Description: NEO: Maki vs. Chloe. Maki Genryuusai takes on a unique opponent while out to sea on a short cruise. Who will come out on top? <Winner: Maki>
When Chloe signed up for the Neo League, and she heard they paid travel expenses, she didn't expect /this/ kind of travel expense.
It's not a real cruise, which can go for days or weeks. It's just a short hop along the coast of California and toward Mexico. But it's still a few hours long, it's pretty cool for someone who (as far as she remembers) has never been on a cruise in her life, and there's food.
There's also a fight. Rich people gotta get their entertainment, after all.
Chloe is dressed, for the first time in her fighting career, in street clothes. Sure, they're jean shorts and a tank top - stuff you could wear to the beach - but it still counts. Perhaps surprisingly, she's still wearing the cosmetics of her wrestling persona Snakebite: her eyes are yellow-gold, she appears to have small fangs, and there's a prop tail coming out from between shirt and shorts and wrapped around her waist like an ungainly belt. Perhaps she didn't think she'd be recognized without it - she's being announced as Chloe this time, after all, and not Snakebite.
Some of the food was really unappetizing to her, but she managed to put away about a steak's worth of meat skewers before someone chased her away from the buffet, so even if she loses at least she got /something/ out of it. Right now she's waiting at the designated fight spot: poolside. Don't fall in!
Fights can happen anywhere, under any circumstances, at any time. Just ask Maki, she knows this all too well, after years of street fighting and fighting in tournaments. She's a born fighter and always has it within her to keep fighting no matter how tough things get, even when it seems like she's near the end of her ropes. Which is why she doesn't mind fighting onboard a cruise ship at all, since a variety of environments to fight in are always nice. Not to mention, Maki has never once gotten seasick in her entire life.
Unlike Chloe, who might be wearing street clothes, Maki is wearing her usual attire, complete with her handwraps and her tonfa. And fighting at poolside makes things a lot more interesting, since if someone were to fall in, they might end up being washed out for awhile. Not to mention, any watchers in the pool might get dunked as well, but that's a risk you have to take.
Unlike Chloe, who was putting down some food beforehand, Maki had no such luck. Even if it is a cruise ship and they stock many foods, Maki can't believe they had no tapioca at all. Which is why Maki seems to look a bit grumpy as she walks to the fighting area, tonfa gripped tightly in her hands. When she spots her opponent, she stops and stares for a moment, wondering who this person is supposed to be, and if she's really human or not. After a moment, Maki simply shrugs it off, remembering about the fighter known as Blanka and how similar things are possible in this day and age. Maki adjusts her tonfa before pointing it at Chloe and saying, "I'm ready when you are!"
COMBATSYS: Chloe has started a fight here.
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Chloe 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Maki has joined the fight here.
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Chloe 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
Who eats tapioca? Chloe doesn't eat tapioca. That stuff's gross.
As for Chloe, there's a reason all her previous fights have been done as Snakebite. It lets her tell stories about her eyes, her fangs - that they're cosmetics. But she wants to break out from being a low-budget pro wrestler to be a real fighter, and that means a real name. It also means she looks weird.
Chloe gives a short nod to Maki, looking at the other fighter. She's probably better, Chloe thinks. More experience, at least; all of Chloe's previous matches have been wrestling matches of one sort or another. She stretches out her arms as she moves to a poolside spot, not looking away from Maki. She doesn't even blink, though her eyes narrow slightly.
"Okay," Chloe says, in response - and as soon as the Neo League organizer gives the signal, Chloe moves forward. Her movements are smooth, almost weaving as if she expected to be punched and was pre-emptively taking measures to avoid a solid hit (which she is); it may almost be a surprise when she reaches out, trying to get a grip on Maki's arm and throw her by it! Chloe pivots her body, releasing with a snap and keeping the fluid, evasive moment going. At least she aims away from the pool; Maki is much more likely to hit a chair.
COMBATSYS: Maki avoids Chloe's Snake Charmer.
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Chloe 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Maki
Maki watches Chloe very carefully, somehow sensing that this fighter may be more than just another Blanka-type fighter. She may look weird, but looks aren't everything. It's all in your technique and fighting skills, which is what Maki is more concerned about. In fact, when Chloe tries to grab at Maki's arm, the ninja pulls it away swiftly, shaking her head. "You can attack me as much as you want," She comments, "But I'll just keep dodging most likely!" She steps back a few steps to emphasise this point, watching Chloe to see what else might come. When nothing more comes from the attack, Maki goes on the offensive.
"You're an interesting looking fighter, I'll give you that," Maki adds, as she steps towards Chloe. "But looks aren't everything. Your techniques have to be top notch to win!" Maki jumps towards Chloe, attempting to drive her knee into her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Chloe with Light Kick.
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Chloe 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Maki
Chloe's yellow eyes narrow. She thinks she's being mocked. The way Maki intentionally didn't follow up on the attack for a few moments, as if letting Chloe waste time and energy against her, the way she keeps bringing up her appearance... well. Play the role.
Chloe grins. This shows fang. (Fake, surely?) "I know what I'm doing," she says. "Why? Afraid to fight the new girl?" This seems to get at least some people in the crowd on her side - everyone loves an underdog - but apparently not as many as she'd hoped.
This may be because Maki has just landed a knee to her stomach. Chloe folds up over it and staggers backwards, almost overexaggerating her response - maybe it's her wrestling roots, but she doesn't seem all that hurt when she finally does take the offensive again.
Chloe goes low. She drops to a crouch, using a strike more like a palm strike aimed at Maki's knees than anything else - but that's just to knock her off balance, as the real attack comes when Chloe rises up. She tries to grab the off-balance Maki (at least that's the idea), swing her up across her shoulders and down her back, and then drop backwards onto the other girl, using her body weight as a weapon to drive her onto the deck of the cruise ship!
COMBATSYS: Maki interrupts Crushing Throw from Chloe with Bushin Senpuu Kyaku.
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Chloe 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Maki
Maki may be a bit off-balance, but that doesn't mean she can't fight back still. In fact, she's still watching Chloe in case she might try to come in with an attempt to attack her while she's off-balance. And that's exactly what happens, as Maki drops down a little, trying to prepare herself to fight back. She doesn't care about those fangs, since as long as they aren't venomous, she doesn't mind them. What she does mind is getting grabbed by Chloe in such a manner. But Maki has a surprise of her own for Chloe.
When Chloe starts to drop Maki down, the blonde-haired ninja breaks free and lands on her side. Immediately, she begins to spin around like a whirlwind with her leg outstretched, balancing only on the tip of her tonfa. Her spinning attack should hit Chloe fairly hard and give Maki a little breathing room.
Chloe gets cleared out pretty effectively by the spinning kick. She hits the ground and rolls... right into a poolside lounge chair (she really should have cleared those out a bit more before the fight, she thinks to herself, half-dazed for a moment.)
But she gets up pretty quickly, pushing herself up smoothly. Chloe isn't grinning right now; she's focusing, her instincts telling her she wants to tear into Maki for that. And maybe she does want to, but what she actually does is take a breath, hold it for a moment -
Chloe breathes out a spray of aggressively green chi. The blob flies straight through the air, like a slightly wobbly Hadouken; on impact with anything and everything, it bursts, splattering the target with Chloe's disruptive chi and clinging, leaving a faint greenish haze behind. Chloe herself has used the time that it was in flight to reposition, untangling herself the rest of the way from the empty chair and finding a clear spot near the pool.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Chloe's Venom Breath.
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Chloe 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Maki
That chi hits quite a few objects. No people are hurt, thankfully. Including Maki since she watched it come at her slowly and calculated its movements so she could quickly move out of the way and avoid being hit by that nasty looking cloud. "Was that a wrestling trick?" Maki asks with a raised eyebrow. "Or was that actually a fighting move you can call your own?"
Maki waits for a moment for a response, then shakes her head. "It doesn't matter to me really. An attack is useless if it can't hit a moving target!" Maki attempts to run in low, under where the cloud vaporized, and strike Chloe with her tonfa.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Chloe with Medium Strike.
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Chloe 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Maki
Are you saying wrestling isn't fighting?" Chloe sounds somewhat surprised. "I think that's pretty shortsighted of you, isn't it? I mean, I'm keeping up!"
More or less. The low blow with the tonfa is solid. Chloe really feels that one; her quick maneuvering isn't enough to get her out of the way. She looks like she's going to fall over, in fact - no, wait, she actually did, lying on her back with her feet toward Maki.
Improbably, nearly impossibly, Chloe attacks from a downed position. She hefts herself up and pushes, throwing herself legs-first at Maki, trying to wrap her legs around Maki's waist in a crushing scissors hold. But that's not all; if she manages it, Chloe bends backwards, getting her hands under her and performing a headstand. She squeezes the legs tighter once, twice -
Snapping her entire body like a whip, Chloe /throws/ Maki from the scissors hold... directly at the pool! Well, at least it's a relatively soft landing, if she manages it - though a rather soggy one! Chloe herself follows through with the motion, landing on her front again and getting up while Maki is occupied.
Or at least, that's the goal here.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Chloe's Cerastes Scissors.
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Chloe 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Maki
Maki doesn't feel like getting soggy today. Instead, she chooses to jump over that attack. "That is not entirely what I meant. What I meant is, did you create that attack on your own, or are you using some kind of prop?" She asks this as her feet touch the ground again. "Regardless, it's rather interesting to look at, but I wouldn't want to encounter it first hand!" She twirls her tonfa a few times as if to add a little personal effect to that whole thing. "I'm sure other opponents have, but not me!"
At first, Maki looks like she's going to strike her opponent while she's down. Then she stops suddenly, and then steps back a few steps. She grips her tonfa tightly, knowing that Chloe is full of lots of surprises, and she wants to see if there are any more. Especially after that ground attack.
COMBATSYS: Maki focuses on her next action.
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Chloe 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Maki
Chloe is kind of... over by herself while Maki gets a few moments to focus and regain her breath. Chloe takes them too, though perhaps not as dramatically.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Chloe says, letting out an irritated breath through her nose. The snake-tail 'belt' she wears twitches once, especially near the tip, but she gets it under control a moment later and it goes more or less still again... though that tip is still shifting just a little bit. Chloe glances around for a moment, trying to think of a follow-up - there. Perfect.
Pop quiz: What's sitting around the side of a pool on a cruise ship?
Answer: A lot of things, but especially long folding pool chairs. This is also the answer to the question 'What has Chloe just picked up?'
Armed with the chair, Chloe steps forward, swinging it horizontally like a gigantic club, using the entire width of it rather than the narrow edge. Less damaging, but more painful and stinging, like a huge slap. It still hurts, though - especially because Chloe is quite capable of swinging it hard enough to knock people back when she puts her arms into it, and she really is.
COMBATSYS: Maki interrupts Large Random Weapon from Chloe with Hassou Kyaku.
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Chloe 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
What are pool chairs used for? Relaxing on.
What are they NOT used for? Being thrown at Maki!
What does Maki do in a situation like this? She takes a few running steps, then does a flying kick directly towards Chloe, attempting to knock her and that chair down. Maki does make contact with Chloe, but it's just as Chloe makes contact with the chair. Maki goes down to the ground, tumbling a few times, but just stopping short of the pool. Nevertheless, Maki forces herself up this time, realizing how off-balance she was with that attack.
The flying kick is a success in that it convinces Chloe to drop the chair. So that part, at least, is a victory for Maki.
Chloe cannot weave away from that one. She takes a bruising hit to the upper arm, which is why she dropped the chair in the first place, and lets out a pained hiss through her teeth. The tailtip twitches again; she can't stop it even if she wants to. She wants to get her hands on Maki and really show her that she can fight...
...but she's honestly not doing that well. Chloe suffers a moment of self-doubt between the bursts of bloodlust. Maybe she's /not/ really cut out for street fighting. Maybe she should surrender now.
Whatever the reason, Chloe does not immediately rush back onto the attack. She hangs back, letting Maki come to her for a change, and watches the other woman through almost unblinking golden eyes. She looks much more serious now - she likes to fight, but she also likes to win, and right now, she really isn't. "Come on," she says, beckoning with her left hand. "Come on!"
COMBATSYS: Chloe focuses on her next action.
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Chloe 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
As Maki watches Chloe, a faint memory surges through her mind. About a lot of her first fights and how they were very lopsided and ended with Maki struggling to try even come away with a shred of victory. Often times she was the biggest loser while her opponent was barely even fazed by her attacks. Over time she got better and learned how to perfect her techniques. So she can sympathize with how Chloe feels, but now is not the time for compassion.
"All right, if you want me to continue, I will!" Maki yells, rushing at Chloe. She's not attempting anything special this time, just an attempt to grab Chloe and toss her over her shoulder. If she's not careful, Maki might end up throwing her into the pool!
COMBATSYS: Chloe dodges Maki's Quick Throw.
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Chloe 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
Maki comes in, and this time, at least, Chloe seems to see it coming before it actually happens. She doesn't move until nearly the last second, and then she moves almost blurringly fast; she whips around Maki, ending up behind the other girl while she goes for the grab.
Behind Maki and facing her, Chloe tries to jump with Maki in her arms, picking her up off the ground and bringing her down in a seated position. Chloe goes down to her back, wrapping her legs painfully (if she manages it) around Maki's arms and squeezing them inward and behind her; Chloe tries to get her feet against the back of Maki's head and push, making the hold even more uncomfortable.
And what's weirder is that apparently Chloe's tail has gotten unwrapped from her waist, because it's wrapping around Maki's too, going for another painful constriction... An attentive fighter would notice that Chloe is pulling it tight with her hands, to make it look like a prop. A /very/ attentive fighter would notice that it started to squeeze before she did that.
A few moments later, whether she's managed the full squeeze or not, Chloe's tail slithers back away from Maki's waist, and Chloe vaults to her feet, pulling Maki up with her and pitching, sending her rolling across the deck. Her 'prop' tail hangs loosely behind her as she gets back her balance, breathing more heavily. All this, of course, depends on the original grab...
COMBATSYS: Chloe blitzes into action and acts again!
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Chloe 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Chloe's Improvised Throw.
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Chloe 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
COMBATSYS: Maki blocks Chloe's Steel Coils.
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Chloe 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Maki
Maki fluently avoids Chloe at first, but then finds herself getting caught, and then constricted. This is not a pleasant experience at all, and Maki now realizes what it must be like in the last few seconds of a face-to-face meeting with a boa constrictor. But Maki's tougher than that, and she tightens her muscles, resisting the constriction as best as she can. Her breathing is slowing, but she still manages to protect herself against this attack. Eventually, she breaks free and staggers forwards, gasping for air. "Damn it," She coughs. "That's... never gonna... happen again!" It's partially babbled because of how Maki just felt like a snake's dinner!
"You were creative there," Maki says once she's caught her breath. "But creativity won't win either." She attempts to strike Chloe with her tonfa in a swift motion.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Chloe with Genkou.
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Chloe 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Maki
"You're just full of self-confidence, aren't you?" This isn't helping Chloe's momentary bout of doubt, even though she tries to put on a strong face. No, she thinks. She /has/ to be able to do it. And - crap, is her tail loose?
It is. It hangs behind her, though it's mostly following her movements. Every so often, though, the tip does shift a little bit, twitching or flicking when the rest of the tail doesn't. Damn, Chloe thinks. But she doesn't have time to tuck it back up as a belt. Maki's sudden blow makes sure of that. It almost takes Chloe right out of the fight; she overbalances on the edge of the pool, wobbles for a moment - and then goes in with a /splash/!
Too bad the pool isn't actually out of bounds for the match.
After a moment of flailing in the water, Chloe crests the surface again - she's fallen in an area too deep for her to easily stand, but she seems to be pretty good at floating. Her hair is plastered to her head and threatening to get in her eyes, but she seems to be able to see all right, judging by the sudden intense focus on Maki.
Rather than immediately get out, Chloe only pulls half of her body out of the pool with one hand, reaching for Maki with the other - and she's fully intent on dragging Maki into the water with her, where neither of them have an advantage! If she gets her in, Chloe takes advantage of the proximity to drive a knee into the other woman; long punches and kicks don't really work in the water, the pressure slows them down too much.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Chloe's Combo Throw.
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Chloe 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Maki
Unfortunately for Chloe, the attack misses completely, as Maki has stepped out of the way quickly. "I told you, you can attack me all you want, but I'll just keep dodging them!" This isn't a taunt or anything like that either. Maki is stating this almost like it's a fact that Chloe should know by now. But some people are just stubborn like that. "You can keep fighting me all you want, though. I'm always trying to improve myself." Maki then attempts to solidify this point further with a hard kick to the gut.
COMBATSYS: Chloe dodges Maki's Strong Kick.
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Chloe 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\0 Maki
Maki might not think it is a taunt; to Chloe, it is self-evidently one, and she's marking the other girl down as having an ego problem. Unfortunately, it looks like she deserves at least some of that ego, judging by Chloe's repeated failure to connect.
Hitting Chloe in the gut is difficult because she's still mostly in the pool - and as soon as she sees Maki wind up for a boot, she's all the way in the pool, letting go of the side and just dunking herself. She's already soaked. Going under isn't going to make any difference whatsoever.
Chloe pops up again in the pool, further away from the edges, forcing Maki to either come in after her or start throwing things - projectiles, chairs, whatever - at her. Either works, but Chloe is not going to make it particularly easy. She inhales again, but this time what she spits out isn't a blob of chi at Maki.
No, it's more like a sustained beam, at least for a few instants - a significant gout of Chloe's disruptive chi. She might have been able to manage it for longer if she could have gotten a better breath, but fighting in the water makes it hard.
At least it looks cool for the audience?
COMBATSYS: Chloe successfully hits Maki with Virulent Breath.
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Chloe 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Maki
This time, Maki gets caught by the bad breath... and boy is it bad! She stumbles back, gasping and choking while covering her scrunched shut eyes. "Damn it, just what the hell was in that?!" Maki shouts out. She struggles to keep from choking any further as she grabs a nearby glass of water and splashes it on her eyes, using it to rinse out the nasty substance. Even though her eyes aren't burning as badly as before, she's definitely not feeling right.
"Am I... poisoned?!" Maki wonders aloud. "Damn it, where's the serum?" Realizing she's babbling a bit, Maki turns her attention to Chloe again. "Whatever you did to me, I don't like! Now I'm gonna really pay you back!" Maki rushes at Chloe, attempting to deliver a short combination of strikes in a swift manner.
COMBATSYS: Chloe parries Maki's Bushin Gokusaken!
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Chloe 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Maki
Oh my God, Chloe thinks.
"It's just energy, don't be a big baby!" Chloe yells back. And in fact it is; clinging, disruptive chi, but chi nonetheless. There is no actual poison present whatsoever.
Maki dives in the pool after Chloe, and apparently 'the water' is where Chloe has an accidental advantage. She dives again, swimming circles around Maki; she's very glad she's wearing shorts and not long pants, it helps her move around here. She lets the blow move past her, using one hand to tug Maki subtly off-balance.
Somewhere mid-circle, Chloe's tail lashes out. A greenish aura surrounds it as it strikes at Maki's side, impacting like a ... well, like a heavy, meaty, muscular limb. Chloe is counting on the churning water and the green glow to make it hard to see for the audience to see exactly what's happening, but for Maki it's pretty clear - Chloe's tail, which is moving like a tail and not like a belt in the water, just tried to slap her in the side. Hard.
COMBATSYS: Maki dodges Chloe's Lernaean Stinger EX.
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Chloe 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1 Maki
Maki may be weakened by the poison in her system, but she's not about to let that tail hit her, real or not. She somehow manages to grit her teeth through the pain of the poison surging through her, and leap out of the way of that tail. After that, she steps towards Chloe and says, "I've had enough of this. I say we finish this!" She twirls her tonfa then attempts to smack her with it.
COMBATSYS: Maki successfully hits Chloe with Medium Strike.
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Chloe 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Maki
There's still no poison.
Chloe remains in the water. Maki might be shallow enough to walk, but she's a little deeper and she can't, quite. She tries to push backwards, away from the tonfa - except it clips her right in the forehead. It didn't look /that/ hard.
Chloe's eyes cross. She kind of sinks down into the pool, no longer really moving around. It seems she's unconcious - no, wait, she's still sort of shifting a little bit, so she's not /completely/ out. But she is dazed enough that she doesn't do anything other than keep her head above water, letting out a low groan.
COMBATSYS: Chloe takes no action.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chloe can no longer fight.
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Maki 1/------=/=======|
Maki watches as Chloe collapses, then literally gives out for the most part. She watches as the medics tend to her, while the referee announces her as the winner. Maki usually would take the time to celebrate this victory, but this time she's not interested in celebrating. Between the fact that she just battled against one of the most unique opponents ever, as well as how she felt a bit too powerful for her own good, she wonders just what kind of fight this truly was. Maki simply shakes her head and walks off, the effects of the poison still lingering for the time being.
COMBATSYS: Maki has ended the fight here.
Log created on 18:58:13 11/29/2014 by Maki, and last modified on 02:29:10 11/30/2014.