Description: "Hurricane" Himeko stands off against Nassir in the midst of Southtown Village. (Winner: Nassir)
Southtown Village as of late has become a somewhat .. Quiet area. This may be mostly due to the fact that students are at home crunching, or perhaps at the mall, drowning their sorrows away in video games. The adults are likely all at work, seeing as it's just four in the afternoon, possibly wrapping things up, so many many people are missing out on yet another adventure of Hurricane Hime!
This time the randomly-sent out challenge is to take place in the Southtown Village Public Library, which hasn't been seeing a lot of action as of late. Three floors of knowledge, thousands upon thousands of books waiting to be read, but to be a little more specific, things take place within it's mini-arena in the back, a soundproof room normally used for childrens movie viewing. A well lit room about average size, good enough for fighting in anyway is the place of battle, the walls with plenty of windows and neat little posters, tables, chairs, and desks lined up all about the place, and of course books are scattered about the floor as well. Library stuff.
Hurricane Hime stands atop one of the tables in the center of the room, her arms crosses, and her oversized scarf flapping back from a breeze of unknown origin, and as usual, there's a confident smile on her face as she attempts to work up the crowd, "Who wants to see the strongest of styles!" she cries, in her best 'superhero' impersonation, left arm extending and shaking her fist.
No response.
"... Tough crowd."
It probably can't be emphasized enough, but for the sake of those new to Nassir's particular take on things: He hated this place.
To the arabian youth, there were very few redeemable qualities to the average Southtown citizen. They were, by and large, wrapped up in the same kind of soul-rotting materialism that most Americans espoused. What made things especially bad was the fact that they seemed willing to give up everything that made Japan unique--their monument-like shrines, the rich cultural history, the land around them. No, they would trade in their identity for world market shares, the seemingly unstoppable virus that was the American lifestyle.
So then, with that said, one might be forced to wonder what this has to do with the here and now.
Mere moments away from the beginning of a neo-league match, Nassir found himself escorted to the chosen location...a public library. Camera crews seemed surprisingly minimal, at least in comparison to what was generally offered at Ken's Seattle location...an circumstance Nassir assumed was anything but coincidental. Heavy bootfalls against the floor announced his arrival seconds before the uniformed youth could actually be seen, wearing a deep scowl on his features that oddly complimented the severe nature of his garb.
"I register, officially, my protest to this match," Nassir began, contempt practically dripping from each spoken word. "To have us destroy one of the few good things about this country in the name of entertainment is abominable."
Abominable. While that isn't likely a new word for him, getting his tongue to reproduce the Japanese equivalent is. "Regardless, I will compete. Maybe some good will come of this...somehow."
COMBATSYS: Nassir has started a fight here.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|
Well that was an interesting response.. While many heads, including Himes had turned to look to the new arrival, there is some murmuring amidst the individuals, the scarf-wearing girl herself seeming perhaps the most stunned of them all.
But the stunned look on her face gives way to the grin that follows as she reaches into the front of her scarf and withdraws a text-book sized paperback book, and holds it tightly within her left hand, "Well, I must say, I didn't expect to hear those words from my opponent! However, I'd like to know which one of us exactly was intending on destroying this room in the first place! I know I most certainly didn't!" the girl leaps off of the table and lands to strike a dramatic pointing pose to Nassir, "So you're Nassir, correct? I am Hurricane Hime, the heroine of Taiyo High school, that's not too far from here and practitioner of the strongest style of them all!"
The girl strikes another pose, this time with her back to the young man, "I promote the importance of reading! And mathematics! And the fact that staying in school.. Is COOL!" turning to the side, with her right hand she thrusts forth a mighty thumbs up! "So with introductions aside, are you ready to fight? Or will you choose to admit defeat right here and now?"
COMBATSYS: Himeko has joined the fight here.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Himeko
Blink.
You can practically hear Nassir's lashes colliding and tearing apart from one another as his lid quickly shuts and re-opens. There was, in all likelihood, the briefest of moments where the USPL soldier was certain his opponent was actually in some yet-to-be-disclosed location, projecting an illusion in order to distract him. That seemed like something Jesen would do...or maybe some other, unknown enemy.
Blink. Blink. No, she's still there. Could she be for real?
"You must realize that you are going to die," Nassir took in a deep breath, letting the air slowly escape through his nostrils. "Though I assure you, I harbor no true ill will against you."
That said, Nassir...just stands there, letting his inaction signal readiness.
COMBATSYS: Nassir focuses on his next action.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Himeko
Himeko most certainly doesn't vanish, at least not yet. There she stands with a chipper grin, book in hand, and the will to fight with a significant portion of her heart. But even the most heroic of heroes should faulter to Nassirs words after that, right?
"Er, excuse me?" she asks, scratching her head, "At first I thought you were a hero-type, but that sounded really villianous. What's the deal? Actually never mind about that, I suppose it's time for us to do battle! But first let us take part in an intense stare-down!"
Hurricane Hime sets both of her hands on her hips now, her eyes narrow and she gives a little growl as she tries to stare the man down, though in all actuality she's conteplating her first move as well. It's pretty cute.
COMBATSYS: Himeko focuses on her next action.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Himeko
As Roberto looks up from the English copy of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice he sighs inwardly in disbelief. Did he just get stalked by Nassir again? Wait... No. He recognizes a few of the cameramen from his Neo League fights and he recognizes Himeko... sort of... "I think I know her... Wait... No I don't."
After this Roberto realizes he gets an opportunity to scout out Nassir before their match and Roberto fully intends to take advantage of it and keep an eye on things so he can be prepared for what the Arabian can dish out. At this point the book is laid down and waiting for the stare down to end and the fight to begin in earnest.
Meanwhile, Nassir doesn't need too much time to contemplate--He had a pretty good idea of what he would be doing, which gave him all the more reason to quietly curse the name of Ken Masters. Convinced as he was that the 'random drawing' was anything but, Nassir was fairly certain that the negative press from turning a library into collateral damage would play into the American Millionaire's hands well. All the various accoutrements of war he kept on his bandoliers...they weren't for show, not by a longshot.
Something Nassir opted to demonstrate...right now.
The Arabian youth seemed content to play Himeko's game, at least for the first few seconds: If he could tap into the Cobra's stare, if he could distract the Japanese/American girl with those brown eyes of his...
...then she wouldn't notice his fingers pulling one of his knives into his grip...
...and she wouldn't notice the deft flick of his wrist to come afterwards.
Even if all of this fell together, he was fairly certain she'd notice the glint of metal as the blade flew in for her upper body...but by then it could be too late for any real reaction.
COMBATSYS: Himeko blocks Nassir's Strong Shot.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Himeko
Not for show? Hime certainly believe they were real, but she could also be accused of not doing her homework on this, either. It had completely escaped her mind if Mimiru had fought this man before or not. But she was far from afraid, ignorance was bliss for the time being, even if there were suddenly a knife flying her way, "Ah-ha!"
It'd seem she were ready, suddenly dropping into a crouch, the little hurricane holds her book in front of her face and the knife slams and bounces right off of it, into the air and sinks blade first into the table beside her. Her green eyes slowly shift to the weapon, then slooowly shifts back to Nassir with a nervous giggle, ".. This could be bad.." she murmurs to herself.
But not letting herself get too intimidated, Himeko decides to race forward, reach into her book and rip out three sheets of paper, "Now it's my turn!" she cries, the once limp sheets suddenly stiffen within her hold and she whips them all like darts toward Nassir in a veritcal formation, low, mid, and high, "Take this!"
COMBATSYS: Nassir overcomes Weekend Special from Himeko with Long Shot.
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Nassir 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Himeko
Was she for real?
Nassir...found the thought bouncing back into his thoughts, something that discomfited him considerably. On one hand...Japan certainly produced weirder fighters, and each of them were just as dangerous as any mundane pugilist or black belt, if not moreso. On the other hand...
"There is no room for 'turns', little girl."
Another blade followed soon after the first, A bit larger than the sliver of a blade used earlier. Serrated, with a thick handle, the knife goes twirling end over end towards the girl...cutting through the 'middle' piece of paper along the way.
"If you are to survive, you would do well to remember that."
COMBATSYS: Nassir successfully hits Himeko with Long Shot.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Himeko
"... There isn't?"
Well, perhaps she'd have to take his word for it, he was a more experienced fighter, after all.. It seemed like fairly helpful advice, but there's also the confusion that her opponent could be a villain! It was still difficult for her to tell. Once she lands onto the floor, she doesn't have much time to react to the knife flung her way, which slams with a heavy thunk through her scarf and into her shoulder area, causing her to stagger back in the process. It hurt a lot more than it looked, that much is for certain.
It falls to the floor seconds after impact, and Himeko smirks a little as she darts forward again, "Hah! It's a good thing I've fought Azrael before! I- Ahhg." The girl stops in mid-run, holding her shoulder as pain sears through it, "I- I'm not looking very cool right now, cut to commercial!" she cries to the cameraman.
COMBATSYS: Himeko gains composure.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Himeko
"No."
Well, then, if nothing else Himeko might've learned something. What that something actually is, we can never really be certain...bu something was learned! That had to work in Nassir's favor on the Hero/Villain scale, yes? Unfortunately, the rest of his general attack style likely worked against him.
"Yes. Commercial. A fight such as this should not be televised."
Nassir began to trot--he couldn't really break into a run, given the smallish size of the movie room--in a circle around his opponent, his hands busy re-arming themselves with more knives. It was fairly obvious what he was trying to do, looking for more weakpoints to exploit in the girl's style, her stance...anything.
The decision ultimately fell upon using what already existed: Nassir lunged forward, Knife still in hand, with every intention on stapling Himeko's hand to her shoulder while she held it. It was a gruesome sort of attack, but one that could prove damning if it successfully landed.
COMBATSYS: Himeko blocks Nassir's Random Weapon.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Himeko
Hurricane Himeko is starting to look really confused now, her mouth opening a moment as if to say something, then closes. She then opens again to give out a very deep and thoughtful, "What?" It's beginning to look to her, at this point, that Nassir is playing some sort of mind game, so she'll have to (for the time being) have to stop thinking so hard on that and focus a little more on the match. Survive, hmn?
Whatever weakpoints the little Hurricane has isn't easily found at first, the only thing he can really tell is that she does weird stuff with paper and has quite a bit of energy. But who knows what the future holds, but for now the knife meets the same fate as the very first, she jerks her book upward, the reaction similar to trying to drive a knife through stone, that again knocks her back and makes her only cringe even more, "Ow! For pete's sake!" the girl cries, this time retaliating rather quickly by holds her book with both hands over her head and attempts to slam it right down over Nassir's noggin, "Haven't you heard the saying, 'the pen is mightier than the sword'??"
COMBATSYS: Nassir dodges Himeko's Medium Strike.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Himeko
<The call of the moon has you afflicted, girl,>
The words roll heavy off of Nassir's tongue, utilizing his native language as opposed to Japanese/English. The overhead blow, meanwhile, was evaded by the Shank Soldier curling up and rolling backwards, unfurling his body a foot or two away from where he stood moments ago. <And warps reality, if only for a while.>
Despite the confining nature of the room, Nassir attempted to use some semblance of athletics, springing into the air and tucking his body tight in a backflip. At the height of his jump, another knife isn't so much thrown as it is propelled by the flipping motion, angled low for Himeko's legs.
Hit or miss, Nassir himself will attempt to end the backflip in a crouch, lips pressed tightly against one another as his mind started running through his available strategic options.
COMBATSYS: Himeko blocks Nassir's Power Shot.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Himeko
Oops, big miss! Though the evasion is leaving Hime wishing Dan had taught her how to do that by now. Well, until then she'll just have to make do with what she does know. The girl isn't going to try to pretend she understands a word he said, however, "While it's a nice language, I'm afraid I don't know a lick of arabic!" or at least nothing outside of, 'How much is a cola?'
Himeko seems to be pretty good on the defense so far, as Nassir's knife again comes toward her, she lowers her book and tilts it slightly diagonally so when the knife hits it flies off to the side and into a table leg. Math! The girl takes in a calm breath and strikes back at Nassir, this time when she rushes forward she drops to a slide, scarf whipping wildly behind her as she attempts a sliding kick right into the gut, "Hah!"
COMBATSYS: Nassir dodges Himeko's Light Kick.
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Nassir 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Himeko
"Hn."
The low baseball slide is rewarded with a high somersault leap...or at least as high as the relatively low ceiling would allow. While it might not be apparent to Himeko, Nassir was going out of his way to keep the library in relatively decent condition. The small metallic orbs hanging from his chest haven't even been touched yet, and judging from the way things are going they may go unused throughout the match. If only he'd take the same amount of care with Himeko, though...
"Should you happen to survive, it would be good for you to learn. It is a beautiful language with many intricacies."
His plug for learning foreign culture complete, Nassir is back on the offensive--though this time, it doesn't involve any cutlery. Bending low, Nassir picks up one of the sheets of paper from earlier, and throws it back at the bookworm student.
"You should not waste the book, though."
COMBATSYS: Himeko fails to interrupt Thrown Object from Nassir with Weapon Jab.
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Nassir 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Himeko
Himeko was finding herself in a very difficult predicament. If this kept up, Nassir was going to win this match without breaking a sweat and boy was he an agile one! Hurricane Hime can only watch with a frustrated grunt as he sails harmlessly over her, but when he decides to use her paper against her? (It may be worth noting when he did touch it, he felt a gentle breeze over his hand), she figured there wasn't any way she'd be beaten by her own technique!
But the higher power has a cruel sense of humor, Hime swings a little too early back at the paper and it hits her in the chest with a light thump, again making her stagger, but at least not as badly as before, "Ow.. Well, I don't really have time to study it these days, but I'll remember that, strange opponent! However don't worry, I am also a supporter of recycling!"
"...hn."
The Shank Soldier had little else to say, really--while he was reasonably certain that the girl had something up her sleeve (Why else would she be attacking with paper and books?) at this point the Soldier saw little reason to hold back any longer. It was getting close to the time where he'd think less 'opening gambit' and more 'efficient finishing maneuvers', at least if his estimates were worth anything.
First, the setup.
Rather than attempt to establish range, Nassir moved forward as soon as the swing missed, assuming the girl overextended with the effort of missing. His free hand reaches to grab the scarf, twisting and pivoting himself so that the end result is a somewhat rough looking Judo-style throw.
COMBATSYS: Himeko fails to interrupt Quick Throw from Nassir with Reading Rainbow.
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Nassir 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Himeko
Ah finally, a technique that Hime would be able to work with! Though she has hardly any idea what it is Nassir may be pondering, that's really the least of the girls worries. The girl finds her scarf grabbed, and while it may LOOK like she's flailing like a madwoman, she's actually making an attempt to use another one of her curious little techniques on the arab. But it just doesn't quite go as planned, "Aaah!!"
She clutching at her throat with her other hand, Himeko swings up and over, then slams heavily onto the floor, knocked for quite a loop.. It's evident in her expression that for the time being, she's in lala land, but she's hardly defeated! "Rrrgh.. Sensei.. What should I do." she groans to herself..
And somewhere in the imagination of hers, Dan Hibiki is at a disco club doing 'The Twist', "The Twist, my student! Use.. The Twist!"
Nassir was only vaguely familiar with The Twist, a dance that was as infectious as anything else America seemed to produce...though Chubby Checker had the advantage of time on his side. Over the course of roughly fifty years, it would be difficult for the song to -not- permeate the world, and possibly Mars and Venus as well.
This vague knowledge of American dances did little for Nassir in this instance, as he couldn't really tell what that flailing was all about. What Nassir -could- do, however, was continue in with The Plan(tm). Nassir's hand sunk down again, re-establishing a grasp on that scarf of Himeko's. What results isn't another attack, but an attempt at controlling movement. Pulling hard on the scarf, Nassir put his boot down on the girl's throat with the hope of simply restraining her.
"Now would be an excellent time to acknowledge defeat before any permanent harm can be done."
COMBATSYS: Nassir focuses on his next action.
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Nassir 0/-------/-----==|=======\==-----\1 Himeko
".. Oh great.. I don't even know how to dance," the little hurricane mumbles to herself as seeming pretty cool as a cucumber for someone whom is having her throat stepped on. And her poor scarf, but it should be ok, she thinks. ".. rrkk.." the girl sputters, cringing just slightly, but then her movements, while limited, is enough for her to pull off an attack of slight desperation.
Book weilding hand is snapped upward as well as the opposite, fingers linked togeather as if she were holdig a gun, and wedged between the 'barrel' is her trusty little read, "BANG!!" There's a sudden gust of wind that whips about her arms, and then her shoulders jerk from the recoil of fireing off page after hardened page like a sub-machinegun toward his chest, twenty pages total, "That is MY line, sir! Get your own material!"
COMBATSYS: Nassir interrupts Schoolhouse Rock! from Himeko with Stockholm Syndrome.
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Nassir 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\0 Himeko
<You are wrong.>
Wispy tendrils of energy began to waft off of Nassir's body, shadowy hues of blue and grey dissipating into the air not more than an inch or so away from his body. The effect, while not a subtle one, is one readily lost beneath the hail of pages sent practically point-blank into Nassir's chest and face. A single shadowy image flies upwards, impaled and stapled against the ceiling as a result of the pulpy attack.
The real Nassir, unfortunately, is very much still there, energy traces growing darker, more defined. Straightening his first and middle fingers while curling the rest of his hand into a fist, Nassir plunged the offending fingers straight down into the girl's ribcage, slightly left of center. The chi serves to highlight his movement, leaving afterimages in his wake, repeating his plunging motion for all the world to see.
Just as quickly as they came into existance, though, they are gone--the whole affair takes less than five seconds, leaving Nassir in a knelt position while the attack did its insidious work.
".. What'd you say?"
For crying out loud, she just can't understand a word the merc (was he a merc?? He looked like one) was saying. It almost sounded kind of arrogant though, so she's pretty sure it wasn't something pleasent. However she hasn't the slightest clue what it was she was seeing either, just the moment his fingers sink into her ribcage, her back arches and she blacks out for a moment.
And when she comes too those seconds later, she finds herself in an astounding amount of pain. Hime's learned to take a hit, but this was something completely out of her experience. The girl hugs her ribcage afterward, unsure if anything was broken since she had gone numb, "O.. Oof.. Hurts.. To breath.." she groans to herself, sitting up and then scrambles back far enough to put some distance between herself and the other fighter. And then just like that she's standing, a newfound glint in her eye, "Rrrgh, you're good.. Ow.. Really good, but..."
Her non-book holding hand slips down to the holster at her side, grabbing a handful of index cards. And then she jerks her arm outward, the cards flying outward, yet remain stuck at the tips so it extends like a strange little whip toward Nassir. But the fun doesn't begin unless she can snag him!
COMBATSYS: Nassir interrupts Mulligan Stew EX from Himeko with Depravity.
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Nassir 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Himeko
Well, it'd seem at the very least, the paper had managed to strike Nassir rather then get a hold of him, but she isn't in much of a position to break out of the stance she's put herself in!
Arrogant? Maybe. Nassir usually tried to avoid going over the deep end when it came to such things. He understood well enough how poisonous arrogance could be, not only to the bearer, but to those around him. Still, it was hard for Nassir to rein in his sense of confidence during the battle--he was more concerned with any bad PR he might garner for Rolento's USPL than anything else.
So, yes. Arrogant.
Slapped with the index-card whip, Nassir's face twists into an expression of annoyance and anger before plunging his fingers downwards oncemore. That same chi energy signature wafts off of his body, leaving more afterimages, though the ultimate result isn't nearly as severe as the technique used seconds before.
"A challenging test for you," Nassir whispered, hoping it wouldn't travel far enough to be caught by the microphone. "Survive."
Himeko cringes again, it looks like her technique wasn't going to turn the match around after all.. What rotten luck. The self-proclaimed heroine finds herself struck once more, and within the blurring of her eyes and the shaky sound, she hears the mans words. She hears them, but in her world, that was hardly a challenge at all! But she can't really say it, the girl lurches forward and belches out a smatter of blood and drops to her knees, her body shivering uncontrollably, "U... Unn... Is this... The end of.. Hurricane Him-" and she collapses to the floor, book released from her otherwise iron grip. Oh if only she knew The Twist!
COMBATSYS: Himeko takes no action.
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Nassir 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Himeko can no longer fight.
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Nassir 0/-------/--=====|
Five...
...Four...
...Three...
Nassir counted down in his head, watching the girl carefully for any signs of sudden fight. Even as he counted down, he was virtually certain that she was out of it, incapable of finishing sentences or meaningfully defending herself. At about the same time as the referee signaled for the bell, Nassir looked up at the crowd and camera crew.
"It is done, despite the circumstances passed down unto me." With some sarcasm added, Nassir concludes. "I hope it's been satisfactory."
His piece said, Nassir set to the task of collecting his expended knives and exiting with as little fanfare as possible. He had other things to do, likely USPL things.
COMBATSYS: Nassir has ended the fight here.
Log created by Nassir, and last modified on 10:55:36 05/05/2007.