NFG Season One - Metro City R1 - Kenzo vs Chevy
[Toggle Names]Description: The Lightning Ninja takes on the Water Wielding Country Girl at Vito's Restaurant in the Little Italy section of Metro City. Can Kenzo earn himself a shocking victory or will Chevy wipe him out?
[CHEVY]
Some twenty minutes before the scheduled fight time, one of the busboys from Vito's Restaurant came down the stairs carrying a big bucket full of water. A few minutes later, he returned with a second bucket. With no sign of Chevy in sight, it's likely that the astute observers in the audience were able to draw some conclusions.
Those conclusions would be confirmed three minutes before fight time, as the sound of Chevy's laughter can be heard echoing through the hallway leading to the basement fight venue. The laughter gets louder as the freckle-faced southerner swings the door ajar with the tip of her galvanized pipe, being extra careful not to gouge the paint. Two empty buckets hang suspended from the trailing end of the pole rested upon her left shoulder. And the sight of them is enough to stir up hoots and hollers from Miss Beaumont's cheering section in the audience. The redhead has a wide and somewhat goofy grin on her face as she walks into the arena space, seemingly surprised at how... -open- it is down here. Had she expected something smaller, and perhaps, more clammy?
The busboy stops just beside her, waving to her and the crowd as he remains at the threshold. Sadly -- he's still got to work.
The redhead turns and waves to the busboy -- a family friend, or perhaps a friend-of-a-friend? Rather than t-shirts or off-the-shelf Hawaiian shirts, Chevy's wearing something a bit more tailored to her trim physique: a floral-patterned racerback tank top with a v-collar, along with a pleated golf skirt to match. She's ditched the high-top sneakers for more casual canvas shoes, perhaps to better deal with the indoor environment.
But... as she's arrived early enough, she gives friendly waves to her cheering section, and she's quick to sign autographs to the quick-witted fans who were wise enough to hand her a marker and a piece of memorabilia. Humming contentedly, she doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the task: it becomes rather obvious that she's aiming to fill her own buckets with the water her busboy friend had left.
[KENZO]
Members of their fandoms have noted that they kept missing connections. It would appear that the execs were determined to fix that in this fight. When Kenzo makes his way down the steps and into the basement fight club, he doesn't look like the relaxed but focused fighter that showed up to the fights with Buck or Hawksley or the perfomer that showed up to the Rumble. No. He looks irritated. While the irritation had nothing to do with Chevy, that was his current emotional state.
Kenzo's fight prep consisted of making adjustments to his suit and specs and then pacing back and forth. Most of the fans who normally would approach Kenzo for pictures and autographs have stayed back. The few brave souls who have approached still get pictures and autographs but it isn't done with the same cheerfulness that he had done it with in appearances past.
Eventually it is fight time and Kenzo has to get into the ring and so he leaps over the barrier and gives a polite if not enthusiastic bow.
[CHEVY]
It... has been a source of some regrets that circumstances prevented her from having a more -meaningful- conversation with Kenzo. Her own insecurities kept her from holding court with him during the International Fighting Festival's wrap party, and shared concern over Djamila led to even less being said at Daybreak Beach. Now, though, the powers-that-be at NFG have all but guaranteed a night for the two to share a ring together, at the very least.
Admittedly -- Chevy doesn't even notice the ninja until she happens to notice his apprehensive fanbase. And only because some of -her- fanbase has started to -- rudely -- point and laugh. His misfortune is their entertainment?
Chevy glances up from her bucket-filling, taking a quick look to assess the situation -- and then looks directly at the front-row offenders.
"Really?" she asks in a stage whisper. "C'mon, y'all, knock it off."
It's Chevelle's belief that everyone's allowed to have a bad day every now and then. And she can't in good conscience let that kind of sass go without acknowledgement. To her credit -- the chastened fans are quick to respond to Miss Beaumont's request, while some other crowd members start cheering and clapping.
And that brings a more wholesome smile to the hayseed's face. With her buckets ready, and properly spaced upon her pole, Chevy clambers her way on up to the ring. She's able to use the weight of the water to effectively slingshot herself over the barrier. When he bows, she lowers her pole, matching the gesture, inasmuch as her weapon and her quick study of Japanese customs permits.
"Kuroiwa-san...!" she chirps, though the solemnitude of the greeting is lost as she pops back up from her bow. "Hey, we finally get a chance to talk!"
Though, not knowing his circumstances, she hazards a guess. "I'm... sorry to keep you waiting though. Traffic out there was a -nightmare-."
She whirls her bucket pole once, before resting it atop her left shoulder. "Do you, er... need a moment before we start, or something...?"
[KENZO]
As he rises from his bow, he looks his opponent specs to eye. Nodding in appreciation for her taking her fan base to task though he knows that it was only a vocal minority that pointed and laughed. After all, the majority of their fanbases have no problem with each other and get along fairly well. Those few are charging the battery however.
"The past couple of days weren't great. I'm not going to go into details out here and make it sound like I'm making excuses. If I lose, it was because you were the better fighter. I don't intend on making it easy though."
Conveyed less in words and more in tone was a promise that he will tell her later. That being said, his fanbase seems a little bolstered by the last declaration since he made a similar one in his fight against Hawksley, even if he seemed to be in a better mood then. He bows to the official and then his weighted chain and sickle are taken out of his belt. While the sickle of the kusari-gama is clutched in his hand, the weight is spun besides him on the chain held in the other hand.
"I'm ready to go."
COMBATSYS: Chevy has started a fight here.
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Chevy 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kenzo has joined the fight here.
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Kenzo 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
Since the Rumble, Chevy's experience has been nothing short of amazing. With a brief sojourn to her hometown, she'd introduced a dear friend to her family, and spent days upon days of doing everything -but- thinking about fighting. And upon her arrival in Metro City, Chevy found new inspiration in the wonderfully bohemian location Team Thunder chose to establish as their base of operations. It's been... a remarkably invigorating time for her.
But it'd be rude as heck to brag about that. Totally off-brand for the empathetic Southerner, who nods her head with an apologetic half-smile. "Aww, man, sorry to hear that!" The good thing is -- Kenzo's made it easy for her to pivot into a more reassuring line of conversation. "... Alright! So I'm gonna give it my all too! I gotta warn you though..."
She grins, gripping her bucket pole before her. Both hands about shoulder-width apart, spaced equally from the center. A fairly standard position for her -- perfectly balanced.
"I've been workin' on some new stuff! So I'm hopin' to surprise ya!"
As Kenzo affirms his readiness to the official, Chevy nods her assent as well. "Ready!"
And then she lowers her eyebrows, grinning as the official steps back, starting the match in earnest. She's... studied a few things, since the announcement of the matches.
"Iku wa yo, Kuroiwa-san!"
And in the next moment, she springs towards him, lightning-fast. Rather than make an obvious use of her waterbending skills, she plunges in with a direct assault, twisting the pole to a forty-five degree angle, and aiming to drive its center towards Kenzo's solar plexus. If she manages that, she'd make use of her water affinity to torque the pole on its axis, hoping to snare Kenzo's right arm from below and his left arm from above. She'd continue the twist, while turning, to try and fling Kenzo right into the Vito Bracca fight club logo in the center of the ring! Brand recognition for the sponsors, woo!
COMBATSYS: Kenzo blocks Chevy's Quick Throw.
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Kenzo 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Chevy
[KENZO]
Kenzo manages to slightly deflect the course of the pole with his sickle of his weapon keeping it from completely pressing up against him and giving a little extra time to react to the torque of the pole. He gets swung around but due to that extra time, manages to swing his feet under him so that he could land on his feet. With all the momentum put into the throw, he converts it into a backward roll so his feet are securely under him.
With him being so far away and knowing he'll probably have trouble closing in on her, he decides to make her come to him instead. He swings out the weight out and so that the chain, now electrified with his energy, wraps around her. That is only the beginning as he pulls her towards him and then follows up with a slash with his likewise electrified sickle.
"I guess I have no choice but to improvise and adapt if I want to overcome."
COMBATSYS: Kenzo successfully hits Chevy with Lightning Snare.
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Kenzo 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
Chevy's seen Kenzo's martial arts skills from a distance, both in the Rumble and her pre-fight review. It's not hard to glean that he's got something of an affinity for electricity. Extra caution is needed, as she, a waterbender, is -particularly- vulnerable to his weapon of choice.
With him breaking away from her hold, Chevy's finding herself a little off-balance. She starts to give chase, if for nothing else than to make the most of her forward lean. She skids to a halt, though, as she sees the tinker ninja whipping his chain around. She starts to hop backward, but the chain coiling about her arm prevents her from gaining any more distance. The electrical shock conducting through the chain is both painful enough to draw a yelp from her, and powerful enough to stun her muscles long enough for Kenzo to reel her in for a slash.
An arc of crimson erupts from her thigh as she regains enough control to break free -- though it's a bit clumsy, and some water splashes out from her buckets in the process, splattering upon the ring for a later hazard.
"Ugh, it's like getting zapped by an electric fence and the bob wire at the same dang time..."
She may be voicing a complaint, but the hayseed's still able to flash Kenzo a smile. She whips her bucket pole around, stabilizing herself as she paces a few steps back.
"I ain't never been to Metro before. It feels way different from Sunshine..."
Knowing how much Kenzo had been wanting to keep her close, Chevy realized it might be good to keep some distance from him. And one thing he might also notice is that, contrary to the start of the Rumble, she's got both of her blue eyes fixated upon him. Focus... that's something she's been making a more concerted effort to achieve. And that means keeping track of each and every one of the ninja's movements, to the best of her ability. Even while she's seemingly content with small talk.
"This your first time too?"
COMBATSYS: Chevy focuses on her next action.
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Kenzo 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Chevy
[KENZO]
If Chevy is content to stay back he could stay back as well. That is one of his favorite features of the kusari-gama is that it's so flexible (ha!). He can be dangerous from up close or from a far. Since Chevy wants him away, he'll continue to attempt to pressure from up close.
"I have been in Metro before but it was only for a convention so I didn't get to do much sightseeing."
He goes into a dash towards Chevy and when he's just outside pole range before he suddenly takes to the air performing what a gymnast would call a Barani, a front flip with a half twist, all the while swinging the weighted end so that it wrapped around her right shoulder. Upon landing, he would pull her in close while he turns and then brings her up and over his shoulder to attempt to slam her on her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Chevy fails to counter Aggressive Throw from Kenzo with High Tide EX.
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Kenzo 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
The waterbender raises her pole into a vertical position. She'd thought she'd studied Kenzo's moves pretty well. But seeing them from afar and dealing with them up close are entirely different things. Even with the additional time that her spacing had earned her, parsing out just -how- Kenzo planned to make an attack out of his front flip and twist made it difficult for her to figure out just how to position her counterattack. On the spur of the moment, she picks left.
And that's when the chain curls around her shoulder, working -inside- the staff to her dismay. The advantage is completely his, as his weapon blocks out any way for her to use her the leverage of her own in the time allowed. As a result, she's forced to release her pole as she's folded over his shoulder and slammed down just as he planned. Water splashes free of the buckets, soaking the fallen fighter in the process -- and quite possibly Kenzo as well, depending on his position.
Sucking in her breath, she presses off the mat, rolling herself free and snagging her pole along the way. Gripping it tightly to her, she forges a tight, exasperated smile. "Whew. Uh." She forces a laugh, a little awkwardly. "You're really kickin' things up a notch this fight, Kuroiwa-san."
[KENZO]
Kenzo lets the chain go slack just enough that he can pull the chain free of Chevy's shoulder. He lets out a sigh of relief as he yanks the weight back towards him.
The ninja knew that he was running into a trap when he darted in and was gambling on the attack being unorthodox and just crazy enough that Chevy wouldn't be able to respond adequately. Just a slight turn one way or another, a step back, or some type of different movement and Chevy would had legitimately would have had him.
"You're a dangerous opponent, Beaumont-san. Underestimating you would be a stupid blunder. I'm not overly fond of making that type of mistake."
He pulls a metal orb from his hip, sends a charge into it, and then rolls it right for her feet. If Chevy has scouted him as closely as he suspects she did from just being on the same team as Ichika and Buck, she'll know that if she better move or she'll be in for a nasty shock when it releases a powerful burst of electricity into her.
COMBATSYS: Chevy dodges Kenzo's Pulse Device.
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Kenzo 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
It's just common sense that -any- device pulled from the nin-gineer's belt will prove to be a hazard to life and/or limb, whether the techniques were studied or not. Thankfully, Chevy's senses haven't been -completely- dulled by getting shocked, stabbed, and slammed to the mat -- she's able to see the device en route and dives to the side, accordingly. As the little device rolls off, she hits the mat in a roll. Her pole stays tucked close to her side; the buckets only spill a little of their water in the process.
"*Dangerous*?" Chevy repeats while springing back to her feet, an awed smile on her face. "Aww, c'mon... I'm just a cuddly teddybear once you get to know me better!"
Indeed -- it seems she's realized the flaw of giving Kenzo more room to work with. And that means it ... might be time to put her new training to the test.
But she's not done playing to Kenzo, or her crowd of adoring fans. Tossing the engineer a wink, she lurches forward, hurling one bucketful of water at Kenzo, and then the other! It's not an attack in itself, though, for she keeps her distance for two more beats.
The instant the water splashes against the mat, Chevy is aiming to land both feet right in the center of the new puddle. That's when the energies of her water spring to life, rocketing her forward even faster than just using the springiness of the fight surface alone! She seeks to tackle him around the waist, bringing him down to the mat -- and then fully -saturating- him with water. If that all comes to play, the water might affect the electronics if he hadn't taken precautions -- but aside from that, the chi-laced water at her command would also work to slow down his movements!
COMBATSYS: Kenzo blocks Chevy's Marsh Mud.
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Kenzo 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Chevy
[KENZO]
No sooner than Chevy proclaims that she's cuddly teddybear does she instantly justify Kenzo's previous statement. The extra propulsion from the water ends up driving the air from his lungs as she crashes into him. He barely had the presence of mind to shoot his legs behind him in a sprawl. It is the only reason he isn't on the ground.
He coughs out some of the water that managed to go down his throat. He doesn't disengage but instead attempts to hook the chain holding arm under one of hers to get in an underhook while he hooks the sickle behind her opposite heel and pull her leg from under her and drop her on her back.
"Maybe outside the ring you're a cuddly teddybear but that's not where we are located."
COMBATSYS: Chevy blocks Kenzo's Weapon Trip.
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Kenzo 1/=======/=======|=======\-------\1 Chevy
[CHEVY]
With her grappling attempt failed, Chevy is quick to spring back to her feet. She may be thoroughly soaked from head to toe, and still bleeding from that earlier cut, but her enthusiasm for the fight is plainly obvious in her smile.
"That's a good point!"
Her buckets now empty, she takes a moment to swing her pole behind her. The puddles scattered throughout the ring start to heed her call, slowly moving to converge on her location. But before she can finish the summoning call, she finds Kenzo looping an arm around her own.
Luckily, she still has her pole, which she props against the mat and leans on for support. And -some- of the water has already pooled under her foot. She uses her control over the water to anchor one foot in place, while her other foot earns a crimson stripe as a reward for its negotiation with the sickle. "... Ow, wait, I thought you said 'no' to that."
Pursing her lips together, she seeks to pin her arm down, locking Kenzo's in place -- and then seeks to use that trapped arm as leverage as she slams him down onto the mat! Regardless of success, she hopes that twisting his arm just so might just slow his reaction time a smidge!
COMBATSYS: Kenzo dodges Chevy's Mix-Up Throw.
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Kenzo 1/=======/=======|=======\-------\0 Chevy
[KENZO]
Grappling can often be a tactile pursuit. Shifts and moves and counter moves can felt rather than seen which is often why grappling arts have a lower barrier to entry than striking for those without sight. Kenzo's team mate is an outlier in that regard. He can feel her arm closing down on his and he immediately disengages with a hop back that actually puts him just outside of her pole range. For most members of the NFG, that would be considered 'no man's land.' Kenzo however can still be a menace at that range.
Electricity runs the length of the chain once more as he spins the chain in a figure eight pattern, rapidly and repeatedly swinging the weight at her and much like their appearance at the Rumble, it is vaguely to the rhythm of Miserlou that Chevy had enter to.
His gut was telling him that she was getting ready to adjust to his tactics and he didn't want her getting comfortable enough to respond to the pressure he was applying.
COMBATSYS: Chevy blocks Kenzo's Whirling Chain Blitz.
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Kenzo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\=------\1 Chevy
[CHEVY]
The beginning of the battle was... humbling, to say the least. But Chevy's attitude is living proof that positive thinking can go a long way towards turning a near-certain loss into a fighting chance.
Miss Beaumont recovers quickly enough from her missed attempt at capitalizing on the elusive electro-engineer, hopping one end of her pole forward for a momentary handhold to stability.
Once her feet are solidly on the ground, though, she finds herself besieged by a barrage of chain strikes! She likes Misirlou better when it's not the soundtrack to a tympanic barrage -- much less an electrically charged one. Chevy wants to stay close, so retreat isn't an option she's considering -- which means bringing her bucket pole into the fray! She swings her pole in a figure eight of its own, fending off a good majority of the blows, though still getting stung by the weight and its attendant electric shocks.
The pinging of metal-on-metal contact intermingles with the sounds of "Ow! Ow! ... Ow!" -- the interjectons Chevy makes each time an electrical charge lances through the beads of water upon her bare arms. She's determined to work her way closer to the engineer... but he seems to be working his way to safety all the same.
She may not be an engineer.
But she does have -one- weapon to help her close the gap.
Grinning, she stomps her foot. "Ain't no need to be so shy, Kuroiwa-san!"
Puddles of water splash into the air.
And then they merge together in midair, falling at her feet.
In the next instant, a grinning Beaumont leaps forward into the swelling pool. And in the next, the water surges into a rapid wave, catching the novice surfboarder and rocketing her forward!
"Let's gooooooooo!"
Grinning, she ducks low for a rapid approach, hoping to snake her bucket-weighted pole out as she the wave crashes into Kenzo -- and if she manages to catch him across the belly, she'd use her pole, combined with the wave's thundrous momentum to scoop him right off his feet and trebuchet him into the barrier wall!
COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Kenzo with Mudskipper EX.
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Kenzo 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\===----\1 Chevy
[KENZO]
The nin-gineer could only watch in awe as puddles leap and crash into each other. He doesn't quite recover from the awe until it drops towards the ground and forms into a wave. At that point, it's too late for him as she surfs right at him. The lift and launch is a bygone conclusion. His body goes into an uncontrolled spin before his body gets folded on the barrier.
Kenzo manages to peel himself off of the barrier and slowly makes his way to just outside pole range before he starts spinning the chain as he considers his next move. A consideration is made for his health, her readings he's getting from his combat specs. When he takes a hop inside 'no man's land' it's clear his decision has been made.
His chain swings out, wrapping around her neck as energy courses through it once more. He stomps down on the chain to send her to the ground face first, since where the head goes the rest of the body follows. From there, he reels Chevy in so he can follow up with slash after slash with his likewise electrified sickle.
COMBATSYS: Chevy counters Deadly Electrocutioner from Kenzo with King Tide.
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Kenzo 0/-------/---<<<<|===----\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
A wide trail of water stands between Chevy and the nin-gineer. Most of it is still in somewhat close proximity to the waterbender; she kicks at the puddle nearest her, comforted by the sound of splashing. The training has done her well. It's been a couple weeks, but even still, she hasn't -quite- gotten the hang of the new technique she'd learned from her Team Thunder mentor. Some things she can pick right up. Others... just need the right kind of inspiration.
The waning sunlight of a summer's day filters through the boughs of a shade tree, onto the sanctuary of verdant greenery in the midst of the artificial Sunshine City River. The sunlight plays across the small splashes of water that dotted Ayame's black shirt -- splashes that Ayame is studiously brushing away. Chevy's teacher continued to speak without pausing, leaving no gracious way to apologize for the mess.
"And keep in mind, that when you fight, you have at least five weapons at your disposal. Your pole, your two buckets, your water, and you. Learn to use them all, learn the right time and place to lean on their different strengths, and your style will continue to evolve."
Chevy's eyes widened. Her apology all but forgotten in the revelation.
In the here and now... Chevy starts to close the distance. She'd fought so hard to get up close and personal -- and then in a return to earlier tactics, she acted on sheer reflex, tossing him into the barrier. It worked in past contests -- earning her the breathing room she had preferred. But now it's a disadvantage. And she seeks to close that gap, breaking into a light jog with the pole at her right.
Her sneakers splash through the water, as she closes. It's a reassuring sound, a reassuring feeling, knowing that she's gathering the water for her next strike without needing to chase it down.
Kenzo's back on his feet. And before she knows it -- he's bringing his weapons to bear. Himself, his natural electricity, the sickle, the weight, and the chain strung between them. If she leaves out the arsenal of technological marvels, Chevy reasons... that's five for five.
She sees him spinning the chain. She knows he's been saving his energy for something -big-, and it likely involves that weapon.
And then all of a sudden she no longer has time to imagine it. Kenzo's invading the 'no man's land' and he intends to take no prisoners. She has to act fast.
There's no room to maneuver. He's entered the critical zone. Chevy hasn't had enough practice to pull off either of the moves Ayame had taught her. Not without risking injury to herself, of course.
Inspiration has a way of arriving unexpectedly, though. Often in concert with the time-slowing benefits of a full-on adrenaline rush.
Chevy raises her staff to a near vertical. And then she jams her heel into the puddle at her feet, blasting a small geyser of water upwards into the open mouth of a bucket.
The staff spins sharply around Chevy's finger, a blurred shade of galvanized gray metal between herself and Kenzo. The -slightest- mistiming, and the chain would have continued onward to her neck without incident. As it is, though, the chain catches around the pole with a sickly grinding of metal, sparks flying every which way.
Throwing her pole right, Chevy sways left; the weight whistles past just an inch or two from her face. Lightning crackles, arcing across the droplets of water. But she's already on the move -- with her pole busy winding up that chain, she's already transitioning into one of her 'comfort food' strategies.
She steps in -- grabbing for Kenzo's shoulders. And then without really giving -any- time at all to think about her move -- she executes, pulling down on his shoulders, and hurling him right into her puddle of water.
The water explodes -upwards- in a sudden geyser, blasting him into the air -- and sending her bucket pole sharply veering off in a different vector.
But Chevy's already executing the predicate of that particular move in her repertore -- grabbing Kenzo by the leg, and then power slamming him into the mat!
Only then does Chevy stop to let her breath out. Only -then- does time slow down enough for her to process the incredible sequence of events that had had to happen, against all odds, -perfectly- in order for that to happen. For if it hadn't... she'd surely have a number -more- stripes of crimson from Kenzo's sickle.
Panting, she raises her hands. It's not the stance of a bo staff wielder. Or the swagger of a surfer. But the stance of a jiu-jitsu practitioner, one palm raised, the other awaiting ready at waist level. She slides her foot forward -- and the water pooled at her feet burbles at the ready.
## It is very dark in here. ##
## You are likely to be eaten by a grue. ##
## A grue opts for Kenzo, a traditional meal with a side of tech twist. ##
[OOC] Kenzo says, "That's ominous..."
[KENZO]
To Kenzo's horror, he can only watch as the chain goes one way and Chevy goes the other. After that, things become a chaotic blur for the ninja as he's pulled down and then blasted upwards. There's no way he can even react to the sudden sensation of having his leg grabbed because the moment he detects it, his body is already in a violent descent back down to the ground.
The old boy of Justice High slowly climbs back to his feet, clearly shaken but no less determined to make Chevy earn her victory.
"Beaumont-san, you /are/ dangerous. My refusal to underestimate you has been justified."
He yanks the chain back once more, this time taking the pole with it before jerking the chain to release the pole and stepping between her and the pole and bucket. He then reaches for the thigh pouch on his combat suit. Opens it and pulls out a handkerchief and wipes off his combat specs before tossing it into the crowd. He then closes the pouch, stows the kusari-gama, and draws his tessen.
He then moves forward and when he's in range, he lashes out with the war fan then skips backwards. With a flick of the wrist, the fan is open and held in a defensive position.
COMBATSYS: Kenzo successfully hits Chevy with Reaction Strike.
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Kenzo 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Chevy
[CHEVY]
Chevy's a big fan of Jackie Chan movies. And while it seems that Tamaki might be a big fan of one of his movies... well, Chevy hasn't studied drunken boxing. She sticks with the basics here as she reduces her horizontal profile, keeping her leading hand raised in defense.
Water drips from saturated locks of reddish hair down her freckled cheeks. She flashes him an apologetic grin. "Ah s'pose that's fair." No sense in even -pretending- to be defenseless, even as she holds up her hands in a stance she's barely practiced as an adult. That -might- change, if she were to contact Sensei Shibata...
Right now, though, Kenzo's forced the issue by cutting her off from three of her five weapons. And water is a... difficult weapon to defend with, at this stage in the bender's training. Mind -- it is more solid than -air-, which is what Chevy sees as the threat Kenzo rolls out.
"... A *fan*?" She's seen Jackie Chan use a fan with devastating results. But that's a movie. It's stage damage. Right?
"Ah mean, I appreciate it, but it's not -that- dank and m--"
Chevy cuts off her response as Kenzo lashes out with the fan. Her hand starts to move, but her tardy response leads to the war fan popping her right in the forehead and nose. "--gh!" She staggers backwards amidst fine spray of water droplets. The sound of water splashing at her feet, though, reminds her that while defense may prove difficult, offense is something she -has- practiced.
"Okay, maybe I gotta study that a bit more first. But anyway!"
She partially cups her trailing hand, lifting it upward; a column of water rises in response. In the next moment, she takes a half-step forward, snaps her wrist in the same swift motion, as if flinging a ninja star. Meanwhile, her left hand repeats the gesture, with similar result -- culminating in an advance upon Kenzo's position. And bringing the hayseed closer to arm's reach of her repurposed farm tools!
COMBATSYS: Chevy successfully hits Kenzo with Rinse Cycle.
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Kenzo 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Chevy
[KENZO]
Apparently, Chevy didn't scout Kenzo as closely as the ninja had assumed. He did after all use the steel fan in the Rumble, he used it drop Buford in their fight. While the kusari-gama is Kenzo's 'go to' weapon there's footage of him using the metal fan to good effect.
Of course he still has to deal with the streams of water. He tries to slip past the first one and gets caught in the chest. The second blasts his arm back and the fan out of his hand. What little ability to maintain his balance he had left was washed away.
Kenzo rises to his feet as he brings the kusari-gama up in front of him the weight hangs down to the ground. He steps forward before delivering several slashes with the electrified sickle before he releases the energy and falls face first to the ground.
COMBATSYS: Kenzo can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Kenzo successfully hits Chevy with Shredding Spark Frenzy.
[ \\\\ <
Chevy 1/---====/=======|
[CHEVY]
It's true that Chevy -had- reviewed past fights. But she usually watches that sort of thing while cooking, as sitting and poring over a monitor tends to result in unscheduled naptime. So... there are definitely gaps in her knowledge, coupled with the fact that some things look -way- different when they're in person and life-sized. And, well, hitting her in the nose. The hayseed doesn't even notice that that's started to bleed; the red feels just like every -other- drop of liquid rolling down her face.
She seems pleased that her 'backup weapon' seems to have done the job of battering Kenzo backwards, hampering his balance to some degree as she maneuvers closer to her pole and buckets.
But... not enough to deter him from one last attack. Chevy sees him raise the sickle, and closes her cupped fingers tighter. Raising her arms in defense, she pools the water under her feet. And, to her credit, the water does respond, bursting against her feet and propelling her upward...
It's just that 'up' wasn't the correct direction to take, as Kenzo's electrified sickle sinks into her bared shoulder. "AAAGH!" A fine spray of crimson mists the air; electric shock sends her arm into spasmodic convulsions. Her focus broken, the raised column of water collapses into a puddle once again, leaving her an open target for the savage symphony of sickle-slashing that ensues.
It's about all Chevy can do to stagger backwards, arms shaking as she raises them up in a meager defense. But that last energy discharge is enough to blast her backwards, as all her muscles pull taut at once -- and she falls backwards, almost flat as a board, her teeth grit in a pained rictus. "Gghhhhh--!"
The lights are on, overhead.
The harshness makes Chevy's pale skin look even paler, in contrast to the bloody furrows carved into her from the sickle. Arteries swell, as the result from the numerous electrical burns. Her floral shirt and skirt, soaked so much as to be nearly translucent, are now shredded in a number of places; the black Under Armor she wears beneath does the job it's named for.
But her heart is still beating. And, oddly, her eyes are still open -- her vision glassy from the glare of the overhead lights. She can hear the crowd -- distant, and vague.
COMBATSYS: Chevy lets the tide wash out.
[ \\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Chevy keeps on fighting!
[ \\\\\\ <
Chevy 1/-------/=======|
The crowd grows louder. Cheering -- not just for her, but for Kenzo too -- for a well-done performance. An intense fight to the finish.
The rhythmic thump, th-thump, th-thump sounds in her ears. She knows -something- happened, but the sudden shock hit her -hard-.
Chevy screws her eyes shut. It... she's -fighting-, right? She draws in her breath. Concentrates on clearing the fog out of her brain.
Abruptly, she slams one elbow into the mat, pitching herself onto her side. Hands press against the mat. And she plucks herself back up to a standing position. Flattening her hands, she makes a determined stand, slipping back into her kung-faux position from earlier.
"I'm good, I'm good...!" she insists... to the unseen fight official, maybe? It's only then, with a woozy stagger to the right, that her glassy vision resolves; she's finally able to overcome the glare of the overhead lights. And her eyes look down... to Kenzo.
"Whoa. That... that was *intense*..."
A bell rings.
The audience explodes into cheers.
Chevy slackens her stance, taking a moment to slick blood, sweat, and water out of her eyes. The smiling redhead walks over to Kenzo -- and kneels down next to him. No rib kicking from her, of course.
"Dang Kenzo, what a great fight... Right up to the wire!"
COMBATSYS: Chevy has ended the fight here.
[KENZO]
Fast forward to about a half-hour later after the med crews had a chance to look the two fighters over they are sent on their way.
Kenzo beckons for the water bender to follow though he does tell the staff that he will be back after they go for a walk. One does not refuse free food from the venue owners after a fight.
When they get outside, Kenzo removes his bracers and clips them to his belt and then pulls out a thick sleeve and slides it over his smartwatch. The sleeve incorporates a sound dampening material to keep his voice from being picked up. He then pulls out his fan and flicks it open, using the open fan to prevent lip reading.
"The new training facility has a security measure that interferes with my specs. Today was the first time I had full use of them since Sunshine City, so training was miserable for me."
[CHEVY]
Chevy's tummy rumbles. She didn't have a problem with the walk. She didn't -think- she'd have a problem walking right through the lobby of the pizzeria on her way to the outside. But oh boy, she sure did.
She's seen better days, mind. Bandaids plastered all over her pale skin. Some of them stretch as she walks, but most are a bit more secure. She's also wearing a t-shirt with the Vito Bracca's fight club logo, to kind of make herself feel a -bit- more useful while waiting for their pizza to bake. And to ensure that she doesn't look like as easy a target to the gangers of Metro City. She sips on a soda while she listens to Kenzo.
"Oh." Chevy blinks back at Kenzo. "... Oh. You mean your glasses? Is it like really humid in you guys's training facility or something?"
How can spectacles -not work?- The puzzlement is clear on the hayseed's face, if the tessen is low enough for Kenzo to see that.
[KENZO]
If Kenzo heard the stomach growling, he gives no indication. Polite fiction and all of that. Well that and he's focused keeping what he says off the record whether it's his team or the press.
"My specs in particular uses multiple types of cameras to record information it receives and then interprets it to give me moment to moment health information on myself and others."
He pauses for a moment to both let her absorb that information and figure out how to word it in a way that while being truthful, doesn't point out a weakness or reveal too much about Ultratech's security.
"There's something about their security measures that denied me that moment to moment information. So while I can get that information without my combat specs, it isn't organized in a way that I would prefer."
[CHEVY]
The press and the public -do- love keeping eyes on the new fighting generation, that much is true. But in the freckle-faced Southerner's case, there's no proprietary information to leak.
"Oh, huh."
The notion of glasses that feed data right into spectacles seems... pretty useful, in a number of ways. If a bit... sci-fi. Which does remind her of a bit of fiction that is relevant to the both of them.
"So... you had trouble training at the new facility?" She scratches her head.... then snorts with laughter as a thought occurs to her. "Aw heck, if it was me I'da just grabbed Djamila to go train in the park or somethin'."
She rubs her shoulder, absently. "You gonna be alright, though, Kuroiwa-san? I mean, is -Metal- workin' out for you?"
[KENZO]
The touch grass solution to the problem. And yes while going outside of the facilities gets him use of the combat specs, he loses out on the top of the line equipment. There's also the potential for training footage being leaked which is another concern.
When Chevy asks if he's going to be alright and then further clarifying what she really is concerned about by asking if Metal was working out for him, he turns towards that sleeve covering his Ultratech Lifeband.
"I liked what Metal was doing before the Rumble. After, they got more restrictive. Maybe it's the new management making a bad first impression with the specs issue, but right now I kinda feel like I'm in a gilded cage."
[CHEVY]
Chevy is a huge proponent of touching grass. Grass of any kind is a lot better than the dust bowls of the farm she'd used to work on.
Chevy frowns upon hearing that. She really did feel like Metal was the group that seemed to be helping their charges the most, aside from Thunder. And she realized some time back that she might have dodged a bullet by avoiding Frost.
"... Well, I mean, they're all still -there- right?"
She frowns, her hands clasping before her. Not fists, but close. It's frustrating to her, knowing that despite all Team Thunder has done for -her-, to know that a formerly supportive team seems to be making things so difficult for Kenzo.
"I mean, this is all coming with the new guy, right? Have you talked to him? And, like... if this new guy ends up bein' a problem, can't you just get the angry Army lady to help you?"
[KENZO]
The ninja didn't expect for someone who isn't even on his team to react so strongly to his team situation. His readouts are even registering a slight temperature change.
"I hear about it all the time in business. New guy shows up and changes things without understanding why things worked the way they did. Either morale drops and staff leave in droves or whatever is produced suffers in quality and the customers leave in droves. All because new guy wants to make a mark. That being said, I haven't talked with him yet which is the only reason I'm willing to view it as a bad first impression rather than calling it a full-on leadership problem."
He does cringe at Chevy calling Mint an Army lady.
"If you really want to see that Marine angry, you call her a soldier or Army lady."
He performs an overly dramatic, full-body shudder before laughing.
[CHEVY]
Chevy had seen how frustrated Kenzo was before their fight -- so, now that she knows -why- he was so stressed out, it did bother her a bit. But... it sounds like he's got the situation in hand, so with one hand raised to her chest, she breathes a sigh of relief.
Of course, that's when she finds out she'd mistakenly called the Marine something she might not have liked. She shares a horrified look at Kenzo -- at least, until he breaks out in laughter. "Well, she warn't in uniform and she warn't sportin' a jarhead haircut, so how's I s'posed to know?" She joins in the fun, grinning cheerily.
Still... she's glad to get to the bottom of what had gotten Kenzo down. "Man, I don't know -what- I'd do if our team hadn't given us the freedom to train the way we wanted to."
She thinks back for a moment. And frowns at the memory.
"... Yeah, there was a week we tried yoga in gym class," she laughs, "and it did -not- go well."
She shrugs mildly, and attempts a -slightly- more serious expression as she continues: "Well, yeah. That was my two cents an' all. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out -some- way of makin' it work. Y'all got time before the fights with Frost and Blaze, at least, yeah?"
Her stomach starts to rumble again. Though, aside from a slight pink tinge rising to her freckled cheeks, she's happy to leave that particular voice unacknowledged.
[KENZO]
Under the sleeve, Kenzo can feel the Lifeband vibrating on his wrist. He rolls down the sound dampening sleeve. A smile forms on his lips as he rolls the sleeve back over the watch.
"Looks like my specs problem has been addressed. If I had to guess, Angry Marine Lady had some conversations with some people."
Even still, there was still the overall feeling trapped in a gilded cage thing that he has to deal with. That can be discussed at a later time.
"Alright. Let's head back to Vito's."
The fan he was using to cover his mouth is quickly closed and pocketed before the duo head back to the restaurant.
Log created on 16:58:40 09/07/2023 by Kenzo, and last modified on 10:58:41 09/10/2023.