Description: Episode 1: Stand-In Standoff! OR Monk Mastery Mania! While taking part in the YFCC's free eats and education, Nataya, the Wandering Monk Girl volunteers to stand in during a demonstration with Frei and Aranha. Aranha and Nataya do their best, and Nataya tries to put her best foot forward, but the Chi Sage is just full of surprises!
In a few days, this center is going to become an intense battleground. Looking at it now, though, one would hardly know it; the students are as chipper as ever, the center is lively with activity, and the staff are relaxed and not quite on edge. Lately, one YFCC instructor has taken it into his head to try and give more practical classes. He does teach one advanced class on meditation and chi, after all, that the curious Englishwoman stepped in on. However, that's hardly enough to justify his being here, nor are the numerous platters of baked goods that seem to flow endlessly from his fingertips day after day.
Thus, the events at hand. Frei scheduled a very unusual class: a demonstration fight, of all things. His goal is to give some of the advanced students information on a little-covered topic: dealing with multiple attackers. After all, much of the professional fighting world is 'duels', (wo)mano a (wo)mano competitions where one must only focus on a single opposing individual. But if SNF has proven anything, it's proven that knowing how to defend yourself when more than one person is on your back is a crucial skill... and while Frei might not be supremely confident in his raw martial arts talent, he does admit some small ability in defensive techniques.
At current he's down in the training area, talking to the students who've shown up to watch... a surprising number, actually. Frei is dressed for a workout, white tank top and dark blue workout pants, an outfit easy to move around in. "I hope you all get something useful out of this," he says carefully, stretching his arms over his head and then giving a goofy smile. "I'm probably going to get my face beat in for your benefit, so you'd BETTER." That little quip gets a laugh or two, and Frei looks at a clock on the opposite wall. Aranha, one of his invited opponents, should be here shortly... but Makoto, the Taiyo judo student who agreed to help, is nowhere in sight. Hmmm.
To kill time, the monk explains himself and his choices a little bit. "I asked someone you might have seen on TV to help out a bit... he's a very technical fighter, which is why I asked him to come. The really difficult thing about fighting multiple opponents at once is that you have to keep track of so many different variables."
Free classes? Well, if there's one thing that Nataya knows is that you never pass up free if it's something you're interested in. The woman is indeed tangentially involved in fighting which is enough to get her to wander into the facility for a looky-loo. A little investigation during off hours never hurt anyone.
Still, given her schedule there's not a lot of time to do anything but sneak into the back row as Frei's giving his little introduction. Having come straight from her delivery route, she's not exaclty a picture of feminine beauty.
Her knuckles are busted from having to fix the slipped chain on her bike and she smells positively dreadful thanks to the dried squid spill that she took while delivering sodas to the workers in the back lot of one of Chinatown's grocery stores. It's all she can do to take a rubber band and get her hair out of her face. That's right: not a scrunchie, but a rubber band. The kind you use to secure newspapers, which is what she was delivering in the morning.
It's not a glamorous job for a twentysomething, but when your experience in life for the last three years has been getting punched by old people on the steps of a temple, your resume isn;t all that hot.
To keep from being a bother, she tries to find a seat far away from the action, just listening to the jovial figure up front. He seems friendly and appears to know what he's talking about. That, plus the free water from the little dixie cup dispenser and the air conditioning, and Nataya's set for a lecture on self defense.
Hopefully not involving bananas, raspberries, pointed sticks, tigers, or 16 ton weights.
There's a bit of a wait before the capoeirista arrives strolling in with a relaxed stride as he looks around at the kids he would be performing a demonstration for. Of course while he was confident in his abilities he wasn't exactly sure about his role as a teaching aide.
What eventually made the decision for him was the both opportunity to learn from Frei through practical methods and to see what type of inspiration he could draw from this fight.
While it was suggested he stretch when he arrived by some of the staff, he made sure to do his stretching before stepping in the doorway. Nothing like getting pantsed or kicked in the butt while stretching to break that habit real quick.
Aranha's arrival does a lot to ease Frei's nervousness; although he's made good steps in building up his self-confidence as a competent instructor, there are still days when he wonders what the hell he's doing here, teaching kids this stuff... and the longer he's by himself with anxiety, the worse those feelings get. He gives the capoeirista a jaunty wave, and then nods to the students. "This is Aranha, if you don't recognize him." A few do; there's even some girls who giggle and blush. Hey, the man's athletic and attractive, what can you do?
Then the music from World 1-1 in Super Mario Bros. starts playing. For real.
There's a moment of instability before Frei processes that this is his cell phone, sitting on top of his jacket and towel off to the side. Blinking, he wanders over and picks it up, answering. Apparently he wasn't expecting a phone call at this hour. "Hello? ...oh. OH. Really? Wow." A pause. "No, I understand totally." Another pause. "It's fine, it really is. You just, uh, stay where you, uh, are. Yes, feel better. Bye." He hangs up, flipping the phone closed and staring at it for a second in disbelief before shaking his head and walking back to the mats.
Half-turning to Aranha, he clears his throat. "Well, that was Makoto, who was supposed to help out. He, uh..." There's a pause, and Frei looks at the ceiling and scratches his temple for a second, before shrugging. "He had some bad tempura and is, uh, indisposed." To put it mildly. "But!" he adds, clapping his hands together. "What a great opportunity for one of you to jump in if you want! It'll be fun, I promise."
Jump in! Fight a trained instructor and a famous fighting star! In the world of fighting, it sounds like a chance of a lifetime. But when it comes down to it, saying and doing are two different things. In the end, it's sort of intimidating. Frei may be nervous, but across the crowd, not a whole lot of faces are lighting up for the chance to get pummeled by famous people.
It's a good thing Nataya doesn't really know any better, otherwise she wouldn't volunteer.
The heretofore wordless woman looks left. Then right. Then cranes her neck to see if there are any hands. There's a lot of coughing and eye averting, but not too many gung-ho voices. Intriguing.
The voice of her old Master rings in her ears: "Always be aware of your opponent's power. Know what they are capable of, and react accordingly." "But what if I have no way of knowing what I'm getting into?" Nataya had asked in the middle of training.
"Then pray you don't get beat up so bad you can't get to a hospital," had been the reply.
Nataya's master was a bit of a jerk, but the underlying message through the sardonic old man's words range true. This was a safe environment, right? The quiet girl in the ratty old robes stands up, prayer beads clinking against the metal frame of the cheap plastic high school surplus chair. "I'll do it," she says, her face set in the same sort of content, happy look she totes around like a comfortable hat. "I've got nothing to lose, right?"
And with that, she plods along the aisle, covered in grease and odd food smells towards the front of the room.
The phone call comes and from what he heard on Frei's end gives him enough reason to give a slight cringe. And when Frei relays the message... Aranha finds himself mouthing the words, 'Oh damn.' Eventually he does say something loud enough that it can be heard. "Man, that's a tough break."
When Frei looks for volunteers, Aranha himself is looking at the collective of students and trying to look for some indication on their faces to see actually would have the intestinal fortitude to step up. His gaze never quite gets to Nataya until the sound of prayer beads sound and she's already in motion.
With a nod he acknowledges his impromptu team mate. The smell, that's hard to ignore but he makes a concerted effort to resist the urge to twitch his nose at the odor. "I guess that would be my partner. Let's get this started."
And with that Aranha slips on his Oakley Thumps. A capoeirista has gotta have his music after all.
It's pretty hard to catch Frei off-guard, simply because he's a little absurd in his own right. But Nataya indeed manages to do it; after all, Frei himself trained in the mountains of China with cantankerous old men in robes as well, so her attire -- while perhaps considered a little strange by Southtown standards -- is recognizable to him. Unusual, but recognizable. Still, it's a fun unusualness, and his expression brightens at her volunteering. Smiling faintly, he brings a finger up to his nose in an impish gesture of amusement. "You seem a little young," he says, "to be a mendicant. Plus, you've got hair."
But if that's an indication that he doesn't find the girl a suitable volunteer, it's a poor one; he dusts his hands off and gets into his basic stance, a loose one with a high carriage and slight bending of the waist, like tai chi with a twist, hands up. "I don't think I've seen you before, here... new in town? I guess this as good a welcoming committee as any."
Glancing over his shoulder at Aranha, Frei nods, then turns to look at Nataya. "Alright, you two... don't take it easy on me. This is a lesson, after all. So..." And here he grins, bringing one hand up, palm inward, fingers slightly curled, and beckons with it a bit, Matrix-style. "Now, come beat me up! For the children!"
COMBATSYS: Frei has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Nataya has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Aranha has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
If she takes offense, Nataya doesn't show it. Instead, she explains it away. "Girls can't be Therevadan monks in Thailand," is the simple but friendly reply. "It's just a comfortable outfit to work in." She smiles at Aranaha, giving him a short wave, a length of the rosary swinging around from her large sleeves as Frei beckons.
"I'm going to be up front with you and tell you the truth: I've never fought in a team before," she explains to Aranha. "So I'll try to stay out of your way." With that, she falls into a stance remeniscent of Muay Thai. However, the motions seem a little direct as she bolts forward without a word.
Fists raised high, her robes trail after her as she leads in with a short combination attack of a left jab to Frei's face, followed by a quick right elbow to the man's temple. "Hup!"
If beating him up is what Frei wants, far be it from Aranha to not provide it. His body begins to sway as he makes his way towards Frei. His approach somewhat predatory. Almost like the creature that is his namesake. "It's rare that I fight in a team so this will be a learning experience for both of us."
And then Aranha shows how he differs from Nataya. Where she's direct, Aranha utilizes more indirect attacks in an attempt to take advantage of Nataya's straight forward attack.
The capoeirista immediately cartwheels to Frei's flank and then all of a sudden begins to whirl like a tornado in a handstand position while his legs split wide to kick at the teacher.
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Frei with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Frei with Inverted Tornado.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
You're off to a ringing start there, teach.
It might be because Frei decides to start off by explaining what he's doing when he's doing it. This is, without question, an absolutely bad idea. "The first thing is..." he starts, glancing at Nataya's stance with some curiosity, given she's (almost) dressed as a monk but is clearly using something related to Muay Thai, "you need to know where you are at all times, in relation to others. So when they come at--" This is abruptly cut off by the sound of Nataya's punch smacking him in the face, twice, as he tries to backstep away from it. Grimacing, he realizes he'd best not try the same thing with Aranha's kick and tries to get a hand in the way, but a punch to the face is a punch to the face; his reflexes are a little dulled and thus his deflection goes under the handstand kick, which plants itself squarely in his torso.
All things considered, however, the sage holds up well under duress; even though both hits land solidly, he's not quite bowled over. That did sting, though, and it shows as he winces a bit getting back into stance. "Alright. First off, don't try to explain and fight at the same time." This gets a bit of a chuckle from the students. "Secondly, don't do what I just did."
He'll just have to show by example, and so he charges, of all people, Nataya. Getting as close as he dares, the monk turns and sweeps his leg around, as if to kick her in the shoulder... but then lifts his leg high enough so that it should pass over, *instead* following through to slam into Aranha from behind, Frei's kick shimmering with a hazy aura of gold-white that makes a curious ringing sound if it strikes.
Nataya's head jerks back instinctively as the leg flies towards her head, but th elook of clam determination and generally pleasant smile doesn't leave her face for a second. Feint or not, it forces a reaction from her and places her on the defensive long enough for it to go sailing towards Aranaha in short order. Feet dance along the ground as she circles, attempting to slip into Frei's blind side without a second's thought to Aranaha.
Like she said, she's not used to doing fights with other people around her. Still, she knows her own fighting profile. Out of a desire for goodwill, she calls out to the capoeirista, "You're going to want to give me a lot of room! I tend to need a lot of space!"
Space to do what, exactly? She plants one foot firmly on the ground as she jerks forward, her entire body lurching forwards for a straight legged thrust kick. The attack is just a setup, however, for the follow up attack. Moving to the other side of Aranha's attack to batter Frei's other set of ribs, she goes into a short spin kick, desinged to pummel the wind out of Frei and set him up for whatever Aranha might be planning.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Aranha with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
And Aranha is about to give Nataya plenty of space. Though it's not of the capoeirista's free will. No, it's because while Aranha was attempting to set himself up to get away, he wasn't able to move as fast as he wanted and so he ends up getting kicked away. The energy burst from Frei's kick battering him in return for his own successful attack.
Aranha doesn't stay on the ground for long, instead he chooses to spin to his feet and give Nataya the room she needs while he hangs back to fling a blue chi spider web right for the Monk. "Nice shot. This goes to show the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray."
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Nataya's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Frei with Web Shot.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0 Aranha
> //////////////////////////////]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
An interesting thing about 2v1 fights: sometimes the other person is a benefit and sometimes the other person is a hindrance. The key, Frei will later explain to these students, is knowing the difference between the two moments and acting accordingly. Case in point: Nataya's demand for space suggests that, if Aranha's a good teammate, he's going to back off and try something from a distance, or at the very least take a moment to bide his time and judge while she moves in. Nataya is the immediate, close-range threat, and so when her kick comes the chi sage narrows his eyes and sidesteps it, giving him just enough momentum to let her other kick slap into his outstretched palm, severely blunting the impact.
Aranha's technique is another matter. Frei can *sense* it before he can see it, but that sense actually screws him up; he reacts too quickly and rather than spinning away from it, spins INTO it, the blue chi wrapping around his arm with a whip-like twist and delivering a nice jolt in the process. "Heh... not bad, not bad," he says to the Dancing Spider with a nod.
But as long as Aranha's far away, Frei makes the reasonable choice of engaging the person close up. Interestingly, he decides to use Aranha's clingy chi attack to his advantage: lashing out with one hand to get a grip on Nataya's wrist, he looks to spin her into an arm bar only long enough to press the web-wrapped arm against her back... and then he promptly applies the exact *opposite* wavelength of energy to the web, causing it to destabilize messily... which is to say, it explodes right in Nataya's face.
COMBATSYS: Nataya blocks Frei's Charged Throw.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Aranha
> /////////////////////////// ]
|==-----\-------\0 Nataya
What Nataya lacks in grace, she more than makes up with sheer brute strength and speed. The grip on her wrist is considerable, but not enough to keep her pinned for long. With a mighty heave and a twist of her entire body, she wrenches her arm free. The effort alone causes some damage, but the alternative could have been much worse.
Staggering back, she hits the ground hard, one hand stablizing herself, her prayer beads spilling to the floor like rain, scattering across the ground, and Nataya begins to mutter mantras, her eyes closed as she concentrates
Silvery mist starts to slowly seep from Nataya's sleeves, trickling across the floor and sliding over the scattered beads as she slides back up to her feet again. Then the beads begin to roll about of their own accord on the ground. With the flick of her wrist, the woman calls the beads into the air, where they quickly form concentric circles in front of her like a focusing tube. With a quick motion, Nataya swings her arms forwards, releasing a torrent of the silvery mist. It pours through the focusing rings hovering in front of her, coalescing into a bolt of pure quicksilver.
"If you have a distance attack, I'd suggest you use it, sir!" She calls to Aranha as she finally opens her eyes with a gentle smile.
Then with a flash of light, the silvery projectile bursts towards Frei. And Nataya? Well, she's nowhere to be seen. That is, until she seems to appear out of nowhere, attempting to repeatedly knee Frei in the back and hold him in place while the pillar of shimmering silver shoots towards him with a burst of cascading energy.
A distance attack? Aranha had just used it. And while his chi web was one of the most economical moves in his repertoire, if he kept using it he'd end up running himself ragged which would in turn make him useless. It's why he disregards her suggestion.
"I'm sorry. I can't do that. If I keep throwing webs, I'd exhaust myself until I'm useless," he says as he comes back in to get back into close combat. Which isn't to say that he'll blindly rush in to attack while she's in the middle of hers. Instead, Aranha waits until the pillar of cascading light begins to die down before adding his own attack to the mix with a skip and a side-kick to the abdomen.
After the kick is the delivered he sways and dances making sure that he can keep away from Nataya's attacks.
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Frei with Six Seals EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Frei 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Aranha
> /////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Aranha's Change-Up Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Frei 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Aranha
> /////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nataya
Apparently that shiny attack of Nataya's is distracting enough that Frei effectively walks right into it. Or rather, he's so busy paying attention to it that he doesn't pay attention to it until it's too late. Realizing he has no way of actually avoiding it, he relaxes into Nataya's kick, looking to power through the blast of energy with his own considerable defense against energy strikes. Sadly, it either is too strange for him or the timing is off; rather than getting a boost out of it, it smacks him square in the chest, making him wince. Thankfully, it doesn't bowl him over; Aranha's side kick is met with a quickly turned forearm, defending handily... of course, Frei's taken quite the beating so far, and even that defense isn't really helping him.
Grinning faintly and wiping sweat from his brow, he grins at the Spider. "Well, at least they're learning what not to do," he offers plainly. For a moment, he pauses, closing his eyes, and a green-yellow light suffuses his whole body for a split second before the green eyes open and he nods, fixing them on Aranha. "Okay. Let's keep it going."
Driving forward, Frei looks to surprise the capoeirista with a spinning kick to the side... but somewhat surprisingly, there is suddenly a 'clone' of Frei made of scarlet fire attacking like a mirror image from exactly the *other* side, as well. Perhaps such an attack will work against a technical fighter like Aranha...
Keep it going? Nataya only stops when someone calls stop or falls down. That's the way she was taught to fight. As flashy as the attack looks, Nataya seeks to make them effective as well. Leaping back to give herself some distance, the prayer beads all lift up off of the ground, following her like a swarm of insects, eventually floating around her in orbit.
Her hands begin to move in rapid bursts, spreading the silvery cloud across the swarm. If Aranha can't use lots of distance attacks, then Nataya will have to bolster her end of the deal by sending her own. "Stay low," she intones to Aranha with a freindly smile, as if informing Aranha that he has some lint on his shirt.
Snatching three of the beads from midair, Nataya waves her hand with a casual flick, and the objects rocket towards Frei, trailing triple contrails of silver smoke. As they accumulate speed, the mist seems to coalesce around the beads, turning them into silvery spheres the size of softballs. If they meet their mark, they'll hit Frei with a considerable explosive impact and brilliance of light. It's a good thing Aranha's wearing sunglasses!
COMBATSYS: Aranha fails to interrupt Kagerou from Frei with Bad Beat.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Frei 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Aranha
> ////////////////////////// ]
|===----\-------\0 Nataya
The side kick was a set up to deal with Frei's attack. He had a hunch that he was going to be the next target and he was right. However the fire clone was definitely not a move that Frei had during their triple threat match on SNF and so the knowledge of something coming wasn't quite enough.
Aranha attempts to go into the real Frei head first, however the fire clone manages to kick his back and into the path of the real Frei's attack which in turn sends the capoeirista on the ground.
This time Aranha won't be getting up after all if Frei's attack is going to force him out of the path of Nataya's, he'd be dumb not to take advantage of what good fortune is left of an unfortunate occurance.
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Frei with Three Gems.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Frei 1/----===/=======|======-\-------\0 Aranha
> ////////////////////////// ]
|====---\-------\0 Nataya
If Frei was attempting to show the youngins how it's done, he is failing miserably at that goal. While Aranha's next attack is forestalled, the chi sage doesn't have time to mount a proper defense against the spheres that come his way, turning to notice them in time but spending too long thinking about what he should do in response. Thus the three impact squarely on his chest, exploding in that brilliant light and causing Frei to stumble back. He's taken worse blows, but in the aggregate this is starting to add up to being very bad for our hero!
Ducking backwards, Frei takes a deep breath. Now is as good a time as any to make a little speech to the students. "I want you to think about how bad I'm doing right now," he says, causing a few students to blink at that candid declaration. Yet Frei wears a placid smile even as he says it. "Because I've been at this for a while, and it's still very, very hard. It never really gets easier."
Holding out his hand, Frei gathers energy in a swirl of light surprisingly similar to the one Nataya just used on him: six spheres of pure white light circle around each other in a chaotic pattern. "You've got an interesting style," he says to the young girl. "I feel like... I know it from somewhere. But that could just be in my head." With a flick of the wrist, he 'tosses' the spheres out. There's a great distance for them to cover between Frei and Nataya, but perhaps their erratic movement will help somewhat in the chi sage's favor... though these don't burst with blinding light, the impact still delivers a powerful jolt.
COMBATSYS: Nataya blocks Frei's Seiya.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Frei 1/---====/=======|======-\-------\0 Aranha
> ////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Nataya
Some people block by hunkering down or trying to displace an attack by force diversion. It's a normal thing to do, and there's no shame in that at all. Nataya, however, shuns this practice completely, going full force into the spheres. Erratic or not, the woman's reflextes are exemplary. Her fists plunge into the spheres, breaking and dispelling them with each intercepted attack. Certainly, she takes damage, but the offensive meneuvering reduces the damage she would have taken otherwise.
That is, until the last sphere knocks her off her feet. She rolls across the ground, but then quickly scrapes to her feet without a second's pause, seeming to skate effortlessly across the prayer beads scattered on the floor like ball bearings. "Glad you like it," she says as she spins around Frei, kicking up a burst of energy and prayer beads. The mist and beads only act as a smokescreen, however, for her true attack. She thrusts a hand through the cloud, fist balled tightly as she attempts to smack the teacher in the throat with her scarred knuckles.
With Aranha down near the ground and Nataya attacking high, Aranha elects to stay low. It keeps himself out of his team mate's way and also if Frei's attention stays up high he just might miss out on what he's doing.
Aranha shifts himself in a crouching position before planting one hand on the ground as he scissors his legs about Frei's own legs before performing a powerful twist of his hips in an attempt drop Frei on his back hard.
COMBATSYS: Frei endures Nataya's Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Frei 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Aranha
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Strong Throw from Aranha with Ashura Ressenjin.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1 Aranha
> /////////////////////// ]
|=======\-------\0 Nataya
Maybe it's because he recognized he was doing so poorly, but apparently Frei is capable of proving that no fight is over until someone's on the mat (and for some people, not even then). He grins at Nataya's statement, adding simply, "I enjoy seeing people work with chi in new ways." Or at least, he presumes it's chi... that's how it feels, but it's hard to get a read in the middle of a fight. Certainly, the trappings of a monk indicate to Frei -- a former 'monk' who is a chi-focused fighter himself -- that the girl may even have similar training to him.
Regardless, he does see the smokescreen for what it is; that doesn't mean, however, that the attack that comes through it is any less fast or easier to deal with. Thus the monk takes a deep breath and lets his body go limp, twisting *just so*. The blow, rather than striking him in the throat, hits him square in the sternum; still painful (perhaps even more so than a throat shot) but it *also* adds considerable momentum to the relatively lightweight Frei's body, sending him flying right toward Aranha's waiting leg grapple. Perhaps unfortunately for Aranha, Frei isn't dazed by the blow as he should be; a hand snaps out, turning the back slam into a handstand... and then Frei's own legs, glowing with a dark purple-black energy, slam *downward* into Aranha. Effectively bouncing off the Dancing Spider with that maneuver, Frei flips forward, inverting in midair and slamming his palms, glowing with the same cold dark energy, right into Aranha's chest before rolling away.
Coming to a wobbly stance, he pauses, taking a deep breath. "Haaa... haa... when I said... to beat me up... you never thought... I might be *kidding*?!" he jokes, grinning.
Whatever it is Nataya's weilding, it's certainly unusual. It's like nothing. It's just... force. No chi 'flavors'. No emotion behind it. It's just nothingness. Not the sort of yawning, depressing, draw your knees up and cry sort of yawning chasm of emptiness, however. Just a sort of neutral emptiness. If you were able to atack someone with calm, then Nataya would be the number one user of it.
"I try to take everything seriously," Nataya says offhandedly to the comment as she tilts her head, seemingly bemused at the comment if anything else. "Even in a joke, there's always some truth, right? Just because you're serious doesn't mean you can't have fun, though."
Inscrutable is a good word to describe Nataya's features, but not in a sinister sort of way, or a smug sort of way. Just in a way that shows the world that she's pretty happy with who she is, and she's not really sharing exactly why that is.
But them she's off like a shot again, skimming the ground like a rollerblader on the dropped beads, the balls of her feet providing the means of movement as she skates in towards Frei. Once again, she sweeps her lef by for a kick...
And she misses.
On the sweeping motion of her foot, however, is a string of beads, held together by a thin, shimmering silver line attached somehow to her ankle. If Frei happens to be slow, or just unlucky, Nataya will use the bead string to srap up one of his limbs and then go into a full triple spin with her kick, smashing him repeatedly into the floor.
Aranha's legs just couldn't lock around the former monk the way he wanted to and the moment that happens he knows he's screwed. If it wasn't for the shades, his eyes going wide would be fairly visible as Frei goes into that handstand.
The sunglasses do nothing to hide what happens when that dark purple and black energy gets slammed into him the first time courtesy of the leg drop. The capoeirista finds himself roaring in pain and then roaring even louder when the palms drive into his chest.
Aranha not wanting to get caught like that again he finds himself crabwalking until he can get out of range and then after that he brings himself back to his feet. But what does he do when he's on his feet again? He's changing the music on his shades though that isn't to say he's not paying attention to the fight. In fact Aranha is studying the monk very very carefully.
COMBATSYS: Aranha focuses on his next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1 Aranha
> ///////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Frei dodges Nataya's Three Marks.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1 Aranha
> ///////////////////// ]
|======-\-------\0 Nataya
Her attacks are fascinating to watch; it occurs to Frei, much later in the day, that this may be deliberate. Many of Nataya's techniques have been so nice to look at (and complex) that the chi sage is taken off guard almost every time; it's a miracle he's been able to mount any sort of a defense at all, at this point. However, in this instance he's apparently keeping sharp; the missed kick he didn't even DO anything about is his first clue that he should be getting the hell OUT of the way, and thus he does... somewhat unusually by hurling himself past Nataya rather than out of the way. Tumbling forward into a roll, he comes to a kneeling stop, then gets up and brushes himself off, blinking in surprise. Even he wasn't aware he could have pulled that off, apparently.
Smiling, however, he looks between his two opponents, trying to think of a plan of attack. Aranha's clearly the more battered of the two, while Nataya seems relatively fresh... it's a hard decision to make, especially since he is fighting a demonstration fight. The lull while he thinks, however, is a good time to respond to the girl's comments. "You might say I agree coming from the opposite direction," Frei says simply. "I think just because you're having fun, doesn't mean you're not serious."
But he can't just sit here and wait to get hit. Bringing his hand up, the young sage holds it out, fingers spread, palm glowing blue-white. The chill in the air is probably Aranha's first hint that he might want to get the heck out of Dodge, because as Frei closes his hand into a fist, the chilly air suddenly manifests shards of ice that 'collapse' in on the Dancing Spider's position from all around him. "It's a little Discworld-y," Frei says evenly, "but the best place to be in a 2 versus 1 fight is in a 1 vs 1 fight!"
Nataya watches impassively as Frei goes for Aranha. Certainly, getting attacked by ice doesn't look entirely pleasant. Nevertheless, Aranha, though beat up, is holding his own. There's not need for her to save him yet.
Instead, Nataya's hands once again go into a complex weaving pattern as the beads float up. Fingertips weave delicate strands of sliver between them, and then she seems to pull the beads into a formation. Ten little silvery ball bearings in all, each shining like a tiny star.
"Whatever makes you happy, I suppose, as long as you don't upset the natural order, right?" The spheres slide into her hand for a moment as she rears her arm back and then tosses them, projecting them outward.
The attack is quick and dazzling, like a mini-lightshow. Each of the ten spheres fired off small beams of energy as they spiral towards Frei, pinpricks of force jolting outward. They don't slow in their approach, and onc ethier entire charge is exhausted, they continue on their way to scatter like buckshot on Frei's form.
COMBATSYS: Aranha endures Frei's Hatsuyuki!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2 Aranha
> ///////////////////// ]
|-------\-------\0 Nataya
Aranha realized that in a situation where the most logical things you could do fail, the only logical alternative remaining is to do the most batshit insane thing you can possibly think of. In spite of every instinct telling him to move out of the way, he stands his ground. He even smiles as it is coming. Then there's a head flick to toss the glasses off of his face.
The shards close in upon him encasing him before the capoeirista bursts out of it with blue glowing feet as he sends ice chunks flying every which way.
And then he whips a foot around for Frei's head, singing joyfully as he does so. Kick after comes before the capoeirista changes direction to deliver even more kicks. The whirling dervish of kicks pauses for a moment to tilt into that same handstand that he caught Frei earlier in the fight with. Difference is that these handstand kicks are glowing and he's sustaining the spin for a longer period of time.
After those kicks are delivered, he tilts over falling to the ground. "I leave it up to you."
COMBATSYS: Aranha can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Aranha's Royal Flush EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-======|-------\-------\0 Nataya
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Nataya's Six Seals EX.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Nataya
With a faint smile, Frei shakes his head at Nataya. "I don't put much stock... in the natural order."
And then he becomes a defensive whirlwind.
Perhaps his somewhat lackluster defensive efforts earlier in the fight are redeemed, now, because both of the fighters coming at him are doing so with fast, skillful attacks from various angles. Of course, that technical skill is why he invited Aranha in the first place, but to find it in Nataya as well is a nice surprise... sort of. "...okay." That's all he says. The sage's arms glow with a faint hum of that cold purple-black energy from before as he sets his feet. Surprisingly, he does it 'two-handed': one hand weaves through the constant bursts of silvery light, while the other repeatedly interposes a palm or a forearm in the path of Aranha's chi-charged kicks. They weave back and forth; the right hand dispersing a burst of light here, then catching a kick there. Of course, this doesn't mean he escapes unscathed; not by a longshot. But the mounting small damages add up and keep adding up; by the time Frei backs away from both fighters, he's well-bruised and breathing heavily.
He gives Aranha a nod, maybe even the sketch of a bow, as thanks for his participation and respect for his ability. "There's a great beauty in chaos and unpredictability... within reason, of course," he adds with a smile. He doesn't have a lot left to face Nataya with... but he's going to give it all he's got.
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0 Nataya
She doesn't answer Frei's statments. She tilts her head, shrugs, and then she's off like a rocket to close the distance. Once again skating on the beads under her feet, Nataya's movements are swift and effortless. All she presents is a gently smiling face as she swoops around almost like an ice skater. Whirling about to a side spin, Nataya shoots by Frei and jumps, the beads flying into tair behind her as her foot touches solid ground.
That's enough to give her the troque she needs to whirl a vicious snap kick to the back of her opponent's head with bewildering speed. The shin ins't the first strike, however. She makes three short passes along Frei's body, attempting to finish narrowing the gap between her and her opponent by a large enough amount. After all, it's not like he's trucking at full energy at the moment.
COMBATSYS: Nataya successfully hits Frei with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Nataya
Indeed not, and with arms sore from bearing the brunt of two assaults, deflecting that kick isn't in the cards either. Thus the chi sage tries his best to step sideways out of the way of the kick, but it doesn't do much good; the best that can be said is that he's kicked in the chest instead of the head as he twists to get out of the way, but in terms of the power Nataya is putting behind the kick, the difference is moot. Stumbling forward a number of steps, Frei comes to a stop in a forward crouch, hands on knees, before turning and taking a deep breath. His smile is still there, but it's a little wearied... fatigue and battle damage both, in truth. "Another good suggestion," he offers to the students, "is not to be on your last legs when it's down to you and one other person."
Hanging around isn't going to do any good, however, and the YFCC instructor has to think of his next moves carefully. Nataya is clearly very mobile, but he doesn't have the stamina to chip away at her with quick moves. Deciding to take the middle road, he slides forward and attempts to grab the girl's wrist; if he can get a grip, he turns 180 and effectively flings her away horizontally; his hand, once he lets go of her wrist, adds a burst of wind chi to speed her along the way.
COMBATSYS: Nataya endures Frei's Medium Throw!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Frei 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Nataya
Muay Boran. The reason they don't teach it anymore is because people have an unfortunate tendency to die in the process of learning it. Unlike some fighting styles where this is looked upon as some kind of elite status garned only to the most powerful of fighting styles, the Thais got very prgmatic about it a long time ago and realized you can't make any money off of a dead student.
However, for the few that learn somehow, they learn how to eat pain, and Nataya is no different. Though the force of the throw is considerable and the chi blasts her clear across the room and slams her against the wall, Nataya clatters back down to the ground only to get back up again. Having rolled with the attack, she's springing back to attack just as quickly a sshe was brought down.
However, this isn't without it's penalties. She's a little slower now, favoring her uninjured side. Still, the swarm of beads surrounding her start to whirl like insects angered that their hive's been disturbed. She raises her hands and then drops them suddenly on her approach. The beads clatter to the ground like so many raindrops and start to form patches on the floor.
Rolling like moving landmines as the misty energy swells from them, they home in on Frei. If any of them should connect, they'll fire off beams of pure force, knocking the Chi sage about like a ping pong ball in a clothes dryer.
COMBATSYS: Frei overcomes Five Precepts from Nataya with Hatsuyuki EX.
[ \\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Nataya
Play the silver ball!
The statement sounds flippant, but to an outside observer this is *exactly* what it looks like Frei and Nataya are doing right now... or perhaps foosball is a more appropriate comparison. Either way, the young sage decides to get a little technical, and as he senses the attack coming for him sweeps a hand in front of him, a trail of frost creating a cloud of ice shards in front of him. As each prayer bead swarms toward him, he moves his hand like a composer conducting a symphony, face strained and taut with concentration. Bursts of frost intercept the beads, exploding in a haze of blue-white ice and those beams of force, negating each other... but when all's said and done, there's still a bit of that frost cloud left, and spinning once, Frei effectively *punches* it with his palm, sending the icy mass flying at his opponent!
The crowd, as you might expect, goes wild. That was a damned impressive lightshow from both sides of the aisle.
COMBATSYS: Nataya endures Frei's Hatsuyuki EX!
[ \\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Nataya
Nataya doesn't have time to avoid the attacks, and so she doesn't. Even when one of her stronger assault is negated, all she can do is keep plowing through and forward. The chi breaks on her body, shattering off of her as she makes her approach. Although she doesn't seem too unnerved about the fact that Frei seems to be stopping her onslaught, she does look more tired. And she is running out of steam. She knows she's outgunned. Nevertheless, she attempts to keep up the pace.
This time, she does nothing short of leap, trying to smash an elbow into Frei's chest to finally take him down.
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Nataya's Quick Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////// ]
Frei 0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0 Nataya
What Frei has learned, in two years of professional fighting, is that a physical strike has much in common with an energy attack. They follow patterns of force that, if manipulated properly, can actually be manipulated in the same way. Thus, even someone at the height of fatigue can, with a little effort, still produce amazing defensive results. In the case of Nataya's elbow strike, through his haze of fatigue Frei can sense the line of the attack, seeing it not as a physical blow but as a mass of kinetic energy. Thus when it is about to impact his chest, he suddenly and unexpectedly extends two fingers on his right hand, pressing them into the point of Nataya's elbow... and stopping the attack dead in its tracks. The energy, diverted elsewhere, actually shifts the mat underneath the fighers' feet as it's dispersed.
"I'm surprised," Frei says conversationally, taking his hand back. "You seem to be a pretty genial type, but your fighting style is really brutal." Of course, even if he's being conversational, this is still a fight. Hoping that he has the advantage of a moment of surprise, Frei suddenly drops his right hand to his side, fingers extended like a knifehand strike. His hand glows with a gold and silver light, and he suddenly swings it upwards in a parabolic arc, an aura of metal chi slicing the air between the two fighters as he does so. Much like the kick he delivered earlier, if this connects, it makes a curious ringing sound... like the striking of a tuning fork.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Nataya with Houken.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\====---\1 Nataya
The hit is the last straw for Nataya, and the woman who had been taking hit slike a champ up until now causes her to crumple, the metallic ring hitting her ears as she's knocked aside like a rag doll. The constantly shifting beads stop moving, and the ones suspended in the air drop to the ground.
She lays there for a moment, not moving. This fight has been her toughest ever. Still, she's going to fight until she can't move, or her opponent can't. That's the way this works, the way she was taught, and it's the way she's going to make this work.%
"It's all about equilibrium," she says, staggering up as the beads begin to draw up her body. "Or at least, that's what it's about to me." The beads accumulate in her hand, forming a large, basketball sized swirling sphere of silver. When it reaches critical mass, she hurls it overhand and it shoots forth from her grasp like a rocket.
Should it strike, the ball will detonate on impact, sending all the beads into the air, where they'll be suspended, firing jolts of her energy down on Frei before clattering to the ground again like hailstones.
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Nataya's 37 Factors of Enlightenment!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Frei 0/-------/---====|=------\-------\0 Nataya
"Equilibrium, huh..." Frei says quietly. This girl is intriguing; part of his mind is saying that it's not an accident she showed up in this time and place, or at least if it was, it's a happy accident. She's highly skilled, and in a way even reminds him of himself. The thought brings a genuine smile to his face, even as he cautiously watches her gather her strength for this intense assault. "You know, I feel the same way, I think." He pauses, then actually laughs. "It's strange... it's like seeing a more serious version of myself."
But he's got that attack to deal with. Perhaps at this point he's in some sort of zone-like trance, or just a little excited. Either way, as the sphere of prayer beads hurtles at him, Frei takes on deep breath and then suddenly flings out both hands, palm forward. The swirling, powerful mass of energy appears to smack into an invisible barrier, of sorts... in fact, it's hardened air, Frei struggling to fight against the momentum of the attack. He doesn't need to crush it, simply hold it until it's bled itself out... and indeed, after a moment or two the beads fall to the floor as Frei brings his hands back, then presses them together, palms in, taking a deep breath.
For a moment, he does nothing. Then he ducks and gathers up the beads, one by one, before walking over and offering them to Nataya. "That was a really educational fight for me, so hopefully it was for them too," he adds, indicating the crowd with a wave of his head. "Thanks for volunteering," he adds, directing this both at her and, with a nod, at Aranha as well.
He pauses, then turns to go, needing to wrap up the lecture for his students. After a second pause, he turns and gives Nataya a big smile. "And come back sometime."
Log created on 00:26:10 08/25/2008 by Nataya, and last modified on 17:35:50 08/26/2008.