[center] [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 11: 036/110[/color] Location: Pools! Word Count: 2054 Points Gained: 3 New EXP Balance--- [color=f49ac2]Level 11: 039/110 [/color] [/center] — This was it. Okay, that’s not true, Sakura thought to herself. This isn’t “it”. But it was the ‘it’ before the ‘it’. ‘It’ being the Top 8. The ittest it of all the its would be Grand Finals. So it was more of the it before the penultimate it. Sakura slapped the sides of her head. Focus! This is not helping! Stepping onto stage, Sakura looked to her final opponent before Top 8. Someone who made it just as far as she had without losing a single battle. Of all the opponents she had faced so far, the one named Arizona would be the toughest and the strangest. The toughest for obvious reasons. The strangest, because Arizona was a calf. Standing across from the arena, eyeing Sakura with big emerald eyes, was a calf. As in, all fours, hooves and fur, a red bandana tied around her neck. She swiped her hoof across the stone arena floor like she was raring to go. “That’s right. Yer lookin’ at the Champ’een of the Plains.” Arizona said proudly. A talking calf. That was…good? Sakura blinked, cleared her throat, and then bowed. [color=f49ac2]”Pleased to meet you, Arizona-san.”[/color] She said. “Same to you. Figures a couple’a heifers like us would make it here. Future belongs to the young, don’t it?” Arizona asked. Sakura scratched her head. [color=f49ac2]”I guess so. I still feel like I have a long way to go.”[/color] Arizona grinned, big and bold. She was about half of Sakura’s height, but probably several times her weight. Her horn glinted in the afternoon sun. “I reckon so. Me? I’m thinkin’ I’m goin’ all the way today.” Sakura smiled. [color=f49ac2]”Haha. Trust me, I intend on winning today, too. I won’t underestimate you one bit, Arizona-san.”[/color] Sakura settled into her fighting position. “On that we’re agreed. Let’s get ready for a throwdown.” Arizona stomped her hoof, and the ring reverberated with the impact. Sakura tried not to gulp too loudly. That was never a good sign. Like how Sakura had been the powerhouse and Rufus the speedster, she had a strong feeling that the roles were being reversed once again. ROUND ONE. [color=f49ac2]”Here we go.”[/color] THREE, TWO, ONE, FIGHT! Sakura juked right, and then stood completely still. Her intuition was right, Arizona charged forward like a raging bull, only to stop short when Sakura did. Arizona made a face at Sakura before both fighters started strafing around the other. “Hmm.” [color=f49ac2]”Hmm, yourself.”[/color] Sakura said with a grin. “Alright, missy. Time to introduce you to two of my favorite things. STOMPIN’,” Arizona stomped the ground, causing another resounding boom, “KICKIN’,” Arizona kicked the air with her hind legs. Then she slammed them back on the ground and raised her front hooves. “AND STOMPIN’!” She stomped the ground, and this time the ground cracked, travelling all the way over to Sakura. It reminded her of C.Viper’s Seismo, only on steroids. Sakura shifted away from the shockwave, but it left her open for Arizona’s approach. And approach she did. Sakura skid backwards as Arizona slammed into her horns first, pushing against her braced forearm. Sakura brought Arizona to a halt, and then rolled over her back, causing Arizona to shoot out from underneath her. As Sakura landed, she was surprised to see she had landed her ankle inside the noose of a waiting lasso, the base of which was held in Arizona’s clenched teeth. With a yelp, Sakura was tossed over the calf’s head and slammed into the arena floor. [color=f49ac2][i]”Oof!”[/i][/color]Arizona yanked Sakura back again, though the street fighter had used the impact to slip free. She wasn’t safe from Arizona yet. As the heifer charged forward, Sakura shot out her foot and kicked Arizona right in the face. “Drat!” The animal stumbled to the side. Sakura felt a little bad, honestly. She’d never kicked someone so animal-shaped in the face before. Any hesitation she might have had flew out the window as Arizona surged forward again looking to apparently gore Sakura with her horns. Sakura barely shifted her torso out of the way and slapped the horns away from herself, only to have to block two mighty hooves. Sakura pushed back in, and punched at Arizona with a few quick jabs. Arizona shifted backwards, and when Sakura got too close, she used her horns like twin parrying blades against her fists and then dodged some more. Sakura had to be carefully not to punch the pointy ends. One thing Sakura had was the range advantage. If she could keep Arizona at arm’s length, no further and no shorter, she could probably win. So it went for the majority of round one. Kicks, spin kicks, short ranged fireballs. Whenever Arizona ran forward, Sakura retreated, and when Arizona fell back, Sakura pushed forward. Whenever Arizona got too overzealous, Sakura found a way to snipe in. In the end, a frustrated Arizona swept out with a lasso, only for Sakura to duck as it squeezed around thin air. Sakura rolled forward and kneed Arizona in the face, launching her high up. [color=f49ac2][i]”Kurai!”[/i][/color] Sakura flashed orange and blitzed into Arizona with three spin kicks, with a final straight kick sending Arizona flying out of the arena. ROUND ONE: SAKURA WINS! Arizona rose from where she landed, blowing hair air and stomping her feet. Sakura crossed her arms and looked away, a stern look on her face. [color=f49ac2]”I only seek opponents stronger than myself.”[/color] She said. She couldn’t maintain character and giggled. [color=f49ac2]”No, I don’t mean it. You’re strong, though.”[/color] “Hmph! Not bad. But if you think you have my number, you’re in for a big shock.” She trotted up the stairs and back into the arena. [color=f49ac2]”Oh, I’m sure, Arizona-chan.”[/color] Sakura said. “Now I don’t exactly know what the difference between ‘chan’ and ‘san’ is, but I don’t like it.” Arizona said. “I think I oughta teach you some manners.” ROUND TWO: FIGHT! Arizona rushed forward and then stopped dead, slamming her head into the ground. It caught Sakura, who was also running forward to get into the goldilocks zone again, off guard and she faceplanted from the shockwave. When she looked up, Arizona had the lasso snug around her neck. Sakura’s hands flew to get it loose, and she did, but only mid air, after she was already flying towards the cowgirl with a lot of frustration to vent. Needless to say, Sakura was kicked around, and just when she thought was going to be tumbling away, Arizona snatched her with her lasso and thumped her once more onto the ground. Now Arizona was right on top of her, bearing down as Sakura tried to fend her off. Horns and gouges, kicks and punches. Arizona flipped Sakura over, thrust up her back into Sakura’s tailbone to bounce her, [color=f49ac2][i]”Bwah!”[/i][/color] and then kicked her in the back to send her toppling. Sakura rolled back to standing and launched a fireball at Arizona, who had to brace herself as it smacked into her. Arizona grabbed her lasso between her teeth again, prompting Sakura to jump pre-emptively, only for Arizona to stomp the ground as Sakura landed. Then Arizona threw her lasso around Sakura’s ankles. [color=f49ac2][i]”C’mon!”[/i][/color] Sakura complained, only to get double-horned in the stomach one last time. This time, Arizona put some juice into it, spending her Magic stock she got from lassoing Sakura. Arizona surged forward, leaving behind a trail of cowgirl afterimages. When she skidded to a stop, Sakura kept flying forward, and went clear out of the arena. “Hoo-yeah!” Arizona cheered. ROUND TWO: ARIZONA WINS! Sakura looked up from where she had landed, rubbing her head. Her heart pounded. Crap. If she lost here, it would still be disastrous for her chances. Don’t think about that. Think about Arizona’s weaknesses. There was a way to get around that lasso and get back into the goldilocks zone. Or, maybe, Sakura could take a different approach. At round start, she fired off an EX-Fireball and sprinted behind it, using it like a shield. Arizona wasn’t sure how to defend, and didn’t want to leave herself open. There was a big explosion as Arizona blocked the fireball with her horns. The street fighter burst through the smoke to take advantage of her plus frames, and punched Arizona directly in the face. Only Arizona flashed orange herself, standing firm as Sakura’s hand cracked against her head. Sakura yelped and clutched her wrist. For a moment, she looked at Arizona in surprise. It was like the cowgirl had simply decided not to be hurt by that attack. Arizona smirked and headbutted Sakura away. Turns out, Arizona wasn’t weak on defensive moves at all. Sakura had to find a hole in her offence to get started. And she had to do it now, because Arizona’s offence was currently stampeding towards her. Arizona came flying in with another headbutt, only for Sakura to crouch forward and headbutt Arizona right back! The two young women pushed their heads together, Arizona grinding her hooves into the ground as Sakura’s body swirled with Focus Attack ink. [color=f49ac2]”Two can play at that game!”[/color] Sakura grit her teeth. “Ain’t no one can suffer my horns!” Arizona shouted, pushing to overpower Sakura’s Focus. Sakura let it happen, falling backwards to drive Arizona into Sakura’s knee. Sakura took the opening, grabbing the heifer by the horns and kicking her away. Springing from the floor, Sakura met Arizona mid air and punched her back down to the ground. “Gwah!” Arizona shouted. When Arizona got up, Sakura was jumping again, looking to stomp on her back. Sakura wasn’t sure if a vertical approach would be easier or harder on an opponent who walked on four legs. The answer was easier, as Arizona was flattened into the ground. Sakura did a few grounded spinning top kicks and Arizona slid across the floor, limbs splayed. With a huff, Arizona got to her feet. “Brace yourself for this!” Arizona’s wild eyes flashed blue and she reared up. Sakura sensed a tremendous energy coming her way. She yelped and jumped up, and the entire arena cracked below her as Arizona slammed her hooves- and face- into the rocky floor. The power was overwhelming! There was no way Sakura could have blocked it, so she felt lucky that she decided to jump and avoid the earthquake entirely. She wasn’t sure she knew of any fighter who could have tanked that ridiculous power- it was unblockable. Across broken stones Arizona barreled towards the landing Sakura. Arizona jumped at the last second, going over Sakura’s guard and headbutting her directly in the face. Sakura was flung around by lasso again, and when she landed, blasted upwards with an EX-Shouken. After that, it was a brutal melee of stomps, kicks, elbows and headbutts, neither girl wanting to back down. In the end they were both left huffing and puffing, standing a few feet away from each other. Sakura squinted, and Arizona narrowed her eyes. The human opened and flexed her fingers, the cow scraped her hoof across broken tiles. They were at a standstill. A showdown. “RAH!” Arizona charged forward, glowing blue as she used a Magic Dash to close the gap. [color=f49ac2][i]”Ikuzo!!!”[/i][/color] Sakura screamed. Arizona’s eyes widened as she ran face first into Sakura’s most powerful attack. She squeezed her eyes shut as she took a foot to the chin, her big flat teeth clacking together as she was sent skyward. For a moment she was weightless, free floating higher than a cow like her should ever go. When she was done spinning, she saw Sakura had met her in the sky. [color=f49ac2]”ATTAAACK!”[/color] Sakura slammed Arizona on the head, and sent her crashing into the earth. Arizona made an Arizona-shaped crater in the earth, and when she cracked one eye open, she caught a glimpse of Sakura streaking towards her like a meteor, slamming both of her feet into Arizona’s exposed belly. The sound was like a firework had gone off. KO!!!! Arizona stuck out her tongue, eyes bulging, before flattening against the broken ground, unconscious. Sakura hopped back onto solid ground, unsteady on her feet. [color=f49ac2]”And that’s,”[/color] She said to her defeated opponent yet again. [color=f49ac2]”A wrap.”[/color] SAKURA WINS! Sakura shot her fist into the air and yelled, and this time, for once, a crowd yelled with her. The contenders for Top 8 Winners side were chosen now, and Sakura would be among them. [color=f49ac2]”The future does belong to the young. I'll see you on the road ahead, Arizona-san!”[/color]