Description: Aranha's good at aggroing people--people who then send people like Setsuka to teach lessons. The question is, is Aranha gonna learn?
Aranha has been on his best behavior lately. No heists. No pick-pocketing. He has done nothing criminal beyond occasional jay-walking. Of course this isn't to say that there aren't things that he has done as of late that could get him into trouble.
Aranha has a reputation for an occasional smart mouth and it's this reason that he still occasionally gets visits from 'R' in an attempt to make him pay for mouthing off at the head honcho. Most recently, the Dancing Spider had directed his smart mouth at one of the leaders in one of the gangs under Southtown Syndicate when he caught him cheating at cards. While this particular leader was small enough that it would probably beneath Geese Howard's notice and the fact that Aranha didn't do anything to affect Geese's money even on a minor level, he humiliated this particular gangster and he had enough money to hire someone to avenge his pride.
Aranha himself steps out of a sporting goods store sporting a pair of new indoor soccer shoes. After all with all the running he does, during fights and during his training he goes through them quickly. One of the first exercises he performs though is more of a mental one. He looks out and visualizes as many possibilities as he can for his own brand of movement. Perhaps he should probably look for places where he can be ambushed instead.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka has started a fight here.
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Setsuka 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Setsuka
Even gangsters who've lost their bankroll can hire things out. Aranha's a man with something of a reputation--a reputation for a skill with violence. And the gangster, while he has power, doesn't have a -lot- of power. He doesn't have physical power, and his thugs are good for threatening the innocent and the old and the scared. Aranha isn't any of them.
So, sometimes, things get hired out. And when things of this matter get hired out, Setsuka is someone who gets hired. The goal isn't to kill Aranha. It isn't to win a fight. It's to punish him. To cause him pain. Naturally, Setsuka would like to do it without getting hurt... but sometimes that's unavoidable. Besides, it's another fighter. Setsuka isn't even in view; but frankly, he would spot her just a few rows over; her raven hair is unmistakable, though he probably doesn't know her. She seems to be shopping, too... her head disappears from one row to the next row over, her ponytail bouncing.
Not following him, exactly--just there.
Besides, the attack doesn't even come from outside... it's as simple as Setsuka stepping out of the store, blade in hand, sending it stabbing out for Aranha's kidney, an attempt to plunge the tip in and make something painful happen.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka successfully hits Aranha with Quick Strike.
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Aranha 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha catches a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately he doesn't quite read that movement quickly enough to do anything about it. The quick plunge of the blade is threaded right past his arm and towards the kidney causing the capoeirista to jump forward more in surprise than pain. Which wasn't to say it didn't hurt because it stung a bit.
He glances down at the bleeding wound coming out of his tank top before he regards this person who stabbed him a slight glare. In cases like this, where someone is attacking him out of nowhere, it's better to start fighting and ask questions later. He'll either get those answers during the fight or after. Plus he's running under the assumption that this person is "R" anyway.
Aranha takes advantage of the space created by his pained jump forward and attempts to smack the hired blade in the face with an outside crescent kick.
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Setsuka with Short Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Setsuka
She'd been warned that he was fast--and it's certainly true. The kick whips up and around for Setsuka's face, and forces her to turn her head with the impact. But the kick... well, surely that wasn't his strongest. The woman smiles around his foot, and straightens back up. She doesn't say anything yet, mostly because she just wasn't hired to do that. Just to cause him pain. She gazes at him for a moment, a long moment, that smile twitching her lips upwards... and then she blurs forward. In fact, she moves past him, out into the street--not too far, just far enough to give her room to move.
And move she does--the blade returned to its scabbard as she moved, she unleashes it again, slashing outwards at an angle, from left hip to right shoulder. Of course, she's not close enough for the slash to hit, but the hissing, blue-purple arc of Psycho Power will reach, shimmering coldly in the light of the day.
COMBATSYS: Aranha fails to slow Kuukan Zan from Setsuka with Web Shot.
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Aranha 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha's recoil is slightly quicker than the kick itself but it doesn't quite matter when she shoots past him in a blur. He attempts to match Setsuka with her speed but his spin isn't quite quick enough. The arc of energy is the first to come out. The blue spider web of chi never has the chance to fully form before the arc slices it asunder as it continues to cut its path towards his torso.
If Setsuka wanted to cause the capoeirista pain, she has succeeded. As Aranha slowly picks himself off the ground he shakes his head in an attempt to shake off the effects of the foreign energy that had struck him.
A low, rich laugh comes from the woman; she knows how much her psionic power can hurt. And she intends to follow up on the attack, naturally--lunging forward, once again, she keeps her right hand on the hilt of her blade. The rasping sound of the blade sliding from the scabbard rings through the air as she draws the short blade--then it's being sent towards Aranha's shoulder. But this is, in and of itself, partially a feint.
While the blade could hit, it wouldn't, likely, do much more than crease the cloth--the real attack comes a half-moment later, Setsuka planting her left leg as she thrusts her right forward, plunging it for Aranha's stomach in a swift kicking motion. Unlike most fighters, she doesn't bother to kiai, though she was taught to--her attacks are silent, so as not to draw attention.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka successfully hits Aranha with Light Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha buys the feint after all when a blade is coming at you, respect the attack. Attempting to rock away he moves so the blade is about an inch away and that's when he realizes his mistake. He begins to rock back to his original position right as he watches her plant her foot and then she comes forward with a kick. Aranha's foot positioning isn't quite right and so he still catches the kick to his body
The kick forces him to spin away from her and then he leaps forward as he swings a foot for Setsuka's leg.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka blocks Aranha's Aggressive Dance.
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Aranha 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha's kicking foot swings for her leg but it never connects. Instead, it stops a few steps forward before he suddenly swings his his other leg in a chi-engulfed roundhouse for her head, using that first kick to generate momentum to quickly follow up with a spinning jump kick also glowing with blue chi before finishing with a similarly glowing back-flip kick
There are times to be swift and dodge--and there are times to be stoic. This is one of those times. She isn't fooled by the short kick, not at all, despite Aranha's attempt to produce a feint; the chi-enhanced kicks are parried with her forearms, along which she's laid the scabbard of her blade. It blunts the power of the attack quite a bit, though the impacts still hurt... just not as much as if she'd just been kicked in the head, repeatedly.
"So you like to go for the head," she muses, commenting on the fighting style, "how ruthless..." Her smile turns bright, silvery, sharp.
"I like that. Perhaps I should do so as well, mmm?"
So saying, she takes two, flowing steps back, and leaps, throwing herself upwards into a spinning tuck, like a ball... a ball from which her blade flashes, attempting to cut at Aranha--on the shoulder, perhaps, or maybe she wants to cut his scalp open. The blade glistens in the light, a testament to its sharpness.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Setsuka's Quick Strike.
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Aranha 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Setsuka
"I'm glad that you like it," Aranha says in a tone of voice just short of dead-pan. As the blade flashes out, Aranha tilts over into a cartwheel that pulls him out of the way of that sharp blade and into safety. He doesn't stop moving, not satisfied enough with his evasion and he spins low in a crouch with one leg extended forward.
Using that spin to put himself in what he'd consider ideal position he suddenly pushes himself forward as he lashes out with a roundhouse kick from the tucked leg as he plants his hands on the ground for more stability and power.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka counters Change-Up Kick from Aranha with Oborozuki.
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Aranha 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Setsuka
Whoops! She missed. _Whatever_ will she do? Well, firstly, she's going to land--on her feet, lightly. Facing away from Arahna. It is in many ways the ideal time to strike; the woman -has her back turned to him-. And Arahna's kick looks good--he's got the lead on the flop, through the turn... but then the river card is shown.
And it means pain for the capoerista. Just as Arahna's kick contacts Setsuka's back, she flares into a mass of blue-purple energy--and not even a moment later she appears to drop, like water, into the ground. Where she went should be obvious; she teleported, reforming up out of the ground in a flash, behind Arahna. Already, as she reforms, her right hand is raised, a blade of psychic energy flaring from her fist...
A blade that is slashed down across Aranha's handstanded form, a single, vicious attack, that might make the young man take pause.
By the time the capoeirista connects with Setsuka, he realizes something is up and he realizes he has no control over what is to transpire next. As a result Aranha finds himself driven face first to the ground when the energy blade slashes down upon him drawing even more blood from him.
The Capoeirista slowly pulls himself off the ground and backs away. Backing away isn't quite accurate. He dances away in ginga in an attempt to buy himself some time to think things out, develop a plan and change the rhythm of the fight to a more deliberate pace.
COMBATSYS: Aranha focuses on his next action.
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Aranha 1/-------/=======|======-\-------\0 Setsuka
Oh ho. Well. Setsuka smiles. "Looking to slow things down, are we?" she asks, that smile not at all pleasant. The blade is left in the scabbard, for now; Setsuka doesn't appear as if she were going to attack. "My my, and here I was told you were an aggressive boy..." she muses, half to herself. Just standing there for a moment, she watches Arahna, her right hand posted on her hip.
And then her arm whips around, as if going back to her sword--which it does, of course, the woman assuming a standard battoujutsu pose, right shoulder forward.
At the same time, of course, a triangular-shaped blade--almost like an arrowhead--has just been flung at Aranha. Not for his head, or even his shoulder--no, the small, weighted blade's been tossed for Aranha's left thigh.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka successfully hits Aranha with Thrown Object.
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Aranha 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha stays back for a moment too long and gets his left leg pierced by the triangular shaped blade eliciting a slight grunt of annoyance as he dances forward. Unfortunately, for the capoeirista, the damage to his momentum has already been done even if the attack itself did little damage to him physically.
Of course, the fact that it was delivered to his leg doesn't make him very happy though and so he gets in close and throws a side-kick to the hired blade's stomach before performing a quick hop away.
While his face is relatively neutral, his eyes give away his anger. He sees no reason to hide his emotions in this case after all, most people assume he'll make stupid mistakes when he's mad.
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Setsuka with Medium Kick.
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Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Setsuka
Setsuka never assumes her opponents will make stupid mistakes. She hopes for it. In this case, however, the mistake is hers; the kick hits solidly, despite her attempt to evade. But the damage done isn't all that bad; she'll bruise, but that's it; she folds around the kick, and yet she doesn't seem to worry too much about the hit she took.
"A good kick, but I'd expect nothing less from a capoerista," she says, liltingly. The blade helped, but not enough... well, that's alright. Straightening up, she resumes her stance, but, instead of attacking.. she watches Aranha. Her own turn to slow down the match... or at least, to put her own spin on the tempo it takes. But as she stands there, sh beckons Aranha forward, smiling still. A truly come-hither gesture.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka focuses on her next action.
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Aranha 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\1 Setsuka
Aranha's body continues to sway to his own beat as he attempts to maintain his own particular tempo, dancing to and fro as he comes into range. His body almost seems lethargic as he makes his approach and then all of a sudden, he swings his leg around in an attempt to get his leg behind both of hers.
That is all the set up Aranha needs as he places his elbow on her abdomen to lock her in and then sudden pop of his hip upwards he attempts to throw her backwards and onto the ground.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka blocks Aranha's Quick Throw.
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Aranha 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Setsuka
Interesting. Well, Setsuka isn't going to let herself be pulled into Aranha's rhythm--she has ideas of her own, after all. When he comes in with that surprisingly complicated throwing technique, she lets him come in--there's incidental contact, but that's it. When he attempts to hip bump her back and up, she goes into a handstand, coming up on her feet, not on her butt. It was, all in all, a nice try...
And then it's her turn; she suddenly moves forward. Though that doesn't really describe it--she -blurs- forward, moving fast, her psionic powers used to augment her speed as she rushes forward, practically blurring--right in front of Aranha, as she reaches for his collar with her right hand...
COMBATSYS: Aranha blocks Setsuka's Yamikaze - Kuu.
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Aranha 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Setsuka
Her hand lands on his throat--and she leaves a glowing ball of purple-white energy there. Swooping past him she abruptly reverses her momentum; another pass and she's left another psi ball on Aranha's back. Another reverse of her momentum and the third 'bomb' is planted on Aranha's stomach. The blur that is Setsuka stops--and then each of those bombs literally explodes with a burst of painful psychic energy...
Setsuka comes in too quickly for the capoeirista to do much about the ball of energy placed on his throat. The second psionic ball is deflected as Aranha spins against the attack with a deflecting forearm preventing it from being placed on his back but the sudden reverse of her momentum puts him in a bad position and he ends up getting the final energy ball placed on his back in the exact place it would've been placed had he let the second psi-bomb get placed.
The energy burst explodes and the capoeirista has no other choice to grit his teeth and bear the reduced brunt of the psi-bombs sending him flying. Aranha slowly rises to his feet bruised, battered, and bleeding as he looks at the swordswoman. He gives her a defiant glare before he whips out his foot seeking to slap her in the face with his instep before pulling his foot backwards and slipping back into his dance.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka blocks Aranha's Light Kick.
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Aranha 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Setsuka
Not this time; Setsuka gets a forearm up, smiling pleasantly at the instep whacks into the softer flesh of her arm. "Tut tut, don't be so eager, young man," she says, sound somewhat condescending--the impact is negligible, though every impact -does- something... her arm drops again, and she grasps the hilt of her blade, again. So far, she has quite thoroughly enjoyed this fight--despite the hits she's taken, and Aranha's speed... his pain has been quite delicious.
Her blade flashes out again, this time cutting high -and- low--or is it low, then high? Either way, there's two slashes for Aranha, one about chest level, the other targeting the same leg that took the throwing blade the last time.
"We should -enjoy- this time we have together..." Really, she's already met her goals, her client's expectations. Now it's just for fun.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka successfully hits Aranha with Quick Strike.
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Aranha 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Setsuka
Aranha attempts to charge through the two strikes hoping to capitalize on the one moment of vulnerability she has in drawing back her sword on that second strike. Unfortunately he slightly miscalculates the timing on the second strike for his chest and he can't quite get close enough to her in time.
Even still Aranha decides to carry out his plan. And it all starts with that same outside crescent kick that he opened the match with to slap her in the face with the outside of his foot although there's a difference. There wasn't that blue glow on his foot before.
COMBATSYS: Setsuka fails to counter Royal Flush from Aranha with Tenryuu Gaeshi.
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Aranha 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Setsuka can no longer fight.
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Aranha 0/-------/------=|
And then Aranha begins to pick up speed as he whirls to and fro whipping kick after at her body and head Roundhouse kicks, more outside crescent kicks, back heel kicks. It is a display of nearly every bread and butter kick his style has. Spinning with even more kicks before suddenly changing direction and delivering even more kicks in an attempt to drown Setsuka with chi engulfed feet.
And then there's an instant of calm as he tilts over into a handstand before lashing out with a tornado of glowing handstand kicks as his finale.
Why not let him have his fun? Setsuka makes a half-hearted attempt to counter his attack... then drops her hand. It almost seems deliberate, as she's pummeled by the kick combination--he puts -SUCH- effort into it... oh, it certainly does hurt. It hurts quite a bit. But if -that's- his ultimate attack... he almost waited too long for it. Setsuka takes the hits, then, at the top of that leaping, spinning kick tornado... she disappears. Only to show up on the ground.
"Well done," she says, sounding almost pleasant about the whole thing; if she's seriously injured it doesn't show. "But our playtime's over; my client doesn't want you dead, just wants you to understand what it means to cross people... but from the looks of you I'm sure you know already. Ta-ta!" With a little laugh, she walks off; somewhere along the way, she seems to literally disappear, though perhaps she's merely hiding... impossible to say, in any case. The only question for Aranha really is... -who- hired her, and why? If his past is as checkered as she thinks, well, he could be guessing for a while...
COMBATSYS: Aranha has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:03:11 07/15/2008 by Setsuka, and last modified on 10:08:17 07/16/2008.