Description: SNF exhibition match pitting Vanessa against Leona. Like a dolt, Vanessa starts off easy, and ends up paying big for it. Not without giving the blue-haired Ikari a run for her money, of course... (Winner: Leona)
Well. So much for getting into the main match, but, what can you do?
Much as Vanessa would prefer a bar brawl of epic proportions, she'll live with what she's got in the here and now. In this particular case? There's a spark of amusement once the ticket counter hands over the names listed on tonight's fight. Her... and Mt. Stoic, the girl she only met for a brief moment or two at the bar alongside Ralf.
This should be interesting.
Despite sustained injuries, she's looking a lot better than she did a few days ago. In the center of the arena designated for tonight's bout, the redhead stretches out her arms to crack her knuckles, the general hum of the crowd doing wonders to provide proper white noise. Helps to maintain focus, after all. Dressed in her usual business-professional attire an sporting what's becoming a trademark sardonic smirk, the boxer merely waits for her opponent to come to the fore, occasionally kicking at the turf underneath in the midst of idle stretches.
'Least after this, it won't be too long a stretch to get to the bar. Or back to the hospital if the sutchers don't prove adequate.
For awhile Leona was thinking she was off for the weekend was not needed for a fight. After a rather disappointing performance for two weeks straight she figured it might be awhile before she got the call again, yet here she finds herself matched against an acquaintence to the Ikari and a drinking partner to Ralf. Either way it seems that the woman has come prepared for the fight and oddly enough she isn't wearing her usual jean jacket when she steps out from the locker area. Instead she is just dressed in jeans and a tight tank top along with combat boots along with the addition of a belt around her waist holding a few knives along with a few other smaller devices that are rather nondescript for the most part.
She only gives Vanessa a vague nod while she pulls her dogtags off from around her neck and she uses them to tie up the large mass of blue hair into a high ponytail to keep it from getting in her way. Once that is taken care of she falls into her fighting stance without a word and just stares down Vanessa with a look of pure concentration while sizing up the other woman.
COMBATSYS: Leona has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Leona focuses on her next action.
One of those fights, really.
Here's hoping that 'smack talk' isn't completely out. Though, to her credit, Vanessa's making it a point to keep her tongue -somewhat- in line. Wouldn't do to piss off on affiliate to the point of no return, but then, shit, as they say, happens. Grinning broadly at the blue-haired Ikari's appearance, the boxer offers a facetious two-fingered salute, her posture meant for defense more than anything else.
"I get the feeling this's the closest I'll ever get to an honest-to-christ conversation with you," she says, her smile failing to fade in the least. "T'that end, hope your ego doesn't bruise easy." Well, hey. A little good-natured banter never hurt anyone, now did it? Regardless of that, she apparently takes a cue from the girl's book, her attentions focussed, as opposed to making it a point to make the first move. The main thing she does do is close the proximity between the both of them, though it's only by a good foot, leaving a space of five between both women.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa has joined the fight here.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa focuses on her next action.
It seems that the young woman is just as anti-social in a fight than when she is in public. Though it is more for the fact she doesn't want to make any mistakes this fight and letting herself get distracted by small talk and useless chatter might distract her. There is only a small quirk of the woman's mouth in response to what is said and it appears she decides now is the time to attack. She breaks into a run and charges straight at Vanessa, but instead of plowing into her she decides to push off of her feet and flip about in the air while reaching into that belt to flip out one of those small objects in her belt and toss it downward at Vanessa whne passing overhead. She lands into a forward roll and is quick to kip back to her feet while waiting to see if the ensuing explosion is from hitting the red head or the ground.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Vanessa with Earring Bakudan.
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Vanessa 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Leona
Nice one.
While -explosives- wouldn't have been Vanessa's first guess, she's got a better idea of what she's up against in this case. Clenching her jaw as she's plowed forwards by the force of the blast, she manages to keep on her feet for the most part, though-- she'd be lying if she didn't admit that that stung more than a little. Shaking her head as she gets her footing back, she wheels around to take a good look at the blue-haired girl, still smirking, per usual.
"Touche`," is the similarly good-humored reply, her fingers once again weaving together to get a couple excess cracks out of her knuckles. Once all is said and done...? She closes the distance between herself and the teenager with little effort, throwing two swift punches straight at her jaw, the both of the likened more to jabs than anything else. Nothing spectacular, nothing fancy-- sure as hell no pretty explosions to go with it, but so far as she's concerned, she's still testing the waters.
COMBATSYS: Leona blocks Vanessa's 1-2 Puncher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Leona
Finding her opponent only staggering for the blast lets the mercenary know that this woman is just as tough as Ralf has told her. Many a fighters have been knocked down by her little explosives and when Vanessa comes charging back at her in retaliation all Leona can really do is raise her arms and cross them to take the brunt of the two punches. She clenches her teeth some as she takes each blow across the arms and then she starts to leap backwards while throwing her arms downward to emit an X-shaped blast of chi right at Vanessa. The hop isn't a far one though. It is just enough to allow her to put a small distance between the fighters again and let her have a bit more time to react to the red heads counter offensive.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Vanessa with X-Calibre.
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Vanessa 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Leona
A bit more time, sure... as is, Vanessa's taking the brunt of those attacks a bit more cleanly than she would've thought-- or hoped, for that matter. Doesn't seem to be deterring her much, all told. What's a fight without a few good knocks, anyway? Any -more-, mind you, and she'll be prone to the same Happy Gilmore style swearing that tends to come out in the midst of these matches. Skidding backwards as her arms fail to come up in time to deflect the blasts of energy, the redhead is -still- upright-- that hasn't changed. A little more staggered, sure, but that's beside the point.
"Shit, girl," she mutters, blinking a couple time to compensate for the upswing of adverse stimulus. "Now I know where all your social skills went."
Clearly, her attempts have been premature. That, as they say, won't happen again. In this case, there's another swift outlash that comes mere seconds after the words are said, the redhead's motions taking her in close to the halfbreed, her body gearing up to throw a strong right straight at her jaw-- and then the trajectory changes. A feint. The real attack comes in the form of a left hook that trails a sharp spark of amber energy behind it, her other han coming up in a brutal swing towards the younger woman's gut, a similarly bright trail heralding its arrival.
COMBATSYS: Leona blocks Vanessa's Forbidden Eagle.
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Vanessa 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Leona
It seems that even the Ikari women are tough as nails or at least this one is. Heidern didn't go soft on this woman during her training and it has shown by how well she can handle a fight on both the offensive and defensive side of things. She doesn't even seem to fall for faked punch and the brunt of Vanessa's strike is absorbed by the Ikari woman's leg which is brought upwards to let the strike glance off her shin. A gloved hand then quickly reaches out to grab Vanessa by her shirt to pull her over in close to Leona so the mercenary can then quickly grasp for Vanessa's hair and twist it about before spinning on a foot in an attempt to swing the woman about and spike her head first off the floor of the Taiyo Dome.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa fails to counter Ordeal Buckler from Leona with Parrying Puncher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Leona
So much for staying on her feet.
In this specific case, the odds are, apparently, not in her favor.
Skidding to a none-too-graceful halt against the ground as there's an attempted outlash to move in a counter-rhythm to Leona's assault, Vanessa's sent reeling rather than finding herself met with any kind of luck. Just a day in the life, really... o/'
Regardless of insult to injury, as it were, the redhead slowly gets to her feet, her lips pulled back in a faint sneer before she changes her overall stance to more of a defensive posture. The look says it all-- without so much as saying a word, the 'bring it' expression is entirely obvious the woman's features, the ebb and flow of excress irritation finally beginning to surface.
Things might be going in Leona's favor for the time being, but she is still a bit cautious when the other woman gets back up. She keeps her distance and a hand reaches for the belt again to pull out one of the throwing knives and she tosses it to her left hand while she pulls out another with her right. She twirls the two blades between her fingers as she once again seems to size up Vanessa as she circles the red head as if looking for an opening. Her brows raise somewhat behind her unruley bangs and it appears she finds that opening and she cartwheels to the right while throwing one of the knives at Vanessa's direction, but that ends up being a feint for the most part as the second knife gets tossed when Leona comes out of that cartwheel and that energy charged blade sails right at Vanessa's side.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Leona's I-Slasher.
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Vanessa 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Leona
At this point, Vanessa's become all the more attuned to the advent of stealthy tricks. At least for -this- fight. There are similarities between this girl and some of the others she's come up against, and thusly, the move to deflect both of the sharpened projectiles is made with relative ease-- though she ends up cursing -loudly- as her hand catches the business end of one of them, re-opening the bandage underneath her glove-- but thankfully not the wound itself.
Thank god for insurance.
There's no retaliation at the moment. Apparently, the defensive stature she takes is one that she's prone to keeping in this particular instance. Staring down the blue-haired Ikari with a far less jovial expression, the boxer's tongue flicks out over her lips to wet them again, her patience evening out as she waits for the next assault.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa focuses on her next action.
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Vanessa 0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Leona
Leona smirks slightly again, it seems that the other fighter is starting to grow smart against her tricks. She gives a bit of a nod in approval when her knives are pretty much rendered useless against Vanessa and there is a slight pause in the Ikari's assault. One might mistake her for hesitating, but any thoughts that she isn't going to attack is quickly taken away when she comes dashing in straight at Vanessa only to skid across the ground the last few feet towards the boxer in an attempt to stop her momentum and also thrust both hands out open palmed at the woman as a greenish colored orb of chi energy forms and then spikes outwards in an attempt to impale Vanessa.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa interrupts Baltic Launcher from Leona with Parrying Puncher.
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Vanessa 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Leona
Lo and behold-- it works.
...With a drawback. Much as Vanessa can see the orb coming her way, and much as she can feel part of the blast in a harsh sting against her skin, there's an immediate reaction. Despite the pain that rushes through her, the boxer seems to-- surprisingly enough-- barrel through the veridian luminescence in order to plow straight into the blue-haired Ikari with a right straight to her jaw. With the give of skin and bone beneath the hit, she can't help but show a hint of amusement, though it's not becoming full-blown cockiness.
Mind you, it could, dependant on where this goes from here.
Skirting back a couple paces, the affected skin still complaining through the adjoining nerve endings, she takes the time to regulate her breathing, one hand extended towards the halfbreed with a broad smirk. "C'mon, sweetheart," she says, that 'bring it' attitude still as noticable as it ever was. "Not too much longer and it'll be over, right? May as well give it your best shot."
Of the things she expected to come from this attack, the mercenary wasn't expecting the woman to just plow through and land a sharp hit across her jaw. THe blow actually makes Leona stagger back while she raises her arms to cross at the forearms and she throws them down to throw another blast of energy Vanessa's way. A few steps back Leona continues to stagger and she finally gets her footing while she rubs at her jaw with the back of a hand. "You've been holding back...." she says seeming rather angered by the fact her assumption might be right. "Don't underestimate me and fucking hit me." Looks like Ralf at least taught her something. The girl seems to have quite the mouth on her.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa blocks Leona's X-Calibre.
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Vanessa 1/------=/=======|=======\-------\1 Leona
Underestimate her? Hah! After all the damage she's taking? You gotta be kidding, right?
The energy that comes up against her is met with either of Vanessa's arms raising, a light grunt issuing from her throat as her feet give a couple inches under the strain. It's not as bad as it could be, but she knows full well that if she doesn't act quickly, there'll be problems.
"Trust me, honey," she replies, grinning broadly, "You ain't seen -nothin'- yet." So much for not spitting out cliche`s. There seems to be reason for it, however.
Rushing in with a surprising amount of speed put behind it, the redhead ducks down and snaps her entire body up in a -harsh- uppercut to the blue-haired Ikari's jaw, her momentum adding an extra note of strength to the assault, though it could very well be all for naught. That depends, of course, on the reaction that's achieved. Regardless of whether it whiffs, hits resistance, or legitimately -lands-... there are, apparently, more words.
"Like I said," she continues, sounding faintly winded, "Girl like you's gotta have -something- to compensate for the resounding lack of social graces. Why not fighting? Beyond what Freud'd say about it, I mean..." Heh.
COMBATSYS: Vanessa successfully hits Leona with Dash Puncher.
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Vanessa 1/----===/=======|=======\====---\1 Leona
It seems maybe her theory on talking causes distraction is true. Leona had pretty much been hard to hit cleanly through the whole fight when she kept her trap shut. Now she finds herself on the recieving ends of another strong blow across the chin that sends her staggering back again and she falls to a knee while letting out a bit of a snarl. She just slowly looks up at Vanessa and her eyes narrow on the red head. She then inhales deeply and pushes off to run right at Vanessa before she swings a leg out in a attempted sweep to take the older woman off her feet. If successful Vanessa finds herself in a world of being kicked around before she feels something slapped against her back and a large explosion that sends her through the air while Leona lands in a crouch after the assault.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Vanessa with Gravity Storm.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Vanessa 1/=======/=======|=------\-------\0 Leona
Okay, so, here's the thing:
Ouch.
Apparently, smack-talking in this case has earned Vanessa another one-way trip to the hospital. In this case, there's more than enough energy left to execute one last manuever, and in this case... she's willing to take it. Having been bowled over by another fierce explosion, the earlier wound along her side responding with the same kind of 'hurt' that came before, the redhead is left with one last option. No, sutchers don't hold up against explosives. That'll be a note she'll give the doctors once she goes about the business of smacking the crap out of them.
Surprisingly, she gets to her feet. While the movements are staggered and far from all that graceful...
...It seems to turn into something far more brutal as another dash is made against the blue-haired Ikari, the boxer's every muscle intent on landing this one last assault cleanly, without interference. Whether or not it -lands- is the question of the hour...
COMBATSYS: Vanessa can no longer fight.
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Leona 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Vanessa successfully hits Leona with Gaia Gear.
While it's not a win, at least it's insult to injury, right?
Loosening an out-and-out shout as her fist bears down against the girl with surprising force for how much energy she's lost, Vanessa's entire arm is surrounded with an equally fierce whirlwind encasing it. The intent is to at -least- send the Ikari sprawling, despite the fact that she's clearly lost this particular bout. When it hits, it hits -hard-, no question about it; without any kind of inherent ability to soak up the worst of attacks, it could've been far more staggering than it is.
She does, however, fall easily to her knees in the aftermath, her breath whuffing out of her unevenly, the uninjured hand lowering parallel to her hip as she seeks to refill her lungs. One of these days, she'll figure out that wearing good attire to these matches is a Bad Idea. She'll run out've money solely thanks to buying new clothes. However--
"--You're right," is huffed out, her tone breathless but still audible, "I underestimated you."
There was a bit of overconfidence in Leona when she felt her move land. It could be seen by the way she was rather nonchalant when she got up slowly thinking that Vanessa was down and out. The only problem with that is when she turned around she didn't find the red head laying on the ground, but instead charging her straight on and nailing her with a powerful shot that actually takes the Ikari fully off her feet for the first time the entire fight. She lands hard on her back with a sharp exhale of breath and it is quite surprising that she can kip back onto her feet after getting hit so hard. She does seem to be a bit worse for wear though after the shot and she is breathing heavily despite standing. "It happens..." she says quietly and then reaches to untie the dogtags and then lets them fall around her neck again as her hair comes undone. "Can you walk on your own or should I get someone to help?" She isn't trying to be insulting, the fact is she is just rather blunt when it comes to this sort of thing.
COMBATSYS: Leona has ended the fight here.
Shaking her head at the offerance, Vanessa doesn't seem to take any offense to it. Raising her hand as if to stave it off as she regains her breath, the boxer raises slowly to her feet, offering the blue-haired Ikari an oddly jovial grin. "Nah," she replies verbally at last, getting slowly to her feet, her hand pressing against her side gingerly. Any idiot could notice the flowering stain of blood that's erupted-- it's not terrible, but it's far from inconspicuous, and threatening to get a bit worse.
"I'll just retain my pride in knowing I could drink you under th'table any day've the week," she offers, then, chuckling lightly. "Good fight," she adds, then, extending her hand to the younger woman as a show of the usual post-fight truce. "Have t'do it again sometime. All-out-- no pussy-footing." Otherwise known as a promise that the 'underestimation' won't happen a second time.
There is a bit of a smirk again that spreads across the Ikari's features and she slaps her hand against Vanessa's and grips it for a shake before letting go. "I wouldn't doubt it. Ralf is the drinking, not me." she replies and it seems that her gaze is averted slightly from the bleeding wound that Vanessa is sporting. She turns away and starts to walk off after another moment. "Maybe. I am not as much of a brawler as some of my friends." She seems to leave things at that and she leaves to the small cheers of the minor crowd that gathered to watch the fight.
Log created by Vanessa, and last modified on 18:01:39 05/03/2005.