| Chai Xianghua VS Ling Xiaoyu | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season | 4 |
| Overall Episode | 43 |
| Season Episode | 4 |
| Air date | November 24th, 2019 |
| Written by | Shadow7615 |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Ayane vs. Yang Xiao Long |
Next Kain Highwind vs. Kyoko Sakura |
| “ | Soulcalibur VS Tekken! These faithful fighters of Chinese fame will have their kind hearts tested. Can the will to survive overcome sincerity? | „ |
Chai Xianghua vs. Ling Xiaoyu is the 43rd episode of DEATH BATTLE! by Shadow7615, featuring Chai Xianghua from the Soulcalibur series and Ling Xiaoyu from the Tekken series in a battle between Namco’s Chinese peppy gals.
Interlude[]
Wiz: Known for its Great Wall, its enduring novels, and many more things, China has played a major role in the world's history.
Boomstick: And they also have some pretty brave ladies, fighting for the good of others, and today we've got two of 'em!
Wiz: Chai Xianghua, Soulcalibur's Flower in the Breeze.
Boomstick: And Ling Xiaoyu, Tekken's High Spirited Girl. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armor and skills, to find out who would win... a Death Battle
Xianghua[]
Wiz: Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, these two powerful blades can shape history itself, all it takes is a wielder capable of commanding that incredible power. And throughout history, they found themselves in the hands of many wielders. Even King Arthur himself wielded Soul Calibur.
Boomstick: History lessons aside, Soul Calibur and Soul Edge were opposites, destined to be used against one another for all eternity. Though after a few hundred years, both swords seemingly disappeared from history's pages, unknown if they'd ever show up again.
Wiz: In the 16th Century, Chai Xiangfei was selected to learn at the Ling-Sheng Su Temple, where she'd learn their sword arts and become supremely skilled with the Jian, the Chinese Blade. Her skill was so great, she surpassed many of the temple's monks.
Boomstick: Though it wasn't long until she and one of the monks just couldn't keep it in their pants. And so they had a kid, but this kid wasn't legitimate, so she was taken from her parents. And after Xiangfei left the temple, she discovered she was pregnant again. And this time, it was Chai Xianghua.
Wiz: Xianghua is descended from the Chai family, which specialized in training men and women alike into seasoned warriors to fight for China. Naturally, Xianghua would be instructed in the sword arts that her mother learned. And she developed her skills to the same level as her mother, unfortunately, Xiangfei died when Xianghua was just 11 years old.
Boomstick: But while on the way out, Mama Xiangfei left behind a keepsake for Xianghua, a Jian called the Krita-Yuga, which was stolen from the Temple all those years ago. With her mother's keepsake, Xianghua continued to train, and at 16 years old, she enlisted into the Imperial Guard, where she'd see a life of service, just like her ancestors.
Wiz: Displeased by the lack of progress in finding the supposed "Hero's Sword", China's Emperor ordered the most skilled of the Imperial Guard to speed up the process. And so Xianghua embarked upon a journey that would shape history itself, before leaving on this journey, she did what any honourable girl would and cut her hair short like her mother's.
Boomstick: Xianghua is an incredibly skilled swordswoman, having learned the Sword Arts of the Ling-Sheng Su despite never going there. She's got enough skill with her sword that she can be completely unpredictable, and uses feint attacks to confuse opponents.
Wiz: Xianghua's fighting style resembles that of a Wushu practitioner, although some of her moves were derived from Hwang. She's on par with some of the quickest characters in Soulcalibur. Largely thanks to the minimal amount of equipment she brings along with her. Which comes in handy since most of her attacks incorporate speed over strength.
Boomstick: Her attire is mostly light, and doesn't really have any kind of protection. But considering Xianghua's lightweight status, she makes up for a lack of protection with her speed. With her speed, she's comparable to other characters who have Supersonic feats.
Wiz: While Xianghua wielded her mother's Krita-Yuga for some time, she would ultimately lose the blade. But she was given a new one called "No Name", Yes... Anway, Xianghua's No Name looked almost identical to her original Krita-Yuga and has been her preferred weapon for the majority of the Soulcalibur series.
Boomstick: Though some of her greatest feats do involve the Krita-Yuga, so we'll come back to it. Xianghua is also able to harness Chi, or in traditional Chinese culture, her vital life force. She can harness this into a technique called the Torrential Chi Blast!
Wiz: This Chi blast is powerful enough to create a blue energy bubble explosion, its so powerful it defeats her foes immediately. But don't mistake Xianghua for being only a sword wielder. If needed, Xianghua can attack her foes with physical strikes, often using them in combination with her sword swings for effective combos.
Boomstick: With all this power, Xianghua formed a group alongside Kilik and Maxi, Where she learned of the evil blade called Soul Edge, from there she decided to use her strengths to help defeat this great evil. The trio of Xianghua, Kilik, and Maxi would actually end up accomplishing this.
Wiz: With the aid of Kilik and Maxi, Xianghua reached Ostrheinsburg Castle. Xianghua and Kilik worked together in taking down dozens of enemy hordes and reached Soul Edge, and the vile Nightmare. Thanks to his bo staff being a holy weapon, Kilik was able to defeat Nightmare.
Boomstick: But then he couldn't fight Inferno. And so Xianghua bravely fought Inferno alone. Then the Krita-Yuga revealed itself to be Soul Calibur. Commanding the holy blade, Xianghua battled and defeated Inferno. But their clash was so fierce, Soul Calibur was left behind.
Wiz: Though she had lost her mother's keepsake, Xianghua vowed to keep fighting Soul Edge if it should appear again. Thanks to her actions, Xianghua had ensured there would be a future for both Soul Calibur to stand against Soul Edge, and her successors, Siegfried and Patrokolos.
Boomstick: But until then, Xianghua would continue to fight the evils of Soul Edge. Though she did lose her position in the Imperial Guard, Xianghua could now devote more time to her interest in stopping Soul Edge, and possibly recovering her mother's long lost sword. But Xianghua did have to build her way up.
Wiz: Xianghua isn't perfect, while she's perfectly content defending her homeland, she was known to have a bad temper a few times here and there. Additionally, her weapon and abilities are entirely close-ranged. So she's only ever doing her best in close range combat. So people with long-range weaponry can take the fight into their favour.
Boomstick: Also, she just kinda gave up trying to battle Soul Edge after a while. See, eventually, she and Kilik became lovers, and you figured it'd be a nice happy ending. But they had an upsetting break up and Xianghua returned home with a kid on the way. She got married and had another kid. All the while, Soul Calibur and Soul Edge and resurfaced in 17th Century Greece, and she never got involved.
Wiz: Regardless, once the New Timeline came along, it promptly put Xianghua back into prominence where she, just like her Original Timeline counterpart, would fight to stop the evil of Soul Edge.
Xianghua: I will cut out my destiny. This time, we will eliminate Soul Edge once and for all!
Xiaoyu[]
Boomstick: Oh man, we're dealing with the super deadly and super crazy family again, aren't we? Well, here we go. The Mishima family was pretty influential, and the one on top of the world, more or less, was Heihachi Mishima.
Wiz: Heihachi owned a multinational conglomerate empire, the Mishima Zaibatsu. Naturally, someone in his position would attract all sorts of attention, whether it be equally powerful authorities, all manner of people looking to kill him, or perhaps even just one girl with some pretty solid determination.
Boomstick: And sure enough, Heihachi found himself in all of these scenarios actually. But while he's perfectly fine at management and combat, since he does those regularly. He never really quite expected one day that he'd be approached by a girl looking to challenge him. You gotta have some guts to do that, and this girl's name is Ling Xiaoyu.
Wiz: See one day, Xiaoyu heard the Mishima Estate was pretty wealthy. Even though the Mishima Zaibatsu operated primarily in Japan, it had managed to reach Hong Kong, where Xiaoyu was able to take the situation into her own hands and stow away on a yacht owned by Heihachi, caught trespassing, Xiaoyu singlehandedly bested the entire security personnel.
Boomstick: Pretty fuckin' impressed by this 16-year-old girl just totally wrecking his security personnel, Heihachi accepted Xiaoyu and even took her to Japan to learn at the Mishima Polytechnical School. But this decision would be far more significant than it may have seemed. Both her schooling and training under Heihachi paired her up with Jin Kazama.
Wiz: Granted, this was before the Mishima bloodline had resurfaced to full power. So Xiaoyu and Jin studied and trained together for a time. All the while Xiaoyu was trying to fulfil her ultimate goal, get enough money to build her amusement park. Yeah, she didn't have any extreme goals at the time, she just truly wanted an amusement park.
Boomstick: But then the Mishima's started getting pretty wild, and Xiaoyu was ditched by Heihachi and left behind by Jin, who had suffered a pretty extreme betrayal, threw everything away, including Xiaoyu. Instead of being upset, this ended up motivating Xiaoyu to find Jin, stop him from doing bad stuff and hopefully make things better for everyone. But oh boy, it was a pretty steep climb.
Wiz: Fortunately, even before training under Heihachi, Xiaoyu had previously studied two Chinese based martial arts, Baguazhang and Piguaquan. These are real-life martial arts, Baguazhang is fundamentally evasive, while it does include palm, fist, elbow, and finger strikes, it is neither a purely striking nor a purely grappling martial art. Users are also said to flow in and out of the way of objects, supporting the evasive nature.
Boomstick: The Pig one can basically be summed up as striking with whipping motions and heavy hands. But it's also known for its palm techniques and its power comes from the accelerational force of the arms, which are often in a rotation when using this martial art. But get this right, when you translate it from Chinese, it literally means "chop-hanging fist", Awesome.
Wiz: Think of it as a way to use your palms most effectively against your enemies but not damage your hand. And the former can allow Xiaoyu to safely maneuver around and get behind her opponents, allowing for easy strikes. Weighing just over 90 lbs, Xiaoyu is pretty nimble. And with her being over 5' tall, Xiaoyu can efficiently utilize her evasive and quick striking fighting style.
Boomstick: You ever think she'd get disoriented? But regardless, Xiaoyu can use her speed and techniques to simply wear down her opponents long enough so she doesn't overexert herself. I mean, this girl was viewed by Heihachi as a legitimate martial artist with real potential, so clearly she's done something right.
Wiz: Even her distant relative, Wang Jinrei, viewed Xiaoyu as having true potential. Considering the skill these two possess, it's clear they're not lying. And so Xiaoyu continued to be a ward of the Mishima Zaibatsu, but it wasn't until she learned more and more about the Mishima family that she realized what she was getting into.
Boomstick: Even after realizing this family had pretty big issues that clearly needed some therapy, Xiaoyu didn't stop she started putting herself into the situation more and more, doing what she could to help Jin. Remember how Xiaoyu took down a yacht's entire security personnel by herself? Well, that right there is a testament to her skill in not only combat but also infiltration.
Wiz: While Xiaoyu isn't a ninja in any sense, she is still capable of infiltrating locations with security personnel, such as the Mishima yacht. But when she learned of Jin's disappearance, Xiaoyu infiltrated the Mishima Zaibatsu. And I'd like to point out that by this point in the story, the Mishima Zaibatsu had become fully militarized, and currently participating in a war.
Boomstick: And Xiaoyu managed to get by without detection until she found someone who could take her to Jin. And since she has participated in almost every King of Iron Fist tournament since the third, she's certainly gotten stronger to the point where she's able to fight some of the strongest humans on Earth, including those with demonic and exorcism powers.
Wiz: But despite this, Xiaoyu doesn't have much going for her, at least in terms of victories. Xiaoyu has entered the third, fourth, fifth and sixth tournaments, and did not win any of them. However, the sixth and seventh tournaments were cancelled, preventing Xiaoyu from potentially winning them anyway.
Boomstick: She's also not particularly focused on improving her skills, she's just so determined to help Jin and stop him doing bad stuff that she's prioritized that over any decisions to improve her capabilities, so her focus is pretty off at times.
Wiz: I mean, she never did turn away from these fights. Her determination may hinder her potential, but it is also her greatest strength. And she's matured as well, now at 18 years old, Xiaoyu has become so much more than just an optimistic girl looking to make an amusement park.
Boomstick: Alright, that's a good point. I'd think twice before ever getting in this girl's way, I'm not kidding. The last thing you want is a girl who can dodge fast, hit fast and make you tire out, and she's only getting started.
Xiaoyu: Looks like I'm not just some little girl after all, huh?
DEATH BATTLE![]
Many people were drawn to structures that stretched up into the skies above, and many brave souls dared to ascend upon the Tower of Remembrance, a structure erected by the return of the Hero-King, thanks in no small part to the cursed and spirit swords that determine the history of the world. However, this structure was bound by the energy of the Hero-King, and once his presence was lost to this world, the great tower vanished away, leaving behind no legacy nor proof it was ever there.
Though simply put, the fact it existed was enough to draw the attention of many, including those who wielded the historical swords. Whether they were presently wielding them, or if they were former owners. The Tower of Remembrance once rested within Ostrheinsburg, Germany, a territory where the followers of the Azure Knight all resided, but it had since become deserted, including the famed Ostrheinsburg Castle. This left the historic venue without any greater significance beyond being another castle.
With both of these structures within the same land, both could be accessed with enough time. But with the disappearance of the Tower of Remembrance, its ability to compel others to climb its many floors seemed all but impossible. That is, except for one. A woman travelled to Ostrheinsburg by herself, in search of answers. She wanted to know if the conflict between the two swords had finally come to an end. She previously explored Ostrheinsburg Castle, only to find the fortress was completely abandoned, and malevolent beings sometimes made it their home, undoubtedly linked to the sword this woman swore to destroy.
Because that trail had run dry, the woman decided to venture to what could be left of the Tower of Remembrance, though as she got closer and closer to its location, she realized the tower was no more. Spurred on by what her eyes showed her, the woman ran to the best of her ability. In due time, she arrived at the mass of land where the tower once stood, now able to confirm the tower was no more, somehow every last piece of the tower had withered away to nothing.
Despite the disappearance, it could still be felt that the location harboured great significance, much like the castle she had visited before, this place lingered with both the presence of Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. It seemed all too mysterious that such a place of influence vanished without so much as a trace. But Chai Xianghua remained determined as ever to uncover any possible leads she could. Though she inspected the area valiantly, she did not find a single piece of information she could use to help her put an end to Soul Edge.
Nevertheless, she walked around the entire area, ignoring the lava and embers that would sometimes rise to the rocky surface. She wandered around the centre of the area, as that's where the tower stood, Xianghua imagined it being akin to standing inside the tower itself. Suddenly, a powerful force shook the area nearby, including Xianghua. She held her ground as best she could, and then a blinding light emerged, Xianghua gestured her arm over her eyes, protecting her vision. The light shined for a couple of seconds until it finally subsided.
As the light dimmed, Xianghua lowered her arm. When she could fully recognize her surroundings, Xianghua experienced something extraordinary. An Astral Fissure opened up just meters from her, which can be best described as a rip in the fabric of the space-time continuum. Approaching the Astral Fissure slowly, Xianghua was able to peer inside and see into this different dimension, or at least, that's what it seemed like. Xianghua had an epiphany of sorts. She realized this place must be linked to the swords, and that it might also link to her as a result.
Factoring this into her thoughts, Xianghua made the bold decision to step into the Astral Fissure. As she did, the fissure closed up behind her, sealing her from the real world. While she may have considered backing out, Xianghua swallowed that fear and pressed forward, knowing she could potentially find Soul Edge in this place. She walked for an indeterminate amount of time, unable to determine just how long she had been here. The dark blue skies above and the darker coloured ground around her certainly didn't invoke the idea of night.
With that in mind, Xianghua began to hear things. She heard what sounded like two swords clashing, and heavy armour grinding against objects. She heard that sound and began rushing to it. But in her tracks, Xianghua saw another Astral Fissure open close to her. She saw a clear pathway made for her. But as she looked back to where she heard the sound of clashing swords, excessive amounts of red energy began flaring and rising into the sky above, believing that to be a threat and could be dangerous if entangled with up close, Xianghua stepped toward this Astral Fissure opening and stepped through it, returning to the world.
Exiting from the Astral Fissure, Xianghua found herself on a shallow lake bed. It appears to be on a cloudy day in a remote area, though some mountains are in the distance. Xianghua walked for a short while as the Astral Fissure closed behind her. As she continued walking, fish would occasionally flop about the lake bed.
Curious about her given location, Xianghua gently kneeled on the ground where she dipped her hand in the water. It felt pure and was crystal clear. It brought a smile to her face, it reminded her of the holy sword she once wielded. Though while she looked into the water, she saw her reflection. Xianghua then heard the sound of water moving about, she looked forward and saw someone was approaching her. Xianghua rose to her feet, looking to identify the individual.
She saw it was a girl in her late teens, with black hair, two low ponytails, and a fair complexion. The girl's outfit looked unusual, she hadn't seen attire like it before, sleeveless, it was primarily orange and black, with gold trimmings and red on the inside layer. Xianghua noticed the girl was Chinese, and that brought her relief. The girl approached her, with a smile on her face, this girl was Ling Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu was surprised to see a woman out here but took it in stride.
Optimistic, Xiaoyu took the initiative, "Hello!", she greeted. Xianghua was comforted by the formality and greeted Xiaoyu in response. Puzzled, Xiaoyu implored, "What are you doing here?". Considering her circumstances, Xianghua answered, "I'm here to put an end to a great evil". Something clicked in Xiaoyu's head. And believed she was talking about the Devil Gene. Going off this idea, Xiaoyu presented a challenge. "I've been trying to stop a great evil from overtaking my friend, if you want to stop them, I want you to show me just how good you are, otherwise you won't survive!". Xianghua, thinking she spoke of Soul Edge, and believed her lack of Soul Calibur was a valid point, was decided. "Very well, I accept your challenge, please prepare yourself!"
FIGHT!
(Cue Infinite Azure (Round 1) - Tekken 7)
Making the first move, Xiaoyu maintained her stance while approaching Xianghua, throwing out a strike with her palm, the firm strike motioned its way toward Xianghua. But she was ready and sidestepped her opponent's attack, now with a chance to retaliate. Xianghua swung No Name and struck Xiaoyu on the arm she just used to attack with. The shocking speed might not have been too swift, but it was enough to take Xiaoyu off guard, and she was greeted with a thin cut along her arm.
While it was not bloody yet, the sword's sharpness had certainly been confirmed. While she momentarily winced in the reaction, Xiaoyu knew it was just a minor wound. She looked to her side and saw Xianghua was still fighting. With her weapon at the ready, Xianghua used her speed to perform a slew of jabs with her weapon. But Xiaoyu was ready for a sword swing this time and stepped back to get outside of the sword's range, all the while Xianghua advanced, desperately trying to get Xiaoyu back into range.
After just a couple seconds of this, Xianghua changed her mind and stopped swinging, Xiaoyu, in turn, stopped where she was, noticing her opponent had come to a standstill. Xianghua took a closer look at Xiaoyu and noticed she was just slightly taller, by a couple of centimetres, this gave her an idea that she could make the most of. Once again her fighting stance, Xianghua was ready. Xiaoyu followed in kind, assuming her traditional stance. The two kept an eye on each other, seeing if the other would make the next move.
The intuition backing her up, Xianghua acted first, making a forward approach. Xiaoyu was ready for this song and dance, and she struck her palm forward to attack, but to her surprise, Xianghua sunk her body underneath her arm, passing right by her. Xiaoyu pulled her arm back, looking to maintain a watchful eye on Xianghua. But she could do little but realize things too late. With a swift maneuver, Xianghua had found an opening and put it to good use.
Switching from blade from her right hand to her left hand, Xianghua used the momentum to perform an ascending sword slash on Xiaoyu's back, Xianghua raised her right leg as she did this. The force of this swing was enough to launch Xiaoyu into the sky just a few feet, this brief moment in time was enough for Xianghua to reposition her sword back to her right arm and put both feet on the ground. As Xiaoyu began descending back down to earth, Xianghua knew to follow up on her strike.
No Name back in her right hand, Xianghua thrust the blade forward, but facing on its side, using it more like a blunt object rather than a stabbing weapon, hit by this force, Xiaoyu was pushed forward and hit the ground, causing water to jump off the ground and into the sky above. Xiaoyu had not landed fully on the ground the force of her landing caused her to slightly ascend. Xianghua capitalized on this and used her right leg to strike Xianghua, kicking her, and robbing Xiaoyu of her ascending momentum.
Though it was not a simple kick, Xianghua's kick was supported by her flexibility, and so instead of simply stopping once she had connected her foot with Xiaoyu's body, instead her leg went all the way up and pointed vertically upright. Xiaoyu finally landed on the water without being moved around again, and Xianghua lowered her leg, returning it down to the water below. Xiaoyu felt the water drench most of her outfit, and her hair. But it was a welcome reminder she was still kicking.
Observing, Xianghua watched as Xiaoyu rose back onto her feet. But Xiaoyu certainly had some words for her adversary, "Alright, you're pretty good. But I'm pretty strong too, you know!" Both impressed by her opponent's skills and determined to prove she was comparable, Xiaoyu took the initiative and charged in. Xianghua swung her blade, but Xiaoyu avoided the blade and struck Xianghua with her left palm. As she had moved down to avoid the blade, Xiaoyu followed up her opposing palm, while using momentum to enhance her ascending strike.
An advantage presented itself for Xiaoyu, she spun herself around, charging more momentum into her palms. This time Xiaoyu struck Xianghua on the stomach with both her palms simultaneously. The momentum transferred to Xianghua and she fell to the watery ground, causing a small splash around her. Though she recovered, Xianghua wasn't being given the benefit of recovering. Xianghua looked forward, witnessing Xiaoyu attempting to add to her combo. Xiaoyu performed a somersault and extended her left leg. Her approach certainly suggested she was aiming to strike Xianghua whilst she was down.
Her attack descending upon her foe, Xiaoyu prepared for that very impact. But Xianghua rolled along the ground to her left, successfully evading Xiaoyu's kick. Instead, Xiaoyu struck the water, kicking up a splash. Despite not successfully hitting her opponent, Xiaoyu assumed a Phoenix stance, with her arms raised, a knee bent and her opposite leg extended out. She noticed Xianghua was back on her feet and still able to fight.
Intaking that information, Xiaoyu watched Xianghua rush toward her with another attack incoming. To avoid the attack, Xiaoyu jumped forward, achieving half of a somersault along the way, in the middle of her action, she evaded Xianghua's blade, but now that her hands were just sitting below the surface of the water, Xiaoyu decided to make good use of her new angle of attack. Using her foot, she landed a direct strike to Xianghua's face, stopping her movements almost instantly. Xiaoyu used her opposite leg to land a strike against Xianghua's torso, also striking successfully.
To end the combo, Xiaoyu twisted her body and pushed herself off the ground, using her leg's rising momentum to hit Xianghua once again, the force was enough to completely unbalance Xianghua, and she backed up to avoid further attack. Xiaoyu landed with her feet on the ground as she re-entered her normal stance. Xianghua gained her balance back with enough time to spare. Xiaoyu, now feeling confident that she'd stepped up her game, knew she had to keep this good thing going, no matter what. Xianghua meanwhile, realized close range was going to be difficult.
Despite the danger of close range, Xianghua knew a closer range was the only option. She also realized that for all those moves her opponent was performing so readily, Xiaoyu must be pretty lightweight. Taking this into consideration, Xianghua was ready to continue the fight, Xiaoyu gave her the time needed, displaying her sincere nature. Xiaoyu made the next move, and spun herself around a full three-sixty, extending her leg to perform what resembled a roundhouse kick. The attack proceeded as normal, but Xianghua used her speed to approach Xiaoyu whilst she was spinning, when the time came for Xiaoyu to strike, Xianghua was not in front of her.
Instead, Xianghua had gotten behind Xiaoyu and slashed her blade on Xiaoyu's back, cutting into the back of her Cheongsam. Xiaoyu staggered forward, having missed her attack and been dealt a blow that once again pierced her skin. Xianghua spun herself around and used her momentum to slash Xiaoyu once again, this time in the calves, which pierced through Xiaoyu's black leggings and drew blood. The jolt of pain rushed through Xiaoyu's body and she immediately reeled forward, pushed forward by the stinging sensation that coursed through her back and legs.
Some drops of her blood stained the pure water, as small drops of crimson settled into it. Both fighters realized this within seconds. Xiaoyu tried her best to ignore the pain, fortunately for her, nothing vital was struck, so she could still very easily keep up the fight. Xianghua inspected the tip of No Name, indeed confirming that she had drawn blood, noticing the tip of the blade was stained with red. "Ouch... You're not getting off easy for that one!" Xiaoyu claimed.
Acknowledging her opponent's resolve, Xianghua delivered a response of her own. "Show me what you've got! Come and get me!" Xianghua entered her stance, with a fire in her eyes. Xiaoyu turned her pain into a fire of its own, determined to see this battle to the end, no matter what.
(Cue Infinite Azure (Final Round) - Tekken 7)
Both fighters had a spark within them, and it had ignited the fire that had now pushed them to start fighting to the best of their ability, both girls ran at each other simultaneously, Xianghua swung her blade, but Xiaoyu intercepted the attack by grabbing her arm and forcing the blade to divert its path elsewhere, Xiaoyu followed this up by shunting her left shoulder onto Xianghua's back, putting enough force into it that Xianghua was swept off her feet and dropped to the watery surface. Xiaoyu rushed to her downed opponent and took the opportunity right there.
Firmly positioning her hand at a straight angle, Xiaoyu went for a chopping motion, aimed right at Xianghua's head. But Xianghua kicked her leg up from underneath Xiaoyu's face, striking her directly. This gave Xianghua the chance to get back onto her two feet and did so fairly quickly. But suddenly her left arm was caught, she felt Xiaoyu's hands grab onto it, and Xianghua turned her head, correctly guessing Xiaoyu had done that.
Extending her reach to Xianghua's shoulder, Xiaoyu grabbed onto and held it firmly as she jumped over Xianghua whilst still holding her shoulder in her grasp. Xianghua tried to use her blade to strike Xiaoyu, but Xiaoyu applied her technique's intended effect. As Xiaoyu landed on the ground, Xianghua had been made to lean forward, perhaps a bit too much for Xianghua, who was now just staring at the water floor. Xiaoyu used this opportunity to perform a sort of shoulder throw. She pulled Xianghua up by her shoulder, Xiaoyu kneeled on the ground as she transferred the strength into lifting Xianghua over her shoulder and effectively tossed her forward a few feet.
Just as before, Xianghua was met with the water flowing ground. Xianghua checked her right hand, confirming she still holds her blade. Just the sheer amount of momentum and the amount of movement done in such proximity was something Xianghua had never seen before, it impressed her if not showed her there were all kinds of skilled fighters out there. But Xiaoyu wasn't looking to let Xianghua get up, not in the slightest.
Making it her intent to keep Xianghua down by any means, Xiaoyu approached, but this time, she chose not to attack immediately. Xianghua moved outside of what she assumed was her opponent's attack range, and she got back onto her feet soundly, only she hadn't expected to then suddenly be hit in the back several times. She felt two palm strikes hit her back and finished off with a firm kick that Xianghua could feel strike against her spine.
Enough striking force to send Xianghua stumbling forward, but not enough for her to lose balance outright. Xianghua recovered, but knew that she'd be attacked again if she wasn't careful, so, Xianghua sidestepped a couple of times, looking to avoid an attack if she could. A second later, and Xianghua was able to get enough distance to where she could turn around and recognized Xiaoyu was coming in for an additional attack.
Able to react to it in time, Xianghua moved out of the way, and promptly thrust No Name forward, directly toward Xiaoyu's shoulder, piercing the fabric of her clothing and getting right into the skin itself. Since Xiaoyu was striking with that very arm, she revoked her attack instinctively. Xiaoyu then holds her shoulder in pain due to her stab wound, she went back a few steps, trying to recover the strength to keep going.
"Oh, this is not good..." Xiaoyu lamented. She inspected her palm for a moment, seeing her blood was stained upon it. Xianghua rushed forward to inflict more damage, swinging her blade and aiming for Xiaoyu's throat. Though this attack was evaded by Xiaoyu stepping backward, Xianghua was still able to make use of her advantage, she spun herself and lowered herself down to where she was able to perform a sweeping kick. This immediately caught Xiaoyu off guard and knocked her off her feet, where she could no longer defend herself.
Complimenting her more agile fighting style, Xianghua performed a cartwheel, she held her blade pointed away from the ground so she could balance herself as she rotated, her legs each struck Xiaoyu as she was descending, the legs served to further push Xiaoyu to the water. Xianghua completed her cartwheel and assumed her fighting stance again. Xiaoyu meanwhile, pulled herself together and got back onto her feet, where she certainly looked a little bit more than annoyed.
Xiaoyu and Xianghua looked at one another, seeing both had taken a decent number of hits, Xiaoyu had cuts on her skin spilling blood, and Xianghua had started to sport bruises on her body, though they were both certainly feeling the pain, neither wanted to back down, both still possessed the strength to keep fighting no matter what. Xiaoyu once again entered her fighting stance, informing her opponent that she was ready to resume the fight.
The message was clear, and both girls once again ran toward each other, but neither of them threw out an attack, instead, both performed the same action, evasion. Xianghua sidesteps, and Xiaoyu performs a free-flowing evasion technique to get her out of harm's way. It then occurred to both the girls that the other simply did not attack, and instead they both avoided each other, almost as if they were dancing with one another.
Seeing as how neither of them accomplished anything, Xiaoyu finally decided to attack, she performed an elaborate set of moves, which resulted in a successful set of palm strikes on Xianghua, but the strikes were not heavy, nor impacting hard enough, and Xianghua recovered quickly, and when Xiaoyu attempted another strike with her hand, Xianghua was ready and intercepted the strike with her blade.
This caught Xiaoyu completely off guard, and Xianghua pushed her sword upward, which offset Xiaoyu's attack. Xianghua then found a golden moment and knew this was the time to use one of her greatest assets. "You're open!" Xianghua shouted. With her foe's guard lowered, Xianghua swung her blade, striking Xiaoyu in the torso, Xianghua followed up with another strike to the torso, this time from her right leg. Keeping this momentum going, Xianghua spun herself around the full three-sixty degrees and performed a sweeping kick, but intentionally chose to only hit one of Xiaoyu's legs.
Unbalanced even more, Xiaoyu couldn't escape this combo attack. Finishing her sweeping kick, Xianghua returned to her original position where she once again slashed her blade at Xiaoyu's torso, but this time she spun herself on the spot, akin to a ballerina's spin cycle, using this to strike Xiaoyu on the torso yet again. Xianghua completed her spin and then swung No Name overhead, striking Xiaoyu on the shoulder.
Looking to add just a little more to her combination, Xianghua used her finesse in swordplay to twirl her sword's handle in her hand, which spun a full rotation and struck Xiaoyu on the shoulder yet again. With this, Xianghua's hands began to emit light blue energy. Xianghua spent no more than two seconds building this energy until she held her blade at her front, and the energy manifested as a sphere of light blue energy.
This great sphere of energy yielded enough force to completely launch Xiaoyu off her feet and sent several meters across the watery surface, which she travelled along until she finally came to a stop. "How's that?" Xianghua confidently asked. Xiaoyu was dazed and laid on the water, her wounds had become much greater and the force of that attack was immense.
But despite her wounds, Xiaoyu powered through her body's constant agony and lifted herself back up. Xianghua was stunned, she had never seen anyone withstand that attack before. And Xianghua's moment of shock was enough for Xiaoyu to take a clean shot at payback. Utilizing some of the anger she felt, Xiaoyu performed a kick aimed right at Xianghua's knee, which immediately caused Xianghua to lower to her knees.
Xiaoyu followed up by leaping into the air, spinning herself around and landing a heavy kick to Xianghua's head, the force was enough that Xianghua just completely dropped to the watery ground, and lost her hold of No Name. The blade few just a couple meters away, but it rested just below the water's surface. Xianghua got back onto her feet but promptly realized her weapon wasn't in her hands. This alerted her almost immediately, and she looked around, gazing at the water to see the blade was resting below.
This brought Xianghua relief, and she hurried herself to retrieve it as quickly as her body would allow. But then she is struck in the back by Xiaoyu, who quickly assumed her Phoenix stance with her left hand on the ground, she then struck Xianghua with both her palms firmly held close together. She hops off the ground and licks Xianghua three consecutive times in her face. Xianghua understandably falls to her knees.
With more to offer, Xiaoyu used an ascending kick to launch Xianghua airborne, Xiaoyu quickly prepared herself, assuming one more pose. Xiaoyu waits for Xianghua's descent to reach the perfect moment. Timing it precisely, Xiaoyu strikes the incoming Xianghua, knocking her away several feet. Entering her normal stance once again, Xiaoyu watched Xianghua simply laying on the ground, trying to get back onto her feet.
Out of the corner of her eye, Xianghua noticed her blade was just outside her arm's reach, if she could just grab it, she'd be able to continue fighting. Xiaoyu noticed Xianghua's arm reaching out, and she dashed over as fast as she could. Xianghua exerted herself fiercely and grabbed the handle. She realized Xiaoyu was incoming and thrust the blade outward to protect her, shutting her eyes.
When her eyes opened, Xianghua noticed she had struck Xiaoyu, but Xiaoyu was much too close, and the blade had struck her heart. And it was painful. Xianghua watched Xiaoyu struggle to do anything. Xianghua slowly pulled herself up and removed her blade from Xiaoyu's body, but she lamented. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances."
A stream of crimson travelled across the water, Xianghua stored her weapon away, and a thought lingered in her mind, she began hoping that evil's final defeat would not come at the cost of more life. While she was injured, Xianghua put Xiaoyu in a respectful position and left her. Xiaoyu finally bled out.
K.O.!
Conclusion[]
(Cue Tempered Soul - Soulcalibur IV)
Boomstick: Damn! Didn't see that one coming.
Wiz: This was a tough match to figure out, neither Xianghua nor Xiaoyu had enough measurable feats to help determine the victor, they simply didn't have enough calculable material to properly assess their feats. Scaling them would work, but this is also tough.
Boomstick: This means the fight itself couldn't be determined by showings of strength, speed or durability, but instead, their skills, weapons, and experiences. And in these areas, Xianghua passes with flying colours, firstly, Xianghua comes from the Chai family, which focused on training multiple generations of China's warriors.
Wiz: And considering Xianghua was taught from her days as a child, she held the advantage in experience, not to mention, Xianghua is older than Xiaoyu, further supporting her experience advantage. Xiaoyu was no pushover when it came to martial arts, as multiple characters claim to support this, but she never did reach her maximum potential.
Boomstick: Though Xiaoyu had unique advantages of her own, such as the fact she's purely a martial artist, Xianghua's battles have always been against combatants wielding weapons of some kind, Xiaoyu could certainly keep Xianghua busy with her excellent mobility and multiple martial arts.
Wiz: But Xiaoyu also has the same problem, sword wielders are an extreme rarity in Tekken, and Xiaoyu has never canonically fought a sword wielder. Xianghua also had unique abilities, such as Chi Manipulation, something Xiaoyu hasn't shown she can replicate. While Xiaoyu did fight Alisa in Blood Vengeance, it's non-canonical.
Boomstick: It contradicts the game canon and Xiaoyu's motives. Even if we say for argument's sake that Xiaoyu should get that fight, sure she survived Alisa's head blowing up in her face, but Xiaoyu didn't end up winning that fight. And there really aren’t any other canon fights where she wins over someone her equal or better.
Wiz: Xianghua, by comparison, defeated Inferno, a being certainly stronger than herself. And while Xianghua may have wielded Soul Calibur at the time, she couldn't just one-shot Inferno and be done with it. Her skills and training were what lead to her victory. Xiaoyu was simply outmatched by Xianghua's experience, skill, and unique abilities.
Boomstick: Xianghua was just a whole 'nother caliber.
Wiz: The winner is Chai Xianghua.
Original Track[]
An Original Track for this fight would be titled "Firewood Dawn".
The title is a reference to the meanings of the combatants’ names. Chai Xianghua when translated from Chinese literally means "Firewood fragant flower" and Ling Xiaoyu when translated uses the Chinese characters for surpass, dawn, and rain, respectively).