Description: Foxy finds out why Shenwoo calls himself the 'God of Battle' -- the hard way! (Winner: Shenwoo)
It seems like Shenwoo always gets set in early afternoon fights, these days... Not that the brawler from Shanghai is about to complain, since they're always /interesting/ fights. So, on the boardwalk, currently ringed with the usual camera crews and spectators kept safely out of the way by barricades, the tall berserker is currently just sort of standing around! His gloved hands are tucked in his pockets, and his eyes are - as they so often tend to be before a fight - hidden behind a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses, as he absentmindedly taps the toe of one of his shoes against the boardwalk. Why, the berserker might even look /bored/, waiting for the official start of the match, were it not for the broad grin on his face and the way his shoulders faintly shake in mirth. If there's anything that's almost as good as a fight... Almost as good as that undeniable feeling of being /alive/ as he tests his strength against another person, it's the /anticipation/ of a fight. For the self-styled 'God of Battle', it's like that feeling a child gets on Christmas Eve - though he'd hardly make that particular comparison. Every new opponent is like an unknown, wrapped present, to Shenwoo. "C'mon, c'mon," he murmurs to himself, dark eyes glancing over the rims of his shades at the crowd, glinting with excitement. "I can't wait for the fun to start."
Bored works. If anything, it's congruent with the stark indifference that's seen on the face of his approaching opponent. As if she's hard to miss.
Given the Venezuelan's rather bizarre attire, she stands out like a sore thumb. Her overall attitude and demeanor just seal the deal on that little trick, considering the aristocratic manner in which she carries herself. There's the ghost of a smile on unpainted lips, the vague arch of either eyebrow as she comes within visual range of the young man she's destined to face this evening. Making her way through the barricades that seperate the fighters from the audience, she cants her head to the side, appraising him quietly before offering any kind of introduction.
"I don't believe I've familiarized myself with you before," she observes, softened voice still audible through the din of the spectactors-- and announcers, for that matter. "All for the better-- finding oneself matched against opponents you've faced time and time again can become rather tedious." Drawing her rapier from its sheath, she extends the blade to the side as she bows with a flourish, which only adds to the somewhat... pompous vibe she has a tendancy to give off.
"I look forward to seeing this through to its conclusion," she says as she straightens, finally offering a congenial smile, though it's meant solely for the sake of pleasantry. It would appear as though she's little to no interest in the usual trash-talk that gets thrown around. Rather, "Until then, I'll be sorely disappointed if you give anything but your best." And with that, it is, as they say, On.
COMBATSYS: Foxy has started a fight here.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has joined the fight here.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Foxy
Well, this is certainly... Different, for Shen. Not so much the 'fighting an armed opponent' part, that's something you get used to with a life like his; it's the /behaviour/. After all, trash-talking is fun! Ah, well. The blond man's feral grin is aimed directly at Foxy now, in response to her congenial smile, and he shrugs as he removes his sunglasses, tucking them unconcernedly in a pocket. "Don't worry, I wouldn't know how to give it less than my best, even if I wanted to!" he reassures her, hopping lightly from foot to foot as he assumes his pseudo-boxing stance, the exictement in his dark eyes reaching a fever pitch now that the moment is /here/. "Let's make this fun!" And with that, well, Shenwoo takes a quick step forward, the toe of his shoe finding just enough purchase on the boardwalk to let him hurl himself forward, right at Foxy, his left fist - the one with the big metal ring on it, naturally - extended, in a pretty straightforward attack, complete with the expected roar from the brawler. "GRAAAAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Foxy blocks Shenwoo's Geki-Ken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Foxy
Raising her sword quickly to make certain that the worst of the blow is taken away from her body, Foxy is still left to let her arms suffer for the manuevering. While she's kept the most of the damage from hitting home, there's definately enough power behind that to widdle away at her defenses. Thusly... it'd be in her best interests to make certain that her own attacks meet their mark without falter.
"Well played," she replies gently, easing back into her usual posture, her eyes still attuned to his motions, sword once again extending outwards. It would appear as though she's more interested in playing to the defense for the immediate moment-- or, she's looking to punch a hole in his. "A bit hasty to enact an assault without properly gaging your opponents abilities-- a headstrong manner that could very well circumvent any ability to properly get ahead in the midst of a fray."
A light titter follows soon after, her movements taking her furthe away from the young man. "This should certainly be, as you say, rather 'fun.'"
COMBATSYS: Foxy focuses on her next action.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Foxy
Some people might look upset at their attack being defended like that... Shenwoo, however, lets out a chuckle. What good is demonstrating your power against a weak opponent, after all? Foxy's advice is met with that almost unchanging expression of his, and there's a strange sense that he's waiting for /something/. "Glad to see you think so," he says in response to the fencer's last comment, though, before he advances again with surprising speed for a man his size, aiming to get past Foxy's weapon - indeed, to get /inside of her reach/ - with a sort of daredevil unconcern, or perhaps just an outright foolish lack of a care, for the fact that he might get himself stabbed in the process. Should he manage such a thing, well, his next action is a pretty simple double-axehandle aimed at Foxy's jaw. "ORA!" It's not a /complicated/ fighting style...
COMBATSYS: Foxy counters Fukuko-Geki from Shenwoo with Seven Cycles.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Foxy
Surprising speed or no, Foxy is just as fast to respond in time.
Without so much as flinching, the Spaniard waits for the young man to move in closer before ducking down, and instantly bringing her sword back up in a sharp swipe of the bladed edge, the tip dragging along the skin of his abdomen and further up to the dead center of his chest, using his own momentum against him in this specific instance. Not the -usual- manner in which the move is approached, but it's effective nonetheless. And likely to set a precident for how many slashwounds he'll recieve by the time this is over.
She apparently has no further comment for this. Barring another light titter, of course-- the likes of which, if overheard, could be considered somewhat condescending, though she doesn't -appear- to be getting too arrogant about her chances. "At least it's not anger that drives the hand-- rather, enthusiasm," is the only observation, cryptic as it is.
There's few things quite like the cut of a blade... Shenwoo can't really say he's a fan, but it's a definite change of pace from the usual kicking, punching, burning and chi-blasting. Pain, though, is simply another one of those things the former street thug has long since learned to live with. "There it is," he says, sounding... Pleased? Weird guy. "I was wondering when you would hit me... Now the real fun can start!" So, heedless of pain, heedless of any bleeding, heedless of Foxy's cryptic commentary and potentially extremely dangerous sword, the berserker snakes his left hand out, reaching to try and grab the swordswoman /by the throat/, which if he succeeds will result in him lifting her off the boardwalk and then spiking her into it, pretty much headfirst. "RAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Foxy with Kyakuten Touchi.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Foxy
While it does dampen her ability to strike back with as much speed as she'd like, Foxy is apparently more than able to make up for the fact that Shenwoo's hold does, in fact, catch her along the throat. As she's aimed straight for the ground, her hands comes down to slam straight against the boardwalk before her head does, enabling her to pull herself -away- from him and roll back to her feet in one agile motion. She's managed to keep a firm hold on her rapier throughout all of this-- but then, she wouldn't be very useful if random attacks sent her reeling, now would she?
She has no pithy reply this time-- only a rather odd motion.
Sheathing her sword by her side, she crosses her arms out in front of her belts, her eyes focussing in on the dead center of his abdomen before those arms raise, and come down in two lanquid arcs, the bright flash of metal giving away the approach of a fast-moving object coming straight at him. If he manages to get out of the way, lord only know who, or -what- it will impact.
If he doesn't, that small object digs itself immediately into the epidermal layers of his skin, past any clothing that might get in the way. Immediately thereafter is a -harsh- explosion, though the energy that's produced is meant primarily to spread outwards through the tendons and nerves, creating enough of a resonance to stagger the young man, but hardly take a huge chunk out of him. Though if another blast like that comes through, he'd better hope his abdominal muscles are thick enough to keep his insides from seeking freedom.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo dodges Foxy's Horn of the Unicorn.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Foxy
Collateral damage, however, isn't really Shenwoo's concern... Not that he has the vaguest idea of what the needle-looking thing tossed his way would do in the first place, but odds are when an opponent throws something your way it's a good idea to avoid it. It's the street brawler's surprising speed does the trick this time, as he simply isn't in the path of the projectile when it gets to where he would've been, taking a casual step to one side to avoid the needle. If everyone's really lucky, it misses entirely and lands in the water or something! If not, let's hope Geese has good insurance. "Hey, hey! That looked dangerous!" the tall man quips as he advances on Foxy again, taking an odd turning step before bringing one long leg out in a straight kick, his heel aimed directly at Foxy's face.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Foxy with Tenrenshou.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Foxy
-This- time, Foxy doesn't have time to prepare herself. As the brawler comes rushing back in in the midst of her once again seizing her rapier, she doesn't have time to bring out the sword in order to absorb the worst of it; instead, she's forced to take it, her head snapping to the side with little to no issue, her free hand having to go out to catch her before she falls. Wincing noticably, she rubs lightly at her jaw, apparently uninterested in letting her pride keep her obvious reactions to pain out of the picture. That -hurt-, for god's sake.
Nonetheless, she's a few tricks of her own to keep things moving on an even keel.
"Given the very nature of fights as they are," she says as she gets back to her feet, "'Danger' should come as no real surprise."
That in mind, she thrusts her sword out towards Shenwoo, apparently determined to drive the tip of the blade straight through his shoulder to dig into the muscles and tendons there-- specifically aiming to disable the limb, or at least make it all the more difficult for him to make use of it.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo endures Foxy's Tree of Beginning.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0 Foxy
Many people would not be able to do what Shenwoo is about to do. A sword, like any blade, is a tool for killing, and deep down people know this... Deep down, people are afraid of being stabbed. However, there isn't a trace of fear in the self-styled 'God of Battle' as Foxy's rapier digs into his shoulder, not a twitch of pain or anything on his face to disrupt that broad, feral grin of his. "The danger's all part of the fun," he says with a laugh, reaching to grab Foxy's swordhand with the hand of his injured arm, blood streaming down from the wound in his shoulder, to pull her closer as he brings in his head for a vicious headbutt, to be followed by a quick knee to the kidney, before he tosses the woman, sword and all, away, heedless of any further damage it might do to his arm in the process. "Don't you agree?!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Foxy with Saikouhou-Geki.
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Shenwoo 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Foxy
The headbutt, followed immediately thereafter by the knee and the throw, is enough to dizzy the fencer enough that she's forced to lay there for a couple of moments before she impacts the ground. Groaning lightly, the question is left unanswered for quite some time, the falter in her defenses making this all the more difficult to overcome. Foxy is, however, impressed-- and any chance she can get to tag him will be used. Further study on subjects such as this could be quite beneficial.
Raising back to her feet, she shakes her head, regaining herself somewhat. "Indeed," she says gently, "There is something to be said for the adrenaline rush that comes with facing an opponent that presents a very real threat to one's physical integrity." Mmn. "All quite natural among the ranks of those who seek to prove their prowess in combat."
COMBATSYS: Foxy focuses on her next action.
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Shenwoo 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Foxy
Blood spatters on the boardwalk from the wound in Shenwoo's shoulder, a blotch of red staining his silk shirt as he gives that arm a few experimental flexes, clencing his fist as well. Willing as he is to accept the pain, his arm isn't /useless/, but the injury has slowed it down. Of course, a handicap just makes it more interesting. "That's such a boring way to put it," Shenwoo laughs, entirely willing to give Foxy the benefit of the time to get back up. No challenge in beating on a downed opponent, really. "But I guess it works..." With Foxy waiting for an opening, then, it falls to the berserker to make the next move... Something he's entirely willing to oblige with. With a quiet 'heh', Shenwoo takes another step forward, half-hunching down... And then disappears from sight. It's not hard to tell where the brawler is going, though, as Foxy can probably /hear/ him coming, like the rumbling of an oncoming train as he poughs towards her like a missile, his beringed left fist thrown forward and a shockwave of force centered on it, surrounding him, turning him practically into a projectile himself, that fist aimed to hit Foxy in the face again. "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he roars as he becomes visible, a flickering sight with his hair and shirt trailing, droplets of blood on the boardwalk tracing his path.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Foxy with Setsu Geki-Ken.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Foxy
It's hard to miss that nigh-on ludicrous shout, it's true. And while Foxy prepares to get out of the way, she's not fast enough to do so. Once again, her face is the target of the attack, the resultant impact does, in fact, send her skidding. The split lip that'll result from this (thank god for no missing teeth) will undoubtedly need nursing for quite some time. But for now...
Well. For now, she has every interest in at least evening the stakes a little. Hit or miss, this will be, as they say, a moment of truth.
Without a word, though there are plenty she could offer, she levels the rapier towards the young man once she's back on her feet, the swift glide that takes her in close to him ending with a brief attempt to loop her arm around the back of his neck--
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo dodges Foxy's Honey Bee.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Foxy
Going for the face is, perhaps, a bad habit of Shenwoo's... But he's always found that people are more intimidated by a fist to the face than one to the center of mass. In the aftermath of that powered-up Gekiken, Shenwoo breathes a little raggedly, the flow of blood from his injured arm certainly not helped any by the strain... And then Foxy is right back on the counterattack. His eyes actually widen a little in surprise, but at the last moment the berserker from Shanghai dodges back out of the way, reaching out to grab the wrist of the arm reaching for him! If he does, he gives it a quick twist, before aiming a vicious kick at Foxy's midsection, then a second, and finally using her arm as a pivot to hurl her to the bloodstained boardwalk. "Tch...!"
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo successfully hits Foxy with Saikouhou-Geki.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Foxy
All in all, this is a blatant contrast to the last fight she was involved in-- especially considering how easily the boy takes a hold of her wrist. Once she's slammed back towards the ground, Foxy has to watch the sky for a time, carefully pooling together what reserves she has... not to fight any further, per se, but to try and keep herself from blacking out.
Clearing her throat, she raises up to a sitting position, allowing her rapier to rest alongside her as she weighs out her options.
Eventually... "In respects to keeping my wits about me, I'll choose to concede at this time," she says, without any hint towards her pride being damaged by the admittance. "I'd like to speak to you again sometime... perhaps in the near future? If you're amicable, of course."
Beat.
"Until then... I would be grateful for a little assistance in regaining my footing."
COMBATSYS: Foxy takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Foxy can no longer fight.
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Shenwoo 0/-------/-----==|
Of course, with an audience for the fight, there's the expected outburst as the battle draws to a definitive close, and Shenwoo basks in the acclaim. Given his history in SNFs, one would imagine anyone who had the werewithal to bet on the brawler from Shanghai tonight made out like a bandit. He raises his good arm in answer to the audience, and to the cameras, before the self-styled 'God of Battle' turns towards aFoxy, grinning a bit. "Fine by me," he says casually in response to her question, as he offers the swordswoman his good hand to help her up. Yes, even a brutish former street thug like Shen can be a little gentlemanly at times; being a mess of contradictions helps keep enemies on their toes.
COMBATSYS: Shenwoo has ended the fight here.
Indeed.
Accepting his hand and raising to her feet, Foxy very clearly has no immediate plans to turn the good-natured help against him. If she were vindictive, she might-- or, if this were anything other than what it is, a telecast fight that means little to nothing in terms of her actual goals, she might choose to use petty tactics. But that's neither here nor there (and it's pose-fluffing. Bad player).
"My name," she says, "As I apparently forgot all sense of manners and failed to offer it before, is 'Foxy' -- a nickname, more or less, but the only one I've any tendancy to go by. I do hope to speak to you in the future... I have some prospects to discuss with a man of your calibre."
The very concept of being vindictive about a fight like this... Doesn't even occur to Shenwoo, which is strangely naive of him. But really, if you're fighting for fun, what's the point of wanting 'revenge'? With Foxy on her feet, the injured man takes a step back, and fishes his sunglasses back out of his pocket... As usual, they somehow made it through the fight intact. One-handed, he puts the shades on, grinning at the swordswoman. "Shenwoo," is his simple introduction. "And I guess we'll see, huh?" he adds, amicably enough. "I'm not hard to find. Thanks for the fight." At which point, the berserker turns to go... But any hopes he might have of a dramatic exit are summarily spoiled once the medic team get their hands on him, dragging him off rather forcefully. Strangely, they don't like the idea of fighters wandering off with untended holes in their shoulders!
Log created by Shenwoo, and last modified on 21:29:06 07/16/2005.