Description: Because Aranha came through for Eva in his match against her, an alliance is formed. Eva seems under the impression that he's a good soul, but is this an illusion or does she see something in Aranha that the ever perceptive capoeirista fails to see in himself?
So, what could be more exciting than being on an ocean liner in the Pacific Ocean? Being on an ocean liner that is really some sort of ninja machine with weird symbols all over it! .... Well, for some people, that's exciting. For other's, it's downright worrying. Listening to the raised voice of her worried father over her cell phone, Eva keeps a safe distance between the device and her ear for her eardrum's sake as she tries to look not utterly comical. It's even audible; this man must have quite the vocal cords. Something about Thailand and that she made his hair turn gray (it's already salt-and-pepper grey, she can't see why he'd claim it turned more gray) and that he couldn't believe his little girl's on a weird boat in the middle of nowhere, and man you have to make sure to kick the ass of anyone who even looks at you funny or he'll do it himself, and by the way your mom says hi, and
*beep*
It was a phone message.
Slowly, Eva closes the cell phone shut with a weak smile as she speaks to no one in particular. ".... I wonder if other families of fighters ever have to deal with this...."
For Aranha's part, he doesn't have to deal with things like that. Since he's legal(as far as United States laws are concerned), his parents are dead(good luck getting him to talk about that), and his sister while she's concerned with his well being is too busy with High School too make phone calls like that, plus she knows that her older brother can take care of himself.
Aranha does happen to be near by when Eva finishes up listening to the message. When it gets to the part where the father says the kick the ass of somebody who looks at her funny he looks away suddenly but he's cracking up all the while.
"You've got a good father." His tone of voice is good natured as he looks at the other fighter once again. With the phone closed it's safe for him look back over again. "I haven't seen any of the other fighters yet. Either we're the first ones on or I just haven't bumped into the others yet. It could be both. I never did get your name."
Unlike the tense atmosphere on the docks, here the girl seems extremely approachable, even giving Aranha an apologetic smile when she notices him laughing. When the phone conversation is over, Eva chuckles. "... Sorry. My father is unaware of how loud he gets on the phone." And, from the sounds of it, this father of hers seems to be quite the opposite of the girl herself. The Manzetti girl chuckles then at Aranha's assessment, and, oddly enough, nods in agreement. "Yes. I'll always be his little girl, so, he gets a little overprotective sometimes, but he's also quite proud of me. ...Don't worry; I'll only try to 'kick your ass' if we're placed in a match again. Or if you ever wish for a spar."
Her name? "Eva. Eva Manzetti. And you are.... A-ran-ha? Am I pronouncing it correctly? Is it based around the word 'Arachnid'?" She did remember that cute little spider drawing. Too bad she couldn't save it. "It's a very large boat. I've still have been looking for my friend. Have you had a chance to properly look around the ship as well?"
"Well... Overprotective is better than the other extreme. It shows that he cares." The tone of voice makes it hard to determine whether he's speaking from experience or not. But he does laugh a bit, "Most reassuring. I'm not in the business of making enemies if I don't have to." While his voice doesn't put emphasis in the 'don't have to', he does so in his mind.
He stands up slowly not moving fast because at this point there's no need to. "It's pronounced Uh-Rahn-ya, and yes it's Portuguese for spider. Every since I received that nickname, I have been fighting under that name. After the house boat, you'd probably have no trouble figuring out why I'm called that."
He approaches her and raises his left hand to guard his face while he extends his right for a hand shake. "Nice to meet ya"
"Yes it does." And he's protective for some very good reasons, as well, though Eva is not about to delve into the hows and whys anymore than Aranha is. "I am not either. Though, many do find me rather uptight..." The smile turns apologetic. "A lot of fighters seem to lack honor in the field, and it tends to annoy me. You seem to be a good sort, however."
Blinking as Aranha lifts that left hand to guard his face, Eva nonetheless gives his offered right hand a polite shake and a wide, friendly smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. It is good to know a face on this ship. There have been..... hints that this may not be as simple as a series of SNL fights, but I have been unable to understand more on the issue. I will be sure to let you know of anything I find. What have you heard?"
"When it comes to fighting, I'll admit I'm no angel. I can get grimy, and street if I need to. But I prefer to keep a fight fun. I think I tend to piss people off because I look at it as a game." He comes from a fighting style where are several ways of delivering head butts and not only trickery is not only allowed but often encouraged. He also grew up on the streets and dirty fighting when fighting for your survival is par for the course. Of course there's also the playful nature of his style which he tends to focus on unless pushed in the other direction.
"They seem to respect intelligence based on what they said. Sometimes it may not be the actual fight but the mental processes to deal with the challenges that will get you further in the tournament."
"As for the organizers I don't know more other than Seishirou, the male, Is suspected of being some type of terrorist, and Riko, the female, loves setting traps. She tested me up on the rooftops." Of course he's not saying much that anyone else couldn't find out on their own so it's not like he's giving up much by saying this. "What have you been hearing?"
"I'm perhaps no angel either. I use a fair amount of trickery myself," Eva says, still seeming as if she's apologizing. ".... I guess I mean more, like, turning on a partner in a fight. Not techniques. I'd be a hypocrite if I meant otherwise." Her own style of fighting has its own murky roots, after all. "Yeah. That's what I appreciate, though, I am a little embarrassed by my actions during the first round. However, I made a promise to a friend I'd get on at any cost, so..." She trails off with a small shrug.
"I do intend to help you where I can, both on the ship and off." A terrorist, this Seishirou fellow. This fits in with Arika's passing comment of it all being a sort of 'cult'. "I will take note of the latter. As for what I've heard... it seems to be a cult of some sort. Maybe not in the literal sense, but.... It's rather strange, don't you think, for a tournament to be held on a boat like this? It's like something out of a science fiction novel." Or a horror novel, but so far the monsters have declined to come out.
"I'm not exactly sure it's a cult but I'll keep on the look out for that possibility." Aranha says it with a neutral expression but for some reason he imagines Mr. Big laughing at this back at Geese Tower but as an observer he has to take all information objectively and when he knows more, be better able to sift through the inaccurate until he's left with nothing but the truth.
"Also you should probably be careful, there's some heavy people here. I saw a few fighters I know who will not hesitate to mess you up if they think that you're in their way. I recommend you have people you trust around you as often as possible."
"They may even just be rumors planted in order to make people feel antsy about the tournament, so even that should be taken with a grain of salt. All this mystery may just be a way to make the tournament seem more.... dramatic. It may turn out to be as hollow as the premise for a reality TV show." Especially with all the cameras around.
"I will be careful. You should do the same. If you need someone to watch your back, let me know. The ability to rest easy can be something that someone may attempt to take advantage of, if it becomes that sort of tournament." She glances worriedly around. "Then again, I've never been to a fight where a person was confined to one spot. But, perhaps, that's just the mystery of it all, is it not?" As for people wanting to mess her up? "You really are a good soul. I promise I will not let my guard down." Giving Aranha that amiable smile (as if it was lacking this entire time!), Eva waves. "I'd better get going. There's a lot more of this ship that I haven't been able to explore. If I find anything, I will be sure to tell you. Take care." With that, the girl walks off, walking down the boardwalk before disappearing through a door to the inside of the ship.
He was hoping she would say something like that. He knew as long as members of Blackjack were around he'd need someone watching his back. He has fought two members of that group and he has a general idea of what to expect. It was why he went along with her request. He not only saw a way for him to almost guarantee a win(he wasn't exactly certain how the ninja would've viewed it) he also saw a way of getting one or two people to watch his back as well.
Of course he had to keep in mind that this might've been an elaborate set up so he won't rest as easily as Eva might but it was better than what he had before. Being a lone operative with not even the possibility of someone looking out for him.
As he watched her leave he wished that he was able to anticipate it being on the ship. Not knowing where the venue would be gave him the disadvantage of not being able to prep himself by getting together his tools or clothing. When she was out of sight he finally spoke once more. "A good soul... I only wish that were actually true."
Log created on 20:08:54 08/24/2007 by Aranha, and last modified on 00:48:23 08/30/2007.