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[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/494317685505523714/784500174473920551/sakura3.gif[/img] 
[h3][color=fff79a]Kasugano Sakura[/color][/h3]
Level 3: 19/30
Location: The Blue Sea.
Word Count: 1,166
Points Gained: 2, -1
New EXP Balance--- Level 3: 20/30 [/center]

	Sakura realised too late she had underestimated the wounded Abyssal. Not only was she not staying down- she was standing up just fine. Even though she hadn't missed the fireball, if she hadn't shot it at all and turned to retreat, she would have been blown away. Just like Araisho. Sakura surged forward despite this, hoping to close the distance. That shell smacked her arm, hard, and she felt something disconnect. A yellow spark of energy confirmed her Ki was still working. Whatever just happened in her arm, she could deal with it later. In the meantime, she would still fight at near full capacity.

	And fight she did. The melee was a brutal brawl. Geralt helped, but Sakura didn't register it. One of Sakura's new cat ears was cut and began to bleed. Her Ki, it seemed, wasn't used to channeling through that part of her body. The cut was fairly deep, that part of her left cat ear would be missing from now on.

	Sakura got a few good hits in, but overcommitted with the sweep. As she finished her spin, her eyes widened as the Shipgirl bid her adieu. [color=fff79a]"NO!"[/color] She cried out. Sakura tried to defend herself, but the bomber went under her arms and directly onto her midriff, where it detonated.

	There was a flash of red hot pain, and everyting burned white. [color=fff79a][i]"EEYAAAH!"[/i][/color] She screamed. Sakura went flying 20 feet backwards, hit the water, skimmed, and then began to writhe. Her senses had failed her entirely. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her teeth grit. She scrambled to her feet and then stumbled back to her knees, and then back to her feet. It was a far cry from her previously expert maneuvers. Sakura was Stunned. Her Ki had mostly protected her, but it had been overwhelmed by sheer damage and short circuited her nervous system. 

	[color=fff79a][i]"Guhhh...!"[/i][/color] She moaned. 

	 Four seconds passed. The stun faded, and Sakura snapped back to reality with a gasp. Falling to her hands and knees she began to cough.

	It was a wet, miserable retch. Blood sprayed onto the water and trickled down the side of her lips. The teenager brought a shaking hand up to her mouth, it came away red. The skin of her abdomen was charred and cut, but most of the damage was internal. There was a deep numbness in her belly, and her ears were ringing.

	Eyes wide, heart racing, Sakura sat up straight and stared at the Abyssal. [color=fff79a]"Y...you b-blew us both u-up?" [/color] She asked in disbelief.[color=fff79a] "WHY!?"[/color] Sakura shouted. She spat up more blood. A calm part of Sakura's mind guessed her guts were bruised to high heaven.

	She just didn't understand. She couldn't understand!  

	Sakura thought of Kamek's words. [color=DeepSkyBlue]"She won’t retreat! She can’t! That is Galeem’s curse!”[/color]

	[color=fff79a][i](Is this the sickening evil of Galeem's curse? The Ship Girls knew when to retreat! They care for each other! This Seaplane Tender is insane! She acts with reckless hatred. But... maybe it's all Galeem's fault... How can I tell? How much is Galeem? How much is the Seaplane Tender? She takes pride in her ability to kill shipgirls, doesn't she? Was that Galeem? Or was she just a soldier? Why did Galeem organize these wars? Couldn't it have just left the World of Light a peaceful one? Does it matter if she's evil or not, if her actions aren't hers to control!? I don't know!)[/i][/color]

	Sakura slammed her palms onto her temples. These questions made her head hurt. Or maybe she just had a concussion. Sakura rose to her feet with a quickness someone as wounded as her wouldn't normally be able to manage. She was scared, confused, and...angry. There was an anger that pained her heart and itched at her skull. She wanted to lash out. But she didn't. Her thoughts, briefly, turned introspective. 

	She knew Ryu had grappled with an internal darkness. The fighting style they shared, Shotokan, is based on an ancient assassination fighting style. It used to be energized by murderous intent, known as the Satsui no Hado. Gouken, Ryu and Ken's master, refined the art. He changed it, and instead changed the source of energy to willpower. An 11 year old Sakura had known nothing of this when she began copying Ryu's moves by watching him on VHS tapes. Unknowingly, she had inherited this internal stuggle of good and evil. And Sakura was determined to not let herself, or Ryu down. 

	Sakura exhaled shakily as she rose to her feet. Approaching the broken Ship Girl, she raised her left arm, clenched her fist, and hissed. It hurt. But Ki allowed her to work just fine with what she had. She stopped holding her arm. Despite her injuries and the pain, she seemed to be operating at near full strength. Powerful energy coursed through her body, one more resilient than mere flesh and bone. These injuries and their consequences could be dealt with later.

	[color=fff79a][i](Galeem's curse...Galeem's curse. The true enemy is Galeem. That's the truth of this world. I want it gone.)[/i][/color]

	Sakura looked over the ship girl. Unlike last time, she wasn't getting up, or taking aim. She remained half-submered, and her eyes were unfocused. It looked like she was dying, really. Sakura exhaled. Self control. Self control was key. That was what it meant to be a practictioner of Shotokan. Moreover, what it meant to be a good guy.

	[color=fff79a]"I'm gonna show you mercy, now." [/color]Sakura said. She brought a hand up to her heart and raised her arms. A pink heart-shape emerged from her chest and Sakura held it gingerly in her red fighting gloves. [color=fff79a]"Because I know that you don't want to be here, either. Even if you don't know it. With this, you'll be able to give up and go home. And in your state, I don't think you'll be winning any fights."[/color] Sakura noted. She gave a small smile. She felt good about this. 

	Sakura closed the final bit of distance. She put a foot down, hard, on the Abyssal's good arm. She reached down and plunged the Friend Heart into the Abyssal's chest. [color=fff79a] "Whatever happens next, I'm not gonna let Galeem get another person killed."[/color] Sakura declared. She pulled on the Abyssal's shoulders so that she wouldn't sink and drown.

	Assuming all of this went as Sakura hoped it would and nothing interrupted her, she would take a few steps back and take a knee. It was her most defensive stance. She used her newly lengthened sleeves to wipe the blood from her lips, staining her altered sailor uniform. Her cat ears perked up expectantly. The one on the left still leaked blood, and was less receptive and lively than the other one. It was made sluggish by the deep cut, and liquid soaked into her brown hair.

	 If the Abyssal came to her senses the first thing she would see would be the kneeling, noticeably damaged feline ship girl, a friendly, battle-weary smile on her face.