Description: Aranha is in need of cash and Kohaku is in need of testing the waters some more. Meanwhile Naerose is just in the neighborhood and decides to do some more fight commentating. Maki makes a cameo but the big to do is about who will win, Aranha or Kohaku in this brutal brawl.
The rent is due on his apartment which means it's that time of the month that Aranha tends to make his appearance at fighting pits. Sure, he makes plenty of money in his appearances in Neo Leagues and SNFs however, that money usually goes to his sister. The fighting pit money, that's for him.
This particular fighting pit is in an abandoned warehouse in Chinatown. Time has been particularly cruel to this place as the pipes are so rusted that one would probably forget what the metal actually looked in its once pristine state. Dust is caked all over the cement ground but even the dust eventually moves around when the assorted spectators, mostly gamblers and shady types though some are just in it to see a good fight. The fighting area itself is just a few layers of cardboard taped down to the ground which serves as only a token amount of concern for those who would step up to fight.
Aranha pays his buy in to get the right to fight and now at this point it's just waiting until his opponent arrives. Little does he know that things are about to get troublesome for him. And this time it wasn't even his fault.
Earlier this week Aranha was trying to get some digits of one the women he met at the Duck Pond. Unfortunately what he didn't know was she was spoken for and that her boyfriend had enough money to send someone to rough him up. It's no secret that Aranha tends to make these occasional appearances at the fighting pit so that is when the boyfriend decided to spring the trap. All because Aranha wanted to add another number to the groupie drawer. Sad ain't it?
It's a very low class job. You'd think something like this would be handled by some burly street thug, or a bodyguard held on retainer. It's not something of the type that a Ninja would normally get involved with; a petty revenge beating. Unfortunately in this great city of Souhttown capitalism is alive and well, and in order to reach the big time you need to prove you can handle the small time first. Kohaku understood this and accepted it.
He could be anyone really if it weren't for the cut of his clothing, making his nature fairly obvious who doesn't mistake him for a poser or cosplayer. The man followed Aranha here, staying hidden until he realized exactly what this establishment was and then just strolling in like anyone else. No need to be discreet- this will work perfectly. The forward portion of the payment was easily enough for the 'cover', including the extra fee for being able to pick his opponent and effectively 'cut' in line.
The dark clad ninja walks forward, stopping one he's on the cardboard 'arena'. His body language is straight forward and dangerous, face straight and eyes slightly narrowed. "Johnny Two Teeth sends his regards; 'Keep your filthy hands off the brunette'." The words are spoken by a deep voice, without even an ounce of malice.
A LOT more troublesome for Aranha. Something terrible this way comes. Something he might of forseen if not for the simple reason of how erratic and random it has been known to stumble. Worse yet this fighting pit has attracted the attention of this specific form of evil. Some argue it is the single entity capable of ending all creation. Through an unending apitite and the seeming ability to make chaos where once there was order, fail where once there was success.. The Red Witch. Naerose Delphine.
"Heya fight fans!" Naerose shouts into a mega phone. "I'm not sure what this WNB knock off this is, but..... I'm your friendly fight comentator, Naerose Delphine, slumming it tonight frrom the top. Now lets meet our fighters. In one corner we have none other than Aranha-hah hah. This known of fighter has spent his life searching out un-licensed miracle japanese doctors who are sown together, or card games where you're only allowed to go up to twenty one. Tonight he slums it to, in order to bring you some serious action.. And in the other corner..."
"Umm, actually I don't got a lot about who this fella is, so we're gonna just say he's one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles. I think we'll call him Leo. So.. It's Aranha Versus Leo!"
Not all of the people who are heading to this spot are of negative intentions here. One of those people who happen to be coming is Maki Genryuusai, someone who you'd probably least expect to see in an arena like this. But what's to say she's here to fight or take part in this whole thing? Maybe she's here to spectate, or maybe she's got a personal agenda of her own? For now, she simply keeps to herself, trying not to make herself that noticeable amongst the other spectators. Hopefully, nobody will recognize her since she's wearing her standard fighting outfit. But that's just a risk she's gonna have to take.
Brunette... Brunette.... Think back Aranha, when would you have seen a brunette that you would've needed to keep your hands off of. Then recognition comes to mind and it shows on his face. "Oh fuckin hell. The bitch told me she was single."
He shrugs and then lets out an audible sigh but then he hears a voice and he realizes that what was a good day that was slowly becoming a bad day, suddenly taking a sharp drop to quite possibly the second worst day ever.
While he has moved past his hatred of Naerose, he still maintains a level of dislike if not a grudging level of respect. But having her announce his fight it's not something he wants. "Oh god... Why now of all times?"
Well he has to fight and fight he shall however making one last comment before he turns on his Oakley Thumps. "Tell Johnny Two Teeth, to tell his loose bitch to stop going around telling people that she's available." He pauses for a moment to laugh at Naerose's moniker for him before going into his ginga.
"That is none of my concern," Kohaku states simply, showing a complete lack of disregard for whether Aranha deserves what he's getting or not. Motivations are meaningless once a job is accepted- it isn't as if he was ordered to kill Aranha.
Naerose pipes up, and Kohaku gives a look at the witch as she introduces the both of them, referring to him as Leonardo. It's too bad he didn't wield sai, or that could have been especially funny. "My name is Kohaku Ishikuno," he announces loud enough for her and everyone else to hear. Had he known there was an announcer planned he'd have given it at the door.
And then there's someone else recognizable in the crowd, a fellow ninja but not of a type anything like his own. A sideways glance is given to Maki and held on her for a few moments, but that is all. He returns his gaze to Aranha. "You can tell him yourself if it's that important to you. If you met his lady you should know where to find him."
"Sure Leo," Naerose states into the loudspeaker. If he had much knowledge in Naerose commenting he'd know that she isn't one who ever took much of the fighter's wishes to heart. In fact she usually spent the entire time ridiculing the lot of them and usually pissing everyone off a lot all around. She had, even on occasions ended up drawn into the bout and beaten up for it. Once Geese Howard himself even had the SNF organizers toss ehr into the ring. All the same she keeps on going, not missing a beat.
"Right, Angel food cake or Devil food cake, It's cool, are you ready? Engage!"
It was a meaningless start call, because Naerose didn't actually have any authority what so ever to say start, stop, hi, or can I eat the rest of those fries?
"Fine then, I'll be sure to tell that ugly ass motha fucker personally." His ginga continues though he reaches a hand up to the sunglasses to turn up the volume a bit. Not enough that he'd drown out his opponent, but enough that he'd have something to block out the witch with. On the up side, the worst he's been called by Naerose is mean. Though she wasn't announcing the fight then.
Even though Naerose's call to fight wasn't official, the real official happened to bring his hand down at about the same time and so he begins to dance forward, swaying to his music before suddenly shooting out a side kick for the ninja's stomach before rocking away.
COMBATSYS: Aranha has started a fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kohaku has joined the fight here.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Kohaku
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Kohaku with Change-Up Kick.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Kohaku
His name announcement is completely ignored by the witch, and Aranha attacks. One of these carries importance, the other is essentially meaningless. This is where things get fairly surprising for Kohaku. He knew that the power of the inhabitants of this city could be high, but not that 'random' people could have the kind of speed that Aranha displays.
Distance is Kohaku's friend, and it's something that Aranha manages to break down immediately, the kicking strike coming in with such shocking speed that the Ninja is kicked in the chest and knocked back like a total chump in the very first moments of the fight.
But if there are any doubts created by this, they might be put to rest by the recovery, the man falling backwards into a hand stand and allowing himself to continue to flip into a three point stance. He lunges. Not towards Aranha but to the side, quickly reaching into hidden pockets and lining up large rows of needles between his fingers. The right arm sweeps forward and the needls are released, quickly followed by the left arm. The tiny weapons fly forward toward exceptionally precise targets, targeting acupuncture points all over Aranha's abdomen.
COMBATSYS: Aranha dodges Kohaku's Raven.
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Aranha 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Kohaku
It's the little things that Aranha does that makes his own evasion possible. For example that subtle rocking motion that Aranha performed after delivering the kick puts himself in better position to drop down under the needles in a straddle split while planting his hands on the ground. That position also allowed the capoeirista to get a fix on the ninja's location by looking between his own legs before he springs out of it and back to his feet with his back still facing the ninja, though he is looking under his armpit to make sure he can still see him.
Aranha's still fairly far away after Kohaku moving to the side to deliver the attack and so he performs a back handspring which has both flash and a practical purpose in mind. It brings him closer and sets himself up to perform what would look to be another back handspring if it wasn't for the fact that he stops in a handstand and is snapping out a rapid series of kicks on his head from said handstand.
COMBATSYS: Aranha successfully hits Kohaku with Inverted Flurry.
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Aranha 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Kohaku
"Woah, Aranha comes off with some serious offense. He's playing the paint tonight with close range shots and slams over his opponent. Leo maybe a doctor, or a strange kind of martial artist, but so far we've seen some one sided action. For those who know Aranha, he is fast and today we're seeing that speed, but how long can he keep up this intensity? That is the question," Naerose drones into her loudspeaker, banging on her broom for effect.
The needles miss. Yet a further shock to the ninja, coming completely unexpected. So he was fast on his feet in all ways, and just as nimble as Kohaku himself. The ninja is not proving his worth today.
The back springs bring the young man within striking distance, and Kohaku attempts a defense that is much the same as Aranhas, ducking down and trying to run underneath the kicks as they're aimed at him. Failure. The kicks pound into his head and back as Aranha whirlwinds from his hands.
Not so graceful this time the Ishikuno is driven into the ground, hitting with a loud release of breath as the wind is driven from his lungs. Forced now into close ranged the ninja abandons his attempts to play keepaway, staying grounded and pulling his legs in and then lashing out with a double kick to the chest while using the motion to attempt to get him on his own feet, following up by reaching for the left leg and trying to wrap both arms around it, allowing himself to fall on top of him while twiting his body around to initiate a vicious leg lock.
COMBATSYS: Aranha interrupts Combo Throw from Kohaku with Quick Throw.
- Power hit! -
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Aranha 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Kohaku
"G.. g g g .." Naerose begins while her shades sllllide down her nose and she just stares in stunned silence for a moment while the fight unfolds.
"SHOW STOPPER! That is what we like to call a brick wall, Aranha is on a roll unlike any I've ever seen him on. Looks like Leo is in hot water right now.
Aranha was in a position where probably should've been caught dead in the water but by some miracle, the capoeirista manages to bring up his hand to deflect the kicks while maintaining a one handed handstand. However, when the ninja goes to grab his leg, Aranha knows exactly what to do. He violently wrenches his leg from Kohaku's grip while bringing his right leg into position at the back of the ninja's knees before suddenly twisting himself so that his left lock on the thighs and then further continues the twist to leg scissor the ninja onto his back.
Aranha being a capoeirista though, doesn't like staying locked up in holds and so he quickly spins to his feet and then backs off giving Kohaku some distance again.
The needles miss. Yet a further shock to the ninja, coming completely unexpected. So he was fast on his feet in all ways, and just as nimble as Kohaku himself. The ninja is not proving his worth today.
The back springs bring the young man within striking distance, and Kohaku attempts a defense that is much the same as Aranhas, ducking down and trying to run underneath the kicks as they're aimed at him. Failure. The kicks pound into his head and back as Aranha whirlwinds from his hands.
Not so graceful this time the Ishikuno is driven into the ground, hitting with a loud release of breath as the wind is driven from his lungs. Forced now into close ranged the ninja abandons his attempts to play keepaway, staying grounded and pulling his legs in and then lashing out with a double kick to the chest while using the motion to attempt to get him on his own feet, following up by reaching for the left leg and trying to wrap both arms around it, allowing himself to fall on top of him while twiting his body around to initiate a vicious leg lock.
Reversing the leglock- does this martial artist know jujitsu as well as this dancing kick based style he practices? It's something Kohaku hadn't thought of before, but now it's firmly in his minds eye. He'll have to keep it in mind. As his leg and knee is wrenched the muscles on the side of his face stand out from the rest, clearly showing that he's clenching his teeth if anyone cares to look. No audible signs of weakness are given, and the lock is quickly released as Aranha moves to gain room to move.
The ninja doesn't want to be at range anymore, however. A small motion of his hand shows some kind of seal being performed and a gust of wind springs up around him, aiding as he charges straight for Aranha in a near-suicidal manner that is fairly uncommon among ninja. The man reaches out with his right arm and attempts to wrap it around Aranha's neck, flexing his bicep and attempting to slam the fighter to the cardboard covered ground and onto his back. If downed he'll flop and twist immediately, wrapping a leg in front of one the capoeirist in order to keep him from using them to escape, meanwhile trying to simply choke him out after applying the powerful DDT.
COMBATSYS: Kohaku successfully hits Aranha with Rebound Throw.
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Aranha 1/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Kohaku
Perhaps the capoeirista's luck was running out, perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't expecting such a nigh suicidal charge and he is quickly taken off of his feet and down to the ground hard. He isn't even given time to swing himself free of the the grapple and at first he struggles against it.
But with his legs taken out of the picture there simply isn't much he can do and so his body starts going limp it keeps going for awhile until it looks like the capoeirista may be taken out of the fight. But that's only what it appears to be. The ninja might want to pay attention to that glowing hand in close proximity to his kidney.
COMBATSYS: Kohaku blocks Aranha's Malicia.
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Aranha 1/------=/=======|=======\=====--\1 Kohaku
"Talk about an attack. Leo takes Aranha and gives him something back plus some change. For those of you listening on the radio" - no one - " What we see here is a throw of sorts, Leo charged Aranha, whom was so used to just getting outof the way, well there wasn't much room, and after a ninja grab, ninja please, Aranha is slammed hard, but as much as that loooks like it hurt and it does, the dancing maniac is not off his feet yet, the fight is still raging folks, but looking much more even, at least.. then a moment ago." The witch drones on.
The grip is tightened as Aranha seems to go limp, the ninja trying in earnest to simply knock him out by choking. And it may well have worked, if Aranha wasn't adept at using chi. Kohaku is sensitive to it, and hasn't lowered his guard an ounce. The hand comes down, and the ninja immediately releases the hold, needing that arm to interpose itself between Aranha's hand and his back. The arm is hit rather than the kidney, and the limb jerks painfully away from the sudden introduction of energy.
Aranha is immediately released and Kohaku rolls away and up to his feet. But he stays close, directly next to the young man. He should still be woozy from the stranglehold, and that should be all the opening he needs. His hands become a blur, moving in ways to hasten the molding of chi. A white glow appears around his hand, and he strikes downward, attempting to press the energy against and then into Aranha's chest. At first it would be oddly harmless. The ninja would then escape, darting quickly awa.
COMBATSYS: Kohaku successfully hits Aranha with Hornet.
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Aranha 1/=======/=======|=====--\-------\0 Kohaku
The energy enters into him and sits there for the shortest moment as Kohaku escapes. Immediately afterward there's a near explosion, chi tearing out of his body in every direction, small bursts of cutting winds that glow white with energy on their leading edges, individually small but in huge numbers. It's a killing technique- a clan weapon devised and then refined through the centuries, brought about as powerfully as the ninja can manage.
...but Aranha can survive it, and easily, reducing it to nothing more than a very powerful weapon at his disposal.
"One massive attack after the other, Aranha answers, Leo Answers.. This is quite the collosal kicks, er.. I mean not literally of course, as Aranha actually has a move he calls colossal Kick, which is .. of course.. way better than Rhino Ravanger.. Eh hem, but this folks is quite the show, a lot of power flying both ways.. If this were some cheesy anime I might start going 'I've never seen such a powerlevel' and then say something like, 'they're going to destroy th eplanet'. Of course they won't, but possibly each other if this keeps up.," Naerose rambles on.
The capoeirista finds himself screaming in agony as the energy rips through his body. It's nothing like anything Aranha has ever felt in his life. Granted, it's not the most pain he has ever felt before but it was different in that it was the first time he has ever felt energy rip outward and it was a sensation that the Dancing Spider is in no hurry to repeat.
After the energy has its way with him, Aranha finds himself dropped to one knee for a moment, his tank top with so many holes that one would think he wore it in the middle of a gun fight or in the middle of a fight from a cheesy anime. Slowly he rises to his feet with gritted teeth which he then forces into a smile as if he was attempting to smile away the pain.
And then Aranha launches himself at Kohaku before going into a whirlwind of chi enhanced kicks, outside crescent kicks, side kicks, spinning back heel kicks, spinning jump kicks. Kicking over and over again before he suddenly changes direction and delivers more from the opposite direction with no pause in his kicks until he tilts himself over into a handstand splitting his legs apart as he attempts to smack the ninja repeatedly with a hurricane of blue glowing kicks from that handstand
COMBATSYS: Kohaku interrupts Royal Flush from Aranha with Mantis.
[ \ < > /// ]
Aranha 1/------=/=======|======-\-------\0 Kohaku
COMBATSYS: Kohaku can no longer fight.
[ \ <
Aranha 1/------=/=======|
"WOAH, okay folks let me describe - Aw snap, it's the po po!" exclaims Naerose and literally hi tails it right then and there. She gets going the moment she hears the sirens.. and strangely.. the sirens fade as the Witch fades into the distance, really trucking it on foot. The reason becomes apparent, or became apparent the moment the siren sound started. She had made this mistake of hitting the siren button on the megaphone and failed to realize it. Either way the announcer never does manage to call the end of the fight.. Luckily paid officials are still present to do their job.
Where Kohaku began the fight with underestimation and poor form, he will end it at the top of his game.
He is ready when Aranha comes, the young man not fallen into a trap but instead becoming the victim of in depth planning... and a fair amount of luck. As the energy laden fighter rushes him the ninja holds his ground, hands lifting and moving together to once again allow a large release of chi energy. It seems to take a frighteningly long time compared to how fast Aranha closes. And then when done his arms open wide as if to simply ask and accept the beating offered to him. The first kick lands in the same moment a windstorm erupts around the pair.
The ninja buckles under the pressure of the attack, the impact causing his body to lurch painfully in the opposite direction, only to be stopped by a second coming in from the other direction. The two fighters rise into the air by the power of the slashing winds, drawn upward by the energies, Kohaku drawn up by the power of Aranha's legs Halfway to the ceiling the ninja seems to snap out of a trance as he's being beaten upon, reaching out and grabbing his target by his kicking leg, twisting around in the air and hurling him down to the ground.
The winds die instantly, and the ninja himself falls, twisting limply and impacting the ground on his stomach. A harsh cough is made and blood flies from his mouth and splatters on the cardboard. He lays there, limply, and speaks two words. "I concede."
He did not win this fight.
He did not win, but he completed his job. And that, for him, is enough.
Aranha knew that he was coming at the ninja with enough power in that first kick it would be enough to end it but he didn't want to leave anything to chance. He had seen enough people get up after taking what would seem like a massive beating and come back harder through sheer force of will. He wanted to at least make sure that if Kohaku was one of those people he'd atleast make him regret it win or lose.
Aranha also knew that Kohaku put so much into his attack to damage him that he'd be in position to hit him harder and because of that he knew that if the ninja tried to stand his ground, he'd be able to trample him. And while Aranha tended to favor finesse over brute tactics, he knew that at this moment the brute tactics were his best option. Of course there are some who favor making sure a message is delivered or making sure they take him down with them over coming out of the fight in the best condition they can. It's those types that the capoeirista finds the most dangerous since the lack of self preservation makes them unpredictable.
Because Kohaku is of that catagory of fighter willing to sacrifice himself, Aranha ends up becoming a mutual victim of their collision. They impact the ground at about the same time and he's unable to pick himself off the ground. "Concede?" Aranha flops backward staying just conscious enough to be able to make sure Naerose doesn't pick his pockets when she comes back.
COMBATSYS: Aranha takes no action.
COMBATSYS: Aranha can no longer fight.
More coughs come from the ninja, and more blood escapes from him. Aranha didn't fight in a way that would wound externally other than through bruises, but the forceful kicks impacts were enough to damage things inside as well. Time passes, and then slowly the ninja pulls himself to his feet. He reaches into pockets hidden in his clothing and produces needles. Needles that he gently presses through his garments, and into his skin beneath. It takes only a few moments.
"Yes, concede. I was forced into a position where I could not win," a checkmate, "and so you are the victor." Only in chess you can't sacrifice the King. He begins walking slowly out, stopping to hand an audience member some token amount of cash, handed a small stick of memory of the type used in digital camcorders in return.
Log created on 13:31:25 09/04/2008 by Naerose, and last modified on 15:13:27 09/05/2008.