24. Sakura vs. Athena
"Okay, guys. We're almost up," Darrell announced as he watched the fight taking place in the arena in front of him. It was one of the three taking place simultaneously and had Ibuki from C-11 taking on Mitsumi from C-17. It was a close match throughout the whole battle, but Ibuki was the last person on her team and Mitsumi still had Yun and Yang in reserve. Ibuki was, as her appearance suggested (a white, sleeveless ninja gi complete with the mask covering her mouth), a female teenage ninja who was new to the tournament circuit. She was dodging the attacks Mitsumi was throwing, who was also a newbie. Mitsumi had on a blue shirt and pants with a gold dragon design running down her pant leg as well as a white headband that was covered by her brown hair. Running down her back was a huge braid that stopped toward the middle of her back. It swayed lively as she threw a few more attacks that Ibuki evaded by jumping into the air.
"You'll love this." Ibuki commented as she hung in the air with her hands in her gi pockets. She rolled into a ball and spun around rapidly.
"What are you doing.?" Mitsumi mumbled to herself while going defensive. She then heard Ibuki's "Here it comes! Kasumi Suzaku! Atare!" as she unleashed about 25 small daggers towards Mitsumi. She braced herself then jumped into the air to Ibuki's height. Ibuki didn't notice Mitsumi's presence as Mitsumi hung in the air while charging up.
"Darkness."
She then rushed forward as Ibuki finished her Kasumi Suzaku. and just before Mitsumi got close enough, Ibuki looked up.
"Oh, no." she muttered as Mitsumi smashed her elbow into her check. then everything went black.
"Dragoon Blast!" Mitsumi's voice rang out in the darkness. then a huge purple blast was the only thing visible. then everything went back to normal. Ibuki was on the ground, unconscious, with her clothing torn in many placed and cuts all over her. Mitsumi landed on the ground, her arm outstretched and smoking, and smiled at her handiwork.
"I was working on that move for weeks. I'm glad it worked. because I used all my vigor on that one blast." She spun around as the announcer finished his ten-count and added, "You'll get up in time for you next match, Ibuki. Maybe you won't be 100%... but you'll be up."
As Mitsumi left the ring to meet up with Wangtang, Yun, and Yang and Ibuki was helped out the ring by Maki, one of her teammates, the announcer started his announcing getting the crowd excited.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, Mitsumi's Darkness Dragoon Blast just put her team at 1 win and 1 loss in the tournament standings while Ibuki's team drops down to the same ranking. I hope you're anxious to get the ball rolling for the next match, because it has a lot of young faces in it. Darrell Markis and his C-8 team are going to take on Athena Asamiya and her C-6 team. Both teams are 1-0, so a lock on the undefeated ranking is at stake, and it's coming right now, so can we get the first two fighters up on stage?"
Darrell looked up to the ring while standing up from the warm up bench. He heard the crowd go into a frenzy as he did his action and a smile came across his face.
{It's like I'm a celebrity here, now.} he thought. {I guess I'll go up first again.}
Just before he could take a step forward, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He spun around to see Sakura K. staring at him, wearing her school fuku and white headband.
"Listen, Darrell. Could you do me a favor and let me go first this time? I want to fight Athena in the first round."
"Uh. sure. Be my guest."
Darrell stepped to the side, letting Sakura hop into the ring to test her skills against her friend. Just as she landed into the ring, Athena jumped in the other side and walked to her starting point. Darrell was sort of surprised to see Athena wearing the same exact fuku as Sakura, for the exception of the red scarf and actual school shoes that Athena had on.
"Okay, people," the announcer started, "it looks as if we have Athena Asamiya taking on Sakura Kasugano in the first bout. These two, as you might remember from the previous Mark of the Millennium tournament, were once on the same team, so it'll be interesting to see how they fare against one another. Now, you two know the rules, so let's get down to business. Round 1. Fighters, are you ready?"
"I am," Sakura answered while getting into her fighting stance. "Are you, Athena?"
Athena smiled while getting ready. "Of course! Let's do this!"
"FIGHT!"
Immediately, Sakura charged in with her fist at her side.
"Shouoken!" she yelled out as she got within range to deliver her signature special move, but something unexpected happened. Athena's body deterialized into pink Psycho energy and warped behind Sakura, catching her off guard. Sakura tried to screech to a halt, but it didn't work.
"Gotcha!" Athena shouted as she stopped Sakura in her tracks by putting her hands on her back. then raising her hand up into the air, causing Sakura to follow. Athena then jumped up into the air, her right hand holding some more energy.
"Psycho Sword!"
Sakura K. was nailed 7 times by Athena's energy attack before plummeting to the canvas. She managed to safe fall to avoid a flying kick from Athena, then nailed her with a strong punch to the face as she landed. Athena's head snapped back in recoil and she held her nose to check if she was bleeding. It proved to be a bad mistake as Sakura charged up and hit her again with a Hadouken, sending her back-pedaling.
"Shunpukyaku!"
Athena shook her head and saw her opponent perform her jumping spin kick to follow up. She blocked and retaliated with a knee to the gut, but Sakura was quick to recover and blocked her attack as well. Athena started to back off, planning her next move, and as Sakura K. followed in pursuit, the announcer kept the spectators up to speed with a quick analysis.
"Both girls came out the gate swinging, but now it looks as if they're using their heads this time."
{It must have been a while for me to fall for that little combo,} Sakura thought. {I'd better pick at her and see what new moves she got.}
Sakura dashed in to jab Athena in the face. Athena easily blocked it, but she didn't expect Sakura to lightly kick her ankles to break her guard.
"Shouoken!"
Sakura roofed her friend with a jumping uppercut, but as Athena reached the height of her pop-up, she flipped right-side up and rolled into a ball.
"I know this move!" Sakura said out loud while landing, trying to block, but just as her feet touched the ground, Athena came crashing down, her body covered with Psycho Energy.
"Phoenix Arrow!" Athena called as she collided into Sakura's body, stunning her for a quick second. Athena landed while ducking and kicked Sakura's legs out from under her, sending Sakura to the ground.
"After a short break, the action starts up again. Sakura pulled out a short Shouoken variation, but Athena countered with her Phoenix Arrow, knocking her once-time partner to the ground. Let's see how Sakura retaliates."
Sakura was already on her feet when the announcer stopped and was blocking a strong roundhouse from Athena. She ducked a quick knee and kicked at Athena's supporting leg, causing her to lose balance and get on all fours to avoid falling all the way.
"Ichiyo.!"
As Athena recovered, Sakura was already in the air with her fists held above her head. She waited until Athena was up and bashed her on top of the head with a sledgehammer blow. Athena's head was forced down in recoil as Sakura landed behind her and grabbed her by the head and neck.
{It's been a while since I saw Sakura use her Sakura Jime on someone.} Hinata thought as she looked at her friend squeeze on Athena's head from the sidelines. After the 5th choke, Athena came up with an idea.
{Hope this works.}
Athena concentrated her Psycho Energy on Sakura, who was just about to finish her grappling move with the overhead elbow smash until the sudden burst of energy stopped her in her tracks.
"What the.?" Sakura asked in surprise as Athena lifted her free left arm upwards, causing Sakura's body to lift off the ground, loosening her grip from her head. Athena let Sakura float for a bit, then.
"There!" Athena shouted out while throwing her now pointed finger to the other side of the ring. and you can tell where Sakura ended up at.
"Using her Psycho Powers, Athena breaks up Sakura's grab move and throws her across the ring," the announcer updated. "They don't call her a Psycho Soldier for nothing."
In a flash, Athena used her Psychic Teleport to get right in front of Sakura as she stood up. Sakura didn't notice Athena was right there until she lifted her gaze from the ground to straight. and as soon as she saw her, she gasped. Sakura went on instinct and blocked high. Too bad Athena went low with a sweep kick, knocking Sakura back on the canvas floor. To Athena's surprise, Sakura stayed down this time, and in response, she pouted a bit.
"What's the matter?" Athena asked as the announcer already started his ten- count. "Don't tell me you are already giving up on me. are you?"
{Tch! Just getting myself ready, Athena. I haven't used this move in a long while, but it's perfect for this moment.}
At the count of three, Sakura suddenly spun around while simultaneously stunning Athena with a hard recovery kick to the chest.
"Hey.!" Athena stuttered as she leaned forward, holding her stomach in pain as Sakura got to her feet.
"You'll love this combo I've been working on. Kououken!'
Sakura rushed forward and nailed Athena with a multi-hit punch like her Shouoken, but she ended the move with a regular uppercut rather than jumping after her opponent. As quickly as she could, Sakura braced herself.
"Haru Ichiban!"
Now Sakura jumped after Athena's falling body with a long, helicopter kick that she used on Ryu last month. She got up to about the height of 2 stories before she stopped her Shunpukyaku in mid-air and performed a few more attacks, ending it all with another sledgehammer blow.
Athena screamed as her body was sent hurtling into the arena floor at such a high speed. She crash-landed on her back, the fall knocking the air out of her lungs. As Sakura landed on the ground and Athena was gasping to recover air, the announcer decided to let the audience know what just happened.
"Now that's a fine example of the combination attack. Sakura got off the ground with a recovery kick, then into her old Kououken special move, then into a super version of her super combo, the Haru Ichiban! Yes folks, I was counting the number of hits in that combo and it was a whopping 26-hit combo! How can Athena counter that?"
As Sakura watched Athena get to her feet at the count of 6, she couldn't help but be surprised at Athena's smile.
"You've gotten better, Sakura," she complemented. "I never expected you to use that many variations of your moves. I better be careful!"
"You should. We've been training for 3 weeks straight. Everyone on our team has something new under their sleeves."
"Humph. I should have trained harder."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Why are you sounding like you already lost? We've only been fighting for 1 minute and 25 seconds."
"I've didn't put as much time in my training like everyone else here did. I might still be a bit rusty on this new move I've been working on."
"A new move? What is it?"
Athena was about to reply, but she caught herself and waved a finger at Sakura. "Oh, no. I won't be telling you that just yet. You'll have to see it for yourself."
"So let's go! I'm anxious to see what you can do in a school uniform."
Athena blushed before getting into stance. While both girls continued the bout, Sakura S. got up from her seat, catching Hinata's attention.
"Hey, Sakura. Where're you heading?"
"I just want to see the other matches that are taking place here," the dark Sakura answered while walking towards the second arena where C-19 was fighting C-27. She looked up to see a familiar American with yellow hair that poked out in front of his face like a hanger was fighting a Japanese boxer.
"Hey. I remember him. That's Charlie!"
Charlie Nash was busy dodging Yugo's fast punching combinations with effort. He, as usual, had on his orange Air Force jacket with the green work pants and boots. Yugo wore a white shirt with a gold design in the middle with the words "SilverFang" on it, as well as black jeans and boots. Sakura looked at the match standing and saw that the two had all their teammates waiting to fight.
{They must have just started their match.}
Sakura sat down on a free bench close to the ring to monitor the action.
"Sonic Boom!"
Charlie threw his arm across his chest, emitting a yellow boomerang-like energy projectile that Yugo ducked easily. Yugo then sidestepped and threw three hard body punches. Charlie blocked the first two and parried the last one to counter with his Somersault Shell special move. Yugo was hit up into the air, but he air recovered and charged up, his fists on fire like Darrell's Shakunetsuken. A wolf howling could be heard throughout the arena as Yugo named his attack.
"Here we go! King of Breaker!!"
Charlie saw Yugo charge in and blocked his next barrage of flaming punches. After about the 20th hit, Yugo charged up and threw one final punch, this one covered with a large flame that leapt onto Charlie. Just before it connected, Charlie used his fists to bat the flames away to beat a pathway to Yugo. Charlie charged in. and unleashed his own assault of punches and kicks to Yugo's defensive guard.
{That's his Crossfire Blitz.} the Satsu Sakura thought to herself. {Yugo must be a pretty good fighter to block all of that.}
Sakura let herself get wrapped up into the fight she was watching as the battle continued.
----- -----
"Psycho Ball!"
Sakura saw her opponent throw her energy ball at her and side-stepped it. She then charged in and performed a roundhouse kick that was blocked. Sakura then backed up and charged up her energy into a blue hall in her hands and threw it forward.
"Teleport!"
Sakura K. heard Athena yell as she went through her Hadouken and spun around to hit her as she came out her Psychic Teleport with a right hook. At the same time, Athena turned around to nail Sakura in the head with her own roundhouse kick. Both traded blows and reeled from the force. Sakura groaned as her head was forced to the right so fast that her whole body was staggering in that direction. She let her right arm fall to her side as she used her left hand to nurse the left side of her head. She looked through her right eye, which wasn't closed from pain, to see Athena doing the same thing she was doing.
"That little trade off just broke the momentum of this bout," the ring announcer commented. "Both girls are recovering from the other's hard blow, but it shouldn't take long for them to get back up to speed."
"You've must have been. lying when you said that you weren't training." Sakura said to her friend.
"I thought I said that I. was training for only a few weeks." Athena answered while lifting her hand off her face and putting it on her hip. "Now, I guess it's time I put this match away."
Sakura shook her head to get rid of her dizziness as Athena once again used her Psychic Teleport to move towards her.
"Not this trick again. wait!"
Sakura wasn't planning on Athena stopping right in front of her with her palm right in her face. Athena's body started to glow with her pink aura. and Sakura couldn't move her body. She just stared at Athena's hand.
"That's it." Athena said quietly to herself as a small, pink ball of energy rested on her hand. then she shouted out, "Go!"
The miniature Psycho Ball shot off and hit Sakura in the head, making Athena's aura to jump off onto hers.
{What's. happening.?} Sakura asked herself as a sudden wave of dizziness came over her, making her hold her head with her left hand to keep from falling.
"It's my new Psychic Disabler. I see you like it. and this will set up my payback for that huge combo you pulled off on me! Here it comes," Athena announced cheerfully as she jumped up above the dazed Sakura to charge up the aura. then called her next attack's name.
"Phoenix Fang Arrow!!"
Athena used her Phoenix Arrow special move to hit Sakura multiple times, but instead of sweeping Sakura off her feet, she teleported back into the air to follow up again. She repeated her sequence five times before finally sweeping Sakura off her feet. but she wasn't done. Athena immediately charged up again on the ground, causing a flashing pink and white aura to cover her body.
"Yyyyahhh!" Athena yelled out as two huge Psychic Balls nailed Sakura's falling body above Athena's head. Athena heard Sakura cry out in pain as she canceled her current super move, channeling her Psycho energy into a single outstretched fingertip. She pointed her finger upwards. and something unexpected happened. Her pink ball of energy suddenly turned red.
"Take this! Psycho Flame Sword!!"
Athena's ball erupted upwards, once again connecting with Sakura's now helpless body. It formed a huge, red sword of energy, causing Sakura's entire body to erupt in flames. Without wasting any more time, Athena slammed her sword. and Sakura into the ring floor, making her energy fly all over the place and into the shield that protected the spectators from stray moves. Athena's attack left Sakura half-conscious on her back, her uniform shredded (but not so that anything personal showed), and breathing hard. Athena stood up straight for a quick second before collapsing to her knees. Her hands were resting on her sides and her hair was all over her shoulders and face.
"Wow! That was fantastic! In retribution to Sakura's earlier uber-combo, Athena started her own combo with her new move, the Psycho Disabler. She then followed with her trademark super moves, the Phoenix Fang Arrow to the Shining Crystal Bit, then into another new move, the Psycho Flame Sword. Once again, I counted the hits and it was 31 hits of pure poetry! However, Athena looked to be completely depleted of her power right now."
"Hey!" Athena finally shouted out to the announcer. "Don't you need to start the count or something?"
"Oh, sorry. I'll start right away." He turned to Sakura's totaled body and commenced the ten-count as Athena started collecting her Psycho Power.
"Oh, man did that take a lot out of me." Athena mumbled to herself as bits of her power came back and absorbed into her body. "I never thought I'd need to do all that. but it was worth it. As long as Sakura stays down after that."
"W. wait.!"
As the announcer counted to 7, Sakura called out to Athena as she very slowly got to her feet. Athena looked up to see Sakura wobble over to her, her fist clenched.
"Don't. you dare think. I'd lose so easily." she told her friend as she leaned forward to put her hands on her knees, recuperating from Athena's blows.
"You mean to tell me. that you are still up? You sure changed."
Athena got to her feet, letting her arms dangle at her sides from weariness. Both teens stared into the other's eyes. and Athena finally saw something that she didn't see before.
{There's a flame in her eyes. Why is that? Something must be motivating her to keep going.}
"So. are you ready?" Sakura asked Athena.
"Barely," Athena replied. "You don't know just how much energy I lost in that last attack."
"I guess it works on both sides because I'm almost drained by being hit so much. but I still have two fighters to face, and I'm not giving up until I at least get to them."
"What makes you so sure that you'll survive this match?"
Sakura smiled as she got back into stance. "You'll see."
Athena smiled as she got to her senses and got back into her fighting stance. She didn't have a match like this in a while. and although it was about to end, she was enjoying it. After a 10-second stand off to get themselves ready for the conclusion of round 1, Sakura ducked down to sweep Athena early. Although Athena couldn't jump in time, she parried it, pushing Sakura on her butt. Athena followed up with a hopping knee with the left leg and a full kick with the right, but Sakura laid down fully to avoid getting hit and rolled to her feet while turning around. Athena tried to turn around in time, but Sakura was too fast. She grabbed Athena by the back and climbed on, kicking off and propelling Athena face first onto the mat.
Sakura used this time to charge up another Hadouken. The blue sphere appeared. but this time, Sakura continued charging. It got bigger. and electricity started to erupt from it. She waited until Athena got to her knees before she finally launched.
"Shinku. HADOUKEN!!"
The blue blast flew towards Athena. Just as it was about to connect, Athena sensed it. then threw her hands out as if to catch it. but her pink aura covered her body.
"Super. Psychic. REFLECTOR!!" Athena yelled out as a huge Psycho barrier appeared in front of her, causing the Shinku Hadouken to bounce off it as if it was light hitting a mirror. It rocketed towards Sakura, who just realized that her own attack was thrown back at her.
"YES!" Athena yelled out. "This is it! There is no way she can block that!"
Athena's eyes were on Sakura's blast as it traveled out of the ring and exploded on the barrier. She didn't see Sakura anywhere near it... and she panicked.
SHE DODGED IT?!? Athena screamed in her head.
"Shouoken!!"
Athena turned to her left. and saw Sakura nail her with her favorite special move. Athena's body flew. and thudded on the canvas, her long hair covering her face.
"Now that's a comeback! I guess you got your own eyes to see what just happened, but Sakura's Shouoken just saved her from losing this match. Now then. 1. 2. 3.."
As the announcer counted, Sakura walked over to her fallen friend/opponent and flashed a weak smile.
"I. know you don't have. then energy to keep on fighting this battle." Sakura said to Athena. "It was fun, wasn't it?"
Sakura heard Athena's deep, labored breaths as she replied with, "Yeah. it was. I guess I do pretty well. in a school fuku, huh?"
Sakura nodded in agreement as the announcer finished his ten-count.
"And there's the conclusion to a magnificent round 1! Sakura Kasugano beats Athena Asamiya to go on to the second round! Now, will the next fighter from C-6 step up to the plate to face this determined teenage girl?"
"I will."
End of Chapter 24
"Okay, guys. We're almost up," Darrell announced as he watched the fight taking place in the arena in front of him. It was one of the three taking place simultaneously and had Ibuki from C-11 taking on Mitsumi from C-17. It was a close match throughout the whole battle, but Ibuki was the last person on her team and Mitsumi still had Yun and Yang in reserve. Ibuki was, as her appearance suggested (a white, sleeveless ninja gi complete with the mask covering her mouth), a female teenage ninja who was new to the tournament circuit. She was dodging the attacks Mitsumi was throwing, who was also a newbie. Mitsumi had on a blue shirt and pants with a gold dragon design running down her pant leg as well as a white headband that was covered by her brown hair. Running down her back was a huge braid that stopped toward the middle of her back. It swayed lively as she threw a few more attacks that Ibuki evaded by jumping into the air.
"You'll love this." Ibuki commented as she hung in the air with her hands in her gi pockets. She rolled into a ball and spun around rapidly.
"What are you doing.?" Mitsumi mumbled to herself while going defensive. She then heard Ibuki's "Here it comes! Kasumi Suzaku! Atare!" as she unleashed about 25 small daggers towards Mitsumi. She braced herself then jumped into the air to Ibuki's height. Ibuki didn't notice Mitsumi's presence as Mitsumi hung in the air while charging up.
"Darkness."
She then rushed forward as Ibuki finished her Kasumi Suzaku. and just before Mitsumi got close enough, Ibuki looked up.
"Oh, no." she muttered as Mitsumi smashed her elbow into her check. then everything went black.
"Dragoon Blast!" Mitsumi's voice rang out in the darkness. then a huge purple blast was the only thing visible. then everything went back to normal. Ibuki was on the ground, unconscious, with her clothing torn in many placed and cuts all over her. Mitsumi landed on the ground, her arm outstretched and smoking, and smiled at her handiwork.
"I was working on that move for weeks. I'm glad it worked. because I used all my vigor on that one blast." She spun around as the announcer finished his ten-count and added, "You'll get up in time for you next match, Ibuki. Maybe you won't be 100%... but you'll be up."
As Mitsumi left the ring to meet up with Wangtang, Yun, and Yang and Ibuki was helped out the ring by Maki, one of her teammates, the announcer started his announcing getting the crowd excited.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, Mitsumi's Darkness Dragoon Blast just put her team at 1 win and 1 loss in the tournament standings while Ibuki's team drops down to the same ranking. I hope you're anxious to get the ball rolling for the next match, because it has a lot of young faces in it. Darrell Markis and his C-8 team are going to take on Athena Asamiya and her C-6 team. Both teams are 1-0, so a lock on the undefeated ranking is at stake, and it's coming right now, so can we get the first two fighters up on stage?"
Darrell looked up to the ring while standing up from the warm up bench. He heard the crowd go into a frenzy as he did his action and a smile came across his face.
{It's like I'm a celebrity here, now.} he thought. {I guess I'll go up first again.}
Just before he could take a step forward, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He spun around to see Sakura K. staring at him, wearing her school fuku and white headband.
"Listen, Darrell. Could you do me a favor and let me go first this time? I want to fight Athena in the first round."
"Uh. sure. Be my guest."
Darrell stepped to the side, letting Sakura hop into the ring to test her skills against her friend. Just as she landed into the ring, Athena jumped in the other side and walked to her starting point. Darrell was sort of surprised to see Athena wearing the same exact fuku as Sakura, for the exception of the red scarf and actual school shoes that Athena had on.
"Okay, people," the announcer started, "it looks as if we have Athena Asamiya taking on Sakura Kasugano in the first bout. These two, as you might remember from the previous Mark of the Millennium tournament, were once on the same team, so it'll be interesting to see how they fare against one another. Now, you two know the rules, so let's get down to business. Round 1. Fighters, are you ready?"
"I am," Sakura answered while getting into her fighting stance. "Are you, Athena?"
Athena smiled while getting ready. "Of course! Let's do this!"
"FIGHT!"
Immediately, Sakura charged in with her fist at her side.
"Shouoken!" she yelled out as she got within range to deliver her signature special move, but something unexpected happened. Athena's body deterialized into pink Psycho energy and warped behind Sakura, catching her off guard. Sakura tried to screech to a halt, but it didn't work.
"Gotcha!" Athena shouted as she stopped Sakura in her tracks by putting her hands on her back. then raising her hand up into the air, causing Sakura to follow. Athena then jumped up into the air, her right hand holding some more energy.
"Psycho Sword!"
Sakura K. was nailed 7 times by Athena's energy attack before plummeting to the canvas. She managed to safe fall to avoid a flying kick from Athena, then nailed her with a strong punch to the face as she landed. Athena's head snapped back in recoil and she held her nose to check if she was bleeding. It proved to be a bad mistake as Sakura charged up and hit her again with a Hadouken, sending her back-pedaling.
"Shunpukyaku!"
Athena shook her head and saw her opponent perform her jumping spin kick to follow up. She blocked and retaliated with a knee to the gut, but Sakura was quick to recover and blocked her attack as well. Athena started to back off, planning her next move, and as Sakura K. followed in pursuit, the announcer kept the spectators up to speed with a quick analysis.
"Both girls came out the gate swinging, but now it looks as if they're using their heads this time."
{It must have been a while for me to fall for that little combo,} Sakura thought. {I'd better pick at her and see what new moves she got.}
Sakura dashed in to jab Athena in the face. Athena easily blocked it, but she didn't expect Sakura to lightly kick her ankles to break her guard.
"Shouoken!"
Sakura roofed her friend with a jumping uppercut, but as Athena reached the height of her pop-up, she flipped right-side up and rolled into a ball.
"I know this move!" Sakura said out loud while landing, trying to block, but just as her feet touched the ground, Athena came crashing down, her body covered with Psycho Energy.
"Phoenix Arrow!" Athena called as she collided into Sakura's body, stunning her for a quick second. Athena landed while ducking and kicked Sakura's legs out from under her, sending Sakura to the ground.
"After a short break, the action starts up again. Sakura pulled out a short Shouoken variation, but Athena countered with her Phoenix Arrow, knocking her once-time partner to the ground. Let's see how Sakura retaliates."
Sakura was already on her feet when the announcer stopped and was blocking a strong roundhouse from Athena. She ducked a quick knee and kicked at Athena's supporting leg, causing her to lose balance and get on all fours to avoid falling all the way.
"Ichiyo.!"
As Athena recovered, Sakura was already in the air with her fists held above her head. She waited until Athena was up and bashed her on top of the head with a sledgehammer blow. Athena's head was forced down in recoil as Sakura landed behind her and grabbed her by the head and neck.
{It's been a while since I saw Sakura use her Sakura Jime on someone.} Hinata thought as she looked at her friend squeeze on Athena's head from the sidelines. After the 5th choke, Athena came up with an idea.
{Hope this works.}
Athena concentrated her Psycho Energy on Sakura, who was just about to finish her grappling move with the overhead elbow smash until the sudden burst of energy stopped her in her tracks.
"What the.?" Sakura asked in surprise as Athena lifted her free left arm upwards, causing Sakura's body to lift off the ground, loosening her grip from her head. Athena let Sakura float for a bit, then.
"There!" Athena shouted out while throwing her now pointed finger to the other side of the ring. and you can tell where Sakura ended up at.
"Using her Psycho Powers, Athena breaks up Sakura's grab move and throws her across the ring," the announcer updated. "They don't call her a Psycho Soldier for nothing."
In a flash, Athena used her Psychic Teleport to get right in front of Sakura as she stood up. Sakura didn't notice Athena was right there until she lifted her gaze from the ground to straight. and as soon as she saw her, she gasped. Sakura went on instinct and blocked high. Too bad Athena went low with a sweep kick, knocking Sakura back on the canvas floor. To Athena's surprise, Sakura stayed down this time, and in response, she pouted a bit.
"What's the matter?" Athena asked as the announcer already started his ten- count. "Don't tell me you are already giving up on me. are you?"
{Tch! Just getting myself ready, Athena. I haven't used this move in a long while, but it's perfect for this moment.}
At the count of three, Sakura suddenly spun around while simultaneously stunning Athena with a hard recovery kick to the chest.
"Hey.!" Athena stuttered as she leaned forward, holding her stomach in pain as Sakura got to her feet.
"You'll love this combo I've been working on. Kououken!'
Sakura rushed forward and nailed Athena with a multi-hit punch like her Shouoken, but she ended the move with a regular uppercut rather than jumping after her opponent. As quickly as she could, Sakura braced herself.
"Haru Ichiban!"
Now Sakura jumped after Athena's falling body with a long, helicopter kick that she used on Ryu last month. She got up to about the height of 2 stories before she stopped her Shunpukyaku in mid-air and performed a few more attacks, ending it all with another sledgehammer blow.
Athena screamed as her body was sent hurtling into the arena floor at such a high speed. She crash-landed on her back, the fall knocking the air out of her lungs. As Sakura landed on the ground and Athena was gasping to recover air, the announcer decided to let the audience know what just happened.
"Now that's a fine example of the combination attack. Sakura got off the ground with a recovery kick, then into her old Kououken special move, then into a super version of her super combo, the Haru Ichiban! Yes folks, I was counting the number of hits in that combo and it was a whopping 26-hit combo! How can Athena counter that?"
As Sakura watched Athena get to her feet at the count of 6, she couldn't help but be surprised at Athena's smile.
"You've gotten better, Sakura," she complemented. "I never expected you to use that many variations of your moves. I better be careful!"
"You should. We've been training for 3 weeks straight. Everyone on our team has something new under their sleeves."
"Humph. I should have trained harder."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Why are you sounding like you already lost? We've only been fighting for 1 minute and 25 seconds."
"I've didn't put as much time in my training like everyone else here did. I might still be a bit rusty on this new move I've been working on."
"A new move? What is it?"
Athena was about to reply, but she caught herself and waved a finger at Sakura. "Oh, no. I won't be telling you that just yet. You'll have to see it for yourself."
"So let's go! I'm anxious to see what you can do in a school uniform."
Athena blushed before getting into stance. While both girls continued the bout, Sakura S. got up from her seat, catching Hinata's attention.
"Hey, Sakura. Where're you heading?"
"I just want to see the other matches that are taking place here," the dark Sakura answered while walking towards the second arena where C-19 was fighting C-27. She looked up to see a familiar American with yellow hair that poked out in front of his face like a hanger was fighting a Japanese boxer.
"Hey. I remember him. That's Charlie!"
Charlie Nash was busy dodging Yugo's fast punching combinations with effort. He, as usual, had on his orange Air Force jacket with the green work pants and boots. Yugo wore a white shirt with a gold design in the middle with the words "SilverFang" on it, as well as black jeans and boots. Sakura looked at the match standing and saw that the two had all their teammates waiting to fight.
{They must have just started their match.}
Sakura sat down on a free bench close to the ring to monitor the action.
"Sonic Boom!"
Charlie threw his arm across his chest, emitting a yellow boomerang-like energy projectile that Yugo ducked easily. Yugo then sidestepped and threw three hard body punches. Charlie blocked the first two and parried the last one to counter with his Somersault Shell special move. Yugo was hit up into the air, but he air recovered and charged up, his fists on fire like Darrell's Shakunetsuken. A wolf howling could be heard throughout the arena as Yugo named his attack.
"Here we go! King of Breaker!!"
Charlie saw Yugo charge in and blocked his next barrage of flaming punches. After about the 20th hit, Yugo charged up and threw one final punch, this one covered with a large flame that leapt onto Charlie. Just before it connected, Charlie used his fists to bat the flames away to beat a pathway to Yugo. Charlie charged in. and unleashed his own assault of punches and kicks to Yugo's defensive guard.
{That's his Crossfire Blitz.} the Satsu Sakura thought to herself. {Yugo must be a pretty good fighter to block all of that.}
Sakura let herself get wrapped up into the fight she was watching as the battle continued.
----- -----
"Psycho Ball!"
Sakura saw her opponent throw her energy ball at her and side-stepped it. She then charged in and performed a roundhouse kick that was blocked. Sakura then backed up and charged up her energy into a blue hall in her hands and threw it forward.
"Teleport!"
Sakura K. heard Athena yell as she went through her Hadouken and spun around to hit her as she came out her Psychic Teleport with a right hook. At the same time, Athena turned around to nail Sakura in the head with her own roundhouse kick. Both traded blows and reeled from the force. Sakura groaned as her head was forced to the right so fast that her whole body was staggering in that direction. She let her right arm fall to her side as she used her left hand to nurse the left side of her head. She looked through her right eye, which wasn't closed from pain, to see Athena doing the same thing she was doing.
"That little trade off just broke the momentum of this bout," the ring announcer commented. "Both girls are recovering from the other's hard blow, but it shouldn't take long for them to get back up to speed."
"You've must have been. lying when you said that you weren't training." Sakura said to her friend.
"I thought I said that I. was training for only a few weeks." Athena answered while lifting her hand off her face and putting it on her hip. "Now, I guess it's time I put this match away."
Sakura shook her head to get rid of her dizziness as Athena once again used her Psychic Teleport to move towards her.
"Not this trick again. wait!"
Sakura wasn't planning on Athena stopping right in front of her with her palm right in her face. Athena's body started to glow with her pink aura. and Sakura couldn't move her body. She just stared at Athena's hand.
"That's it." Athena said quietly to herself as a small, pink ball of energy rested on her hand. then she shouted out, "Go!"
The miniature Psycho Ball shot off and hit Sakura in the head, making Athena's aura to jump off onto hers.
{What's. happening.?} Sakura asked herself as a sudden wave of dizziness came over her, making her hold her head with her left hand to keep from falling.
"It's my new Psychic Disabler. I see you like it. and this will set up my payback for that huge combo you pulled off on me! Here it comes," Athena announced cheerfully as she jumped up above the dazed Sakura to charge up the aura. then called her next attack's name.
"Phoenix Fang Arrow!!"
Athena used her Phoenix Arrow special move to hit Sakura multiple times, but instead of sweeping Sakura off her feet, she teleported back into the air to follow up again. She repeated her sequence five times before finally sweeping Sakura off her feet. but she wasn't done. Athena immediately charged up again on the ground, causing a flashing pink and white aura to cover her body.
"Yyyyahhh!" Athena yelled out as two huge Psychic Balls nailed Sakura's falling body above Athena's head. Athena heard Sakura cry out in pain as she canceled her current super move, channeling her Psycho energy into a single outstretched fingertip. She pointed her finger upwards. and something unexpected happened. Her pink ball of energy suddenly turned red.
"Take this! Psycho Flame Sword!!"
Athena's ball erupted upwards, once again connecting with Sakura's now helpless body. It formed a huge, red sword of energy, causing Sakura's entire body to erupt in flames. Without wasting any more time, Athena slammed her sword. and Sakura into the ring floor, making her energy fly all over the place and into the shield that protected the spectators from stray moves. Athena's attack left Sakura half-conscious on her back, her uniform shredded (but not so that anything personal showed), and breathing hard. Athena stood up straight for a quick second before collapsing to her knees. Her hands were resting on her sides and her hair was all over her shoulders and face.
"Wow! That was fantastic! In retribution to Sakura's earlier uber-combo, Athena started her own combo with her new move, the Psycho Disabler. She then followed with her trademark super moves, the Phoenix Fang Arrow to the Shining Crystal Bit, then into another new move, the Psycho Flame Sword. Once again, I counted the hits and it was 31 hits of pure poetry! However, Athena looked to be completely depleted of her power right now."
"Hey!" Athena finally shouted out to the announcer. "Don't you need to start the count or something?"
"Oh, sorry. I'll start right away." He turned to Sakura's totaled body and commenced the ten-count as Athena started collecting her Psycho Power.
"Oh, man did that take a lot out of me." Athena mumbled to herself as bits of her power came back and absorbed into her body. "I never thought I'd need to do all that. but it was worth it. As long as Sakura stays down after that."
"W. wait.!"
As the announcer counted to 7, Sakura called out to Athena as she very slowly got to her feet. Athena looked up to see Sakura wobble over to her, her fist clenched.
"Don't. you dare think. I'd lose so easily." she told her friend as she leaned forward to put her hands on her knees, recuperating from Athena's blows.
"You mean to tell me. that you are still up? You sure changed."
Athena got to her feet, letting her arms dangle at her sides from weariness. Both teens stared into the other's eyes. and Athena finally saw something that she didn't see before.
{There's a flame in her eyes. Why is that? Something must be motivating her to keep going.}
"So. are you ready?" Sakura asked Athena.
"Barely," Athena replied. "You don't know just how much energy I lost in that last attack."
"I guess it works on both sides because I'm almost drained by being hit so much. but I still have two fighters to face, and I'm not giving up until I at least get to them."
"What makes you so sure that you'll survive this match?"
Sakura smiled as she got back into stance. "You'll see."
Athena smiled as she got to her senses and got back into her fighting stance. She didn't have a match like this in a while. and although it was about to end, she was enjoying it. After a 10-second stand off to get themselves ready for the conclusion of round 1, Sakura ducked down to sweep Athena early. Although Athena couldn't jump in time, she parried it, pushing Sakura on her butt. Athena followed up with a hopping knee with the left leg and a full kick with the right, but Sakura laid down fully to avoid getting hit and rolled to her feet while turning around. Athena tried to turn around in time, but Sakura was too fast. She grabbed Athena by the back and climbed on, kicking off and propelling Athena face first onto the mat.
Sakura used this time to charge up another Hadouken. The blue sphere appeared. but this time, Sakura continued charging. It got bigger. and electricity started to erupt from it. She waited until Athena got to her knees before she finally launched.
"Shinku. HADOUKEN!!"
The blue blast flew towards Athena. Just as it was about to connect, Athena sensed it. then threw her hands out as if to catch it. but her pink aura covered her body.
"Super. Psychic. REFLECTOR!!" Athena yelled out as a huge Psycho barrier appeared in front of her, causing the Shinku Hadouken to bounce off it as if it was light hitting a mirror. It rocketed towards Sakura, who just realized that her own attack was thrown back at her.
"YES!" Athena yelled out. "This is it! There is no way she can block that!"
Athena's eyes were on Sakura's blast as it traveled out of the ring and exploded on the barrier. She didn't see Sakura anywhere near it... and she panicked.
SHE DODGED IT?!? Athena screamed in her head.
"Shouoken!!"
Athena turned to her left. and saw Sakura nail her with her favorite special move. Athena's body flew. and thudded on the canvas, her long hair covering her face.
"Now that's a comeback! I guess you got your own eyes to see what just happened, but Sakura's Shouoken just saved her from losing this match. Now then. 1. 2. 3.."
As the announcer counted, Sakura walked over to her fallen friend/opponent and flashed a weak smile.
"I. know you don't have. then energy to keep on fighting this battle." Sakura said to Athena. "It was fun, wasn't it?"
Sakura heard Athena's deep, labored breaths as she replied with, "Yeah. it was. I guess I do pretty well. in a school fuku, huh?"
Sakura nodded in agreement as the announcer finished his ten-count.
"And there's the conclusion to a magnificent round 1! Sakura Kasugano beats Athena Asamiya to go on to the second round! Now, will the next fighter from C-6 step up to the plate to face this determined teenage girl?"
"I will."
End of Chapter 24