Scene #6720: MECC: Haguro vs Yang Xiao Long

Owner	Pose
Haguro	Once again, the MECC semi-finals are underway. The birds have been shooed out of the sky to leave the air nice, clear, and free of errant droppings. The audience is waiting with bated breath as they devour their snacks during the commercials, ensuring there'll be nothing to throw on each other in an excited uproar. On one side of the arena stands Haguro, clad in her usual purple, black, and white uniform while looking somewhat anxious. She's fought melee-focused opponents before even during this contest, but only one other with a real focus on using his fists. That's why she's checking her gear over, making sure her turrets are loaded properly, stretching every now and then to keep herself limbered up. Everything's set. All she needs to do now is wait.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang steps out into the arena, stretching her arms above her head. She's wearing a cowboy-like outfit, which covers a bit more than her usual one. She waves to the crowd, stirring them up like she's done every match, getting them to a fevered pitch so they can enjoy the combat to come. When she stops, she offers a wave to Haguro, grinning. "Hey, lets have a good match, yeah? Win or lose, we're both winners for even being here." she says, then deploys her gauntlets and sets into a combat stance, waiting for the officials to signal the match to start.
Haguro	It's Yang! Smiling in return, Haguro nods as she salutes the fist-fighter and finishes her last check of her gear. "Right! We've made it to the semi-finals already, so let's do our best and see how much further we can go from here." With the pleasantries aside, it's time to commence beating the crap out of each other. Settling into her own stance with turrets ready to fire and feet ready to move, Haguro too waits for that signal. The signal blares, and Haguro is off! Well, she doesn't move that much from where she's standing. She's hopping from side to side to keep herself from being an easy target, but she's not moving in closer. Instead, she's holding that distance as she starts the round off with a pair of quick explosive shells!
Yang Xiao Long	Incoming fire! Yang bounces on the balls of her feet, and then tries to lap away from the incoming shells. Unfortunately she's not quick enough, and doesn't get far enough, being sent hurtling through the air from the concussive blast, and landing awkwardly and skidding a few feet. She rolls, and launches herself up into her feet again. "Heh, Shoulda figured you'd be using range... unfortunately I know how to close a gap." she says, leaping into the air, and firing her gauntlets behind her, arcing over to bring a heavy punch down towards Haguro. Whether it hits the shipgirl, or the ground, the chamber pulses and a blast of kinetic force explodes from the barrel.
Haguro	She did the thing! Haguro actually looks somewhat excited as Yang launches herself right at the Cruiser with those gauntlets, not unlike someone at a concert excited to hear that one song they play on loop and somehow haven't gotten tired of. As the distance between them shrinks, she's all too happy to take evasive... ... Dashing forward to meet that punch head on? That's indeed what Haguro does as she brings her armored forearm up to take the brunt of that blow, wincing as it cracks the plate clean in half and sends the ship spirit staggering back from the impact and the follow-up explosion. "If that's the case, then I'll just have to fight up close!" With Yang right in front of her, Haguro doesn't waste any more time as she lunges right back in, aiming to grab Yang right around that same arm to try and wrench it in directions it shouldn't be bending.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang grunts as she gets grabbed, still off-balance from her launched assault. She's pulled, and her arm creaks, Aura flaring under Haguro's grasp, until she can get her feet under her again and braces. "Good, I was getting tired of chasing after the range fighters." she says, grinning as she clenches her fist, and uses pressure pulses in her palm to fire a volley of point blank shots from her gauntlet toward the ship spirit, mostly trying to make her let go.
Haguro	"It's a good strategy for winning a war, but not for matches like these." Haguro nods in agreement as she once again pivots herself in the path of Yang's blow, taking both the punch and the shots against a no-longer armored section of her side. The blasts manage to push her back and give the Semblance user some much needed space, and Haguro too takes a moment to steady herself as she tries to figure out just how to actually approach this fight. "I can't... I can't just run away from fights. If I'm going to prove myself worthy of the title of Vice-Admiral, then even if it's against someone like you..." Haguro leans forward as she almost has her knuckles brushing the ground. "I'll face you head on!" And she's off once more. With a combination of the boosters implanted in her leg armor and just running really REALLY hard, Haguro goes for leaping knee strike at Yang!
Yang Xiao Long	Yang grins a bit, shaking out her hand to release the built up pressure from firing her gauntlet without throwing an actual punch. She then watches the charging ship spirit close in, and sets her feet, making a grab at the incoming knee. She holds it off and skids back from the momentum being imparted into her. A grunt emits, and then, arms aching from the impact... Yang grabs the leg, and then hauls up and over, aiming to slam Haguro into the ground, trying to turn her own momentum against her.
Haguro	That's a first. Haguro was expecting to get decked on the way down, not have the grappling techniques she's been so fond of using turned against her! Haguro coughs out painfully as she hits the ground hard face-first, the wind getting knocked out of her momentarily whiel she's seeing stars in the pavement. Or whatever the arena floor is made of today. It's an ever shifting thing, but relly. People aren't here to see the floor. People are here to see fights! Blood! Haguro doesn't even have time to let the impact really set in mentally as the adrenaline starts kicking in, and she rolls onto her back to get a clearer eye on Yang's position. Sweeping her legs around the blonde's, she swings both legs together to try and take Yang right off her feet, all while firing multiple bursts of metal shards from her wrist turrets!
Yang Xiao Long	Yang gets taken down, falling as her legs are swept out from under her. The flak shots pepper her Aura, many of them deflecting, but a few punching through and drawing blood. "Heh... that's the moxie... I'm getting fired up now." she says, then kips back up, her hair flaring. A faint glow and little emberlike motes lifting from her hair. Once on her feet, she actually hops back and away, before punching the air, and firing her own explosive bolts, peppering the area around the ship spirit.
Haguro	Now that Haguro's got a little bit more room to breathe, she scrambles to her feet just as Yang starts to show visible signs of BURNING SPIRIT. The Cruiser stares at her for a few moments in awe, another slight smile creeping across her face even as she readies to defend herself once again. "Maybe I'll have to try something a little more..." What /would/ be a good approach from here? With that distance between them, Haguro has just enough time to weave and fire her own shots in return to avoid and deflect the worst of the explosives coming her way. A few of them still hit their mark, knocking a shoulder turret clean off and singing part of the shipgirl's face. She just needs to force things through at this rate. Bringing up her arm, she takes aim at Yang before abruptly firing at the ground in front of the martial artist, kicking up a spray of debris and dust before charging in to try and grab her around the waist this time. Should she get a clean hold, Haguro will start thrashing around wildly, trying to wear Yang down in an attempt to find a hole in her defenses!
Yang Xiao Long	Yang brings her arms up as the debris flies, which leaves her at the mercy of the thrashing. She's grabbed, but instead of trying to bruteforce it, she makes to counter grapple, and starts to wrestle, mitigating some of the damage. "Man, I've not had a workout like this since the last time I went three rounds with my dad." she remarks, then shifts her grasp, and attempts to kick one of Haguro's legs out from under her so she can slam the ship spirit down into the ground.
Haguro	"Your father is...? So you've had a good teacher, then!" Haguro chuckles lightly as she grapples with Yang, fighting for a better position to no avail. Rather than finding a better position herself, it's the native of Remnant that finds the upper ground as she takes Haguro's legs out from under her, putting her face-down once again! Time for something a little more reckless. Rather than backing off to catch her second wind, Haguro goes right back on the offense! As she pushes herself up off the ground, face covered in bruises and cuts, she fires both the thrusters on her legs and her turrets behind her to give herself just enough of a boost off the ground to be right back on her feet. Once again, she grabs for Yang midsection, and should she get a steady enough hold, she yanks backwards and starts rolling around to try and turn them both into a gigantic human pretzel!
Yang Xiao Long	Yang grunts as she'a grabbed so quickly after putting the other girl down. She struggles, pushing and writhing with Haguro on the floor, somehow managing to get clear of the grip, and gets some space. She's looking bruised up and more battered, but is still grinning like a mad woman. "Man, this is fun... but, I think I'm warmed up enough now... lets see how you like this." She slams her fists together, purges her gauntlets of spent shells and reloads with a practiced motion... she then leaps up into the air and, like a burning comet, comes back down and slams into the arena floor, sending debris flying towards Haguro in a ripple of force.
Haguro	That should have worn Yang out considerably by now. After Yang gets out of her hold, Haguro hurries back onto her feet looking.. Well, looking like shit, but she's looking fired up and ready to end things! "Let's see indeed... Don't hold back, Miss Long!" Or is Yang her family name? Xiao Long...? Whatever the case is, Haguro braces herself as she prepares for Yang's incoming attack. She sees the charge coming, she sees the debris flying over, she starts focusing on shifting herself out of existence... But Haguro's timing is completely off! The wave of force and chunks of the arena floor batter the Cruiser left and right, knocking her right off her feet moments before she disappears. Seconds later, she reappears on the ground, face down once again! She doesn't get up this time around, though, as the bell rings signifying that Yang Xiao Long has won today's match! Once the dust clears and the arena starts piecing itself back together, the two fighters can feel their wounds reverting and their physical fatigue fading (mostly). Haguro rolls onto her back and takes a moment before sitting up, still smiling in satisfaction as she holds a hand up to Yang. "That was a good match! Thank you for the fight, Miss..." Crap. Which goes first?
Yang Xiao Long	Yang grabs Haguro's hand, hauling the ship spirit up to her feet again. "Just call me Yang." she offers, chuckling. "And none of the 'Miss' stuff. You'll make me feel old." she adds. "Anyway, c'mon, lets go get something to eat. My treat." she adds afterward. "You fight well... who'd you learn those moves from?"