Description: What happens when you pit two fast, highly technical fighters against each other? Suggestion: play the fight music from the original Star Trek in the background during this log. Dun dun dun dun dundun DUN DUN! (Draw Match)
Boy, Xiangfei never thought she'd end up in a place like this!
Actually, that's not copletely truthful, if there was one thing the Heavenly Hip-Hop Honey of Southtown admired about Dan was his spunk. She had been trained to fight 'efficiantly', but she wanted more... More.. GRACE. And the man in pink had that grace! Er.. She thinks. Well anyway, it's rather late in the afternoon today in the dojo, and perhaps to no ones suprise, the place is anything but full. Xiangfei is on the scene, dressed in baggy jeans and high-top sneaks, with a overly large basketball jerset as her top.
The thing about waiting in a dojo was, though, that there was plenty to do while waiting, such as training! And she does so by practicing her quick punches, "Ha! Ha! Ha! HA!"
Xiangfei, of course, is wearing her shiny medal on her jersey front. Ahem.
Sakura probably shouldn't have brought Xiangfei's name up the previous night. Karin, as tournament organizer, knew that LiX was participating, of course. She's the one managing the fights. But at the same time, it was a lot to do and she didn't have time to think about it. Doofus that she is, Sakura decided to bring the name up while teaching Karin about the wonders of Livejournal (don't ask) thanks to Karin's $5000 bid at the auction.
This was a mistake.
So now the blonde, who has some unfinished business with the Littlest Shanker that went majorly unresolved after the whole Metro City affair, decided to seek the Chinese fighter out and... 'have words'. Where 'words' are 'fists'. Her bout with Megumi just reinforced that fighting is a good way to understand people... and in Karin's eyes, there's a lot to understand. Xiangfei can even see those eyes if she turns around, the blonde heiress standing in the dojo doorway. "Hello."
"Ha! Ha! HA!" Xiangfei for a moment seems to be in her own little world, a world of determination, and conteplation. There are all sorts of thoughts zipping about in her head; and well... Even though she knew it was Karins tournament being held, she figured at the very least the blonde had no idea who -she- was.
Cue a jump of suprise when Karin gives her greeting, "G'AH!" and spins around wide-eyed at the organizer, and immedietly her cheeks turn bright red with an embarassed laugh, "O... Oh! U.. Uh, hello there," she greets in return, and punches a fist into her open palm, adding a bow for good measure.
This was actually kind of unexpected.. But she doesn't make any moves to run away or anything, "Hey, uh, you're Karin Kanzuki, aren't you? I guess you're here to find out if the legend of the leader of Strongest! is true, I bet, ha ha ha!"
A little smirk. Oh, now it's on. Stepping inside, the blonde tightens her handguards, trying to be casual, but there's an air of... well, anything but casual about it. Still, she hasn't hauled off and pulled a gun on Xiangfei, so realistically speaking this is a good sign, right? She stops just short of the practice area and regards the Chinese fighter with a cool gaze... still, there is something unsettling about her posture.
"Hahaha," she chuckles, honestly amused. "Well, I suppose you could say that." Flipping a few blonde curls over her shoulder, Karin points a finger at LiX. Apparently, rich girls never needed to learn manners. "I actually came to find out how it is that both you AND Rolento have had the absolute gall to show yourselves in Southtown, let alone enter this tournament!" And then she's flipping onto the fighting stage with a 'HA!', turning around to face Xiangfei and falling into stance. "Taking a medal from you will simply be a nice side benefit."
... Uh oh.
Xiangfei thought that. well things were all right after all once Karin seems amused by her comment, but to the sudden query, her smile faulters a bit, and she rubs the back of her head, laughing nervously, "Uh.. W.. What?" she replies, playing dumb for all intents and purposes, and she drops into her own stance, straightening out her bells in her hair, and holds out her hands slightly in your typical kung-fu stance, nothing special- She accepts the challenge reguardless, ".. Why wouldn't I be in Southtown? I -live- here."
"And on that note, why is me joining your tournament such a big deal? Are you just afraid I'm going to beat you?"
"You can throw out as many stupid jokes as you want," Karin says, all ice at this point. She circles carefully around the kung fu mistress, watching her moves. Karin may be angry, but she's not stupid, nor is she hotheaded (well, except for that one time she sent Shingo into the side of an SUV at 95mph, but that's another story). "However..."
Finally, she stops circling, having moved around to Xiangfei's other side (and allowing the Chinese girl to follow her movements as well). "You helped that madman take over Metro City. That in and of itself really gets my goat, as it were." And here her dark eyebrows -- curiously not as blonde as her hair, just like Ken Masters -- knit in either confusion or annoyance. "But to have the gall to show yourself in public, as if nothing had ever happened? I won't have any problems dealing with such ridiculousness."
COMBATSYS: Karin has started a fight here.
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Karin 0/-------/-------|
Xiangfei continues to keep her guard up as well.. And when Karin speaks in an icy tone, even the chinese fighter herself can feel the chill up her spine. It was clear that this was going to be a serious, and personal, fight quickly if she didn't do something; and it's not far from the last thing she'd like the battle to be. She takes her own careful steps back, and then follows the circular motion, and while her own brows are furrowed, she somehow maintains a light-hearted demeanor, "Miss Kanzuki, there really must be some mistake, I don't have anything to do with Shank Squad. Whoever told you that must have been joking around, I'm actually disappointed that you wouldn't even ask me if it were true first. I guess rich girls really are brats who think they can say whatever they want. But it ain't like that in the streets!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei has joined the fight here.
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Karin 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Xiangfei
Now there's the caustic smirk Karin is known for. She shrugs, closing her eyes for just a moment as she does so, but falls quickly back into stance. "Whatever it is that lets you sleep at night," the blonde says breezily. "How nice it must be to be able to turn one's conscience on and off like a light switch." And then the Kanzuki heiress is dashing forward, looking to plant a nice boot right in Xiangfei's shoulder if she doesn't get out of the way with a sharp, clean forward snap kick. "Tell me, did Rolento share any of the millions he stole with you?"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei endures Karin's Light Kick.
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Karin 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Xiangfei
Xiangfei mmnnns.. Her lips curl inward, seeming hesitant, and her own smile forms a bit more solidly as she nods her head, "Ah, I see now... Your fighting style involves manipulating your opponents mind," she replies, and when her opponent slips forward, the aimed shoulder is actually pushed up into the kick, "Hnnh!" her left hand snaps back then sweeps forward, her thumb catching a loose strong in her pocket, which is revealed to be attached to the girls hand-held console of choice: He N-Gage! Protected by a metal case, the object is slung upward to try and bean the blonde right in the forehead with a loud clatter, "WaaaTAAH!" and in the same motion, is slipped right back into her pocket, "You should choose a better subject, Kanzuki!"
COMBATSYS: Karin blocks Xiangfei's Esaka.
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Karin 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Xiangfei
Engaged by N-Gage. Sadly for Xiangfei, Karin sees the metal N-Cage coming and throws up an arm, literally just... slapping it out of the way. Still, that's metal, yo, and it's going to leave a bruise. However, Karin doesn't let up for a minute, and continues her assault despite being NOKIA'D. "Just keep babbling," the blonde says tartly, flexing her fingers and then attempting to snag Xiangfei's shirt, bringing up a knee at the same time to drive it into the Chinese fighter's gut a few times for good measure. "I know the data."
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Karin's Homura-geri.
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Karin 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Xiangfei
Xiangfei is light on her feet, hands drawn out like spears rather then tightened into fists, seeming to be taking a page from Chun-Lis book.
Even though Karin managed to defend the attack, Xiangfei can't help but think- She must have NOKIA'D the living CRAP out of Karins world. It's just unfortunate the reaction wasn't very comedic. - And given the situation is that such a suprise? The snag from Karin is spot on, but Xiangfei is able to defend herself quickly enough, her hands atop each other and shoot downward as the knee comes up and pushes herself away, "Data? How can that even be, we've never -met-!" she claps her hands and then thrusts her palms outward, releasing a short burst of light blue chi at Karin, she hoping to put a little distance between herself and her opponent for a moment, following it up with a, "Kikoken!!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei successfully hits Karin with Nanpa.
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Karin 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Xiangfei
Kikouwhatnow? Perhaps luckily for Xiangfei given Karin's mood, the blonde has never fought Chun-li, and isn't particularly thinking back to the last time she ate a Nanpa, either, even though Xiangfei is right: when these two last met in battle, LiX was perfectly disguised. Grunting with the pain, Karin slides back across the floor, kicking up dust. However, before she can get too far she sets her feet and charges forward again, aiming an almost Burn Knuckle-type midair fist right for Xiangfei's sternum. "Perhaps not. You have, however, met my friend Sakura..." she snarls. NOTE: Please don't dodge.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei interrupts Strong Punch from Karin with Ryokuchi Kou'en.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Xiangfei
Xiangfei shifts her shoulders a bit, brushing a finger along the bridge of her nose, her gaze not once breaking from Karins own.. And when Karin comes racing at her with that powerful looking punch, she suspects she can makes a good trade-off, and she jumps backward moments before impact, lessening the blow some, "OOF!" however, she then grabs said fist, twirls and slams her opponent onto the ground, leaps into the air, and drops down with a firm stomp, "Hup.. HAH!" and then leaps back off of her.
It would seem Xiangs 'cloaking' of her previous maneuver wasn't needed, and she doesn't faulter to the mention of Sakura either, "Of course I do, she and I are friends too!"
Either Xiangfei is a very good actress, in Karin's eyes, or perhaps some kind of amnesiac, like you see on the soap operas and stuff. And for a moment, the shadow of doubt flickers across Karin's brown-eyed gaze as she pulls herself standing and faces off with Xiangfei again, staring at her intently. However, soon she shakes her head to clear it, trying to refocus. She swore she'd see this through. If Xiangfei's innocent, well... then she'll float to the top or whatever like in the Salem witch trials.
"She's a little more trusting than I am," Karin says patiently, as if this were a fault of Sakura's she has had to deal with on numerous occasions in the past. Making a sliding dash similar to those used by pro boxers, the Kanzuki-ryuu fighter lashes out with a pair of blindingly fast palm strikes, followed by a short hop that aims to bring her right hand crashing down on Xiangfei's shoulder... should it connect, of course. Miss Li is proving to be a quick and crafty fighter. "Hup... HA!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Karin's Guren Ken.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Xiangfei
Xiangfei's brows furrow a bit and she can't help but smile.. Smile to the flurry of attacks that are sent her way that is- There are very few fights where she gets to show how well-versed in kung-fu she really is. Each blow is dealt with with speed and proficiency, either caught and moved aside or just deflected like some wild Hong Kong flick, and then the final blow is avoided entirely with a side step as she shakes out her now red hands, "Ow ow ow.." she hisses to herself, ".. Uh. Yeah, I noticed, I think," she replies with a nervous little laugh- She was still unsure where this was all going to lead in the longrun, but she's really trying to make the fight seem less... Awkward. Not at the expense of losing, of course, "So if you two are chums, it makes sense why you're so strong, but like her, you'll both fall to my technique! Will this fight be less personal now?" she hops back, clapping her hands togeather, then fans her fingers out so just her thumb and pointer fingers touch as she mumbles some sort of chant in her chinese tongue.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei focuses on her next action.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Xiangfei
"I always fight seriously," Karin responds, perhaps a little defensively. "You could be wearing a giant bunny suit for all I care. What matters is winning, and I intend to win!" Xiangfei's motion is curious, but Karin has fought plenty of fighters with a more mystical bent than herself. Duo Lon being a prime example, and every time Duo does something with his fingers in odd shapes, the dead start rising or cats and dogs intermarry or other bizarre celestial phenomena. So Karin doesn't intend to give Xiangfei the chance to get a chi attack in edgewise. Instead, she grits her teeth, dashes in, and aims a knife hand right at Xiangfei's *neck*. Perhaps she doesn't expect such a nasty blow to connect... or perhaps she's counting on it. Either way, China + finger motions = bad news, so she's pulling out all the stops.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei endures Karin's Quick Punch.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
Xiangfei hmmmns, yet again, ".. I see.. Well, you don't have to be serious to win a battle. There are many ways to show strength than through anger!" Which, of course is part of what her Team is all about- But that was another subject entirely. Her eyes open moments before Karin strikes, and again the blonde lands a solid hit, but the girl doesn't even budge!
Has Karin fallen into a trap? Has she unwitingly KILLED the girl? "HAAAAA!" she throws her arms out, as if trying to -will- Karins attack away and she twirls around to snap a kick at Karins side. This is then followed up by a reverse elbow toward the womans sternum. And finally two palms join and thrust outward once more to complete her combination.
COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Xiangfei's Strong Punch.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
Fool me once, shame on me; fool me twice, shame on you. Or is it the other way around? In any event, the core meaning of the phrase should be apparent: Karin will be suckered once, but only once. Xiangfei's kick lashes out Karin's side, but Karin's side is no longer there. In fact, she's already spinning; hence the blow to Xiangfei's neck, which gives her more room to pivot quickly with a shorter circumference. "A good tactic..." she admits, grudgingly respectful. Then she plants her left foot and sweeps her right upwards, but doesn't stop there; her left foot ALSO scythes up as the right falls, a two-stage kick that briefly sends Karin a few inches in the air. "Just not good enough! Mujin Kyaku!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei dodges Karin's Mujin Kyaku.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
Xiangfei blinks.. Karin.. She was right -there-, how could she have gotten away so quicky?? Though.. Maybe part of the problem was that there were a lot of thoughts going on through her head- Her heart was still racing from the, well, hell of a close call she had just minutes ago; it was having a small effect on her fighting overall. Nibbling her lower lip a brief moment, she just relies on instinct here and thus allowing her to-
Compltely evade Karins fast technique. She sweeps low, and raises again from behind, chuckling a bit to the blonde, ".. Oh yeah?" she teases with a bit of a cautious grin, "Well then how about -this-!" She skips forward, a small cloud of dust blowing behind her, as she attempts to slam an open palm into Karins side with alarming force. This is followed by a double-palm strike, which connects with the same power, "Hup- HAH," and finally she twirls around and delivers a strong shoulder thrust into the combination, "KYAAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei successfully hits Karin with Chou Pai-Long.
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Karin 1/-----==/=======|====---\-------\0 Xiangfei
Well, it's impressive. And it does catch Karin by surprise... to a point. It's mainly that first blow, the very quick incoming move, that does the real damage, as Karin is totally unprepared for it. However, the difficulty with combination attacks is always that the defender is going to recover somewhere in the middle, which is exactly what the blonde does. The followup strikes are blunted by well-placed hands. The aggregate is still pretty painful, but way less so than if it had all been allowed to connect.
And the other advantage is that Xiangfei is *right there*, so Karin wastes no time in counterattacking. Flexing her fingers, she makes a shotei form with her right hand and just DRIVES it right into Xiangfei's gut, intending to knock her clear and away. "Not bad," she admits, whether the punch connects or not. "Not good, either. But not bad." In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Karin's Strong Punch.
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Karin 1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0 Xiangfei
Xiangfei is right there, yes, but that doesn't mean that she's not ready! The Hip-Hop Honey grimaces a bit to Karins defense- Drat, she probably could have planned that out better, but oh well, she wasn't out of the fight yet! On the other hand, it was coming to the point where she has to make really important choices. She has to give a bit of an exasperated laugh to Karins refusal to be in utter awe of her kung-fu, but.. She suddenly crouches, makes an 'x' with her arms at the wrist and thrusts them up in a scissor-catch to Karins blow, "Hnh!" the two frozen for just a moment, then she pushes her opponent back as she backflips and holds her right arm out in front of her, "HaaAAAA!!" she cries, a golden pillar of chi swirling about the women, taking an almost dragon-like shape.
Some would call her a sitting duck in such a situation.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei gathers her will.
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Karin 1/-----==/=======|=======\=------\1 Xiangfei
Oh, yes. The glowy? Even worse than the hand symbols when it comes to incoming badness. So, once again, the blonde presses the offensive. "The pretty lightshow doesn't mean much," the blonde snaps, grinning faintly, "unless you've got something to back it up with!" Once again, she lashes out with a palm strike, and then seems to move past Xiangfei, only to make a sudden turn at the last second, driving a second palm strike and then a pair of alternating elbow blows if she can pull that feint off. If not? Well, she'll just run on by and look awful foolish.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei blocks Karin's Guren Ken.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Xiangfei
Xiangfei is familiar with techniques that go around this way and that, so when Karin rushes by after she leans to the side barely, Xiangfei's sudden 'power surge' dies off, xiangfei turns around at the hips, and slaps the next blow upward, and catches the elbows crossing her arms in front of her- What an assault! "Nngh! Well, then you won't be disappointed!" she pipes, she clapping her hands again and releases another burst of blue chi at Karin, a short burst yet again to send Karin staggering back, "HAA!"
COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Xiangfei's Nanpa.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
It appears that Karin is playing Taskmaster tonight. A trick might work once, but apparently it won't work a second time. Or it might simply be that Karin is expecting some sort of chi-fueled followup, and so when the burst of energy moves outward Karin simply flips *over* it, intending to pull a little Chun-li imitation of her own, aiming both knees at the Chinese fighter's back and then lashing out, intending to kick off LiX like a springboard and hopefully to safety, rather than Xiangfei turning into King Kong and then beating the hell out of her or some wacky conclusion like that.
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei dodges Karin's Light Kick.
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Karin 0/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
Clearly... This battle is becoming a battle of TeH ultimate speed. Xiangfei looks almost heartbroken when Karin manages to get around her fireball, and.. She even looks a little insulted when she recognises the somewhat Chun-inspired technique thrown her way.
It would seem. judging by the chinese girls dive to the side, that both fighters are attempting to outsmart each other; in a sense it's working; but since Xiangfei is stubborn, she gives her tactic one more try, "Nngh!"
King Kong, well I NEVER. Her hand slips into her pocket, she now whipping out a yen coin and tucks it between her pointer and middle fingers. And with expert precision, attempts to huck it like a mini-discus to bean Karin right between the eyes, "HAH!"
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei successfully hits Karin with Thrown Object.
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Karin 1/-------/=======|=======\====---\1 Xiangfei
Well, 'right between the eyes' doesn't always work. Instead Karin turns her head, which is all she can do against such a quick attack. Why? Because she sucks. The yen coin scrapes on by, drawing a thin line of blood across her cheek. The blonde turns back to Xiangfei with a neutral expression, not saying anything. Instead, she simply runs in and makes a risky grab for the Chinese fighter's shirt once again. She doesn't follow it up immediately, though. The question remains to be seen: will she be able to turn this around, or is she about to get her face pounded into the dirt?
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei interrupts Arakuma Inashi from Karin with Ryokuchi Kou'en.
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Karin 1/----===/=======|
COMBATSYS: Xiangfei can no longer fight.
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Karin 1/----===/=======|
Eyes flashing, the blonde gives a nice loud kiai and then rams her knee into Xiangfei's gut at *lightning* speed, with all the force that suggests, followed by an attempt to drive her elbow into Xiangfei's shoulder and then to hurl her to the ground with a mighty takedown. She's got some strength in her for such a slender girl. Of course, such a slow combination leaves room for interruption...
And -what- an interruption.. What the true purpose of Xiangfeis tactic remains to be seen- She must have been relying on... Well... Her own -guts- to pull her through at the end of the fight.
Well anyway, Karin surely makes the grab, the chinese girls eyes suddenly buldge to the blow that she didn't even see, and the elbow.. Well heck, that hits dead-on too, it looks like that would be all that's needed to finish the job right?
Not quite, her own eyes flash, there's a gleam that tells Karin much too late that there's danger coming, before she can even lock on for the hurl, Xiangfeis gut slams into Karins stomach in return.
Cue a dramatic freeze frame here, perhaps both fighters frozen in time.... Before LiX lets out a weak groan and drops to her knees, holding her shoulder, "... Ugh.. .. Didn't work quite like I planned... I'm done."
COMBATSYS: Karin takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Karin can no longer fight.
Perhaps fortunately for Xiangfei, her counterattack is *just* enough to go over Karin's physical limit. The blonde, spent from the effort of keeping up with Xiangfei's many changes in tactics, skids across the floor, landing on her side and staying there for a good long moment. However, her attempt to get back up and continue just doesn't cut it; the best she can do is a shaky return to her knees, and even that gives out with time. "Agh... damnit..." She punches the floor in frustration, but even that is fairly weak.
Xiangfei.. isn't so much frustrated as she's.. Disappointed. She made some big errors that could have otherwise cost her the match; in fact, she even considers just giving the blonde her medal right then and there.
But the other bit of her tells her that 1) Karin likely wouldn't even accept it and 2) At this point, it was only time that the two would become enemies... She wouldn't be able to hide her secret forever, and that stubborness stops her from doing such a thing.
With mixed feelings she looks to the younger fighter, and offers a weak smile, "I.. Guess that's it then. I.. Think I'm going to take a quick nap.." she murmurs, and it would seem that Shinobu is starting to rub off on her- That, or she's just completely trying to avoid having to answer any other questions if Karin was still doubtful of her innocence. She flops flat on her face, and then snores away lightly.
Xiangfei's instincts are good on that front, at least; as Sakura would be happy to tell her, the only thing Karin hates more than losing, is pity... and her definition of pity is fairly wide. She actually stares at the Chinese fighter in utter disbelief for a few moments as she just... has a narcoleptic fit, apparently. However, Karin wasn't as badly hit by that last counterattack as Xiangfei was, apparently, and is at least up and on her feet -- if wobbly -- within short order. Once again the conflicted expression flits across her sharp features, but rather than sit there watching Xiangfei sleep like a stalker, she simply turns and goes, getting into her waiting limo outside. Looks like this match is a draw... for now.
Log created by Karin, and last modified on 04:21:58 11/08/2005.