Match of the Millennium

Description: A chance meeting in the library. A dramatic reveal of a secret identity. Two young women, both stand outs of their chosen styles. Two of the youngest masters of martial arts ever to run the halls of Taiyo High! See how they meet! Watch them clash! Watch the school suffer untold amount of damage to their gymnasium that will likely never be covered by either of the two perpetrators!

[HIMEKO]
Taiyo High school. All kinds can be found all over the place once the final bell rings as pretty much everyone is eager to get out the classroom and make headway at their favorite clubs.
Himeko Kashiwagi just so happens to be part of the Broadcasting club but since it only meets three times a week, she instead can be found in perhaps one of the least populated areas- The Library.
At least until it's time to hit the dojo. With that other part of her life on hold she feels quite at home in the fairly quiet area but truth be told it's gotten to the point where she's running out of books to check out and almost aimlessly wanders a fiction aisle. "Ugh, why is this library so *small*?" the messy-haired student thinks aloud to herself, she adorn in the schools classic uniform of course. "I bet Justice's has to be at least three times as big.. I bet.. I bet it's *really* cool.." she raises a hand to her cheek and sighs- only to shortly after notice the librarian walk by with a book on poetry with a light blue cover. And she's absolutely certain she's never seen it before. "Oh?"
She'll be polite and wait until it's placed on the 'New Arrivals' shelf before she goes ahead and takes it.

[MALIN]
School is out. The student body of Taiyo is off to their various clubs and activities. Diverse, spirited, eager, the students fill the rooms beyond the classes end. But for some, they belong to the Go-Home Club. The wild and free Malin is not part of that club. Mostly due to a technicality in terminology that prevents her from officially being a club member. So, rather than attend to such important club activities, she finds herself doing much of her usual post the school chime.

She wanders.

Today brings her, in a fit of pique, to the relatively small library of Taiyo high. Despite the lingering feeling of injustice that compels her, she is talented at hiding her emotions in broad swagger. Uniform and all, Malin half marches about with her hands behind her head. Her eyes scan the shelves, certain that she is looking for something but uncertain as to what that something is.

'small'? Malin blinks. She looks behind her. Did someone just call her out? A narrow eyed suspicion crosses Malins face and she shifts from swagger to skulk. Slinking about a stack, she scopes out the teasing voice. And she finds it's from someone the same height as her.

Her hands shoot to her hips, and she's about to give this girl some lip, but then she hears the follow up. And something incenses her even more. "Justice?" she asks, scoffing. "What's Justice got that we don't?"

She's loud enough to get a look from the librarian.

[HIMEKO]
Not just a look, though. a rather comedically timed duo of "Shhhh!"s come from both the librarian as well as Himeko, fingers raised to lips and all, a pause follows, then the two look to one another as if at that moment they had suddenly become a little closer. What a way to bond! Himeko can't help but smile a bit sheepishly though, followed by a slight bow as she approaches the other student.
Hmn.. There's something about the girl that should seem familiar, but she can't quite put her finger on why... But more importantly!

"I didn't realize I was talking aloud but.. Since you asked," she starts as she raises her hand to gesture toward the library's various shelves. "A larger library. Not that I've seen it but I'm pretty confident that a super elite school like that must have one that's pretty enormous, right? And there must be a section filled to the brim with rare books too."

[MALIN]
Hands up, palms out, no threat to the precious silence of the library. But the moment of supplication lasts but a moment before it drops to a cross armed pose. She looks aside and down, pouting to herself. "Just trying to say you gotta have more spirit. . ." she grouses, quietly.

"I'm attuned to these things," Malin says, waving a hand, still being sulky and hiding she's completely paying attention to the only other person of note here in the library. She was already in the library because something was annoying her. "And it's not about the size of the library. It's about what you do with it."

She smiles to herself at her wordplay. Giving this other girl a sideways look and a smirk to see if she got the entendre as well. "If you learn more and better with less, you've done more. Simple as that. Just because something's big and got money doesn't mean it's always better."

"That's it!" she shouts, pounding her fist into her hand. Librarian be damned! "I was here looking for a book on local martial arts styles. I don't normally do libraries, but you look like you do. Think you prove this library isn't too big for you by finding what I'm looking for?"

[HIMEKO]
A weak smile is given to Malin as a bead of sweat falls down the side of her face. She caught the mumble, though doesn't really have anything to say about it as she isn't really sure what spirit has to do with anything in this circumstance. Still the sulking makes her feel bad so, 'I'm sorry..' is given.
Himeko responds to the entendre with a vacant smile, ".. Um, actually I don't believe that's true at al-- EEK!"
Her eyes go wide as she takes a single step back from the sudden outburst, then quickly waves her free hand, other pointer finger to her lips. Not the librarian though, since she ended up dropping her book in the process, she turns around and GLARES at Malin, "SHHH!!" That's strike two young lady!

Himeko cringes, but that doesn't last long since she's presented with a challenge that she's very much interested in. It's a two for one in a way really! She's practically beaming, hands upon her hips as she nods, "Actually a task like that is, as they say, 'easy mode' for someone like me. In fact I won't just lead you to just any old book, I can show you a book and media package that educates on one of the most famous, powerful and overlooked martial arts in this section of Japan. Every technique, kata and mantra is listed and detailed in a manner that is simple to learn, yet incredibly challenging to master. A diamond in the rough in its purest form~."

[MALIN]
Malin's defensive of her school of choice. She did a lot of work to apply through totally legal means and not just crashing classes in a school uniform. If those librarians and the other students knew what she worked at to get into this school, they'd probably be more respectful. But they can never know. They must remain ignorant to Malin's secret orders and her missions. At least, those students that she has not already told via bragging but not the ones that she will theoretically brag to in the future. They don't count.

Malin's jolted by the sorry, words not often given to her. She mentally notches this girl a few steps up the respectability meter. Moreso when Malin discovers the spot that she expected would be this girl's point of pride. Malin nods along and along with each glowing praise of a masterful fighting style. This is sounding just like what Malin needed to see, to hear of, to know. It might be the very reason she was feeling annoyed at something going on in the library.

"Is that so? Then let me see it. Because that's precisely what I'm looking for. I want to see this unknown power, this forgotten and maligned combative secret that world needs to know and should respect." Malin nods once more, and just sort of points off in a direction. "Lead the way, nerd girl. Show me where your people know the truth."

[HIMEKO]
Himeko's excitement certainly shows a lot more in her expression than her voice, but there hopefully is little doubt that the girl is passionate about things other than books and now that she's confident that she's hooked Malin's curiosity, her slight slouch even straightens as she's ready to head in, ".. Not that way," she corrects, and while she isn't the slightest bit bothered by the nickname, it does make her realize she hadn't introduced herself!
%s"Oh, my name is Himeko Kashiwagi; third year." said as she turns to walk in the opposite direction and simply assumes Malin will follow her lead to the 'Sports' section of the library. "Hmmn 'unknown power'.. I'll have to write that one down too, that's really good." is mumbled under her breath afterward. It doesn't take long to get to the shelf, and of course it has your typical assortment of books subjects ranging from Aikido, Judo, Karate.. But at the very bottom, "Oh, that's odd.. Why is it in 'Z'?" there's a line of about seven softcover books with a jarringly bright pink color with thick, yellow text on the front. After she crouches to pick it up, she proudly holds it out to Malin.
Upon the front reads 'Saikyo-Ryuu and Yuu: The Path of Mastering the STRONGEST Style' It looks to be about 100 or so pages, with much of the space taken up by a VHS tape so it would fit inside the pocket in the back.
Her eyes light up once more, "Here it is, Saikyo-Ryu! An art with only two known masters in the world right now. One of them the great Dan Hibiki, the author of this book!"

[MALIN]
There's that passion! There's that spirit! Malin knew she could find it and if she could find it then she could exploit it! Or, or, she could encourage it and hopefully help someone find out the best they could be and the best they could do for people. And stopping bad guys usually meant needing at least one smart girl on the team.

And this one seemed to do the job as Malin curls her arm inward when she is corrected on the direction of the books she is after. But never one to let a failure get her down, Malin just changes tack and points off in the new direction. "That's your name? Himeko? S'good name," she says, "I'm Malin, no doubt you've heard, but some people need a reminder. Now, let's see these books."

She stops, and her lips purse as she hums, leaning close on in to look over the books all lined up. "Strongest style, eh?" she says with an utterly unconvinced deadpan. Hefting the book and tape combination does little to change her intrigue. "And two known masters?" she asks, seemingly building some sort of scheme in her mind. Two isn't many. Twice as much as her own style, but that's not impossible odds.

She starts to flip through the pages. "Hey, wait, this looks familiar. . ." Malin's eyes narrow and she gives an accusatory stare to Himeko. "This looks like Kyokugenryu!"

[HIMEKO]
"Oh.. Um, you really think so?" Only two people have complimented in name in that manner, and because of that she becomes more interested in her schoolmate. Once she introduces herself in turn, though, is when she realizes that she had known the girl all along! Or, more accurately, knows *of* her. "Oh, you're right as a matter of fact I do," she replies with a more calm smile, while Malin flips through the book. "I saw your fight against a Pacific High student- that was quite a while ago I think."
It's difficult to recall everything without her notes, though it really isn't long before she finds herself quite shocked by the comparison that follows. It isn't really the first time she's heard it but it doesn't make it any less... Horrifying? "E- Eh?" her voice cracks, and for a moment she's at a complete loss. She was rooting for you, Malin! She believed in you! "N- No, that.. That isn't true, it couldn't be further from the truth.. That.. That's wrong!" the now blushing bookworm thrusts her pointer finger in return accusation, and yet somehow she manages to outburst without her voice getting any higher. "And I would know.. Because I am the other master! .. Well. I mean, I'm incredibly close to mastery. The differences honestly couldn't be more clear to a well trained eye, you know."

[MALIN]
"The Dragon Fighter?" Malin asks, finally paying attention when the matter turns around to that fight. "Super hero kid didn't think speed mattered. Thought it was all about his flashy pew pew. I showed him the true power of Malin-style." She looks up from the pages to the other girl. "The true strongest style."

She chuckles to herself, quite happy with how well she has gotten the goat of the girl. "It looks exactly the same. Flashy and sparkles. I bet it doesn't hold even that against Malin style." She snaps the book close, and almost bobbles the tape out of it when the book closes awkward and Malin almost drops it.

She swiftly crams the book and tape into the hole in the shelves, upside down! "Oh, you're that master? Really? And what's that about a well trained eye? Are you saying I have a bad eye? Because I know how to read a mark, and here I am looking at you."

[HIMEKO]
"Well.. Maybe you're not wrong there, but I thought he was very cool.." Himeko mumurs. While she is most certainly all about school spirit, if there's anything she has a weakness for that overrides school rivalry it's those that embrace the superhero theme. That said as Malin touts her style as the 'true strongest' a legitimate frown forms. The slight mishap with the book only annoys her further but she closes her eyes a moment to take in a deep breath, then back out.

"Yes.. Yes I *am*.." She puffs out a cheek as she glares at Malin. But even as annoyed as she is, she can't bring it upon herself to return with a jab of her own. "I'll show you just how mistaken you are- Because I challenge you to a match! Meet me in the gymnasium in five minutes.. And you'll see!"
With a huff, the young student storms past Malin with a slight slouch once more to get changed and turns the aisle. A moment passes.
Then she returns, to turn the book right-side up, before she storms off again. For real this time.

[MALIN]
"Hey, he fights bad guys, that's cool. But he didn't respect Malin-Style," Malin covers for her seeming disrespect. She just respects her own style more and she doesn't want to let anyone get one over on that. "I do some of that, myself," she adds, she my not be a super hero, but she does her part.

But what's this, a challenge? Yes! Malin barely conceals her glee at this sudden turn of events. Partially because she's impressed that the nerdgirl is also someone who cleverly conceals themselves among the populace to pop out to surprise the bad guys. Part of it is because if she can trounce half of the masters of a major school of martial arts, certainly people will start to respect Malin-Style. "I'll take you on, anywhere, you'll see that Malin Style is just as good as yours."

She grins to herself, more than happy to take this girl on. She stalks after the storming girl, but she slips behind a stack only to pop out the other side having changed out of her uniform and into her street clothes.

[HIMEKO]
Dr Himeko Mango nibbles her thumbnail with her brows furrowed as she walks along. Now that she thinks about it, she's never actually laid out a challenge before, so there's just an eensie bit of pressure that she feels on her back. She mumbles under her breath rather than say anything in return, seeming to be in her own world even as she makes her way to the incredibly spacious gymnasium that, maybe surprisingly, isn't occupied? It must be the basketball teams day off or something.

She opens her schoolbag, holds it upside-down then dumps its entire contents, (mostly hundreds of sheets of paper) onto the floor, then as she drops into a crouch the sheets shoot upward forming a pillar around her.

Silence.

"You've got guts but.. Do you..."

Then, with a twirling kick, the pillar explodes in such a manner that the papers flutter about not unlike particularly large cherry blossoms to the ground, "YAHOOOOO!!" Himeko's adorn in a pink gi, the top pushed off her shoulders to display her black and pink leotard beneath, complete with a sparkling tiara upon her forehead. "Not as well as me, I bet! Hurricane Hime is here, representing the strongest style, Saikyo-Ryuu!"
With two wide wind-ups of her right arm, she takes a step forward and thrusts it to flex her bicep, "Don't bother trying to run away now, there's no escape from this typhoon of awesome!"

[MALIN]
A challenge. She got challenged! Malin never expected to be challenged by someone. She always had to egg them on, to push them, to get them to pay any attention at all to her in order to have to display the greatness of her one and only Malin Style techniques. Honed and practiced to take advantage of her skills and overcome her lacking abilities. To set her apart so that she can take down the evil that corrupts the city of South Town.

And here she is, ready to show this nerdgirl what it means to respect her ability.

Malin is following into the spacious gymnasium, pulling her yo-yo out from seeming thin air and zipping it down toward the floor. She 'walks the dog' toward the girl, only stopping when the paper flares up into the air. Geyser of sheets and Malin tugs the yo-yo back up to smack into her palm. Her lips purse as she puzzles.

The papers explode outward, Malin slips back and suddenly a set of clawed knuckles are held in the palm of her hand. "Okay, that. . .that was pretty cool," she mutters, straightening back up again and dropping into a bouncing posture. "Well I don't yahoo. I don't. That's a you thing!"

"But you've never seen Malin-Style. But today, today you'll learn."

COMBATSYS: Malin has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Malin            0/-------/-------|

[HIMEKO]
Standing straight with her hands upon her hips, the young fighter simply smirks to her opponent. "Ha ha, is it? It doesn't *just* have to be me. So Malin-style is it? Pretty catchy name at least.."
Hime draws up both her hands up to slap her cheeks several times, then raises fists in a sort of relaxed muay thai pose and shifts from foot to foot to get herself fired up to, hopefully, start her match off with a bang! "All right!! So what generation are you? Fourth? Fifth?"

COMBATSYS: Himeko has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Malin            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Himeko

COMBATSYS: Himeko focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Malin            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Himeko

[MALIN]
Generation? Malin laughs in the face of generations. Her hands go to her hips as she surveys the choice of fighting arena for this fantastic display of skill. "Fourth? Fifth? What do you take me for?" she asks, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head.

She starts to mill about, pausing as one does at the wheeled rack of basketballs for upcoming practices. She bows her head, smirks, and raises a single finger toward Himeko. "When it comes to Malin-style. There's only one. Think fast!"

With a whipping motion, the first of the line of basketballs is very quickly hammered toward Himeko. Hammered in a literal sense as somehow Malin has produced a sizeable mallet from seemingly no where.

COMBATSYS: Malin successfully hits Himeko with Thrown Object.
- Power hit! -

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Malin            0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
'Forth? Fifth? What do you take me for?' "Oh boy, *that's* telling..." Hime murmurs, though not quite quiet enough to be under her breath. The words that follow certainly are expected, but she really doesn't have it in her to make fun of it. Which is probably good that she doesn't comment because while she does 'think fast' by thrusting her palm out, "Ha *HAH*! You misse-"

*POW*

She ends up taking the ball directly to her face that sends her staggering backward, then falling onto her back. However her legs curl inward into a roll and she's back on her feet with her hands over her nose, "OOOOOOOOOOW! What the heck!!"
With a dash forward, Himeko slides her hand along the floor and gathers several sheets of paper in the process. Once she's close enough, she also has enough to twist them into the shape of a mallet of her own which she attempts to smash down upon Malins head, "Two can play at that game, newbie! Oorya!!"

COMBATSYS: Malin blocks Himeko's Paper View.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Malin            0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0           Himeko

[MALIN]
A swinging hammer made entirely out of paper. Okay, that was cool, but that was nothing like she's seen before from anyone that fights like that. She's almost taken aback enough to leave herself open. But it isn't entirely. She turns into the blow and uses her own hammer to clash and deflect the crushing crash coming for her head.

"You're a liar!" she calls out. "You do cool paper stuff, that's not anything like that book!" She really was considering the things she read in that book.

Malin's quick to respond when her moment comes through. Clear of the hammer, she rolls herself toward Himeko. In the fluid motion, the hammer seems to be stowed. . .somewhere, but what comes out is a stick that looks not unlike the haft of the hammer. Only it has two two little prongs and sparks with electrical potential.

COMBATSYS: Himeko blocks Malin's Beni Sasori.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Malin            0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
"Looks like *someone* skimmed passed page fifteen!" Hime replies, with a smirk, though deep down she's incredibly pleased that she's reached a point where her makeshift weapon didn't explode into smithereens upon contact. Ah, the feeling of improvement! "That's the art of Dan's legendary 'Premium Sign', a paper attack even more fearsome than what you just witnessed!" .. "Sort of!"
Now that she's close, she feels more comfortable- plus thinks she sees an opportunity to get into Malin's head. Her weapon is tossed aside, and the next weapon? It clashes against the paper tape wrapped about her left hand, though the zap sends her already frazzled hand standing straight up, "NNgggnGHGGHgh!"
Somehow her chi is able to stand up against it without taking too much damage, but she was clearly taken by surprise. What a sneaky foe! Fighting through the tingling through her body, energy blazes from her fists as she attempts to assault her with a flurry of strikes, "Ora ra ra ra!!" assuming that the strikes land, she then reaches to grip the other students upper half of her top, foot upon her midsection, then falls back to send her flying! "Oshyaa!!"

COMBATSYS: Malin full-parries Himeko's A B See Ya!!

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Malin            0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0           Himeko

[MALIN]
Indeed a sneaky foe! Indeed one that carries weaponry hidden about her person. Indeed one that doesn't fight with chi inasmuch as she fights with a cattle prod. But it works, it works and it's just as viable as any of the magic pew pew styles.

But despite the cunning ethics of Malin-Style, Himeko isn't calling her out on anything. She's fighting. She's putting a challenge to Malin and not insulting or belittling her style.

Awesome.

Feeling the flow of the fight, the small blonde moves quick when she lands. The flurry of strikes comes in hot and fast. But Malin's shoes squeak against the basketball court floor. She's quick at moving just out of the way from Himeko. She pulls in far enough to let Himeko open up her guard with her attack. There, she conducts her strategy. A leaping surge past Himeko. A rolling, looping pounce. Such a leap as to seem pointless. But there's one thing about it, Malin's quick leap past has with it a set of three clawed knuckles that she had slipped onto her hand during her dodgy footwork.

COMBATSYS: Himeko blocks Malin's Suzume Bachi Kuuchuu EX.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Malin            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
To Himeko it's all becoming increasingly interesting. Fighting the style head to head really is a lot different from watching from afar, though unfortunately for her the knowledge doesn't make it much easier to deal with. Or does it? "Tch," she mumbles to herself up until the counter-attack where she proves Malin's calculation to be not quite correct enough to overwhelm her as she crosses her arms over her head for her tape to once more be enough to provide protection she needed. Still, the pounce does make her stumble a couple of steps but the moment she turns around she's back on the offensive, "Not bad, if it were anyone else you would've cut'em up pretty good!"
With a grin, Himeko rushes toward Malin to strike with two punches, one toward the gut, the other swinging high, "Free advice! You'll never out-roll a Saikyo martial artist, Hah!"

COMBATSYS: Malin blocks Himeko's Medium Punch.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Malin            0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0           Himeko

[MALIN]
Malin was expecting the standard stoic steady style of all the martial artists out there. To step step move forward so something shiny and flash and lazer. . .y. But Himeko wasn't. Himeko used tools. Sure, it was all paper, but that was a clever way to conceal them. It was smart. It was like Malin-Style.

But Malin couldn't just sit there and be impressed. Himeko did after all issue the challenge and she had to know first hand the power of a single master's style.

With masterful adroitness, Malin had managed to maneuver herself in all her leaping, bouncing flightiness, back to the basketballs. And once more they come in handy as she uses one as a deflection sphere to absorb the effort from Himeko's blow. It does knock the ball from her hands, and sting a bit, but it's a lot better than getting punched in the face.

"Got in close. Tut tut," Malin taunts, and with a flick of her wrist, that cattleprod is back out. But what's this? A second one slips from her outfit's sleeve. The two prods are aimed right for Himeko's belly with crackling, popping intensity!

COMBATSYS: Himeko fails to interrupt Doku Sasori from Malin with Stop! Grammar Time.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Malin            0/-------/=======|=======\-------\0           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
It's a little early into the fight, but even though she teased Malin's last attack, she really *did* like it, and was trying to bait Malin into revealing any similar attacks- The reason known only to her but probably not difficult to guess. The large portion of Saikyo is in flash and gloating, though, and Himeko had to think long and hard on how to place strategy behind showmanship while incorporating her own talents.
Malin's taunt is met with a surprise at first, "What??"
Then a wide grin, even as the duo prods come out, "Gotcha!!" as she fearlessly takes the attack head on by stomping forward with her elbow extended. Unfortunately it doesn't work quite as planned, there isn't enough force for her to burst through the attack so it reaches just short as the intense shock blasts through her body! A shaking yelp of legitimate surprise and pain follows, eyes cross and her hair once more shoots upward, with the end of the shock sending her crashing flat onto her back in a complete daze. For a moment at least.
A different kind of shock snaps her out of it, as she sits up, her body shaking as if still feeling the electricity. "I- I h- have to h- hand it to ya; y- you're a l- lucky one aren't you? D- does Malin-s-style consist of rol-l-ling saves f-from instant d- defeat attacks??"

[MALIN]
Malin twirls the batons in hand and blows on them for effect before slipping them somewhere with a flashy bit of sleight of hand. "You're tougher than you look," she says. "I'm impressed. That took down that Mega Dragon Fighter J kid."

She saunters, confident looking as she meanders toward Himeko. She stops long enough to find her mallet, step on the head, and roll the haft back up into her hand. "What's that? Course it does. Can't keep beating on bad guys if they keep hitting you. What kinda dumb idea is it to fight without moving around?"

She stops, mallet twirling over her shoulder. Tiny as she is, the hefty weapon looks comically large in her hand. "Y'ready? Or you still got more to show me? Cause right now, you're looking pretty good. I might have to make you part of my club. But you gotta pass the test! Hya!"

Malin kicks forward, swinging a downward, thundering strike with her hammer. The weight of the thing lifting the small girl upward to give her her own forward flinging momentum!

COMBATSYS: Himeko dodges Malin's Crushing Strike.

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Malin            0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
Hime is fairly quick to get to her feet, and while she still appears a little shaky she's still ready to fight. "Huh? You haven't seen anything yet!" 'Because I still have my ultimate technique to fall back on', she thinks to herself, though she is starting to get nervous seeing as she hasn't been able to give herself a good opening. But then again... A bead of sweat falls down the side of her face.

".. That's not what a 'rolling save' is..."

That bothers her far more than the assumption that Malin would be able to drag her into her club that probably has nothing to do with books. As similar as they are in some aspects, they're indeed very different in others. With the hammer once more making an appearance, Himeko once again is legitimately confused by how it keeps vanishing and re-appearing unless... Maybe it's the same weapon? That aside she's able to skip to the side and just barely keep from getting flattened by a mallet. .. Hammer? Hime's counter attack by reaching for Malin's extended arm is stalled only because, out of nowhere, she starts going into a struggle to keep from a joke only she'd understand. Dan would probably scold her for letting her guard down, but really, what can she do??
From there she positions herself best she can so that she can fling Malin over her shoulder and to the ground but, unable to get the momentum at first, attempts to ram her shoulder into Malin's gut, then make a second attempt before she loses it. "Pa ha ha ha ha ha!!"

COMBATSYS: Malin full-parries Himeko's Saikyo Haraigoshi!!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Malin            1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Himeko

[MALIN]
Malin's heft of the hammer brings her own small frame flying with it. She turns in the air and is open and clearly exposed for Himeko. A clear shot to the tummy is what Himeko has as the blonde girl sails past her. Perfect to being grabbed and thrown. So perfect in fact, that Malin is light as a bumble bee when Himeko tosses her.

Too light, too easy a grab it seems, because the master of Malin-Style seems to turn herself over into a little ball and land in a low, crouch, carried well away and clear from where she should have been for Himeko's stabbing elbow.

And there's a flash. A small blade glints off the lights above, a secret one hidden in the toe of Malin's show. Weapons everywhere, everything a weapon when you have nothing at all. That is the secret of Malin-Style. "Don't give up yet," Malin says, "I totally want to work that into a team attack later!"

Then she hurls herself upward. Leaping into the sky, she has such strange control that she seems to stop in mid-air in order to jackknife herself down to the ground. But as soon as she lands there, she caroms off the floor to pinball herself toward Himeko. Back and forth, bouncing like a rubber ball. One with very cutting knifes and claws.

COMBATSYS: Malin successfully hits Himeko with Koukou Tenkan EX.
- Power hit! -

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Malin            1/------=/=======|=======\====---\1           Himeko

[HIMEKO]
If there's one way to stop her burst of laughter, it'd be Malin's expert rolling technique! "-- uh?" the way she so nimbly slips through catches her by complete surprise and she can't help but be impressed- And it's at that moment she also realizes she may have well been approaching the fight incorrectly from the get-go. Still.. That's incredible!

And it's only the beginning, Malin's attack causes the young fighter to raise her guard again, particularly at the glint which suggests there's a weapon involved. Wait.. Did Malin say 'team attack'? ".. Eh?" While Malin certainly is faster, Hime feels she at least has a read on the attack coming but all that spinning, all that rolling! Wanting to stay close she ends up paying the price by getting cup up good and a yelp of pain passes her lips as the blades slice this way and that, cutting up her costume as well as flinging her back with an ungraceful crash to the floor. She's.. Pretty certain she saw claws there, and as she gets up with her hand upon her shoulder she shoots a glare at Malin, "H- Hey!!! Come on now, what's with that attack?!?!"
...
"You *can* Yahoo!! That would improve the coolness of that technique by at *least* fifty percent, Malin!" That aside, damn... Her ultimate technique, maybe now's the time to use it? But she's so quick! And her guard isn't the slightest bit down either. Well sometimes in battle one has to go for the hail mary, she decides. She'll have to make her own opening! "I'll show you how it's done.. Saikyo ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE!" Himeko draws her palms back, and a brilliant burst of energy surrounds her body, which also send the papers scattered onto the floor flying into the air.

She dashes toward Malin, enough papers gathered into her hand to make a perfect (ableit White) replica of Malins hammer, and imitates Malin's Beni Sasori, "YaHAOOOO!" Immediately after, she twirls around, with a replica of Malin's twin prongs glowing with her own energy that she thrusts toward the gut, ending in a small burst rather than an electric shock, "Burn THIS into your memory!!"
Finally she attempts to finish the combination off with another attempt at her Saikyo style shoulder throw, "Now THATs what I call 'Poggers'!"

COMBATSYS: Malin interrupts #Pysch-yo Burst# from Himeko with Suzume Bachi Chijou EX.
- Power hit! -

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///                           ]
Malin            1/----===/=======|>>>----\-------\0           Himeko

[MALIN]
Of all the things that Malin brags about, bluffs about, bends the truth to a frankly uncouth degree about, rolling is not one of those things. She is as good with rolling and dodging and maneuvering as she is with her yoyo. Some with better eyes for martial arts skill might recognize technique, subtle chi manipulation, and more at work. To Malin, she just knows what she can do and she has honed it to the same kind of razor edge that she maintains her blades with. And she has many, many blades.

Too bad "knife sharpening club" isn't a thing at Taiyo High.

And she keeps bouncing and bounding about as she slashes and cuts at Himeko. Until she finally stops and remains in her leaned back, crouching stance. A set of clawed knuckles in one hand, a knife in the other. She grins. "Already at 100%, Malin can't get cooler," she says, clucking her tongue. "But if you want to join my bad guy hunting club, you'll have to be quicker than that."

But she's barely spoken when the ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE is brought to challenge. A brilliant light, Malin squints at the shining. And then. . .her mallet? "Hey! Copy cat!" she calls out. "That's a Malin-Style original technique!" The small growl of intellectual property based anger is barely even audible against the shouting cry of Himeko's blazing challenge. But Malin is angry. Malin is furious.

Malin is kind of very flattered that someone would copy her technique. Copying is, after all, learning without asking permission.

Malin watches the coming rush. She can see what's happening here. She nods. And she blasts forward. To the hammer, she barrel rolls, it's none of her hands that go for the hammer wielder, but a foot. A knife jutting out of the toe of her sneaker as she slips by. A kick stab in passing. And as she lands, she turns back in and bounces to come up against the two prongs of a mimic of her own prods. This, she stops with the claws of her knuckles. Slotting deftly as the shock courses through her, but only long enough for her to use her knife and make a second strike. "Kya!" she cries out as she takes control and her masterful roll leads her to rolling and spiking Himeko to the ground, and with it, a pair of throwing knives embedding on either side of the henshin heroine's head.

As Malin lands, she huffs and straightens her top. "Nice moves, but no-one matches the original."

[HIMEKO]
The surprise was exactly what Himeko was hoping for, and with it comes a burst of confidence, even as Malin manages to somehow recover from the initial shock of seeing her own attack used against. Unfortunately it's true; there's simply no way that Himeko can perfectly understand and execute her opponents techniques down to the letter, which is her ultimate techniques' weakness. It's poetic in a way. %But she's absolutely shocked by the counter-strikes, with her dedication in the execution she simply can't defend herself from the hidden and not-as-hidden blades assaulted upon her. The cuts are painful for certain, and it takes everything she has to keep onto her feet- Scratch that, she indeed is planted to the ground, "UNGH!!"
Followed by a "YEEK!" with the final blades buried by her either side. It's incredibly rare that Himeko ends up feeling demoralized, and this is certainly a situations where she's at a complete loss what to do. She grits her teeth as she pushes herself to one knee, unable to bring herself to look her opponent in the eyes as she holds out her hand to shake. "A- All right, I've had enough of your 'points' for one day... Good match, Malin."

COMBATSYS: Himeko takes no action.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Malin            1/----===/=======|

COMBATSYS: Himeko can no longer fight.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Malin            1/----===/=======|

[MALIN]
Malin finally looks behind herself to see her downed opponent. The smug look vanishes and she turns quickly to walk over. Still, the showmanship within Malin remains as she flourishes her knives before secreting them away once more. She stops in front of Himeko and she crosses her arms. Regarding, thinking, puzzling, and pursing her lips at her opponent.

The sound of Malin's hand clapping onto Himeko's is loud enough to echo in the now battered and beaten up gymnasium. She grips and holds Himeko's hand tight. Trying to help the other girl up to her feet. "That was awesome!"

Malin is smiling, pleased as can be in herself, but also in what she saw. "That's really smart, trying to beat people at their own game. I mean, not good enough to beat me, but I know loads of people that'd make look so stupid!" She laughs, giddy as can be. "You really got to join my club. I've got some other people in it, and we fight against the gangs that no one else does anything about. You're perfect for it!"

She's beaming, laughing, and then it all fades as she looks around at the results their fight had on the school building. "So, uh, how about we go somewhere else before a teacher shows up. I know you said loser takes winner to their favorite restaurant, but I'm gonna be nice and let you take me to your favorite place. But we should probably go now."

COMBATSYS: Malin has ended the fight here.


[HIMEKO]
Following the clap, Himeko does glance upward followed by a gentle squeak as she's brought to her feet! She isn't really sure what to say right away, but what really makes a difference to her is how Malin genuinely understood her technique. That alone complete restores Himeko's morality, making her that much more determined to improve upon it- It wasn't invincible today, but surely at one point it will be! "Th- Thank you.." she replies, sheepishly at first, but then dives forward to try and throw her arms around Malin in a tight hug with a more confident, "Thank you *so* much!! I'm *really* glad that we fought!"

And as for joining her club? As much as Himeko presents herself as a hero she.. Well, she isn't exactly *that* kind of hero, though she'd of course be more than happy to cover the stories for the school paper or maybe an anonymous vlog? They can certainly suss it out over a meal for certain. ... Which brings her pause, as she doesn't have a favorite restaurant. What does Malin think she is; some sort of social butterfly?? "U- Um.." It wouldn't be like her to leave the place a mess, but she's completely swept up in the high of making a new friend. "S- Sure! I.. Know a place. Let's go!" And that place is the Saikyo Dojo. Hopefully Malin likes sandwiches!

Log created on 02:15:50 05/13/2021 by Malin, and last modified on 01:18:46 05/18/2021.