Description: League fight in Seattle, WA, home of the shi-ny green--wait, no. Home of coffee and fresh fish! (Winner: Hotaru)
Despite being a northern state, Washington has that nice marine climate thing going for it. Thus while the rest of the country at that latitude is complaining about the snow and cold, Seattle has a nice, brisk Saturday morning. A little brisk, but nothing wrong with that. Pike Place, the outdoor market famous for its fishmongers and other nifty shops, is currently a little more crowded than normal given the hour.
This area is the home to one Ken Masters, after all, so the Foundation has an easy time scheduling fights on its home turf, as it were. Plus, with Seattle one of the gateways to the US through air travel it's easy to get the mostly Japanese members of the league out here to fight. Thus we find an area in front of the fish sellers cordoned off with rope, and onlookers standing politely by as the camera crews set up for this early-morning bout.
Already in attendance is one Frei, who's calmly sitting at one end of the cordon area and... eating a cheese danish. What the hey. When you're in America, eat as the Americans do! He occasionally sips from a steaming thermos of hot chocolate, and appears to be enjoying himself immensely... so immensely he probably wouldn't notice if a 747 landed on his face.
Fortunately, this is Seattle, not New York... and 747s aren't prone to landing on faces anyways. This isn't Hotaru's first visit to America--she's fought in Metro City, after all, just recently, and Las Vegas before then, but this is her first visit to Seattle. So she's drinking in the sights and sounds, the bustle so familiar and yet so utterly different from the Japan she knows and loves.
The marketplace is immensely appealing to Hotaru; she loves the smell of fresh fish, the salt-air breeze, the sun's light shining pale golden and highlighting the displays of the catch of the day, laid out on beds of crushed ice. But she's not here just for sightseeing, and so she tears herself away from looking around to enter the cordoned-off area, after speaking to a couple of League officials.
"Renard-saaaan?" she calls, curiously, seeing that Frei is... enjoying himself. Maybe she should wait before calling him out?
Mmm. Danish.
However, Frei's not Xiangfei; when someone calls his name he usually responds, even if he's eating. Looking up, pastry hanging halfway out of his mouth, Frei gives Hotaru a little wave with the hand holding the thermos, then sets to finishing his breakfast with renewed abandon. Chowing down as quick as he can, the monk finishes stuffing his face, takes a nice, long swig of hot cocoa, and then hops to his feet, pushing the chair back. Yoush.
"Been a long time since we first fought," Frei says to Hotaru, giving her a nod and then falling into stance, a relaxed and even posture. "I'm betting we've both improved since then. Looking forward to it!" He grins and winks at Hotaru. "This time might turn out differently, though!"
COMBATSYS: Frei has started a fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
Hotaru nods and favors Frei with a smile; she remembers the fight, surely, and even though she won she felt that Frei gave a good showing. So perhaps it will turn out differently; if so, that will simply speak as to the skill that Hotaru feels Frei has.
As all this is running through her head, Hotaru is doing some light stretching, limbering up; as is somewhat customary for her, to finish out the routine, she slaps herself on the cheeks a few times, puming herself up a little.
"It has been a while," she agrees, as she falls into her own, distinctive, if subtle, stance.
In the background, the announcer is babbling, but when he shouts "FIGHT!" it comes through crystal-clear, and Hotaru is, so to speak, off and running--but only shortly, as she then hops and attempts to leap over Frei--stomping down on his shoulder as she goes.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Kou-shuu Da.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
My, that's quick. However, Frei doesn't panic; as Hotaru comes down from her hop the monk throws up a forearm, blocking the real impact of the strike and also giving Miss Futaba a convenient perch from which to jump back to her feet. That still stung, but not as bad as it could have... and Hotaru's jump gives Frei a chance to spin around and, with a hasty "Sorry!", grab a pair of salmon off the nearest display box and then charge Hotaru with them, whooping like a wire fu movie star and swinging the fish around like a pair of unconnected nunchaku. "WATAH!" That's right. Fishchucks, yo.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Random Weapon.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Hotaru
Well, damn. Hotaru knows she didn't get the hit she wanted; the impact was solid, but one of the first things a fighter learns is how to tell when their hit was true... and that was not a true hit. So Hotaru is immediately wary, upon landing, and... with good reason.
As Frei charges her with the fish, Hotaru ducks and weaves, having absolutely no desire to smell like salmon--or to eat raw fish in any from other than sashimi or sushi. Which are better-prepared and yeah. No fish for Hotaru. As she leans back from the last strike she kicks out at Frei's knee, a quick kick meant to off-balance the monk... and hopefully make him drop the fish.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Hotaru's Light Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
Well, it sort of works! Frei does drop the fish, and Hotaru does make a rather nasty-sounding kick right on Frei's kneecap. The issue is that the monk doesn't move or fall down; rather, he just grins at Hotaru and then brings his own, non-kicked leg up and basically attempts to run up her body, kicking off around her shoulders and spiralling through the air on the dismount, hands glowing blue. The monk would land with his back to Hotaru, which seems pretty stupid... of course, if she wants to get to him, she'll need to dodge the purple-blue bolt of lightning that arcs out of the sky at her after his jump-off first.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Tenrai Enbu.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Huh. It's kind of similar to one of her own techniques--Hotaru fades with each blow, reducing their effectiveness to a great deal; the lightning bolt is straight-up blocked, the energy sizzling down onto her upraised forearms... and she winces anyways, because blocked or not, lightning, even of the chi variety, -hurts-... she spends a moment shaking out her arms and making sure she's still got feeling in them before she straightens and looks at Frei.
"That was new," she remarks, as she settles back into stance, "It seems you -have- improved..." And an improved opponent bears watching... which is just what Hotaru's doing, right now.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Breathing out, Frei stands up and turns around, falling back into stance with a grin. "Well, I had to. Everyone I was fighting was so good, if I didn't I'd have to take up macrame or something." Flexing his fingers, Frei decides not to attack just yet, instead choosing to focus his energy and prepare for whatever Hotaru's about to dish out. She's nimble and she's smart... not a good combination for him, after all. Pressing his hands out palms forward, the monk lets out a low "Haaaaaaaaa...!" as the wind resonates with his chi. "Bring it on!"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Hotaru nods in agreement as Frei speaks. "That's what it's all about... getting better, right?" And then Frei does the DBZ... well, Hotaru can't do that, at least not yet, and so she elects to leap to the attack, hoping to disrupt that charge-up before it can become something utterly serious... once again she takes to the air, diving down at Frei with her right knee extended. Should she make contact, she'll kick out with the same leg, pushing her to her right and away from Frei--and hopefully tacking on a little more damage.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Ren-geki Shuu.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
Usually, that stance makes Frei a little wary, and better on the defensive. Unfortunately, Hotaru's blinding speed is too much for him and her kick sends him flying back into the chair he was sitting on before with a loud *CLANG*. Wincing in pain, it takes a minute for Frei to stand back up, grimacing. He's... getting owned. That won't do. It's like Alma says, one might guess: you have to make the tenor of the fight yours.
But eh, Frei's not Alma. Taking a deep breath, the monk closes his eyes. Gotta find the center. And after a moment, his eyes suddenly flick back open and, with a shout of "Moon's shadow!" the monk whips his hand through the air in a downward scythe, a crescent of violet energy surrounded by silver sparks lashing out at Hotaru with crushing speed.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Tsukikage from Frei with Ko-bi Kyaku.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
That little kick at the end, the momentum boost it provides, is just enough to get Hotaru some distance--and in this case, that is exactly what she needed, because she wouldn't've been able to deal with the crescent of energy otherwise. Whispering what seems almost to be a brief prayer, Hotaru twists away from the energy, kicking up and out with her right leg--sweeping a wall of blue chi through the air that the crescent impacts on--and rebounds off of, to sizzle through the air right back at Frei!
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Reflected Tsukikage from Hotaru with Hizashi Ronde.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
Ah, but Frei's not the Frei he used to be. He's getting used to that trick where people chuck energy back in his face (fight Yuri enough times, it starts to sink in). Thus while his right hand was hurling the quick little burst of yin chi at Hotaru, his *left* hand was already preparing a rather larger orange-red sphere of yang chi. "Sorry, but..." And when his own attack comes flying back, Frei thrusts out his hand, deflecting the returned projectile entirely with the glowing orb in his left hand, then hurling it at Hotaru. "...that won't work on me this time!" Once the sphere gets close to Miss Futaba? It's fireworks fun for all in a pretty but dangerous explosion of chi.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Hizashi Ronde.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Explosions of chi are no fun--unless they're yours. This is something Hotaru quickly finds out as the blossom of energy catches her full on and hurls her back and to the ground, painfully.
"Itta-ta-ta..." she whimpers, as she picks herself up, taking the time to dust herself off, rub her eyes and generally make sure she's okay.
"Definitely, Renard-san, you've gotten better!" Not that he wasn't good before, but... she'll just take a moment.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Hotaru
Interestingly enough, Frei's not done. Why? Because as he's throwing out the yang energy with his left hand, his *right* hand, recovered from his original attack, is instead summoning a sphere of blue-white energy that's very familiar to anyone who's ever fought the monk. His motion never stops; he just flows from one attack to the next like water around rocks. "I'm just getting started!" the monk says with a grin, before making a slight spin and then chucking the icy orb at Hotaru. When it gets close, she's in for an explosion of a different stripe: one of ice shards looking to put a little extra chill in this misty Seattle morn.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
The extra chill is definitely put into this Seattle morning; Hotaru, still regaining her composure, finds her footing slightly unsure and thus opts to let her aura and her arms take the impact; it doesn't leave her too much the worse for wear, though she is pushed back from Frei from the impact.
"You're doing well," she acknowledges, with a smile. "You might beat me this time!" Heedless of the extra distance she has to cover, she rushes forward, trying to use her speed to her advantage, seeking to thrust a dual palm strike right into Frei's abdomen.
"HA~!" cries Hotaru, as she makes the attack, using the textbook kiai just as it was intended, to focus herself during the strike.
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hotaru's Strong Punch!
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Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
The attack might not have damaged her overmuch, but the chilling effect is just enough for Frei to rally; reaching down as Hotaru comes in, he suddenly whips something off the ground and thrusts it immediately into her oncoming attack: the salmon he was fishchucking with earlier. He grins at Hotaru, apparently hitting some sort of dramatic second wind thanks to... the fish. Who knows? Jumping back, the monk throws the fish over his shoulder carelessly. "Not bad! I'm just getting started! There's lots more stock dialogue where this came from!"
Then someone chucks the fish back at the monk, thankfully not so hard it'd do anything more than surprise him. Turning, Frei notices an irate-looking morning shopper. "WATCH IT!"
"...err. Sorry."
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Hmm. Not the effect Hotaru wanted; she chooses, as Frei has to deal with the fish, to once again, focus her efforts; she wants Frei to do well, it's true, but she does want to win; it's part of that competitive nature that comes from being a fighter. You can't fight effectively if you have no desire to win. Hotaru fans that desire to win, bringing it to the forefront of her mind, seeking to use it to empower her techniques... if not overtly, then covertly.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Well, Hotaru's not going to attack. That's fine... Frei decides to shift his momentum a little too, taking a deep breath and analyzing the situation. Miss Futaba has a lot of little tricks... but so does Frei. He just needs to find some way to use them effectively. "I've been meaning to tell you," he says offhandedly, grinning a little. "There's someone I know who's interested in you," he singsongs cheerily. Well, it might be a little cheesy bringing that up during a fight, but it's not like these two are doing anything.
COMBATSYS: Frei focuses on his next action.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
Ohhh no. See, Hinata tried that one time! And it didn't work then, so it won't work now! Hotaru frowns at Frei, "Are you trying to distract me? It won't work, you know!" she cries, as... she once more rushes at Frei, seeking to grab him by the shoulders...
COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Strong Throw from Hotaru with Tenrai Enbu.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
... and upon making contact, she's cartwheeling over Frei--one hand still on one of his shoulders. As she cartwheels over, and touches down on the ground, she shifts all that momentum through her body and uses it, and her grip on Frei's shoulder, to fling him away--if she'd held on it would have been an overhand slam, much like those seen in the cartoons, but she lets go about two-thirds of the way through instead.
Well, that stung. In point of fact it stung a whole lot, all the more so because Frei tried to get fancy and counter-grab Hotaru to minimize the damage to him and maximize the damage to her. What he forgot is that interrupts are dumb unless you have Toughness. However, the monk's not down for the count yet; he goes crashing into a fish stand, and all is silent for a moment... until he bursts out of it in a cloud of ice and haddock, Saishu-style. "HAHA! Next!"
Hunh. Toughness or not, Frei's pretty tough; and... awww man, she broke a fishstand... that's coming out of her winnings... if she wins. Hotaru shakes her head, ruefully, and chuckles at Frei... he seems to be taking that particular impact in stride. That's good for him! As for her...
... she has to keep up the attack. She knows that, given time, Frei will work off all that, and come after her with even more power... once again she leaps to the attack, almost literally, taking one, two, three steps, then hopping forward, through a low arc, kicking out as she lands--sweeping low, then high, two quick scything kicks to bring the fight alive again.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Light Kick.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
Frei'd planned to throw up an arm and block that kick. Unfortunately what he didn't count on was having ice cubes still kinda stuck to his face. Thus when Hotaru's kick combination comes it it kinda... hits him. A lot. The fight may be alive again, but Frei's certainly not. With a grimace, he stumbles back and gets into stance again, trying to focus his energy and get SOMETHING to happen in his favor this fight. It may happen. Someday. "I hate being on the defensive," he grumbles.
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
Hotaru wheels around, still low to the ground, crouched almost impossibly low. She's practically sitting on her left leg, her right extended out, and her arms out to her sides for balance. This stance is called (in some games) the Phoenix stance. It isn't very useful for defending unless all your opponent can do is throw high strikes, but there are some tricky attacks that can be made from this position. And there are some straightforward ones, too; Hotaru pushes off her bent leg, rising to her feet as she aims a knifehand strike at Frei's side--again, nothing too strong, but all the really strong moves from this stance come from the legs.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Quick Punch.
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Frei 1/----===/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
He might not like being on the defensive, but Frei's damn good at it when he's of the mind; Hotaru's knifehand is met with Frei's outstretched palm, turned slightly to the side and stopped *dead*; he's not particularly strong, but he knows how to use momentum to his advantage. Deciding to seize the initative while Hotaru's in close, the monk does a half-turn off his defense and scythes his *left* hand through the air this time, unleashing another purple crescent on Miss Futaba at point-blank range. Hopefully that will forestall any quick counterattacks for the time being... emphasis on 'hopefully'. "Moon's shadow"!
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Tsukikage.
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Frei 1/---====/=======|=======\==-----\1 Hotaru
Hotaru knows her attack didn't hit, but she's unable to twist out of the way of that projectile; the crescent of energy blows her back, wincing, sending her stumbling back as she recovers from the hit. She knew Frei wasn't out of it yet--and that just proves it.
"A good hit," she gasps, taking a moment to try and wipe out the pain--it's best not to attack when she can't, for the moment, move right.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
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Frei 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
Frei's not a fool. Hotaru's holding back, and it's kind of gnawing at him, since the last few people he fought have basically done the same. Apparently the monk's not a challenge anymore... but hey, if that's the case he'll just have to work harder. Deciding there's no rest for the wicked, he decides to hasten his own defeat by letting Hotaru reflect another Hizashi right in his face, the golden sphere of chi bursting into a hail of sparks as Frei thrusts his palms out at the young fighter.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Hizashi.
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Frei 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
Holding back? Not hardly; Hotaru in fact wants to give Frei her best, and attacking while she's a bit wounded hardly qualifies as -that-. Hotaru ducks low as the monk thrusts his hands forward, ducking low and -around- Frei, so that she's simply not there when the chi bursts; and her counterattack is swift and sure (at least on her part), as she thrusts herself back, into a elbow-and-body check against Frei's back.
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hotaru's Strong Punch!
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hotaru
Interestingly enough, Frei was preparing himself for the reflect... but in a sense, that just makes him equally prepared for Hotaru's counterattack; when the bodycheck comes in for what would be a very painful landing, the monk simply... puts out his hand without turning to look, pressing two fingers into Hotaru's elbow and turning her ever-so-gently to the side, sending her harmlessly past and sucking up just a little of that kinetic energy to boot... or at least, enough of it so that he has time to reach over, snag a really large tuna, and then look to smack it right into Hotaru's back as she runs past, like a samurai training his protege. "WATAH!"
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Fierce Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
"OW!" Hotaru cries out as the tuna hits her in the back, causing her stumble forward. She spins and glares at the monk, briefly and truly incensed by the continued use of fish as weapons.
"I guess you're not taking me seriously... is it because I'm a girl?" she asks, with a big big frown on her face.
"Because if it is, I may just get mad!" And she certainly seems like she's gearing up to get mad, her stance tightening up just a touch, as she prepares to end the assault of fish...
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
Not taking her seriously? Does Frei take ANYTHING seriously? Probably not. But in that sense it's also impossible for him NOT to take things seriously. It's ridiculously circular logic but it works. 'The Incredibles' proved it! Of course, Hotaru's anger just makes the monk confused. "Not taking you seriously how?" He pauses, looking at the tuna in his hands, and then throwing it aside (careful to hit only the ground this time) and getting into stance, summoning all his will and energy... he's going to need it in a second, it would appear. "Oh, come on now. Does 'serious' have to mean 'stone-faced'? If I wasn't taking you seriously I'd be sitting here throwing little chunks of ice at you or someth--" He pauses. "Cubes. Ice CUBES. Anyhow. The tuna shows I care!"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1 Hotaru
Hotaru frowns at Frei again, but makes no response... the tuna shows he cares? What the hell does that mean? But to her, that he's goofing around with the tuna is like a bit of disrespect in her eyes. She lunges forward, deciding to speak with her actions, rather than words, reaching for his shoulders...
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Sha-jou Tai.
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Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\====---\1 Hotaru
... and once again she finds purchase on his shoulders, and performs her trademark run-up, stomping left, right, left, and the last stomp used to flip her away from Frei, sailing gracefully through the air to land.
This time, however, things go a little different; each stomp finds a forearm placed ever-so-quickly in the way. Hotaru does get her run up, but Frei's defense keeps the blow from becoming something particularly more painful. However, the monk isn't going to just sit there while she leaps to safety. With blinding speed he leaps *after* her, hoping to snag the young fighter's shoulder in midair and then spin her around before hurling her straight at the ground, using her own momentum as a catalyst and then breaking her fall with a storm of earth chi 'leaves'. Risky, but you have to spin big to win big!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Daichi Kudaki EX.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1 Hotaru
So her landing doesn't go quite as expected; but from the moment that Frei snags her, even before he starts to spin her, she's preparing to land; rather than let him break her fall, Hotaru focuses her entire being on the next few moments, cushioning herself with her aura and with a redirection of her momentum. And... at least, she unleashes her chi for the second time in the fight, and for the first time in this fight in the form of her trademark projectile. Her right palm glows with blue-white energy, and she thrusts it at the monk, firing off the pulsating, white-cored energy with the dark blue edges as a ball.
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Hakki Shou from Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/-======|=======\=====--\1 Hotaru
The only way to match a trademark projectile is with another! Grinning with the manic energy that only being able to lose can really give you, the monk whips his hand around, blue-white chi of a different kind growing there as the monk throws out his own signature blast. "Haaaaaaaaa!" Hotaru's projectile hits the icy orb and the two burst... but in the end, there are still tiny ice daggers headed Hotaru's way, while her quick attack has vanished in a cloud of ice crystals, hanging in the air right before Frei.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.
Glancing Blow
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Hotaru
Hotaru gets out of the way of some of the tiny ice daggery things... but a few pepper her. Not enough to do anything serious except make her take pause once more, as she brushes the melting ice out of her eyes and off her clothes. She's not liking the ice so much... maybe it's time to give Frei some ice too; she kicks up a chunk of ice from the ground nearby, spilloff from the various fish vendors that have been disturbed, and just.. flings it, overhand, at Frei. Probably it's not aerodynamic enough to fly well and carry much momentum, but maybe it'll at least give Frei pause too.
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Thrown Object from Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.
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Frei 0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1 Hotaru
An eye for an eye, an ice for an ice! In truth, perceptive folk may have noticed that when Frei busts out his own icy attack, it's usually a two-fisted maneuver, but his detonating of Hotaru's Hakki Shou was only one. Why? Because Frei figured third time's a charm and had his left all ready to go with a second sphere of ice, which he hurls at Hotaru with a grin. "Gotta keep contingency plans, I guess!" he says cheerily, the blue-white sphere of chi absorbing Hotaru's homemade missile and then hopefully bursting on her as normal.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.
Glancing Blow
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=======\=======\1 Hotaru
Once again, Frei's counterattack strikes a glancing blow as Hotaru moves to get out of the way; however, this time, she doesn't bother to attack again. This plan of attack is obviously not working out, so she needs to figure out how to vary her plan... she's not hurting too badly yet, but she's certainly going to lose if this is kept up... so she backs off a bit to think.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=======\=======\1 Hotaru
Okay. So, keeping up the assault as-is is just not an option for poor Frei, who's really having to throw out everything AND the kitchen sink to keep this fight from being over is... well, usually there's only one kitchen sink, you know? So he hunkers down. Yeah, it's probably not the smartest move, but he's TIRED, and while he'll be in trouble if Hotaru's next move connects, there's not much he can do about it anyway... so might as well give himself a little extra edge just in case. "I'm kinda mystified you're still angry about the tuna thing," the monks says evenly, perhaps teasing a little bit.
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
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Frei 1/--=====/=======|=======\=======\1 Hotaru
Hotaru is impressed at Frei's longevity... then again, neatly avoiding getting hit -will- do that. But he looks tired, too... so maybe Hotaru's gambit will work. Despite the distance between them, she rushes up, looking hoepfully to end this right here and now; how? Well, simple.
She kicks him. Ok, maybe it's not -that- simple; she throws herself up, flipping upwards, looking to kick Frei under the chin with both feet, arms splayed out to either side for damage.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Sen-Kai En EX.
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Frei 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Hotaru
*SMACK*.
At least, that's the gist. Frei goes SAILING into the air; in fact, he goes flat-out out of sight, onto the roof of the nearby market. Could Hotaru have won by the cheapest tactic known to man: the dreaded RING OUT? Perhaps. Or, maybe she just knocked Frei clear out of the fight and into the harbor. That was a nasty sounding kick. It's silent for a good while, actually. The refs are about to award Hotaru the match.
Then the little ball of golden chi floats on down and appears next to Hotaru. It's dancing. It wants you to save your game.
Actually, it just wants to explode in a huge mass of colorful fireworks. KABOOM!
Meanwhile, an oddly invigorated Frei hops down off the roof, smiling pleasantly. "That hurt a lot."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Hizashi Ronde from Frei with Ko-bi Kyaku EX.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Reflected Hizashi Ronde.
[ \\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
Hotaru's landing goes nicely--and then she's forced into action immediately. Because she's wary of glowing balls of chi, particularly from this monk. So she kicks her leg up and out--once more--as she turns. The resulting blue chi field sends the chiball back at Frei, 'cuz.. yeah, that just doesn't look like fun.
Say what.
Well, the upside is that the ball didn't actually explode, and on its own the little orb of yang chi isn't all that powerful. See, the deal is it draws on natural, surrounding chi and then makes it explode! Nifty trick, right? Well, not so nifty if it DOESN'T WORK. An exhausted Frei gets boked on the noggin by the ball, which then piffles out of existence. Maybe it's like a time bomb. Taking a deep breath, the monk slaps his cheeks, trying to get back in the game. "This is getting kinda ridiculous..." he murmurs, vexed.
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
It might be getting ridiculous, but the fight is still on; Hotaru once again rushes at Frei, following that chi ball in, opting now for the simple and hopefully effective; as she closes she feints a low kick, but spins through it without attacking only to launch a heavy spinning side kick aimed for Frei's ribcage. Simple--but again, hopefully effective. Hotaru doesn't want to waste time gettin fancy anymore.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Heavy Kick.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hotaru
Maybe fancy would have worked better? "Whoa!" the monk says in surprise as he steps just to the side of the sweep and throws a forearm in front of the spinning kick, pushing it off to the side. He winces in pain -- that's gonna leave a mark -- but continues on, deciding that if Hotaru gets to run up his face twice, well, then he should do the same! Hoping to snag her while she's in close, Frei tries to plant his foot on Hotaru's thigh and then basically kick up and then off her torso, spinning in midair and summoning another bolt of lightning to kick things up a notch, as it were.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Tenrai Enbu.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///////// ]
Frei 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hotaru
The lightning calls a shriek from Hotaru; she can't get out of the way and she gets fried by it. Certainly that was painful, she gasps and backs off of Frei, her expression tightening, eyes narrowing as she realizes that she's getting much closer to the edge of defeat than she would otherwise like to be. Perhaps, she thinks, it is time to reassess the situation... she can't helpbut wonder how Frei's continued use of chi hasn't tired him out totally.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.
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Frei 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Yeah. Frei is, in fact, wondering the *same thing*, Hotaru! He looks physically beat; for sure, she's put the hurting on him something fierce. But burning under that is not necessarily an indominatable will, but a knowledge that Frei will keep on doing whatever he can right to the moment he collapses, unable to go on. However, summoning up more energy attacks is gonna take some doing... so Frei once again tries hard to draw on rapidly dwindling inner reserves. "Not gonna give up just yet!" he says cheerily, smiling at Hotaru. "If you wanna win you're gonna have to take it from me!"
COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
Perhaps Hotaru will mention to Alma of Frei's unending endurance... but then, she might earn Xiangfei's unending ire. So maybe she won't... the smiling monk is actually -not- met with a smile, a testament to Hotaru's own burning desire to win... but it's getting the better of her, and -that- will clearly lead to losing. She has to maintain her focus or her attacks will be wild... so she tries to regain that focus, that clarity of thought that she had earlier in the fight.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
And now! Now is the time for the climactic clash! Frei will run at Hotaru with all his might! Like samurai, they will clash, a flash of lightning! Something like that. Frei certainly looks ready for it, anyway... he rushes Hotaru, shouting a mighty kiai... and then falls flat on his face, lying on the ground right in front of her. That... can't be good. "Uh... ow." Hm. Looks like Hotaru has an opening, at least!
COMBATSYS: Frei drops his guard to recover.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hotaru
An opening, indeed. In their last fight, Hotaru gave Frei a chance to recover; however, the massive increase in skill has convinced her that if she doesn't go all-out she's going to get nailed by the monk. And since he seemed to think she was holding back on him earlier...
Hotaru seems almost apologetic as she seeks to perform yet another of those cartwheeling throws--should she hit, she'll just literally pull him up off the ground and send him flying, thanks to the power of Momentum. Momentum, don't leave home without it!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Strong Throw.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\ < > //////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hotaru
There's a tiny flash from Frei's eyes. Barely visible, but it's there. The feint worked! She took the bait! With sudden speed Frei LEAPS to his feet, ready to take on all comers! He grins, ready to do another two-finger momentum shift on poor Hotaru.
Then she hits him into the ground so hard he explodes.
Well, maybe not literally, but a combination of his totally misjudging her angle of incidence and her putting all of her effort into that basically spells doom for Frei, who hits the ground so hard the *pavement* cracks. Frei lays there on the ground at Hotaru's feet, barely awake. The image is very Marvel Comics-esque in execution. A little halo of light is about to descend any minute now.
The question is, will Hotaru notice the winds suddenly and gradually picking up around her? She's a perceptive sort, so it's likely... but if she can't get out of the way, those gathering winds are going to send her skyward for one HELL of a last ride.
For his part, Frei just smiles distractedly. "That was badass." Then he's out like a light. Thud.
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Ame no Murakumo.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|
She -is- perceptive! And she does feel the wind picking up... kind of odd, given their location, so she scrambles a good distance away, not knowing how far the range is on this--people who use chi can generate some hellaciously large tornadoes (see: Joe, Goenitz, etc.) and she's no desire to be thrown around anywhere. She slumps down just afterwards, breathing heavily; this fight, like her fight against Alma, both took her to the edge... and she appreciates it.
"That was a good fight," she murmurs, bowing her head to the fallen monk, even as the Neo League officials rush in to check Frei out and declare Hotaru the winner. It takes a moment, but she soon stands... she's got to buy some coffee for one of her friends at Seijyun. They want to know if Seattle really -does- have the best coffee around.
Frei's ghost haunts Hotaru as she shops for coffee!
Log created by Hotaru, and last modified on 15:46:27 02/27/2006.