Description: In which Lee Chaolan discovers that you cannot win Baiken's heart, but you can try to win her belt.
Circuit of Champions matches are, as it turns out, a big deal.
When Baiken challenged Olan Kanda, she had to fight in her opponent's territory: a battlefield in Thailand, packed to the brim with his fans, while she came out of nowhere to try to strike him down. Now that she was being challenged... well, she didn't have the same advantage - and with no place of her own to host a match like this, PFW stepped up.
And despite the fact that Baiken doesn't have fans that have followed her for years, simply because she hasn't been /known/ for years, they managed to pack the stands of the massive arena anyhow. It's not quite chaos in the bleachers, but there is a certain tension, a desire to see the violence that will inevitably result from a challenge like this. It's loud.
The announcer, who has been TERRIBLY EXCITED and VERY INTO this entire thing (well, it's what he's paid to do) calls the challenger into the ring with whatever entrance he likes. Baiken is already there, having entered with no fanfare but the crowd, who cheer her for reasons she doesn't entirely know. Some of them probably want to see her defeated, Baiken figures, and others don't care who wins as long as it's entertaining. She doesn't much care what the crowd thinks.
Right now she is waiting. Her only hand rests on her sword hilt, where it hangs at her hip; her right sleeve hangs loose and empty at her side. At least she isn't smoking this time, something she has been caught doing before multiple scheduled battles. Mostly she looks bored. It is unclear how much of it is a cover as she waits for Lee to step up.
She is not the only one who is covering up intentions.
The arrival of Lee Chaolan is hardly a step up. It comes with the blaring sound of a horn honking. The double-doors leading to the stone ring are knocked in, spreading wide to allow Lee to come in.
Or rather, Lee's giant black limousine.
The 30 foot long car somehow manages to pull up into the arena, somehow nagivating the narrow walkway. The crowd clears the way as the limo carefully pulls up alongside the ring. Coming to a stop, the limo parks right in front where Baiken was waiting for her opponent. Should for a moment, Baiken did not have regrets, she may begin to have them as the driver leaves the front seat. The driver, a dishevelled balding British man, short and portly in a fine suit, holds a portable table. He quickly goes to one of the large passenger doors on the side, opening it with a bow.
And from it, the Silver-Haired Demon emerges.
Lee is dressed in his finest black tuxedo, trim and dressed to the nines. The martial artist clutches in one hand, a bouqet of roses, and in the other, a massive box of chocolates in the shape of a heart. The Silver-haired executive steps out with some help from the driver, who quickly then shuts the door. Lee opens his arms, showing his flowers and candy with a sensual smirk on his lips. "Aaaaah~ Baiken!~ I have finally arrived!"
"Excellent~"
The butler slash driver quickly sets up a table in the ring. Reaching within his coat, he begins to pull out a candle, two plates, two wine glasses, and a table cloth. Swiftly, he begins to set up the table, giving it all the trimmings. All that was missing was two chairs... and two lovers, to look into each other's eyes. "Thank you Mr. Tubbles~" Lee Chaolan states to his butler, as he himself enters the ring. As he walks across the stone floor of the arena, he winks at Baiken. "Aaaah~ Baiken~" He sing songs, heart lifting high in the presence of the woman.
"Are you ready for the night of your life?~"
Baiken immediately regrets accepting this challenge. She grits her teeth; a vein pulses in her forehead up near her remaining eye.
But she's not supposed to stop him. Some people have... unusual entrances. It would certainly be unsporting to send the butler out by smacking him with a club until he wanted no part of staying in the ring - and while Baiken doesn't always care about the formalities, she is not quite enough of an asshole to attack someone who can't fight back. There's no enjoyment, if nothing else, no competition.
Baiken's eye narrows as her entire body tenses. "Get out," she says to 'Mr. Tubbles', as the butler steps away. Her voice raises, tight with fury as she takes a step forward. "Get out! You aren't welcome here. And as for /you/," she snarls. She has to look up at Lee; she's quite a bit shorter than he is.
Baiken walks toward the table. Her arm moves almost too fast to be seen as she draws her blade, bringing it down on the folding table in an arcing slash. The shrieking sound of metal on metal rings through the arena as Baiken shears through it at an angle. She kicks one of the portable table halves afterwards, sending it skittering across the arena, scattering the candle and plate before she slams her sword back in its scabbard. Hard.
"I did not accept this challenge to be mocked." Baiken is /furious/. She is restraining herself as much as she can, but she still seems about to explode into more violence at any moment. "Put those ...toys down. Then you have two choices. You can leave and stay out of my sight for the rest of your life. Or you can battle me, like the fighter I'm told you are - not that I've seen any proof."
"Choose now. Or I choose for you."
When the threats start coming, Mr. Tubbles starts listening.
The butler quickly gets out of the circle of death when Baiken's temper overflows out. Lee himself keeps his composure as his butler hurries to hide behind his master. The Silver-Haired Demon does not let his rakish grin fade as a faint, sharp wind blows. As the bisected remains are kicked away, Mr. Tubbles gasps in terror. The ultimatium is unleashed, and Mr. Tubble prepares to load Mr. Chaolan into the limo, and drive away. And yet, there is only one response from Lee Chaolan.
"Wonderful!~"
The executive brings the back of his hand to his head, still clutching the roses. He mimes being faint, as he sing-songs in response. "Such passion!~ Such beauty!~ Come here to mock you? Enough!" He exclaims, shoving the chocolates into Mr. Tubble's arms. He motions for his butler to leave the ring with his free hand, as he continues to hold on to the roses tight. "I did not come here to mock you! Bah, how could mock an incredible specimen of womanhood like yourself!"
"Truly, you are a goddess!"
Every word that comes from the silver-haired man in the tuxedo came out sincere, as the words of a love-struck teenager finally meeting the object of his adoration. "Do you believe that you are not a woman of incredible talent? No mere creature could simply take a championship belt. No, a woman of your caliber has such command. Such authority. Such an unique spark, that I cannot choose, no, I can never choose. For choosing would take away a precious moment that I would not, could not handle. Baiken, beautiful, beautiful Baiken..." Lee Chaolan smiles softly, his pupils growing in size, as he approaches the armed woman of lethal skill, and tenderly offers the bouquet of roses.
"Would you choose for me, darling?~"
Baiken's fury builds. At least she isn't lashing out at Mr. Tubble... only his table.
Her face reddens slightly, an unpleasant counterpoint to her pink facial tattoos until she manages to force her flush away by willpower - that, or she's going white-lipped with anger. It's hard to tell which one it is, whether she's regaining control or about to lose it.
Baiken does not take the roses when they are offered. Lee can hold them at her as much as he wants; he's going to be stuck awkwardly hanging onto them when she looks up at him. Her jaw is clenched closed as she's trying not to immediately roar at him. It also gives her time to choose her answer better. Knowing she's made a decision makes her feel better. Baiken doesn't smile - she doesn't really look any happier at all - but some of the tension at her temple recedes.
"I am a fighter, not a woman - and you're looking for a woman, not a fighter. Since apparently you aren't interested enough in the belt or combat to answer for it," Baiken says, her voice sharp with the anger that lingers, "you may leave. I offered to fight you; you said you couldn't decide, and that's enough for me. Consider the acceptance retracted. Now get out of my sight."
Baiken turns, her robe flaring out as she takes several steps away, her sleeve billowing behind her as she heads toward the staircase she originally came up. This almost immediately starts to make the crowd unhappy - they came here to see a battle, not... whatever that was.
All according to plan.
Lee Chaolan holds those roses out. That prince charming grin endures, as he catches, just a glimpse, of that blush. The woman was clearly unused to this kind of attention. Of course, as she chooses to back away, and withdraw the challenge, Lee Chaolan flinches hard. Letting the roses go limp, he grips his heart, his face contorting in pain. Shutting his eye tight, he lets the roses fall from his hand, spreading to the ground. It seemed that, for all his advanced, Lee Chaolan had been rejected. The crowd begins to groan and grumble, as a dull roar of outrage begins. Lee quickly recovers from the first blood, as he reaches out for the pink-haired warrior.
"Is the legendary Baiken really so modest?"
There is a tapping sound, the sound of shoes scraping against stone. The rose petals drift around, as in a flash, Lee Chaolan cuts her off, standing between her, and the stairs down the arena. "You seem to misunderstand me, my beautiful Baiken!~" He begins, holding his arms open. "If I wanted a mere woman, there are hundreds, if not thousands, that are waiting for the chance for me to reach out for them. No no, I wish for a fighter! I would not approach you on the battlefield otherwise! I have come for the chance to experience your magnificent talents in the ring, before these eager people."
"Of course, I understand if you are too intimidated by me."
Lee Chaolan gives her a coy little wink, nodding with conspiracy. "I noticed that cute little blush" He whispers at her, before raising his voice for the all of the audience to hear. "I've come here to fight what I thought was one of the world's greatest swordsman... who just happens to be one of the most stunning women I've seen. What kind of gentleman would not try to treat a stunning specimen like yourself as an idol! And yet, you try to run away?~" Lee Chaolan gives a little scoff, as he casts Mr. Tubbles a glance. "I would have been more gentle, my dear Baiken..."
"If I knew you were so sensitive!~"
Baiken's exit is interrupted by Lee Chaolan.
She really had been going to just leave him there, unable to get what he clearly wanted - either her or her belt. Let him stew on that. She wasn't /obligated/ to take this challenge; she'd only done it because she wanted the practice and the competition, and he'd been placing pretty well previously.
But she's still angry. And she is going to make a lot of people angrier if she walks out - she's not even sure if she's allowed to, and having the belt taken away from her would ruin the whole plan, now wouldn't it? She wouldn't be able to take challenges anymore. What he's actually /saying/ is largely ignored, though if he thinks she's some example of soft femininity he's going to be very, very disappointed. It wasn't that she was unused to the attention so much as that she didn't want it.
Her eye closes. Then it opens, as she turns to look at Lee with hate - real, authentic hate - in her eye.
"Fine," she snarls. "You'll get your match." Baiken starts to march toward the center of the arena. No polite bow or handshake for her; she just stands there, glaring at Lee. She's certainly not going to wait long once the battle is called to begin.
"Oh! Excellent!~"
That was the cry of delight from the one Lee Chaolan. Giving a single clap of his hands, he rubs them together briefly as he strides back into the center of the arena. He could see that pure hatred, pouring into him. But just like how she ignores his words, he himself ignores the pure loathing she was pouring into him. He was like a sick puppy; he didn't care what kind of attention he got, as long as he got it. But of course, as he strides back into position, he more than happily sweeps his hand down.
And scoops up a single rose from the ground.
"I must warn you, I am quite talented~" He teases, as he plays with the rose between his fingertips. Sniffing it lightly, he asides to Baiken, that sweet smirk at the corner of his lips. "Not that you are anything less than talented. But please, don't be angry. Frowning will only give you wrinkles~" Lee Chaolan tucks the rose stem between his teeth, as he falls back into his martial stance. In a moment, he was assuming the defensive stance of the Mishima family, a harbringer of what was to come.
Maybe Lee Chaolan was more interested in Baiken's belt, than Baiken herself.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan has started a fight here.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Baiken has joined the fight here.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Baiken
The crowd is happy, starting their pre-combat cheers. Lee is apparently quite happy. Really, just about everyone in the arena is pleased with this turn of events /except/ Baiken, who is still looking rather sour about it.
She takes her accustomed spot near the center of the arena and adopts her accustomed stance: left foot forward, right further back, slightly forward-leaning with her hand on her sword's hilt in a slightly unusual grip - she has to make some changes, fighting with only one hand.
"Claim to be as talented as you want," she says. "I'm only interested in what I see here." He's going to fight with a rose in his mouth? Fine by her; he can't talk as long as he's holding it there, and honestly, very little would make her happier than that right now.
The official is relieved, too - relieved that this whole event didn't have to be called off because of Baiken's temper causing her to walk off. There might have been consequences against her, but that wouldn't have made it any more palatable to the crowds. He raises his hand, preparing to signal a start, then backs off, holding it up...
Baiken lifts her front foot.
She does nothing else, balancing on her back foot only, until the official snaps his hand downward with a cry of 'Begin!' Then she stomps downward, channeling chi not at Lee directly but into the ground.
"TATAMI GAESHI!" /That/ was Baiken. Where she stomped her foot, she pushed down, at the ground - and a green platform flips up as if counterbalancing the downward stomp, spraying pink chi in a wide arc as it does! If Lee is particularly slow, the flipping chi-tile is likely to launch him up into the air; if he's only a little slow, the pink blast might catch him instead.
COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Lee Chaolan with Tatami Gaeshi.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0 Baiken
Lee Chaolan couldn't talk, with that rose in his mouth.
But as the fight is called, and the match begins, he makes a move.
And he is sent tumbling back.
Landing on his back, he poses suggestively, leaning on his side. Nevermind that his legs were forming a heavy bruise each: His suit was flawless. Not a smudge or a wrinkle from the assault. Leaning on his side in a prone position, he keeps the rose between his teeth, waggling his eyebrow at his opponent. He gives a quick clap of his hands, before sweeping his legs around.
And the Silver-Haired Demon is back up.
Standing tall, he is back on his feet. Lee Chaolan had distance to cover. Dangerous distance. Anybody with a sword like that was not someone to treat lightly, in spite what Lee's actions before were. Lee Chaolan hurls himself forward, moving like lightning as he dashes in at Baiken-
And dashes back.
And then dashes in.
Lee's approach constantly jerks in and out, dipping in and out. Those toying eyes were fixed on Baiken, the martial artist blending caution and aggression into a prudent balance. He wasn't going to lure out a mistimed reaction so easily. She had shown herself far too composed for that. Every dash in and out was coming with a blur of rose petals, the remains of the flowers now kicking up into a storm. Lee Chaolan, for a moment, looks like he finally makes his mistake, as he stumbles on a dash in. Tripping on his feet, he nearly falls on his face.
And he unleashes his trap.
Front flipping into the air, he takes a short leap to bound over Baiken. The old man was agile, and dangerously quick even with the momentum given to Baiken. As he lands his front flip, he aims to land a delicate foot squarely on Baiken's side. Should he land his mount, he will simply grab the fighter by her head and shoulder, and smash the pair of them to the ground into a tackle.
If he could get past that sword, of course.
COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Lee Chaolan's Lee Stunner.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Baiken
Baiken hasn't even drawn the sword yet, aside from cutting the table up (and the two halves are still just kind of sitting there, seperated since one got kicked along and one didn't). Is it for show? Is she saving it for a specific purpose, some powerful technique? Maybe. But for now it just sits at her hip. Waiting.
And for all her anger, Baiken can wait too. Many people, as mad as she is, would rush in without a thought - but Baiken is experienced enough, skilled enough, to not give up her advantages like that. Be at least a little patient. She doesn't have to kill him in the first twenty seconds for it to be a victory. (She probably shouldn't kill him at all, part of her mind adds.)
That helps. When Lee rushes in and out, Baiken doesn't take the bait. She knows that he can't keep doing what he's doing forever, or if he did it wouldn't matter much - and eventually he trips. Or, apparently, 'trips', because that's not the kind of drop she'd expect if someone had actually slipped on the stone arena floor.
She is rewarded for her patience. The foot comes in, and Baiken is there to deflect it; she catches the kick on her lower arm and pushes, not enough to actually throw Lee away from her but enough to keep him off-balance enough and push him back enough that the mount in preparation for the throw is ruined. She feels the impact in her arm, but ignores it. For now, she can do that.
"Is that all?"
Baiken can see he's avoiding the sword. She shifts her grip so it looks like she's going to draw it, takes half a step forward - and then brings her foot up again, trying to land a strong but slightly wild kick on Lee to push him back and away. She does let go of the sword then, spreading her arm for balance with the heavy swing.
COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Lee Chaolan with Strong Kick.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Baiken
She does not fall for most of his tricks.
As the man hurls himself on her arm side, he finds his kick shoved off. Impacting her arm was not worthless; after all, it was the most dangerous limb she had. But with him being knocked off, he was in prime position for the follow-up: A staggering slice of that fiercesome blade. Lee Chaolan was wary for the blade, wary for the damage it could do. As she shift her weight, and raises her leg back for balance, Lee Chaolan lunges in. As long as he stayed close, he wouldn't be prey for that blade.
And the trickster falls for the trick.
The powerful, yet wild kick, is not evaded. Lee had been expecting that blade, that the fact that she lifts that smooth, powerful leg into a kick, was almost too obvious. And yet, he takes the blow, knocking him away across the arena to the cries of the audience. He tumbles twice, coming to a rest on the cold stones. He pulls the rose from between his teeth, toying with it as he rises up once more. He had a cracked rib, though well hidden under that tux. But there was an injury he could not hide now.
His mouth was bleeding heavily.
"Marvelous!" Was the cry from the silver-haired man, as he inspects the blood-stained thorns on the rose. "Incredible! You are too much like this rose; beautiful petals, but with thorns that cut me so deeply." He tosses the rose in to the air, high in the air... towards Baiken. "I can be like a flower too~" He sings.
And he was on the move again.
Hurling himself at breakneck speeds at the young lady, he was moving too fast now. It seemed that the man was escalating what was at stake, as the rose had not even begun its descent as Lee is upon her. With a snap, he hurls out a straight kick for the woman's face... and again, with the same leg. Four times he hurls out the kicks, each of the four aiming to smash her face again and again. Not just anywhere, though; he was aiming not for Baiken's good eye, but her missing eye, where the socket laid empty. Upon the fifth kick, he drops it down into a heel strike, aimed for her shoulder. Switching to his other leg, he hurls out a boneshattering roundhouse straight for her right shoulder, attempting to smash her where her missing arm was once connected. Lee Chaolan was overwhelming her now, a stark change of pace from his last trick.
But not before snatching the rose out from the air.
COMBATSYS: Baiken fails to interrupt Acid Storm from Lee Chaolan with Sakura.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
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Lee Chaolan 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
For all the weaknesses in her technique (and there are some, if you know how to take advantage of them), Baiken has advantages too. She's strong, a lot stronger than she looks - and she knows how to use her whole body as a weapon, crippled as she is. She doesn't think of it as a handicap when fighting; she never knew how to fight before it happened.
Short form: That boot hurts. But she's still off-balance afterwards.
Lee's words get no response beyond a snort. A flower. Right. Just a delicate flower of femininity, right here. It's honestly something that amuses her more than offends her; how can one person be so wrong?
But off-balance from her own kick, and expecting Lee to take a moment longer to recover, Baiken is taken off guard by his own kicks. Not entirely; she draws and turns, thrusting her sword backwards with the same motion as pink chi gleams down the blade. But Lee has the advantage here: he's coming in on her blind side, and Baiken's blind side is the side with her arm. When she turns her body slightly to thrust half-backwards, she can't /see/ him.
He pounds in with enough force to nearly make her drop the sword. She doesn't, but mostly by clenching it in her grip more tightly; she lets off another wild thrust that misses as the roundhouse kick catches her on the shoulder. There is a faintly metallic sound, there - perhaps she has something capping the stump - and it elicits a pained grunt from Baiken.
Rather more than just that; it knocks her back, sliding her feet along the stone surface. It takes Baiken a moment to recover, and now she's furious again, her good eye glaring and her bad eye - well, if she /had/ an eye, it would be black. As is, her temple aches and there's some split skin on the side of her head, trickling blood down her side - to say nothing of the ache at the base of her nonexistant arm.
She couldn't see him.
That was the crux of the approach. The good eye was where she could watch, she could study, and she could react. She was not an amateur fighter. She was a fighter who had honed her art, and had maximized her strengths while minimizing her weaknesses. Going for where she was strong was risky. But going where she was weak... required skill and timing. Slipping past the sword was a near miss; he needed to outpace the speed.
But there was another reason.
Baiken was someone who was stubborn, who was strong. She had shown just how strong-willed she was. Nobody loses an arm and an eye, and still becomes a regional champ, without that core of resolve. And yet, Lee Chaolan focused on the points on her body where she would care the least about; her missing arm, and her missing eye. Places which served no practical purpose, no practical position. Except to bleed. Inside and out. Injuries were injuries, and if Lee wanted to grind down this kensei...
He would have to hit her where she was weak, not strong.
As Lee Chaolan draws back his foot, unshaken by the metal cap upon the limb, he keeps up that smirk. "Well done! A little more speed, maybe, but well, nobodies perfect~" He coos, as he hurls out a jamming stomp of a kick right towards Baiken's feet... but nowhere near them. He steps off, moving to her blind spot. Another jab of his hand comes, whiffing past her head. "I apologize for my missteps before! I just found your beauty to be... disarming!" Lee mimes a gasp as he rotates again, struggling to keep on her blind side. "Oh, I'm sorry~ Poor choice of words, isn't it~" Lee surges in again, rotating again hard towards her back... but this time there isn't a punch. There isn't a kick. There is a dangerous, dangerous move, the riskiest move he had attempted so far on the woman.
He attempts to grab her sword arm on the pass.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan successfully hit Baiken with Lee Harassment.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-======/=======|=======\===----\1 Baiken
And Lee stops his rotation hard.
Fixing his feet down hard, he wrenches the arm behind her back with surpising strength and sheer finesse. Using the momentum and balance of his footwork, and the off-balance of Baiken's position, he keeps his wrench hard as he places his other hand gently on her arm stub.
And he forces Baiken to the ground, face first above the roses.
"Hahaha~" Was the laughter from the Silver-Haired Demon as he keeps Baiken face down. "Quite an embarrassing position, wouldn't you say my dear! I hope none of those people out there are getting the wrong idea. After all, it doesn't seem you are wearing too much under those robes~" Were the cruel words that comes with teasing tones. And then, right after that last word comes out, Lee stomps at the back of her head, right into the broken rose stems and stone. One stomp. And then a second, the martial artist breaking his grip free from her arm.
He then tries to back up fast.
Because she still has a sword.
Baiken is used to people trying to take advantage of her maiming. People think she's weak on her right side, where she has no arm; that she's easy to fool from her left side, which has no eye. And they are weaknesses - but she works hard to minimize them.
The fact that he's playing so much on making her furious is making her sloppy. Worse, Baiken realizes it - and she hates it, because she can't regain her mental balance with him needling and poking. She wants to hit him for the 'disarming' comment, and she steps forward as if to do so, not quite shaking with rage but definitely showing it.
Baiken spins when he comes behind her. She is, again, a little less careful than she should be - and that's why Lee manages to do what he does. If he /wasn't/ needling her the way she was, she probably would have seen it coming; as is, furious, she does not.
She goes down, twisting her body to keep her shoulder away from him; Lee doesn't manage to grab her shoulder, but the impact against the ground hurts. Baiken shifts, trying to get up - but the stomp catches her in the back of the head, pounding her face against the stone floor of the arena. Once, twice, then no more.
Baiken feels the pressure against her back vanish as Lee backs up fast. It is probably a good thing he does; she vaults to her feet in nearly record time, springing up with her legs alone. She spins back to face Lee, swinging her empty sleeve out as she does, and -
Wait, that's not an empty sleeve.
There is the clinking of chain, heard for just a second, and what looks like some bastard hybrid between an axe, a scythe and a heavy spear comes flying out on the end of a chain, aimed solidly at Lee's chest. Baiken's rotation of her body causes it to fly away from her with some speed, scything through the air; she uses her hand to yank it back up her sleeve afterwards, or at least mostly. It hangs down, loosely, about the length of a normal arm, the tip of the blades peeking out from the ragged sleeve. It is not a safe weapon.
"Nobody," she snarls, "asked you."
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan blocks Baiken's Youshijin.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-======/=======|=======\=====--\1 Baiken
That was part of the true danger of Lee Chaolan.
Of course, he could fight without the mind games. He could avoid the feints, the teasing, the fake outs. He could rely purely on raw talent. But the fact of the matter was that his talent... was all of it. If he was an amateur, then it would be a simple shell of a technique. But his sheer experience, his sheer mastery was in full force here. He was breaking down his opponent inside as well as out. And as the second, humiliating kick comes, he is able to back off just fast enough as she swings her empty sleeve.
And he learns the mystery of the metal.
The chain weapon comes flying out, as neat as a surprise as it could be. If Lee had stayed for the third kick, he would have found himself carved in by that claw. Just like with Chisaki. But as it comes in, he brings up his arms, deftly slamming one of his arms to deflect the weapon. And it works! He manages to deflect it, only tearing up arm nearly to the bone. He winces, grimacing a mean smile for a moment as his other hand comes around, to grab the chain. "You aren't losing focus are you?~ Pay attention to me! You can't lose to a secret admirer, can you?~" He grips on hard as the chain retracts. But he doesn't fight with her, no.
He just comes along for the ride.
A risky move. A dangerous move. This was almost certainly a trick played on Baiken before... and one that very likely had lethal results for the last clown to try it. And yet, as Lee comes in on the recoil, he doesn't ride all the way. Breaking away mere feet from the woman, he lets go... and lunges in of his own accord. Slight changes in timing, slight changes in rhythm. Hurtling in with a forward kick, he attempts to slam it head on, right into her chest. And whatever room for feints come... doesn't. At least not in the pure form. No, with the same momentum that Baiken had given him, he just steps to her right, hurling out a casual backfist as he rotates. With a burst of speed, he snaps out a kick to fire Baiken in the air... and then, if successful there, catch her mid air with his legs. And there, he would pivot hard, swing her not down to the stone floor, but across the arena, across the rose thorns that covered the floor.
Was he attempting a ring out, the little sneak?
COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Lee Chaolan's Mercury Drive.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/=======|=======\=======\1 Baiken
Baiken has to really yank on the chain to bring the weapon in along with Lee. She does it, putting her back into it. If he wants to come to get himself beaten up so much, let him; it's no problem for /her/ to cut him up a little more. If anything, the sudden surge in her strength might put him a little off balance when he inevitably releases the chain -
There!
Baiken holds the sword crossways, across her chest; fortunately the flat is what's being presented, because when Lee's foot slams into it, he doesn't have that foot all cut up by the blade. Instead she struggles to hold him off, pitting her strength against his momentum, and she's enough smaller that she almost loses that contest anyhow; she slides back, shifting her foot and shuffling to shove roses out of the way. "Do you think this is me losing focus? You're better than I assumed, but I've fought more skilled. Kanda was more talented than you."
She ducks the backfist, pops back up and takes a step under her own power to get out of the way of the kick. Her arm is strained from holding him off with her blade alone; she felt that impact, whether she's going to admit it her not. With something that looks almost like a shrug, the bladed weapon vanishes the rest of the way up her sleeve, and Baiken stands there as if preparing for something. She takes a single step to the side.
And then, with a hooking sweep of her foot, she kicks the half of the table she sheared off up into the air. Then with a twist, another kick; Baiken is close enough that there's no room for the table to be /launched/ at Lee. She simply uses her foot to propel the tabletop into him, a much bigger impact zone than her actual foot but put with all her force behind it, to batter him off-balance and keep him away from her for another few moments.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan dodges Baiken's Large Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Lee Chaolan 0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\1 Baiken
At least it was a defensive response.
That is the only silver lining as Lee hurls out his full-fledged assault into the pink haired kensei. As the final kick comes, she only ends up staggering in, dipping in low on the silver-haired martial artist. He was taller, yes, but she was strong and disciplined. It was a miracle she didn't use the sharp of the blade; he could feel that the full strength of the weapon was coming in all too soon... if not another hidden weapon. As she hooks in the table though, Lee can't help but squeal.
"Oh, you ~do~ care!"
He exclaims so brightly, as the table comes in. Lee swiftly steps up on top of the chair, running along it as it is swept in, a smile on his face. Instead of coming off-balanced, he was keeping well balanced. Staying close to the woman was dangerous, especially as it was obvious she was setting up something. He could slip away, or he could stay put. As the last of the table passes under his feet, he leaps up.
And right into an aerial roundhouse kick.
It comes fast, it comes hooking. Leg crooked slightly, it is the only evidence of what was coming. As Lee slams the leg around, it is almost subtle on how, if the leg made contact right on Baiken's neck, it would hardly smash her neck. He would just release, and instead of crushing her to the ground with the kick... he would just swing. He would just go to swing around her neck by the leg, whipping around once, before finally wrenching her down to the ground. She could try to break free. But if anything looked like it was coming out, Lee would seal the deal after wrenching her down by bounding off.
And finishing the assault with a stomp right into the base of her neck.
COMBATSYS: Baiken interrupts Scatter Kick from Lee Chaolan with Garyou Tensei.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Lee Chaolan 1/------=/=======|>>>>---\-------\0 Baiken
Honestly, Lee's plan was a good one. Baiken is certainly not in a position to defend herself well after that attack; she will be in a moment, but at the moment, she doesn't look like she is. So a roundhouse kick seems like a solid plan, except for one thing:
Baiken's goal isn't to defend herself. She's still attacking, a slightly feral expression on her face - it doesn't quite deserve being called a grin. "SCATTER!"
Baiken's feet patter against the stone arena as she runs - not away from Lee but towards him. She drives into the kick instead of away from it, and the angle is such that it's hard for him to swing around on her neck; the impact is enough to stagger her, smashing the shoulder of her already injured arm with an impact that Baiken feels as a dull sensation, dimmed more by adrenaline than durability.
But she hasn't stopped. The arena dims as Baiken leaps, passing past Lee. There is no visible attack as she passes, landing behind him in a crouching position that she does not immediately rise from. Her side hurts; for all that she claimed Lee was no challenger before, he's giving her a very good match. Her neck, her arms (well, her arm and her shoulder), her head - all painfully battered, all bruised. She does not have a very pretty face at the moment.
Baiken remains crouching, breathing hard. Her sword is in its sheath, now - when did she put it in there? Sometime in her jump, perhaps, when she was moving improbably fast. Sweat beaded on her brow, Baiken maintains her position, mouthing just a word or two, so quiet even Lee can't make out what she says.
And /then/ the wound appears, a bloody spray from Lee's side, put there sometime in Baiken's incredible rush.
When Lee sees that grimace, he accepts what is to come.
He had been anticipating it, ever since he saw that cut. He had only hoped to come ahead of it. And yet, as he hooks that leg around her shoulder, he shuts his eyes. Lee Chaolan lands on his feet, as Baiken leaps past her. He takes in a deep breath, a relaxed breath. "Excellent~" He sighs.
And the spray of blood erupts from his side.
The crimson spills out, as Lee falls to his knees. He clutches his side, struggling, bleeding. He takes in steady, desperate gasps. He holds there, as the blood continues to pour out. For a moment, it looked like that finally, after all this, he had met his end in the way he dreaded: being cut down by that foul blade.
And then the silver energy flows in.
"KKKKKKYAAAAH!" Was the kiai shout as Lee Chaolan explodes from his stand still, leaping around in a half circle straight for Baiken's back. Blood spills around him, spreading across the stone floor, as silver energy flows across his leg. Ripping the leg around, the Silver Haired Demon simply attempts to smash his leg straight at the shoulder again, the shoulder that had done so much deflection. He would not allow any grazing now; he would smash through this arm, breaking it if he had to.
Before she had another chance to cut him down.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan successfully hit Baiken with Silver Cyclone.
-+- CALCULATED HIT -+-
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Lee Chaolan 0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1 Baiken
Baiken only rises after the blood sprays from Lee. Moving that quickly, exerting herself like that - it wasn't easy, and though she looked like she was taking it easy, what she was /really/ doing is recovering from the incredible technique.
It's not fast enough - not quite.
Lee comes in like a battering ram, silver energy flowing down his leg to his foot, imbuing it with a mighty energy that Baiken can't do a whole lot about. It catches her turning, partially open - but this time she's not blind, at least. She sees it coming.
Baiken prepares to defend herself. She brings up her single arm to deflect - but this time Lee plows through it, as she expected another flurry, not a single mighty blow. The impact of his foot against her shoulder and then up toward her head causes a crunching sound, and if Baiken was more expressive she would have yelled, either in pain or fury. As is she grits her teeth, fighting through the sudden wash of pain and dizziness, clamping down hard.
She doesn't think she has much left in her. She's pushed herself too hard too fast, but like hell is she going to /admit/ she's hurt. She snarls, snapping the sword along in a horizontal slash from her left to her right. "TEN!" she yells, as she steps forward, into the blow.
She does it again, pressing the attack as nausea runs through her body from where he's smashed against the stump of her arm, cracking /something/ in the shoulder. "CHI!" she bellows, reversing the blade and giving an even broader sweep, right to left, before raising the sword overhead.
Baiken brings it down in a single colossal blow, like the one that hit the table but worse. "JIN!" she roars, slashing downward and holding the position picture-perfect, her blade low. She manages to stay there for about two seconds before wavering, starting to slump downward even if she's trying to stop herself from doing so.
COMBATSYS: Baiken can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Lee Chaolan 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan fully avoids Baiken's Tsurane Sanzu Watashi.
[ \\\\\\\\ <
Lee Chaolan 0/-------/----===|
if she had cut any deeper, Lee might have struck even crueler.
As it was, though, he was only bleeding out. But as the kick comes, he could hear the crunch. He had broken the bone. Shock would take over where will endured. She would fall. And yet, as she screams out, Lee's smirk intensifies. She wasn't going without a fight. Landing on the ground, he does not turn his back on her. He risks it all by falling in awkward footwork, just to keep his eye on the woman. The horizontal cut comes.
And he hops into the air.
The blade cuts so clean, so smooth. Three is hardly a sound is it slashes underneath his feet. And yet, as he falls back down, he lets himself collapse as the backswing comes. Falling flat back, he lets the blade pass over him in the brutal swipe, that smirk on his face as he keeps focused. There was a third blow. And there was only one place it would go: Down. As the horse-killing coup de grace comes, straight down, Lee Chaolan had to wait with precise timing, as before. Too early, and she would adjust. Too soon.... well, he would be as that table. The blade comes slicing down, as Lee waits to see if his gamble pays off.
His timing is correct.
Rolling to the side, the blade neatly comes to a rest behind his back. A fourth blow would have finished him. He could sense that. He does not get up immediately, holding in place as the blade holds beside him. There is a moment of silence. He was bleeding. He had not stopped bleeding. For a moment, it looked as if the fight had stopped dead, neither able to risk moving.
And ever slowly, Baiken slumps to the side.
Lee Chaolan takes his time to rise, still bleeding from the evisceration that was unleashed into his body. But as Baiken begins to fall, Lee Chaolan begins to rise in tandem. He was already upon her, towering over her as she begins to descent. Gripping his side, he speaks so sweetly to his opponent. "Incredible, Baiken. Simply Incredible. Your form is flawless, and quite buxom in fact. But alas, I can see now that my feelings truly are one sided." Lee Chaolan releases his side, blood soaking his hand, as the medical teams begin to scramble. Shrugging, he shakes his head. "I suppose will have to move on, then. I cannot live a life with unrequited love. So you can consider this..." He begins, raising up his leg high, before slamming it straight down towards Baiken's sword shoulder... again.
"Me getting over you~"
Baiken has slumped to her knees when Lee comes over to her. She isn't (quite) all the way down but she's working on it - and for a moment it looks like she's going to get up on sheer fury; she forces herself to get one foot under her, starts to push herself off the ground -
- And then Lee slams his foot into her shoulder again. This knocks Baiken entirely down; she swings the sword wildly as she does, and though she actually gets close to hitting him with it, it is a trivial act to get out of the way. As hurt as she is, she's telegraphing all over the place.
"Damn you," she groans. This time, though Baiken tries to rise, she doesn't even manage to get halfway to her knees.
"Ha ha!"
The laughter pours out from Lee Chaolan as he feel A round of grumbles and boos, however, at Lee's own last minute stomping, is ignored by the executive. He had won. And yet, she was still rising? "You still want more?" He asks, as he lifts his leg up once again. But Lee's kick is cut short as he suddenly loses his footing. Grabbing his side, the blood was still... coming.
He hadn't stopped bleeding.
Swiftly, he comes back to his feet, as he reaches out. Mr. Tubbles is there, keeping him steady. As the medical team comes on to the arena, to pull away both Baiken and Lee, the Silver-Haired Demon just smirks. "I hope to face you again soon, my dear Baiken." He states lightly, as the belt is shoved into his hand. Holding a hand on Mr. Tubble's shoulder, he uses the other to hold the belt high. Gingerly, he lifts the Mr. Tubbles hand up into a firm thumbs up.
"Excellent~"
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan has ended the fight here.
Log created on 17:15:55 01/16/2015 by Baiken, and last modified on 15:24:28 01/18/2015.