[center] [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 11: 024/110[/color] Location: Pools! Word Count: 3067 Points Gained: 4 New EXP Balance--- [color=f49ac2]Level 11: 028/110 [/color] [/center] — Sakura never took her opponents lightly, but as she advanced into Winners Round Three she would expect the caliber of said opponents to rise. Whoever made it this far made it past the big ‘filter’ of the first two matches in winners. Either they had strong fundamentals or powerful gimmicks, rarely would luck carry a fighter through two separate bouts. So far she hadn’t been doing much exploring or doing much of anything except resting and meditating between bouts, and then fighting. Despite being surrounded by people all excited about fighting, there was something lonely about pools. Not necessarily in a bad way or in a way she couldn’t handle, but lonely nonetheless. There was no hype from the crowd, and the thrill of victory would be muted by the crushing weight of a defeat so early on. In pools there was little to gain and everything to lose. As she predicted, her next foe looked to be her toughest yet. Standing stoically across the ring from her was a large, fat fighter, wearing green shorts and orange bracelets around his limbs. Atop his head was a high crested golden crown. The rest of his golden brown skin was exposed. His build reminded Sakura of one E. Honda. Overweight, but deliberately so. Despite their build differences, at this level of skill having bigger muscles was no guarantee of actually being physically stronger than another fighter. That all came down to training, level of ki, and how one let that ki be expressed. So while she could guess that he was a brawny fighter who liked to throw his weight around, she couldn’t take that for granted. “I am Golrio.” Golrio said, arms crossed. [color=f49ac2]”I am Sakura.”[/color] Sakura said, crossing her arms. “Why do you fight, Miss Sakura?” Golrio asked. Sakura stopped looking tough, and instead thoughtfully tapped her chin. [color=f49ac2]”Good question, Golrio-san. I’m not sure sometimes. Because it’s fun? Or maybe because I seek strength or purpose. Today, though, it’s because winning this tournament is very important for a cause I’m involved with. So I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going all out.”[/color] Golrio nodded. “I understand. I too, fight for a cause. Mother Nature, the Earth itself, the delicate ecosystems by which all life and thus we humans rely on, is being thrown dangerously out of balance by human activity. While I used to be a bodyguard for the rich and powerful, when I learned how dire the situation of environmental degradation was, I travelled into the amazon rain forest to become one with nature. I learned to harness the awesome might of jungle chi, and now I travel the world to spread awareness for the environmental cause.” Sakura was impressed. [color=f49ac2]”That’s really noble, Golrio-san!”[/color] “Are you environmentally conscious, young miss Sakura?” [color=f49ac2]”Aah, [i]eto…[/i]”[/color] Sakura blushed, rubbing the back of her head. [color=f49ac2]”I uh…I ride a bike?”[/color] Sakura offered. “Hmm.” Golrio didn’t seem too impressed. [color=f49ac2]”A-[i]and[/i] I took down two evil criminal organizations!”[/color] Sakura pointed. “Did they have bad environmental policy?” Golrio asked. [color=f49ac2]”Uh, I dunno but- I mean, there’s no way they had [i]good[/i] environmental policy.”[/color] Sakura said. “I see. You took down two evil criminal organizations?” [color=f49ac2]”Err, well…I helped.”[/color] “How old are you, anyway? You seem a little young to engage in such matters of law enforcement.” [color=f49ac2]”Eighteen. But my birthday is coming up soon! I did the first one when I was fifteen and the second one a few months ago. Or, like, a thousand years ago, depending on who you ask.”[/color] “I don’t understand your meaning.” [color=f49ac2]”Just forget it.”[/color] Sakura shook her head. The whole thing made her noggin hurt. Now was the time to think about the moment in front of her. [color=f49ac2]”The worries of the world melt away in fight.”[/color] Sakura said like she was recalling a fond dream. “I disagree strongly.” Golrio replied. Sakura lowered her lids. Now it was her turn to be unimpressed. A strong spirit bubbled up inside her once again. [color=f49ac2]”Okay, Golrio-san. I’ll give you a battle so tough you’ll be too worried about yourself to even [i]think[/i] about the Earth.”[/color] Golrio narrowed his eyes. “Kick her butt, bro!” Someone shouted from the stands. Surprised that someone was watching, Sakura looked to the stands to see Two P in the audience, all alone. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Woooo! Alright, yeah! Go Gorlio, go!” “It’s ‘Golrio’.” Golrio said. “Yeah, that! Kick her butt!” [color=f49ac2]”Why do you want him to kick [i]my[/i] butt?”[/color] Sakura asked. [color=f49ac2]”You should be rooting for me! You know? So that way if I win, it’s like, you lost to the winner?”[/color] “That’s a good point.” Two P called out. “But I still want him to kick your butt.” [color=f49ac2]”That’s just dumb.”[/color] “You’re just dumb.” Two P said. Sakura faked Two P out like she intended to hit him, and he flinched even at long distance. [color=f49ac2]”Two for flinching. I’ll sort you out later. Right now I got bigger fish to fry.”[/color] “Hmm.” Golrio shook his head disapprovingly. “Not even the fish in the ocean are safe from being scorched and devoured by the callous youth.” [color=f49ac2]”Wha-! Okay! You know what?!”[/color] Sakura stamped her foot. [color=f49ac2]”I like seafood! And I’m not even a little bit sorry about it. So there.”[/color] Golrio laughed, sudden and hearty, lifting his hands above his head, before stomping back down into his fighting stance. “We will see who will fry who.” ROUND ONE. Sakura bounced back and forth on her sneakers and settled into her lively, animated stance. THREE. TWO. ONE. FIGHT! [color=f49ac2][i]”Hadoken!”[/i][/color] She brought her hands towards her side and then thrusted her palms out, sending a fiery blue ball towards Golrio, the imprint of her hands left inside. “Amazon Fire!” He put his two hands together in front of his core to create a small flaming orb, before lifting it up and pushing it towards her where it expanded into a blazing orange wave. The two collided in mid air, dissipating in an explosion. He fired out another blast, but Sakura took the time to charge hers up. His flame drew close, but she blasted through it, her two hit heavy fireball shrinking inside but continuing forward. Golrio had to match her fireball with a second of his own- and as he did, he would be surprised to see Sakura emerging from the resulting explosion. She had closed the gap quickly! He chopped downward with a blazing hand, only for Sakura to draw back at the last moment and return with a roundhouse kick that sent the large man flying through the air. She rolled forward and kneed his torso, before launching up with a massive leaping uppercut. [color=f49ac2][i]”Shouoken!”[/i][/color] Golrio landed with a thud but rolled back to standing. Sakura grinned, pleased with her good start to the round. She made to walk in, but was forced to block a fast Amazon Fire. He swung his palm towards her head and she ducked, and then blocked his follow up side kick. Her series of jabs and kicks were absorbed by his forearms and knee, and when she went to knock him off balance with a throw, he steadied himself and shoved her away. “Not so fast.” As the two jockeyed for positioning, Sakura trying to force him towards the edge of the arena, Golrio surprised her. Golrio suddenly shot forward, his entire body engulfed in flames. He body checked her, sending her sprawling before she flipped back to standing. When she looked at him, Golrio was on his belly, arms outstretched, spinning towards her legs like a top! [color=f49ac2][i]”Bwah!”[/i][/color] Sakura was flipped upside down as he collided with her legs. She landed on her back, just in time to see him in the air coming down to squish her with a blazing stomp. She rolled out of the way, but he rolled after her just as smoothly, and when she went to get up she gasped as he locked her arms around her waist, belly-to-belly in a bearhug. Sakura had a pretty smooth run up to this point, but pain was just part of the gig. Between her time as a street fighter and a Seeker, she was used to it. It would have been nice to have flawless victories all the way to Top 8. Oh well. [color=f49ac2][i]”Gaaah!”[/i][/color] She cried out as he squeezed her torso in a vice. She went to grab his head to break free, but he slammed her down onto the floor. He went for a point blank Amazon Fire scorching that she had to curl up and block while she laid down. He stomped down onto her block, but she redirected his leg and rolled back up to her feet. He went in for another grab but she grabbed onto both of his wrists, stopping him dead in his tracks. She lifted both of her feet, using his outstretched arms as leverage to do a powerful dropkick to the face. “Umph!” He grunted and stumbled backwards as she flipped away to land on her feet. Sakura put both of her hands on her lower back and pushed her body outwards with a grimace. [color=f49ac2]”I always thought bearhugs were cool. I used to want to be a sumo wrestler. Now, though, no freaking way.”[/color] “What do bearhugs have to do with sumo?” Golrio asked. [color=f49ac2]”...Huh. I guess they usually are too big to do that to each other. I guess it only works when you’re fighting non sumo wrestlers.”[/color] “Hmm.” Golrio stepped forward, and Sakura locked back in. Golrio launched himself clear across the entire arena again, blazing in flame. Sakura spent an EX-meter to meet him in the air, glowing even more vibrantly. [color=f49ac2][i]”Drop!”[/i][/color] She slammed both of her fists down and beat out his Rolling Body Attack, snuffing out his flame. She struck him twice more and flattened him against the arena floor. [color=f49ac2][i]”Ichi, ni, san!”[/i][/color] “Grrr!” Golrio growled. Sakura span mid air in an acrobatic arc, and landed on his back as he stood up. She wrapped her arms around neck and squeezed. Now it was her turn to really lay the hurt on. He tried to work his fingers underneath her arms but her grip was too tight. He grabbed on anyway and began to heat up, starting to burn her arms. Sakura winced, but held fast. He made to jump into the air to slam back down onto the floor to dislodge her, but Sakura released one arm and brought her elbow down sharp on the top of his skull. Golrio’s eyes crossed and he toppled forward face down, stunned. Sakura jumped upwards and went to bring her leg down ontop of him. He rolled out of the way but was still on her mix, and she kicked him once before hitting him with a grounded spin kick. Then, Sakura went to- [b]“SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!!!”[/b] Golrio launched himself at Sakura, spinning so fast he blurred, bouncing off the ground and her body absurdly fast. Sakura felt like she just got sucked into a blender. The damage was ridiculous. Sakura wasn’t even exactly sure what part of her was being hit. In summary: [color=f49ac2][i]”UWAAAAAH!”[/i][/color] Sakura flew through the air and landed on her back, teeth grit and eyes squeezed shut. She lay, unable to get up in time for Golrio to not get the victory in round one. GOLRIO WINS ROUND ONE! “You are one stroke below me.” Golrio informed Sakura wisely. Sakura groaned and sat up. She felt full of vitality before getting hit by that move. It was shocking that even his last ditch attack would put her down that hard. She would have to watch out for that technique next time she was on the verge of victory. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Sakura stood up and dusted herself off. If she went down like that again, she was in the losers bracket, and then winning the tournament would become nearly impossible. ROUND TWO: FIGHT! Golrio, overconfident in Sakura’s mind, surged forward with another flaming rolling body attack. She went to kick him out of the air with a high-legged Chin Buster Kick, but he actually just missed Sakura and landed right behind her. Thus, she ended up in a bearhug again, though this time his hands were locked in front of her belly rather than her back. It was like the world’s worst heimlich maneuver. Sakura’s eyes bulged. She was slammed face down on the ground again, and, fed up, she erupted out with an EX-Shouoken that blew right through his follow up attack and knocked him away. She charged up a powerful fireball and launched it at him. He did another flaming body attack over it, but this time Sakura met him in the air. [color=f49ac2]”Oops!”[/color] She said, planting her shoes on him and kicking him towards the floor. “Oof!” He landed with a heavy thud. When he got up, there was another heavy fireball coming his way. Too late to dodge, he blocked it, only to get kneed in the back of the head by an aggressive Sakura. Now it was Golrio’s turn to be in the blender. Everywhere he looked there was a jab, his leg buckled under harsh knee kicks. When he blocked, his forearms were hammered by painful elbows that gave him no relief. When he swung, he got nothing but air, and when he tried to grab her his fingers brushed against the zipper of her open jacket and he was punished thoroughly with spin kicks. There was only one way out. [b]”SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!!!!””[/b] [color=f49ac2][i]”Aaaaah!”[/i][/color] Despite telling herself that she would be more careful, in her fervor to claim another round, she hadn’t been prepared to block it. When she landed, Sakura punched the floor and stood back up. Golrio hadn’t softened her up at all this round, and so she survived his attack. [color=f49ac2][i]”You’re gonna get it now.”[/i][/color] Sakura warned, pumping her fists like shotguns as she ignited in flame, activating Sakura Senpu, her V-Trigger 2. She ran towards him, then shifted left, then right, then jumped clear over his head and landed behind him, and then dodged out of the way of his attempted chop. She eyed him down the whole time. Golrio was being outmaneuvered. Every moment she was just out of range was a moment she could be upon him in a blink- the brazilian jungle warrior was overwhelmed by the possibilities. To get some space, he charged up a fireball, and- his leg was tagged by a light little kick from Sakura. The range of it was deceptive. Sakura turned into a sawblade, leg extended, a pure, clean beam of light following her circular strike as she went to sand Golrio’s face clean off. She launched him into the air with another kick to the chin. She rolled forward, kneed him, and then launched him up with one uppercut, followed him before he could land, and then lifted upwards with a spectacular spinning Shouoken, aglow with blue energy. “OOOOGH!” Golrio flew away and landed face down, unable to get up before he was counted out. SAKURA WINS ROUND TWO! Sakura crossed her arms, satisfied.[color=f49ac2]”That was a close one.”[/color] Golrio stood up and shook his head. FINAL ROUND. FIGHT! Golrio felt like Sakura was going to jump in or try to predict another one of his moves, so this time, he played it cool, waiting for his moment. Sakura promptly, calmly, walked up to him and shoved him to the floor with a hip toss. She dusted off her hands. [color=f49ac2]”Whoops.”[/color] Golrio rose to his feet with a growl. She punched him in the nose and hip tossed him again. “Enough!” He shot up with a blazing Rolling Body attack, but she caught his arm and shoulder and converted it into an over-the-shoulder toss throw that slammed him face first into the ground. Sakura felt like she had his number, now. Everything was working. The two exchanged blows, and Golrio chopped Sakura’s noggin and tried to grab her, but this time she slipped away. Rubbing the top of her head, she stopped his advance with a kick to the chest. When Golrio tried to shift backwards, she shot out a crouching kick at his leg and then spun upwards with a [color=f49ac2][i]”Shunpu!”[/i][/color] kick across the face. Golrio was stuck. He found a gap in her offence and slapped at her with palm strikes, and used an Amazon Flame to shove her away. When he went for another one to keep her off, she was already halfway through a jump. Head kick, elbow strike, pendulum swing, [color=f49ac2][i]”Shouoken!”[/i][/color] Golrio landed. Sakura felt like this was going very well. She ran up to him and- “SUPER TURTLE SPIN STRIKE!” [color=f49ac2][i]”Haaaaaah!”[/i][/color] While an amateur like Two P heard Golrio shout ‘Super Turtle Spin Strike’ and Sakura scream out might draw the conclusion that Sakura had fallen for it again… a professional fighter or someone who had heard Sakura do battle before would come to an altogether different conclusion. As Golrio span forward, he would feel the alarming sensation of Sakura’s sneaker shoot touchdown on his spine. He tried to grab the floor the slow down, but his move was so powerful it was hard to stop. Using him as a platform, Sakura launched into her signature [color=f49ac2][i]”Haru Ichiban!”[/i][/color] Normally this move would involved her slamming into her opponents lower half with repeated grounded spin kicks. Instead, she span counter-clockwise to Golrio’s clockwise spin. And since she was on his back, all of her kicks would slam into his head instead. At double the pace. THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP CRACK CRACK! Sakura’s spin slowly came to a stop like the cooling down rotor of a jet engine, leaving a smoking scorch mark on Golrio’s back from the friction. She stood up on top of him and then stepped off. [color=f49ac2]”Yeah, that’s a wrap.”[/color] Golrio was face down on the floor unconscious. There’d be no post battle banter this time. SAKURA WINS! With a grin, Sakura raised her eyebrows at the frightened Two P. “I think you killed him!” He called out distantly. [color=f49ac2]”Nah. He’s tough, he’ll be fine.”[/color] Sakura said. She was right, though, Golrio would be taking a well-deserved nap for quite a while. Sakura let out a relieved exhale, glad to still be in the Winners Side of the bracket. Things would only get tougher from here.