Description: Baiken and Lee Chaolan have their long-awaited rematch for the belt. (OOC note: some gore at the end)
This was one of the greatest matches in the world.
The World Champion match was only a few days previous, leaving Howard Rust the world champ. Even earlier, though, there was the neatest, highest tier in the world in play now: The World Masters. Expert Swordswoman Baiken fought and defeated the former World Warrior Ryu for the chance at earning the World Master Belt. No matter what she did, going forward, she was going to be one of the greatest fighters in the world, a paragon to challenge. But what was her last obstacle? What was the only thing standing between her, and being the World Master?
"OOOOOH!~"
"EXCELLENT!~"
That was the sound of what was considered the current World Master, going down a waterslide feet first. The location was of Lee's choosing. And what did he choose? Zack Island, a subsidiary of Violet Systems. The Island was technically owned by Zack... and co-owned by Lee Chaolan, the defending world master. There were countless places for him to choose on the island; even after a Volcano God rose from the depths, and a hurricane swept through it, it was still... technically together? Lee Chaolan spared no expense to make sure ONE PLACE would be rebuilt for the sake of a major tournament match, where he would be facing down one of the most powerful fighters in the world.
There is a splash as he landed in the pool.
A half a dozen women, garbed in bikinis are flocking to the edge of the pool, armed with towels. These supermodels were being paid for their modeling services with one of the richest fighters in the world, and when they weren't entertaining Lee, they would be entertaining the professional belt staff; a team of cameramen, headed by a team of -three- judges to observe the match. Another dozen supermodels were lounging around the pool in long chairs, sunbathing and relaxing. This was the audience that was expected. The battle to decide the fate of masters... would be poolside.
But where was the challenger now?
Baiken remembers her last match against Lee.
She lost. It was humiliating, and not because of her loss. The way he acted, the way he treated the battle - the way he treated /her/. He refused to take it seriously, and yet he'd managed to pull out a victory anyway. She hated that. And now she would get her revenge. Maybe. If she managed it.
Honestly, the honour of being one of the best fighters in the world was less important to her than victory. She wanted to test herself. She's getting it - but she needs opponents who take it as seriously as she does. Ryu... he understood. He had the heart of a warrior. Lee... she didn't feel the same way about Lee.
So where is Baiken now? That's a good question. And one with an answer.
Baiken arrives. She is on time because she refuses to give Lee any reason to claim dissatisfaction. He apparently missed her arrival, because she wasn't there when he went down the waterslide but was there when he got to the bottom. Maybe she was waiting for him to be out of sight for her to step out.
She is dressed exactly the same as usual. Baiken makes no allowance for a poolside battle. The only thing she did was make sure the shoes (well, sandals really) she was wearing were decent on wet ground. She stands a few steps away from the pool. The impression is given that if she could, she'd cross her arms. Having only one arm, it's out of her sleeve, which hangs slack, but visible through the front gap in her shirt. It is holding a kiseru, which is lit. She was apparently smoking before she arrived in total defiance of a NO SMOKING sign near the pool.
"Are you quite done?" she asks, tapping out the pipe into a shot glass. It was empty before she did that, having already been drunk.
Lee barely could remember if he won or lost at this point.
Lee Chaolan pulls himself up on the edge of the pool, rising to a stand as the countless women dabs his moist body with their towels. The handsome man's body was on full displayed, the muscled abs, chest, and limbs smooth and toned. The man was garbed in a single speedo, textured a mother of pearl pattern of blue, violet, and turquoise. Lee carefully moves a bang of silver hair before his eyes, not even looking at Baiken.
"Oh! Of course!"
As the last of the moisture is dabbed off, he breaks through the mass of women, approaching the one woman who he was excited to face. Dressed in only his swimsuit, he stops right before Baiken, taking a moment to stretch his arms. "It is so wonderful that you have made it, Baiken! I do not wish to embarass you..." Lee drops down to the concrete ground, and starts a few one armed pushups. "But I was rooting for you the entire time! Ryu is handsome in his own way, of course, but compared to you?" He rises back up, and flashes Baiken a thumbs ups.
"Does Not Compare!"
"After all, and forgive me for not telling you, dear." He turns, and gestures to the 'crowd.' In the audience, several of the models suddenly move over to their bags, and break out... flags. Flags, and foam fingers, each holding the word 'BAKIEN' on them. "That this is the first official meeting of the official World Baiken Fanclub! I am the chairman, oh, I am sorry, chairperson!" A trio of three young japanese models, in fact, arrive from the changing room, dressed in the same clothing as Baiken, though obviously much better fitting. They even have an eyepatch, to try and emulate what was clearly not their idol. One of the supermodels, rushing across the poolside, suddenly falls to her knees before Lee Chaolan, and does... something with his swimsuit. She taps it one, as Lee gasps a bit. She pulls away, giggling as she runs off, as Lee shows exactly what was there.
The Official Chairperson of the World Baiken Fanclub Badge was pinned right on the front of the swimsuit.
"Since I was unable to convince the officials that would settle the World Master Belt with a butt battle in the center of the pool, we will be having an official match." Lee Chaolan takes on a much more serious tone now, as this was in fact the most serious moment in both of their lives. "The entire pool, including the poolside, is considered within bounds. So if you fall in accidentally, it won't be a disqualification... from my heart~" At the last words, the tone goes back to the same playful tones, as Lee Chaolan extends his elbow out, offering it to Baiken. "We will start right in front of the waterslide." He winks.
"Are You Ready?"
Baiken tucks her kiseru back in her robe while Lee Chaolan arranges himself, pulling himself out of the water and toweling off. Or being toweled off, more accurately, but close enough. She looks bored. She doesn't even bother to respond when Lee starts to talk, though she does mentally wish she had another drink when he declares that Ryu's handsomeness doesn't compare to her own appearance.
Of course, then things get a little weird.
Baiken's eye narrows as she goes from bored to mad. More than mad: furious. Incensed. Absolutely raging - but it doesn't show immediately as anything other than a fire in her eye as Lee announces the World Baiken Fanclub (with her name spelled wrong). A low growl forms in her throat as he continues. With the supermodels, and the... pinning...
Baiken's ears turn red even though her face does not. She is still trying to hide her total rage, but is starting to fail. If Lee wanted to get her off balance with anger, he's managed it. If he expected any other response, however, he's going to be intensely disappointed.
She snarls, her voice strangled in her throat. It takes her a second try to get herself under control, marching toward Lee Chaolan, hand resting on her sword hilt in more than a cursory manner. "Begin the match," she growls. "I don't have time for this nonsense." Her knuckles go white as she makes a fist, then releases it.
Oh yeah. She's mad. More than a little. She's just barely got herself under control enough to act the way she is.
The camera crew and judges take their places.
Lee Chaolan allows himself to be ignored. He just gives another wink to the crews this time. As he and the swordswoman moves into their position in front of the waterslide, it seems ready for the fight to begin. Lee Chaolan takes his defensive posture. The judges, convening, begin to raise their arms. In only moments, they would begin to fight. The judge calls out. "Ready? F-"
"WAAAAAAAAAIT!!!"
Lee Chaolan blurts out, putting a hand to his head. "Oh nooo! I forgot the most important thing! One minute, if you please!" The judges and camera crew let out a collective sigh. Lee Chaolan turns towards the 'audience.' "Since I am wearing the badge, we must lead in the World Baiken Fanclub Fan Tribute to the one and only Baiken! Time for the official World Baiken Fan song! Everyone, assume the World Baiken Fanclub salute!" Lee Chaolan hides one of his arms behind his back, while he uses the other one to bring a hand over his eye. The rest of the audience follows. "Ready? One! Two! Three!" And then, he and the audience begins to sing.
"./' Baiken is a samurai, from our imaginations! ./'
./' And when she's tall ./'
./' She's what we call a samurai sensation! ./'
./' Baiken's friends are big and small ./'
./' They come from lots of places ./'
./' After school they meet to play ./'
./' And sing with happy faces ./'
./' Baiken shows us lots of things ./'
./' Like how to Baru ./'
./' And how to Tate Shunmaku! ./'
./' Baiken comes to play with us ./'
./' Whenever we may need her ./'
./' Baiken can be your friend too ./'
./' If you just make-believe her! ./'"
Lee Chaolan releases his hidden arm and eye, and begins to clap. "Oh! Excellent! Excellent!" He sing-songs, as she looks back over to Baiken. With a wink, he gives her a thumbs up. "Excellent~" He continues. The judge, suddenly, drops his hand. "READY! FIGHT!" Lee Chaolan looks surprised for a second.
"Oh, but I wasn't done ye-"
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan has started a fight here.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|
"Do not wait," Baiken interrupts, a mere second after Lee demands that they do so. She's still angry. She wants to get this fight started, because then she can /make/ him take it seriously. Or at least more seriously than he is right now.
Of course, he has to keep going. It's his special stage, after all; that was part of the match. If he wants to do something before the match, he gets it. But what he does...
Baiken was already incensed. All this does is make it worse. Her eye narrows and her grip on her sword becomes dangerously tight as the chant starts. The red is starting to spread across her face, her jaw is clenched, and the tendons in her neck stand out as she holds herself back. She did not come here to be mocked like this!
She manages to hold herself steady until the sound of the bell that starts the match. Then Baiken is in motion; she's drawing her sword smoothly as she charges forward, swinging an almost wild slash horizontally in the same motion she draws. But for all that it looks wild, it's controlled enough to show her skill. Even caught in a total rage, Baiken is one of the best swordswomen in the world - and she knows it.
"Shut /up/!" she roars, letting her frustration out with a second slash. "Stand and /fight/ instead of running your mouth! I am not here to amuse you by song and dance!"
COMBATSYS: Baiken has joined the fight here.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Baiken
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan dodges Baiken's Suzuran.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Baiken
and she explodes.
As Baiken erupts at the sound of the match starting, Lee Chaolan looks surprised. But it would be apparently that the look was a deception, by how his body reacts. The horizontal slash is met by a rapid backstep, the blade coming just short of grazing Lee Chaolan's naked abdomen. The motions was not just instinctive, but prepared: Lee Chaolan knew exactly what he was doing to draw out Baiken's anger. The second slash comes at a much more legitimate surprise; Lee Chaolan focuses as he weaves hard again, this time stepping more at the side to let the slash go in. "Oh no Baiken!" Lee Chaolan coos. "You have it backwards!"
"We are here to amuse you by song and dance!"
Before that sword can recover (and the space was -extremely- small for that) the martial artist goes for the exploit. "Be careful not to fall into the water my sweet~" Lee Chaolan whispers as he surges to Baiken's flanks. The warning was a telegraph, and a painfully obvious one. Lee was now trying to grab Baiken from the sides, and neatly climb up to grip her face and shoulders. And if he gets momentum? He would attempt to tackle her straight to the concrete... just short of the edge of the pool.
More of the head games.
COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Lee Chaolan's Lee Stunner.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Baiken
Baiken does not deign to respond. She doesn't trust herself to speak.
Baiken really is skilled. She recovers quickly from her apparently wild rush and slash - faster than Lee Chaolan might be expecting, and judging by the movement she performs, it seems like she might have been expecting him to lash back very quickly.
She sees the telegraphed move, of course, but she doesn't try to avoid it precisely. She brings her arm up and around, pushing at Lee with the back of her hand and fist to break the hold. She goes back a step, but no more, and he goes back a step, but no more. She does not end up in the pool. She also doesn't end up on her back, though she's still been impacted hard enough to feel it a little.
Baiken slams her sword back in its scabbard. She's apparently going to take this fight without it, at least for the moment. Pushing forward, she tries to move away from the pool, leaping over Lee. As she leaps, a giant hook drops out of her empty sleeve on a rope, angled to drop over Lee's arm and get tangled around it when she pulls it.
Baiken lands, pulling viciously on the rope with her single arm. This is designed to have Lee stumbling toward her, where she introduces him to her fist, aimed in a strong uppercut to send him up, away - and landing onto a lounge chair, which is likely to collapse under his weight.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan blocks Baiken's Armed Combo.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Baiken
All according to plan.
Baiken takes the bait, and is already leaning in hard to the attack. She makes the block, but that's fine. Lee Chaolan was in a perfect position to be rebuffed. As she pushes back, Lee Chaolan pulls off, landing on both feet. That wasn't a problem. What was a problem? Baiken responding with the giant hook. Lee Chaolan DOES get tangled up in it. "Oh my!~" He blurts out. "I don't think I am ready for 50 Shades of Violet!" He explains, as he brings his other hand forward to catch the uppercut. And he does! Unfortunately... all he managed to do is NOT get too badly messed up. The martial artist is sent hurtling away, landing roughly on a pool chair. It DOES collapse under its weight. But Lee? He just reclines on the remains of it seductively, kicking his legs back and forth as he rests on his belly.
"So, Baiken, are you still going commando under there?"
The words come with the light teasing air of an old friend. Lee Chaolan is not an old friend of Baiken. As he perks right back up, Lee Chaolan finds himself at a dangerous approach. Baiken is far away. So is Lee. So what does the Martial Artist do, facing down a deadly swordsman ready to lash out at any moment?
He charges.
Picking up speed, Lee Chaolan was rushing forward, closing the distance. It was a desperate charge, likely building momentum for SOMETHING. And... he doesn't jump? Lee seems to be doing a playful tackle instead of a real attack. He was wide open to any counter attack, ANY counter attack. It is only when Lee Chaolan is actually inside the 'sword zone' does he finally make his true attack apparent... by leaping into the air, and EXPLODING with a jumping kick. All with a scream. "BAI-KEN!" Was the cry as he erupts into that aerial kick right for Baiken's chest.
To knock BOTH of them into the pool.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan successfully hits Baiken with Silver Slash.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
Baiken will never answer that question. She's brave, not stupid.
Baiken expects a charge, though the fact that he'll have to detach himself from the chair that's collapsed under him and then dodge other beachside (well, poolside) obstacles should slow it down, she figures, unless he jumps. She sways backwards when he does charge.
Apparently Baiken misjudged his approach, though. The final leap is expected, but not the precise angle of the kick. It hits Baiken solidly in the chest, picking her up and throwing her backwards. The only blessing is that he comes along for the ride.
Baiken manages to prevent herself from going into the pool. She has to cheat to do it; she uses the hook, still partially extended, and catches it around a pool table that is a little heavier than the average. She uses it to yank herself, slamming right at the edge of the pool rather than going inside. It's probably more painful than going in, honestly. She probably should have just rolled with it.
Getting back to her feet, Baiken unhooks the hook, gathering it back up her sleeve. She turns, facing Lee, murder in her eye, as she catches her breath from the bad landing. She takes a position near the table and a more or less intact lounge chair, perhaps intending to use one (or both) for offense or defense when he inevitably comes for her again.
COMBATSYS: Baiken focuses on her next action.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
Lee Chaolan lands into the water with a splash.
The kick is body breaking. But Baiken? She managed to evade the most important place: The pool. In fact, the moment when LEE hits the water, suddenly several inflatable animals are tossed in by the supermodels. Lee treads water, as a large rubber orca lands beside him with a slap. "Oh! Excellent! But too soon girls! We will have pool time adventures with our number one icon soon though!" Lee Chaolan looks at the swordswoman from the water, and sidestrokes back to the edge. He grabs the edge.
And flips right over.
Landing on both feet, he comes back upright, clapping his hands. Still soaked, he drips water as he strides straight for Baiken. "Baiken, dear, you were supposed to land in the pool!" He explains. He pauses a moment; he notices the table and chair. He sidesteps, circling to the left... and then, circling to the right. "Hm. Baiken, I am starting to feel that you don't like me~" He muses, watching carefully. A step to the left. A step to the right. "Baiken, I am your biggest fan. So how about this."
And he falls back on his foot.
Legs apart, he combs his fingers through his hair once, before leaning back further. One hand back, he brings the other towards Baiken. Beckoning her. He wiggles his two fingers in a come-hither gesture, as Lee Chaolan fully embraces the Hitman stance. He cocks his head, winking at Baiken.
"Come on~"
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan gathers his will.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\0 Baiken
"I'm not here to play with you."
Baiken's voice is flat, tight with anger that she's not letting out. She's past the first rush of fury and has settled in to kind of a constant low burn - something she's used to, something she can handle. "I'm not here for /fun/ and /games/," Baiken growls.
"I am here to challenge you. In battle, not in sport, and certainly not in this /nonsense/. You don't deserve any sort of championship." She looks up at the supermodels, momentarily - the ones dressed like her. "Go away," she says, her voice showing the pure scorn she feels for them. "You're not me. Be glad. If you knew me, you'd know why you wouldn't want to be."
Focusing on Lee again, she watches the come-hither gesture. Baiken shifts her stance to a more forward one, looking like she's going to charge - but she does not. Instead she flings from her 'empty' sleeve a tool Lee might be familiar with: the boxlike 'hand' with four curved metal 'fingers', flung past him for her to try to drag him closer with. It's her most common tool, and one that he's had to deal with before, though not today.
Her expression is different. It's not the mindless fury anymore. Now, it's determined.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan auto-guards Baiken's Kabari.
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Lee Chaolan 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Baiken
Determination might be what he's hoping for.
Baiken's speech doesn't get a reaction from Lee Chaolan. His own focus was fixed on her, determination against determination. He waits, motioning her, beckoning. The audience was... not feeling the love now. Even the japanese pop idols dressed as Baiken were... uncomfortable when Baiken calls them out. There is a pregnant silence, as Baiken makes her move. The weapon is hurled out, the fingers lashed out to grip the martial artist. There is a twitch.
And Lee Chaolan moves.
The weapon is deftly caught with both of Lee's hands. Stepping forward, he pivots, hurling the weapon straight down into the concrete. Digging it deep in, the rips out of his Hitman stance, taking to the air. Silver energy cascades over his form as he takes to the sky, firing forward with crack-neck speeds. Turning his whole body around, he arcs into a flying, roundhouse kick. There was an opening. The only defense was a sword. The martial artist was unleashing the full force of his martial ability, straight for... the ground before Baiken. He lands fast and early, dipping low, impossibly low to the ground into a sweeping heel kick.
To trip Baiken perfectly.
COMBATSYS: Baiken fails to interrupt Hitman from Lee Chaolan with Sakura.
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Lee Chaolan 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\==-----\1 Baiken
Slamming Baiken's claw into the ground doesn't work as well as Lee might be hoping, but it works well enough to temporarily delay her. While he fails to dig it especially deep into the concrete, he does get it deep enough that the hooked 'fingers' scrape along as Baiken tries to free it, causing a horrific nails-on-chalkboard scraping, squealing sound and, when she finally does get it out, a spray of sparks from metal on stone.
It delays her long enough that she knows that pulling Lee in is useless, so she doesn't. She drags the artificial hand across the ground, scraping, as she twists her body. She sees him coming in for a kick of some sort, and she's ready for it -
- but Lee comes in lower, far lower than Baiken as expected. Her sudden stab passes over Lee, pink twinkling along the edge of the blade and flicking off in a haze of little sparks of chi. She realizes she's too high and tries to angle down lower, but he's already passing, and she's overbalanced.
The heel kick catches Baiken along the legs. She's already off-balance from her lunge, and this only cements it. She tumbles, rolling forward and to the side, gathering her chain and artificial hand as she goes. She starts to push herself up, but by that point Lee may have the opportunity he's looking for!
She had done it.
Lee's successful hit comes in low, the unpredictable approaches of the martial artist using speed and skill to compensate for power and endurance. Lee knew all too well that, in his mostly exposed form, even a glancing blow would leave him bleeding out in the pool. He also knew that Baiken was WAITING or the chance to eviserate him. As the kick sends Baiken to the ground, however, the martial artist suddenly sees...
The opening.
Lee Chaolan recovers much faster than his opponent, dangerously quick. A look of cruelity passes over his face, as the fanclub seems... uncertain to cheer or boo right now. Lee Chaolan scoffs a bit, a smug look on his face as he positions himself behind Baiken. "Oh, I thought you didn't want to play~" He mocks, as he dips down low, to grab Baiken's arm. She might remember the very same attack last time, the last time they fought. He was reaching down to wrench back Baiken's arm, her ONLY arm, behind her back...
And begin the humilation.
COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Lee Chaolan's Lee Harassment.
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Lee Chaolan 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Baiken
Lee Chaolan wrenches the arm back, smiling. "Hmph! I expected more! Maybe I should reconsider being your number one fan..." The martial artist scoffs, before he draws back his leg. Aiming it squarely behind Baiken's head, he readies to drive it hard into the sword master's neck...
Baiken is used to people thinking that she's vulnerable because she only has one arm. By now most serious fighters know that she's as dangerous with one as most are with two (and probably more dangerous than she would be with two, as she never learned to fight before she had her false arm).
But there are some points of vulnerability that really do exist, despite her best attempts. It's easier to immobilize all her hands, for instance, because she only has one.
Lee manages to wrench Baiken's arm behind her back before she gets up and stomp. He gets one solid blow in, preventing her from rising for a moment as he smashes her right back down to the ground. This dazes her for a moment, but she begins to move on sheer instinct and stubbornness, preventing a second smash by forcing herself to her feet, snarling. Maybe the rage is back.
As she rises, she turns. Whirls, really; at the speed she's moving, the empty sleeve of her robe flares out. And coming out of it appears to be a fan of knives on a pole. They poke out before fanning to their maximum size, giving Baiken more reach and width to rake with.
This is not playing. This is deadly serious.
COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Lee Chaolan with Random Strike.
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Lee Chaolan 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\====---\1 Baiken
She broke free.
The first stomp comes, for sure. But there was supposed to be more. Instead, Lee Chaolan just made her mad again. As the rage surges, Lee Chaolan releases the woman, backing off. "Hahah! Looks like you have that spunk!" He calls out brightly, smiling as she whirls around. But what comes out almost passingly was that raking fan. The knives are sent whipping around to Lee, and he almost half-mindedly goes to deflect it, backing up as he does so. In that regard, he succeeds... in the sense that he gets his hands torn open, AND his torso.
"GAH!"
Blood oozes from his arm and body, as fresh cuts dig deep into his skin. Lee Chaolan looked legitimately surprised. "Why you wretched woman!" He blurts out, as the silver energy flows over him again. Eyes wide, he dips low, holding his wounded body. And suddenly, swiftly, the silver energy rushes over him as he EXPLODES forward, a kiai shout erupting from him as he hurls out an explosive aerial roundhouse kick, attempting to smash his limb HARD into Baiken's face. To drive her down into the ground.
And drive her closer and cloesr to the edge of the pool.
COMBATSYS: Baiken endures Lee Chaolan's Silver Cyclone.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Baiken
Baiken lets out a sudden and rather fierce grin. It doesn't seem like the kind you have for fun - more like the kind when you're satisfied with something you've just done and running on high emotions anyway. "You can't beat me."
Baiken's knife-pole (what is that thing even called?) pulls back up the sleeve as she waits for Lee. She knows he wasn't expecting her to actually hit a solid blow. Surprise is one of her greatest weapons - that and the constant underestimation he seems to be doing. She'll /make/ him take this seriously if she has to bleed him out to do it.
Lee explodes into action, and Baiken... moves with it. She can't raise her off hand to catch the blow because she doesn't /have/ an off hand, so she uses her sword hand to do it. It's already holding the blade in fact, so she catches the foot on a fist. This doesn't do anything to absorb the force of the blow because of the angle, the relative size, and the way she's 'blocking'.
In fact, she spins with the impact, making a full circle. And because she has the blade out, she puts the whole momentum, imparted by Lee's kick, into her first slash. "TEN!" she roars, whipping the blade into a slash in the opposite direction as soon as she's regained her feet, following it up with a "CHI!"
After the pair of horizontal slashes, she winds up for a single massive vertical blow. Against a board - or a lesser martial artist - someone might guess that she's trying to bisect them literally in half with a single vertical stroke! Against Lee, well... it'll hurt. "JIN!"
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan auto-guards Baiken's Tsurane Sanzu Watashi.
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Lee Chaolan 0/-------/<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\-------\1 Baiken
That was the same mistake as last time.
Lee Chaolan, for all his pompous, flighty ways, was taking this very seriously. The kick comes, and Lee was expecting a lot of things. Baiken manages to avoid all the potential options, by simply tanking the full forced kick. As that grin comes, Lee Chaolan turns up his nose. He saw that blade coming as she 'blocks,' hurling herself in for the counter-attack. But in the most dangerously place, still bleeding, he responds to Baiken's comment.
"I already have."
That was the response from Lee Chaolan as the first sweep of the blade comes. He is falling to the ground as he brings his arm around. He cannot block the blade directly, you could not stop steel. Instead, he deflects, shoving the blade just barely aside, just barely missing his vital organs. The followup cut comes tearing in in a full counter-circle, as Lee Chaolan is on the ground. The same deflection is needed, the martial artist pushing against the blade as it comes. He rolls on the ground, and then, upright as the blade rises, sharing its momentum just barely. The final coup de grace comes, and Lee is upright. It comes too fast, it comes too strong. He throws his hands forward, trying to deflect it, trying to do ANYTHING but not die horribly. The sound of metal cutting something comes out, as all the models look away.
There is silence for a moment.
Lee Chaolan is standing beside the blade, his hands red. Not with fresh blood. But from terror. Lee Chaolan's hand was out and forward. The side of his naked body was raw. The blade had... grazed him on the flat edge. He only just barely defended the attack. Even more miraculously, the true damage was seen: the martial artist's swimsuit was held on by only the faintest bit of fabric, the blade cutting so close as to nearly rip it off. Lee Chaolan's express was stunned. He had only barely evaded it last time he faced this coup de grace combo. This time was even closer. Lee Chaolan's expression suddenly softens. He casts a teasing glance to his opponent.
"You've been practicing, haven't you?"
Lee Chaolan erupts in a sudden kick straight towards Baiken's stomach. It probably will trigger a reflex, a response. But what it won't do is actually hit hard. Lee Chaolan will plant that foot in Baiken's stomach relatively harmlessly. It wasn't a kick. It was a footplant. Should he land the first hit, he will use it to step up, and try to hook his leg right around Baiken's neck...
And slam her and himself straight to the ground, closer and closer to the pool.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan successfully hits Baiken with Mist Trap.
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Lee Chaolan 1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>---\1 Baiken
It is the same mistake, but one Baiken is vulnerable to. Lee looks - feels - like he barely cares. It's hard to tell when he suddenly does, beyond the occasional expression on his face, and she can't trust those.
Baiken trained herself to fight monsters. She doesn't know how to fight Lee quite so well.
At first Baiken doesn't believe it. She can't believe that Lee managed to deflect - not once, not twice, but three times. He's not only concious, he's fine - maybe not mentally, but physically no worse off than he was moments ago. She got so close that she carved into a Speedo. He /should/ be worried.
Wrenching the blade back into place, she adopts an offensive pose when he approaches. It almost doesn't look offensive, though; she's returned her sword to its sheath and is hovering her hand just over it, her body tensed forward.
"Prove it."
Lee's footplant catches Baiken a little higher than her stomach. She starts to move then, the hooked leg wrapping itself around her throat. She feels her head wrenching, but she's already moving at that point. She couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to.
In fact, she's moving faster than the eye can follow. Lee fails his followup only because Baiken is literally blurring out of his grasp, twisting her head as she moves. She runs so fast she appears to teleport, rushing forward with a single super-speed slash aimed solidly at his torso. The maneuver normally has words. This time, she doesn't use them. She's putting every bit of her breath, every bit of her power, into that single deadly strike.
She reappears, sheathing her sword. But she's misjudged her position - Baiken has literally run right to the edge of the pool. Her head hurts from where Lee twisted her neck, wrenched it painfully.
And, perhaps, she's gone just a step further than she meant to.
*SPLASH*
COMBATSYS: Baiken can no longer fight.
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Lee Chaolan 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Lee Chaolan with #Garyou Tensei#.
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Lee Chaolan 1/----===/=======|
That was because Lee was not a monster.
He was many thing. Billionare. Playboy. Businessman. Martial Artist. Mishima. But he wasn't a monster. He was still shaken by the near-escape from -death- as he righteously considered. He was physically fine, but mentally? Mentally was what mattered. She demands that he prove it.
He does.
The Mist Trap is spung, and Lee Chaolan catches her in the follow-up hook kick. She was done for. He knew it. He believed it. The problem was, Baiken was NEVER finished. The closer she was to her end, the more frightening she fought. She was used to fighting MONSTERS. And now, Lee was pushing her to her literal mortal limits. Before he can even recover from his attack, she was counter-attacking. It was fast an eye. Fast as a blink. He didn't even notice what was happening as he landed. He sees that Baiken falls face-first into the pool in a clumsy stumble. The martial artist suddenly laughs, as gasps and screams fill the audience. "What is wrong?" He states, turning towards the cameramen, the judges, and finally, the supermodels. One of the 'fangirl Baiken's suddenly pulls away, discreetly vomitting on the concrete. Lee Chaolan just shakes his head. What was the matter?
And then he feels something pulling inside him.
Slowly, Lee Chaolan looks down at his torso, at his abdomen. Below him, his intestines dangle from the clean, disembowling strike. His jaw locks, as the organs slip further down. He very, very slowly moves his hands to the organs. And very, very slowly, he sits down. Baiken was still in the pool. And Lee? Lee Chaolan did not unlock his jaw. He was smiling. And the pulling sensation was getting work. He didn't hurt. She cut so cleanly, he wasn't even in pain. The medical staff on hand, a team of lightly dressed nurses are on the move. Lee Chaolan looks to the judges, who are wide-eyed terrified. He sees that they are... upset. As one of the nurses uses a net to try and fish Baiken out of the water, Lee Chaolan nods.
He flashes a thumbs up at the judges.
"Excellent!~" He states, as the organs suddenly droop significantly lower.
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan takes no action.
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Lee Chaolan 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Lee Chaolan has ended the fight here.
Log created on 13:38:44 01/16/2016 by Baiken, and last modified on 11:19:17 01/17/2016.