Match of the Millennium

Description: Frei and Kaiwei take on Hotaru and Tessa in a Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurant. (Winners: Frei and Kaiwei)

Big Apple! 3 am.

[RECORD SCRATCHING NOISE]

Hong Kong, city of a thousand... uh... city of stuff. It's full of big shiny corporate places and tiny little ethnic joints combined, a big urban melange of the past and the present meeting in one big glowing ball right off the coast of the mainland. This paragraph was in no way paid for by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Seriously.

One such little ethnic place is Twelve Lucky Gods Dim Sum, a quaint little place with massive high ceilings, low lighting puncutated by hanging lanterns on long red cords descending from the gloom above. The space must have cost a fortune in this city, but the throng of people here only has a little to do with tonight's SNF... so they apparently can afford it.

Sitting at one of the many round tables in the restaurant is... well, a huge pile of food that obscures the person eating from view until, after a surprisingly short period of time, plates of noodles, dumplings, and bowls of won ton soup disappear and are shoved to the side, leaving a sated-looking and beatifically smiling Frei sitting behind the empty dishes, beaming and looking sort of like a Snorlax in a russet brown qipao. "Oh man... you can't get this stuff in Japan."

If age had anything to do with the chances of victory, Hotaru definitely tips the scales for her team way lower than the other. The style of her clothing might place her as a local even though manys years have passed since she lived in China. It's good to be back, even if only for a short visit.
Harkening back to one of the only 'mundane' jobs she has ever tried in the past, the girl has taken to pushing one of the Dim Sum carts along an outter aisle, posing for a moment as waitstaff. The commotion of the crowd gathered makes it hard to hear what people want from the cart as she passes within proximity of their tables, but between shouting and a little bit of lip reading, she's able to get 'close enough,' most of the time. The look on her face suggests she's enjoying the interaction with the audience, hectic as it may be.
"Yes, yes," Hotaru nods, placing a small metal cup of steamed dumplings before one gentlemen who had asked for rice rolls with shrimp. But right now her mind is less on being exacting with the food and more on glancing around the portion of the restaurant that has been cleared of customers to make room for the match. She spies Frei, one of her opponents, but where are the other two needed to get this started?

Hong Kong is almost the furthest one can get from Kaiwei's home city and stay within China's borders. When he had first heard that tonight's match was going to take place in this wonderful(ly oppressive) nation. How excited he was! The news went from husband to wife, from wife to inlaws, from inlaws back to wife, from wife to husband, from couple to children: they family would be going back home for the week! Oh, how wonderful to see all of their old friends. Except...there really weren't any. In fact, as he had time to think about it, the father didn't really relish the idea of going back home. Oh, but the inlaws insisted! They would fly their wonderful daughter and her children to come see them! Have you any idea how expensive it is to fly fifteen brats across the ocean? It's no small fee, honestly.
Still, going abroad by oneself is always difficult for those left behind, always worrying! At least they're on the same continent, now. Again, the man is a little late in arriving! A rickshaw pulls up outside, bearing the load of the novice to the event, along with three kids: 6, 12, and 13 years old. Is this the right place, though? Fighting...in a restaurant? As he steps in through the door, he can plainly see the space cleared out, the cameras set up, everything. A mild frown paints itself on his faints; why would someone fight in an establishment like this? Looking around, it looks GORGEOUS. Surely, things will be destroyed with so many people fighting at once? "I don't understand it either..." he murmurs under his breath, placing a hand atop his youngest's head and generally messing the boy's hair up. "You three, watch from over there, okay?" is what he says, but in his primary language. Even though the dialect's different, he's been able to communicate like this so far! It's more natural. In any case, the kids agree and go off toward one of the more official types, sitting in chairs that had been moved from the fighting area. With that out of the way, he digs into his pocket, pulling out a small, folded up piece of paper, which he unfolds and starts reading off of. "FREI!" he yells out without provocation, getting up on his tiptoes and stretching his neck, looking around the place. He might as well find out who his partner is for this thing. "FREI!! Is Frei here??"

Ah, China. While Tessa may come from another country entirely, this is one she could certainly appreciate. She's always had a fondness for certain Chinese practices, and in that sense she's always found she feels right at home around these parts. It may be a bit too populous for her to actually want to *live* in, but it's still a nice place to visit.
Testament to her love of the place and its traditions are the fact that her favorite dress is the silk cheongsam that she always wears in spite of her being Italian and looking in no way Asian, and also the fact that she chooses to arrive on the scene via bicycle. The bike itself is parked outside after her scenic ride through the busy street in front of the restaraunt, and when she enters she's still got a water bottle in hand.
And oh, seems like she's the last to arrive if her guesses are right. Kaiwei's already calling to his partner as she goes stepping past him, Frei's been on tv enough for her to recognize him without asking /herself/, and the same goes for Hotaru, thankfully. She'd rather not have to try and yell over the loud old Chinaman to find the pigtailed girl. "Hello, Ms. Futaba. I'm Tessa, and that over there I believe is Mr. Kaiwei." So now if she can just spot the camera crew and/or the announcer, things can probably be underway.

For his part, Frei looks up from his current fascination -- some kind of fried dough pastry thing with powdered sugar that looks like it will probably kill anyone who attempts to eat all of it -- and espies the only other person in the entire building he recognizes, Hotaru Futaba. Snapping up one bite (and probably saving himself from a diabetic coma in the process) the monk leaps to his feet and starts heading over to her at a leisurely pace, likely reaching her side around the same time as Tessa. "Hey! Hotaru!" He is all smiles, having not seen the girl in some time. "Fancy meeting you here in this restaurant where guys in suits told us to be at the same time!" Oh dear. Is he drunk?

However, any shame he might have felt for being a loudmouth is instantly gone when he realizes there's someone else here he doesn't recognize. "I'm going to guess you're Tessa, nice to meet y--" And then Frei is called to the red courtesy phone, please. The color drains out of the monk's face for a second as he hears his name belted over the crowd and he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Oy vey." How to respond.

By turning in Kaiwei's direction, cupping his hands to his mouth, and bellowing: "I'M OVER HERE, THERE'S NO NEED TO YELL FOR GOD'S SAKE!" You're a jerk, Frei.

The greeting from Tessa is met with a bowed head by Hotaru, palms pressed together in front of her. She wasn't able to find much informatin on her partner to be for this match, so it's probably no surprise that she spends a long moment studying her, trying to learn what little she can in a glance about Tessa's personality and the style of her fighting. "Nice to meet you." The shield is hard to miss. Tessa's tanking.
Glancing toward the owner of the older voice calling out for Frei, she nods sharply at her partner's identification of Kaiwei. Oh dear, an older opponent. Lessons of 'respecting your elders' were pounded into her head while growing up, and now she's supposed to pound one in the head for this match! Right in front of his kids, no less? This might be a bit awkward.
As Frei approaches, she smiles in recognition, but his boisterous greeting and eventual yelling at his partner leave her with little to offer beyind a tight lipped smile. "Well then, everyone is here."

Ah! That must be Frei, obviously, since they're the only ones doing the yelling, and he's looking RIGHT at him. If he's phased by the rudeness, he doesn't show it at he hobbles his way around and through people to get to the rest of the group! At least he can truthfully claim ignorance of those present, as all of his time has been spent watching...well, the pros. As he's not seen any of the three before, and considering his own lack of experience in this thing, Kaiwei can only assume that this is a rookie match.
When he finally gets to Frei, the very first thing that he does is try to swat him upside the back of his head! "Respect your elders!" he lashes out, the words tainted slightly by his previous dialect. His lips are downturned in a mild frown as arms cross over his chest, attempting to take on the air that a father figure should have. Ah! And now he spots Hotaru out of the corner of his eye, causing at first a blink, then a blank stare, then a tilting of his head. "Why do you want to know?" he asks outright, working his jaw in what looks like a nervous fashion. "Oh, very well! You!" He points at Hotaru directly. "Why are you not in school?! And you!" He points now to Tessa. "That! What is that?" Now he's pointing at the girl's shield. "Why do you have that?" His words are crisp, terse, the kind excitable old men use when they want answers faster than the questions that are being asked.

Indeed, Tessa isn't the most difficult person to figure out. The shield strapped to her back is quite shiny and attracts the eye. And aside from that she seems to have a very confident air about her, which lends yet more to the idea that she is in fact here to tank for her smaller partner.
"Wow, I hope yelling isn't any part of their teamwork. I don't think my eardrums would survive." Seems like there's little chance of that, though, what with Frei and Kaiwei acting like they neither know *or* like each other so far. If the yelling is just at each other then she can probably deal! But it seems that such is not the case, as soon as Kaiwei begins pointing rudely at everyone individually.
And when it's her turn being indicated by the old kung-fu master she blinks, and unholsters the shield itself. "What, this? I should probably just give you a demonstration, to start... "
And the cool thing about that, for her, is that as soon as the announcer and camera crew hear her say the word 'start' they decide it must be time to start as well, and echo it to make this the official opening to the match.

COMBATSYS: Tessa has started a fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tessa            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Tessa focuses on her next action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tessa            0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Hotaru has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Tessa            0/-------/-------|

A trained fighter probably never gets swatted to the back of the head if he doesn't want to. And despite all appearances, he is a trained fighter. But the end result of Kaiwei's attempt at this is sort of like what Margaret Cho says about Zhang Ziyi: you think 'oh, she's not gonna hit me!' and then she does and you're all, like, 'what just happened?!'.

*SMACK* "Ow! What the hell?" Like so.

For someone who makes a philosophical benchmark out of not judging others, he certainly seems to give Kaiwei the eye when the old man starts in on the tirade about the youngins... but mysteriously for him, he keeps his mouth shut. Obnoxious old man that he is, Kaiwei's behavior reminds Frei of someone, and so the monk simply puts his face in his hands and shakes his head a little, before glancing at Hotaru with a shrug. "I honestly have no idea what's going on, but I guess this means we're starting." He doesn't really look ready... or something.

COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frei
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei takes no action.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frei
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

At Kaiwei's salvo of demanding questions, Hotaru is visibly caught a little off guard. But it doesn't get to her for long as she recovers from his inquiries with a bow similar to the one she offered Tessa earlier. "Pleased to meet you. I am fortunate that my education makes allowances for me to participate events like this..." It's more complicated than that, but no need to mire everyone with the details.
Her reply is drown out by the smack and Ow! from Frei and she offers the young man a sympathetic smile. It should be interesting to see how the two work together, if at all. To his shrug, she nods, "I guess so." She would mention something about having a 'clean fight,' but with all this food around, does anyone think that is actually going to happen?
Judging by Tessa's stance and the use of the shield, Hotaru decides that her best option is to start out close and just a little bit behind her partner. Slipping into a ready stance next to Tessa, she tunes out the sounds of the audience and the distractions of cameras and lights, focusing now on only doing her best.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru assists Tessa.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frei
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Whatever ire Kaiwei had toward Frei's yelling at him seems to have been quelled by the simple act of swatting him. True, he was the one that yelled first, but that doesn't seem to matter much in his mind. His question, his shouting, was just an innocent inquiry. When the other man did it, however? Rude! Rude, rude, rude. It's horrible. Still, the guy is his partner, whatever that means. He's still unsure about how this is supposed to work, but he doesn't have time to ask about it! Tessa's loose lips have started this event, and there's some small solace in the fact that the elder isn't the only one caught totally off-guard. "What? Already?!" He'll deal with you later, Hotaru, though she's at least given the courtesy of a very small, very quick motion of the hand. Something that resembles something...dismissive.
Anyway! The 'kung-fu master' can thank his lucky stars that his opponent is not going to take advantage of the sudden start. There's just that shield, whose owner is acting as...another shield for Hotaru. We can't have that. "Shut up, shut up." The admonishment is low, but perhaps Tessa thinks he's talking to her. "It's nothing more than a garbage lid, don't worry so much." As he talks to himself, his right leg extends, right arm following until both are straight and pointed forward and downward. And he waits for but a second. There's nothing coming. His rear leg moves up, front leg bending as he nears Tessa, but still...nothing! She must be steadying herself behind that shield. Very well! He swings his left foot in and forward, twisting his upper body as he does so. One hand curls upward, fingers attempting to curve over the top of that shield and pull on it, counting on a person's need to push against such an obstacle for protection. At the same time, his other arm reaches out, ideally hooking behind her neck at the wrist to prevent any attempts to stop the momentum. It just wouln't do.

COMBATSYS: Tessa blocks Kaiwei's Quick Throw.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Frei
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Hey, that is pretty helpful actually. Tessa was just about to ask Hotaru to step back a bit because what she meant by that statement about demonstrating why she brought a shield to the fight when no one else did is that, well, she's really good with one, and the best way to prove something like that is to block an attack, obviously! And this is pretty much exactly what she does when Kaiwei comes at her and attempts to pull said shield away from her and get her in some kind of hold. He may get the hold set for the briefest moment, but with a good shove from the metallic disc held before her the grapple is broken before much harm can be done and the old man is forced back.
"That's why I have it. It's like a part of me and I'd no more leave it at home than most people would leave their shoes. But if you think it's unfair I could set it down for a while and use one of those trays over there." Yes, she's even confident enough to say that she could do the same with something even *thinner* than a garbage can lid.
"But it's kind of my baby. I wouldn't feel right about just dropping it, so... catch!" And then she of course throws it right at him, with something of a spin on it so that it arcs around the room like a boomerang unless Kaiwei does manage to swat it down or otherwise stop it.

The monk watches Kaiwei and Tessa's back and forth with some interest, tilting his head as the lady with the shield puts it to good use and then hucks it at his teammate with some degree of force. And then he looks at Hotaru while pointing at Tessa. "That's pretty awesome. Why do I get shouty angry old man and you get Captain America? I'm telling you, that's not fair!" But there's a smile on his face as he says it, at least.

Deciding that the other two fighters have things well in hand, Frei cracks his knuckles and gets into stance. "Looks like it's me and you, Hotaru. Don't hold back!" Rushing forward, Frei twists and snaps a sharp kick at his opponent's side. Nothing fancy, but it is enhanced somewhat by a burst of gold light that surrounds Frei's foot as he makes the strike.

COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Light Kick.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0             Frei
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

The comparison of their teammates earns Frei an amused smile from Hotaru, "They seem to be getting along well enough already." She nods at his urging that she not hold back, the focused look in her eyes suggesting she feels likewise. As the monk's kick comes at her, the girl attempts to lean out of the path of his foot only to misjudge the space available between her and Tessa just slightly. Unable to move as far as would have been necessary, his kick lands and the girl winces at the extra power Frei's energy gives it.
It doesn't slow her down though, as Hotaru lunges forward, attempting to grab hold of Frei for the purposes of kicking and climbing over him, hoping to use his shoulders as a point from which to leap and get some distance afterward.

COMBATSYS: Tessa successfully hits Kaiwei with Shield Boom.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0             Frei
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Tessa            0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

There's percious little time between the moment that Tessa yells catch and Kaiwei is suddenly facing down a flying shield!
...
A flying SHIELD?! Shields aren't made for flying! They're made for defense, they...one doesn't just toss them aside, especially after such a speil about how it's so dear to them! The old man's reflexes simply aren't up to snuff; he leans back and to the side, he tries to lift his hands to bat the thing (relatively) harmlessly away, but that curving path is enough to throw him off. And the spin! The moment his palms touch the edge of the shield, both of his hands are sent to his left, leaving nothing in the path of that horrible weapon.
Nothing, save for his face.
It's hard to tell exactly WHERE the man had been hit precisely, as his head snaps back, body following suit as he's flipped back and into one of the sparse tables still allowed in the fighting area. There's a clatter of silverware and toppling sauce bottles (none of which are brittle enough to break on the carpeted floor, thankfully). And in the mess, there's a single, shiny, flat object. It's not the shield, it's a serving platter!
Kaiwei grumbles and groans as he gets up, nursing his face in his hand, a horizontal streak deep red from the impact. "What kind of fighting is that?" he asks to himself, and immediately as he does, he picks that platter up. It's tucked under his arm, held in his palm like a discus, and with another bout of unintelligible murmuring, he winds back, left arm forward, and then lets loose the thing toward Tessa! Of course, if she's got her shield back by now, he'll feel pretty stupid. Hell, he already feels stupid throwing a friggin' platter.

COMBATSYS: Tessa blocks Kaiwei's Thrown Object.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Hotaru           0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0             Frei
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Tessa            0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

Tessa does in fact catch her shield again after it rebounds off of Kaiwei's face, but rather than use it to block she goes on to honor the offer that she made just before she threw it. It's reattached to her back, and she instead grabs up a platter from the closest table, raising it up in front of her no more awkwardly than she did her prized shield and fending off the metal serving dish that was just flung at her in retaliation. "Well, I suppose it's not martial arts like you're used to, but I know those too. You're probably more familiar with Hapkido?"
At the mention of the style, she of course starts to try and utilize some of it, turning aside and going for a swift stepping sidekick to Kaiwei's midsection.

COMBATSYS: Frei fails to interrupt Shin-Jou Tai from Hotaru with Quick Punch.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Tessa            0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

Oh, it was such a good plan. It worked on Sakura that one time, which in Frei's playbook is usually reason enough to put a big post-it next to that plan reading "BIG SUCCESS!". He'd hoped to snap out a hand, glowing blue-white with icy chi, and interpose it between himself and Hotaru before she could really gain purchase. The major flaw in his plan is that as a very short person, Frei is used to fighting people his height or greater. At 5'1"... well, let's just say Hotaru's hair gets a nice tingly breeze while she ducks under it and proceeds to beat the bejeezus out of Frei. "...oh god, that hurt..." he mutters, leaning back on a table with both hands after Hotaru catapults away.

Landing firmly on a table some distance behind Frei, Hotaru whews. Avoiding Frei's fist was a close one, but her aggression paid off for the time being. From her table-top perch, she gives a cusory glance toward Tessa to see how she is handling the eccentric elder so far just in time to watch the improvised projectiles go flying back and forth between them. Ow, that shield of hers looks like a heavy thing to get smacked by.

Landing firmly on a table some distance behind Frei, Hotaru whews. Avoiding Frei's fist was a close one, but her aggression paid off for the time being. From her table-top perch, she gives a cusory glance toward Tessa to see how she is handling the eccentric elder so far just in time to watch the improvised projectiles go flying back and forth between them. Ow, that shield of hers looks like a heavy thing to get smacked by.

Satisfied that her partner is doing just fine on her own for now, Hotaru decides to keep the pressure on the monk. Hopping from one table to the next, deftly avoiding the center-pieces still decorating many of the surfaces, the girl slides across the last table, foot first, aimed for Frei's stomach now.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei interrupts Light Kick from Tessa with Pushing Hands.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0           Kaiwei

Meh! In the back of his mind, Kaiwei figured that such an attack wouldn't be terribly effective. It didn't...dunno, it didn't FEEL right. It was clumsy! Having been fully off of his game from the start, it's only in these last few seconds that he starts hearing the voice of reason.
And in his case, he quite literally hears it. Staying well away from Tessa while he can, he gingerly presses fingertips to the reddish band across his cheek even as his legs spread to about shoulder-length. "I realize that, thank you," he answers to the unseen, adding briefly: "I'm sure that's not a garbage lid. I KNOW what it looks like." What the hell.
A deep intake of breath accompanies his hands come together in front of his chest, each orbiting the other before going their separate ways. It's at this point that Tessa's foot approaches, and his left hand opens its palm, meeting the girl's heel to deflect it to his left, but just slightly. Amazingly, that boot still shakes his old bones, a line of jabbing pricks felt in his arm from wrist to shoulder. Regardless! His right foot moves forward in a tight arc, scarcely leaving the ground, and plants just in front of the foot Tessa's using for balance. Fat lot of good it will do her when he reaches back and gives her a gentle push from behind, sending her toppling head over heels behind where he was perviously standing!

Okay, yeah, that's almost a little bit embarassing. Thankfully Tessa is humble enough that it doesn't much hurt her pride. Confident she may be, but she wasn't getting cocky just for the fact that she had yet to be hit in this fight. And so, when the weight of her shield proves to be her own detriment, making her balance nearly impossible to get back when she's set up and tipped over, she doesn't get too upset. She just rolls to one side and climbs back to her feet before taking her stance again, raising the platter that she somehow managed not to drop in both hands.
"That's a yes, then. Figures." So then why try the same kick twice? What kind of tactic is that? Well, maybe it's different somehow this time. Like... way waaaay faster!

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Light Kick.

[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////       ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0           Kaiwei

This time, the monk is ready for Hotaru's attack; he presses his hand forward palm out, no chi, and cups it around her kick, pushing back and greatly blunting the force of the blow. "I can't say this reunion hasn't been fun, but I think it's time for me to mingle now, kiddo." He gives Hotaru a grin and a jaunty salute before turning to...

Kaiwei! He whips out a gun and doubletaps him right in the eye. [RECORD SCRATCHING NOISE]

In fact he turns to Tessa, cupping his hands at his side in a familiar gesture to many fight fans, a swirling mass of multicolored energy gathering between his palms. "You know, lady, you really ought to respect... the elderly!" And with that he thrusts both hands forward, wrists touching and palms extended, hurling a massive prismatic burst of chi in a vaguely Sakura-esque way, only... a hell of a lot gayer. "Hadoooukeeeeen!"

Finding her momentum slowed to a stop by Frei, Hotaru finds herself left alone. "Mingle? Oh!" So Frei is going for her partner, maybe she should do likewise? Rising back into a standing position on the table, she takes a quick glance at Kaiwei, but beyond him she sees one of his kids, a hopeful look in his eyes as he watches his father contend and she remembers the times she spent watching her own father fight and how worried she would be when an opponent attacked him. Hesitating, she looks back toward Kaiwei and sees the signs of injury from being smacked hard by Tessa's shield. No. Not yet, she can't bring herself to attack someone's father when he might not even be paying attention to her. Not yet anyway.
So it's after Frei she goes once more. As he turns his back to target Tessa, Hotaru hops down off the table and trys to grab his shoulders from behind in an attempt to pull him backward with her own weight and eventually launch him into the air by kicking both of her legs. Clearly her intent is to pull him away from Tessa for a bit.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei blocks Tessa's Light Kick.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Tessa            0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Kaiwei

The calming powers of a deep breath are truly evident, here! Once Kaiwei flips Tessa, he slides his right foot back, keeping both knees bent and both arms draw in by his stomach. It might be difficult to make out the sudden cheering from a couple of snot-nosed little kids, but the man knows his children! Oh, what a pitiful sight they've had to endure, seeing their father dented and sent to the ground. Well, no more! Despite the desire to remain mentally centered, he can't help but feel the edges of his lips perk up, just a bit, at being able to do his boys proud.
"Do you always talk so much during a fight?" he asks, the words lacking the sharpness they had before. It's a genuine inquiry! And hopefully, the break in his breathing doesn't prove to be detrimental. As the girl's kick comes in again, he knows better than to meet it head-on. This time, his left hand rises from his body, and while he manages to push the kick wide once more, he gets some rather nasty friction scraping up his arm, even through the thick cloth. Just as he's doing this, he's away of his partner (oh yes, he has one of those, doesn't he?) coming in to his aid in the form of a big, big fishbowl. Slim eyes widen slightly, for a moment doubting his vision; perhaps he's hallucinating something new. Still, instead of holding Tessa still for it? He weaves forward and extends his right hand, again hooked at the wrist, and tries to strike her down and out of harm's way. Well, anyone but HIS harm's way. Tessa is HIS opponent, what on earth was the other man thinking?! Is that really how these matches are supposed to go?!

COMBATSYS: Tessa just-defends Frei's Hadou Souran!

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Tessa blocks Kaiwei's Strong Punch.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0             Frei
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Kaiwei

Her attack being a simple sidekick and all, Tessa doesn't have a difficult time of turning toward Frei when he calls out to her. "Mm? Oh but I *do* respect him. That technique he just used to knock me down was pretty impressive. But in your case, aren't we about the same age? You can't be more than a year or two older so I don't think it really applies!"
But what is... what is *that*, she wonders? A glowing technicolor fireball? Can chi really be that many colors at once? That looks really dangerous the more she thinks about it within the small amount of time it takes to come close enough for her to block it with the platter she was still so tenaciously clinging to. And she blocks it just in the nick of time, too! Only, as soon as the impact is made she drops the serving dish like it's been somehow tainted, seeing that weird energy hasn't entirely dissipated yet and thinking that could somehow still affect her if she would to touch it.
As for Kaiwei, well, she's without her platter, but she blocks his punch with a forearm and seems to be none the worse for wear after it. Might that not prove his earlier assumption that she needed the shield to 'hide behind' wrong? And the followup punch that she throws at the Chinaman isn't exactly a weak one, either.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Ten Ranku-Tou.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-======|=======\-------\0             Frei
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Kaiwei

Well, that worked pretty nicely for Hotaru. Frei goes flying, and it's a good while in midair before he suddenly rights himself and, lashing out with his hand in desperation, catches hold of one of the long red ropes keeping the lanterns suspended in the air. With a whoop he swings around in an acrobatic twirl, sliding down the rope, before he lands feet-first on a table and drops back into stance, spreading his arms wide. "Ha HA! YOU thought I was a goner, but watching that Errol Flynn marathon on AMC last month has paid off!" In a burst of wind and light, he summons up his own chi to bolster his fighting spirit... since let's face it, he's gotten nothing but owned this fight. "Bring it on!"

COMBATSYS: Frei gathers his will.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-======|=======\===----\1             Frei
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1           Kaiwei

She has to admit she's impressed with Frei's recovery, Hotaru focusing on the young man as he manages to come out of her successful throw with crowd pleasing finesse. Grinning a little, she offers him a nod of approval for his theatrics. "Nicely done," she even adds.
Given the distance that Frei has on her now, she opts to keep him busy from range. From her ready stance, she pulls once hand back, focusing her own energy on forming a small sphere of force that manifests itself as a coalesced ball of blue light. By the time it has finished forming, she has already swung her arm back foward, sending the ball directly for Frei, perhaps hoping to make it a tad bit harder for him to focus on his spirit.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei interrupts Quick Punch from Tessa with Pushing Hands.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\===----\1             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Tessa            1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

My, but Tessa DOES talk a lot as she fights! In that sense, she truly is an homage to the Captain. Not that Kaiwei would know anything about that, though.
When his fist is doomed to meet the girl's forearm, he has to draw back suddenly, hissing with the feeling of knuckles all but hitting bone. It hurt! He's in the process of shaking his hand about when he's got return fire coming in. This fighting for money business is really dangerous!! Once more, that left hand rises up, catching the fist in his palm. The smack of the impact leaves a sharp stinging sensation, and once more his arm feels the pain of it up its entire length. Lips part to show teeth, through which another hiss can be heard. God! Have pity on an old man!
The 'catching' hand closes its fingers down on Tessa's fist, however, and pulls backwards, enhancing the forward momentum further. As both the attacking fist and his arm reach far behind him, he pulls it down suddenly! His right arm bends at the elbow and places itself at her stomach, using it as a pivot to flip her head over heels once more.
How exciting! It's been a while since the man's had the chance to do this!

Yes, but unlike Cap himself she is apparently top heavy or something. That's the second time she's been knocked on her ass like that and this time she even had both feet planted firmly!
"Alright, so I'm even *more* impressed now. I guess you really are some kind of martial arts master. You wouldn't still be teaching, would you?" she asks, wincing just slightly as she pulls herself back up this time and clearing her throat just after. "In any case, I think my shield is going to end up getting scratched at this rate if I keep falling on it... " So yeah, she brings it back out, and makes a feint like she's about to throw it again, only she stops short and as she does a wave of silvery sparks fly off it like so many drops of water and fly right at the Chinaman's face.

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Hakki Shou.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Tessa            1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

In a fascinating pyrotechnic display, Frei doesn't move out of stance; instead he just glares at the Hakki Shou and *concentrates*; what happens next is particularly shiny if not exactly 100% effective. The blue ball splashes against an invisible shield just before it impacts Frei, the monk focusing a defensive effort out of pure chi. It's not enough to wipe the attack out, but the bit that reaches Frei himself is negligble in terms of damage. "Why thank you."

The problem with this is that the nimble Hotaru is still on the move, and Frei's assault against her is blunted. So he decides not to attack her, instead turning and focusing his attention on Tessa once again. "I really don't like square dancing," he says carefully, skidding around the shieldmaiden's side as she attacks Kaiwei and snapping a hand out toward her shirt, looking to grab her and, with the aid of a burst of wind chi, send her flying across the room. "This pairing off is getting ridiculous!"

There's just a little sigh as Frei manages to overpower most of her chi-ball with his own. She has been putting a lot of effort into her attacks, and to see one brushed aside for the most part is a tad disheartening. At his thanks, she spares a moment to shrug just a little sheepishly. It wasn't really supposed to be something appreciated.
"Look out!" Hotaru calls out to her partner as Frei heads for the shield-weilding young woman. Sprinting after Frei, Hotaru is determined to keep his attention if possible, feeling like she's constantly having to play catch up with him in this match. As he attempts to throw Tessa, Hotaru attempts to do the same to him by trying to match the momentum of his movement and send him to the ground with a shove and trip, trying to teach him for turning his back on her again.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei just-defends Tessa's Shinespark!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Tessa            1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

What manner of attack is this?! Kaiwei was expecting another shield-bash, but instead...this? What is this?
Eyes widen slightly, and while his conscious mind doesn't seem to know what the hell it is, some part of him does. His body leans back out of pure reflex, his left arm reaching up and OVER the spray of 'sparks'. His hand movements are quick as the chi is nudged downward toward his other hand, the individual dots of energy moving into his cupped right hand over his fingers, then up his arm, only to be caught again by his left completing a small awkward circle. As he does this, he rocks back on his legs, arms moving as if cradling a baby. A foot arcs out again along the ground, his body turning one full revolution as the silver shrinks, shrinks, and fades to nothing, and at that last moment, the arms stretch out, one to each side, each bent to form a wave pattern. Phew!
"Stupid boy! What are you doing?! You have an opponent, why do you keep hitting mine??" Oh, again poor Tessa is largely ignored! He'll speak to her later perhaps, but right now? This is hardly fair! Whether he hits the poor shield girl or not, the Chinese man will step forward and try to hook an arm around Frei's neck and pull backwards and down, while the other hand would 'help' his body to fly. It's not harmful for the man, surely, but if he hits Hotaru? Well, those two kids can play by themselves!

COMBATSYS: Tessa parries Frei's Medium Throw!

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|=======\=====--\1             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            1/----===/=======|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

Aw, he's not even distracted by the sparklies. Oh well, there are more important matters that come to Tessa's attention in that same instant. Frei's trying to grab the front of her dress and haul her up by it. Can't have that, this is silk! And we all know how Italians are about their designer threads.
"What?" Bringing her shield arm in at just the right moment the Strolheim security officer is able to fend off the blow with a well-placed parry, and it's mostly thanks to Hotaru's shouted warning. "Yeah, thanks Hotaru."
But now to try her hand at this other opponent, offensively, while Frei is still close. There's at least some chance he's not somebody's crazy sensei like Kaiwei over there, so maybe she'll have a better time landing her punches and kicks. Which, she doesn't just start with one or two of. There are nine total in this case, coming in from various angles, and she doesn't stop until every one of them has been delivered, each trailing inky black chi behind it, with the last being a crowning axe-handle with her shield still attached to one fist. "See how you like this!"

COMBATSYS: Tessa successfully hits Frei with Black Seven EX.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Quick Throw from Hotaru with Fukami Reikai.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

Teamwork is really in evidence here, isn't it?

Frei has time to get out "BECAUSE THIS ISN'T A DUEL, YOU DAFT OLD MA--" before Tessa just lays the smackdown. It hurts -- not as much as an attack of its magnitude might otherwise suggest, because even in his confusion Frei is putting up SOME defensive effort -- but enough to send him spinning into Hotaru's arms with a loud "OOF!". It looks like it's basically all over for Frei.

Or is it? Just as Ms. Futaba is turning to send Frei flying he grits his teeth and snaps a hand down on her arm. "Ah, man... two girls at once. I'm cursed to live other mens' fantasies, aren't I?" he says faintly, before throwing his hand palm-out in Hotaru's direction and exploding a massive pulse of chi like the one he attacked Tessa with before... only this one is stationary and much, much more powerful.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Large Thrown Object from Kaiwei with Kobi Kyaku.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           1/-----==/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

Finding her own arm grabbed instead of being able to take hold of Frei, Hotaru tries to pull free, sensing the build up of energy that she knows is about to explode from the young man's hand. "That might be one-" she starts to reply, teeth gritting with effort as she fails at getting her arm loose. Reaching out with her free hand, her fingers come down on the edge of a large serving tray on the table next to her. Perhaps hoping to swing it at Frei before he is able to unleash his Fukami Reikai, whatever she was trying to do is impossible to see in the light of the explosion of chi that envelops her.
From the explosion two objects fly. In one direction, the large serving try spins wildly toward Kaiwei, and in the other direction Hotaru crashes onto a table before sliding off the far side of it to hit the floor on her back "...ugh." It's all she can do to pull herself to her feet then, bracing herself against the table with one hand. Taking a breath, she attempts to regain her strength for a moment.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei blocks Hotaru's Reflected Large Thrown Object.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frei
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\===----\1           Kaiwei

Again with the flying trays!! You'd think that people were fighting in a restaurant or something, god. God!
No matter what events led up to it, Kaiwei lets out a little puff through a rapidly-swelling nose, jaw stern with his lower lip jutted slightly out. He looks satisfied! In a...a stern, disapproving sort of way. "I think so too, yes," he answers to god knows what, nodding once. But it's then that one of those chrome things comes flying at him, and by now, it's something that isn't surprising anymore! Both of his hands lift up and try to catch the tray, but instead of stopping it cold, the thing's momentum flips the back end of it up, causing it to flip end over end over the old man's head until it finally lodges itself deeply into one of the drop ceiling tiles. Again, he has to shake his hands to try and rid them of some of the stinging. There's some yelling from the crowd at this--well, that's a given, but the boys are yelling at him now--and he turns to them, holding his hands up to them and drawing out a smile. "I'm okay! It's fine!"
Phew, though...the man will admit, this fight is getting a lot rougher than expected. Instead of sitting back and waiting now, he does something a bit different than he has so far. Quick steps bring him close to Tessa now, and rather than flow like water, he plants his front foot hard, leaning forward while the other leg stretches back, the toes barely finding purchase on the floor. Both of his hands shoot out, slapping together at the wrist when they're fully outstretched, and there's just a...just a sudden, jagged blast of orange energy that expands in all directions out and forward, growing with brute force and shrinking back into his palms just as quickly.

COMBATSYS: Tessa just-defends Kaiwei's Black Tiger's Savagery!

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0             Frei
[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1           Kaiwei

Tessa's shield is still vibrating from the impact when she pulls it back, to watch Frei go spinning into Hotaru's arms, where he hauls off and blasts her with all of that chi. Ow. Hopefully nobody else see that as being partially the shield-weilding woman's fault. Even if she herself already feels that way. "Sorry, Hotaru! I hadn't considered that outcome." And how could she? She has no idea how Frei thinks or fights. All she knows from seeing previous fights on video and from all the chi the man's tossed about so far is that he has all the elements!
But does this mean it's time to switch off again, or what? Kaiwei seems to think so, and she can't deny that that blast of orange-tinted chi looks pretty dangerous, but, like a knight ducking behind their shield to wait out a dragon's firebreath she faces it head-on and then pops back up again just as the energy is retreating to try and follow it and rush the old man down, intending to clip him in the side about kidney level with the edge of the disc.

Oh dear god, is he in pain. Taking a deep breath, Frei observes Kaiwei fighting Tessa and Hotaru's sudden acrobatics and just... crumples. In fact, he reaches behind him and feels around until he finds food and then snags it, bringing it to his mouth. He's halfway through a sweet bun before he realizes what he just did and turns his head, smiling apologetically at a couple on a date. "Sorry, kids. Your dinner's on me, how about that?" You're a jerk, Frei.

COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1           Kaiwei

"It's okay," Hotaru calls back to Tessa, still leaning against the table. She tries to sound sincere, but her voice seems a little winded and her expression pained. She's still reeling a little from being blown across the room by Frei's powerful attack, and for several more seconds, there's nothing else she can do but catch her breath.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Tessa            0/-------/------=|=======\====---\1           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei fails to interrupt Sideswipe from Tessa with Lightning Scatters Horses.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Tessa            0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Kaiwei

If Kaiwei is learning nothing else, it's that becoming more aggressive has put Tessa on the defensive. Granted, that kind of thing should be obvious, but there's something about it that actually PLEASES him. He gives, she takes, and then turns it around to give it back to him. It's perfect! Were he currently giving much heed to the flow of things instead of pushing back in an all-out offensive, then he might be better-able to turn the momentum around.
Instead of swaying back from Tessa's attach, he actually tries to push back! A rigid arm pushes out in an attempt to stop her charge by holding the shield at bay, and his other hand's fingers curl up halfway, claw-like. The plan was to trip the girl and go from there. The reality is, was, to see his hand sliding off of the angled defense, his own arm extending far beyond what he desired and experiencing the sudden pain of a jab against his kidney.
That was not at ALL expected.
His balance falters and he drops to one knee, immediately bringing a hand to the sore spot at his side. That hurt! His kids are worried! And he's not in a position to answer them right now, as he's just trying to keep from bending right over.

So, maybe she does in fact need the shield. At least against this kind of opponent. Everytime she attacked him without it her attempt was thwarted by, but attack with it and she's somehow strong enough to resist his attempts to halt her progress. Okay. But he's still proved himself to be a pretty crafty old man, so while she does feel some sympathy seeing him act wounded like that she's going to stay on her guard all the same, and take a quick glance around the room to see what else is up with Hotaru and Frei.

COMBATSYS: Tessa focuses on her next action.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Tessa            0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Kaiwei

Okay. Something really quite drastic is required to get back into the game here, Frei thinks to himself, wiping the remains of the sweet bun from his mouth. He's feeling really, really down... as energetic as ever but he's taken ten times the beating anyone else has. He rubs his chin, glancing forward in a daze. "What would Master do in this situation..."

The dessert cart, full of ice cream, cakes, and pies, rolls by, and with snakelike speed Frei reaches out and snaps a hand around the arm of the now-terrified water. "I'm borrowing this," the monk says in a grave tone. *_*
As the waiter runs off, Frei turns to Hotaru. "Well, we're supposed to use the environment, so... don't take this too personally." With a mighty roar, the monk suddenly... KICKS the dessert cart, sending it careening at Hotaru even as he runs alongside it and then leaps on top, arms extended. "SURF'S UP, KIDS!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Random Weapon.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|===----\-------\0             Frei
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////                ]
Tessa            0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0           Kaiwei

Taking a deep breath, Hotaru stands up straight again, slapping her cheeks in order to bring herself out of the temporary stupor. At least, that's what her father told her that was for... Given the amount of time it takes for Frei to set up his next attack on the girl, it's a bit of a surprise that she's slow to avoid it at all, leaping out of the way just in time as he goes careening on by. Okay, that was strange.
Hotaru doesn't leave much time for Frei to recover from his food-cart surfing, running along the path it took and launching into a powerful attack of careful but accurate jabs and backhands. If she does manage to connect with the attack, she will eventually launch him into the air then finish with a chi-enabled diving kick at the end for the coup de grace.

Oh. Oh, lord, that...mmn. A shot to the kidneys is never good, even if you're built like a tank...which Kaiwei is most certainly not. But Tessa doesn't seem to be pressing the attach, so he gets up his leisure, still gripping that side. When he rises, he stretches that side of his body a little more than usual, rubbing at it briskly with an open palm. "To answer your earlier question," he says, finally! "I used to teach, yes, but that was years ago." He nods as if agreeing with himself, his expression taking a dour turn. "I remember, I remember..." The commotion over yonder causes him to finally glance over at where Frei and Hotaru are, all pained sounds coming to an abrupt stop.
"Now, how do you think he got that tiny car in here?"
It's best not to ask. In fact, it would be dangerous to wonder about that, as the old man's gotten his breath back! His arms brace and tense up just before he makes a small hop toward Tessa again. Instead of attempting to blast her away with another gout of chi, however, his left arm strikes out in an odd fist, the second knuckles pushed out more than normal, aiming to connect with those. And that's not all! It's just to knock her off-balance, as he'd try to flip her onto the ground, hastening the downward trip with another, sharper punch to the midsection.
Assuming that that damned shield doesn't get in the way. It's tricky.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei successfully hits Tessa with The Stalker's Claw.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////                   ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Frei
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Tessa            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

Oh, so he didn't just ignore her, or forget what she asked earlier on. She was a little worried since, old as he is, he doesn't quite look old enough for Alzheimer's to have set in. "Oh? And you stopped for the sake of your kids, over there?" It's pretty clear that it wasn't because he was getting too old for it or that he became injured. He's- Owwwwww, doing more than just holding his own here. She's militarily trained, had more traditional martial arts training, and endured several Kaiser Waves to the face to get to where she is and he's still doing a pretty good job of busting her chops. What was that just now? She just got laid out.
"Hngh!" Shield wasn't fast enough, apparently. At least it's not stuck under her this time, and she's free to use it to try and sweep his legs out from under him with it while she's down.

COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hotaru's Sou-shou Tenrenge EX!

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Frei
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Tessa            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

Apparently that was one awesome sweet bun. Hotaru dives out of the way of the dessert cart, much as Frei assumed she would, since he knows first-hand just what a nimble and capable fighter Hotaru is. He wasn't expecting such a powerful counterassault right off the bat, but mastering himself, the monk doesn't dive out of the way, but instead throws himself AT Hotaru. They proceed to Zwee Fight(tm), Frei matching each of Hotaru's punches and kicks with a carefully placed hand or arm, the two finally falling to earth distanced from each other somewhat, and Frei none the worse for wear. "...wow."

Deciding to let Kai handle Tessa for now (and not being a bully), he turns and faces Hotaru, cupping his hands once again for that familiar attack. "I know this isn't as awesome as Sakura's, but I guess it'll have to do!" Thrusting his hands forward, the monk hurls a massive blast of multicolored chi at the quick fighter. "Hadouuuukeeeeen!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Hadou Souran.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0             Frei
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Tessa            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

Swing and jab after swing and jab, and Frei's arm or hand is right there to deflect, redirect, block, and parry every last one of them. When the two fighters finally back off from each other, Hotaru stares at Frei with no small amount of awe. How in the world did he pull that off? Looking winded again, the girl reacts to his use of the fireball by simply lifting her arms and weathering it out, stumbling back another step from the force of the projectile. Lowering her arms, she simply catches her breath for a moment.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Frei
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Tessa            0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Tessa successfully hits Kaiwei with Fierce Strike.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Frei
[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Tessa            0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1           Kaiwei

Kaiwei thought he was fast enough! He's definitely no longer swaying with the hits, and he simply tries to jump over that abominable shield. But he's too slow, and the thing gives him a rather nasty belt across the ankle, which in turn sends him falling quite heavily to the ground with a thump on his side.
Oh, he'll be feeling the effects of tonight for days.
"That," he says, "is none of your concern, miss!" Rather than getting up completely, his right hand shoots up and the arm comes down in a wide arc. Again, his fingers are curled like claws, and he tries to bring it down, driving fingers into muscled flesh not once, but three times, followed by another, smaller blast of chi from a single hand.
Fighting on one's knees is AWKWARD.

COMBATSYS: Tessa stops Black Tiger Repels Intruder from Kaiwei with Starry Gleam.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Frei
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Tessa            0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Hey, at least she didn't break his oldman hip. And if she has to in order to get the guy to talk more maybe she'll buy him a massage or some chiropracting somewhere nearby. She's curious now, and he's being all dismissive again! But nevermind that now, he's coming back for revenge already and she just now got back on her feet!
"Fine, fine! Can you at least tell me what style of Kung-fu that is? I've never seen anything of the sort before." Because she's not from China, duh, but it may be even more rare than that for all she knows. And anyway, when she blocks with her shield this time she tries something just a little different, reinforcing it with a little bit of silvery chi which turns out to do little more than make it shine a little brighter, and absorb the Chinaman's chi? It was intended to reflect it back at him, but such a thing doesn't happen. In fact, nothing happens. "Huh..."

Showing surprising vigor despite the pain he's feeling, Frei doesn't even wait for his projectile to *reach* Hotaru before he's on the move, deciding to bounce back and forth between opponents for now. The heavy use of chi by both Kaiwei and Tessa in the last exchange catches his proverbial attention, the shift in energy flow raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Noting that with the shield in front of her Tessa might be open to attack otherwise, the monk practically polevaults over a table and flips himself through the air at Tessa. "Heads up, lady!" he shouts, before snapping out a hand on his descent and looking to snag the shieldmaiden by the shoulder or jacket, and then simply flip forward and drive her into the ground headfirst, a burst of green motes of light at impact the only outward manifestation of the earth chi he's using to make such a chokeslam possible.

She's regained her breath now, the reprieve afforded her by Frei's change of target allowing her to collect herself. She's barely been able to follow anything going on with Tessa or Kaiwei since the young man blasted her over half the room earlier and it isn't until the monk heads after her teammate that she is able to assess their situation once more. Hotaru prepares herself, clenching her fists, "Yosh!"
She's sticking to Frei like she has from the beginning, sprinting along as before, making low hops over the chairs and debris that have built up between the tables throughout the fight. In the end, she attempts to grab hold of him once more, arms reaching for his shoulders in order to give herself the leverage needed to then kick him in the back of the leg, then his upper back, and finally leaping off his shoulders once more.

Tessa's not the only one surprised at his attacks being useless! Sure, striking the shield wouldn't do much damage, but for the blast to just be...cancelled out? "I don't know!" He's not answering Tessa, but she can think whatever she likes! Despite his aching ankle, he hops back up onto his feet, obviously favoring the good leg. "I will tell you later," he adds quickly, taking a single step back. And then another. And then another, for as long as Tessa lets him get closer to the edge of the ring. He's not running, he's just...preparing. By the way he's limping, he's obviously just biding his time.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei focuses on his next action.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0             Frei
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Tessa            0/-------/-======|==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Tessa fails to reflect Daichi Kudaki from Frei with Starry Gleam.
- Power fail! -

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Tessa can no longer fight.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Frei's intuition turns out to serve him well, as Tessa's guard is turned in much the wrong direction when the monk comes in for the grab and ends up getting her by the shoulder before she's able to react. Her shield remains glowing for quite some time and leaves faint afterimages as she goes down face first into the floor of the restaurant, to be driven further down into it by the blast of earth chi that accompanies it. And then that's it. The tank is down. Hotaru needs a priest or some jumper cables.

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Shin-Jou Tai.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////                       ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1             Frei
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Whew. This fight's been gruelling for poor Frei, who's just taken a beating beyond comprehension... but at least he gets the satisfaction of feeling Tessa go slack after his attack, the monk bouncing away to land in a slump against a table. "Haaa... haaaa... you two are tough, that's for su--" But there's no time for that, because his spider sense (alright, his hearing sense) tells Frei Hotaru is approaching, and he hastily twists and makes a... ragged defensive effort, preventing to grab but taking some bruising blows on his arms and legs to show for it. Deciding not to press his attack, the monk takes a deep breath and glances over at Kaiwei. "Still up, old guy? We're not through just yet."

COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  //////                        ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Landing just in time to notice that Tessa is no longer able to stay standing, Hotaru pauses now, her relentless attacking having worn her out quite a bit. She'll have to thank Tessa later for being able to take so many attacks and still hold up for so long. A long breath is taken as she prepares to deal with two sources of trouble at once. This is going to require some concentration. Deciding to keep the pressure on Frei, she charges forward, using her hand to vault her over a table right for the young monk with a simple but quick jump kick

And there it is! It's not by Kaiwei's hands, but Tessa is down. Finally, his shoulders start to slump and he starts to nurse his side again, and then...he goes to the 'tank', still. One of his kids starts yelling for him to 'finish her, finish her', whatever that means, before he's shushed by one of his older brothers. The girl's already down! "Yes, yes," he answers curtly, kneeling down next to the shieldbearer. "I'm fine, thank you." With a puff of breath, his muscles, perviously tense and coiled, relax almost completely as he starts checking her out, just to make sure she's still breathing. He mumbles constantly, so low that even the spectators nearby can't even make it out.
Sure, he could be attacking Hotaru, but he thinks he's already made it obvious: doubleteaming little girls isn't right!
And yes, to him, Tessa IS a little girl.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei drops his guard to recover.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Hotaru's Light Kick.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Quick on the defense, Frei catches Hotaru's kick on an upraised forearm; not glamorous, but certainly better than getting kicked in the jaw. Wincing, he stumbles back and tries to put some distance between himself and Hotaru, searching for anything he can use as a weapon, some trick or gimmick he can use to put the other fighter offbalance for even just a second. "I'm sorta jealous, Hotaru," he says, espying the... resting... Kaiwei out of the corner of his eye. "I'd ask to trade partners if Tessa wasn't unconscious."

Feeling behind him, the monk latches onto the first object he can find, lacing it into his fingers and slowly pouring chi into it, his bruised hands not really sure what he's holding. "But I gotta hold up my side, so... sorry about this!" In a single quick motion he hurls the object forward!

Of course... it's a pie. But it's a pie glowing blue-white, and when it connects it explodes into a cloud of ice crystals, consuming the pie! But... it's still a pie. "Oh, god *damnit*!"

COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Hyoushou Rengeki.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Having a feeling she understands Kaiwei's cause for pause, Hotaru manages a bit of a smile, "I suspect there is much we could all learn from your partner, Frei." She stays on the young monk aggressively though, and the chitchat is minimal. The yummy pie is avoided with lean to the side, allowing it to explode into ice against the wall behind her. The lean serves as the first step toward her next attack as she leaps into the air once more, having played a mostly aerial game from the beginning with him, for better or worse. A flip in mid air is enough to change the direction of her travel as she dives directly for Frei. The intent is to drive her foot into his shoulder and then use that as a point from which to kick him with her trailing leg before finally leaping away to hopeful safety.

Tessa is of course fine, still breathing normally and everything. She wouldn't be Strolheim material if a thing like that were enough to really injure her, and she's a health nut besides so she'll probably end up walking away from this one without so much as a bruise. She's only a little knocked out, like Frei just said, and as far as the rules go that means even if she gets up before the match's end she's out. But she's still taller than you, old man!

"Hmph! Do you hear that?" Now Kaiwei is TALKING to Tessa, whether she's conscious or not. He's taken to sitting on the carpet while the other two fight amongst themselves. His injured ankle rests on the other leg's calf, and he's just trying to massage the pain away. "Greedy boy, greedy, I agree." Pause. "Oh yes, I've noticed it too." His voice raises then, speaking directly at his partner now. "Frei! Keep going, you're doing a good job! She's got to be tired soon!" Instead of helping him beat her down, he's now...cheering and having a lovely sit. It's just the man's luck to get a complete newbie in this match, isn't it?

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei takes no action.

[               \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Hotaru           0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Rengeki Shuu from Hotaru with Hyoushou Rengeki.

[                   \\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

...what the hell! Frei just blinks back at Kaiwei as Hotaru does some really impressive midair acrobatics, entirely unheeded by the monk's attention suddenly being drawn away. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! The fight's not over yet! We're supposed to be a *team*! Working toget--"

And then Hotaru's foot slams into his shoulder, the monk wincing with pain... and with speed that clearly is coming from some untouchable, unknowable place, he swivels both hands and, before Hotaru can finish her move, blasts her away from him in a massive blue-white burst of ice, much like the one the young girl just dodged to make her attack possible. And then... he turns back to Kaiwei, continuing his rant. "...gether! COME ON ALREADY!"

The blast sends Hotaru falling back to the ground rather than the graceful leap to safety that she had intended. Emitting a squeak as she lands, she struggles back to her feet slower than before now, "Oi..." The monk is still standing after that and she's beginning to question her own ability to wear him down at this rate. "You're pretty tough." But that's all he gets. She can't really say much more because she needs to breath just to give herself the strength to finish this. Lacking the strength to leap at him again, she darts forward, attempting to just land a punch fast enough to get past his defenses, hopefully while not risking getting smashed back to the ground for her trouble again.

Kaiwei is injured! And his opponent is down! Sure, that's partially due to Frei's attacking now and then, but the fact remains! "I'm tending to my ankle, stupid boy!" he snaps back, lifting his leg to show off the already-bruised thing, a wonderful mix of blacks and blues stretching half-around the ankle from the outside of it. He quickly eases it back to the ground though, and he finally, with much effort and groaning, gets back up onto his feet. Still, he's favoring the good foot over the other, but it feels many, many times better than before!
"Just finish her, go!" He makes a dismissive motion with his hand at that. "If you can't, then I'll take over. It's even this way!" But...oh. With a little frown, the Chinese man glances briefly about and, as it's the only thing close to him, picks up a chair by the corner and tosses it to Frei. "Stupid boy! Defend yourself with this!"

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei assists Frei.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei dodges Hotaru's Quick Punch.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

...what.

Fascinatingly enough, this works... somehow. Mostly because Frei is totally lost now, his eyes having moved into the @_@ range long ago from a combination of pain and sheer confusion. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" he bellows, turning on Kaiwei entirely and not watching Hotaru at all. Of course, he doesn't think to DODGE the chair, but instead just tries to duck out of the way. Which is a total success in that by dodging the chair he's dodging Hotaru's sudden punch. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Of course, that means the chair MIGHT just smack Hotaru if she doesn't get out of the way too. Oops.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru reflects Large Thrown Object from Frei with Kobi Kyaku.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

She never makes her punch as she can't help but notice exactly what Kaiwei considers an 'assist'. Sliding to a stop before ever attempting her attack, she waits as Frei ducks the flying seat. Instead of avoiding it likewise, she takes a moment, braces herself, and then kicks the chair right back at Frei, a shield of chi trailing behind her leg acting as the means by which it is sent hurling right back.

"See? It was all for the best." Kaiwei nods to himself, one elbow held in a palm as the OTHER hand starts...stroking his eyebrow. And not the part above the eye; he's still got one brow that has the long tail coming off the side of it. "Hmm, hmmmm..." His chair did the trick! But the way Hotaru handled it was simply beautiful! Not in a creepy kind of admiration, he really things it was nicely done! "Good job, little girl!"
But still, perhaps he really should do something. This is a team match, is it not? His team must win to get the prize money! ...Ah, but doubleteaming on the girl, his resolve is conflicted. So, he makes a choice. It helps that he can see Frei very close to exhausting himself, this could be the end of it. If he goes down, then...the old man will have to step up and finish the job. His arms untangle themselves, and he spreads his feet out--not too far, of course--and keeps his arms loose, but not limp at his sides. First thing's first: focus, prepare. Be ready! Deep breaths, in with the good, out with the bad...

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei gains composure.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////                         ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  //////////////                ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Reflected Large Thrown Object from Hotaru with Hadou Souran.
- Power hit! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Hotaru           0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0             Frei
                                  >  //////////////                ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Oh, he's seen this trick before, though. Frei's fought Hotaru plenty of times and her trick of throwing things back where they came from is seared indelibly into his brain, mostly by the energy of his own attacks. So as he turns and sees the chair hurtling toward her, the monk is already summoning energy between his cupped hands, gritting his teeth. He has exactly one option: destroy the chair, or be destroyed... the monk is tough, but he's not so tough he can't be KOed, and Frei knows that event is on the horizon. Thrusting his hands forward, Frei shouts "HADOUKEN!" and busts out another massive prismatic chi burst... powered by desperation, it not only obliterates the chair into so much powder, but continues onward toward Hotaru with a terrible rush of displaced air.

Frei, for his part, just looks EXHAUSTED and waves a hand at Miss Futaba. "Oh god, just knock me out already, I need sleep. So long as you break that elderly nutjob in half I'm satisfied." You're a jerk, Frei.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Hadou Souran.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  ////                          ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1             Frei
                                  >  //////////////                ]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Even if she thought he had it in him, she probably would have still been too slow to avoid his projectile. She's practically trembling at this point, trying to keep herself upright. When the chair is smashed, all she can do is lift her arms and brace herself, allowing the energy to buffet her into stumbling backward again. Hotaru looks like she might just about keel over without needing any help at this point. Perspiration has long since started running down her temples by now and her eyes widen as Frei has not only the strength to react, but to still draw upon his chi to do so. He must be a veritable fountain of energy, she concludes.
Her body wants to give up, she having pushed it further than maybe she should. But if she is to ever prove herself worthy of her brother's friendship again, she can't give up just because it aches to continue. All she has in her is enough to try and shove Frei over, in hopes that he's about as winded as she is.

In comparison, Kaiwei is as fresh as a daisy! He's caught his breath, he's relaxed himself, and...and this is really dragging itself out. Now that he thinks about it, this can't be good for either of them! His head cants, nodding once or twice as he listens to silent whispers, one hand lifting to plant itself on his hip. "That's a good idea."
And now, finally, he moves in! "You did well, stupid boy," he compliments (honestly, it is one), but instead of attacking Hotaru...he reaches out, an arm moving across Frei's chest, hoping to push back firmly and get him out of harm's way. ...Ideally before Hotaru can get to him, but damn his old man bones, they may be too slow! "Rest, rest! You'll hurt yourself!" He has no desire to see the poor man unconscious! Or perhaps he does, after all of those 'crazy old man' comments. In any case, he's finally stepping up to the plate, just as it was asked of him.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei successfully hits Frei with Quick Throw.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /                             ]
Hotaru           0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1             Frei
                                  >  ///////////////               ]
                                 |=------\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Quick Throw from Hotaru with Hizashi Ronde.

[                           \\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.

[                           \\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Well, that wasn't expected at all. Frei has time to turn and see Kaiwei make an appearance shortly before he's chucked right into Hotaru's throw... which stings a little, but quite frankly Frei doesn't care at this point. Instead what he does is grin sheepishly at Hotaru... and then EXPLODE. No, seriously, this is exactly what happens. He goes up in a massive burst of red-orange-gold fireworks that explodes in Hotaru's face with terrific force, battering the young woman with wave after wave of yang chi.

As for Frei? Well... he lands off in a corner somewhere. Nobody cares about him, and that's probably for the best.

She's a bit surprised as Frei ends up falling forward into her attempt to grab him. "Oh!" she gasps, thinking that perhaps he's collapsed like she feels like doing by now. Instead of attempting to shove him over like she had intended, Hotaru instead begins to ease him down. There's no reason to be rude about it if he has given up - It's then that she notices his grin and the young fighter blinks. What's this? Some kind of trick?
The explosion of energy - the release of the fountain of chi she was beginning to suspect the young man of being - comes way too fast for her to react to in this weary state. First one wave, then another, then another - pure energy blasting the girl away and against the wall. Hotaru slides down the wall into a seated position on the floor, her head bowed forward, her hands pressing against the floor to keep her from just slumping over. One of her red ribbons blown away leaves half of her hair hanging down over her shoulder, while the other half remains tied up in a pony tail. If it wasn't for the gasping breathing for air at this point, it would be easy to assume her to be out completely cold.
Finally, one arm raises to the wall, pressing against it to give her leverage to get back up. Hotaru's eyes are still closed by the time she's wobbly standing, but she slowly opens them as well, taking stock of what remains of the fight at this point. No sign of Frei, and by now Tessa has probably been helped to her feet. That means just her and the father. Beneath the pain, a small smile works its way to the surface. There's no shame in losing now, she's weathered quite the fight.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru gains composure.

[                        \\\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hotaru           1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0           Kaiwei

Well! That was a bit...unexpected. But then, this night is just full of such things, and Kaiwei should be long past that. Still, Frei is now down and getting some rest, amazingly, after...exploding? Hm. Well, he'll surely have a good rest on this wonderful carpet. For a moment, he thinks that...well, he might not have to do anything at all! Hotaru looks pained, but she's getting up. A look to one of any number of official types gets him hand motions to continue on; he's already made for a boring last half of the fight, and the people watching will be unhappy! Sigh. Moving toward Hotaru with only a shadow of the hobble he was forced to employ earlier, he reaches out a hand, looking for all the world as if ti help her up.
"I'm sorry little girl, but this match is important." If he wins, he'll actually have MORE money than he needs for the next month! His children will enjoy new clothes and toys, and he can take his wife someone nice for once. So despite his kind offer and apology, he still tries to pull her by the wrist if he can grab it, only to pivot her body over a knee and send her face-up on the floor some good five, six feet away.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Kaiwei's Quick Throw.

[                         \\\\\  < >  ///////////////               ]
Hotaru           1/------=/=======|=------\-------\0           Kaiwei

"Nn," Hotaru manages, accepting his apology with a sound that takes about as much effort as a grunt, because that's all she can manage now. That doesn't mean she's completely flat footed though. Flipped over his knee, Hotaru lands with a roll, coming back on her own two feet. Shaking her head once she's upright again, the young fighter turns around to face Kaiwei. Clearly moving slower now than she has throughout the rest of the fight, she still gives it her best shot, rushing forward to kick him back a little for his trouble.

COMBATSYS: Kaiwei interrupts Light Kick from Hotaru with Pushing Hands.

[                            \\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Hotaru           1/----===/=======|==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

Compared to the poor girl that's been moving and jumping and dodging all night, Kaiwei is in pristine form. That bit of time to rest has done wonders for him, as he's no longer even breathing hard. Not that he was to begin with, but...to onlookers, the difference is evident. As the foot comes in, the man moves forward as well, catching the foot in a hand (and damn those jarring impacts, were they always so difficult?) and not only deflects, but pushes the leg higher. As he does this, he reaches out with the other hand, two fingers reaching out for and pressing at her collarbone. All the while, his rear leg has swung forward, hooking itself behind Hotaru's knee to enhance the effort. It's amazing how simple one can make the act of flipping someone over backwards look.

Her leg lifted up, Hotaru is left precariously off balance for a long moment, as the older fighter dismantles her stance piece by piece with what seems like a certain amount of deliberate patience. Hitting the floor, the girl lands with just gasping squeak, feeling the last of her resolve giving way. She starts to roll onto her side, as if she might get up again, but gives up halfway through the movement, clearly unable to continue.

COMBATSYS: Hotaru takes no action.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

COMBATSYS: Hotaru can no longer fight.

                                  >  ////////////                  ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0           Kaiwei

And then, there was one!
For a moment, Kaiwei's still a bit uneasy. Now that Hotaru's down, since she's not getting up...is that it? Even for a bit after officials and fans start flooding into the makeshift arena, he doesn't realize that he's won. He's won? His kids come flying out from the crowd, the youngest of which clamps onto his leg, yelling something in his native tongue about his old man and how awesome he was. The others are less hyper about it, but still no less happy! And it's then, just then, that he pats his youngest on the head and eases him aside, moving to kneel down (carefully, of course) next to Hotaru and tap her gingerly on the forehead. "Little girl, wake up. Are you okay?" And whether she is or she isn't, there are people here to take care of her. He can be concerned sometimes, after all! Thankfully, no one got seriously injured tonight!

Log created by Hotaru, and last modified on 16:24:57 04/22/2007.