Match of the Millennium

Description: It is often asked, where does the Saturday Night Fight get its material? Well, it is a complex and long process and it is easier to show than to tell. Take this place in the big city where, at 1:30 AM in the morning, a dozen minor forms of conflict rage_ and the worst part of all of it is that despite the obviously empty tables sitting there, not dirty, fully bussed, clean and everything, nevertheless, there they are, stuck together, in some antechamber to Hell. Mai wants the corner window booth so she can catch Andy when he gets out from Metro Square Garden, while B.B. Hood wants it in order to make her connection for an illegally smuggled pair of rare and exotic Japanese flying squirrels. Their battlefield is the narrow linoleum path and their weapons are their skills and all of the things left laying out on the diner tables. Who wants it more? I don't know what to tell you, Jerry, I guess we'll just have to find out!

[BULLETA]
It's too good to be true: nobody moves flying /anything/ at the prices she was quoted unless they want to lose their ass, much less anything adorable. Adorable /costs/; adorable with feathers

(they're a /very/ exotic strain of flying squirrel indeed)

moreso. They're status symbols many stories beyond pocket dogs and teacup pigs on the ladder of such, incredibly rare and straddling the lines of legality by virtue of not /technically/ existing within the bounds of conventional zoology.

The odds of walking away with a couple of precious, adorable balls of sheer profit outweighed the likelihood of this too-good-to-be-true offer being a trap, so at 1:30 AM sharp, the little bells poised above Nick's Cafe's door twinkle as B.B. Hood enters. Donning a baggy, crimson hoodie, loose jeans, and a red and gold mask over the lower half of her face, with a large, wicker-hued satchel thumping against her hip as she moves, she's dressed for incognito liaisons and officially sanctioned violence alike. A chunky pair of red shades tilt things a little further towards the former, this time out.

Another weird thing about the offer, besides its contents: it was addressed to B.B. Hood, Crying Orphan Girl Who Does Pro Fights For Money, rather than Bulleta, Professional Monster Hunter Who Does Whatever For Money. Trying to fence off a cute luxury good on a naive kid who is beginning to see success in the pro fighting world makes a kind of sense, but it's /weird/.

Blue eyes scan the diner every step of the way in. There isn't /much/ to see: it's a small space and it's busy for this time of morning, with half of the counter spots and several tables taken. B.B. Hood's attention keeps wavering towards one in particular, right in the corner-- still empty, and perfect for keeping an eye out for people approaching - or creeping around - the Cafe. It's clean and seems to be kept up with love and whatever resources its owner (Nick??) can spare; there's a distinct 90's aesthetic that's probably only /kind/ of a product of said owner's love of the perid.

COMBATSYS: Mai has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Mai              0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Bulleta has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Bulleta          0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0              Mai

[MAI]
Mai Shiranui arrives at the cafe just seconds behind Bulleta. The bell rings as she pushes open the front door, the skirts of her combat outfit swaying behind her. Mai isn't dressed incognito at all! She's here to be seen as always as she has a Saturday Night Fight in store.

But it doesn't seem as if her opponent is here yet... right?

She can't tell for sure. There IS a person in a mask here, but sometimes people dress oddly.

Mai's eyes also drift over to the corner booth, but, she immediately walks right in as if she owns the place, and shoulders herself around toward it. It'll be the perfect spot to scope out the street. Maybe she'll get a glimpse of Andy, or, maybe her bout opponent will show up. There always seems to be food present whenever she gets involved in one of these lately.

Mai slides herself into the seat without even a care. She probably cuts Bulleta off in the process, unthinkingly.

[BULLETA]
Why is--

(don't look)

-- /Mai Shiranui/--

(don't-- fine, look, she hasn't clocked you)

-- in a nothing cafe at 1:30 AM--

B.B. Hood's eyes drift towards a table where all three occupants happen to be facing the booth she wants. They keep going, lower, lower, down to the gym bag nestled at their feet with the flap cracked open-- down to the little red light glaring within--

/This/ kind of trap, then.

The next time she looks for Mai, Mai's occupying her table. Another glance around the cafe as she breathes in deeply, and-- what's Shiranui's deal? Bulleta knows she's some kind of ninja; she knows there's fire somewhere in the picture; she knows the outfit; there are fans...

/Fucking promoters/-- this is what research is for!

B.B. Hood breathes out with a small shudder, then she approaches the booth.

"U-um," quivers past her lips once she's in earshot. The shades are gone; her eyes are fixed somewhere between the table and the tiles. She raises a hand in reticent greeting; her eyes move with it, including the immediate fall afterwards. "Hi, I-- gosh, you're so much/prettier/inperson--"

She takes a split-second to catch her breath, then exhales nervous laughter. She starts to extend her hands, only to jerk them away and quickly bow, sputtering, "I know it's /late/, /early/, and you know, you're-- you're totally just, you're"

On her way back up, she spots movement past Mai's shoulder, just outside. A creeping figure, a trenchcoat--

-- a slow turn, revealing 'Crazy' Kenny Okada, the only man on Earth who might be dumb and/or desperate and/or rich enough to justify a deal like the one that landed in her inbox. Kenny presses a finger to his lips, does an exaggerated point towards Mai, then thumbs away; then he's gone.

"... eating-- dinner-- probably..." B.B. lets herself trail off for a second, then snaps her attention to Mai as redness creeps across her cheeks.

"I am /so/ sorry, I-- ... well... I'm... /usually/ this much of a spaz, but I swear it's only because I never thought I'd get to meet someone as famous as you in real /life/," she rattles off. "It-- it wouldn't be too much to ask for a quick picture, would it?"

[MAI]
Mai looks over when someone approaches her. She bats her eyes several times at her, not in a flirtatious way, just a surprised one. "Oh, hello!"

The other girl seems to be looking at someone outside. Mai almost turns her attention there, but B.B.'s stammering seems quite genuine. ...doesn't it?

"Ah, sure, I have a second, but I'm waiting for someone so I can't be too distracted!"

Mai glances over her shoulder for just a second, but that mysterious guy is gone now.

Her attention is suddenly drawn by the bag that B.B. is being a bit precious with. "Is that your ... camera?"

[BULLETA]
"O-oh, this...?"

The mysterious guy means that not only has B.B. Hood found herself roped into a match -- she could still duck it and take an L, but she's neither a quitter nor about to walk away from a purse -- there might /actually/ be bonus squirrel money to be made.

Which means that this bitch has gotta go. She's nice; she's pretty; she's talented; she's in the goddamn way.

"No," she exhales, briskly shaking her head and semiconsciously clutching the bag closer to herself. "No, it's-- -- o-oh," her free hand undoes a front zipper so she can rummage around inside, "hold on, I-- I need my-- it's /everything/," digging frantically, "I-- I'm supposed to be meeting someone here," biting her lower lip in concentration, "and I had to fly a really long way, and I-- well-- I don't... really have /luggage/, exactly, but I have /this/..." until she retrieves a phone from two generations ago.

"It's kinda /cheap/, I know," she murmurs, ducking a little and leaning into shared selfie range, "but every penny counts! And if this meeting goes right-- well-- maybe I won't have to count 'em quite as hard!" That last comment helps to turn what /was/ an increasingly somber expression into happier territory, pushing a smile into place just in time as her phone arm curls around Mai to find a decent angle--

*snap!*

"My name's B.B. Hood,"

As fast as her hand is to leave it, the satchel doesn't budge when Bulleta releases its strap in favor of grabbing--

-- /swatting/--

-- a freshly poured glass of water so hard that it threatens to /explode/ against Mai's chest.

"-- aaaaah--!" she concludes, flailing briefly before seizing the edge of the table.

COMBATSYS: Mai blocks Bulleta's Thrown Object.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Bulleta          0/-------/=======|-------\-------\0              Mai

[MAI]
Mai is surprised by the sudden fury. She was not expecting a glass of water thrown at her chest....

And B.B. Hood is not spared the sight of, at least, the water splashing there, running mostly between Mai's breasts and down her top and getting the fabric soaked in the process.

Though Mai is quick enough to swat away the part that might have been more painful there, which is to say, the glass. The glass flies aside and breaks with a tremendous shattering sound and spray of glass, against the wall in the corner.

Mai is suddenly on her feet. "Oh! In that case, that means you'll be my opponent for today! So we were both right on time!"

Mai whips out a paper fan, and fans herself with it. This does very little to dry her, really; mostly it just makes the water colder, with predictable results. But she'll heat up soon enough.

"Since we're doing introductions again, I'll say it for the crowd! I'm Mai of the Shiranui clan. I can show off one of our clan's techniques!"

Just as suddenly as Mai was on her feet, she's now on her hands. And her legs kick up, wrapping around B.B's neck. Some people would say it's not such a bad place to be, at least until Mai's legs tighten to a grab and flip her opponent into a throw!

COMBATSYS: Bulleta blocks Mai's Shiranui Gourin.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Bulleta          0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0              Mai

[BULLETA]
B.B. would've really preferred to see splashing glass and trickling blood, given the stakes.

"I knew it had to be a mistake!" she squeaks, slowly uncurling her arms after taking cover from the shattering crash of Mai's reflexes. B.B. Hood stumbles back from the table, breathing rapidly and flicking her eyes around the crowd:

A waitress; a bus boy; a cook peering out of the kitchen window; that table conveniently pointed towards the action, where one of the occupants now has a tablet aimed at Mai and B.B. to compliment the others' cameras; a woman in a black and white striped dress digging a whistle out of her purse; maybe a dozen, a dozen and a half people running a gamut from 'actually here for cheap 1:30 diner food' to 'paid several hundred dollars for tickets to an exclusive SNF event in an intimate venue'.

It doesn't seem to calm her nerves. She's swallowing a lump when her eyes make it back to--

Where did Mai's /face/ go--

"Nnggh--!"

B.B's lucky: she gets that split-second to /wonder/ before Shiranui-brand speed and muscle do their job. That instant's the difference between registering the vice-grip around her throat and /not/, before Mai twists her to the ground-- the difference between knowing she ought to tuck and roll, and not.

The difference between an aching back and a concussion.

Still: it's not a /graceful/ landing. There's no room for graceful, just chairs to tumble through and a booth to wind up half-sprawled across and dazed.

"Haa-- haaa--! Y--" she pants, wriggling free until she lands flat on her back. "You're so /strong/, I-- I just hope I won't waste your time, Ms. Shiranui--!"

One deep breath later, she hits her belly, scrambles to her feet, then /explodes/ across the tiles. In just a few long strides, she's close enough to send the satchel's straps rippling out to their full length with a wild, overhand swing towards Mai's upper body.

There's no airline on /Earth/ that'd let B.B. Hood carry it on: it's dense, it's full of metal, and above all else, it is /heavy/.

COMBATSYS: Mai blocks Bulleta's Fierce Strike.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Bulleta          1/-----==/=======|==-----\-------\0              Mai

[MAI]
"Thanks! Of course I am!" Mai puts a finger under her chin. "...Unless I'm having a hard time reading your sarcasm, you know, you aren't trying to be ironic are y-"

Mai raises her hands and her fan suddenly as the satchel strike comes barreling down for her. It hits crossed arms, and the fan... which is tougher than it looks. The paper rattles and wobbles but the fan doesn't break.

She leaps backward, getting a little more distance. This puts her back against the wall, so she braces herself there for a second.

Mai also apparently has a lot of fans, or at least more where that one came from. She seems to see no problem with retaliating against B.B's attack by throwing her blocking fan. It's an almost lazy toss, underhand. The fan swirls in a fast spiral, slicing across the space between the two women. The moment it leaves her hand, Mai already has another one pulled out from her top. She opens it, and hides her face a little behind it, as if coquiettishly. "Well, even if you are! Now that people are watching, I have to put on a good show for the audience!"

COMBATSYS: Bulleta blocks Mai's Kachosen.

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Bulleta          1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0              Mai

[BULLETA]
"Of course not!"

And indeed: B.B. Hood looks /mortified/ at the thought of pretending to be impressed, all soaring brows and recoil.

"You and Abigail might be the most experienced fighters I've ever met, and Abigail..."

B.B. Hood wraps her arms around herself, shivers, and looks aside. Fighting Abigail didn't go so hot; his boot is almost as long as her spine, and the one wound up pressed into the other by the end of the match. The satchel slams into the ground when its momentum runs out, firing cracks along the floor and flecks of tile through the air.

"... thank you for being so-- -- aah--!"

The fan hits B.B. Hood's right forearm when she hastily throws it between herself and the other woman. A fresh bruise flowers beneath the sleeve; her arm hangs heavily for a few seconds after she lets it drop. Beneath the mask, her jaw flexes while she hauls the satchel strap back onto her left shoulder where it belongs.

"-- so-- so /nice/--! You're strong; you're pretty; you're /nice/; you always try so /hard/, no matter how big the fight!"

Eyes alight with a heady mix of fear and admiration rove deliberately over Mai as she speaks, taking in her posture, considering her weaponry, her demeanor, her reactions...

"I've loved watching your fights /forever/, so, just-- just the /idea/ that someone could even /begin/ to think I deserve a match with you, it's..."

She's been lucky enough to keep up so far, but she only needs to slip once for Mai to punish her severely. She needs to hold that moment at bay; the better she can understand Mai, the better her odds.

"No matter how small the audience, I'll give it my all," she declares, keeping her posture loose, "just like you! How do you keep yourself motivated to-- to, well, /perform/, though? It's so /early/...!"

COMBATSYS: Bulleta sizes up her target.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Bulleta          1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0              Mai

[MAI]
Mai puts a finger in front of her lips. "...Is it really early? It's more like late, right? I think I overslept today...." she says. But B.B. seems geniune, so she unfolds her fan and gives a nice bow, while B.B. is sizing her up. "Thank you for being so polite too! Since we're working hard here, let's be good at supporting each other!"

Mai pulls out another fan now as she rises up, and does a dramatic pose. She holds both fands out first, then turns to one side. Keeping her right arm straight, she twists her torso halfway around, and sticks one leg out behind her, then lowers her left fan to her flank and spreads it out wide. "That way, we'll both have fun and put on a good show ... no matter who wins!"

It hasn't occured to her that she shouldn't be so cocky in the middle of a fight. She's just always ready to show off if she's well fed (or if her ego is well fed).

She spins around, does another bow, and then waves - with her fan - to someone taking a picture.

But then she does seem to remember a fight is on again. In one swift motion she lunges forward, and spins her fans all around with a flicker in a series of quick in-close blows. It's quick but not terribly powerful, as if she's working harder on being showy.

COMBATSYS: Bulleta blocks Mai's Quick Strike.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Bulleta          1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1              Mai

[BULLETA]
She is /really/ pretty.

And really /proud/.

Bulleta's eyes are carving nice, long extensions for the other woman's smile when the fight lunges its way back to her. The first fan strike meets the satchel cleanly, but a premature shift towards aggression leaves the smaller fighter scrambling to twist her forearm into Mai's path or risk bruised ribs.

"Aah! Ow-- ow, ow--" B.B. Hood gasps as she staggers a couple steps back from Mai. As soon as she's got the space, she curls her hand around her aching forearm, rubbing it for a beat and catching her breath. "I'll-- I'll do my /best/--!" she declares. "You're just-- you're so..."

B.B. sticks her hands out in front of herself. They close, they open; they close; all the while, through several cycles, she moves her arms, she twists this way or that, she teeters on one leg, always with the grace of a doll being manipulated by an unseen hand--

"... graceful, and-- and /showy/, and /entertaining/--!"

When she finally stops-- 'posing'-- /'contorting'/-- to wave, the fan she's looking at is peering back through a crack in her fingers.

"I-it's a lot to live up to, but I'll... try," she murmurs after briskly dropping her eyes, relaxing, and doubling over briefly with a groaning sigh. When she straightens, it's with whipcord fluidity, moving from 'standing' to 'hurling herself at Mai' without hesitation-- nevermind that her cheeks are almost as red as her hoodie. It's bold, it's brazen-- it looks for all the world like a wild, flying tackle, and even for one of /those/, it's clumsy. Easily defended; easily /avoided/, leaving her teetering on the other side of Mai.

Keen eyes might catch the moment where B.B. Hood's hand vanishes into the hoodie's pocket, though-- and if they /don't/, there's always the quick wrist-flick where she tries to flash a box cutter along Mai's rib cage for them to feast on.

COMBATSYS: Mai full-parries Bulleta's Stumble & Blade!!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Bulleta          1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1              Mai

[MAI]
Ah, an easily defended strike! Good sportsmanship, Mai thinks, considering this just a fine fun little exhibition match until something proves to her otherwise. She doesn't even look for a second like she's going to move out of the way of that. She keeps her hips twisted in a show offy position that tilts her upper torso toward the watching crowd at the diner. But she does have a fan in a slightly defensive position...

B.B. dives for her, and Mai twists just a little more, getting out of the way of the strike that seemed so slow.

But either her eyes really are so keen, or, her reflexes are just so automatic, that she also reacts to the attempt at a sneak attack. Her left hand, holding the fan, flickers down, and as the box cutter comes toward her side... Mai SNAPS the fan shut. The split slats of wood holding the paper portion close around the sharp blade, snagging it as it's just millimeters from striking a target. Mai then opens the fan with another quick SNAP, and the blade flies loose, and scatters away on the ground with a clatter.

Mai glances after the blade and then quickly back down at B.B. She doesn't seem mad, but she does seem disappointed. "Hm. Well, that's less friendly, huh? Were you trying to figure out if my kidneys are pretty too?"

Since this attack clearly meant business, Mai snaps into focus to reltaliate in kind. A powerful heat builds up around her, and a burst of fire collects down at the base of her foot. She kicks up, and flips backward, getting enough height that she's nearly skimming the cieling of the diner with her kick. A blaze of flame trails behind her, close in enough to be aimed squarely at Bulleta.

COMBATSYS: Bulleta full-parries Mai's Hishou Ryuuenjin EX!!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Bulleta          1/--=====/=======|=======\==-----\1              Mai

[BULLETA]
"I--," B.B. Hood sputters, "I just wasn't sure that I could--"

It isn't just that she was caught, it's that she was caught by /Mai/, a woman she admires-- a woman whose strength she's finding more and more reasons to respect and fear. The distress is written in wide eyes and deepening redness as she fumbles for an excuse--

"You have your /fans/, and your /ninja training/," she murmurs, edging a step away from Mai, "and--"

/Fire/. Mai has /fire/-- Mai has heat blooming around her, a flame licking around her sole, and enough proximity to set B.B. aflame--!

All B.B. Hood has is her satchel, whatever's in it, and whatever other stuff might be hidden in her sweatshirt-- and right now, all that really matters is the first. With a short, forward hop, she tucks her knees up, twists, and hauls the satchel up so that it's covering as much of her body as she can make it cover. Fire splashes against-- /whatever/ the satchel is made of forcefully enough to blow the hood back and set a flaxen ponytail aflutter, and the satchel holds without blackening. After a crouched landing before Mai, she straightens with a flailing twist that sends the satchel hurtling towards the kunoichi's midsection as its straps ripple in B.B.'s grasp.

"I'm sure they ARE pretty, but I promise I wasn't-- trying to--"

Dawning realization doesn't - /can't/ - stop her momentum, but it does make for awkward scrunching the next time Mai can see her face.

"-- I mean, obviously your kidneys aren't PRETTY," tumbles out at machine gun speeds, "because who has pretty kidneys, that would be WEIRD..."

COMBATSYS: Bulleta successfully hits Mai with Tricky Basket EX.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=====--\1              Mai

[MAI]
B.B. throws her basket at Mai, with the straps flailing. This isn't a small enough thing to easily grab with a fan, and it hits Mai square in her midsection, blasting her backward into the precious corner booth. There's wood scrap, and schrapnel, as she crashes through the table with a heavy tumble. And then there's a slightly dazed ninja getting back to her feet and dusting herself off. "It really LOOKED like you were trying to stab my kidneys," she says. She does not seem now to be entirely convinced this is merely a friendly fight. Also, part of her hair is on fire, but she probably meant to do that. It doesn't seem to be burning her in any significant way otherwise.

She can probably use that for something though. Mai runs in low, and goes for a sliding kick that looks like it's only going to strike at Bulleta's feet - under where her basket was flailing about. But then suddenly Mai snaps up high, going for a back flipping kick that will land her at a different distance than her forward rush in. She's clearly trying to pick up some speed now to see if she can keep her opponent confused, as she doesn't want to take another big hit.

COMBATSYS: Mai successfully hits Bulleta with Benitsuru no Mai.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

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Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\======-\1              Mai

[BULLETA]
B.B. Hood hastily promises, "It's nothing you wouldn't have healed from!" while she waves her hands in front of herself. The satchel crashes against her at the end of its arc, prompting a slight twitch of her left eye and a soft exhale through her nose. "I wasn't-- I'm not--"

With a heavy sigh, she hangs her head and lets her hands fall.

"God, it's just-- this is all I have," she whispers, blue eyes bouncing along with Mai's low approach, "fighting against whoever I can, no matter how much /better/ they are than me..."

Mai's clever and /fast/; constant, close attention is B.B. Hood's only chance at evading her.

It's a shame, then, that /this/ is the moment 'Crazy' Kenny chooses to waltz his way into Nick's Cafe.

(Not /literally/, of course; it's really more of a skank.)

"... and if I can't..."

B.B.'s eyes twitch towards the door and its bell.

"Kennyyyyyy!" the employees and about half of the patrons exclaim. A couple of them start to clap before remembering that they're drunk, and clapping when someone enters a room is actually kind of strange.

"...make it... worth people's time..."

Bouncing and jittering his way towards the counter, Kenny shoots a wave, then pointedly taps his wrist in B.B.'s direction before getting back to mugging for the cafe.

"... theyyyynnh--!"

B.B.'s jaw slams shut at the point of Mai's foot. The young woman's lifted into a short arc that ends at the edge of a table, snapping part of it clean off and bringing the rest crashing upon her prone body moments after landing. Rubble shifts and stirs for a second or two immediately afterwards before just falling still.

Bulleta hisses out a few quiet swears underneath, then the stirring begins anew--

-- until finally, chunks of metal and wood fall away--

-- and fire ROARS through the opening. The gout lasts for several seconds before running dry; shortly after that, a shaking B.B. Hood finally hauls herself out of the wreckage, leaving a large green bottle with a striker wheel near the mouth tucked amidst it.

COMBATSYS: Mai instinctively blocks Bulleta's Cheer of Fire.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Bulleta          1/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=======\1              Mai

[MAI]
Mai does a nice flip and lands on her feet like a perfect ninja gymnast. The fact that her foot connected with Bulleta's jaw in the flip didn't slow her down at all, and there's a little ta-da motion as she spreads her arms having stuck the landing. Then...

Everyone looks toward the front and cheers.

"Oh! Do- you know that guy?" Mai asks. She is suddenly once again distracted from the fight by the crowd and incidentals.

The table next to her shifts and is about to explode...

In fire!

Whoops, that could've been bad! But it seems as if without even thinking, Mai reaches over the counter behind her, grabs a big pitcher of water, and throws it in the direction of the fire. It immediately turns to steam as it contacts the flame, but the blast is enough to clear a fairly safe space for Mai to stand in. And nothing on her seems to still be on fire. "Wow, I guess you have some fire tricks too, but that could've been really dangerous!"

After this little chide, however, she's still going to keep fighting of course. She goes for another throw, flipping forward, and whipping her leg around B.B's neck to try to tackle her and bring her into a ground grapple in the wreck of the broken table.

COMBATSYS: Bulleta blocks Mai's Medium Throw.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Bulleta          1/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2              Mai

[BULLETA]
"O-oh," B.B. Hood gasps as she staggers more or less upright, "yeah-- yeah-- that's Kenny; /everyone/ who comes to Nick's a lot knows Kenny-- ggh--"

More or less; her shoulders stay hunched. She clutches her chest for a grimacing beat, as if that'll mitigate the broken glass burning within.

"G-god, you're right, I-- you just, you hit me so /hard/, and I /panicked/--!" There's wood dust and a few streaks of blood smeared over her face, thanks to the table; thanks to the kick, her jaw's sprouting a gruesome bouquet of colors layered over a rapidly swelling lump. "I'd be beside myself if something happened to this place-- thank god you're so fast...!"

Of course the fight's going to keep going-- and of /course/ that means another bout of trying to fend off Mai's legs. B.B.'s fingers dig in /hard/ against the one hooked around her neck, but there's a palpable sense that she's waiting. It's the difference between gripping tight, making her knuckles white, and gritting her teeth while she can stand to-- and /wrenching/ on that leg, forcing enough of a gap to let her tumble free a split-second before impact. She's /strong/-- exposure to that morningstar of a satchel means that this may not be much of a revelation to a fighter of Mai's caliber, but she hasn't applied it nearly so directly before now. Whiplash impact and sheer pressure leave the younger woman bruised and breathless; a smile flickers beneath the mask as she rubs her throat and pants for air.

"Another-- another one of /those/," she croaks, flashing a cautious look up at Mai, "and my /throat's/ gonna--!"

After a momentary pout, it's back to the rubble-- back to /Mai/, hopefully-- as B.B. tries to pounce upon the ninja. There are a couple of broken plate shards tucked between her fingers, collected during her last-second escape from Mai and poised for digging into one of her calves in the hopes of slowing her down a little.

COMBATSYS: Bulleta successfully hits Mai with Quick Strike.

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Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2              Mai

[MAI]
On the ground grappling is not the best, fastest, or most elegant place for Mai to be in. Granted, she's done a few on the ground shows for crowds but that was mostly when a swimming pool or something a little more fun and luxurious was involved...

Not broken, jagged edges, which are nasty! Especially when Bulleta tackles her and scrapes into her leg with them. Mai doesn't wear any protective gear there of course, relying on speed, but she can't get away before she's scraped. It's not pretty and it's a bit unsanitary too. Mai lets out a little shout as she realizes the attack dug into her hard. "...I hope that was an accident," she says, but after drawing some blood the innocent act is really sending a mixed message.

Mai has a fan in her hand in an instant, and she whips it out suddenly. She slides her foot back from the broken table pile, and gets a little distance between herself and Bulleta, noticing that a little blood is still dripping on the floor. She frowns at it... "I hope I can get a cute band-aid for that."

And then Mai whips her fan out suddenly. Her expression is not so cheerful as it was before. She twists her back all the way around and as she does, a fan in her other hand also descends, the attack becoming a whirling dance.

COMBATSYS: Mai successfully hits Bulleta with Hakuro No Mai.

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Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2              Mai

[BULLETA]
The shards certainly aren't with B.B. Hood after she tumbles away to disengage; red flecks stand out starkly against drab tan, cream, and white rubble. Accident or not, the smaller woman's definitely going for deniable!

"I've got something, I've--!"

B.B.'s cheeks are as red as her cloak; as red as the sticky dots beneath Mai; as red as a wolfman's heart ripped beating and mangled between states from its cage. Deftly, she opens a satchel flap so she can rummage as Mai settles. The box cutter was bad /enough/; the ninja's growing wariness after this latest slight doesn't go unnoticed. "They've got little terriers on-- you like dogs, right? ... may"

Mai finishes B.B.'s thought for her by greeting a glance up with fans across the face. Later probably /would/ be better for first aid, even the cute kind.

"beeeaaaah!"

Trapped in a bruising rhythm, B.B. Hood has no choice but to follow Mai's lead, whirling right along with her as fans leave bruises across her nose, orbital, and the back of her head. A few drops of blood spray from her nose in a loose arc, splattering across a booth divider. Nick's tumbles all around her as the Shiranui Waltz and head trauma do a vicious two-step on her perception, 'til crashing into the edge of a table brings her to a halt.

And leaves her briefly doubled over it and not so briefly gasping for air, but - crucially - /stopped/.

Stopped and /standing/, if stooped.

"/Fuck/," softly slips out between breaths. "Damnit--"

The table creaks as her stabilizing grasp on its edges tightens.

"I-I'll," she calls out, "j-just-- haah-- wait... 'til /after/...!"

Towards the end, she pushes off of the table to right herself; a quick spin towards Mai punctuates the sentiment, then she takes both satchel straps in hand.

"I had to leave /my/ dog," she wistfully murmurs as the satchel begins to sway at her side, "at home, because he just-- he gets so /nervous/, watching me fight, even if it's just game tape. He barks so /much/-- unless things get too loud. Then he just /hides/..."

As the arcs get longer, the guiding twitches of her wrist-- then, gradually, forearm-- grow steadily less invisible. She flashes the ninja a small, clearly pained smile that ultimately just turns into a grimace. Her chin dips to hide it and she shudders.

"It'll-- be worth leaving him... if I can go back knowing I did my best, though, right...?"

Long arcs become revolutions,

"I have pictures, too; they're /extremely/ cute."

and it only takes a few before the smaller woman pushes off of her lead leg and /hurtles/ forward. The satchel swings overhead as B.B. approaches, crashing towards Mai with bare, battering intent.

COMBATSYS: Bulleta successfully hits Mai with Shyness & Strike.
-*- DEVASTATING HIT! -*-

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Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2              Mai

[MAI]
Mai does seem a bit tired now after that hit, and she takes a step back to get her breath while she's seeing what B.B. is going to do next. She does listen to her comments a bit, and frowns at the sight of blood. Both of them are a bit bleeding now, which isn't the prettiest.

B.B. comes rushing in for her, pushing off the table with a spin. "...You, oh, a cute doggie?" she asks.

Then there's a fast spin. Mai tries to block it with her fan. She deflects the first, which blashes away the hit, but she's pushed back into a table.

Now she's backed into a corner, and there's nowhere else to dodge to...

And B.B. slams the satchel over Mai's head, extremely hard. Mai wasn't quite fast enough to dodge or deflect this attack, and the way it strikes her sends her head reeling, her ponytail flapping.

She's seeing stars. "...Well, if it's not too much trouble, maybe I'll look at them... sometime."

"Wouldn't want to... disappoint a cute doggie..."

Mai then decides to have a seat in the booth.

Then she takes a little nap from there on, down for the count for a few minutes at least.

COMBATSYS: Mai takes no action.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  <
Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

COMBATSYS: Mai can no longer fight.

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Bulleta          2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|

[BULLETA]
"God," B.B. Hood exhales as Mai reels.

"You're /so/ nice...!"

One hand's braced against the booth (/her booth/!) Mai's slumping in while she holds the other to her chest and manages to fit a brief sigh in amidst the panting and grimacing.

After swallowing, she folds her arms on the table and leans in closer. Closer-- closer, until she's inches from Mai's ear. Her voice falls an octave:

"Guess it's a good thing," Bulleta softly muses, "that I ended up leaving those kidneys alone after all, huh~? Not to mention that /face/..." She drops a hand into the pocket she was rummaging through before her her face got bruised up, rummages a little more--

"That would've been /tragic/. Lucky girl!"

A few minutes later, Mai will find a band-aid with English terriers printed all over it tucked in one of her hands.

B.B. Hood turns so she's leaning back against the table and facing the cameras with a face full of exhaustion and shock. Her eyes dart between them and Kenny--

-- who breaks off from telling a story about a sandwich he ate in his dreams that followed him into his waking life to pointedly look at her, then look at Mai, then back to her, then shrug and saunter closer.

And it's back to the fangirl register: "So... /so/ glad I had the opportunity to fight such an /amazing/ opponent today-- tonight-- this morning-- ha haaaaow..." She curls a hand around to brace it against her aching back; her other comes up for a quick wave and a gasping, "Thank you so much--!" before curling around her belly.

She gives it a few more seconds before peeling away to intercept Kenny with a palm wedged into the gut, then a sharp turn and more stiff nudges against his back to hustle him out.

"Fuck the /booth/," she hisses, "dumbass, she might wake UP! There're cameras /everywhere/ in here, come /on/--! Do these people /look/ like they'd set foot in-- christ, do you wanna do this /right/, and get /paid/, or..."

COMBATSYS: Bulleta has ended the fight here.

Log created on 20:30:00 04/22/2019 by Bulleta, and last modified on 12:24:10 05/01/2019.