I'm gonna be honest, it's kinda interesting, the match in this chapter, since Love Heart is from an IP that technically is no longer an SNK property since they sold Sky Love to some other company. Meh, she'll still count as an SNK character in my book since she was in Tag Team Frenzy (she's getting nixed from the artbook though, it looks like). In this instance though, it's kinda like how the ARIKA-made characters from Street Fighter EX could technically be considered Capcom characters at heart despite no longer being involved in Capcom stuff.

Eh, anyways, enjoy.


As planned, minutes following the past couple matches, the third bout of the round was arranged to take place within an expansive room, one that looked like it could work for a couples' dance get-together. It was half-relevant to the analogy towards the tournament, at least...

OPENING ROUND – FIGHT #3
Love Heart vs. Bonne Jenet

The upcoming fight shared a common theme between the two ladies, both choosing the life of piracy and taking different directions with how they chose to live it.

B. Jenet, the seductive degenerate, let her eyes roam up and down on the raspberry-red apparel of the opponent. "Well-well... that's an interesting costume you got on you."

The freedom-fighter in Love Heart seemed a bit confused. "Costume?" She scoffed. "I don't know if you've heard, but I'm a captain in my world – all this isn't just for show, it's a sign of an important hero."

"Lovely," Jenet responded. "Well, in this world, you're kind of an odd one out here."

Love retorted back, "Doesn't seem like you intend to conform to the usual standards, either – I would've been mistaken in thinking you were a sleazy escort."

Jenet took the insult lightly – if she had a dollar for every time someone implied she was 'sleazy' or an 'escort... well, she'd probably steal for more than what she would get since it wouldn't be enough. "You wouldn't exactly look out of place alongside a stripper pole either, honey."

The self-proclaimed 'queen' of the Lillien Knights was certainly stirring a mean pot against Love, and the sky protector was about ready to shut the blonde bombshell up in retaliation. "Alright – time to shut you up...!"

FIGHT!

Love took the early lead in the spar as she leveled Jenet with a hard knee to the gut, and continued to put the boots to the blonde maverick as a capitalization to the first attack. However, Jenet seemed ready to take some damage early on, and was okay with holding up defense and as she roughly shoved Love back to force some distance.

Jenet provoked Love's aggressive motive in the fight with a high-heel kick that threatened to pierce, while simultaneously giving heed to a bit of the distance game. This further escalated as Jenet unleashed some forceful winds, not unlike the previous bout of the tourney, with a fling of the wrist and had Love sliding a few feet further back.

Love grunted, "Nngh... these winds are strong..."

"You prefer the skies, right? You should be used to this kind of stuff!" Jenet taunted.

Love wasn't going to take this zone-out sitting down – she spiraled herself forward with a front flip finishing into her driving her heel down towards the floor, with intention to clonk B. Jenet right upside the head.

The British bombshell avoided, however, leaving Love to bring her foot against only the ground, with enough force to actually leave a crack in the flooring. Love attempted with another attack to follow up, leaping up into the air and spiraling back down with the force of a piercing arrow.

Jenet continued to escape the arsenal, however, by evading further backwards against the wall. Love Heart's rough landings continued to leave more damage to the floor than anything else, but she seemed determined to take down whatever opponent stood in her way, for the sake of the skies.

Jenet recognized the wall that she was gradually approaching her back against, and decided on a whim to use it to her advantage; she sprung herself up and off it, gliding over and handling Love, and then flipping her over with an underarm throw that brought them closer to the center of the wide and mostly-empty room. As a result, Love stumbled and nearly slammed herself face-first against the floor as she lost her footing off the up-and-over throw.

This left her occupied long enough for Jenet to continue taunting. "Maybe I'm just too quick for you, eh?"

After a moment of recovery, Love had her palms against the floor as she pushed herself back up, and it transitioned suddenly into a handspring front flip that was intended to drop down into an axe kick.

Keeping up the defense that she managed to hold well enough to remain relatively healthy throughout so far, Jenet braced the walloping kick with her arms in front of her face. Once again, it seemed like she was prepared for a good load of strikes.

She was definitely not prepared for everything that Love had, however, as with the only sign heading into it being a brief glow of light, she panicked and evaded as she saw something slash towards her way. That evasion may have been a bit too late, since as she stepped back, Jenet saw that there was a significant tear in her purple dress, right below the area of fabric around her breasts. Whatever the slashing attack was didn't draw any sort of a cut on the skin underneath, but it did give a slight bit of an underboob window, one that the Pirate Queen considered unwarranted.

Then she glanced up to Love, and took a lingering look at the sword glimmering in a golden aura that was resting in the opponent's hand. At that moment, Jenet lost focus on her anger towards the freedom fighter for trying to mess with her fashionable looks, and now she was starting to question what she got herself into. "Uhhhh..."

"Did that surprise you?" said Love Heart. "Good – now I know you aren't ready." She charged forward with the glowing blade in her hands raising up over her head for a strike that could potentially strike harder than the last.

"Oh shit!" Jenet had to act quickly, or else get knocked down a notch.

The next few slashes from Love came swift and calculated, but Jenet just barely avoided them without a grazing cut on any more of her body. The dodging was all spontaneous for her, prompted only by the danger of the sword swinging against her.

After about six potential hits from Love's gilded broadsword thoroughly avoided, Jenet crouched low as she had figured out a bit of a plan on the fly. She didn't have much on her person (and she didn't necessarily wear all that much either), but she needed to counter-act with something...

On Love's eventual seventh slash, it was actually blocked this time around – because Jenet had just taken off one of her high heels and had somehow halted the sword on the swing down.

Even with the use of part of her attire to successfully guard the incoming attack, it was still a struggle for Jenet to keep pushing against the weapon of the opposition. "I'm not going down like that! The Knights are counting on me to make them proud!"

Love said, "I've got allies of my own, too! They might not be watching down on me, but I wouldn't want to disappoint them, either!"

Jenet retorted back, "Well, you aren't exactly meant to be here... and in the thick of it all... I'm... honestly running out of things to say, so instead, I'll just do this~!"

With the heel and the sword raised up sky-high above the two, Jenet thrust herself forward, her face gradually speeding towards Love Heart's up until the point where their lips suddenly crashed together. The last thing someone would expect from a fight would be a straight-up kiss between those fighters – even from that, it was clearly mind games against the sky-lover, as Love eventually sprung back after a few seconds of lip-lock, coming out of it with a face flushed out in a brief red blush, and then seconds after that, a re-heeled foot catching her up the jaw.

Like mentioned here and there, Love Heart preferred the skies, but not in the way as she found herself now, being comboed into the air with spiralling, somewhat windy kicks from the blonde Brit in Bonne Jenet. The attack was nearly taken straight through the ceiling of the room, but took a full-stop in the air before touching it.

"Say good night, sweetie!" With a wink and a blowing smooch, Jenet unleashed a tangible projectile in the shape of a heart – ironically turning against it being a symbol of love, it was intended to give out one last good hit against the opponent.

On the other hand, Love still had her sword handled within one hand, and realized her one last chance to defend herself, take control and hopefully win the match. "Not just yet!" She slashed at what was in front of her, slicing the heart-shaped projectile in half and, at the same time, knocking Jenet off-guard for a chance to follow-up.

"Ah bugger..." Jenet's thoughts were very clear once she felt the momentum trailing ahead of the slash smack her in the chest and leave her groggy in midair.

Love briefly twirled her sword before handling it in both her hands... "Senkuu..." Then she lunged forward through the air at a swift speed and didn't stop even as she passed her opponent, and her sword slashed past Jenet's body, "Buster Sword!"

Gravity's absence came to an end as they both came down from the air; Love landed on her feet and her sword evaporated out of the fight, while Jenet landed with quite the opposite sort of precision, crashing down to the floor, nearly on her neck. The reckless blonde must've felt lucky that Love seemed to set her sword to 'stun', because otherwise the room would be a bit more of a mess and Jenet would be much less alive (and Elisabeth wouldn't want that, now would she?).

WINNER: Love Heart


B. Jenet was absolutely out of commission, laying face-down / ass-up on the floor (probably not for the first time) and still somewhat conscious. Regardless of whether or not she was truly KO'd in the bout, however, there was no easy way to get up from that.

Love Heart stood over her defeated opponent. "I mean what I said – you just aren't ready to face someone like me, kid." She brought a foot to Jenet's side and shoved lightly to flip her over on her back.

Jenet groaned, "Ugh... for someone named 'Love', it doesn't seem like you're all up for it..."

Love retorted, "Those were mind games and you know it. You can't just pull something like that and expect it to give you the complete advantage."

Jenet chuckled with a weakened but still particularly cocky demeanor. "Pirates can do whatever the fuck they want. You oughta learn all that down here."

"Appreciate the suggestion," said Love, "but I think I'm fine doing what I do best."

"Ugh, whatever."A pained B. Jenet rolled over on her side – she could really use the rest after that wild fight. "I need a drink. You buyin'?"

"Sorry – I don't share my time with troublesome ladies like you." Straightening her hat, Love Heart made it clear she was not one to align in any way with someone so significantly less heroic in their motives.

She made her leave from the room, the third to advance to the second round thus far, and Jenet was to herself soon enough, left the battered mess that she found herself becoming.

The competition was no joke, and it was full of surprises – some we've seen, and some to come...


Next Chapter: In the next match, Yuri goes about throwing her ass in someone's face like she usually does. Enough said.