Description: Two fighters and friends who haven't seen each other in a very long while find their reunion to be a face-off in the Howard Arena, with all proceeds going to benefit a very worthy cause: winner pays at IHOP! Uh, I mean, the Southtown YFCC! (Winner: Frei)
"Don't you -ever- get tired of fighting, Sakura? GEEZ! We could be watching 'Prometheus' right now, that move looks -soooo- awesome!!"
"Ugh, c'mon, Kei. You know you'd just shriek and grab for my arm since you don't have a boyfriend, and stay up all night 'cause you'd be dreaming about saliva-dripping aliens coming to eat your brains. Anyway c'mon, this is for a good cause."
Sakura had this conversation with Kei roughly a half-hour ago, and -now-, as she walks through the tunnels leading to the raised stage at the center of the Howard Arena, Kei's in the audience in her typical pink tee and blue jeans, cheering for her best friend, annoyance momentarily forgotten. Seen in the crowd are other (unplayed) Taiyo supporters, familiar faces to Sakura and to fight fans who -really- know their stuff.
One might think for this sort of occasion--a fight on one of -the- big stages in Southtown--Sakura would be wearing some sort of awesome getup. And she is!
It's her... sailor outfit. But not the blue one--this one replaces the blue with charcoal grey, the yellow with crimson red, and the gloves and shoes are black. An understated, somewhat somber, but sleek color ensemble, if she does say so herself. And made of tougher materials than the usual gi. Getting exposure on TV and getting exposed on TV are two -entirely- different things.
The short-statured girl walks up onto stage fearlessly, with the stride of a seasoned warrior, though her brown eyes and her cheery smile, as she waves to her fans, show that, even if she is, by now, an experienced, strong fighter, she hasn't lost that essential, girlish charm that first won her fans over--or the determination to improve that is so much like her idol's. Stopping up on the stage, she raises her right hand, clenched into a fist, a gesture of triumph, and shouts, her high-pitched voice, "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE YFCC!! YEAH!!!"
ABOUT TWO HOURS AGO:
Smartphones are great things. They can let you check your email on the go, serve as an alarm clock, keep all your appointments handy, and even let you look for directions on the go. Oh right, and they're phones. Although not exactly a technophobe, Frei resisted getting a smartphone for quite some time, if only because he just didn't feel like he needed one. His social circle was small enough (and his email inbox empty enough) that the features were lost on him. But as time wore on even he recognized the need for one, and since professional fighting is lucrative he was able to just go out and snag the latest iPhone. Since then it's mostly jangled around in pocket doing nothing. Right NOW, however, it's playing "Bad Girls" at a really peak volume in honor of the dear department Donna Summer.
Groggily, Frei emerges from the tangle of blankets that is his bed and blearily slaps a hand on the phone before falling unconscious again. 15 minutes later, this process almost repeats itself, except that this time the man actually looks at the phone with a squinty-eyed expression to see:
[6PM: SNF PROMOTING YFCC HOWARD ARENA]
[Current Time: 5:34pm]
"Son of a--!"
NOW (MORE OR LESS)
Having used every last function on his brand-new phone (including asking Siri to do something that may have voided the warrantee) Frei booked it across town to Howard Arena in record time... but he still looks a little, uh, out of it. His red hair is normally a little messy but NOW he's got an epic bedhead-induced cowlick going on, one long strand of ginger hair spiking up and outward at a weird angle. And his tang coat and jeans ensemble looks a little rumpled. And both a YFCC secretary who drove him here and an SNF representative are giving him the EYE for having almost overslept and missed an SNF. But Frei hasn't seen Sakura in some time, and has always enjoyed the challenge fighting her provides, so he's powering through. Of course, someone put a mic in front of him and asked him a question he only vaguely remembers, which is why he stares at Sakura for a moment, and then back at the man with the mic, replying in a sort of dazed tone, "Yeah cheers thanks a lot."
(Question he was asked: "What sort of techniques will you be using out there today?")
Turning back to Sakura with a faint smile, he rubs the back of his head in embarassment. "Thanks for coming out. The Center can use the help."
Sakura doesn't mind -waiting-. She's been waiting on Ryu for -years- now. And making her own way while doing it, sure, but y'know. Waiting's okay. So maybe she's the only one who doesn't look perturbed, though she has to stifle (mostly) a giggle at Frei's appearance. "Hey, as long as we're gonna fight, might as well be for a good cause right? I'm happy to help." Those fierce, brown eyes give Frei another once-over, then she grins again.
"I'd say to get some coffee, but I think a fight is a way better way to wake up--and you look like you need it!" With a friendly wave to the SNF officials and the YFCC representative, Sakura flexes her fingers, rolls her head around to loosen up her neck, and goes through a quick warmup combo, left jab, left jab, right straight, high front kick--and then she turns back to Frei.
"So, let's see what we can do for the YFCC and for our adoring fans, right?" Raising her hands, she extends her left fist for the traditional 'fistbump', and once that's delivered--unless Frei leaves her hangin' like a tard--she retreats back a few steps, bringing her hands back up, and she starts bobbing back and forth on her feet, grinning all the wider in anticipation of the fight.
She'll go all out--and she knows Frei can take it. Probably more than take it. But the challenge is exactly what she wants.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|
Why did you bring up coffee. For a moment, Frei is lost in dreams of a caramel latte and a big fluffy croissant. These breakfast-y dreams mean that in fact he almost does leave Sakura hanging. At the last second he realizes what she's doing and sort of stumble-dashes over to touch fists (WONDERBRO POWERS ACTIVATE) before giving her a nod of acknowledgment. And really, he probably will wake up pretty quick once things get started, which is to say that once Sakura has punched him in the head a few times THINGS WILL BECOME CLEAR.
Ducking back to his side of the arena, Frei takes a breath and centers himself. What he's always loved about the young fighting prodigy he's about to fight is her inventiveness and her energy. Even now she's managing to spin Frei's out-and-out gaffe into encouragement, which is pretty great. He clears his throat and reaches back to grab the hilt of the wooden sword he's been fighting with the past few years... and realizes it's at home. That gets a grimace. "If you're watching, Mom," he mutters, "...sorry."
And you can tell that scores of miles away, in Osaka, his mother is indeed looking at her son with a resigned sigh.
"Okay. Loser pays at IHOP because I want pancakes and I haven't seen you in forever. Deal?" Not that he waits to hear the answer, instead ducking forward and trying to tag Sakura with a flame-wreathed snap kick to the shoulder. Who's going to say no to pancakes, though, I ask you?
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sakura
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Sakura with Light Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
"Deal," she replies, with a grin. Hey, she's gotten -godawful rich- from fighting. It's amazing what people will pay to see people they don't know--from men in their 80s to teenaged girls--beat the absolute spit out of each other, and Sakura's fought a -lot-. She can afford pancakes. But can she afford to take hits from Frei? She's fought the man several times before, and fought alongside him on occasion--she should know him pretty well.
Knowledge, however, is not the be-all, end-all of anything, particularly fighting. There is also execution. It's fair to say that Sakura sees the kick coming--after all, it's not hard to -miss- a foot wreathed in chi-flame--but that's no guarantee of avoidance. The impact half-spins her to her right, leaving her standing left side-on to Frei, and she still grins--but she doesn't say anything, mostly because she's focusing on her own attack.
"Kiii-YAH!" is what she shouts, a very good kiai, as she literally leaps to the attack, hopping up and seeking to... well, to basically slam her doubled fists into Frei's head. It's an impact that, if she gets, she'll repeat twice more, her legs kicked out to either side to faciliate the slamming, hammerfist-like attack.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Sakura's Sakura Otoshi.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Sakura
Later, when Frei has his fight against Zach Glen in the Trial of the Dragon tournament, he's going to secretly regret doing this. But since he is not precognitive, it makes sense that the red-haired fighter would look up to see Sakura about to literally drop right on top of him and not actually make an attempt to get out of the way. Unimpeded, the world's most powerful schoolgirl (more or less) slams both hands onto the top of Frei's head with a resounding *WHAM!*, and then gets two more followups, effectively bouncing her opponent across the arena twice. That's really going to sting later... but through sheer force of will, rather than rolling to a jelly-boned stop after impact 3, Frei looks to effectively rebound off the mat, more or less hurling himself right back at Sakura.
His intentions become pretty clear really quickly: both hands extended, arms crackling with violet-colored bolts of electricity, Frei really just wants to get a grip on Sakura's arms and do his best Benimaru and/or Tesla Coil impression, pouring chi-powered volts into the schoolgirl before turning and chucking her across the arena. It's not exactly elegant, but for someone functioning on no food who's only been awake an hour, Frei's rather happy with his slapdash, impromptu tactics.
Unfortunate side-effect: regardless of the technique's success, the static in the air just makes Frei's bad hair day considerably worse. Like, Yahoo Serious-level worse. "...damn!"
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Sakura with Power Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Sakura
And he -should- be, because the landing she makes isn't perfect and that just opens up an opportunity for Frei. Say what one might about the monk, he knows how to take advantage of them--Sakura makes an attempt to break free, but the chilectricity stops that cold, drawing a yelp from the girl--it's almost a relief when he turns her loose... until she lands, thumping down onto the hard surface of the arena and bouncing once.
The bounce, however, lets her slap her hands down, transferring some energy and altering her trajectory, allowing her to land on her feet. "Man, good thing I sprung for the extra-tough fabric," she mutters, to herself, brushing at a scuff on the fabric--and trying to ignore the bruises already forming.
She has to break her mindset--right now she's very much in an 'attack' mindset--but is that the best way to go? She isn't sure. Frei is a tricky guy--and that chi strength of his is a problem. Re-approaching the monk, she does so at a more cautious pace, closing distance to just inside mid-range--just out of easy reach for either her or Frei--but she doesn't attack. She has to think like Ryu--she has to change the flow of the fight.
COMBATSYS: Sakura focuses on her next action.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Sakura
If Frei's learned one thing about the fighting youth of Southtown over time -- and Sakura in particular -- it's that you can never count them out. Right up until the last second they will put everything they have into the match, not necessarily because they don't want to lose, but because they want to give their all before they give up. This is why when Sakura seems to swap tactics, becoming a little more wary, Frei bites his lip and gives some thought to his own approach to the fight. His typical tactics are to deliver damage where and when he can, and hope that he's durable enough to see it through. But he also knows once Sakura rallies, that might not be enough. So, what are your options, Frei? What do you do?
Banter never hurts.
"You been training on your own?" he asks, circling Sakura as she continues to do the shark dance with him, more or less. "Or just school been keeping you busy? Feels like it's been ages since I've seen you." Well hey, he might be too unconscious for pancakes at the end of this. Might as well ask now!
Of course, he doesn't give her much time to respond, either; deciding that it's now or never, the red-haired fighter rushes forward, hoping to just flat-out overcome Sakura's wariness with a blitzkreig, intending to slam a double palm strike into her stomach, some unseen force giving the blow that much extra kick to it.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Sakura with Fierce Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Sakura
Sakura's been idle too long, maybe. She hasn't fought enough recently--hasn't kept up. There are a multitude of reasons... and in the end, none of them matter. They're excuses. 'I had a bad day.' 'I would've done if.' And she can't stand those. The rushing monk slams that palm strike into her, and the force blows her back, staggering. "Not training enough, apparently," she quips, that grin lessened but still there. She's not out yet, no, but she's got enough of an eye in to know that it isn't looking great for her.
But if she gave up, she wouldn't be -Sakura Kasugano-. Indeed, the resolute fire burns all the brighter in her eyes. Maybe only Frei can see it--unless there's a closeup on Sakura to be shown on the Jumbotron or in a picture-in-picture--but it's there, all the same. Stopping that stumble with a firm foot back, she centers herself, concentrates her power... builds it into energy focused in her hands, between them, a blue-white sphere of power flaring, then growing as she pours more into it.
By the time she releases it--with a defiant cry of "HADOUKEN!!!"--it's the size of a beach ball, reaching out for Frei's chest. Of course, the time it takes to concentrate it is a problem, but the power behind it is usually worth the tradeoff.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to slow Medium Hadouken from Sakura with Hatsuyuki.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\=====--\1 Sakura
Hadouken. The technique that brought these two fighters together, however long ago. Frei even had his own version that he used for a while, building on precepts that Sakura herself taught him. Though he's since adapted his techniques and no longer uses it, the old rainbow-high burst of controlled chaos still exists in the collective media memory, and when he sees it in the occasional old FightTube video or fight still, a smile still comes to Frei's face. Maybe that's why instead of hunkering down and defending himself, in this case, the young sage is compelled to fight back in a different way instead.
"Right, that sounds like a dare!" the redhead says with a smile, bringing one hand up and making a few intricate gestures with his fingers. There is a flash of blue-white, and a sparkle of forming ice crystals in the center of the arena, but Sakura's renewed verve put enough spin on the Hadouken that it's passed the point of reversal by the time Frei attempts this, and the beach ball of doom slams into Frei's chest, knocking him flat on his back.
Still, he's grinning, if more sheepishly this time, when he gets back up. "I guess I deserved that, haha." Still, Sakura seems to be in good spirits and delivered a powerful counterattack besides. Things are getting exciting, now.
Racing after that fireball, Sakura launches herself back on the attack--Conversed feet pounding the flooring before she takes a short leap, her legs curled underneath her, coiled with tense power. Just as she reaches Frei, she kicks out with her left leg--a flying kick, naturally, looking to plant a rubber sole right into Frei's forehead. But wait, there's more!
As she lands from the flying kick she doesn't -stop- attacking. She blitzes, just like Frei did, snapping out a quick punch combination. It should look pretty familiar--left jab, left jab, that he's seen before. When she throws the right hand, though, it's a quick right hook, right to the temple, a stunning blow to give her the time she needs to plant her feet, whip her body around to her right, and grab Frei by the shoulder and hip, right on shoulder, left on hip.
And then she'll sacrifice some dignity, and her balance, to throw him, heaving him over and releasing him at the apex, as she would end up on her back--but with the momentum to roll right back up onto her feet. "You know what the British Special Forces say, right, Frei? Who dares, -wins-!"
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Sakura's Combo Grapple!
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Sakura
Seen from the outside, what follows looks *extremely cool*.
Sakura is a flurry of blows, a veritable Flower Hurricane of precise and powerful attacks. Yet on counterpoint to her furious assault are the apparently instinct-guided motions Frei makes: a hand cups her foot and drops Sakura down from the flying kick, and a barrage of punches is met with impositions of an arm that gently push them aside, or small motions of the head that make the attacks slide through thin air, missing by just a fraction of an inch. When she goes to grab and throw him, Frei goes limp, so that he hits the mat on his hand, doing a roll to match Sakura's so that when they stand, the two are momentarily back to back before they split apart and turn to face each other. For his part, Frei places his hands together, palms outward, at waist height and pushes them away, taking a deep breath outward.
The crowd roars. Let's face it, wouldn't you? That was some pretty impressive Martial Arts(tm) on both sides.
"I've always been more of a fan of 'Keep Calm and Carry On'," Frei says, bringing a hand up near his face, which glows with a halo of opalescent, silver-gold light. Charging Sakura, hand held fingers straight and down at his side -- like the blade he forgot to bring -- the YFCC fighter suddenly swings it at her in a wide arc, metallic chi light slicing a glowing parabola in the air in the path of the blow. "But I think your version suits you better!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura interrupts Houken from Frei with Shinkuu Hadouken.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 1/----===/=======|===----\-------\0 Sakura
"S'not mine, but I'll take it!" exclaims the Ansatsuken cherry blossom, grinning. Hey. That -was- a pretty cool martial arts sequence right there. Eat your -heart- out, Fei Long!! Sakura pivots to follow Frei. And she seems to calm, herself, in the face of that charge, centering her consciousness, reaching within for her resolve. Finding it, taking it in both hands, and forging it into a weapon.
Frei is a -master- of chi, not just a student, and so he probably can't possibly miss the flare of the energy as it suddenly goes from dormant to very, very active, Sakura sinking back a bit on her right leg as her hands come together at her stomach, in that classic pose.
Just as that slashing arm connects, her voice explodes from her, her hands thrust forward, and a literal wall of chi blasts right into Frei's chest, a maelstrom of blue-white power that almost seems to freeze him in place for a moment until it literally explodes outwards, like the shaped charge of a tank gun's main cannon round, hurling the monk away from his target.
Briefly, Sakura celebrates, internally, but it shows most in an even bigger grin and a briefly raised right fist, before she lowers her hands back into fighting position. That won't have put him down for the count.
In fact, Sakura might have the distinct pleasure of hearing Frei say, even as he closes to make his strike, well past the moment when he could turn back or change direction, "...aw, _damnit_."
Yeah, he noticed.
Flash forward a few seconds later, where the be-freckled fighter is dragging himself to his feet. It's not just that Sakura's attack hurt -- it did, by the way -- but that it had... well, _force_ to it, meaning that Frei, who is comparatively light for his sturdiness, went flying almost off the giant granite slab that is the center ring at Howard Arena. There may have been a moment where he lay there staring at the ceiling, mumbling something incoherent about orange juice and bacon.
"I suppose... one good turn deserves another, right?" Frei says to Sakura, raising one eyebrow. He holds up one hand, which glows bright white, and then sweeps it out. Seven motes of white spiral off in Sakura's direction before, like a conductor, Frei sweeps his arm down. The motes drop into the ground, seemingly, before Frei makes one final gesture, sweeping his arm *up*. What comes out of the ground isn't motes of light, however; it's pillars of bright white energy, looking to really put the hurt on Sakura if she doesn't get out of the way.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Sakura with Hokuto Rekkoudan.
Glancing Blow
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Sakura
"Um, well, y'don't -have- to--" Too late. Shit. She can't just sidestep. She's got to time it right--she has no doubt that Frei has enough control over the attack to compensate for that. Wait, wait... wait...
%-NOW-. She lunges to the side--only, her shoe betrays her, her left shoe, and a slick spot, worn into the rubber of the sole, meets a slick spot on the floor. It isn't much--it doesn't even twist her ankle--but it's enough to throw the dodge off, and she gets clipped by a column of white light, sending her spinning away. The flight is uncontrolled until she reaches her peak, and then, violently, she -regains- control, landing on her feet--and stumbling backwards.
"That's a pretty technique," she says, her eyes a little dazzled still, by the sight. Now she -really- has some distance to go... fortunately, she's just the person to do it, too. She's thrown projectiles, she's leapt at Frei...
...now she runs, literally, her right hand by her side, cocked and ready. The charge is long, but if she gets there, Frei will find that Sakura... is just going to pound her fist right into him, in a running uppercut that takes her into the air at the end. Like most of her techniques, it's a substitute for the real thing. She shouts, as she reaches Frei, her voice still clear despite the obvious beating she's taken, "SHOU'OU KEN!!!"
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Shou'ou Ken from Sakura with Reiki.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Sakura
"Thanks. Acacia used to say the same thing," Frei says in response, thinking back to one of his last conversations with the stone-faced young woman who occasionally -- just occasionally -- made her way to the YFCC. She'd once described Frei's fighting style as 'a lot of really pretty lights,' a description that sounds like an insult if you weren't there to hear her explain it. "I wonder where she's beOH god--"
Yeah, that last part was him realizing that Sakura was barreling down on him for a good old-fashioned punchination and believe me, that wiry schoolgirl frame is packing more punch per square inch than a lot of people three times her size. You do not want to just let her smack you in the face. The problem is that now Frei has to think of a plan in the amount of time he has before she gets here which is Not Long.
But apparently some part of Frei's mind kicks into Macguyver Mode, getting all science-y in the process. Bringing his hands together, there is a swirl of green between his palms as he gathers wind chi into a tiny little ball... much smaller than it seems like would do any good as a projectile, right? But science tells us when you compress things they get angry, and when you stop compressing them they take that anger out on the world around them indiscriminately.
Shut up, it's true.
So it goes that Sakura manages to get inside Frei's guard, and even starts to land the first part of her punch, but in the process Frei *lets go of his control of the chi sphere*. The resulting explosive decompression is shaped so that it's directed at Sakura, at which point physics takes over.
Sakura refuses to go down. At the very least, she's not going to just fall over... or, at least, she's going to get back up. She looks woozy, tired, in pain, all those things. And she is. She staggers, but does not go down to one knee... Not until she's worked on instinct.
"...g-good... fight," she says, muzzily. The actions are certainly not directed fully consciously, as she concentrates her chi again, power flowing into her hands, a crackling ball of power forming again--exploding into a larger sphere, the beach-ball-sized weapon of a few minutes prior...
... and then, as she hurls her hands outwards, expanding -again-, into a literal wall of chi, power blazing bright and brief, already ready to burn out even as it surges forward, and only then does Sakura go down to a knee...
COMBATSYS: Sakura has reached second wind!
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Sakura
... and that resolve crystallizes, flares up, and she pushes to her feet once more, forcing leaden limbs to move, the spark in her eyes lighting up bright as day. "N-not gonna be -that- easy, Tsukitomi," she grunts, trying to stabilize herself.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Sakura's Large Hadouken EX.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
Oh, whatever. Like THAT'S going to be enough to keep Sakura Kasugano on the ground.
This is perhaps why when that person-high wall of chi comes flying his way, Frei's prepared for it, already hunkering down into a defensive stance so that the burst spills off around his defense, hammering him for sure but not nearly so potent as if he'd been cocky enough to stop paying attention. As he comes out from behind his crossed arms, there is a smile on Frei's face, that much is clear, as he looks at Sakura. "Wouldn't have it any other way," he says, clearly enjoying himself.
Of course, he doesn't attack, not just yet; he's going to have to prepare himself if he's going to survive even more of Sakura's assaults, and so he stays in stance, taking a deep breath and centering himself, the only sign that he's doing anything other than taking a break for a moment being the brief, sudden wind that often whips by when fighters who know this technique employ it. "Ready for round two?"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Sakura
"Y-you bet," comes Sakura's voice, stronger now, with only a little hitch to it. But she's still dog-tired. Just as Frei pulls some power in, Sakura matches him, the buildup a bit more obvious in her case--flaring orange-yellow around her feet, a licking, undulating circle that reaches her knees.
The flow of power doesn't soothe any aches, but it reduces that heavy feeling in her limbs, and it clears the last of the fog from her eyes. She might go down again, but she'll go down -fighting-. It's her nature. It's what she does. And it's why all those Taiyo kids are cheering for her. They're as judgmental and hard to please as anyone--there are literally -hundreds- of kids, throughout the schools, that fancy themselves as fighters, trained or not. It takes something special to inspire them.
Sakura wouldn't consider herself special, but her friends would tell a different tale, and, if confronted with the facts, Sakura would have to admit that they're true. Then she'd point at several of her friends and tell anyone who asked that they're just as tenacious, just as lively... and she'd be right, too.
COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Sakura
"Have you ever considered," Frei says carefully, even as Sakura mirrors his decision in the fight, "talking at the Center? A lot of the students there look up to you, you know." And, Frei doesn't add out loud, they're *your age*. Every time the nearing-his-30s Frei tries to make a pop culture joke, it falls a little flat. The last time he taught a class someone called him "ojiisan." That shit's just got to STOP. 29 isn't old!
That said, Frei can claim friendships with a lot of the most popular student fighters to come out of multiple Southtown schools, and at the very least, the respect of a few, too (jury's still out in Roy Bromwell's case). That goes a long way to giving him the necessary street cred to be able to handle the YFCC. "And for all you out there thinking of getting into fighting," Frei says in a genial tone, "just call the number at the bottom of your screen for more information."
Up in the broadcast booth, the khyron operator looks at the monitor in confusion. He's not running the YFCC's contact information. This is SNF, not a telethon!
Meanwhile, back down on the stage, Frei decides to make the first move in the second round standoff, advancing on Sakura and attempting to snap her arm up in an arm bar, before spinning her around and pushing her forward with a tiny burst of invisible force from his other hand.
COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Frei's Improvised Throw.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Sakura
"Never been asked," replies Sakura, "but if you want me to, sure, I'll do it. Uh, like Ryu says, though... I'm still learnin'." Okay, he says it a little more -formally-, but it's the same thought! Sakura would not want to pretend to be a master of anything. Not even her own destiny! Except in small chunks, like right now. Even as the operator is looking nonplussed, Sakura is having to deal with Frei. His reach-in isn't resisted, really, but as he lifts her arm and twists it, Sakura moves with it, tugging her arm free and turning to meet that force-pulsing hand with her own, absorbing that as well.
Slipping free, she draws in a deep breath, then throws herself into another close-in combination, launching a heavy series--close right elbow thrust, reinforced with the left palm, a twist into a left hook punch, a twist back into a right uppercut, finishing off with the swinging, scything back roundhouse kick (from her right) that's become one of her trademark techniques.
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Fierce Kick from Sakura with Ashura Ressenjin.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1 Sakura
"Consider this your invitation, then!" Frei says with a smile, pulling away from Sakura and turning to face her once again. He's got to be on his toes, discussion or no; when she's backed into a proverbial corner may be when Sakura is at her strongest, because the girl has what a lot of fighters would kill to possess: a natural 'instinct' for the fight. It's certainly what let her duplicate many of Ryu's signature techniques with little trouble, and when the chips are down it's that subconscious calculation that's working overtime. Case in point, the schoolgirl wastes no time in circling back in on Frei, forcing him onto the defensive.
Unlike before, there's no calm and seemingly easy evasion of blows, here; Frei's defense against the opening salvo is messy, and Sakura tags him with grazing hits over and over again until that final kick sails in, but at that point Frei's weathered enough of the storm to form a plan, and even as Sakura's kick slams into his shoulder, Frei suddenly lunges forward, hands glowing with a dark black-purple energy that's cold to the touch, shoving the Taiyo student off balance just long enough for him to shake off the kick and surge forward, launching a trio of snap kicks to the stomach and shoulders, a palm-heel strike to the underside of Sakura's chin, and then a final double palm strike to her stomach to send her reeling back away from him.
It leaves Frei leaning forward, almost in a football huddle-like stance, taking deep breaths. He'd really like for that to have been decisive because he's about out of tricks AND out of energy. He knows better, but one can dream.
She'll... respond later. Affirmatively. That light in her eyes hasn't gone out yet, not -just- yet... but it's dimming, all the same. It isn't even a conscious summoning of courage, anymore--she's beyond that, for the moment. It's a body honed by practice, by training, by years of the application of the mantra 'You can do -anything- you put your mind to!' that keeps her body going past the point of exhaustion.
There's no sharp cry this time, no acknowledgement of anything beyond the moment, just her body's movements... as she drives forward again, her legs pumping, shoes slapping against the ground as Sakura's fighting spirit takes over for her conscious brain.
She's used her Shou'ou Ken in this fight... and now, it's the 'big brother'. This move, she would shamefully -never- admit, is copied--or originated--from Ken, not Ryu. But it's so stylish that she couldn't help it. Frei will find himself beset upon by a charging Ansatsuken Flower, throwing a short, rushing uppercut, flowing into a less-short version of the same, and then, finally, the last, all-out push, a running uppercut designed to take Frei into the air -with- her.
She'll probably fall after that, to hands and knees if nothing else, but the final effort cannot be denied. She couldn't stop herself if she wanted to.
COMBATSYS: Sakura can no longer fight.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Sakura's Midare Zakura.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|
Again, Frei's defense is far from elegant; he hunkers down and does a lot of praying that Sakura will run out of vigor before he runs out of ability to stand on his own two feet. Blow after blow rains down on Frei's upraised arms, each one sending bone-jarring impact through his whole body. But at last, Sakura is spent, and the YFCC coordinator stumbles backwards and then drops down on his backside, exhausted. There's a bit of a pause as the SNF people don't quite know who to crown the victor, but eventually Frei hauls himself to his feet and walks over to Sakura, offering her a hand up. The crowd goes nuts in apprecation of the fight, and the SNF announcers do their sports-entertainment thing, including a note of the nice donation the Masters Foundation is making to the YFCC thanks to this fight.
"Good to know you've been keeping up your training," Frei says to Sakura with a smile as he offers her that hand up. "And I mean it about coming to talk to the students. They look up to you, and without Alma around I think the place could use a nice strong personality." Here, he smiles sheepishly. "I'm just some guy, I think. Plus, I might not be around forever..."
COMBATSYS: Frei takes no action.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Frei has ended the fight here.
Sakura's literally out for a moment, but that moment passes soon enough; after a moment of stillness, on her knees, she blinks and comes back to herself. "Ooh. Gonna feel that for a while," she comments, wincing, feeling the bruises piling up. The fight clearly over, Sakura pushes up to her feet, then offers Frei another fistbump. "Yeah... I guess I sorta understand that." But she's young and will be alive and vital forever, or at least until she's thirty, which is the same thing to her. God. Thirty. That's so -old-. (Don't tell Ryu she said that. Or thought it.)
"Not really thinking about a legacy or anything like that... I want to be Ryu's legacy. Someday..." She clenches a fist, then relaxes it. "Ooh, ow." Fortunately she heals fast.
"Well, if you want me to come by and talk to the students, I will. I'd be happy to." Waving off the medics, Sakura turns and starts limping away from Frei, gesturing to him over her shoulder.
"C'mon, you said you wanted pancakes. I could use a good nice iced tea and about a billion icepacks, and maybe a short stack of six blueberry pancakes and six sausage links and some scrambled eggs with bacon and gravy and a few biscuits..."
Log created on 17:16:05 06/10/2012 by Frei, and last modified on 09:09:53 06/11/2012.