Description: Objective: Another gig at an old shinto shrine. Obstacle: Enigmatic... guitar player. Alias: Miko-san. Summary: It worked so good the first time, she just had to try it again! Ayame's up to her usual theft and swindling hijinks when she ends up trying to swipe something from the wrong person. The girl discovers that for as ruthless as she may be, there are others that operate on with even less moral inhibition than she does...
Even with something that resembles an income from her latest escapades, Ayame still can't help herself. Without school to attend or a full time job to keep her busy day by day, the girl fills her idle time with one problem creating disaster after another and this afternoon is no different.
An old shrine on the edge of a residential neighborhood in Southtown serves as the perfect staging for her next idea. Situtated at the top of a hill, the run down joint is reached via a long flight of stone steps leading up from the street below. The place has been there for years - refuge for those seeking tranquility, sanctuary for a passing migrant in need of shelther from a passing storm. No one even knows who owns it anymore. It's just always Been, and has continued to Be, and that's all anyone who knows of it cares to know.
But today something is different. Down at the level of the street where the stairs meet the tree covered sidewalk, a sign has been posted: Shrine Restoration Project In Progress, Please Visit. It's drawn the occasional resident of Southtown to head on up the stairs to see what all the fuss is about. Just like Ayame wanted...
At the top of the stairs waits a girl clad in the perfect image of a stereotypical miko, white, long sleeved top and red hakama, with long, strawberry blonde hair beribboned by a white ribbon tied into a large bow. The kindly miko stays right near the top of the stairs to greet those who make their way up to see what is going on. Right next to her is a box with a slot atop a stand and a sign that reads: Your Donations Make All The Difference, with an arrow pointing down at the slot.
Ayame beams at a middle aged woman who is on her way to leave, having checked out the newly cleaned up courtyard, trimmed plants, and slightly refurbished shrine building. Ayame was busy this morning. The red-blonde miko stops the woman on her way toward the stairs to head back down, chatting with her briefly, gesturing toward the donation box frequently. Finally the woman relents, sliding in a few bills to the box and Ayame reaches out her hand to grasp the woman's with a gesture of appreciation...
With any luck, the woman won't even notice two of her rings have gone missing until she's well away from here. As the 'honored guest' heads back down the stairs, Ayame pockets the rings somewhere in those flowing clothes of hers. Yeah, this is going to be a great day she grins to herself.
With her stay in Southtown extended to a more permanent basis, the likes of the silver-haired French girl recently showing up in episodes of Saturday Night Fight and invading the campus of Pacific High for no other reason than seeking a little fun has decided to do a little more with her free time. While getting the chance to fight and brawl constantly with Mao is a positive in a boatload of negatives, it does mean she gets to see a little more of the city's culture, including places like this.
This being the perfect example of Japanese culture in what seems to largely be an American city, a shrine at the outskirts.
And standing at the foot of the stairs now is Cherise Bouchard, holding an accordion-fold paper map of the city, with various locations circled and marked. With autumn lingering overhead, she's taken to wearing a dress with sleeves, though the design of her attire has largely unchanged, including those two simple but well-cared for gold bracelets around either wrist. Walking up the stairs at a decent clip, she folds the map up once she reaches the top and scans around with well-trained eyes.
Her first thought, it's a dump.
But a restoration project is going on here?
Cherise's jaw lulls from side to side, looking to be lost in thought.
Ayame leans her head back and forth as she waits idly near the top of the stairs, back leaning against a wall just out of sight from anyone ascending up to the hill top temple. The only downside with this scheme is the downtime between visitors. She gets bored fast. But the sound of shoes coming down against the old stone steps gets her attention and she spins back into view from out behind the wall, hands already pressed together in front of her in a 'praying' gesture as she looks Cherise over.
Nothing too much of note about this latest 'client', Ayame muses, except for the wrist jewelry. The bracelets look simple but golden all the same, making them worth her time though. The girl visibly perks up - presenting a friendly, cheerful demeanor as she lowers her hands and bows toward Cherise. "Welcome to the Kimarimonku Jinja," the girl beams. "Please excuse the state of things, we're still undergoing the early phases of a restoration project to bring this community landmark back into the condition that it should be."
She leans her head to the side, studying Cherise further, "That is a lovely dress you're wearing today, Miss," the girl comments after a moment. She reaches a hand out to brush lightly along one of Cherise's sleeves as if merely curious as to the nature of the fabric. But the gesture quickly turns into Ayame trying to take hold of both of Cherise's hands in her own. "Let me leave you with a blessing for your trouble in stopping by..."
It goes without saying that in the midst of all that, she would be trying to swipe those two bracelets to boot. Shaming real mikos world-wide, Ayame doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. Religion is all a sham to her anyway!
And here, the French girl looks amused-- perpetually, one could say, though to elevating degrees. And the typical shrine maiden type there to collect donations! If only she had the faith and belief structure that could support any sort of religious outlook, she would be touched! But instead, it comes out as a short squeal: "You're so cute!" she blurts in her native French.
The well-dressed tourist seems to have no qualms to the shrine's miko touching her clothes, allowing for the smooth touch to graze her arm without reservation. But as her fingers touch the bracelets around her wrists, the smooth motion trying to remove them-- it'd be like trying to rob someone of an eyeball, to Cherise. Those bracelets are her weapons, the first of only a very scant few of her true friends in the world.
And so they're met with resistance as her hands roll, blocking the initial attempt at thieving the apparent accessories, smiling so kindly as she regards Ayame-- and seems to be playing along with the game. "Oh, please do! You know, I would love to learn so much more about this place." Cherise adds, looking to grab and hold Ayame's hands in a most kind manner. "I'd love for you to steal my inexperience of this fine country from me."
Unnaturally creepy smile.
Wait, did she just-? Ayame's hands are caught by the foreigner's grasp. It would be easy to pull herself away, or so it seems due to the loose nature of Cherise's hold, but that would look strange, as much as the girl would like to put a bit of distance between her and the woman now. At first she isn't sure if the guest caught her attempt to relieve her of those twin bracelets, but the words that come next put her on a bit of an edge.
Ah yes, the tour. She's had to do that on occasion and she is quiet fluent in all things pertaining to the Shinto shrine. But that doesn't mean she /wants/ to. Especially with the, well, particular diction used in making the request and the smile that goes with it. The thin scars over her hands are noted as Ayame tries to place what kind of profession might explain them. Seamstress? Maybe a really /bad/ one? No, there's something else about the woman that gives her an uneasy vibe. Safe to say, she's escalated Cherise's threat level to condition Yellow.
On the surface there seems to be almost no change though. Her soft brown eyes narrowed just slightly, revealing a hint of wariness, but otherwise the shrine maiden simply stands there for a moment, her hands in Cherise's, maintaining the same bright, cheerful smile she did from the start. "Oh really? That's wonderful." the long haired girl replies, sounding sincere. "There's nothing I like more than sating the interests of those who would like to know more about this site or anything that pertains to it." There's a bold faced lie if one has ever been made.
When she pulls herself away now, it's done with calm poise, "Not everything is ready to be shown, but I would be happy to point out a few of the noteworthy things and answer any questions you might have." Why does she feel like she's the one in danger right now, she muses. Maybe the woman has /her/ marked for causing trouble with. Maybe it's a sixth sense tipping her off. She'll have to shake her quickly. Maybe make it clear that she isn't a target one can get away with mugging!
"It always makes me happy to tell visitors more about these things. I've been training for this kind of thing all my life," she remarks with a quiet smile as she turns to face the rest of the courtyard, her tone casual, relaxed, as if just striking up a topic at random. "Did you know at some temples, mikos are trained fighters as well?" Yeah, that's right. She's dangerous. Shouldn't be attacked. Rar!
If only the young pretend miko had asked, she would be more than happy to give the reason she's given so many over time, those that don't recognize her for her appearances and her skills, whatever rumors there may be. A guitarist! An instrument she rushed herself into learning only about a year ago, but she'll claim it was since childhood.
And guitar strings can be harsh on a player's fingers, you know!
"Ah, I see. That's very good of you!" About helping out, that is, answering questions.
But then, perhaps, Ayame makes a most fatal mistake: 'Mikos are trained fighters, as well.' Pearly white teeth appear as a cutting smile forms across her face. If there was fear to be held in the French girl before, now it becomes clear she has none. Or she's out of her mind. "I hope you can fight better than you pickpocket."
And then just like that, she hurries a few steps ahead of the so-called miko and stands before one of the shrine's buildings. "Oh, I just love this archetecture!"
Okay, that wasn't the reaction she was looking for at all. Rather than dissuading the young woman with the French accent it seems all she did was provoke her further. Ayame is left behind as Cherise moves on to look at a building to the side more close up. Called a pickpocket and had her fighting skill questioned all in the same line? Inwardly she seeths. Outwardly she looks aghast, hand coming up to rest against her cheek, "I-I- don't know what you're talking about." Such a bold accusation! And against such an innocent shrine maiden at that!
The faux miko doesn't remain behind for long though as she hurries to catch up with Cherise. If one listens carefully, there's the subtle sound of metal ringing beneath her clothing as she moves around. Hard to hear beneath the rustle of the concealing priestess attire, of course.
"Ah, yes, this building will house a very nice fountain once it has been restored," the girl states, her voice more calm now as Ayame tries to shift mental gears to keep up with Cherise. Which is a bit of a challenge as the foreigner seems to topic hop rather eccentrically.
One hand clasps behind her back while her other hand comes up to her mouth, clenched into a loose fist, which she coughs into. "You know," she really shouldn't do this, but... "It normally wouldn't be appropriate, but..." Ayame continues, clearly picking her words carefully.
"...I mean, normally I should be busy tending to cleaning between visitors, but..." She lowers her hand down to her back to clasp with her other one. "... were a generous enough donation to be on the line, I'm sure the gods would forgive me if I..." Her expression remains consistantly bright, as if thinking of only the purest intent. "...were to provide a demonstration of the training we are given when growing up..." She coughs again, shaking her head just a little. "I mean, just if you're curious of course."
Challenging someone to a fight for money on sacred ground while pretending to be a miko? One has to dig pretty deep to find a low Ayame won't sink to, it would seem.
"Yes you do."
Spoken as casually and calmly as stating one's intent to go to the store to pick up the milk and eggs, Cherise's accusations hang in the air, but Ayame's moved on. And with her hand reached out to touch a post of the building, the French girl's gears are turning at high speed in her mind, thinking about all the things that've been said, what's been done, and what has yet to be done.
"Will it be done traditionally? Or will you use modern construction?"
But then she turns a little to face the thieving 'miko,' "Of course I am curious. But I have brought no money with me today, I walked the whole way. And there is no mention on your sign as to who is going to handle the reconstruction efforts, you would expect a company to be interested in restoring such important landmarks. Won't it be hard to do a demonstration in such clothes?" All questions, all asked at once, all without skipping a beat.
Cherise steps in close, looking to hook her arms around the blonde priestess' own, to lean in close with a chipper smile. "I won't hold back if you won't."
Ultra super creepy smile.
"A-ah, everything will be done as traditionally as possible, of course, but sometimes there's limits to-" And then Cherise is facing her and the questioning is all over the place. No money? Gah! "Oh, of course-" she tries to indicate the lack of ability to donate shouldn't be held against the young woman. "It's contracted with-" she stammers, struggling to keep up. "It's actually similar to the clothing I wore when I was taught the-"
Too busy trying to keep up with Cherise's questions and failing, Ayame finds her arms held by the gray haired foreigner before she even realizes Cherise was stepping in closer. The thieving priestess stares back for a moment, brown eyes widened as if frightened as she mentally shifts gears once again. Lacking money, Cherise has been categorized as merely an annoyance now rather than a source of profit. There's no point in keeping up an act when there's nothing to be gained...
Her expression darkens, innocense blending away to reveal a darker mood, her smile melting into a tight lipped, stern expression. "I think it would be good for you to leave now," she states as her only warning before she tries to twist the hold on her arms back around on Cherise so that she can pull the foreigner forward and flip her to the ground into a seated position. If successful, Ayame will drop down to one knee behind Cherise and attempt to lock her arm in around her guest's neck, "Don't you agree?"
COMBATSYS: Ayame has started a fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Cherise has joined the fight here.
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Cherise 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Ayame
COMBATSYS: Cherise blocks Ayame's Medium Throw.
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Cherise 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Ayame
For some, there's a point when such a dark expression and a reaction like that would strike fear into the hearts of man. They'd realize she's dangerous, that something was wholly wrong-- and then they would heed that advice and flee for the hills as soon as possible.
But Cherise Bouchard is not that person.
Her arm seized and twisted, the foreign woman lands not seated, but in a kneel-- and as she flips over in the air, there's an odd swish noise beyond Ayame's ear. Her right forearm comes up to defend against what comes next, and a few flicks of her left wrist brings a few glints of silver into the pretend miko's vision-- a few dangerous glints of silver that seek to drop below eye level and -tighten- around her neck.
Should that wire get a good grip, Cherise will thrust her hips back into Ayame's own, grabbing the constricting lengths of wire and execute a well-practiced, bastardized judo throw to plant the miko flat into the ground!
COMBATSYS: Cherise successfully hits Ayame with Argent Filament.
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Cherise 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Ayame
The young French woman manages to come out of the quick ambush rather unscathed, much to Ayame's chagrin. But the girl drops down behind her all the same, still intent on locking in that hold if she gets the chance. She doesn't get that chance.
Her eyes catch a glimpse of the wires as they drop down over her beribboned head but by the time she notices them, they've already dropped into place. No matter, she thinks, changing from trying to get a choke hold on Cherise to simply pressing both of her hands against the young woman's back with the intent to put distance between them before she can put those wires to actual use, not even sure where the heck they came from in the first place.
That doens't work out too well either as Cherise seems quite attached to the idea of grabbing those wires and flipping Ayame right over her shoulder, using her hips to knock the girl's stance loose first. Slammed flag onto her back, the strawberry-blonde has started to rapidly re-evaluate Cherise's threat level. Condition Red!
Even lying on her back, though, the girl doesn't seem too worried as she stretches her arms out toward the sides. From somewhere within her oversides, white sleeves two thin metal objects slide into her hands. Flicking them open to reveal twin butterfly knives takes only an instant as the girl is already stabbing upward, attempting to gash Cherise in her leg with both of the blades. Chances are, she didn't pick up that trick /nor/ those weapons from the local friendly priestess outlet, to say the least.
COMBATSYS: Cherise endures Ayame's Medium Strike!
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Cherise 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Ayame
Condition Red is putting it mildly-- even when Ayame's weapons come out, Cherise's expression only becomes more leering, deranged. So she uses knives, too! Not flinching, not moving away, not making one single attempt to dodge, the French 'tourist' finally cannot smile any wider. And so ... she laughs.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"
And just like that, aimed downward, her arm whips hard. Blades of silver energy trace in the air, thin as paper as they arc down to slam into Ayame from above. And these are no mere projections... these deliver a jolting burst to the nerves, as well as being able to shred clothing and, most importantly, flesh!
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA~!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Cherise's Argent Claw.
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Cherise 0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0 Ayame
There's only one other person Ayame has ever fought who was so indifferent about getting slashed, and that was Elle Belmounte. But even in that case, the woman didn't seem /amused/ by having her skin torn by sharp blades, her blood allowed to floor from gashes left in the wake of Ayame's strikes, so much as she merely survived through them to get the job done.
Cherise's reaction, on the other hand, is something else entirely and it tells the thieving girl that she's not going to scare her with just a flashy show of sharp objects like most people. No, she's really got to get the heck away. Pulling one bloodied knife back quickly, she swipes it near her own throat, attempting to rid her neck of any of those risidual wires she got snared by a moment ago. And in the next instant she's rolling to the side, just barely avoiding the shreading blades of light that were targetted for her.
The roll ends in a crouch as Ayame braces herself, glaring back at the foreigner, "What's so funny?! You just got slashed!" she points out, just in case the woman hadn't, um, noticed her leg bleeding. The girl's hands disappear beneath her sleeves with the accompanying sound of those twin knives being flicked closed and when they come out again they have something new. Her right hand holds a metal, pointed weight. Her left hand holds a coil of very thin cabling not unlike the gossamer wires Cherise just attacked her with moments bofore, but not quite so fine.
Bringing her hands together, she clips the weight onto a ring at one end of the cable than rises up to her feet, now weilding a quickly assembled rope dart, the cabling stretched between both her hands as she begins to whirl the weight in a verticle path at her side. "You're just going to get more hurt if you stick around," she warns. And as if to back up that threat, the girl takes a step forward, spinning her whole body around as her foot comes up and kicks the weight back toward Cherise with a really fast straight shot for her forehead.
The girl takes a second step, bringing her right hand up over her head as she pulls the dart back before spinning it out a second time with a side sweeping arc also leveled at the head of the clearly amused foreigner. Maybe she figures a couple of clonks will get her to stop laughing like that!
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Cherise with Cruel Barb.
Glancing Blow
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Cherise 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Ayame
A long, twisted history, pain, endorphins, and a twisted psychological mess of a nineteen-year old. This... is Ayame's opponent.
"I know." She says it calmly, though trembling with something that may just be excitement. Cherise doesn't even bother to look down at the gashes in the exposed length of her thigh, though for a moment she considers something. No, better to save that for later.
Her wires never stay in one place for too long, but having a knife used to start hacking and chopping away at her favored metallic threads is enough to sour her excited mood-- or at least in part, her eyebrows running together in a little bit of fury mingled with her joy. And Ayame, as tender of a soul as she tries to be or feigns trying to be... from the way she stands there, it seems like she doesn't care.
The first cast of the weight catches her across the forehead, her head snapping back as she takes a step to the side, situating herself a bit better to watch the second throw-- and ducking hard to the right in the process.
Taking a quick step or two, Cherise manuvers herself in close to Ayame, pressing down hard on the balls of her left foot. Her right leg lifts reasonably high reasonably fast, the toe of her boot looking to wrack itself right up under the thief's jaw like she were throwing a rather mean uppercut!
COMBATSYS: Ayame fails to counter Heavy Kick from Cherise with Random Weapon.
- Power fail! -
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Cherise 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
Ayame manages to ping Cherise with the first swing which she thought would make it easy to land the second swing as well, the rope dart whistling through the air as it ends up skimming right over the other girl's head. Grr.
Spinning around again as she pulls the dart back with her left hand to let it fall to the ground behind her, her right hand is already reaching within the folds of her miko attire and withdrawing a heavier folded metal object that unfurls to reveal itself as an iron Japanese War Fan with serrated edges and all.
And it's that fan that she brings up in an attempt to clip Cherise's leg from the side and knock it aside to open her up for a follow up strike. But it looks like it's not to be as she comes up just a split second shy of connecting before the boot covered toe cracks her hard in the jaw, sending the girl reeling backward, her stance shattered along with all of her momentum lost as she drops to the ground on her back with a gasp.
That one hurt. She's slow to even start rolling over, seeing stars after that last strike.
In her mind, she sees that one as a kick that even Mao could be proud of-- the sharp kick straight up, ringing the girl's bells and sending her back down to the ground. That long, sturdy leg arcs around slowly until it returns to the ground, heels together. As for Cherise herself, she stands there, the toothy leering smile degraded to a simple broad tight-lipped grin.
"You have such cute toys. But you should have spent your time practicing with a select few weapons rather than so many, you know?"
She leans forward a little, her hands at rest on her slightly-bent knees. "A thief in maiden's clothing. Hmm... I wonder who you really are? A costumer? Perhaps you need money to pay off debts? No, no, that couldn't be it... could it?"
Her eyes become piercing now, looking through her actions and style, her attitude... even considering her style of pickpocketing. "But you're no killer, I can see that much."
Straightening up again, the French girl brings a hand to her ear, scooping a short length of silvery hair over her ear. "But you're so adorable! Show me more!"
COMBATSYS: Cherise focuses on her next action.
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Cherise 0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0 Ayame
Cherise has all the time in the world to talk while Ayame rolls over onto her side then pushes herself back up to her feet, gritting at the other girl. She takes the time to fold the fan closed and slip it back into a hidden sheath somewhere near her neckline. Both hands get busy recoiling the rope dart's cable then, lest she end up getting tangled up in it by not taking the time to recover properly from that fall.
Her darkened expression shifts a little, mouth twitching slightly as she seeths. Her tools referred to as toys? That's highly inappropriate! The foreigner might be accurate in her evaluation of Ayame's makeshift style of tossing so many weapons together and throwing out whatever comes to mind. While she has speed on her side and those weapons do hurt, there's been a certain lack of more root level basic skills displayed as if she gets by a lot on impromptu attacks and hoping things work out.
Her mouth twitches as Cherise goes on to speculate about her background - why she would be doing this and what her motivations would be. "Che," the girl replies, sounding annoyed now, not happy about having been knocked for a loop by that last kick. But she isn't charging back at Cherise either. Not a killer, the young woman accertains. Ayame blinks at that, realizing that she doesn't even know. She's never killed anyone to date, but she also never thought she would care if she had to... "What do you know," she replies with petulance. There's not supposed to be anything cute about what she's trying to do to the woman after all!
As if to demonstrate the point, Ayame reaches over her shoulder pulling a long metal object from a sheath hidden on her back. The object she pulls forward looks, at first glance, like four blades all attached at a ring, but as Ayame flicks the weapon out to the side, the blades split up, forming right angles to each other, still connected at the center by the ring.
A large, bladed shuriken, Ayame sends it spinning for Cherise's torso like a bladed, deadly discus. "Catch," she snaps. She'll teach her to make comments on her weapons!
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Cherise with Large Thrown Object.
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Cherise 1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0 Ayame
A rather interesting weapon that she's using now-- the opening, unfolding blades of that large shuriken. And her throw is faster than Cherise had anticipated initially, her eyes widening at the strength and accuracy of the throw-- all the more as it flies end over end and plants hard into her left shoulder. It seems now she realizes that she's been hurt, and hurt pretty well.
Her shoulder jerks back, a gasp escapes her, and she staggers steps and steps away. Firmly lodged in and firmly uncomfortable, it drives Cherise to a point of anger -and- insanity, reaching up and simply -ripping- the weapon out of her shoulder. Her mouth is no longer grins or smiles, but a flat line, her eyes wide and imposing. Blood gushes from the wound, but she doesn't seem to care-- in fact, she starts moving towards the thieving miko with her arm rearing up. Wire seeks to briefly snare Ayame around the wrist, pulling her arm horizontal and unsteadying the miko further-- before she hurries back in and hooks her arm up, slamming her fist into the blonde's ribs. And on impact, a massive burst of silver-- a direct jolt to the nerves, rocking her as hard as possible... before another flick of the wrist to free her wires and keep them away from that pesky knife.
COMBATSYS: Ayame blocks Cherise's Argent Striker.
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Cherise 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
Haha! Take that! The giant spinning weapon of death sinks in a pretty harsh blow to the other girl's shoulder and Ayame smirks back. "They're not toys," she remarks quite dryly, thinking she's proved her point. Comment on her style, will you?!
In fact she's already starting to think about what the next weapon in her arsenal should be brought to bear when Cherise is coming in at her again, lashing out with those wires again. She catches Ayame's wrist, snaring her arm and yanking the girl's limb to the side, leaving her open to the incoming blow as she's stuck in a position that would be awkward to defend from.
Hissing as the thin cords cut into her skin as she tries to fight back, her other hand lashes out with a loop of that rope dart's cabling and wraps around Cherise's incoming arm, catching at the elbow at the same moment Ayame pulls the rope taut, stopping Cherise's clenched fist from ever reaching the girl and leaving the two girls tangled up in each other's wires and cabling, neither in a very great position to defend themselves.
But the faux miko hardly cares, her mouth tight lipped and neutral now as she realizes how precariously close she came to getting struck hard. As her opponent starts to pull away, releasing Ayame's wrist from the wires, the blonde decides to help her in that endeavor with a swift side kick aimed for Cherise's stomach. Incoming, one sandle clad foot as she tries to knock Cherise's stance unsteady though lacking the power to knock her clean off her feet. "YA!"
COMBATSYS: Cherise blocks Ayame's Light Kick.
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Cherise 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
An interesting collision of wires and wires, of two people with exotic weaponry locked in battle. Cherise's jaw tightens as she pulls against the tensile strength of that wire. But she manages to escape regardless, although the thieving miko manages to throw a kick her way. Cherise's arm comes up to pad the blow, catching it across her forearm while taking a step back.
Cherise's arm thrusts straight ahead, her eyes narrowing and hand becoming somewhat rigid-- rigid enough to feel like a knife, jabbing upward and aimed to strike Ayame in the throat. With the lack of hesitation, the speed, the strength... it'll probably keep her from breathing that well for a little while.
"I think I like your toys now!" she yells as she strikes, a grin starting to form once again.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Cherise's Quick Punch.
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Cherise 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Ayame
As Cherise slips free of the binding around her elbow, Ayame braces herself, hands coming up, clenched fist. Her left hand still has a coil of the cable wrapped around it but her right hand is free, wrist still hurting from when the French girl cut it bad with those wires of hers.
But in the moment the stabbing hand jabs for her throat, Ayame moves her head to the side, slipping out of harm's way just barely in time from the fast strike. "Two point three centimeters to the left would have done it," she remarks, critiquing Cherise's style now it would seem. "Not a bad try though."
Oh ho, look who's getting confident just because she managed to not have her throat stabbed by someone's fingers! Her right hand comes up behind her head, fingers clasping around the end of that white ribbon that was supposed to help with the pure and innocent miko act. "But as I warned you..." A tug pulls the large bow undone at the same time she lashes her right arm forward, attempting to snare the ribbon around Cherise's neck and draw it up tightly, pulling on both ends with her hands and pushing her foot against the girl's stomach to push her away while maintaining the garrote. "They're not toys!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Cherise with Strong Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Cherise 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\0 Ayame
An excellent lean-- and an excellent analysis. Cherise is impressed, and it shows with the faint hint in her expression, the look in her eyes. Still, she's stuck in a bad position, and the so-called maiden has quite the upper hand on her now. Stuck in the swing of her 'punch,' Cherise's body tenses as the ribbon whips around at her throat. The French girl tilts, leans-- moves to get away. The ribbon is tenacious and well-aimed, however, and she finds herself with an accessory used to choke her.
Somewhat ironic.
The cloth is a very useful weapon at a time like this, the tension quickly constricting her throat. This is doubled as Ayame's foot -slams- into her stomach, what little precious oxygen blasted clear out of her throat.
Unable to inhale, her face starts turning a little red, the veins in her neck and across the backs of her hands starting to bulge as they claw at the ribbon choking her.
Cherise pulls as hard as she can, thrusting a foot back to try to simply wrench the ribbon out of Ayame's grasp, getting a little room to breathe... as well as letting her right arm whip back a good distance. The air flashes silver, the tiny golden weight glinting in the light. And... her arm whips forward, pointing at the thief girl. The wire fires a straight line with a distinctly audible *crak!*, the length of the wire trying to wrap around Ayame's throat tighter than the ribbon possibly could.
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Cherise's Argent Sniper.
[ \\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Cherise 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Ayame
The blonde haired girl's grip on the ribbons was pretty hastily done due to the quick speed she needed to use to land it, so when Cherise finally slams her leg out behind her and puts enough force into it, the girl lets go of the garrote in order to let herself keep her distance from the foreigner. But she saw the impact her stranglehold had on this tenacious fighter and she knows that it hasn't left Cherise with much strength left.
Strengths and weaknesses of the human body are something she's familiar enough with, having memorized enough charts on pressure points and the degrees and angles joints and bend and now long someone can go without breathing and how hard to crush to suffocate someone without breaking their wind pipe. And Cherise didn't have long. Ayame's mouth curls into a bit of a malevolent smile, "You cut it close," she remarks. Would she have gone all the way? Cherise didn't think she was a killer, but maybe there is a spark for such a dark trade in the girl's mind.
But Ayame isn't just standing still either. The moment the ribbon is wrenched free from her hands, she's leaping backward. Not quite as quick as she would be in less bulky clothing, she's still far more agile than most could ever hope to be.
And this time, when the wires are sent her way, she's aware of the attack. She's already been dealing with those entangling weapons of Cherise's the whole fight now, and she won't be caught off guard quite like she was from the beginning. Her eyes trace the movement of Cherise's arm rather than trying to spot the sharp, thin wires whipping through the air. It's only her understanding of the physics at play and a bit of luck in her predictions that let her avoid the lashing wires aiming for her neck sight unseen.
Waiting until the last instant to duck and weave again, the wires cracking through the air just over the top of her head, even snaring some of her hair and pulling strands out as Ayame makes it to the side otherwise unscathed. Waiting to the right moment to move required her hanging back for a moment but then she's back on the offense, leaning forward to charge, trying to slip in under Cherise's recovery from the whipping wires. "But now we have matters to discuss... if you're still alive after the next five and a half seconds."
Ayame's hands disappear into her sleeves as she makes the lunge, leaping forward hard into Cherise. When they become visible again, there's those butterfly knives in her hands again. The combination that comes next is brutal as Ayame attempts to spear each knive into one of Cherise's sides, bringing her leg up with a swift knee for the other girl's stomach, before she drops back down on her two feet.
In the end, she'll flip the knife in her right hand upside down, freeing up her top two fingers, which will lash out to hook Cherise by the collar of her dress and pull her in closer.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Cherise with Assault and Battery.
[ \ < > //////////////// ]
Cherise 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Ayame
'I miscalculated.'
The first two words in Cherise's mind as Ayame ducks, darts ahead, and hands disappear into long and fluffy sleeves. Her wrists flick and roll to spool back to the source, trying to position herself in a way she can step aside, catch the blow, and counterattack all in one motion. Unfortunately for her, things don't go as she predicted. Things don't go as she planned.
That visceral shudder of hard muscle clenching, positively clamping down on the steel buried in her sides is transmitted, all the more as she's kneed hard in the stomach. The strength in her knees seems to disappear, collapsing as it seems like her wounds start catching up-- the bloody hole in her shoulder, the splits in her sides. Her head tips back as her collar is seized, her face still painted with a magnificent and quite deranged smile.
With the rigidity of a knife, Cherise's index and middle finger press together, driving upward and ahead with the intent to drive a rather stunning blow into Ayame's solar plexus, much harder than one would expect given her condition...
COMBATSYS: Cherise can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Ayame counters Vital Striker from Cherise with Random Weapon.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Ayame 0/-------/-======|
Under better conditions, Ayame would not be in such a position to defend herself as she pulls Cherise in closer, convinced that the foreigner has been pushed beyond the edge of being able to fight any longer. But then there's that movement again - that last, desperate hope to deliver a devestating strike to the girl and shatter something vital enough to take her out of the fight.
But from Ayame's left hand that knife is released, left to stick out of Cherise's side as the limb darts back. In one smooth motion she brushes her left hand into her top near her neckline, retrieves the War Fan from before, and flicks it down and open, placing it directly into the path of Cherise's stabbing fingers. The force of the impact is enough to drive the fan hard against Ayame's torso and right at the point where Cherise's fingers met the solid iron, there's a bit of a dent. But Ayame herself is unphased. She simply keeps the fan in place as a shield and a dangerous warning that any further attempts to fight might result in her using its sharp edges offensively rather than defensively.
Her lips tighten into a thin smile then as she shakes her head slowly with a 'Ah, ah, ah,' expression, her right hand's fingers still hooked around Cherise's collar. The girl tenses her right arm's muscles with enough strength to keep Cherise upright, albeit barely, as she draws her face in closer to look at her intently. Her smile fades as she notices the strange, out of place smile still on the French girl's lips. "What're you so happy about?" she snaps. "You were partially right earlier. I've never killed anyone. It's just... never really been useful to me at the time. And you're lucky that it still isn't right now."
She's quiet then, her expression intense as she pauses for a moment before continuing. "But I get the impression the same isn't true with you. Your techniques... they aren't the kind of attacks one would pull in a friendly fight. I saw where you were aiming."
Then come the questions. "Who are you? Where did you learn something like that? How does someone get a job like that? Do you work for someone?" She's intently curious it seems about this strange mystery woman. Maybe she's considering a career in that direction!
Two fingers, a harsh push-- and a narrow defense from a technique that would have only gone downhill for Ayame, there. Knifed something like four times and catching a shuriken with her shoulder was painful, yes, but as many have seen? This strange girl with premature gray hair is tenacious, almost to a superhuman point. Some asked her how she managed to survive grenades and a building falling on her, and her one and only response?
'I'm immortal.'
Her fingers dropping from the surface of the fan, it looks as though the French girl won't be retaliating anytime soon-- if she can even manage to walk away from this in one piece. Certainly her new employer won't take kindly to the extent of her injuries, either.
And now that she's asked, Cherise would be more than happy to give that reason now, that reason she's given so many times since her tourism year has begun. The reason used for those who don't recognize her for her appearances, skills, or rumors:
"I am a self-employed guitarist, of course! I'm on vacation." Though her thickened French accent and injuries make her ability to speak out about her past a little more difficult, Cherise's answer will be the same every time. Though they seem to almost be the same age, the two are vastly different: One's a thief, the other is a true blue murderer.
Not that she'd go around admitting it to everyone.
"Besides... you would not be cut out for this sort of work."
"Self-employed guitarist..." Ayame repeats back calmly. "On vacation." she adds after a moment, chewing that over for a long moment. Her expression maintains that thin smile, though it seems just a bit more strained now.
"I'm not cut out for playing a guitar?" she asks after a moment, one eyebrow quirked up just slightly, her expression becoming just a bit more bemused at the cover story and the dismissal.
"Perhaps you're right. I've never felt the need for musical expertise myself. But I wonder, if, perhaps, I needed a musician's touch for something... are you reachable?" She leans her head back and forth for a moment, but maintains her fingers hooked into Cherise's coller. "You know, like, the odd job here or there."
"What is going on here?!" comes the startled outburst of a middle aged man who crested the stairs to the shrine only a few moments prior. While there were no witnesses to the fight itself, the aftermath seems to have caught one person's attention at least. Cherise, bloody and cut up, Ayame with her torn wrist and cuts around her neck... weapons strewn all about, including multiple ones in the hand of what looks to be a shrine maiden just finished brutalizing some poor foreign girl.
Ayame snaps her head to the side, brow furrowing, brown eyes glaring. "She didn't want to leave a donation. Now get out of here before you're next!" Ah, yes, Ayame is all out of 'pretending to be sweet' mojo for today, it seems. The fan is folded closed and slipped back into its hidden holster within her concealing miko attire. The left knife is pulled out of Cherise's left side, but Ayame pauses to wipe the bloody blade against the French girl's dress on both sides, cleaning it off a bit, before flicking it closed, her hand disappearing into her sleeve to put it away.
And finally, her right fingers release Cherise's collar, allowing her to slump to the ground if she hasn't regained the strenght to stand yet. The right knife is flicked closed and then stowed away as well. "Your wire techniques... very interesting. Must come from a lot of guitar playing," she remarks idly as she begins coiling up the rope dart's rope over her left hand next.
"No, you aren't."
Spoken as matter-of-factly as her comments about Ayame's pickpocketing skills, the French wire assassin-claimed-guitarist lulls her eyes back, her head tilting from side to side. "I hate to disappoint you, my pet, but I am someone else's dog."
And then some poor soul interrupts them. With a gaping hole in her shoulder, blood trailing from gashes on her thighs, and a knife hanging out of the left side of her torso, Cherise lifts her hand to give a wave, fingers wiggling and smile sparkling. "Hello!" she calls, right in time with Ayame's shouts. Her head swivels back to the apparent victor of this exchange, lips parted only the slightest of amounts and letting a hiss of air be drawn between her teeth while the knife is removed with a bit more blood soaking around the hole in her side, and she doesn't seem to mind having it wiped clean on her garments-- lord only knows she has more dresses of the same style lingering around.
When Ayame releases her, Cherise sinks back to first sit on her heels, then pitch over to one side.
"You... have no ... idea..." she breathes, slowing down a bit. "Aaah... Japanese ... grounds... they're so uncomfortable." Her eyes lid halfway, her grin still wide. "And the skill with your toys is... quite... respectable. It doesn't feel like I've been stabbed in vital spots. Heh... you still have much to learn."
"If you are still alive when I'm back on my feet, I think I may be able to show you something."
The girl takes a few steps over to the side, picking up that strange, gigantic shuriken she hurled earlier, collapsing it down to a single blade and sliding it into its sheath hidden on her back beneath the clothing.
She isn't ignoring Cherise though. Quite the contrary, her eyes fixed on the foreigner as she continues her clean up regimen. Sure, she calls all of her weapons toys again. And for the casual way Ayame handles them? It's /almost/ an accurate way to describe the deadly implements of pain infliction depending on the way one looks at them. This time she doesn't even complain about the moniker.
Cherise is right though. In the frantic fight, Ayame failed to strike anywhere vital, falling back on just chucking everything but the kitchen sink at her opponent, letting what land land, and what missed miss. Cherise's attacks were far more direct, far more targetted. Ayame has some things to reflect on in that regard.
"Well, unless you cut your vacation short... I have a feeling we'll bump into each other somewhere again. I'd like to see anything you have to show me." Knowledge is power and any chance to refine her techniques, she's going to take. Cherise has something she doesn't. And while the blonde managed to avoid her vicious attacks throughout the fight, Ayame can tell that there's more to be learned from her if she's willing to share. "Until then," she finishes, turning around to walk away, waving one hand over her shoulder as she heads over to retrieve her little donation box. Considering what just happened here, this little gig is up. Time to come up with something new for tomorrow...
Log created on 13:31:56 11/20/2007 by Ayame, and last modified on 05:53:16 11/21/2007.