Description: Footy footy footy footy ENGLAND ENGLAND (Winner: Hinata)
England, a land famous for lots of things. Home to Stonehenge, one of the biggest henges in the world. Aside from that and lots of stereotypes, it is famous for distinctive architecture, Victorian manors and old castles alike. This particular structure is an imposing gothic horror of hewn stone and mortar, looking like it might well be more at home in Transylvania than the British Isles. But here it is, massive spires and intidmiating crenelated walls rising as if to dig great gashes out of the darkened overcast sky.
The most impressive feature of this particular castle is the immense clock tower, tall but somehow wide enough and shaped just so to make it feel squat and unpleasant nonetheless. The gigantic black iron hands of the clock move with a placid tenacity, and the ornate wrought numerals making the whole thing seem sinister.
Inside of the tower is no less comfortable than the outside, the entire interior taken up by sprawling machinery from wall to wall and as far up and down as the eye can see. Small catwalks criss-cross the inner area, some 30 feet square and all of it clinking with cogs and gears larger than a man, and more than capable of making sure any man who tried to lift them would go home unhappy and not necessarily intact. It's simply a monstrosity of engineering and a dangerous place just to be, much less fight.
But this is what the Neo League have decreed. More excitement! Danger! Organ music for some reason!
The naturally dark interior has been strewn with floodlights for the cameras' benefit. Hinata tests the catwalk gently with a toe, the metal grating creaking uncertainly beneath her admittedly light feet. "This... just seems like a bad idea to me," she says, turning to look over her shoulder to the judge who had not yet successfully convinced her that it would be safe.
However, a fight is a fight, and if all goes well, Hinata won't have to worry about those giant gnashing teeth of the gears. But since when have things every gone as planned?
COMBATSYS: Hinata has started a fight here.
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Hinata 0/-------/-------|
England! (It's only a model.)
Actually, Frei was a little happy to hear his next fight was scheduled in the jolly old UK, seeing as despite the French-sounding half of his last name he got from his father, everyone's favorite monk is half British to begin with. Thus he managed to get here early and do a little sightseeing, have some fish and chips, pint o' Guiness, whatwhat. That sort of deal. Then the Neo League officials beeped his cell and told him where to go. Out... in the country. Where the rich folk have summer homes on the white cliffs of Dover yadda yadda.
It's for this reason that Frei shows up a little later than Hinata (and a little late in general), being ushered into the tower with all due speed by the officials and then up onto the catwalk. Sadly, even the power of "This is a live feed!" is enough to stall the young monk's curiosity, and his face is beaming as he looks around. "This... is totally awesome," he breathes, impressed, before hitting the 'arena' and turning around to find Hinata already there and looking concerned. So, in an effort of friendship, he gives a little wave. "Hi there. Don't worry. British engineering is pretty..." And then he thumps his hand on the guardrail soundly.
The catwalk? Vibrates.
Frei... tries not to look worried. "...sound."
Hinata suppresses a wordless whine at the shaking of the catwalk. Her eyes widen at it, then again at the sheer drop beneath the catwalk, and even further at the gigantic grinding gears that lie at the bottom of the sheer drop. "Umm... yeah. It sure looks... sturdy." She doesn't sound convinced. At all.
"I'm.. Hinata Wakaba. You must be.. Frei? Nice to meet you." She offers a friendly pre-fight handshake, not for the benefit of the cameras but just because she really is a nice person. Her voice is unsteady, owing to something unfortunately that seems to be slightly choking her. Definitely uneasiness. "Good luck and be careful?"
The Sunshine Girl would give a lot to be somewhere else for the fight. Somewhere less dangerous, which would be anywhere outside of this mad tower, and preferably somewhere with a bit more sunshine, which would be somewhere other than England in January. But as she can't seem to have either, she'll just have to deal. Sniffing and rubbing the back of one hand across her nose, she takes a few tentative steps backwards on the catwalk to give some space to Frei before raising her fists and drawing a deep, calming breath.
"Whenever you're ready."
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hinata
Hopefully the handshake gets in... before the nose-wiping. But Hinata is a thoughtful and polite girl, so that's probably a given. And Frei is generally a friendly type, so he returns the handshake, grinning. "Things will work out, promise," he says cheerily, getting back into position and taking up a loose tai chi stance. "Trust me, there are worse places we could be doing this." Like what? On the deck of a battleship during a firefight? Still, if Hinata is uneasy, then Frei is trying hard to be the antidote to that. "Once we get going, I bet you won't even notice."
Flexing his fingers, the monk watches the Taiyo schoolgirl for a moment, thinking carefully. Usually he doesn't kick things off, but perhaps fighting will warm the girl up... and get her mind off the various cogs. "Allright. Here I come!" Taking a few steps forward, the auburn-haired fighter plants a hand on the railing and then pushes himself into the air, swinging across the catwalk to hopefully give Hinata a nice big kick in the stomach. She looks fast, though, and it is an awful slow maneuver...
COMBATSYS: Hinata endures Frei's Strong Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
For once, Hinata is glad somebody else is being the risk-taker here. She was expecting something more conventional and certainly not to rely on the construction of the walkway's handrail to hold Frei's weight. His own move is gutsy, and she can respect that. So when the kick comes her way, she braces herself for the blow and whoofs out a breath when it impacts. But she was ready, clamping her arm down around Frei's ankle to hold it there. The Sunshine Girl is grinning.
Whatever fear might have gripped her before is starting to slip away with the joy of combat. Not the mayhem sort of combat, but good honest fighting between two people who feel pride in what they do. Yeah, that's the heart of fighting!
"Ballsy! I like that!" she beams at her opponent briefly before wrenching backwards with his leg in her grip. She pivots in place and ducks slightly to use her shoulder like a lever and give Frei a good over-the-shoulder toss further down onto the catwalk. "Haaaah!"
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hinata's Shoulder Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
Okay, so... yeah. When you kick them really hard and they're *grinning*? That's a terrible sign. Blinking in confusion as Hinata actually snags his foot, Frei has a couple seconds to go "AAAAAH!" right before he's sent sailing through the air. Why? Because just as she starts with the throwing his hand slips. That... actually works in his favor, however, because as he goes hurtling toward the catwalk his wildly-flailing hand is in good position to snag the comparatively more grippy catwalk floor, allowing the monk to vault backwards into position and minimize the damage.
Grinning, he wipes a hand across his lip. "Man, you have got serious cojones, mija," he says in... pretty much fractured Spanish that one probably learned on Sesame Street. Well, maybe not 'cojones'. "I like it!" Deciding to get his wire-fu on, he dashes forward again, not wasting any time and throwing out a nicely rapid forearm strike, Bruce Lee-style, including the vibrating forearm if it hits. "WATAH!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata blocks Frei's Quick Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Hinata
"Waaaah!" Hinata says also, though it's slightly later when Frei lands on the catwalk and sends it shaking yet again. She really, really doesn't like that feeling. Her hands flail to grab the relative safety of the handrail, even if it's not actually any safer. It's a psychological thing.
Frei's shrill Bruce-Lee-style scream catches her attention back to the present. It's a kiai thing, but it's also a telegraphing sound that means he's coming. Just as his punch is about to hit, Hinata claps both hands together in front of her, which unfortunately means letting go of the railing.
In a tense meeting of muscles, the Taiyo girl is gripping Frei's wrist between both of her own palms, the punch stopped just a few inches away from her chest. "Woo! Nice!" She's still grinning. One hand grips the wrist, the other letting go as she spins in place to deliver a quick counter-elbow strike to the chest while she's got him here. After all, he came all the way down the catwalk just to see her. It'd be rude to send him away without anything at all!
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Hinata's Quick Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0 Hinata
Now that is a nicely slick maneuver! Not one you'd expect from a schoolgirl, and it causes Frei to "OOF!" with pain nicely as the elbow connects. Unfortunately... he doesn't go anywhere, either. He's getting awfully good at that standing-your-ground thing lately. After all, Kyoko smacked him in the face with a steel chair and he didn't budge an inch (well, at least until he'd attacked back; then he fell unconscious, but let's not dwell). "Nice yourself! You've got really good technique. Where do you go to school, anyway?"
Of course, another of Frei's propensities is asking questions and then not giving time to answer because he just launched some sort of counteroffensive. This is just such a case. The maneuver doesn't look like much; in fact, all the monk does is snake out a quick hand to try and snag Hinata's arm. But if it works...
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hinata with Daichi Kudaki.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Hinata
Well, if it works? With a grin, the monk snags the schoolgirl and with a surprising strength leaps straight up with her, swinging Hinata in a vertical circle with his right arm during the ascent. "Watch out below!" he singsongs at the jump's apex, chucking the Sunshine Girl back down at the catwalk. Perhaps somewhat luckily? Before she can actually connect a burst of brown-green chi in the form of a swirl of leaves 'breaks' her fall. Upside? She doesn't really hit the catwalk with the throw's force. Downside? That earth chi burst is like getting hit with a rock.
"Bwuh?" is all Hinata can think to say when she gets snagged. The rest of her utterances are even less eloquent than that as she impacts strongly against the earth chi just above the surface of the catwalk. It drives the air from her lungs, but not so much stunning that she doesn't roll backwards to get to her feet and prepare her next move. That grin? It's faded a notch, hasn't it?
"Oooh, hardball huh?" She was perfectly happy to trade normal martial arts moves dependent on the strength and speed of the body. But now that the chi is starting to fly? Well, it's just gotta fly, now hasn't it? "Waaaaaaaaaaaa!" is her charging cry, balling both fists tightly and dropping into a tense half-crouch, tightening every muscle in her body as hard as she can. Wisps of brightened air surround her, a faint lightshow against the dark background of the clock tower. "Orrrrrya!" It all happens very fast, before Frei can even land back onto the catwalk from his aerial throw. Fist burning with bright red-orange chi, Hinata jumps in a spiralling uppercut to catch him before he can even put his feet back down on the shaky ground.
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Frei with Shouyouken.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hinata
Normally people don't do that, with the attacking before he hits the ground. And in Hinata's favor? It's a damn smart maneuver and it works pretty well. Seeing the schoolgirl out of his periphery as he heads back down, the monk actually meeps aloud and tries to twist about in midair to avoid the chi-enhanced uppercut. Needless to say, it doesn't work and he goes bouncing to a stop on the catwalk a few paces away from Hinata, lying face down on it for a while. "...ow."
However, soon he's back on his feet and grinning. "Hey, not many people use focused Yang, you know?" Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his neck. "And here I was, feeling special." It doesn't last long, however. Instead of advancing, Frei spreads his feet and holds out his hands, golden motes of light starting to form in the air around Hinata. "But hey, tit for tat, right?" And once they reach sufficient density? Frei snaps his fingers and the entire array explodes in orange, red, and gold motes of light, like a fireworks display. "Happy Independence Day, lady!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata blocks Frei's Hizashi Ronde.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Hinata
"Pretty lightshow!" Hinata calls back, suddenly surrounded by tiny firefly lights. Then they start to explode and she decides she's had enough. Swatting at them like a cloud of mosquitos, the Taiyo girl charges through the field of fireworks, oblivious to the little bursts of pain as they detonate against her chest and upper body, shielding her face with her forearms. It hurts, but she's not willing to admit as much just yet.
Thundering footsteps on the catwalk. It's decidedly uncomfortable the way the entire structure shakes in time with each step, but Hinata pushes this to the back of her mind. The Neo League wouldn't honest schedule a fight in a place that's on the verge of collapse, would they? She even manages to ignore the loud wrenching noise and the pop of a rivet somewhere on the catwalk, the tiny bit of metal flying off to plink against a gigantic gear and summarily being crushed between grinding teeth. Good thing she didn't pay attention to that or her charge might have lose some of its momentum. Even some old clan of vampire hunters used to this sort of thing might have been taken aback by the instability of the inner workings of the giant clock tower.
A leaping kick starts off her new assault, energy flaring around her right heel. The girl twists in midair to bring the foot around in a spin, quickly follow by the left as it circuits around powerfully. "Ataaaaa!"
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hinata's Enbukyaku!
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Hinata
The interesting thing about Frei is, he's a little like the heavier karts in Mario Kart. Takes forever to get going, but once he does, he's pretty effective. Sometimes, anyway. He smiles at Hinata's kiai, because he rather likes the whole Jeet Kun Do thing himself. However, he's also ready for the incoming kick; lashing out with one hand, his palm glowing faintly silver, the monk takes a step into the technique and pushes forward on Hinata's foot. Her rotation isn't disturbed, but instead Frei and Hinata do an interesting pirouette, the monk's other hand coming up to snap the other kick out of the way gently, the two reversing positions and Frei none the worse for wear. As a matter of course, he extends both hands and breathes out, tai chi style.
But the fight cannot remain in that little tableau forever. Staying in that hand push position, the monk takes a deep breath, summoning a blue-white sphere of chi at the end of his palms and grinning at Hinata. "You're really good... energetic. You actually kind of remind me of someone else. I don't suppose you have a magical girl fixation, do you?" Rearing back, the monk hurls the sphere at Hinata, eyes suddenly opening in surprise. "Oh yeah, right. Hyoushou..." And once it gets close? Frei snaps his fingers and the ball shatters, hopefully showering Hinata with a bevy of ice shards. "...Rengeki!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata negates Hyoushou Rengeki from Frei with Kikou Shoutei.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Hinata
"Magical girls? Are you saying that just 'cause of the uniform?" Hinata cocks her head to one side and squints. She's a bit upset at the Enbukyaku being turned aside like that, but if she lets herself get distracted by failures she'd never get anywhere. Roll with it. More surprising things have happened in the past.
Now energy attacks she can deal with! Training with Sakura took care of that. Take one too many Hadoukens to the face and you learn a thing or two. Energy + Energy in the opposite direction yields.. no energy at all! She's not one to shout out the names of moves either, just a loud "Uwaaaaaa!" of exertion. A rising flare of yellow energy forms in the palm of her right hand, thrusting forward to intercept Frei's attack before it can do any harm at all. Sunlight, meet ice! The sunflower fireball plows into the ice attack and burrows a nice clean hole straight through the center of its spread pattern. Ice crystals still shower the catwalk in a semicircle just in front of Hinata, but she herself is standing right in the middle of a big clear patch. Awesome! She smirks, rubbing her nose with a thumb and snorting a pleased 'Heh'.
Believe it or not, Frei doesn't look too shocked. After all, he's been on the receiving end of a few of Hinata's attacks tonight, and he knows better than most that Yang + Yin = negation. He does grin, though, because... let's face it, that was kind of a cool move there. "Actually it has a lot to do with a girl named Mimiru," he says conversationally, hopping on the balls of his feet a little bit and trying to judge what to do next. "Nothing against seifuku in any way."
You can't just sit there forever, though, and so the monk blurs back into motion (as it were; he's no ninja) and dashes across the catwalk, trying to step lightly so the two don't plunge into the grinding gears below. "Maybe you've met her? She has this move called..." And then? He's flinging himself through the air Terry Bogard-style, fist-first. "SUPER MIMIRU PUNCH!"
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Frei's Fierce Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Hinata
"No offense taken!" Hinata offers. She *likes* her uniform! The girl bounces lightly on the balls of her feet, a springy sort of stance that developed because she can't quite stay still. It rattles the catwalk some more, and hopefully Frei's nerves as well.
With a short 'hut!' Hinata springs straight up into the air in a perfect splits so the punch passes harmlessly beneath her, landing again with one foot on either side of the walkway's handrail. "Super Mimiru What?" Oh come on now, Frei doesn't look anything like Mimiru! And frankly the mental image of him trying to wear one of Mimiru's outfits is just... no.
Hinata rocks to one side, raising one foot to give a quick swiping kick toward Frei's head. She's gotten a lot braver about the whole 'fighting above a bunch of ginormous gears that could crush you' thing. This also turns out to be her downfall. Remember that one rivet that went 'ping'? It happened to be just on the handrail she puts her full weight on, which then gives a sudden creak. "... Huh?"
Then it gives way entirely, the old steel handrail clattering away and taking a surprised looking Taiyo High student with it. It's almost cartoony, a brief moment of surprise, just hanging there for a second, then gravity kicks on. "OH CRAP!" Hinata tumbles off the side of the catwalk and down about ten feet, landing on a large flat gear as large as a dinner table with a muted 'OOMPH!'. "Umm... I'm okay? ... anybody got a ladder?" She might be able to make the jump back up to the catwalk but.. falling even further sounds very unappealing, so instead she just stares upward at Frei and shrugs sheepishly.
COMBATSYS: Hinata takes a breather.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Hinata
"Punch. Super Mimiru Pu..." And then Hinata and her entire chunk of catwalk Looney Tunes right out of sight, leaving Frei holding the bag, as it were. Apparently, Hinata 1.) doesn't know Mimiru and 2.) was right about the catwalk. "Um." Blinking in confusion, he looks behind him to the referee, who makes a rolling motion with his hand. Keep going, moron!
"Right then." Walking to the edge of the remaining catwalk, the monk looks down and finds Hinata thankfully not dead, although perhaps a little shaken. "Hey, just so you know!" he shouts, apparently with no small amount of force. Must have great breath control. "I'm going to jump down and attack you on the way, so you know!" What a nice guy. And then he takes a deep breath and goes to take a step to jump down... and falls right off the damn catwalk, hurtling down at Hinata face-first. Upside? If he hits, he'll probably knock her right into the floor. Downside? It's his FACE. If she dodges, that's going to hurt an awful lot.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Frei's Random Weapon.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Hinata
"Thanks for the warning!" Hinata turns slightly while standing on the gear, not through her own power but simply the fact that gears do indeed turn. It's kind of what they do. It's quite a large gear, flat-surface and feeling distinctly more sturdy than the walkway, with a large central pillar going through it. Hinata simply grabs the central support and hops a little, just a little, to the far side of the gear.
Frei's face incoming, Hinata just winces when it, he, lands. But this is a league fight after all, so what's she to do except attack when the chance is given to her. Still holding onto the central support, Hinata hops again and spins around it light, circling till she's just above Frei and stomps downwards with both feet at once. It would have been just as good to kick him *outwards*, but all those gears.. she doesn't want to see anybody get stuck in there. On the positive side, if there is one, they wouldn't be stuck there for very long.
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Heavy Kick from Hinata with Hyoushou Rengeki.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Hinata
There's an upside and a downside to this situation. The upside is that the face thing was mostly a feint; Frei's getting pretty good at the safe fall maneuver and wasn't particularly expecting to fall right ONTO Hinata, so he snaps out a hand and catches the gear, flipping forward and then back to his feet and around to hopefully be ready for whatever Hinata was about to throw at him. And then he sees her prepping for a kick rather like the one he started the match with. So, he tries to do something a little daring. Why? Because he's an idiot. "You're welco--" WHAM. The *plan* was to blow up his icy projectile right in her face. Instead, she kicks right through it and floors Frei in a single attack. "...welcome."
Bounding back from her delightful game of Frei-stompin', Hinata pauses and cheerfully cocks a hand in a jaunty little salute. "Not a problem!" Now now, she's not as mean as all that. She's actually going to try to help him out a little! If the both of them can get back up onto the catwalk... well, it wasn't exactly much sturdier than this, but the chances of being ground into something unrecognizable were at least a little less.
Siezing both of the downed Frei's hands, Hinata pulls upward sharply to flap him out like a sheet on a laundry day. That first bit will at least help him back to his feet, even if it's a little rough. The second will be to simply step, pivot, and wrench with all her strength to very gracefully hurl him back up onto the catwalk. About 10 feet up, adjust for wind resistance...
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Frei with Quick Throw.
Glancing Blow
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hinata
Well, that... actually works, and yet doesn't. Frei doesn't have time to completely get out of the way, but as Hinata observed, that may actually have been in his best interest. Interestingly, halfway up the monk twirls a bit in midair, regaining his footing and giving Hinata a grin and a wave as he flies backwards up toward the catwalk. "Thanks!" And then he tries to look cool and catch the railing, flipping over it. Unfortunately? That is just not in the cards; he does get back on the catwalk, but instead of a graceful kung fu flip he turns his wrist wrong on the railing, wincing. So, in the end Hinata does indeed do some damage, though not the way she expected, perhaps.
Frei, however, doesn't press the attack; instead, he gets into stance and tries to collect himself, taking a deep breath and doing a couple more of those tai chi hand pushes to find his center again and all that spiritual jazz. Without, uh... knowing if Hinata can make it back up. Presumably she can! She's sprightly.
COMBATSYS: Frei takes a breather.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hinata
Hinata's not entirely sure she can make that jump in one nice clean bound, but there are, as always, other methods. Waiting for just the right moment when where she stands on the gear is exactly facing the catwalk, and Frei with it, she hunkers down and tenses. There's that pretty chi lightshow again, though less of a sort of burning aura thing and more like a split-second flash of shattered jagged lines.
A leap toward the catwalk, chi flaring around both feet at once. Hinata spins like a helicopter, chi trails blazing so fast they form a solid circle of rainbow colored light. Thankfully, she was right about one thing. She wouldn't have made the jump quite as easily without doing this!
Only it's not just a super-sweet means of propulsion either. The roaring spinning kicks are an attack in their own right, straight for Frei as he's trying to catch his breath! See an opening and follow up, or if you don't see one, make one! Taiyo schoolgirl incoming! "MOEROOOO!"
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hinata's Rasen Enbukyaku.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hinata
Oh. So that's how she's gonna do it. Actually, Frei looks pretty impressed. Hinata's got powerful chi for a young girl, something he's finding kind of common among Taiyo's students, not that he knows Hinata goes to Taiyo. And if that connects, it's going to hurt. Summoning every ounce of effort he has (especially given how bad his wrist hurts) the monk grits his teeth, silvery energy flaring around his hands as he basically throws his palms in front of the whirling kicks. Taking each hit still leaves quite a mark, but not quite so bad as getting hit in the HEAD a few more times would. Plus his counter-chi technique lessens the blow on that front too.
However, he sees his chance as Hinata continues up toward him and, hoping to heck this works out, he reaches up and tries to snag Hinata's leg as she passes by on the last kick, and if he can, simply chucks her off to the side as hard as she can. She should land on the catwalk behind him regardless, but whether she does so on her feet or on her back is anyone's guess.
COMBATSYS: Hinata interrupts Strong Throw from Frei with Shouyouken.
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Frei 1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0 Hinata
Another thing about Taiyo students? They're deceptively fast, one Hinata Wakaba in particular. So what if she wasn't expecting to be snagged out of the air like that. Adapt! Frei's hand grabs her ankle, and Hinata simple bends forward to grab his wrists right back. So what starts as a throw off the side of the catwalk just ends up swinging her around like an unsteady weight and plunking the girl straight back down onto the metal grating with a heavy thump.
She doesn't stay there long. Even with one ankle grabbed and her hands around Frei's wrist, Hinata lets her right hand go and cocks it back. "Surprise!" Chi erupts around the fist which she brings in a jarring uppercut to his chin, at last separating the awkward grapple.
Okay, that stung. Still, Frei's no slouch himself when it comes to the speed; knocked up into the air by the attack, the monk suddenly inverts himself in a ninja-like fashion, grinning down at Hinata. "Back atcha!" he says pleasantly, apparently in a good mood despite looking like he's been hit by a truck. Without much buildup, he creates another blue-white sphere like he did before, chucking it at Hinata before he begins his descent and snapping his fingers once he hits the ground. "Burst!" Hopefully she won't pull another wacky Sunflower out of her hat.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Frei's Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Hinata
"Oraaaaa!" is Hinata's eloquent reply. Splash damage? That only counts if what you're aiming at is still in the area of the splash, which, as the ice ball explodes familiarly, she is most decidedly not. Instead she's charging forward, low and fast, feet pounding on the metal grating and shaking it unsteadily. She's leaned over so far forward she could brush the catwalk with her fingertips if she felt like it.
But she doesn't. What she instead feels like doing is pressing in very very close to Frei, nearly a shoulder tackle at first. Skidding to a stop, her left arm stabs out quickly once, twice, then finishes off her little flurry with a hard right cross. A semi-translucent rainbow colored soap bubble of chi flares around her right fist just before she swings.
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Frei with Rengekiken.
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Frei 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Hinata
Whatever heat Frei was building up before is totally gone now. Maybe Hinata hit him in the head a little too hard, perhaps. Regardless, when the young schoolgirl's incoming flurry of punches comes in, Frei makes an attempt to snap up a forearm to block the blow, and instead misjudges, getting a facefull of punch and then a blast of chi to boot, knocking him on his back and skidding across the catwalk, where he... stays for a bit. "If I were the type of be annoyed..." he says, laughing a little, "I would probably be pretty annoyed right now."
However, Hinata doesn't have the monk beaten just yet. Jumping to his feet, he flexes his fingers, glancing at Hinata carefully for a moment. "You're pretty strong. Makes me wish I'd gotten into the martial arts earlier, I guess," he says, thought he doesn't sound like the type to regret too much. "I dig the rainbow thing, by the way." And then he grins, planting his foot and then charging Hinata, muttering under his breath the entire time. When he gets close? He actually draws a brief circle in the air and then snaps out his hand, which coincidentally is also flickering a rainbow of colors. All he needs to do is get it near Hinata's tummy...
COMBATSYS: Hinata blocks Frei's Fukami Reikai.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Hinata
Perhaps the fortunate thing is that Frei doesn't really need to *touch* Hinata, here; he simply needs to get close. When his palm is aligned with the schoolgirl's stomach, Frei's green eyes flicker with the effort of control, and he shouts: "Break!" The rainbow glow fades; a huge burst of focused chi -- no element, simply raw force -- blasts out between the monk and the Taiyo student with enough force to make the air ripple from the aftershock.
The blast catches Hinata by surprise, but it's by sheer reflex that she reacts to it at all. Throwing up her arms in a crossed guard, she bends her knees and leans *into* the blast. Tensing, she braces for it knowing instinctively that she can't get out of the way in time. The blast ellicits a short grunt as it pushes her back several inches, skidding backwards on the grating despite her best efforst to hold herself together.
"Wooo!" She announces as the attack wanes and she shakes herself off as if the attack weren't actually painful but.. refreshing. It actually was painful, but pain is a great wake-up call. Hinata stomps a foot on the grating, sending a shaking wave through it and springs into the air. Obviously she spied something up there, a crossbar of some kind connecting one kind of gear to another gear across the crowded clock tower.
Hanging from it like a jungle gym, she twists in place and kicks out with her right foot, then her left. At the range she's at, and owing to the height, there's no way they could connect. Except that corresponding with each kick, something white and very much sneaker-shaped launches off each foot and toward Kei. "Kicks from heaven!"
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Renkyakudan from Hinata with Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Hinata
Haha. Third time? The charm. "Is this where I bust out the Austin Powers line about..." And then? Frei does the unthinkable, which is to say he reaches out and snags the shoes as they fall, catching them one by one. "...who uses a shoe?" If he's disappointed that his big attack didn't really do any good, he doesn't show it. Instead he grins and holds up the shoes, actually hovering them between his hands a bit and... encasing them in that familiar blue-white sphere? Yep. Rearing his arms back, the monk chucks the sphere at Hinata as if it were a dodgeball, waggling his eyebrows when it gets close. Why? Because instead of ice shards, Hinata's about to get smacked with three ice-coated shoes! Hopefully.
COMBATSYS: Hinata dodges Frei's Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|======-\-------\0 Hinata
"Hey! My shoes!" Hinata wails, kicking her socked feet frantically while hanging from the bar. "That's so not fair!" Freezing her shoes like that? Her mom paid for those shoes, and so help her, if they get water damaged or.. even worse, shatter, it'll be Hinata who gets the lecture on how the family's not made of money and all that!
The Sunshine Girl kicks both feet forward, swinging herself back and forth with long practice on the playground years ago. Or a few months ago. She can't help it, she loves playgrounds. So like a gymnast, she starts a good back and forth swing and releases the bar at just the right time to vault straight over her own frozen sneaks (Mom is gonna kill me if I lose those!), tumbling in midair and landing heavily just in front of Frei.
Tiny hands sieze the front of his nicely styled shirt, Hinata turning and using her shoulder like a lever to give Frei a nice toss straight down into the grating. No long distance throws, nothing fancy, just over the shoulder and down as hard as she can.
COMBATSYS: Hinata successfully hits Frei with Shoulder Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Hinata
Lucky for Hinata (well, not really lucky as she's dominated this entire fight) Frei's just too tired to get out of the way. Or at least, he makes a token attempt at it, but it doesn't work; instead he just goes down on the catwalk and does not get back up again, thoroughly out. Well, on the plus side, at least the catwalk's not shaking with the weight of two people on it anymore, right? The announcer declares Hinata the winner! And now she can go home and warm up by the fire or something.
COMBATSYS: Frei takes no action.
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Hinata 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
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Hinata 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Hinata has ended the fight here.
"Woohoo!" The girl dances in place lightly, twirling her hands around each other and leaning from foot to foot. The standard Wakaba victory dance, you must understand. But after that's taken care of, she kneels down to offer a hand to Frei to help him to his feet. No hard feelings, eh? "C'mon, I have to find my shoes!"
Snorting a little, she looks back at the massive clanking gears and shaky walkway. "I guess it wasn't so bad after all. They wouldn't really make us fight in something that was gonna fall over. You're a sturdy thing, aren't you?" Hinata stamps a foot on the grating as if to prove a point. The walkway, having a point to prove on its own, shakes again and pops a few more rivets before a six foot long section decides it's had enough and falls off completely into the darkness below where it is ground to pieces by uncaring gears. "... Umm... let's go. Now."
Log created by Frei, and last modified on 18:54:12 01/11/2006.