MOTM - Saturday, December 11, 2004 -------------------------------------------- Downtown Without a shadow of a doubt the heart and soul of Southtown, the downtown area occupies the largest single chunk of the peninsula. A completely urban area where most of the city's population not only makes their home, but also makes their living. Dotted with mid-height buildings, Downtown lacks the elegance of the money-quenched business district...generally middle-class, crime also happens to thrive here, making even the best parts of the area a place where many would watch their backs in the thick of night. However, thanks to the work of the vigilante students of nearby Gedo High School, the area has become a far more comfortable place to live. With last night's crushing defeat at the hands of one Seishirou Ryouhara, Sakura really didn't want to do much of -anything- this morning. Uncharacteristically sour, she feels particularly embarassed that she didn't have much of a defense against the quick ninja type. Her wounds weren't much more than she'd sustained in any other fight, just a few bumps and bruises and the burnt skin on her forearms, but ... she's used to that. But even still, her parents had urged her to at least check in with the doctor for outpatient care as soon as the main desk opened up in the morning. And boy, is she in a sulky mood. She walks back out into the main lobby, stopping by the entry desk to fill out some paperwork. Apparently, the paperwork jockey's on a first-name basis with Sakura. Wonder how -that- happened. "Yeah... nothing serious, but my parents figured that since they got the high-risk plan, they may as well use it." she explains mirthlessly, idly glancing over her shoulder. She'd just put on a t-shirt and sweatpants for the day though, with a light windbreaker draped over her shoulder, since there's no school to speak of. Still, that white headband ought to stand out. Though not being checked out for injury herself, like she could with Takuma watching over her like a hawk, Yuri is here visiting someone else. In this case, the injuries are much more severe. Particularly Ryo's face looks rather messed up, thanks to a particular pair of boots hitting them over and over again. For Yuri, who (though reluctantly) looks up to her brother, it's rather difficult to see him all bandaged up like that. Though at least he's getting better and all that, because if he wasn't... why, she'd kill him! Or whatever. As she leaves Ryo's hospital room, she wipes a couple of quick tears from her eyes and puts on a strong face, before leaving for the exit. As she arrives at the lobby, she too is wearing a different outfit than normal. A blue jersey shirt and a pair of simple red sweatpants, and of course her trademark Converse All-Stars. Beyond that though, she still wears her red headband and hair in her typical braid. She seems a bit more subdued than she normally is, but for Yuri, that might not be a bad thing. She doesn't notice Sakura at first though, her mind is too occupied with other stuff. Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. Quiet restfulness, speeding people on the way to recovery. Unfortunately, not all patients are the cooperative type. Some, in fact, go so far in the opposite direction of cooperation that they meet cooperation from the other side...in a sort of mutual annihilation antimatter deal. Case in point - Lei Jian, Chinese gongfu fighter extraordinaire. Also the victim of a rather severe thrashing in last night's school tournament clash. Having spent the past eight hours unconscious in a hospital bed, he is once again back in the world of the living. Much to the chagrin of hospital staff, really. "YOU GET BACK HERE!" Wincing at the shrill scream of an angry nurse, Jian stumbles slightly. But he still keeps running, hurdling a parked gurney...and racing down the corridor in his bare feet, green hospital gown flapping around him. In hot pursuit is a rather red-faced looking woman, an injection needle held in one upraised fist. "IT'S JUST A TETANUS SHOT, MISTER LEI!" "NOOOOO! YOU'RE ONE OF -THEM-, AREN'T YOU?!" With that, Jian bursts through a set of swinging double doors...into the lobby. Rushing past the front counter, Sakura and Yuri. All the way through, across the room, and out through another set of doors. "Yeah... didn't do so well last night. I'll get over it, I'm sure, I just need to not think about it for a wh--" Sakura blinks, gaze sloooowly sliding over to the sound of commotion down the hallway. "Uh..." And when Jian storms through, Sakura turns and flattens herself against the front desk, palms pressed to the side in an attempt to lower her profile for the stampede. "Aaaaaah!" she spouts, eyes following Jian as he runs the heck out of there. "... Man, you'd think they were trying to suck his brains through a straw or something..." Blinking for a moment, she casts a nervous glance back to her "friend" at the desk: "They -aren't-, right?" But at least Sakura's -smiling-, at any rate -- even if it is a faint expression. Folding her paperwork into a neat, crisp manila envelope, she cranes her neck out to see if Jian's coming back... and in doing so, happens to notice Yuri. "...Y.... -you!-" Jaw slackening in disbelief, Sakura stares at the fighter she'd encountered at the US tournament -- having anecdotally pieced together that she was Ryo's sister, but still struggling with the tenuous connection. "The badly-dressed karate ripoff from Seattle! I remember you!" Meanwhile, as Sakura and Yuri are exchanging social pleasantries...there's a rather large amount of din from the background. Somewhere in the distance, in the bowels of the hospital...a lot of clattering, assorted yelps and the sound of people yelling and screaming. Then, presently, there's silence. After a moment or two, the door leading to the corridor that Jian and his pursuer vanished in swings open. And the Chinese fighter walks through. No longer running, and apparently not being chased anymore. He's also not wearing the hospital gown anymore. He seems to have found a pair of surgical scrub pants from somewhere, though his feet and chest are still bare. Blood-spotted bandages are clearly visible over his torso, but the injuries don't seem to be slowing him down any. Oh, and he's also got a white doctor's coat. Complete with stethoscope hanging around his neck. Padding across the lobby, he makes his way to the front counter, and rings the bell. The receptionist stares at him oddly. Tidying the blond streaks in his hair, now rather in disarray, Jian says brightly, "Hi, Lei Jian, from ward twenty-three D for Denmark. I'd like to get discharged, please...and do you know where my clothes are?" With only the exclamation of the nurses being one of -them- being her warning, Yuri is suddenly smacked in the face by one of said double doors. Well that's one to snap her out of her depressed day-dream state! Plus random violence is a natural part of the Kyokugen girl's life. She stumbles backwards, and yells out, "Dammit! Don't burst through the doors like that!" And, just then, the nurse bursts through those same double doors *WHAMMO x2!* causing Yuri to stumble back even further, this time holding a hand over her face and nose. "O-o-owwwwww.... My nose is gonna become an innie if this continues much longer..." And just to ensure the surprises keep rolling on, she suddenly hears a voice shout from behind her. Her ear practically turns red when she gets called the 'badly-dressed karate ripoff' and she quickly turns around in anger. When Sakura comes into her sights she points, "Ah! You! I remember you! You are..." ... "Ummm..." she scratches her head and cutely asks, "Who are you again?" Just then, a thin trickle of blood comes from her nose. She acks, and pinches her nose shut while running to the counter! Taking one of the tissues there to begin treating her poor abused nose. Narrowing her eyes at Yuri -- was that a spark of electricity that passed between the two young ladies just then? -- Sakura twitches lightly. "You -don't- remember! I oughta sock you one just for saying that!" She clenches her fist, shaking it in a mock threat, before taking a relieved breath. "But it looks like the door already took care of that for me," she admits with a winking grin. Bowing properly, with her hands at her thighs, she smiles, "Sakura Kasugano! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance -again-, Miss Yuri Sakazaki." It's hard for the obsessive fangirl to forget a face, especially one that dealt her that much trouble! She shrugs a bit, grinning: "Visiting your brother? I heard he took quite the nasty fall a couple weeks ago... Visited him a while back, but he wasn't awake. Is he feeling any better?" She starts to continue the conversation, but then Jian comes up -- Kasugano makes way for Jian -- it's not like she's actually gonna get in the way of the bandaged guy in the doctor's coat. "Uh... heh... hi!" She ... -kinda- recognizes him. And the name is vaguely familiar. But even still, she doesn't really know what to say beyond, "It's just a -shot-... it's not like they're sucking your soul out or anything." From where he's arguing with the desk orderly, Jian turns slightly. He glances first at the girl trying to staunch the flow of blood from her nose - then at Sakura, who spoke. The Chinese fighter blinks, apparently noticing them for the first time. Well, of course, he had other things on his mind when he passed through the lobby the first time. Like escaping the Evil Nurse of the Injection Needle. As Jian's attention shifts elsewhere, the poor beleaguered receptionist sighs. Fighters. The hospital doesn't pay enough for mere mortals to deal with this. "It's -evil-, I tell you," Jian hisses through clenched teeth, "-evi---'ey, what's up with her?" He points a finger at the nosebleeding Yuri. Quite innocently, too. No, he has no idea what he did. Besides, he can't be held responsible for the door, can he? Nope. Not culpable at all. Nuh-uh. Yuri doesn't really notice the spark of electricity, in fact she's too concerned with her own nose to care much for Sakura right now. she tears off a bit of tissue and stuffs it up her nose to stop the blood flow, and takes a relieved breath. Now, looking a bit more rediculous than before, she turns back to face Sakura with an attempt at a serious face. She rubs her chin and looks at the other girl's face closely, "You do look sorta familiar... Sakura, Sakura Kasugano... where have I heard that name before?" Then suddenly a flash of insight comes over her, and she snaps her fingers, "Of course! That crazy cosplay chick! I remember you now..." Her thoughts are interrupted by Jian walking back into the room, though she isn't so quick as to make way for him. After all, she recognizes him as the crazy guy who whalloped her in the nose with the door. She scowls at him, which only grows deeper as he pretends not to know what happened. She clenches her hand into a tight fist, "And -you-! This is your doing! Look at my nose! It looks like a flattened raisin..." she finishes with a sniff and an angry pout. "Oh." Jian scratches his head. "Well, that might be an improvement, innit? I mean, nose jobs are in fashion and everything, riii---" The Chinese guy doesn't finish the sentence, because there's a rather large man looming up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder. On his injured shoulder, too, the one liberally swathed with bandages. "---ow! Wh--oh." Jian trails off, blinking at the uniformed individual holding on to him, taking in the much larger man's grim visage, dark clothing, and neat little badge marked 'Security'. "---um." And that's all she wrote, as the protesting Jian gets led off by the disgruntled guard. The hospital -really- doesn't pay them enough to deal with this. Sakura says, "Evil? It's not evil, I get shots all the time, and look at me!" She flexes her biceps, the still-red blemishes from her fight plainly visible: a nice match for the rather unsightly bruise on her chin. Yeah, shots are good for you -- they make you lose fights like crazy! She glances back over to Yuri's nose, before answering Jian flatly, "... actually, she's a victim of your lil' stampede just now. Don't you know you're not s'posed to run in hospitals?" And then Yuri calls her out. "... I ... I am -not- a cosplay chick! Why the heck do you keep -calling- me that?! It's my school uniform, y'gotta problem with that?!" She does seem glad that Yuri called her the same thing as before though -- even if it doesn't really show in her petulant expression. "... Well... aside from the blood, it looks pretty much the same as before, really..." Grinning toothily, she takes a step back, just in case Sakazaki decides to take that the way she'd intended. ... As for Jian getting hauled off by security, Sakura passes them a nervous smile and a wave. "... Oops." So as the comments about her nose are made Yuri's pout deepens, and then becomes a scowl, and then an angry glare. She does grin when Jian is being led off though, and looks particularly evil since her eyes are still glaring. She calls after him, cupping both hands around her mouth, "Yeah! That's what you get ya jerk! I hope you drop the soap in the shower!" ... Apparently Yuri is hoping a bit too much in the situation. Either way, now with Jian out of the way, she can focus her attentions on that annoying cosplay girl, aka Sakura. She turns back towards Sakura and thrusts a finger forward, right towards the other girl's nose. She stops just short of pressing it in as well, and says, "Well at least mine doesn't look like a squashed plum!" She looks over Sakura's wounds briefly and says, "Hmm, looks like you got kicked around again. Isn't there a time you aren't being someone else's punching bag?" Sakura can't help but snicker at Yuri's call to the passing Jian. She never really found a reason to -dislike- the Chinese man, but just can't always find the right words to respond to him. As much of a smartaleck as she can be at times, the level of his insanity is just miles above her own. ... Though when Yuri jabs that finger at her nose, Kasugano goes cross-eyed to stare at it. "It doesn't?" she asks quietly, a wry grin creeping across her features. "Coulda fooled me... but if that's the look you're going for, I'd be happy to help with a little deconstructive surgery!" As for the once-over, Sakura shrugs... "... Well, yeah, but I'm happy to say most of my injuries came from something a bit harder to dodge than a swinging door!" Laughing, she turns tail and starts jogging for the door. "C'mon, Sakazaki, you owe me a rematch!" My my my, sparks are flying now aren't they? Yuri's lips practically peel back into a snarl at the door comment, to which she stammers out, "I had my mind on something else! That was not even fair! My guard was down!" Then with a 'hmmmph' she turns to her side and crosses her arms. She looks over at Sakura, her eyes slightly slitted, and then in mock arrogance she says, "I don't know. Picking on those who can't defend themselves isn't a very good thing to do. Though, if you insist, maybe I can add a bruises to your collection." Unfortunately, Sakura misses her performance of mock arrogance by running towards the door ahead of her. Yuri's face drops, and then she grits her teeth in a slight grin. She needs this actually, this is just the kind of workout to help her forget the stress of the last few weeks. She then runs out the door after Sakura, "Alright Kasugano! You're on, but try to stay in the fight longer than a few rounds this time OK? Sakura says, "Pssh! Excuses, excuses!" Sakura calls back. "A true martial artist should be ready for a fight anytime, anywhere! Even if it is against a helpless inanimate object that doesn't know any better. Besides, where's your sense of -honor?- I didn't see you even -apologize- to that door for the dent your shriveled raisin left in it. Geez!" She grins, letting Yuri's remark slide off her as she steps through the revolving glass doors of the hospital. Well, only because it's hard to -hear- through those things. But when Yuri exits the hospital, Sakura's fists are at the ready! Even though she's only in a t-shirt, and covered with bruises, she's still plucky enough to challenge Sakazaki just the same! It's her fighting spirit, that can't be held down for long! The fight was -just- what Sakura needed to lift her spirits -- even if she does get stuffed like last time. "Heh... I wonder if your brother can see you get your ass beat from his room! Maybe we should try for a window view!" Laughing, she passes a quick glance up -- wasn't his room on the front side? But still, there's a fight at hand, and she's already starting to get fired up. Fists clenched at her sides, her bruises start changing from their hideous purple to a more pleasant periwinkle, as a torrent of blue energy lights her features. "Bring it on, Sakazaki!" COMBATSYS: Sakura has started a fight here. COMBATSYS: Sakura gathers her will. COMBATSYS: Yuri has joined the fight here. [\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////////] Sakura 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Yuri As the Kyokugen Karate girl moves through the revolving doors, she continues her verbal assault and defense against Sakura. She says, "Pfft! The door attacked me, so it shoulda known what it was getting into. I hope you don't expect me to apologize for handing your butt to ya!" As soon as she exits the glass doors she skids to a stop in front of Sakura. The light blue jersey shirt she wears is ruffled slightly in the breeze, along with her braid and the tails of her signature red headband. She grins and takes a traditional fighter's pose when Sakura tells her to bring it on, "Osu!" and then breaks out into a run towards the other fighter. When she reaches her target she spins around on the heel of one foot, while bringing her other, red sweatpant clad leg high into an air in a full circle. As she reaches Sakura, she begins to bring the heel of her foot fully down on top of the girl... wasting no time nor a chance while Sakura is busy focusing. Who has time for focusing when there's ass kicking to be done? COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Yuri's Senkai Kyaku. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ] Sakura 0/-------/--=====|-------\-------\0 Yuri Oh, now Yuri's trying to ripoff Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku? Well, Sakura's not having any of that. "Still a copycat!" she shouts in reply, taking a quick step back and throwing her sturdy forearms up in a defense, neatly parrying Yuri's kick to give Sakura a few instants of recovery time. Her arms take a lot of abuse, but she's more than used to it by now! Though -- the bad thing about Yuri's charge is that it placed her really close to Sakura. And... unlike before, Sakura's had practice with the waiting game. Seishirou may have been about twice as fast as she was -- but she has a feeling Yuri's going to be a bit more balanced fight! Rather than totally drop her defense, Sakura snaps her left fist out in a quick jab for Yuri's battered nose -- but it's just a feint that she doesn't intend to hit with. The real hit is what comes next -- a rushing uppercut from her right hand, plunging forth at Yuri's solar plexus before Kasugano's legs can uncoil, springing it into a -leaping- uppercut with the cry, "SHOOOO-OU KEN!" COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Yuri with Shou'ou Ken. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////// ] Sakura 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Yuri Yuri is a bit disappointed that her kick doesn't connect with something more pleasing - like the Sakura girl's big mouth. Because it seems whenever she opens it, particularly after Yuri performs a move, it manages to infuriate the Kyokugen girl to no end! Once her foot lands on the ground she glares at Sakura, "Stop calling me that! You... cosplay creep!" But unfortunately, in slinging her insult at Sakura she drops her guard again. Not necessarily against the feint towards her nose. No, to that she quiet successfully throws her hands in front of her sensitive, and well beaten nose. Rather, she doesn't notice the uppercut until it's much too late. With that attack, she is sent flying backwards with quite a bit of the breath knocked right out of her. She clutches her chest in midair, and quickly moves to recover before she hits a telephone pole behind her. Her All-Stars skid along the ground as she slides to a stop. She clutches her chest, panting loudly, before responding to Sakura, "Alright... try to tell me I'm a copy cat after this one. Chou Mawashi Geri!" And with that she leaps towards Sakura, with her hands held in the air above her. One leg points straight to the earth while the other is pointed straight out, and she spins like a top. Three times she spins, and with each spin she hopes to catch that mouth of Sakura's in the spin. COMBATSYS: Yuri successfully hits Sakura with Chou Mawashi Geri. - Power hit! - [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ] Sakura 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Yuri "If you can't take the truth, plug your ears with the same kinda tissue you crammed up your nose! Life doesn't get any easier, girlfriend!" Sakura cups her hands over her mouth to shout that retort back at Yuri, already starting to back away from her charge. Though... she does pause for a moment, eyebrow raised at Yuri's unconventional attack. "Well, that one's even -more- like Ryu's Tatsuma--" She's cut off, though, for in the midst of analyzing her opponent's attack, she'd somewhat forgotten to respond to it. Kasugano starts to raise her arms in a hasty attempt to block -- and indeed, she -does- manage to get one hand up to deflect the first kick. Though it's the wrong hand -- and it gets slapped away from the sheer -speed- of the kick, allowing Yuri's foot to slam into her cheek anyway. The second kick unsteadies the Taiyo student further; in trying to stand up and deliver a counterattack, Sakura falls to the third kick, utterly rocked and socked in the head a bit too much for comfort. "Moreso than ever!" she cries back, placing one hand on the ground and swinging back to a high position -- upside down, anyway! It's a high kick that Sakura delivers, left hand low, right fist swinging in concert with her right foot as she delivers an inverse crescent kick, aimed at taking advantage of Yuri's spinning momentum, and knocking her further off to the side! "You'll be wishin you could cosplay as -me- in the next tournament!" she shouts back with a broad smile. COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Sakura's Medium Kick. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ] Sakura 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Yuri Now that, on the other hand, was much more satisfying. The slurs Sakura shouted about her attacks being cut off by a successful Chou Mawashi Geri (which she invented, because she said so... so there nyaah!) has her grinning like a cat as she drops towards the ground to land. As she does though, she suddenly spots something coming towards her, and -fast-. It's Sakura's foot! She's ready this time, for once, and manages to twist her body just enough so that the attack misses her by bare inches. However, in redirecting her weight in mid-air, she goes into a roll and out into the street. This causes some drivers to have to either brake quickly for pull off the road just to avoid the tumbling Kyokugen girl. When she comes to a stop, she lifts her head and looks towards Sakura. She stands, and turns to pat her butt at the other girl, "Nyaah! You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, much less this dainty, innocent, and beautiful young woman!" While taunting the other girl, some of the drivers get out to complain. But soon they recognize one, or both of the girls and fall quiet, realizing what is going on here. A true Street Fighting session! And as if to prove it, Yuri suddenly kicks her foot into the ground. The manhole cover of the manhole she was standing on flips up, and she hefts it up into both hands. Grunting slightly she says, "Hey Kasugano! Since you're so lousy and fighting, let's play frisbee instead. Catch!" And with that, she flings the large metal disc towards her opponent! COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Yuri's Large Thrown Object. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ] Sakura 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Yuri "Dainty, innocent, and beautiful?" Sakura feigns confusion at the remark, scratching the side of her head as Yuri flings the oversized, massively heavy frisbee at her. Sakura points off towards one of the drivers who screeched to a halt as Yuri did her impression of a wayward soccer ball. "Heh, you mean that one in the red convertible checking you out?" Half-expecting Yuri to look off to the side, though, Kasugano takes the opportunity to charge -towards- the aerial manhole cover. She leaps just before it hits, bringing her knees up to her chest, and then -springing- off the metal disc in mid-air. As it clamors to the ground, ringing around in a circle, Sakura's flying for the Sakazaki girl -- who's hopefully still trying to find the shiny (and nonexistent) convertible. "I didn't know you liked =girls!=" cries the airborne Sakura, before slamming down at the braid-tailed one with a twin-fisted axehandle, augmented by all the force of her running leap! So sorry that she couldn't be hit by the frisbee. ... Though the harried holiday shoppers are probably wishing the two girls had picked a better place to fight than the middle of one of downtown's busiest streets. At least it's a weekend! COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Yuri with Sakura Otoshi. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ] Sakura 1/----===/=======|=======\=------\1 Yuri Well, if nothing else, Yuri is really easy to distract given a little thought. Very little thought. Like just pointing off in a random direction and saying something equally random, which partially describes what Sakura did. Yuri, in slight confusion, looks towards the direction that Sakura pointed, "Huh? What d'ya mean? There isn't a red convert.... aw crap!" She turns quickly back around, her braid whipping around with her as she looks skyward at the high flying Sakura. She doesn't have time to snap back at Sakura's comment, since soon she is sent down into the earth by the rather powerful axe handle. Sure she did try to to stop it with her arms, but the attack knocked right through them and directly into the Kyokugen girl's forehead. She groans loudly, twisting to the side slightly as a trickle of blood drips from where the attack hit. That's going to be one nasty bruise later. She looks up at Sakura and snaps, "I am not! But who could blame her for looking if she was? After all, I guess you would know... you smacked me on my butt last fight! And that hair style, very butch!" she remarks with a grin before shouting, "Ko'ou Ken!" And, from her laying down position she pulls her arm back. Focusing her ki, a flare of pink energy ignites within her fist. Leaving slight vapor trails from between her fingers, she then slings the growing mass of pink energy directly at Sakura at point blank range. If nothing else, this will give her a little room to recover. COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Yuri's Ko'ou Ken. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ] Sakura 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Yuri Ooh, it's =on=, now. Sakura has received far more than a fair share of comments concerning her tomboyishness -- those, she can take. But that? Ooh. Granted, Kasugano was the one who brought the remarks 'there,' so it's only fitting -- but that's not to say it's not a sore spot for the girl. "I -kicked- your butt, in more ways than one!" she snaps back, before eyeing the fireball warily, taking a step back just in case. She hurls her left shoulder and forearm into absorbing the brunt of the blow, turning to her side to lessen her profile so that the rest of the pink energy can wash on past her. Luckily, Sakura notes, it's not quite the same kind of null, voidlike sensation that she gets from other people's attacks -- but even more luckily, she only took part of the blow, the rest still sifting through the folds of her t-shirt and headband. "Long hair gets in the way when I'm laying the smackdown!" she shouts, squinting as she rushes through the remaining motes of the Ko'ou Ken, throwing a weak left jab as another feint before arcing her right foot overhead, to bring it crashing down upon Yuri's shoulder! None of the usual accompanying flash of her skirt, since she's wearing baggy pants -- hence, the extra distraction! "Yuu--tta!" COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Yuri with Flower Kick. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ] Sakura 1/--=====/=======|=======\====---\1 Yuri Though it didn't do as much damage as Yuri may have wished, it did do its job. Yuri manages to get to her feet, though she's now beginning to show some wear. The back of her jersey shirt is practically ruined now, and some deep scratches can be seen from where her back hit the rough surface of the asphalt street. Right before Sakura's kick hits Yuri manages to shout out, "Yeah! That's what -all- the closet perverts say. C'mon Sakura, just admit it, it will feel much better y'know!" She giggles, evilly. Fully capable of seeing the effect that her last comment had on the other girl, she can't help but grind it in a bit deeper. However, she can't help being hit by the resulting kick either. She raises her arms in attempt to block, but once again the attack just breaks through her defense. Her arms, now badly bruised, fall away but not before deflecting the kick to hit her on the chest. She squeals out in pain, "Pervert! Super Ecchi!" while wrapping her arms around her chest, "Now you smack my boobs too! That's it..." She rushes straight towards Sakura, "Hien Hou'ou Kyaku!!!" COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Yuri's Hien Hou'ou Kyaku. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ] Sakura 1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0 Yuri Sakura wasn't exactly -aiming- for Yuri's chest -- it just happened to land there! Much to Sakura's chagrin, as she knows firsthand just how much that can -hurt-. Just not right now. But we're getting ahead of ourselves: "Admit that you're a closet pervert? Okay! It won't affect our friendship in the slightest, I promise!" As the Kasugano All-Stars crash through Sakazaki enemy lines, she starts to feel a bit better about the fight -- until she's withdrawing her foot to get blasted for being a pervert. "If it bothers you so much, quit slamming your butt and your boobs in the way of my foot! It's not =my= fault your defense sucks!" Though, as Yuri runs straight towards Sakura, the Taiyo student is already backing away in preparation. "Hien whatEVER!" As Yuri's foot careens for Sakura's thigh, the shorter girl slings her knee upwards, unsettling Yuri's chance to run up her. Yuri's second step finds itself true on Sakura's hip just the same, though -- which prompts Sakura to reach down and try to sweep Yuri off her feet! Not in the sense she's being accused of, though, but rather in an unorthodox manner of slinging her around 180 degrees, tossing her to the ground. "Hien Hou'ou Spin Cycle, you mean!" cries Sakura as she tries to toss Yuri aside! COMBATSYS: Yuri blocks Sakura's Medium Throw. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////// ] Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yuri Yuri's grin suddenly turns into shock as her Hien Hou'ou Kyaku is turned around on her! Now she did manage to get one or two solid kicks in, but she feels Sakura's hand grabbing her around the ankle and slinging her, using her attack's own momentum against her. She is slung to the ground and can barely make a few last minute adjustments, just enough time to keep the throw from fully planting her face into the asphalt. Instead she puts her hands down, hard, into the asphalt and uses the momentum to turn a flip. However, she's still spinning much too fast and rather than landing on her feet, she lands on her knees. She grimaces in pain as and winces as she slowly climbs to her feet. She isn't going to be running very fast now, so at best she can play the distance game with the other girl. She then pulls back her hand and shouts, "And it isn't my fault that you keep using perverted tactics, you closeted cosplaying butch tomboy karate wannabe! Ko'ou Ken!" She then flings another expanse of pink energy towards her opponent, the ball of Chi expanding into a human sized ball of flame directly in front of Yuri. Both effective as a weapon, and as a shield. COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Yuri's Ko'ou Ken. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ] Sakura 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Yuri Oh, sure, just whip all the insults out in sequence. Much better than individually! "Takes one to know one!" the fighting fangirl calls back, cupping her hands over her mouth. Sure... she knows there's a little truth in all of the above, except for the cosplaying and butchness charges. "Preppy posturing pink-fireballing poppy-brained poseur! Time to meet the =real= deal, girlfriend -- even got someone other than my =brother= to back it up!" No, only half of that made sense, but from the shimmering blue lights surging into existence within Sakura's cupped palms, which she's now relegated to a position at her side, it doesn't seem like it will matter much. Crackling globs of light blue energy funnel into her palms, swirling around a tight, white-hot core -- which subsequently gets shoved at Yuri in a flying, spinning Awesome Blossom of an attack. "HADOUUUUKEN!" she names it, palms splayed forward to egg it onward! COMBATSYS: Yuri stops Medium Hadouken from Sakura with Saiha. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ] Sakura 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Yuri Yuri covers her eyes slightly from the blue glare as the energy sphere flies from the other girl's hands. She's in quite a bind, as the condition of her knees won't let her dodge nearly fast enough to dodge this attack. Her lips stretch thin, and she grits her teeth and she brings both hands forward, She then shouts, "Saiha!!!" as she pours all the energy she can muster into a strange energy field. Pink energy clashes with blue flame as Yuri fights, knowing that if the Hadouken breaks through that's likely it for this battle. And, thankfully, she manages to pull it off! The blue fireball fizzles away to nothing after its clash with her barrier, though the effort in doing so leaves the Kyokugen girl much more exhausted than before. As such she has little time to recover, much less act, before Sakura gets another chance to put her out of action. Yuri's recovery also gives Sakura a bit more time to gather her own strength -- as well as think of a snappy followup to cover up her lackluster me-toos. "What's the matter, Yuri? You look awfully winded... I guess you've fallen out of your aerobics schedule..." Drawing in a deep breath, Sakura cups her hands once more at her sides, funneling yet another swarm of blue energy into her awaiting grasp. "Or maybe you're content to be just another random basketball fan, huh? It's such a shame..." she laughs, shaking her head. "You're destined to be a fangirl forever!" she calls out, before clenching her fingertips tightly. If the energy was swimming before, it's absolutely -racing- now, as Sakura pumps more chi into the growing bloom of blue flame at a maddening pace. "Shinkuu...." Though, with Yuri taking her sweet time relaxing, Kasugano flings the ball of energy -- crackling with electricity, and flowing -backwards- drawing energy into its core rather than expanding outwards like her last attack -- racing towards Yuri at even higher speed. "HADOOOOOUKEN!" COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ] Sakura 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Yuri Being as winded and beat as she is though, Yuri still has a few tricks up her sleeve. The crackling electricity in the air, and the blue glow are both familiar to Yuri who has faced this attack before. In fact, she had clashed her own Haoh Sho Ko Ken against then great Shinkuu Hadouken - and came out the victor in that circumstance. However there is no possible way she can bring forth the energy to fire off the Haoh Sho Ko Ken, and she has already used up most of her chi strength warding off the Medium Hadouken. Thus, this only leaves one choice - dodge or die! Suddenly, Yuri's knees give out... or rather she kneels and rolls to one side of the attack. Once again the 'Suck Fire Ball' does little save for the first part of its name, though it may if it's allowed to hit whatever is in its path after Yuri. However, Yuri doesn't have time to worry about that right now... she has a fight to win! She scowls, kneeling right in front of Sakura with a clenched fist, "I'll show you what this 'fangirl' can do, Yuri Chou Upper!!!" And she quickly drives herself upwards, attempting to drive her fist into a high powered uppercut right into Sakura's solar plexus. COMBATSYS: Sakura blocks Yuri's Yuri Chou Upper. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ] Sakura 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Yuri Well... the good thing is that her Vacuum Wave Fist wasn't completely nullified by Yuri's attack this time. Good thing, because that was highly -embarassing- to Sakura. But still, Sakura was kinda eager to see if it was just a fluke, that one time, or if it could be repeated. Apparently she'll have to wait for another opportunity to test that. As for that uppercut coming straight at her ... well, no. That simply won't do! "Cheer me on?" asks Kasugano, backpedaling a light step and presenting a horizontal forearm to block the uppercut. Sure -- it smarts, since Yuri's fist hit the inside of her arm rather than the battle-scarred exterior -- but it's still met on the schoolgirl's own terms, rather than in her solar plexus as planned. Pulling her left arm back from Yuri, Sakura pivots around in another copycat move -- this one her own personal emulation of Ryu's Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku. Unlike his, of course, she can't completely defy gravity -- but her leg can spin around to an insanely fast tempo just the same. "SHUNPUUUUU KYAKU!" she cries, arms and torso winding with her body in a 1080-degree spin in three quick spin-kicks aimed at paying Yuri back for those delivered earlier! COMBATSYS: Yuri dodges Sakura's Shunpuu Kyaku. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ] Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Yuri If there were ever a good phrase to describe Yuri, it would be 'Never say Die', because she simply is harder to stop than a bad termite infestation! After landing from her uppercut, Yuri quickly backpedals. Though she can't move fast enough to avoid all the kicks, she does get three out of the way. However the third seems to be, inevitably, coming down upon her... that is, until her weakened knees give out on her. Strangely this, rather than actual skill, saved her from the final of the Shunpuu Kyakus! It seems Yuri just has no end of luck going into this final part of the battle. Meanwhile she takes the opportunity, while Sakura is still off balance from throwing the three sequential kicks, to grab the short haired girl by the arm and attempt to throw her over her shoulder and onto the ground! COMBATSYS: Sakura dodges Yuri's Medium Throw. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ] Sakura 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Yuri Well... Sakura's not teetering to her own destruction as she -looks-, anyway. She's focused a lot more through training, to the point that even her pale facsimile of her master's attack is nonetheless potent and well-balanced. Such that, when Sakura lands on one foot, her kicking foot is hinged, knee held aloft as a counterbalance and allowing her to stop. Arms held out to the side -- well, isn't that convenient? "What's the matter, Yuri, did your brother take his techniques back?" Yuri =almost= gets a handhold on her, but that's when Kasugano decides to launch that knee forward instead -- her arm snapping just out of Yuri's reach while her knee slams up at the taller girl's chest. Once more for the boobs, er, solar plexus. "HYAA!" COMBATSYS: Sakura successfully hits Yuri with Medium Kick. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ] Sakura 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Yuri Yuri tsks as her attempt to throw Sakura misses, by just the slightest margin. However, in making such a rash grab to try and throw Sakura, she opens herself up fully to the knee that comes up and hits her in the chest! With a loud gasp a pain she stumbles backwards, her world beginning to black out as she pants loudly. She crumples to her knees for a couple of seconds and looks on the very edge of falling unconcious, at least, right before she shouts, "Dammit! Ko'ou... KEN!" Pouring every last bit of energy she has left into her clenched fist, the pink ball of chi manifests and pulses wildly. While holding her chest with one arm, she pulls her other arm back before slinging it forward, slinging the wild ball of energy directly at Sakura. The backlash of the powerful attack is too much for Yuri in her weakened state, and it knocks her backwards and to the ground. From how she is harshly panting for breath, it looks unlikely that she'll be getting up again anytime soon. COMBATSYS: Yuri can no longer fight. COMBATSYS: Yuri has left the fight here. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < Sakura 0/-------/-----==| COMBATSYS: Sakura overcomes Ko'ou Ken from Yuri with Small Hadouken. [ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < Sakura 0/-------/-----==| COMBATSYS: Sakura has ended the fight here. Sakura hops back after her knee slams into Yuri's chest, hands snapping back once more at the ready. Sakura didn't think Yuri was -that- close to keeling over -- though, looking back, that'd probably explain why her verbal retorts had dwindled. Still... the Taiyo schoolgirl can only see that her hits have been taking their toll on Yuri -- to the point that she's starting to get desperate. As her sensei has trained her -- this is -far- from the time to get smug. A near end allows people to try desperate measures in hopes that they work -- and Sakura's much too close to dodge the desperate Ko'ou Ken that Yuri flings back. The Ansatsuken disciple had been holding back a small reserve of power for just this occasion -- her hands suddenly flare blue with the accumulated energy, allowing her to throw her palms to the side, gather the chi required for an overly -dense-, but small, fireball, and smack it out towards the expanding wave of Yuri's pink chi. There -is- such a thing as overkill, though -- Sakura's already so obsessed with her former Shinkuu Hadouken being eaten alive by the Kyokugen technique that she'd made the core of her blast -too- dense. It punches right through the center of the Sparkling Tiger Fist, shattering it into wisps of ill-defined cotton-candy-like fluff as it hurtles on towards its destination. ... Only its destination fell over onto her keister just an instant before. Which can only mean... ... uh... ... that it careens into traffic, over the head of a bystander who happened to duck in time to avoid it, narrowly missing the roof of a red convertible (which wasn't there when Sakura first announced one), and smashing into the side of the bank across the street, loosing a few chunks of brick in the process. Being a bank, of course, ALL HECK BREAKS LOOSE. Klaxons sound, red lights flash... it's pure, utter, CHAOS. Sakura's stance on this? "... ohhhh snap." A pair of uniformed police officers rush out of the bank, looking around to find the impact -- and then darting their gaze over to Sakura, who's currently holding her hands up. "Uh.... uh... simple mistake! I, uh, missed! Heh-heh... Just a few bricks, right?" Yuri isn't in much position to do anything herself. She's utterly winded, which is an impressive achievement considering how much energy she normally has. Worse, those two strikes to her boob...err... solar plexus make breathing rather painful, at best. However, she isn't so far out of it not to comment on the situation happening around her. In particular, right after the Hadouken slams into the bank and ALL HECK BREAKS LOOSE, says, "Well... that's... not... good..." panting between each word. And sure enough the police arrives on the scene soon. Herself? Well, her involvement in the incident isn't yet as obvious as Sakura's, though it is obvious that she needs some treatment from the nearby medical facility. To which, Yuri struggles against, weakly, "C'mon! It's just a flesh wound, I just need some rest! I don't want them to give me shots!" ... and with that, Yuri is carted away from the scene. As for Sakura? Well... at least there are plenty of witnesses standing around to confirm that, no, this was -hardly- a premeditated attack. Panicked, she scrambles backwards onto the curb. No, sir, she wasn't obstructing traffic! No way! That... that other girl just challenged her. Yeah, that's it. "Uh... uh... sorry, Yuri! I guess we'll have to fight again some other ti--" Oh, snap. At least the younger Sakazaki was right next to the hospital. Sakura... will probably not be going there, for as many attacks were slung at her, the only ones she ate -fully- were those spinning kicks. Which means she's all set for a trip to the Southtown PD for some questioning. Whoops. ============================== Recent Headlines ============================== Message: 9/16 Posted Author Justice? OR IS IT? Sat Dec 11 Sakura ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seen on the six-o-clock news: "In other news, local martial arts competitor Sakura Kasugano, most widely known for her recent showings at Howard Arena, was initially accused of armed bank robbery in a surprising turn of events this fine Saturday afternoon. [Cue live video footage of Sakura and Yuri duking it out -- though faces are obscured due to the angle of the grainy bank video camera] "According to witness accounts, traffic outside the Southtown General Hospital came to a screeching halt as Ms Kasugano and an unknown fighter began an impromptu street fight. The scuffle had started on the sidewalk, but soon the combatants found themselves in the middle of the asphalt, fighting each other in a fiery display of blue and pink flashes of light. It's not immediately known what the motive for the fight was, but witnesses say it appeared to be a friendly challenge of skill rather than a hostile dispute. "The battle ended in a climactic finish, with Ms Kasugano's final attack plowing into the side of the Fourth National Bank across the street. There were some bricks loosed, causing tremendous outcry from those inside the bank, but no walls were broken. The owner of the bank was reluctant to press charges against the minor, though has backed off from the initial panicked charge of armed robbery, and has decided to simply accept payment for the damages. Traffic police also levied charges of traffic disruption on Ms Kasugano; she is currently held in Southtown Police Department for further questioning. Her unknown opponent was admitted into Southtown General. More on this story as it develops, stay tuned to WSTN or check on Southtown News dot com for more details." [OOC: Neither of us is going to jail or anything... I just felt sad that we weren't fulfilling the Silly quota for the evening, between the two. ;) ]