Description: Famed for her tenacious spirit and remarkable displays of talent under pressure, Sakura Kasugano is surprised to meet a kindred soul in the very first round of the Kazama Invitational. One whose drive and passion is perhaps only just shy of her own...
O-Corp's aggressive marketing policy seems to have worked, and the turnout for the Kazama Invitational Tournament - solid in terms of talent - is phenomenal where the level of public interest is concerned. Every televised bout is getting desirable viewing figures, and those performed publicly are seeing audiences well into the tens of thousands. Today's bout is no different, the promise of talented fan-favourite Sakura Kasugano seeing Osakans and otherwise turn out in droves to the city streets.
An honest-to-goodness fighting ring has been set up to admit the fighting schoolgirl and her opponent, complete with scantily-clad ring girls and a smartly-attired probably-Mexican referee. It's late in the evening, the sun is sinking on the horizon, and bright spotlights have been set up to keep the stage well lit for the occasion. Some fifty thousand have turned out to watch, piled up into the neighbouring skyscrapers at no small cost to O-Corp.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present, in round one of the Kazama Invitational Tournament," the announcer is public for this one too, booming out over a stadium-grade P.A. system, "Your unseeded challenger for the bout - personally sponsored by O-Corp - the femme fatale of thunder and lightning..." With the introduction of her name, Sakura's opponent vaults the top rope into the ring. "RAI! SHUUUUUUUUUU!!"
By no means a big name, this dyed-blonde from Tokyo is a tall, rangey figure clad in what looks like wrestling garb, a brightly-coloured unitard festooned with lightning bolts and a pair of clumpy black boots. Her hair is huge, soaked in hairspray, and crimped into tight ringlets around the edges. Gaudy make-up completes the Kabuki-like picture. In terms of style...
It's all laid bare as Raishuu spins into the center of the ring and throws a wild elbow strike that emits - at its culmination - a furiously impactful burst of vibrant golden chi. A few members of the vast audience, near to the stage, whoop and start chanting, "THUNDER! THUNDER!"
But they're in the minority. Everyone else is waiting for--
"HER opponent, from Southtown, Japan..."
COMBATSYS: Raishuu has started a fight here.
People who know Sakura--and despite her young age, she is pretty well-known amongst 'her people', that group comprising schoolkids and fight-oriented people--knows that she's always up for a fight. More than that, she's up for a -challenge-. She knows Asuka--if not extremely personally, by reputation--and so when word of the Invitational scrolled across her phone's screen, she was probably one of the first to respond. But she didn't really get a response immediately.
Bntil she did, of course. The most minimal of warnings, just enough time to pack a small bag and go. It's something she's become accustomed to, something she's come to relish, that 'time to go' feeling that spikes her adrenaline high and gets her going. The actual ring is, oddly, not something that Sakura fights in regularly, but she's not fazed by it. Raishuu is introduced in a typical pro-wrestler manner, and that reminds Sakura of a favorite idol of hers, Rainbow Mika, and that brings a smile to her face. The announcer's voice is her cue, and she reads it perfectly.
She starts at the far end of the lane, jogging, as he begins to announce... and midway through she speeds up... and just as her name bursts from the PA, Sakura is literally leaping, putting those powerful, trained leg muscles to work, leapfrogging to the top of the nearest turnbuckle, pushing off of it, and flipping forward, landing on her feet with her fists raised, a big grin splitting her face just as the last syllable of her name fades from the PA speakers. She's already evaluating her opponent, giving her the once-over. The curls definitely remind her of someone else, but she doesn't recognize her foe. But no matter. A fight is a fight... a challenge is a challenge. And she always rises to the challenge.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has joined the fight here.
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Sakura 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Raishuu
Sakura's stylish entrance draws an echoing smile from her opponent, though it's touched with the aggressive adrenaline-surge of a battle to come. This relative unknown shows an element of composure in her bearing, and in the fluid kickboxer's stance she assumes just before the ring of the bell, but there's no mistaking that familiar bloom of a fighter's passion. The air crackles with anticipation, and though the immediate audience don't hold their breath - they're too busy cheering into the glowing sunset - a few at home probably do, as Raishuu deftly enters a swift circle of the ring.
She's quick to close though, barking out a, "Pleased to meet you, Sakura Kasugano!" along with a ducking bow of the head, before attempting to cover the distance between them with a rushing dash. Three long steps bring her into a left-foot-forward stance, a feinted jab promising little but the low-angled cross that ultimately erupts for the fighting schoolgirl's abdomen.
"Let's make this *one to remember*!"
As she hisses the last, Raishuu releases another burst of that thunderous energy, a golden blaze spiralling jaggedly from her fist's intended point of collision. Her teeth are clenched, her chin is down, and it's definitely ON!
COMBATSYS: Raishuu successfully hits Sakura with Awesome Chi Strike.
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Sakura 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Raishuu
Fast, agile--that is Sakura's immediate read on her opponent. The kickboxing stance is noted as well, Sakura's weight shifting to the balls of her feet as she begins to dance back and forth, setting the rhythm for herself. She takes a moment to analyze the actions of her opponent, opening her mouth to reply to Raishuu's declration.
"I like your enthusiasm! Yeah! Let's make it something to--OOF!"
Too much analyzing and talking, not quite enough defense; the kickboxer's fist impacts, along with that golden chiburst, and the strike is enough to set Sakura back a couple of steps.
"Good strike," she comments, with a grin, feinting with her own set of left jabs before summoning her own chi. Flashy stuff? Sakura can do flashy stuff. After the third feinted jab, Sakura sets herself, leaning her weight back on her right leg, hands pulled back to her stomach, briefly, a glowing blue-white sphere of energy forming between those hands, expanding nearly to the size of Sakura's torso as she calls out, strongly, "HADOUKEN!!"--
--and then she's hurling the ball at nearly point-blank range. This close, Raishuu can probably hear it hiss and spit like a living thing.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raishuu with Medium Hadouken.
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Raishuu
There's really no time to think, the wild Raishuu's blow scarcely out and her limb recovered when Sakura is mounting her counter-offensive. It's easy to scout an opponent like Kasugano, of course; but knowing that's coming doesn't necessarily mean being prepared to deal with it! The tall woman manages to get her arms across her torso a beat too late, taking the full brunt of Sakura's famous fireball hard enough that she's flung back to the ropes, rebounding onto one knee and breathing hard...
"Pfeh!" Spitting in a manner entirely unlike the Hadouken, Raishuu runs a hand back across her mouth, the other flexing at her hip before it re-forms into a fist. Pushing up to her feet, she says nothing more-- just grinning at Kasugano as she twists at the hip and hops off the springy boards of the ring, whipping one long, shapely leg out to drive a boot toward her younger foe.
It's not the boot that holds the threat; it's not even CLOSE to hitting. But the sharp pulse of flickering, keen-edged chi that lashes across the ring in an instant might at least shake the girl's foundations!
"Back atcha!" The kickboxer barks in the wake of the thunderbolt, switching her stance as she lands with both fists raised and slightly aquiver.
COMBATSYS: Raishuu successfully hits Sakura with Generic Fireball.
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Sakura 0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1 Raishuu
She who hesitates is lost! And Sakura hesitates. Just for amoment, mind you. But it's enough--she has a moment's indecision, which way to go, and that keen-edged chi slams into her. Again it forces her back a few steps; again, it draws a fierce grin from Sakura. It's been too long since she'd fought a completely new opponent--the taste of the unknown is exhilerating. Even if it's also painful. And she has to admire the flashiness of Raishuu's attack--certainly flashier than Sakura's own moves, and hers are even more crowd-pleasing than Ryu's. The pace is all Raishuu's, but Sakura intends to change that, and so she hearkens back to something Ryu once told her.
"The key to winning is to set the pace and the rhythm of the fight. Never play by your opponent's rules, Sakura. You must establish your own." With that in mind, Sakura goes utterly still for just a moment...
And then her stance changes, subtly, her kenes bending. A far more visible clue to what's going on is the rippling, undulating circle of blue-white energy that laps up around her in a circle, knee-height at the topmost.
COMBATSYS: Sakura taps into her inner strength!
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Sakura 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Raishuu
"Everybody say YEAH!"
Raishuu is enthused by the spirit of her successes, small though they may yet be in the context of the fight as a whole - she's clearly no slacker, in terms of talent, but this is the nearest she's come to breaking through on the world stage. The people are watching, and the cameras too, and the vibrant big-haired kickboxer is determined to capitalize. Punching the air beside her, keeping one fist raised near to her chin, she cuts a deft, pirouetting circle around the perimeter of the ring. Sakura's shift in stance...
Is met by further boisterousness on the part of her opponent. Throwing all caution to the proverbial wind (hot as it may come on the heels of a rippling Hadouken), Raishuu rushes in a second time. She throws a quick flurry of punches, ending with a twisting backfist toward the left cheek that seems too oddly angled to cause any real pain--
And indeed it's another feint, designed to open Sakura's guard in the critical area for the taller woman to spin around and drop from her feet, throwing out both legs in an attempt to scissor-kick the fighting schoolgirl facefirst into the canvas! There's no chi on offer, but it's plenty flashy regardless.
It also leaves Raishuu dangerously open should she fail. Caution, meet wind!!
COMBATSYS: Raishuu successfully hits Sakura with Takedown Rush.
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Sakura 1/--=====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Raishuu
Sakura is... just off her game. She would never normally fall for a feint like that--but this time, she does, and it puts her out of position to appropriately defend against the scissoring throw. Even being rooted to the earth, tapping into her inner energies, doesn't help her--she lands with a hard crash, bouncing once. She springs to her feet, but she's not looking as chipper.
Rather, her eyes are a little sharper, her expression more serious. She'd been... not dismissing Raishuu, because that isn't in her nature, but to say she wasn't taking the fight entirely seriously either would have been true. No longer--Sakura's devoting her full attention to this fight now, not in a mood to let herself underestimate her opponent.
Lunging forward, she looks to take a page out of a kickboxer's notebook--specifically, something she saw Sagat do once. Her darting lunge takes her into close proximity to Raishuu, and her hands snap out, looking to lock onto Raishuu's shoulders. Almost simultaneously, her right knee comes up three times, sharply, for Raishuu's middle; if she hits, after the third strike, she'll plant her right foot, and use it as a pivot and fulcrum to twist around, to hurl Raishuu to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Raishuu fails to interrupt Combo Grapple from Sakura with Surging Chi Grapple.
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Sakura 1/-======/=======|======-\-------\0 Raishuu
When Sakura gets back up, so does her opponent, weaving side to side in that slightly modified kickboxing stance. Raishuu's heavily-sprayed hair is only somewhat dishevelled, a side-effect of the modern miracle of Products, and the only sign of wear she's really showing is in the slightly sweaty flush of powdered cheeks. The two move together as one, both equally lively and little to choose between them - for the moment...
It's the tomboy who gets there first, Raishuu seeking to counter the grapple attempt with one of her own, a roll of the shoulders and attempted spin out only seeing her sucked further into the clinch. Motes of vibrant chi explode into nothing, swamping the pair briefly in the dissipating strands of yellow-gold lightning, but it's harmless - flash only, quite unlike the painful introduction of knee to midsection, over and over.
When Sakura is done, her opponent bounces in much the same way she did a few moments prior, but Raishuu is wobbly on her feet as she rises. A little blood streaks from her mouth on one side, and she hesitates before getting her guard back up. Slowly, if firmly, she delivers a nod to Kasugano.
Her expression says it all: we're not done. Give me more!
Sakura's lips peel back in a grin. Truly, she's feeling the same energy, feeding off of it as she's sure Raishuu is, and she can't do anything -but- smile, the grim attitude of a moment ago washed away, as Sakura's moods go. She responds to her opponent--not verbally, but as she reads the expression on Raishuu's face, she nods. More? Sakura has more to give. And Sakura does not know how to give any less than her best--full power.
Her hands go to her stomach one more time, fingers stiffening into claw-like shapes. That blue-white energy explodes into being again, a perfect sphere, then, as Sakura feeds her energies into it through her now-glowing hands, abruptly grows to full size, larger than the first Hadouken she built up--and looking far more fierce. Certainly more solid--Raishuu might, if she has a wild imagination, imagine that she can feel the weight of it in Sakura's hands.
The self-taught Ansatsuken stylist's stance changes, weight shifting from her back forward, adding a touch of energy and spin as she cries out the attack, the last sylalble leaving her lips as the mass of energy leaves her hands.
"SHINKUU.... HADOOOOOOUKEN!"
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raishuu with Shinkuu Hadouken.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1 Raishuu
Kaboom.
There's really no other word for what occurs once the Ansatsuken prodigy unleashes that infamous chi-ball, beautifully sculpted and flung with every mote of energy within that humbly-built frame. Sakura Kasugano has made her name on the fighting circuit through hard work and determination both, and in the instant before Raishuu utterly fails to drive boldly onward and -through- the immense, roiling blaze of Sakura's spirit, the division between them is clear. The audience explodes with excitement...
Raishuu just explodes. Her limbs are a mad tangle as she's scattered across the ring, torso striking the middle rope as she enters a crazed spin, attempting to recover only to flop against the turnbuckle, not so much crouched in the corner as spreadeagled against it. Slowly, slowly, she starts to move before the referee can dismiss her out of hand.
Then, she turns with head lolling and gaze distant, snapping a fist out before her-- toward Kasugano. She sights down its length, uncertainly at first and then with a groggily-mustered grin, teeth now drenched with blood as they grit in a mixture of pride and true fighting spirit. She's made an impact, she thinks, even as she stands there defiant in the fact of such power.
But she's still not done.
"Come on, Sakura!" She yells, stamping a foot as she summons up her own reserves, golden chi spiking from her every pore - then arcing upward and slamming down atop her head and shoulders, setting her ablaze. "You've shown me yours, now let me show you mine!"
Dropping low, she begins to quiver, drawing her hands in toward her breast.
COMBATSYS: Raishuu gathers her will.
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Sakura 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Raishuu
Raishuu's certainly earend Sakura's frank admiration. First for being tough enouhgh to bounce back from taking the Shinkuu Hadouken right to the face; secondly for doing so and being all the more pumped to finish the fight. That's something she can get behind, a sentiment she always advocates. And she'd hate to put Raishuu's effort to waste. The fifty thousand watching are banished from Sakura's mind; for her it is only her and Raishuu.
Running forward, Sakura closes the gap, taking a little skipping hop-step just as she closes in.
She plants on her left foot and twists, mule-kicking straight for Raishuu's chin with her right heel. Proper contact will more than likely break some of that concentration up, even if it's risky by closing in on someone who is clearly building up to something big. But, well...
Risk big, win big. Or lose big. As long as it's -big-. Sakura cannot deny Raishuu her chance to show her full power.
COMBATSYS: Raishuu interrupts Medium Kick from Sakura with Big and Slow Chi Fireball.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\-------\1 Raishuu
That feeling is mutual. That closing of the sights. Even as Raishuu's few stalwart supporters keep on chanting and stamping, chanting and stamping, she draws her focus inward until only she and Sakura remain. Locked in that martial coil from whence only one can step free, triumphant.
It's more than exhilarating. It's everything. It's LIFE.
"Rrrrrrrr.... RAAAAAARGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!"
Whilst Sakura approaches, the yellow-haired, brightly-clad Queen of Thunder is finding every last mote of power within her own, less-prodigious core. The canvas beneath her feet begins to ripple, the boards beneath vibrating and the ring ropes shaking. When the kick connects, sharply drawing a *crack* from the kickboxer's cheek, she is ready to unleash the heavens. She does so with both palms out-thrust, jagged lightning bolts pealing from the pale flesh all the way up her arms to the shoulders, tearing down the tone of muscles...
And screaming past Sakura's extended limb to impact her with a bowl of screeching, popping thunder that leaves a dinsome report ringing in the eardrums of fighters and spectators alike. The display is flashy enough, big enough, but it's more; it has depth, it has true spirit.
The same thing that keeps Raishuu standing even as she rebounds off the ring ropes once more, staggering and then coming upright in her stance, in the very position where she stood a moment before, staring Sakura down.
...and then, closing in, pushing close for the final moments.
This is where they decide who walks away. Who breaks free, and who drowns!
Sakura recoils from the impact, helplessly--there's not much she can do. She was out of position to defend, caught with her limb already extended. She's got great balance but that doesn't really -apply- when she's getting smashed in the body by a thunderous report of chi. It sends her skidding across the canvas floor of the ring, bouncing once again off her left shoulder, flipping almost completely around in mid-air before slamming down onto her face.
She isn't down but for a moment, popping back up, her teeth still bared. "Your fighting spirit is amazing," she tells Raishuu, her voice pitched above the crowd noise but only meant for her opponent. And she can only respond in kind. Give her all, fight until the fight is done. 'til either she or Raishuu has won the day.
It takes but a fraction of a moment for Sakura to refocus herself, to decide on her next action. It is, of course, a fruntal assault. Sakura cocks her right fist at her hip as she dashes forward, closing the gap one more time--and then powering herself into a jumping uppercut, her gloved right fist aimed for Raishuu's chin. It's a move that puts her into full extension, stretched into a picturesque arc, leaping into the spotlight.
COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Raishuu with Shou'ou Ken EX.
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Sakura 0/-------/=======|>>>>>--\-------\0 Raishuu
"Heh!"
There's a moment where the older woman looks as young as Sakura herself, where her vibrancy reigns so totally that she could be a schoolgirl again. Where she might have the potential to be everything Sakura still might be... and it's glorious. Raishuu, still closing in, halts her step for a beat and returns the noble gesture and the overwhelmingly kind words with a nod.
"Yours too," she says with disarming softness, considering the otherwise rough and boisterous manner she exhibits. That would make two of them, then. "It's been an honor." Beat. Sakura is moving in fast, a blur of motion and force. Raishuu doesn't believe she CAN move faster than that, but she tries, correcting her use of the wrong tense with the beginnings of a grin. Of confidence! "Still i--" Then it lands, neatly upon the chin.
They both rise into the spotlight, one carried upon the figurative wings of the other, and the audience hold their breath before erupting--
--at exactly the same moment that the flashy kickboxer does the same.
There's nothing to the blow, really, no strike to carry the expulsion of her life's force. And that's what it is - the same totality with which she struck Sakura moments before, now pouring forth with the purity of instinct even as she starts to fade from consciousness and drop toward the earth.
She'll land like a lightning bolt herself, propelled by the same yellow-gold explosion that threatens to tear Kasugano down with her, jagged spikes lancing every which way - falling just short of striking the crowd.
One last display. One last hurrah. And then... the peace of the afterglow.
COMBATSYS: Raishuu can no longer fight.
COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Raishuu's Point-Blank Chi Blast EX.
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Sakura 0/-------/------=|
It's Matrix time! Sakura throws herself into an artful tumble in midair, tumbling and landing into another tumble, rolling several times across the ring before halting herself, ending up with an arm hooked around a ring rope. It's that which she uses to pull herself up, panting, bruised... and happier than she's been in some time.
Sparring's good and all, but she's missed the feeling of being in actual competition, of having the results mean something. She catches her breath, then bows deeply to the fallen Raishuu. "Thank you for a wonderful match, Raishuu. I'll remember it forever. And treasure it for as long."
Okay, so that should qualify her for the Invitational, shouldn't it? She becomes aware again of the fifty thousand spectators, and turning the cheer back on, she turns in a circle, waving merrily to her fans, old and new, and then, as it's time, she vacates the ring. That was... great fun.
COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:43:23 07/11/2014 by Asuka, and last modified on 05:29:17 07/12/2014.