Description: In which Dr. Tran reaffirms his anger and loathing for all fighting females under the age of 18!
4:20 PM, MAY 31 - CHINATOWN, SOUTHTOWN, JAPAN...town.
The short break in Seijyun High's schedule continues, with discipline on passes relaxed. Not that Sada Asai has a great deal to worry about as one of the school's representatives in the international fighting scene, but better not to flex things if you don't have to.
Sada Asai has come to Chinatown for two reasons. One is simple touristic urges. Even if she may share the attitude of some of her countrymen that the Yankees should go home, she can still appreciate the other reason she came, which is to say, dumplings. She has gotten dumplings - several of them, /on a stick/ - and is standing near the stand in which the dumplings are sold. Her left hand is currently holding that stick at an awkward angle, because she's trying not to drip on herself while her lips tug off the balls of delicious meat-in-dough.
A mysterious instrument case sits at her feet. Perhaps it is filled with nuclear secrets.
Nuclear secrets? If there's one thing that being a suave international secret agent teaches you, it is that the only people who just carry nuclear secrest around like it's nothing are filthy communists. Is Sada a filthy communist? Maybe Dr. Tran is about to find out.
He's here, as it happens, more or less entirely by chance. He doesn't live too far away, and hey, sometimes it's nice to just walk around and let the city wash over you. Generally when it goes with a less than literal interpretation of washing.
It's after narrowly dodging a puddle, extended beyond its usual place of residence by a speeding car, that Dr. Tran sees something of interest. Guess what? It's the girl in one of those photographs Elle showed off. Not a target...but something else, maybe. Certainly worth the doctor's time to investigate for himself.
Crossing the street toward Sada, Tran raises a hand in greeting, trying to get her attention. "Hey, hey, you, hold on a minute, you're...wossherface, right? Shit, what was the name?" Well, it's not like he was EXPECTING to run into her or anything. You can't expect the doctor to remember all of these minor details!
Sada keeps on eating her dumplins on a stick as Dr. Tran is nearly subjected to involuntary bathing. That wacky Seijyun hairstyle makes her stick out pretty well; it really isn't the best choice for her, but peer pressure is probably responsible for it. She looks over, though, once Dr. Tran begins his oral assault.
She raises an eyebrow as she takes another bite of a dumpling, leaving glistening pork-and-spices on display as she chews and stares directly at the good Dr. for a moment. After swallowing, she asks, "Are you looking for me?"
She bites off another bit of food, swallowing it, too, before saying, with perhaps slightly too deliberate innocence, "Are you a -stranger-?"
For a moment, just a moment, Dr. Tran has no idea how to react. If he had to place where a line like that belongs, he'd immediately answer 'porn' like it was nothing. However, this is a high school girl. This conundrum confounds the doctor until he realizes one, shining truth: Japan. That pretty much makes it all make sense again.
"Hey, cut the porn talk, kid, it might go over well with some 40 year old pedo sugar daddies, but I know better. My partner mentioned you, and I know that if she's even bothering with you, you're not some airhead who goes around singing songs about flowers and how much you want to be a housewife." He pauses, looking Sada over, trying to judge her a bit better. She doesn't look like much, but then, neither do most girls her age who can kick the ass.
It's with a mild expression on his face that the doctor continues, "So anyway, I like to know who I'm dealing with. Got a couple of minutes? It shouldn't take long."
Sada doesn't look terribly offended, although she may simply be filled with the inscrutability of the mystical East. She finishes the last dumpling while Dr. Tran gives his talk, and she tosses the little bamboo skewer into a garbage can.
She isn't skinny like a lot of schoolgirls. This is about all that can be made out, beyond well-toned calves, with the uniform on. Sada crouches down nearer the instrument case, undoing the latch as she looks down at it. After THIS, she looks up at Dr. Tran, while reaching into the case itself.
She stays there, crouched, before saying, "OK." Several passerby glance at this situation, but write it off before moving along. This may change very shortly.
This may change, but maybe only to give a little space to the two. Southtown, city of a billion random fights, welcomes you.
And Dr. Tran, man of unbridled action, nods in response to Sada. She says yes, he lacks any reason to hold back whatsoever. This is a schoolgirl, despite everything, after all. Even if he's supposed to be friendly to them, there's always that tickling feeling in the back of the skull that says 'what.'
It's with this in mind that Tran immediately steps forward, and simply brings his fist downward toward the top of Sada's skull. "Get ready." A little late for that, isn't it?
COMBATSYS: Tran has started a fight here.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Sada has joined the fight here.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sada
COMBATSYS: Sada dodges Tran's Quick Punch.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sada
The public seems to be pleased at the sight of Dr. Tran attacking an innocent schoolgirl. The dumpling guy starts hustling his wares to the several interested passerby who stop to watch the impending violence.
Sada was kind of expecting something like that, so as Tran's brutal fist of steel comes down towards her head of bone, meat, and thinky goo, she leans to the side and rolls a good three feet down the pavement. Chain rattles as she pulls the kusarigama out of its case, leaping to her feet and yanking the kusari out the rest of the way (and knocking the case over into an alley - fortunately, they're cheap at Seijyun).
"Okay," she says, before flinging the kusari forwards towards the not-very-good Doctor, pitching it like a curved baseball - a very heavy baseball, to be fair, and on a chain - at his upper arm! Possibly with intent to yank if he doesn't watch himself. She takes several steps back as well, probably intending to get some range.
COMBATSYS: Tran overcomes Odani Foundation Art from Sada with Large Thrown Object.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Sada
Baseball? It seems like Tran's recently had his fair share of comparisons to the great American pasttime, but one more can't hurt, right? Luckily, right, as the doctor is far from unprepared for Sada's initial assault.
Turning to watch her put some distance in between them, he wastes no time in grabbing the nearest handy Thing to throw at Sada. Trash can? Too messy, hard to grip properly. Parking sign? Too much time to rip off its base. Other people? Giving too much space, they're dodgy. In the end, Tran is forced to go with a wooden lucky cat statue, grabbing it by the head, swinging it around, and releasing it at Sada in one smooth motion.
When it quickly meets the ball, the head dents, and the entire statue starts spinning, still sort of on track toward Sada. "Don't you say anything other than 'okay'?"
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Sada with Large Thrown Object.
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Tran 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Sada
When the lucky cat statue turns aside the kusari, Sada is momentarily surprised. The cat station then whangs her in the shoulder, sending her staggering back a good pace with her teeth gritting, just faintly enough to be audible!
"You're picking a fight with me in the middle of the street," she says, some of that impassive demeanor cracking, perhaps because she feels a bruise forming. "What do you want me to do, recite poetry for you?" She then advances, tugging the kusari up and reducing slack on the chain generally!
Despite the bruise on her arm (not visible thanks to the jacket), she advances. As she does so, she aims at a slight off-set to Tran himself, slicing out with the sharp blade of the kama as she runs past him to see if she can get some blood flowing. Why is she carrying a live steel weapon around? Well, Chinatown CAN be dangerous.
COMBATSYS: Tran fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Sada with Strong Punch.
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Tran 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Sada
Live steel, nothing. Dr. Tran fears no mortal blades! He should, perhaps, as history has shown time and again that sharp things go through him with far more ease than he goes through sharp things. This once again proves to be true when he steps to the side and sticks his arm out, essentially looking to clothesline Sada as she goes by.
Instead, he's too slow, getting a slash in the ribs for his trouble, shallow but painful nonetheless. He winces and involuntarily jerks back, grabbing at the wound through his coat.
"Well, I wouldn't complain. Still, usually people like to gripe about how much of a jerk am I, or how they're going to crush anybody in their way, how their victory is assured, how they want you to do your best..." From the tone, it sounds like Tran could go on like this all day.
Sada does not, fortunately for Tran, take the opportunity to deal with his big mouth by stabbing that sickle into his throat until he could taste it on his tongue. She also doesn't do any of the other brutal things you can probably do with this kind of a weapon if you think about it.
What does do, while Tran is talking, is twist the chain around in a manner resembling that all American object - the lariat - and twist it out towards Tran's legs, to try and yank his legs out from under him. Who knows - he may end up in that same damn mud puddle if he doesn't watch himself!
"Everyone gets pissed off when I try to be nice to them after I beat their ass," she complains, which is probably pretty irrelevant.
COMBATSYS: Sada successfully hits Tran with Medium Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Tran 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Sada
By now, Tran has raised one hand, and is ticking things off on it with his other hand. "...Please go easy on me, I'm just a girl, Hey I'm a jerk who thinks he's cooler than you, I'm going to drink your sohwoup!"
Sometimes, the doctor just forgets that he's fighting. He doesn't even notice Sada's chain-related antics as he goes on, which leads to an almost-comic fall onto his ass. He can only wish he were to fall into something as soft and comforting as a puddle. Instead, due to a certain amount of whirling as he's pulled off balance, the doctor slams head first into a wall before finishing his trek to the ground.
Tran uses that wall to pull himself back up afterward, at least, clutching the back of his head in an effort to make it stop pounding so hard. "It's condescending, nobody likes that unless they've got the pride of a booger." For the moment, the doctor stays where he is, watching Sada. It's probably time to start paying attention.
COMBATSYS: Tran focuses on his next action.
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Tran 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Sada
Sada's rich-girl little nose wrinkles up at the comment. "What the hell do you mean?" she says as she starts to spin the kusari around at her side, almost playfully. It swings readily, one cycle per one point five seconds, as she continues. "I'm just trying to be polite to them! See if they're hurt bad or need help or something! Jeez, why can't people just realise when you want to help them out?"
She says all this while waiting for Dr. Tran to recover from his fall, at which point she takes a half-step forwards and triples the speed of her spin, while simultaneously aiming the multiple-pounds weight at Dr. Tran's head and shoulders. Think fast!
COMBATSYS: Tran fails to interrupt Spinning The Kusari from Sada with Man of Action.
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Tran 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Sada
"I mean, it's not enough that you just beat their ass, now you've gotta go and rub it in their face? Helping can be worse than kicking them while they're down!" Smarmy bastards, trying to prove they're better than you every way they can, not even letting you just move on. Not that Tran would have any experience with that kind of person, no. Of course not. Never.
In any case, that there is a ball coming at Tran quite fast. Instinct number one: go through it. It seems Tran's a slow learner, as he ducks his head and charges forward at it. It slams into the top of his head, stopping his charge dead and leaving him dizzy again, where he stumbles back a step or two. His eyes are pretty unfocused.
Technically, that weight is called a kusari, and it weighs a few pounds. A few pounds of lead, dense like Tran's head! It gets pulled back after the impact, and Sada looks momentarily concerned as the man staggers.
She shrugs a shoulder, then draws the kama back up. She grasps it with both hands as she raises it over her head, twirling it once and continuing, "Do you think I should kick 'em while they're down, then?" After this, she twists it into an underhanded grip, takes a breath...
And /jams/ it towards the good Doctor. She doesn't aim too sharply, which may be partly due to the flinching at what this might lead to. Is this some kind of secret "look away from the horror" technique of whatever strange style she practices?!
COMBATSYS: Tran fails to interrupt Deep Strike from Sada with Random Weapon.
- Power fail! -
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Tran 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sada
It's like slow-motion for Dr. Tran. As he regains his senses, he can see it coming. The kama, driving downward toward his whatever. He knows he doesn't have much time to act. Taking a staggering step forward, still not entirely recovered from being brained a few moments ago, he makes a grab for Sada's own weapon, trying to grab ahold of it and do...something with it. Anything.
He's too slow, naturally, only exposing himself fully to Sada's attack. The blade slices into his shoulder and leaves a long, ragged cut that extends across his torso, blood flowing freely from it. The force sends Tran staggering back again with a short shout of pain. Gripping the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding, it seems the doctor is too stunned to manage much of anything else right now, even a response to Sada's question.
The proper thing to do now would be to lunge forwards and engage in some act of brutality to get the fight out of Dr. Tran. That would be merciful; kind, respectful, in its way. End it clean and give him time to fix himself up.
Sada doesn't do it.
She takes a step backwards, instead, narrowing her eyes. She finally gets an actual facial expression other than 'petulance'; her lips draw back from her teeth in a slightly crazed grin, the sort of expression you might see on the face of some kind of horrible propaganda poster, if it was in a brighter light. As it is, it just looks mildly sadistic.
"Are you OK?" she asks, before pausing for a moment. She's heard that phrase somewhere else.
COMBATSYS: Sada focuses on her next action.
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Tran 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Sada
Giving Tran breathing room? It's a mistake. Perhaps Sada's earned it at this point, having more or less systematically dissembled Tran. Certainly, at this point the odds seem insurmountable for the doctor. However, the odds have a funny way of turning around in a hurry, at times, especially when a fight lasts for long enough.
Taking another step back, getting distance in between himself and Sada, Tran goes to work on his sucking chest wound. Steam rises from his fingers as he pinches, massages, and generally attempts to keep it from bleeding too much. He can't completely take care of it, not on the fly like this, but he can at least make it far less severe than it currently is. And, of course, while he does this, he can't help but repond to Sada. "See? Right there. Retarded question, answer's obvious. You don't quite seem like the retarded type, so I gotta wonder just why you're asking."
"You guys talk too much," Sada says, having perhaps figured out who Tran is working for. She draws back with the kusari again, and she continues to grin. "I said it, because it's what you say. And then you say..."
Sada begins spinning it over her head. It steadily accelerates, and Sada proves that she is both a follower of the FIGHTING ARTS and their televised editions, as well as someone who reads the captions instead of listening to the words. "Bust the roof!"
This would probably seem like stupid fangirlisms except that other things get in the way once more. One is that she's steadily spinning it up, to the point where the chain isn't rattling any more, just whirring as the air whistles through the gaps in the links.
She steps forwards, then, twisting her arm forwards as she diverts that rotary motion into a different plane, swinging the heavy weight on the end of its rigid chain in a vicious, swift overhead arc towards Tran as he struggles to recover from being cut up!
COMBATSYS: Tran successfully hits Tran with Dr. Tran - Hot Lovin.
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Tran 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Sada
COMBATSYS: Sada successfully hits Tran with Spite Musashi Art.
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Tran 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Sada
Oh. Okay. It's one of those kinds of things. Where the person's just talking because they love to hear the sound of their own voice. Good to know? Maybe not, because Tran's brain is pretty busy with other things already, like Sada's chain, whipping around and wasting his ass. It slams into him and knocks him the hell over, leaving him bleeding, face down on the sidewalk.
"Heh...schoolgirls." Tran doesn't have a lot of breath left in him, so it's probably not even audible. His strength's being saved for other things right now. Things like the ripple of chi along his forearm, steam being forced into place, confined by Tran's will. Things like his other arm, slowly pushing himself up.
Toes scraping as he staggers forward, the look on Tran's face is manic. Perhaps he has more strength left than he thought, because he manages to say, "Good job. Hope there won't be a next time." Is it a command, or just that Tran's hurting so bad he forgot to add an 'I' in there? It's hard to tell, and Sada might not have long to consider it before Tran, with one last burst of movement that falls considerably short of 'speed', delivers the mother of all uppercuts toward Sada. The steam boiling around his fist explodes, finally escaping from him in every direction with bone-crushing force.
And after the follow-through, whether it actually connects with Sada or not...Tran'll just be standing there, out on his feet.
COMBATSYS: Tran can no longer fight.
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Sada 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Sada dodges Tran's Here Comes Dr. Tran.
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Sada 0/-------/-======|
Sada takes half a step forwards. It is, at least, not a dainty little frou-frou schoolgirl hop -- but Tran may not really notice that. She's in a skirt, and that means she's the enemy. Or something like that. She's smiling...
The smile fades when Tran gets up. "Wait, wait," she says, taking a step back, "what the hell -" And then Tran moves into action! The Doctor's fist of fury, while furious, is not quick, and Sada is able to step back and drop into another of those damn rolls, moving the hell away - quite more than is neccessary.
When she gets back up, she stares at Tran for a few seconds. "... Did you die and become a zombie?" she asks, probably to a blank object.
COMBATSYS: Sada has ended the fight here.
Log created on 03:17:51 05/31/2007 by Tran, and last modified on 06:29:10 05/31/2007.