one of the few who can claim they've taken down the crazed Megachin (Vega).
Ken quickly rushes towards Rust, ignoring the fact that the two men may be trying to think up some form of strategy to use against him. That just makes this even more fun. A true challenge makes the Ansatsuken blood roar, and thats when the world truly agrees it shines its best. Sometimes Ken thinks these brawls are the best. They're the ones the world will never know about, and thats what makes it even better.
It's a secret that he shares with few others.
Ken quickly uses the sand to his bare-footed advantage, allowing it to give him that extra momentum he generally has to force in other arenas with ease. The ball of his left foot pivots as his body twists in a cartwheel like motion, sending his right leg crashing down towards Rust in a vicious reverse roundhouse, aimed right for the older mans neck!
COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Ken's Ushiro Mawashi-geri.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----------====
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rust
Funny that Zach says 'get in his face' when Ken already seems pretty intent to do that for him! Compared to Ken, Howard is at a more noted disadvantage in the sand given he's still wearing... say... boots, and is already fairly well known for being of somewhat sluggish movement.
His left fist tenses as Ken moves in to bring that leg right down on his neck. A slight turn of his body and his lowered head ends up with that kick making contact with his right shoulder - though it may say something that it doesn't immediately get dislocated under the strength of Ken's first strike. It's still a sting, but a world of difference compared to what would've happened if it got his head or neck.
For all the little things Ken may spot that's weak with Rust's opening stance, he doesn't seem to let the shock and pain against his shoulder linger too long, drawing Ol' Rusty after two hard tugs into a horizontal sweep against Ken's midsection to the disconcerting crackles and pops of his body's joints not wanting to move so suddenly.
"Zach!" Rust calls, as if to say 'okay we're already in each others' faces what was that other bit whatever it was /do it/.'
As Rust goes one way, Zach splits off to the other, kicking up a rooster tail of beach sand as he simply hurls himself at Ken. Zach literally ducks Rust's pipe swing, allowing the weapon to nick some loose hairs. Zach's mobility seems unhampered by the terrain. Perhaps it's the Soul Power Zach is using to empower his movement.
Once Rust's backswing is executed, Zach is driving a single piledriver of a right straight at Ken's torso, looking to sandwich Ken between the pipe and the punch!
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ken with Power Strike.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---------======
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken blocks Zach's Straight Punch.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------=======
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
The first blow is enough to make Ken wince slightly. It's obvious that Rust has a good deal of power behind him, and for his age thats something that makes the blonde man realize that he shouldn't ever judge a book by its cover again. That could cause him to once again get his ass handed to him on a silver platter encrusted with rubies and diamonds. He hates having that happen.
The blow that Zach sends hurtling towards him however is one that he can sense coming, quickly turning in the sand with crossed arms to absorb the blow. It hurts, but its obvious that the attack would have hurt a lot more if Zach was just a moment faster.
"Whoa! Okay, you two obviously seem to be mad at me or takin' the whole 'DON'T HOLD BACK NOW, 'YA HEAR!' thing to heart!" A casual grin rests on Ken's face as he leaps backwards, quickly using the sand as a quick escape away from the two men, allowing the two men to continue towards him. It seems that its time to put some own forethought behind his own moves from now on.
"Okay okay. I'll be serious!"
COMBATSYS: Ken starts to get serious!
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----==========
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
"Well, uh, you asked?" Howard seems a bit non-plussed as Ken seems to call 'em out on it as he stretches out one of his legs to work out a few more kinks. He didn't do his stretches earlier today, that's gonna take a toll on him - as is Ken's retreat across the sand. Chasing him...
Game face, Howard, game face, he tells himself. Chasing Ken is still going to be hard stuff, as evidenced by how he doesn't really go any faster than a sluggish jog in this terrain. The slight gliding motion a lot of fighters have with a number of their techniques tends to get hampered by sand, and this little handy trick is one Howard actually relies upon to sometimes close the distance. (Zach may want to take note of this if the two ever fight in Red Arena - keep Rust in the center with all the sand, avoid a Bulldozer.)
Ken decides to get serious, of course, and Howard struggles to think of a way to think ahead, what will Ken do next, how do I best position mys-- how do I communicate this to Z-- fuck it, he thinks, going into a short hop and then going down low across the sand, swinging Ol' Rusty outward from the ground in a wide arc. He might not moved far enough to reliably tag Ken, but if he juuuust stretches his arm out enough (ow, his shoulder goes, still a little tender from that first strike) he might tag him on the shin with the tip of Ol' Rusty.
"You wanted a fight," Zach says with a wide grin. Between his own excitement, the adrenaline, and the surge of joy found in a fight radiating off of Ken like the tides, Zach is riding pretty high. Soul Power surges through him in response as the psion goes high.
Rust is going low, trying to trip Masters. Zach goes high, and instead of trying to punch Ken, the boxer throws an overhead punch... at the top of his arc. The sphere of Soul Power will hit the beach before Zach does. Hopefully, it hits Ken as well!
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ken with Foundation Layer.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|---============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Ken with Blast Punch.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|--------------=|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rust
The sheer tenacity of the two men is something Ken has to respect, especially as both blows collide in perfect harmony with eachother, sending the Ansatsuken master flying backwards. There is a brief cloud of sand that rises up from the sandy beach as he slams into it, leaving the blonde man struggling for a moment to catch his breath.
"Ow."
The word sums up nearly everything that Ken could even bother to say right now. The synchronized attack was something that he didn't expect, and thats something he'll have to remind himself to watch out for later on. For now however, he starts to summon forth chi. It doesn't take long for that ball of bluish-white power to form, nor does it take long for him to thrust it forward, aiming it for the psion in particular.
"HADOUKEN!"
The Hadouken. People may write it off as simplistic compared to some of today's flashier expressions of chi manipulation, but nobody can argue with its strength. Many would say the Hadouken is, indeed, the baseline in which all chi projections that leave the human body should be compared against.
Howard is too slow to pull himself back up off the sand to even /think/ of standing in front of Zach to take the blow (never mind that Zach is, generally speaking, a lot closer). The ex-shop teacher instead finds himself gritting his teeth while one of his knees pop at the sudden burst of movement on his end as he jogs across the remaining distance of the sand.
Knocking Ken back at all means he needs to spend that much more effort catching up to reach him, as it is, if Ken decides to do a running game from here on out.
"Zach!" Howard calls out (and perhaps giving away his position, if Ken's more focused on Zach than him) as he seeks to try and take the American Ansatsuken... A-word for something involving mastery (for the alliteration, of course), to spin him around once to get him off his feet before slamming the makeshift hilt of Ol' Rusty somewhere into Ken's back to try and push him between the two of them, as opposed to further away.
Some might question the wisdom of trying to guide Ken /at/ someone when he's already shot a Hadouken at them.
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Ken's Hadouken.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|--------=======|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Rust
Zach is already moving to help Rust pen Masters in somewhat so in many ways, Zach is charging towards the Hadouken that Ken has fired at him. Zach's eyes go wide as he hurls himself to the side. The heat off of the legendary attack causes the Midwesterner to wince a bit as he just barely stops himself from faceplanting in the sand. The psion is in a low crouch, however, eyeballing the exchange between Rust and Ken for a moment.
"Will /definitely/ need some kind of different footware," the psion thinks to himself. "Sneakers in sand is not a good option. And the Red Arena centers on a beach." Zach frowns a bit, surging Soul Power through his legs to propel him at Ken.
More energy is cycled to his fist, causing a gauntlet of psychic energy to form around his left fist in preparation for a three-quarters punch aimed at striking Ken as the American Ansatsuken Adept is reacting to Rust's combination manuever!
COMBATSYS: Ken instinctively blocks Rust's Armed Combo.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------========|===============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken counters Dynamite Punch from Zach with Shoryuken.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Zach 1/-----==/=======|=------\-------\0 Rust
A slight grin appears on Ken's face as Rust once more rushes foward, trying to block off any route of escape the blonde man may have. As he finds himself being swung around yet again, in order to eat some more of that tasty tetnis riddled length of metal, his hands instinctively reach out, catching it neatly against the palms of his hands. The impact isn't something to sneeze at, but its enough to where Ken could throw off Rust's concentration with that one move.
"Sorry! I really can't afford to get yet /another/ Tetnis shot right now!"
Instinct is still rolling hard for Ken as he feels the psion's energy launch the man towards him. A rather cocky grin appears on Ken's face as he spins around, neatly catching the psi-encased fist to throw Zach off balance. Rapidly ducking down low, a wave of fiery red chi suddenly explodes on Ken's fist as he rises upwards to catch the young psion in the jaw, lifting him upwards towards the heaven as the chi-flames spread outwards to swallow Zach whole.
"SHOOOORYUKEN!"
Not just his concentration, but almost his grip on the pipe! It's no secret that Rust's right hand doesn't have as strong a grip as it used to, thanks to events from the Southtown Invasion. There's an awkward pause with that moment of impact where he dips his posture down lower as if prepared to catch something that nearly falls out of his hand.
"Y-Yeah, those sting," Howard admits that much about tetanus shots. He ends up stepping aside to avoid some sort of clever scenario of Zach accidentally bowling past Ken into himself, but the light of the roaring chi flames of Ken's fists illuminate a completely different approach that Howard is but a spectator to.
The mighty Shoryuken, Ken's trademark. It's one thing to see it on TV. It's another thing to see it in person! The tickle of flames and heat just from being nearby, the brightness (and spots in his vision), pretty much everything.
It's kind of easy to lose sight of one of his best friends possibly losing a couple teeth or even the entire jaw in the wake of something like Ken's Shoryuken, and when that moment of awe passes that's when Howard comes to grips with the idea he should /still do something/.
The sand makes it difficult to glide forward, so maybe it's time to put another tool to work as he steps a few paces closer towards Ken before shortly hopping into the air.
The Kyokugen Hien Shippu Kyaku - Ryo's most famed technique - is known for the powerful advancing kick into a secondary follow-up hit (or more!).
Howard... doesn't quite have the 'advance' part down in full, even as he lunges one of his legs forward and spins his mass in mid-air to deliver the second kick. Instead, he gets a slightly backwards momentum, but hopes to maybe at least catch Ken right as he comes down with the first one.
Zach is sent skyward from the crushing blow of the punch that splits the heavens. The arc is a long one, and it is apparent that Zach's going to need a new shirt as the chi-flames torch it to reveal a scarred torso. The most notable scar is one directly in the center of his chest, slightly larger than a small fist.
The psion crashes to the beach hard, the wind knocked out of him momentarily as he stares at the sky. He blinks the stars out of his vision before regaining his feet. "Right then," Zach says after spitting a bloody gob (that thankfully does NOT contain teeth) on the sands.
The psion doesn't charge in just yet, slashing at the empty air with an open hand. Three faint sheets of golden energy rip into existance a second before slashing at Ken Masters!
COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Ken with Girder Sway.
Glancing Blow
KEN
[ |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----==========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Zach 1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Zach successfully hits Ken with Pile Smash.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Zach 1/---====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Rust
Once more the force of the combined attacks leaves Ken sprawled out upon the rough sand. He winces as he slowly climbs to his feet, feeling that the two men combined are most likely more then he can handle. Age. Fatigue. Lingering wounds. All of these are excuses he could use, but he won't. They're doing just as he asked, and the sheer force of will they're using to answer his call, leaves him no longer grinning, but simply smiling.
The tanks are starting to run low, and Ken realizes it. So he decides its time to bring out his own big guns. Once more chi visibly starts to swell upon the blonde Ansatsuken master's visage. He turns to face Rust as the chi starts to leak out upon his fist.
"Think you can handle this one Howard?"
Zach has already proven his own ability to take one of Ken's legendary attacks and rise back up, however Rust now faces something even more deadly as Ken lunges towards him.
It'll begin with that ever important uppercut, which will lead into that brutal flurry of chi-embraced kicks that seemingly leave one wondering if the burns or the blows are worse. If he manages to land with all this, then what finally follows is the worst part of all.
He'll duck down low one last time, only to rise upwards with a vicious Shoryuken, as a huge torrent of flames explode around the two men, creating a column of flames that could split the heavens themselves.
"SHINRYUU KEN!"
COMBATSYS: Ken successfully hits Rust with Shinryuu Ken+.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-----------====
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Zach 1/---====/=======|=======\===----\1 Rust
Zach winces as Ken feeds his best friend a Shinryuken. He waits for a moment for Rust to regain his stance. He waits a beat before saying "Follow my lead." The psion thrusts his right hand out, summoning a medium-sized sphere of energy. The sphere spins at an incredible rate while wrapping itself around the hand after it closes into a fist.
Zach starts his approach, chambering a right straight as the soul power starts to spin into a drill like shap. Normally, Zach would stop short, plant his feet, and throw the corkscrew right straight and call it done. That is not what he does here. He trusts Rust to be in this area in a couple of seconds, and will need to vacate the area in order to make that possible.
Instead, the psion throws the punch midcharge. Between the momentum of his fist and that drilling mass of Soul Power, the boxing psychic is carried well past Ken regardless of whether or not the punch connects!
"Handle wh--" Oh shit. That 'oh shit' comes from Howard feeling that smash to his jaw before he can even really register what just happened. The uppermost tier of legendary fighters move fast, strike fast, and - most importantly - strike hard. It lifts him up from the crouch he lands in, into a stagger in which every blow seems measured to maximize power without putting in too much force to knock him out of the combination. Such care and balance in strength and the ability to keep the hits flowing is but a sign of a masterstroke assault.
To say nothing of the kicks themselves in their own merit, the percussive beat of the legendary flaming kicks that makes the feeling of burns versus blunt force pretty much difficult to distinguish from one another. It's pain. A lot of it - and the (rather over-achieving, all things considered) green belt of Kyokugen Karate doesn't really feel the sensation of standing on anything any more as the flames envelope him. He's not quite sure where he is, until he hits the ground on his upper back.
Where sand hampers the movements he relies on to close in in a fight, it is merciful in its comparative softness that changes what could've been a sure KO to a brutal assault that he had the extremely unfortunate (though honored) experience first-hand.
Ken's skill and ability far transcends his own, and Ken better not be using age as an excuse for why he's being taken down by two men so seemingly well otherwise - he's still young!
Compared to Rust, who struggles to come to as the purple mass on his head rests on his chest. The sensation of feeling almost naked atop his scalp sees the first real sign of movement even as he groans an incomprehensible string of consonants to lazily shift the... thing... back onto his scalp while his right hand pats about the ground nearby for... ah, there's Ol' Rusty right there.
"Son of a bitch," he finally gets out a coherent statement as he blinks out the spots in his vision, staggering to something resembling a kneel.
'Follow my lead,' says Zach. Easy for /him/ to say, trying to read Zach's movement, as in...
...like that? Pain still swimming in his head and vision somewhat blurry, he points Ol' Rusty back. Time seems to slow for him for a moment. The world, briefly, seems to go dark to him.
A spark of light twinkles somehow on the rusted length of pipe. Yeah, that, that, do it, c'mon. Whether inspired to greater heights by this opening or held together by the general irritation the day's events have inflicted upon him, it's enough to see him get a bit of strenght back enough in his right arm that he lunges forward.
The strength of it alone almost handily overcomes the sand's attempts to trap his foot and slow him down, spraying some of it around him. Coming close to Ken just shortly after Zach passes, he falls into a trip that'd see him to an embarrassingly clumsy kneel - maybe even a faceplant - but not before at least carrying the vast majority of the intended force of the blow into that one amazing, forward strike that hits hard unto itself enough that it almost sounds like a building being knocked down upon impact.
The attacks aren't in 100% perfect synch, but Zach might be onto something here.
COMBATSYS: Ken blocks Zach and Rust's Demolition Spirit.
KEN
[ |||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\===----\1 Rust
There's a moment when Ken believes that this may be the time when he falls to the two men's combined might. Bracing himself, the tandem attacks make the blonde Ansatsuken master wince, especially as he feels the surge of psycho energy slam into his crossed arms. It's obvious he's going to have to get another tetnis shot now. Way to go Rust.
It was a good choice on the two mens part to position themselves in opposite directions, keeping Ken pinned between the two and having to pick only one of his two options. This isn't proving to be the greatest fight of all.
Instead of continuing after the former teacher, Ken tears after Zach, eyes focused solely upon the younger psion. The intent now is to at least take one of the two down, making it easier to force a better verdict on this fight for himself. Divide and conquer. Some old nonsense Ryu would spout off about Sun Tzu or some crap. Generally, Ken'd just tune Ryu out at those points.
Ken's body arches slightly as he brings his right leg upwards, moving to slam it down in a vicious axe-kick to the left of Zach's neck -- a pure collarbone shot.
COMBATSYS: Zach blocks Ken's Ryusen Kyaku.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--------=======
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Rust
In the wake of their crossover assault, Howard does as advertised the last go around - falling to a kneel with one hand on the sand as he starts to cough while sucking in breath. Moving so fast and so suddenly after suffering Ken's most fearsome Shinryuu Ken takes a lot out of anyone... if it doesn't simply just take them out of the fight to begin with! For all intents and purposes it seems for those next couple of moments that it wasn't /Ken/ who suffered the brunt of two extremely powerful assaults turned into one, but rather the oldest fighter among them here.
His breaths are heavy. The wheezing can be heard all the way here. Son of a bitch, Howard thinks, if what /he/ went through was considered a friendly fight he wouldn't want to suffer Ken while he's angry, or... what happened during King of Fighters. That big football player guy broke his hand and arm in short order - imagine what Ken could have done to /him/ under the influence.
Through the corner of his eye, he turns his head to watch Ken go off towards Zach. Does Ken think he's down, or something? Writing me off, the inner challenger to whatever title he's got his eye on now thinks in a moment of sheer cussedness as he struggles to pull himself up to a stand. It's incredibly shaky. He speaks entirely of injury and exhaustion, and yet... he's back up on his feet.
He is the man who survived Vega, after all.
"Ken," he mutters out while he's got his sights set on Zach, "you... you turn 'round right now," he grumbles out, "ain't... done... yet."
It's here that he staggers over to Ken, coughing twice before he brings his legs apart in something resembling a solid enough stance prior to a strike as he sucks in air. There's no further words from here as he thinks to just... kick.
He flings his right leg forward down low. There's a poignant fractional second of a pause before he draws back his leg a bit to do it again, and again, aiming a bit higher each time. It's slowed down enough from the man's tiredness that perhaps this maneuver means little as a threat to one of the generation's greatest fighters.
But holy hell is Howard there trying, kicking again and again and again in the Kyokugen tradition of the Zan'retsuken (...Robert's variation, anyway), making it a seeming miracle with every kick that he just doesn't lose balance and fall over from the sheer physical exhaustion.
His /spirit/ sure seems to still be in the fight.
Zach turns to regard Ken with a look of utter shock. He's frankly surprised the Ansatsuken fighter withstood the assault. He looks over at Rust, the older man clearly winded a good bit. The psion frowns a bit. And then Ken comes to bring an axe-kick to bear on Zach's collarbone in a vicious strike.
Okay, then, Zach thinks. He'll have to cover for Rust until the Kyokugen fighter can bring some offense back to the table. He needs to do what he can to slow Ken down. The box starts to zig and zag on his approach to Ken, before firing off a vicious soul powered shot to the taller man's liver!
COMBATSYS: Ken blocks Rust's Man At Work.
KEN
[ |||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-------========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken dodges Zach's Liver Blow.
KEN
[ |||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-------========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rust
As Zach nears Ken with yet another psycho powered shot, the blonde master quickly steps to the side, grinning as he watches him move past. Of course, the other man is still trying to prove he's in this fight (which Ken never once said he wasn't!), delivering some rather heavy kicks for someone who seems to be out of the fight themselves!
Ken's body tenses as the blows strike him, wincing even more as he drops down to his knees from the sheer force of them.
"Man. You two are vicious!"
A slightly sadistic grin appears on Ken's face as he notices something, quickly rising back up to leap into the air. Chi forces his body to rotate violently as his right leg extends outwards, creating a slight vortex of air beneath him as he seeks to draw both of the rather battered men into this violent attack.
"TATSUMAKI SENPUU KYAKU!"
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Ken's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
KEN
[ ||||||||| ]
0|---------------|------=========
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Zach endures Ken's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku.
KEN
[ ||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Zach 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Rust
The Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku might just be a simpler technique compared to what the man suffered before, but from compounding injury and fatigue it sure feels like a lot more to that older man as he gets spun about Ken's striking legs. There is something of an effort to at least ward it off with his left arm, but for every rotating kick there's another behind it and it really only takes two kicks to dislodge any meaningful defense the older man could put up as the rest more or less slams about his upper body in places he's not quite sure he can identify. The blows are that quick and relentless to a tired, numbing body that wants to respond to every bit of painful stimulus with stinging numbness and an increasing lack of sensation thereof.
There's also sand spraying in his face. That's very unpleasant. He'd probably prefer the kicking to the sand if he were of the mind and circumstance to choose.
Spinning about and staggering to every kick, nonetheless, the Kyokugen pipe fighter stays on his feet. With a scowl born entirely of exhaustion and the desire to simply just keep pushing himself, there's not a lot his body is willing or wanting to do in terms of... moving. It wants to lie down. One of his right shoulders pop loudly as if to say 'hey buddy, the rest of my joint friends say that you should lay do--'
Shut up, shoulder, he says as he takes Ol' Rusty and swings it haphazardly into Ken's side without a whole lot of regard to whether or not he's still hurricane kicking his ass. It's really fortunate it comes to an end very shortly after he's made up his mind to flip his body the bird, but it's not going to be treating him kindly tonight in turn, that's for sure.
He doesn't have anything to tell Zach, but maybe he thinks Zach will be on his game enough to not accidentally get his head in the way or something.
Zach sees the legendary technique coming. And, following Rust's example, Zach steps /into/ the furious storm of kicking kicks. He grits his teeth through the pain of the torrent of kicks. Rust takes a swing at Ken with that pipe, and Zach realizes that the older man's about /done/, physically speaking. He knows the signs.
Fighting Ken with the two of them will be pretty much impossible, the psion considers. However, he is /right in close/ to Ken, and that leg is coming around for another pass. Zach reaches out, trying to grab that kicking leg. If that's managed, Zach is going to use Ken's leg as a level to spin once, then twice, and on the third rotation, hurl Ken away from the pair.
Zach, however, is /Zach/. He does very few things, offensively, without /some/ application of Soul Power. This time will be no exception, as Zach hurriedly prepares a sphere about the size and density of a sixteen pound bowling ball. Which is promptly hurled at Ken!
COMBATSYS: Ken just-defends Rust's Weakened Medium Strike!
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|--=============
[ \\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken parries Zach's Meteor Shoot!
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
0|---------------|-==============
[ \\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Rust
Right now, if anyone were to be watching this brawl, they'd only see the sand of the beach billowing about in think clouds. It's obvious all three men are intent on giving this their all. However, none of them are down just yet!
As that heavy bar is brought crashing towards Ken once more, the blonde man grabs ahold of the bar, bringing its momentum to an absolute stop. The grin that rests on Ken's face says it all to the older man. He lets go of the bar as he steps backwards, neatly grabbing ahold now of the sphere of psycho energy that was launched towards him. He pushes the ball away, launching it into the water.
He's got one close target, and his body is already starting to give out on its own accord. Ken's hands reach forward, seeking to grab ahold of the gi that rests upon Rust's chest, to pull him back in a vicious throw as he uses his own weight to add extra force into it. If he's successful, Rust'll have a foot to the stomach to fling him away.
COMBATSYS: Rust endures Ken's Jigoku-guruma EX.
KEN
[ ||||||||||||||| ]
1|-------------==|===============
[ \\\\\\ < > /// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Rust
It should be noted none of the sand settles on that... dark purple thing on the man's head. The sand seems to refuse, entirely, to touch it as opposed to some sort of miraculous breakthrough in synthetic hair hair technology (or authentic eldritch fashion horror sorcery, hard to say). This may prove to be far less interesting of a sight considering what passes through next.
Ken catches the tired body of Rust's form on overextending, even with that hard stop and momentary release in which to bat away Zach's incredible psychic strength - the older man's stance is horrendously uneven leaning forward and it just lends itself well enough to being grabbed by his gi.
"What're you... smilin'," he mumbles a bit late to the uptake - given Ken's grin flashed well before the actual process of being thrown - but some things hold true through muscle memory alone. He actually flings his entire body weight into that throw in hopes of putting Ken a bit off balance, maybe get a release early from the unexpected extra force. It is, however, kind of hard to really put a lot of weight into something consciously when your body's just... done.
He's not.
In some ways this turns out to be a bad idea - throwing himself into it takes out a fair bit of the momentum but turns that kick-off from a clean toss into an equally painful repulsion that nonetheless leaves him standing maybe a bit too close for comfort (...and further injured, winded).
It's really the 'standing maybe a bit too close for comfort' part that's the silver lining as the older man stops thinking about really much of anything and draws back his left hand in an openly telegraphed palm strike, sucking in air as he thrusts it forward at Ken's form in the unmistakable Ko'ou Ken motion most Kyokugen users follow.
There's no fireball after it, or even any spark of chi to witness, but the grunt almost passes for something of a proper kiai in the belief that the motion itself makes for a fine palm strike unto itself.
Zach tries to catch his breath, which is not something he is easily regaining at the moment. Ken flings Rust, and the esrtwhile teacher is somewhat quick to respond to the move. Zach pulls himself upright, and reaches deep for a little more energy. Just one more spark of power from his soul.
He finds it, feeling the heartfire swell up within himself. It hurts a little, but nothing comes without a cost. Zach grasps that spark, and holds it close, using his physical stamina to force his legs to get in close. That small glimmer of light cascades down Zach's arm as he throws a three-quarters punch directly at Ken's jaw before detonating with surprising force!
COMBATSYS: Ken endures Rust's Weakened Random Strike.
KEN
[ ||||||||||| ]
1|------------===|===============
[ \\\\\ < > /// ]
Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken interrupts Dynamite Punch from Zach with Shippuujinrai Kyaku.
[ < > /// ]
Zach 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Rust
COMBATSYS: Ken can no longer fight.
[ < > /// ]
Zach 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Rust
Rust's blow knocks the wind out of Ken's lungs, leaving him weaving on his feet from lack of oxygen. It's obvious that one attack almost left him down and out, but it still isn't quite enough to put Ken down.
Chi starts to swell violently once more upon Ken's body as he stares at Rust, obviously intending on dishing out this next move of his to the older man.. That is until Zach rushes forward and slams that soul-powered blow to his jaw. The blonde man's legs immediatly surge forward, slamming brutal and rapid kicks into Zach's body. There's something strange as Ken's body continues this brutal onslaught, only for it to come to a stop as he falls over into the sand.
"..."
Normally, Ken'd be even more talkative after a fight, but upon closer inspection?
All one can hear is a soft snore.
Fighting - Better then any sleep medication there is! Get into one today!
Zach is pummelled by thr kicks, too exhausted from throwing the punch to dodge. Ken lands ungracfully. Zach... simply crashed. One last thought goes through the psion's mind.
*If this costs me the tournament, I'm taking it out of Ken's hide. Somehow.
COMBATSYS: Zach takes no action.
[ \\\ <
Rust 0/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
[ \\\ <
Rust 0/-------/=======|
Howard's still there, standing, in fact nearly falling upon Ken for some sort of weight support when he lands that palm strike on him. The warmth of newly drawn chi is a frightening thing for a man of Ken's strength and Rust's slowly disappearing own with every step and flex of tired muscle. One of his knees start to twinge painfully in such close proximity to Zach's decisive soul-powered blow as Ken starts giving kicks, and Howard falls to a kneel just as he thinks to swing at Ken again with that pipe.
He makes a big show of it too, gaining a little bit of speed as both Zach and Ken collapse over one another. His right hand tenses about as hard as it really can on its grip of the pipe as he thinks, I still got enough, I can swing, I can swing--
Which should soon be amaneded to 'I can also trip over Ken thanks to misjudging how close my feet are to him,' as Howard proceeds to do just that, flopping over into the sand as all three of them seem to be entirely at their strength's end.
Considering the earlier conversation about the importance of passing on one's skills and strength to a new generation and the understanding that the both of them are now well out of the scope of what the Neo Development Project is supposed to encompass, surely there is a most poignant way for the men present to come to a solemn understanding of what must be done from here on out.
Howard, exhausted to the bone like in his older work days and (uncomfortably) conscious while his body feels ready to just pass out cold, certainly has come to a very important conclusion about everything that has led up to this.
"N-next time," he mumbles, muffled by the sand now in front of his mouth, "'m callin' on the... the phone."
...
Lesson learned!
Log created on 20:37:34 06/08/2012 by Rust, and last modified on 04:44:45 06/18/2012.