Match of the Millennium

Description: Japan really does have the best culture in the world. And with it, some of the best representatives of fellow culture can really find a way of network, to come together and love Japan the best way to love Japan: In a group setting, at an old Noh Theater. Baiken will be facing off against two contenders in representing Japan's might in the world stage: Masaaki, a legitimate businessman and fresh face in the fighting world. And working with him is the toolman Rust Jr, whose glorious hair hides a deceptively ninja-like technique. Who will be the best Japanese person? Well, it's not Honoka. Probably. It's Mai I think but she's somewhere else.

[BAIKEN]
Who the heck watches Noh plays anymore?

Baiken may be Japanese, and she's sort of cultured in a few ways (not really), but they have no attraction for her. She hasn't been to a theater like this in ages... probably almost as long as this one has been abandoned, by the looks of it.

The ancient building has a popularity tonight it hasn't had in most of a century as the centerpiece for a SNF battle. There are still not many people here, though a few madmen who just /have/ to see their fights in person have found their way to it, as has the camera crew. There is also Baiken.

Baiken is currently sitting on an intact rail around the ancient stage. She has an archaic kiseru - a long-handled smoking pipe - in her left hand - she doesn't have a right - and is currently gazing out across the stage to the ancient weapons and shrine some distance away. She is paying exactly no attention whatsoever to the SNF crew, some of which have tried to get her attention and been completely ignored. She knows they're there. But they're not who she's waiting for.

She's been there far longer than she needed to. Baiken didn't just get there early, she got there so early that nobody saw her arrive. This is not the first time she has filled the pipe, which is trailing a faint stream of smoke as she watches nothing in particular.

[RUST]
"Yep! You oughtta try it. Brought a new kinda jam buster with me today! I, uh, have yet to patent it, sooo, yep." Speaks a man who hails from Canada in small talk with a crew member. He is a man without any hint of Japanese ancestry, who seems about as ill a fit as anyone here outside of the supposed ninjitsu undertrimmings of his fighting style. "I call it a jam bunker buster! It's--"
It's a stupid subject, let's move on. He has also done up his black (or really dark purple?) hair up in a stereotypical geisha bun. It's weird. It's maybe even kind of insulting? Outside of the toolbelt wrapped around his waist full of tools and a length of pipe shoved through a torn toolbelt pocket, he's otherwise dressed much like a stagehand - all black, sans hood.
He has a good bit of laughter, one hand rubbing at the back of his head, as he idly ambles onto the hallowed stage of which he is not a properly trained actor of any stripe regarding the long-standing Noh traditions. (Though, it is said that the presence of Howard Rust, Jr., is evidence of the real world being one endless kyogen-style play... or maybe, just maybe, there is some kind of flippant deity just waiting to reveal themselves in the second act as part of some greater scheme to educate or praise a power that is.)
...For the time being, we're going to go with 'walking perpetual insurance company headache.' Where Baiken is a quiet creature exercising patience for their future prey, one of her opponents seems utterly oblivious and easy-going for their surroundings as he loiters about the stage.

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki just so happens to be just another one who could care less about Noh plays in this day and age. Doesn't change the fact that he appreciates the uniqueness of an ancient and abandoned Kabuki theater as arena despite his lack of respect for what it used to be.

Not that the 'legitimate businessman', whose entire appearance consisting of a pristine white suit and a sheathed katana he carries over his shoulder both allready betray what he really is, bothers to look at his surroundings any longer than he needs to as he enters and heads straight to the stage to stand there idly and stare at what obviously is going to be his opponent.

Of course, the entire SNF crew and the few idiots who decided to watch the coming battle firsthand are also getting fully ignored by him as well. He is here for a fight and the whole SNF matter its organised around is for him just a convenient way to find one.

[BAIKEN]
The still figure of Baiken finally moves.

Spinning the kiseru in her fingers until it's upside down, Baiken presses the bowl into the side of her sandal, grinding it into her protected ankle. She swings her foot off her leg afterward, sliding off the railing and rising to her full height. That's not a lot; she's surprisingly short, though her hair probably adds an inch or two all by itself. She makes up for her lack of physical presence by sheer presence - the way she stands, the way she carries herself.

Baiken slides the now-extinguished kiseru into her open robe, somewhere behind the broad obi-like sash she wears. If it's still hot, it doesn't seem to bother her, and she's not worried about a burn. Not from her own pipe, at least.

"I thought they'd send me someone who might be a match for me," she says, speaking for the first time in hours. "Instead I get two of you." Baiken isn't /precisely/ dismissing the pair, but she doesn't seem particularly impressed either. Then again, not a lot impresses her anymore - she's more likely to get angry, and right now she doesn't seem to be.

Baiken steps away from the railing, rolling her neck as she approaches the middle of the stage. "Fine," she says. It's not like she's going to back out of the SNF now... all else being equal, Baiken needs the money if she wants to continue her hunt, and if she's being honest, she also needs the fight. It's been too long since she's been in one. If the two of them can work together...

Shifting her stance, Baiken puts her left side - the side with the hand - forward. Her eyepatch glitters in what light there is, obscuring her ruined eye from view behind a gleam of white as she raises her hand, holding it before her, palm out and fingers slightly curled. "Come at me, then. Unless you're afraid of what I might do to you," she finishes, with a curl upward of her lips that isn't really all that amused.

COMBATSYS: Baiken has started a fight here on the right meter side.

                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                  |=------\-------\0           Baiken

COMBATSYS: Rust has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rust             0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Baiken

COMBATSYS: Masaaki has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Baiken
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/-------|

[RUST]
"Afraid of what you might do, eh?" Asks the foreigner among them. Baiken's intense gaze and threatening body language should be cause for alarm for even her peers - of which there are few. Then you have this oafish, overweight idiot who seems to almost too casually brush off a fair warning about her prowess. She could tell looking at him that, one for one, he is not a match. Overweight. Silly, wasted movement on a strange stance. "Ahh, it'll be okay, don't worry about it, see--"
His left hand goes for the pipe sticking out of the toolbelt. He finds it uncooperative for anything resembling a functional weapon draw.
Noh Theatre is deeply steeped in tradition, with strict rehearsals in adhering to the performances outlined in scripts. People move this way, the music goes that way.
The way that four appropriately-dressed musicians sitting behind the three fighters play their instruments - a taiko drum, a hip-level drump, a shoulder-level drum, and a flute - will prove just as impressive as anything anyone here could put out. How they maintain such dignity and stride when they are sitting so close to this crazy strange man whose movements prove difficult to predict is stellar!
Especially when they have to give a dramatic musical accompaniment to 'idiot man cannot draw weapon without bouncing around on one leg in circles while stammering reassurances he's ready to go.'
He bounces perilously close to Baiken's striking range, at which point he switches which foot he's balancing on... risking stomping the outer foot of her stance.
Probably an accident?
/This/ is the kind of nonsense Masaaki is going to have to put up with in a partner.

[MASAAKI]
"Damn, I was about to say how I wouldn't even mind a loss since anything that doesn't maim or kill me makes me stronger, but now? Give me a break." Thats about all the Yakuza has to say after seeing Rust start to bumble about and make a less than stellar first and second impression all in a row. Not that he can complain too much as he is more or less a brute when it comes to fighting, but at least he actually looks at first glance like someone who knows what he is doing.

Still, he doesn't bother to loose too much time complaining as he himself charges towards Baiken and starts off with a simple kick from the side to her torso with no finesse whatsover.

COMBATSYS: Baiken just-defends Rust's Light Kick!

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Baiken
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Masaaki's Medium Kick.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0           Baiken
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/-------|

[BAIKEN]
Baiken /does/ have an ego. She knows she's good. At least some of her tournament entries are to find people who can keep up with her without having to challenge everybody in the world. Plus, you have to admit, Rust does not look at /all/ like a fighter, even though she is vaguely aware of what he can do.

That, and she didn't feel like calling them cowards for not being able to hit a maimed woman - something that happens rarely and makes her furious every time it does. The 'businessman', at least, probably wouldn't hesitate to do that, unless she misses her guess.

"Heh."

Baiken says nothing else for a few moments as the opposing team (well, 'team') goes after her. Rust is closer, and Baiken deals with him first; she tilts her body with a smooth twist, and rather than stepping on her toes or crushing her foot, he finds his knee caught by Baiken's scabbard, likely leaving him off-balance for a second or two.

She takes advantage of that by stomping down herself, freeing his leg as she turns back. Her foot doesn't touch Rust, but the vertical explosion of bright pink chi that erupts out just in front of her might! Baiken turns the step into a crouch and sways to the side as Masaaki's foot reaches her, close enough to ruffle through her expansive hair but, sadly, not quite striking home against Baiken's head or shoulders.

Baiken rises. She hasn't yet drawn her sword, which means her hand is free; she makes a 'come-on' gesture with it, inclining two fingers toward herself in a motion as common as dirt.

COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Rust with Tetsuzansen.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0           Baiken
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[RUST]
Up comes the geyser of bright pink chi to liven up the joint, painting the old building in its soft lights as the dimmer-dressed (and dimmer-minded, by even the dimmest of visibilities) man is launched a great distance into the air - and maybe some distance off? Nobody quite sees where he goes, over the next few seconds. Just that there's a big 'crash,' a shaking stage, and a muffled 'ow.'
Oh, there he is, just coming down to bounce against the old stage on his back a ways behind the thuggish brawler.
"Be right with at," he murmurs as he tries to draw the length of pipe at his toolbelt. Here we go again. More struggling. More incompetence. More silliness, as he turns his back towards Baiken for a moment. That's just asking for a killing blow, in any other circumstance.
"Almost got~~" With one final, great tug, he produces...
A fan, swishing it outward and all but threatening to backhand Baiken from the side of her face with the damaged eye.

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki himself meanwhile does something that is likely a good idea the moment Rust finished being knocked around the place and started attacking again. Namely dashing away from Baiken in the exactly opposite direction of where she is.

Not that he is actually running away as he simply gets himself some space as he pulls a throwing knife out of his suit and with the same motion sends it flying towards Baiken to hit her wherever it may hit if it does.

COMBATSYS: Baiken parries Rust's Small Random Weapon!

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Baiken
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Masaaki's Blade Fang.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Baiken
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[BAIKEN]
Baiken cannot see out of her bad eye. That's a given; the scar that crosses it keeps it closed behind the eyepatch, and though the eyepatch is glass (or something like it) it's not exactly perfectly see-through. There's something under it that makes it sit more comfortably and stably on Baiken's face.

But despite that, she manages to catch Rust's incoming p - fan. She expected a pipe or a wrench, but either way it wasn't going to be sharp; she half-strikes, half-slaps it aside before it hits her, hard enough that she feels a faint stinging in her hand but not hard enough to break either the fan or her skin.

Baiken pushes past Rust in that movement as Masaaki threatens to get away from her. The knife flies in as Baiken shifts, passing cleanly into the sleeve on her missing arm - and hitting something. Metal, by the sounds of it, as Baiken reaches forward with the arm that isn't there, somehow -

A weighted mass flies from the sleeve, proven not to be empty at all. The spiked weight cracks open, turning into a four-pointed claw even as it flies through the air; Baiken has aimed it at Masaaki's sword arm, trying to grab him with the mechanical claw, clamp, and drag him closer to her! She grins, a wild expression. "Come here and show me what you can do with that sword!"

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Baiken's Kabari EX.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0           Baiken
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[MASAAKI]
"The katana is only for special occassions. I prefer to rely on my own strength."

The blade in question is quickly pulled out of its sheath by Masaaki and used in additition to raising his arms in a defensive position to block the claw. Doesn't prevent him from sustaining his first cuts and bruises of the fight though in addition to being dragged along at least slightly. Could be a lot worse though as his immideate reaction to that is to simply dash the last bit of the way himself and leap only to transition into a dropkick right out of wrestling intent on hitting Baiken in the head.

[RUST]
The fan is slapped aside. The aging man's holding arm flails as it rolls stylishly across the forearm of the so-called handyman ninja as it climbs his head, whirls about the hairdo, goes back down the other arm, and flies off to half-embed itself in the floor just next to the knee of one of the musicians.
The musician does not flinch. Those are some nerves.
Rust Jr. pivots and spins in place to get out of the way of potential crossfire (or maybe just trip over his own feet, both explanations are plausible) as Baiken enthusiastically moves to pull the thug in.
Then, the length of pipe is drawn effortlessly out the toolbelt pocket with only the loud slide of its material versus the old fabric. Was the struggle all for show?
While Masaaki holds to keeping the use of a sword being for heavy or appropriate circumstances, there is a buffoon waving around a length of pipe as though it has the right to be considered anywhere on par with a blade as he flops onto the ground and swings outward in a wide arc towards the ankles.

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Rust's Foundation Layer.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Baiken
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Baiken just-defends Masaaki's Dropkick!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Baiken
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[BAIKEN]
If Baiken cared about musicians, she would be impressed by the guts these have to play here.

Baiken doesn't manage to pull Masaaki very close before the claw slips off. It might be uncomfortable but it beats the alternative of being pulled all the way over to her under her control. The claw flies back alone, and Baiken catches it by the chain, sliding it back up her sleeve with a shrug of the shoulder and a faint metallic clinking.

"Suit yourself," is Baiken's short response. Short, because no matter what she says it is always time to pay serious attention when you have two fighters coming at you. Masaaki may not be willing to draw his sword, but the opposite is not true; as he comes in for a kick, Baiken's blade flicks up in a streak of silver. She can't find a way to get past his strike, but she does manage to deflect the dropkick itself, catching the boot on the flat of her blade. It's a well-made sword; it does not break.

Then Baiken finds herself under attack, low. She twists at the hip in such a way that the scabbard drops low, and Rust's pipe hits the hard wood of her scabbard instead of her ankles; unfortunately this means that the scabbard bashes into the side of her leg, but it's better than having her ankle cracked by the attack. Reflexively, Baiken stomps, a downward strike at the near-prone Rust; she doesn't use her blade, though it's in her hand, but getting stomped on by Baiken isn't all fun and games anyway.

COMBATSYS: Rust avoids Baiken's Random Strike.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Baiken
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[MASAAKI]
"Not everyone requires a blade to fight. Admittedly, its usefull though."

Masaaki catches himself from dropping fully to the ground as his dropkick is deflected by a sword of all things, landing on a knee and sliding a bit over the ground before quickly getting back up and charging back towards Baiken to once again try to kick her in the side of her torso or head. He is going to hit her with something today, even if its the last thing he does.

[RUST]
At the tail end of Rust Jr.'s little low swing, he puts on an especially dumb look on his face as he curls two fingers and a thumb inward, raising the other two in a pair - a hand seal.
He yanks his outstretched arm back, twisting the wrist to slam the butt of it at an angle against the floorboard underneath both Baiken and himself - angled as such as if to damage and pry one end's latches off as Baiken's very stomp stands to weaken the other half.
The net effect is that as Baiken stomps her leg down, a weakened floorboard underneath her threatens to pop up from under the force of her stomp and slap her in the face in a prospective moment of creative slapstick.
From Masaaki's end, reservation and dignity for the severity of what a blade represents.
From Rust Jr.'s end, pure tomfoolery and antics.
Can Baiken stand against the forces of comedy and drama attacking in tandem?

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Baiken with Random Weapon.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1           Baiken
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Baiken fails to interrupt Light Kick from Masaaki with Youzansen.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1           Baiken
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

[BAIKEN]
Baiken's stomp goes awry thanks to Rust messing with the floor. (Really? You're not hired to do construction here!)

The board smacks into Baiken - not quite in the face like he'd hoped, but it draws a muffled curse from her as it slams into her upper body, forcing her to take a staggering step backwards and not try to stomp on Rust again. Slapstick or not, it was effective enough to interrupt her.

Baiken resheathes her blade with a click as it slides home, leaving her with a free hand once again. She grabs the still halfway-vertical board in front of her and pulls on it, using it to swing her body around in an arc. Her empty sleeve is once again not empty; there's a flicker of steel as something else starts to slip out of the sleeve, and the intention is that Baiken uses her newfound momentum to circle around and strike at Masaaki with it.

The jarring kick from Masaaki is enough to knock the concealed weapon she was going to use - a viciously curved blade - out of line. It whistles past him after he drives his foot into Baiken's side, jostling her; she lets go of the board and turns, facing the pair. Her hand opens and closes before she raises it back up, in her original defensive pose. Good, she thinks.

[MASAAKI]
Seeing the curved blade fly past him through the theatre Masaaki is finaly convinced to take more drastic measures.

To be precise it convinced him to slowly approach Baiken with a slow walk for a few steps as he keeps one hand on the sheath off his katana and the other one hanging down the side of the body or at least until he approached half-way before he abruptly hunches over, charges her and draws the katana in an Iaijutsu strike followed by several additional swings as he clearly is intend to start cutting away at her as well.

[RUST]
The middle-aged moron stands back up with the distance provided between himself, Masaaki, and Baiken as he starts taking baby steps towards looking like he might actually know what he's doing?
His free hand maintains the seal as he stands upright. It seems more a surface understanding of some of the aesthetics that popularly follow the ninja archetype, but...
He whirls around once. When he faces Baiken again, he's wearing an ornate wooden mask of the finest Japanese cypress, a depiction of the divine.
Except the mask is upside-down. Oops.
One of the musicians go pale. That mask he has... nothing good comes from having something like that in Rust Jr.'s hands, ever.
"So, uh, I don't know which story we're doing here in, sorry. Is it Little Red Riding Hood?" No. "If it's okay, we'll do Little Red Riding Hood."
He removes the divine mask, as he speaks to a specific and intricate rhythm that is sort of correct?
"Little girl in red!"
"Journey through the wooded path.
"To her grandmother--"
He flips around, change of mask. It's... not a mask so much as a picnic basket on his face, as he mills forward in intricate skip-dance-flailing as he closes in towards Baiken while just barely missing being cut down by a rushing blade from the thug. He can't see where he's going.
If he gets so much as a foot on her, there'll be a series of apologies as he scrambles to climb atop her and kick off.

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Masaaki's Blade Rush.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\==-----\1           Baiken
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Baiken interrupts Step Ladder from Rust with Sakura.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1           Baiken
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/-----==/=======|

[BAIKEN]
The curved blade is still sticking out of Baiken's sleeve - or, at least, it is until she sets it back in place with whatever mechanism she's hiding built in there. It doesn't fly across the stage; Baiken prefers to keep her ability to break things under control (until she pulls out the gun, anyway).

She surely doesn't have a gun in there, though. Right?

Masaaki gets close enough that Baiken is once again worried about losing hair or fabric to the blows. He's faster than she thought at first, Baiken notes; she can keep ahead of him, or at least has managed to do so right now, but she has decades of training and experience with a sword. He has talent, at least, she'll give him that.

And she might have said so if Rust wasn't so... Rust. At first Baiken is incredulous - then, angry. "Are you taking this seriously? This is hardly a game!" Baiken actually lets Rust approach her, fumbling, until she draws her sword and thrusts all in the same motion. Pink chi gathers on the blade as it moves, streaming along the blade and bursting from the far end - which, by that point, may be jabbed into Rust. She can keep him mostly away from her with it, though not entirely; the flailing catches her across the arm and shoulders several times, possibly by mistake or possibly not.

"If you treat it like one, you'll end up dead," she snarls, twisting the blade before pulling it back. No flourish, except to flick any blood that might be on it away, almost artistically.

[RUST]
*SHING!*
A body hits the ground, as the picnic basket not-a-mask-by-intention flies off into parts irrelevant. If he's bleeding from being likely sliced through like a stuck pig, it's hard to tell because of the dark color of his dress.
The incident loosens the more intricate mask from his vaguely defined grasp. One of the musicians - the one with the shoulder drum - breaks formation to catch it and clutch it, gasping as though he were inches away from a heart attack. How /did/ Rust get his hands on that?! Such a thing is much too precious to be sacrificed for this farce of a representation of the honored Noh traditions...!
There's... laughter? Some coughing. The laughter appears strained from either nervousness or maybe bleeding to death?
"Ahhh, sorry," he says, standing back up. Okay, maybe not bleeding to death yet, "y'know, sometimes you just gotta enjoy life all in." So simple, naive, and idiotic... Baiken's words do ring true - this is a man that seems like he ought to have been dead by sheer stupidity a few times over, and yet, here he is, laughing it up and having a good time of having been probably run through.
Does he not comprehend the depths of loss and horror that can and do surround the lives of others? What could he have gone through - or not gone through - to have turned out this way?
Sucking in breath, he takes the pipe in hand, he takes towards Baiken again in a low jog. He can run lower to the ground, which can be expected of someone of his supposed training, sure.
Then he leaps up into the air, flying through it face-down as he raises his left elbow up into the air. The pipe is flat and horizontal, parallel to the ground, with virtually no swing strength behind it whatsoever.
It looks odd.
It looks impractical.
Masaaki is someone with talent and potential.
For Jr., leaping at Baiken with that very, very strange leaping attack... who even knows with that guy, any more?

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki might have been overdoing it by now as he continues to miss and every single one of his attacks proves that he keeps showing that he overextens himself more and more. Made even worse by the fact that the antics of a certain someone are meanwhile slowly but surely having an effect on his mental health as they are desintegrating his last nerve and shreds of patience. A sentiment likely shared by Baiken, apparently.

Still, with the katana back where it belongs the Yakuza briefly looks around before he runs past Baiken at some distant, grabs a bow on the way and quickly changes direction to run back towards Baiken... gripping the bow with both hands at the lower and swinging it in her direction. Yes, he is actually using one of the old bows as an improvised staff.

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Rust's Random Strike.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\=====--\1           Baiken
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Masaaki's Light Random Weapon.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\=====--\1           Baiken
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/-----==/=======|

[BAIKEN]
Rust's antics are /definitely/ wearing on Baiken. She has exactly the wrong attitude and demeanor to be charmed by something like that. It makes her want to hit him, mostly - which, fortunately, is something that is entirely acceptable for her to do, unlike Masaaki, since they're nominally on the same team and all.

She glowers at Rust, her expression tight - she's trying to control it and not doing a very good job. The two of them try a combined attack - possibly not intentionally, but Masaaki is coming at her with a long, slightly curved stick - a bow, but he's not using it as one, possibly because he didn't see any arrows (which is fair; neither did she) - at about the same time Rust is taking to the air.

Baiken whips the claw arm out of her sleeve again, and throws it - but not at either of her opponents. It clamps onto the railing of the stage, and this time gets a firm grip; Baiken yanks, but rather than pulling the railing out, she gives a little hop at the same time and pulls /herself/, with a wordless kiai.

Baiken flies across the stage, pulled by her chain claw. She leaves Masaaki behind, though he's a problem she's going to have to deal with soon - but Rust has annoyed her enough that he is her momentary target. His descending blow impacts her as she makes her grapple jump, but at a bad angle, and it doesn't hit very hard at all; she'll have a bruise on her shoulder, but she's maneuvered in such a way that it's hardly a solid blow.

That might not be true going the other way, though - for Baiken pulled her sword out as she leaped, and used all her momentum to add power and speed to her crushing slash. Hit or miss, the angular momentum from her slash spins her around, so she lands facing the pair, lone eye flicking from Rust to Masaaki as if judging for her next target.

COMBATSYS: Rust blocks Baiken's Metsudo Kushoudou.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/--=====/=======|

[RUST]
Baiken's sentiment is probably shared by the greater universe.
Vexingly, he twirls in the air as he points his right hand down towards that great, crushing blow as he runs his gloved fingers across the sharp blade that should cut his fingers right the hell off for the audacity. It's in the same hand seal as shown when he deftly avoided that stomp and turned it against her, earlier - some sign of premeditated thought in the chaos of thoughtlessness and other such weirdness.
There's an underlying smoothness to it. A soft redirection of force, as the blade goes through the fabric and lines against flesh. A thin line of crimson forms where the fingers pass, as Rust's body mass flies past Baiken towards her very back.
His mouth puckers tightly as he shakes out his right hand post-landing crouch. Baiken's chain claw-granted acrobatics ensures she has a fine distance from the older fellow whose years are far longer than they have any right to be.
Does he not appreciate the fact that he still has his fingers?! He really ought to.
"Owwh." He murmurs, sucking on the two fingers in question. This is probably enough time settling on the thin line of razor pain at the tips, as he brings a handful to the toolbelt.
"Yep. I get ya." Is he going to take it seriously, then? He flicks his wrist outward in a blur, tossing out three screwdrive--
Two screwdrivers and a standard fan. That's... serious, maybe? The pointy bits would hurt, sure, but what point is there to the fan?

[MASAAKI]
With his improvised staff hitting nothing but thin air for certain reasons known as 'ludicrous combat styles and more weird things up a certain someones sleeve than should even fit in there' Masaaki can do nothing but glare after Baiken while she attacks Rust... painfully.

Not being someone who is likely to stay out of anyones range for even a moment he runs after her quickly and gets back to swinging, still with the same bow being used as improvised staff which in all honesty is one of the least strage things he ever used to improvise. And if he had found arrows? He would've used them for stabbing.

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Baiken with Tools For The Job.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/--=====/=======|

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Masaaki's Random Weapon.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/--=====/=======|

[BAIKEN]
Baiken still has her sword in hand. Her instinct is to deflect what Rust throws at her, but unfortunately there's more than one of them, which makes it complicated - and she can't exactly see what he's tossing until it's already midair. She settles for hitting the one that looks different, perhaps assuming it's his secret weapon.

Of course, that turns out to be a fan, and Baiken slashes it out of the air - too late to switch her target to one of the other weapons that can actually hurt her. The pair of screwdrivers hit her; one impacts handle-first and bounces off her forehead with an audible crack, while the other catches her with the point, leaving a rather oddly-shaped wound behind.

Baiken snarls, immediately going on the offense. Masaaki may have been annoyed with what's up her sleeve, but Baiken doesn't seem inclined to stop using it; seeing as he just rushed her, and Rust is far away, she takes out her anger against him. Catching the club on her forearm (she ignores the ache, as it's not heavy enough to break her arm), Baiken reaches out with -

Is that a cable? Flexible sheet metal? It's really hard to tell.

It's certainly... something. Baiken loops it around Masaaki - or tries, anyhow; once she thinks she has enough around him to control his movement, she snaps it like a whip, attempting to send him flying violently across the stage. If she gets /very/ lucky she might hit Rust with him. (She won't.)

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Baiken's Strong Throw.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\1           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/--=====/=======|

[MASAAKI]
And sent flying across the stage he is, but the Yakuza managed to both tense up enough to lessen the impact of the attack itself and to get his feet on the ground quickly to stop his movement as he instead slides over the floor for a bit. Still, the attack with the metal 'whatever the hell that is' did hurt a lot, but not enough to cause Masaaki particularly much distress just yet.

In fact, the moment his slide across the ground comes to a halt he catapults himself back into a sprint towards Baiken before suddenly hunching over and sending a fist strike directly towards her gut. If he hits at all that is.

One thing is obvious though, he is VERY stubborn.

[RUST]
The good news is, the distance between them will narrow as that oafish fool starts coming in while Masaaki has to deal with the latest trick up Baiken's sleeve (literally). He's coming in low, he's coming in quick, and thanks to Masaaki being at higher elevation, he might even manage to slip underneath Baiken's honed eye--
--or he would, if he didn't just step on the same floorboard he messed with earlier, catching a foot on the far end and seeing himself trip none-too-gracefully across the theater floor, past a flute player who either lacks the capacity for fear or the animation frame count to react to this near-miss, as he looks to trip and tumble and bowl into Baiken in a way that is distinctly un-ninja like, arms flailing in a failed attempt to halt his momentum.
On one side, a Tiger.
From the other... something else.

COMBATSYS: Baiken parries Masaaki's Tiger Drop EX!

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/--=====/=======|

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Rust's Armed Combo.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1           Baiken
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/-======/=======|

[BAIKEN]
Stubbornness is a virtue to Baiken. It's what keeps her going - what has done so for literally decades, a combination of stubbornness and a desire for revenge. She won't stop until she achieves her goals - no matter what.

And by that standard Masaaki is doing very well. Baiken can respect the attitude, or at least she could if Rust wasn't permanently infuriating her by his sheer... Rust-ness. She holds off the fist strike with a snap of that strange arm cable, as a length that long takes a while to retract; it's a whip-like crack that she uses to deflect rather than strike as the last of the cable slithers back up her sleeve.

But then there's Rust.

Rust literally rolls into Baiken's lower legs. She stumbles, staggering over him and possibly leaving herself open for an instant, but she recovers surprisingly quickly, planting one foot on the ground after she hops over Rust, raising her other high enough that the wrappings under her lower robes, around her upper legs, are just barely visible.

"TATAMI GAESHI!"

A plank of greenish energy appears as Baiken brings her foot down upon it, like another board from the stage - if the board was green, square, and - when flipped up - caused a flash of chi from underneath. Baiken is trying to literally launch Rust with it, clearing the area from one of her opponents at least - Masaaki is still dangerously close.

COMBATSYS: Rust fails to reflect Tatami Gaeshi EX from Baiken with Exacting Measurement EX.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1           Baiken
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/=======/=======|

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki meanwhile just stares at Rust and Baiken continuing to do their best to murder each other since his most recent attack is parried by the metal-sheet thing which actually manages to break the bow he was using in half. After all, despite how badly he is getting maimed... the annoyance in person that is Rust is still achieving more in the battle than he does.

Might as well catch his breath in the meantime then.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki gains composure.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|=======\====---\1           Baiken
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/=======/=======|

[RUST]
Rust Jr. catches himself with his free hand, recovering at about the same time Baiken does as she prepares her next assault to deal with this jester of a warrior - the call, the green light that follows...
Meekly(?), the pipe thrusts into it the same time it raises... and the chi tatami mat, unexpectedly, is freed of Baiken's feet as it comes to the air over Rust Jr. with the implicit threat that it's going to smother him instead of the intended launch.
He pokes at it with the pipe to try and keep it juggled airborne. It's ridiculous.
"Whup! Whoa. Hoo! Ha! Hee!" This goes on for a little while, the tatami manifestation being juggled fruitlessly (but entertainingly!) as he teeters and totters about.
"Ahh, gotta resolve this one right there," he says as he kneels down to give himself more wind-up space and time. The pipe rests against his right forearm, one eye shutting closed as his tongue sticks out up from under his mouth, aaaand--
He stabs it with keen precision. Without fail, without deviation, he shoves that pipe dead center into the 'mass' of the manifestation that holds it together for as long as it's been juggled.
The pipe merely stabs through this point and does nothing to deter the rest of its mass as it flattens him against the stage.
"Ow." He'll probably need a few moments even after the tatami mat-shaped chi at last dissipates, having won this little silly exchange. That's... not quite how it usually works, but it works?

[BAIKEN]
Baiken can tell Rust is doing a trick. Whether he's doing it on purpose or not, she can't say, but the chi platform doesn't move as she intended it to, not quite; he's holding it up and she's not entirely sure how. She forces it down, indeed trying to stomp on him - and is rewarded in her perseverance when it does indeed get down to Rust, albeit with a pipe stuck through it unti it vanishes.

Now it's time to deal with Masaaki. There's just one question: where /did/ he go?

Baiken spots Masaaki after he's backed off. Catching his breath, hmm? Baiken doesn't really want to let him; she's starting to breathe a little harder from her exertion, and having one of her opponents come in after a bit of freshening up is annoying at best.

Baiken breaks away from Rust by making a massive leap. She doesn't actually use her claw arm to boost, this time; she just leaps over him, hitting the far side and bounding again. She lands just in front of Masaaki, and without giving him much of a chance to react goes straight into a thrust kick; she brings her foot up to the point that it's nearly even with her hips and stomps forward, almost as if she was trying to drive it through him. So if you ever wanted to know how you might get footprints on your stomach when fighting Baiken, this is how.

COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Masaaki with Strong Kick.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-<<<<<<|=======\======-\1           Baiken
[                      \\\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/=======/=======|

[RUST]
The other two are given blessed silence to work with, as Rust Jr. works through crush syndrome. Chi manifestation or not, the air got rushed out of his lungs.
One of the officials consider maybe considering him out, and pulling him away. Any excuse to stop him from doing anything stupid and destructive--
"N-Nope! I'm fine." Uh, nobody asked him? Anyway, he gets back up in the wake of Baiken's massive leap forward, her attempt to drive a resolute kick right through the thug's gut.
He leaps up into the air again, flicking a nail.
...
This seems terribly mundane, by Rust Jr. standards. Surely this isn't a set-up to something even more unbelievably stupid.

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki actually could've reacted to the sudden appearance of Baiken in front of him and the attack. He simply choose not to as he just takes the kick, sliding a few inches backwards while some bone somewhere likely just cracked before charging back at her with a fist extending quickly as he is clearly intending to pay her back for the kick.

Besides, Masaaki is a man who has full control over his adrenaline. And the kick and ensuing pain just now? Just what was needed to get him excited enough to start fighting harder.

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Masaaki's Crushing Blow.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|=======\======-\1           Baiken
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Rust             1/=======/=======|

COMBATSYS: Rust successfully hits Baiken with Quick Fix.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\1           Baiken
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Rust             2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[BAIKEN]
Baiken uses the stomping kick to make a little hop back. That alone wouldn't be enough to save her from Masaaki's fist, except she also leans back so far that it looks like she's trying to limbo; Masaaki's fist grazes Baiken's stomach, but lacks the reach to get any further.

Baiken is not great at the limbo.

She straightens, still shifting backwards, eye focused intently on Masaaki as if she expected him to follow up again. (Which she does - she would, after all.) He's earned the grudging respect that Baiken gives to real fighters - one that needs practice, perhaps, or determination, but he's going to get that as long as he keeps up his battling.

Baiken is just shifting for an attack as a nail hits her in the shoulder; she'd been hoping Rust would stay down a little longer. If it can be called a shoulder, anyway, since it's on her armless side. Regardless of what you call it, it hits /something/ at least, and flesh rather than metal judging by the reaction from Baiken. Nettled, Baiken spins to face Rush, tensing her entire body...Baiken runs so fast forward that she literally blurs. It's hard for the human eye to keep up with her as a smear of colour rockets across the stage toward Rust - past Rust, in fact. It resolves into Baiken some instants later, just beyond Rust, with her blade two thirds of the way back in her scabbard. She slides it the rest of the way home with a faint 'click'.

Only then, after an instant where nothing seems to happen, do any injuries appear; Baiken slashed just once as she passed by moving that quickly, but it was a powerful blow, and Rust may find himself more deeply cut than he expected.

COMBATSYS: Rust manages a miraculous escape from Baiken's Tate Shunmaku!

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Baiken
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Rust             2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[RUST]
In an instant, Baiken can look this man in the eye when she moves in for the kill. His eyes widen, as though somehow instinctively /knowing/ what's about to come. Her angle is correct. She moves too fast. There is no possible meaningful defense. An errant twitch sees him raise an arm, exposing the ribcage for that one blow.
*SHIIIIIING*
Blood splatters on the wall.
The splattering continues. It starts covering all sorts of other surfaces. You know, expensive silk clothes of the musicians, the priceless masks that were brought here. Over cameras. Everything.
...That's a lot of blood.
It spurts out from Rust Jr.'s side. He must have a lot of blood. He seems far too nonchalant about it. Maybe he's so shocked by imminent death that his body simply cannot register the pain?!
"Oh no." He says, that annoying cheer coming to a downturn, bringing his hand to his side.
"My jam bunker buster."
...
Baiken's honed kill technique got stopped by a doughnut?!
Not-blood splatters everywhere.
"Ummm, hey, uh," Rust Jr. starts to laugh, "okay, funny thing, yep. I, uh, invented a new kind of doughnut. Like a jam buster. But, through science, I put in... a... a lot of filling."
How much?
"Enough tha-- WHOA" He ducks as the sliced-open doughnut escapes the gap in Rust's outfit, and now it pings everywhere. It's a god damned /pastry/. How the hell does it stay together under such pressure?!
The musicians get up and run. The camera crew takes cover. This entire Noh Theater's dignity will not be brought down by age and dereliction.
It is now forever marred in tasty filled donut guts, as it makes one final explosive drive towards Baiken.
...
It is just a pastry, though.

[MASAAKI]
Of all the things that could bother the Yakuza the most right now, for example the fact that he missed Baiken once again, the one that bothers him is the jam flying around everywhere which he quickly dodges. After all, his suit is white, expensive and therefore also expensive to clean in addition to the fact that he REALLY likes the suit. He would straight up murder someone for ruining it, or at least beat them half to death. So... good thing that he barely manages to not get his suit ruined or otherwise he would likely have dropped the fight on the spot just to kill Rust here and now.

In fact, the whole and quite literal mess confused him so much that he nearly forgot to actually attack Baiken, only remembering to do so as he sees the pastry fly in her direction only for him to charge her, intend on sending a few swift punches straight for her head followed by kick into her side. Intend being the word here, as allways.

COMBATSYS: Baiken dodges Rust's Weakened Small Thrown Object.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Masaaki          0/-------/-------|>>>>>>>\-------\0           Baiken
[                        \\\\\\  <
Rust             2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Masaaki successfully hits Baiken with Dragon Rush EX.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\-------\1           Baiken
[                        \\\\\\  <
Rust             2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[BAIKEN]
WHY, Baiken thinks.

She is far too proud to actually say it, but come on. WHY.

Unlike Masaaki, Baiken was pretty much at ground zero when her sword cut into it. She has jam on /her/ white robes, and there's not a damn thing she can do about it; she also has jam on her sword, jam in her scabbard (which she will now have to take apart and clean the inside of), jam in her hair... she is not happy.

"This is your weapon?" Baiken growls, wiping a splatter off her face. "This is what you think of the match? This is what you think of me? Jamming pastries in your pockets to protect yourself?" She backhands the flying donut harmlessly. Oh, she's furious now -

And not likely to be less furious when Masaaki comes in and lands a flurry of punches. The kick doesn't knock her over, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel it; it rocks her back as she growls, pressed to the point where she feels like she's going to explode in rage. Her temper has gotten better, lately... but she still doesn't have the patience to put up with this kind of bullshit.

Baiken decides: No matter what happens in this match, Rust is going to lose it. She doesn't care as much about Masaaki's defeat, but seeing as he's right there she goes after him anyway; once she gets past him she can take out Rust, she figures. Baiken's sword is back in her hand in a flash, and she darts forward, slashing in a whirling blow as she passes past Masaaki, the pink chi she sometimes uses dancing on the tip of the blade and leaving a narrow arc in the air. She's now between her two opponents, which is not a position that seems to bother her very much - after all, she put herself there, right?

COMBATSYS: Masaaki blocks Baiken's Rokkonsogi.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Masaaki          0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=------\1           Baiken
[                        \\\\\\  <
Rust             2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[RUST]
"Sorry!" Rust Jr. laughs, as the insurance companies are once again going to have a cow. /THIS/ is why they're struggling to find the magic bullet to get this guy to retire! "N-Nothing like it! That was gonna be lunch... for the next three days... lots of calories jam packed in it."
Who would ever want to put that much pressurized filling in their mouths? To say nothing about the possibility of having it blow a hole out the back of one's throat...!
Unfortunately, he is also covered in sticky blood-colored fruit flavoring of some stripe, enough that any sort of movement he has is hindered. He can't raise one of his elbows too far. If Baiken is resolved to take him out, not only will she be in a position to do so - the network will probably thank her profusely and 'accidentally' add another digit to her winnings.
He either has no idea how much pain he's about to be in... or he, somehow, is possessed of enough life experience that the anger of a fierce warrior woman with few equals and less superiors just doesn't register.
Oh my god. The mess. This entire incident might harm doughnut sales globally by at least 7 percent.
He waddle-limps back towards the fray, so covered in jam goo that he might as well be glued into near-immobility as he takes off towards Baiken in a forward leap that...
OK, he can still rotate his body, spinning the pipe like a rotating helicopter in an attempt to carry her up, and up, and up... and up...
And, at the apex, whether she's come with him or not, having to take the pipe in his off-hand because he can't move his dominant hand that much for effect, capping it off with a lunging strike towards the ground, intent to pin her between a pipe and a jam-strewn place.

[MASAAKI]
"This... is too ridicilous. I think I'll need a drink later. Or two. Or an entire bottle." Fortunately the Yakuzas complaints are cut short by a blade and some good old chi energy beind on ther way to impact with him which they do, but he actually manages to lessen the blow off just in time by once again having his battered arms take the brunt of the force by raising them in the way. Of course that just ruins his arms even more and contributes to the injuries that keep piling up at this point allread anyway and not to mention the constant danger of having his suit ruined which so far miracilously still seems to be fine. All that is more than enough incitement for him to decide to get some distance between himself and Baiken again.

Namely by putting some space between himself, Baiken, Rust and the whole mess by dashing away and throwing another one of his throwing knives at her. How many of those does he even have hidden in his suit?

COMBATSYS: Masaaki successfully hits Baiken with Blade Fang.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Masaaki          0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\===----\1           Baiken
[                        \\\\\\  <
Rust             0/-------/<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Baiken interrupts Concrete Jungle from Rust with Sakura.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\=====--\1           Baiken
[                                <
Rust             1/----<<</<<<<<<<|

[BAIKEN]
No matter how many of those knives Masaaki has, Baiken can roll with it. It's not like she isn't just as (over)prepared, given everything she can tuck into her sleeve.

She's probably going to have that drink afterwards, too, though honestly that was never in doubt. Baiken drinks a lot.

Baiken lets Rust's words wash over her without really paying attention to them, because honestly she can't see that he is going to say anything she cares about. She doesn't even /eat/ donuts. But seeing as Rust is coming toward her, she lets him; her battering is starting to slow her down no matter how tough she thinks she is, and she may as well let someone else handle the movement (even if they're even slower than she is).

As Rust tries to lift her off, Baiken braces, switching to a wide-legged, stable stance. Even more than that; she has her sword in hand, and so as he starts to rise she strikes. The stream of chi this time is more of a spray, little pink sparks drifting downward like petals - but the artistry of it does not detract from the raw power.

Unfortunately (for her), the increasing slowness and stiffness from her beating is starting to take a toll. Masaaki's knife slams into her hip, and though she pulls it out almost immediately, the bloom of blood suggests it's a solid hit. But if Rust is down, now's the time that she can focus on him instead...

[RUST]
Pink sparks flit through the UTTERLY RUINED Noh Theater, and in slow motion, the ridiculous geisha hairdo becomes undone, allowing his healthy head of hair to flow and flit about the open air.
Side by side, Baiken's and Rust's profiles pass one another. A teardrop flits from his fac--
wait no that's just more jam, ugh, stupid experimental stupid science doughnut
The moment is so ruined that the narrative ceases to care to add nuance or texture to the way Rust Jr. hits the floorboards. There's a crash, there's two legs sticking straight up, and a quartet of sad musicians realizing how much they'll need to pay for new silk clothes.
The fight's not yet over, but the spirit among the crew is less and less willing.
This contest is not about the spirit of the crew - it is all now between the veteran swordswoman and the up-and-coming Yakuza thug, to the climactic moment...!

COMBATSYS: Rust takes no action.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\=====--\1           Baiken

COMBATSYS: Rust can no longer fight.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/--<<<<<|=======\=====--\1           Baiken

[MASAAKI]
Masaaki is fully aware that with Rust being down he has no chance to win anything, but as he said... he doesn't mind losing as long as he doesn't die or gets permanently maimed. Although Rust has utterly put a damper on that mindset as Masaaki essentially is just powered by annoyance and pain in equal ammounts instead of his normal ethusiasm.

Its gotten to the point that he simply calmly watches Rust getting what was coming to him as the Yakuza himself instead takes the chance to catch his breath once again. He might not be able to win, but he can at least try to drag out the fight a little longer for the sake of etertainment... or simply because he is stubborn.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki gains composure.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Masaaki          0/-------/---====|=======\=====--\1           Baiken

[BAIKEN]
One, Baiken thinks to herself, with satisfaction. Because it was Rust. No jury would convict her.

(Well, of course not, it was a scheduled fight and she's not running over there to finish him off. Assault? What's that? He signed up!)

Baiken flicks more ... okay, that's probably jam... off the blade as she stares intently on Masaaki. Her single eye narrows slightly as she regards him, waiting to see what he's going to do and being highly disappointed when that proves to be nothing at all. "Come on," she growls, "come on! We're not here for you to stand around. You wanted a fight? You have one."

Pushing aside the pain and tiredness in her limbs, Baiken bursts into action. She darts forward, bringing her sword down in a massive blow that looks like it ought to be done two-handed; of course, Baiken isn't doing it that way for obvious reasons. Her custom-made sword's hilt isn't actually really big enough for two hands, anyway - she never saw the point. The stroke starts over her head and ends with the blade nearly at ground-level - if Masaaki doesn't get out of the way or otherwise deal with it, the sheer power is going to be a severe problem...

COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Masaaki with Deep Strike.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Masaaki          1/----===/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\1           Baiken

[MASAAKI]
The sheer power in fact IS a problem as Masaaki in fact DOES fail to get out of the way with all that it entails. Blood, a long cut across his body, his shirt looking particularly messed up, a good ammount of blood deciding to leave his body and Masaaki stumbling backwards a couple of steps.

"Well, we are having a fight. Don't we? Well, more like a slaughter of yours truly now though." Himself barely managing to get through the pain and tiredness he himself is feeling Masaaki runs straight towards Baiken only to abruptly draw his katana in another Iaijutsu strike at her, but with the difference that both the blade and the Yakuza himself glow faintly in addition to the strike having a lot more strength behind it than the last one. Now Baiken is going to have a problem if she doesn't react properly.

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Masaaki's Hidden Blade.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Masaaki          0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Baiken

[BAIKEN]
"Then fight harder," Baiken growls. She has a bad attitude... or maybe she's still grumpy about the whole Rust fiasco.

Probably a bit of both.

This is more like what she expected out of Masaaki. His blade is coming in fast enough that she can't see a way to completely avoid injury. She interposes her own sword, deflecting the shining iaijutsu strike. Not completely away from her, but at least away from her heart; it traces a line across her side instead, and not the first one tonight.

"Hnn. You're not as bad as I thought. Thought you might be a coward, with how you hung back." Baiken doesn't think much of taking a break during a battle; she always fights alone, so in her experience that's a good way to get yourself knocked out. But, unfortunately, getting Baiken's respect also means you have to deal with more of her techniques; she's less likely to pace herself. This has already been a long battle, after all - and though she's had longer, most of those were life and death, while the only thing she gets here is paid.

Trying to ignore the new cut across her ribs, Baiken steps forward into a sudden lunge. Whether she hits or not, she leaps afterwards, her chi-imbued blade tracing a line straight vertically as she rises in an ascending strike!

COMBATSYS: Baiken successfully hits Masaaki with Kuchinashi.
- Power hit! -

[                             \  < >  ///////////                   ]
Masaaki          1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Baiken

[MASAAKI]
Being too tired to even react properly anymore, especially not against a vastly superior foe Masaaki utterly fails to either evade or block the attack rendering his injuries simply even worse than they allready were before.

"So... this is it..." Of course, he wouldn't be himself if he wouldn't continue to try to pull at least one final 'hurrah' before collapsing as he slowly shambles towards Baiken before gaining one last surge of speed as he charges at her and throws another several punches at her head followed by two slow, but powerfull kicks at her.

No matter what happens though, he is going collapse now. Either due to the last kick ending up with him rotating to the ground and loosing conciousness as he bleeds all over the flor or otherwise.

COMBATSYS: Masaaki can no longer fight.

                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                  |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Baiken

COMBATSYS: Baiken blocks Masaaki's Dragon Kick.

                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                  |>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2           Baiken

[BAIKEN]
Baiken aborts her follow-up strike - and she had one planned, though it was reckless and would probably leave her open to a beating - when she realizes that she doesn't need to do it.

Instead, she absorbs the last set of blows with her arm, at least as much as she can; one of the kicks snaps through to her stomach, which makes the wounds to her ribs ache even more and continue to bleed. But, despite the beating she's taken - and she has taken one - she's still upright, though it takes her a moment to force herself to stand straight.

She looks around the stage, from her bleeding opponents to the horrific mess Rust made of the place, and lets out a snort. "At least I don't have to clean it up," she says, before making a sharp gesture toward the cameraman - they have medical staff on site just for situations like this.

For her own part, Baiken half-walks, half-limps toward the railing. She doesn't need to stick around. She'll be fine. (Probably.)

Log created on 17:39:52 07/01/2017 by Baiken, and last modified on 19:36:05 07/07/2017.