Description: Do you have fond memories of strolling along the white sandy beaches, spending time with a new friend, and drinking in the natural splendor of the Hawaiian isles? Do those memories also involve a midget pervert zombie from hell that just won't die? (Winners: Hotaru and Marisol)
A weekend in Hawaii is a far cry from the usual matches Hotaru finds herself in. Used to getting tormented by the evil whims of the SNF officials, this drastic change from the norm caught her by surprise. There had to be a catch. Maybe the partner they had in mind for her was some kind of psychopath; and she would have to spend the two days in misery worrying about what sort of horrible experience lurked around every corner. She knew of Marisol by name and face. The girl was a belt holder within the SNF circuit which meant the ever fight-conscious Hotaru was at least aware of her even if she had never met the girl. She SEEMED normal on TV, but one never knows for sure until they've met her.
As it's turned out, her worrying was for nothing. The catch turned out to not be an unpleasant one at all. Spending time with the fiery girl only ended up amusing the patient Asian girl as the two spent time checking out the sights of the island state during their day before the match. Of course, the Futaba heiress absolutely had to drag Marisol on a nature hike into the nearby mountains to vista points from which to view the majestic canyons tucked away from the sandy beaches. But that meant she had to be open to any ideas Marisol wanted to pursue as well as the day went on.
With SNF footing the bill, the two girls have had access to shopping, tours, and pretty much anything else money can buy in the popular vacation spot. But they aren't getting paid for /nothing/. Eventually the time comes at which the four fighters brought to the state have to meet out on the beach for the scheduled match. The sand is bright, not quite white, and the water a crystal clear blue-green. The waves are gentle at the moment, only lapping up onto the shore a little ways before receding back out to sea. An area of the beach has been reserved for the match, but the rest of it is covered with portable seats, umbrellas, tanning towels, with sounds of laughter, children and adults playing in the water, and everyone simply enjoying the tropical island experience for what it is.
Waiting on the beach, hands clasped behind her back, Hotaru Futaba nudges the sand a little, a thoughtful expression on her face. She isn't fond of fighting on unstable surfaces, but she's also very adaptable with dealing with those kinds of situations. Glancing up a long the shore to gaze out over the vast, clear horizon, she breaths in deeply, exhaling slowly, a quiet smile at her lips, "I can see why it's such a popular place to go. I've never been here before," she admits, turning around to check on her friend for the weekend, Marisol O'Connell.
Marisol O'Connell had made a pretty weird reputation for herself over the year.
Some say she's crazy. Others say she's not so bad. Some might swear she's inhuman.
Whatever the case may be, the girl could care less about what others think about her. She is quite content in being herself and doing as she so pleases, whether it's a fight or not. In truth, she gets along with a good number of people, surprisingly enough! Hotaru Futaba included. The girl was like ice to the half-Spaniard girl's fire over the weekend. Marisol didn't mind being drug around Hawaii with the pretty-famous little Kenpo artist.
Of course, in turn she drug Futaba to a wide number of clothing stores and restaurants. Why not? SNF WAS footing that bill, of course. They might second-guess it when they see just how much someone like Marisol was capable of spending in the span of a weekend. But she didn't matter--she signed up for SNFs not only to train and push herself, but also to have fun.
Eventually, the two were scheduled to face down two equal opponents on the sandy beaches of Hawaii, and Marisol was more than eager to make her way. Clad in a lightweight pale green beach hoodie with a bikini top underneath and a pair of comfortable khakis, she certainly looks the part of someone just here to have fun on the sandy beach of Waimea Bay. In fact, one would say she's having too much fun...
While Hotaru frets over the unstable surface of the sands, Marisol is standing near the shore in the waters, letting her hands scoop up the crystal clear water before she lightly tosses it about. It's been a while since she's seen beaches THIS gorgeous. But Hotaru's confession makes the half-Spaniard pause, a thoughtful look on her face before she squints lightly. "Really? Wow, I'd have figured you'd come here at least once. You seem pretty busy on the fighting circuit and all... Ah well! You're here now, huh?" She grins broadly.
"So let's win this so you can enjoy your visit!"
Hawaii!
Yes, to kids in Japan, 'Kamehameha' is a big beam of gold energy that requires a lot of grunting and sweating to pull off. But to the natives of this sun-dappled seaside state, he is a historical figure of great importance! Or something of that nature. Although his fighting career has taken him to a number of locales around the world, this particular instance is Frei's first trip here, and other than it being the 50th US state and producing a king that has a DBZ move named after him, the young sage doesn't really know all that much about the place. Thus, he's looking forward to spending some time on the islands and enjoying himself.
However.
There is one tiny little monkeywrench in that plan: the condition of his free trip to Waimea Bay is that he has to spend the weekend with, of all people, Choi Bounge. The two are not strangers, per se; they've met in the SNF arena once before, though not as teammates. Perhaps the fight organizers threw Choi with Frei with the knowledge that while Marisol or Hotaru as his partner might make for more interesting TV, they might also end with the diminutive Korean in the hospital before fight time, which would be sub-optimal at the very least. Plus, Frei's a tolerant, easygoing guy, right? He can take it.
That's sort of true. Sort of.
Choi appeared to be content to wander the beach, which was fine with Frei... after the events of the last few weeks some time on the sand relaxing would be perfect. And for about the first 10 minutes or so, it was... but then the screaming started, followed by the demands of Frei for explanations or to control Choi (one particularly goofy elderly woman demanded that he 'control his child', which made the chi sage stare back at her blankly). In fact, the entire day from the second they stepped on the beach had been, more or less, a non-stop, Urusei Yatsura-class hentai fantasy camp. His eventual recourse was simply to lay back on his towel and shut his eyes. When *that* didn't work, he put a book over his face and tried to play dead.
His attempt at rest is interrupted by an arriving SNF employee, one of the production assistants, leaning down and shaking him a bit. Stirring with an "ngh", Frei gets up and sets the book aside, glancing around. Espying Hotaru and Marisol, he walks over to them with an expression of undisguised relief, giving a wave. He's dressed in an oversized white short-sleeved shirt, the bottoms of denim cutoffs visible beneath the hem, and no shoes for the sand. Giving them a little wave, he smiles... and has a tiny, tiny facial tic. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."
See, torture is a funny thing. The most obvious form of torment is direct pain. You beat them. You warp them. You make every moment of their existence a monument to suffering. Professionals know how to extend it. They know how to highlight it. They make it into an art. But true masters... know how to heighten the suffering to unknown levels.
Hotaru expected the usual bout of torment. Instead, she got a friend. A friend she would grow close to. Throughout the weekend, they would bond. They would socialize. They would grow closer and closer together in an island paradise, documented and recorded throughout the two days. And during this time, she would forget her fear. Even dismiss it. After all, how could this SNF go wrong? She is obviously paired with someone likable. What individual could ever cause such a violent shift from safety to complete and utter dread?
Enter Team Two.
"WHOOOOA-ho ho, buddy boy!" Choi called out to Frei, cradling his frosty glass of sex on the beach while eyeing a particularly attractive pair of blondes soaking a tan out by the water. Taking a sip from the former while fantasizing it with the latter, The midget adjusts his bright-red hammock, trying to make sure it covers ALL the important surface area. Ever since Choi had that malfunction near that family from the Goa Coast, he had to make sure all his furniture was in the room. After all, even though this was the island vacation, it wasn't a 'open marketplace.'
From Choi's perspective, being tied to Frei was all-in-all not a terrible thing. After the SNF officials pulled strings to get Choi away from his parole officers, the chance to enjoy fun and sun was too much. The only hook was spending the time with Frei. Which of course, meant that Frei would stay back while Choi ran freely along the beaches.
After pulling off enough stunts to overwhelm Happosai (a name Choi grew used to being compared to during this weekend), The little man was set. Good drink. Good swimwear. Enough pictures to last him a month. Red heads, blonds, brunettes, and every country EXCEPT Spain. That last one made Choi a bit hurt on the inside. If there was nothing he liked better, it was feisty young Spanish ladies. But who knows. Choi stroked the camera hung over his neck at around his sunburned nipples.
Maybe he would get lucky.
The SNF employee had been waiting five minutes to figure out the least painful way to interact with Choi. Staring at the fedora-clad pseudo-nudists with the oh-god-why-aren't-covered-cheeks, the man twisted the tiny clawgloves uncomfortably. Finally, he approaches the midget. "Ex-excuse me sir. But the fight... I mean, with the girls, I mean, OHGOD it moved." A high-pitched squeal breaks through the Hawaiian sea breeze as a suited man runs towards the hotel, leaving only a confused midget and a pair of gloves in the sand.
Choi stares at the gloves, and finishes off his drink. He dips down to pick up the gloves, and delicately adjusts them on. He then slowly stares over to where Frei is. Then Marisol. Then Hotaru.
The sunlight glints brightly off the Korean's grin.
"For some reason," Hotaru answers Marisol, "Events seem to be staged at the North Pole, ovens in Southtown, or jungle bayous." The girl grins faintly as she ponders some of the ridiculous venues she's made appearances at but there's no denying that being a regular participant has resulted in being sent to strange or unpleasant places more often than this fantastic vacation. Perhaps this is some kind of attempt at appeasement from the SNF officials to avoid irritating their regular fighters. Of course, were that the case, that would hardly explain /Frei's/ fate.
"This is nice for a change," she adds after a moment's contemplation, clasping her hands behind her back. While she had never planned on picking up something else to were for the fight, rather consistant in appearing on television in her well known Chinese styled outfit, the shopping spree Marisol took her along for resulted in an unscheduled change in wardrobe for the Kenpo artist as well. A blue one-piece swimsuit worn beneath a only barely see-through yellow summer dress that reaches down to her knees seems to have been what she's picked out for the match. Bare foot on account of the soft sand beneath her feet, she exhales contentedly as she runs her toes through the warm sand for a moment. If she knew the details about who was coming, she might have gone back for her more conservative attire...
"Yeah," she grins as Marisol talks about winning the match. She likes the girl's spirit. She has an energy about her that the typically more quiet girl found encouraging throughout their time spent together. "Congratulations, by the way," she adds, her mind now more on fighting than it had been the last day or so, "On earning that title belt." she grins, having forgotten to say anything of it before now.
And that's when Frei speaks up, approaching the two girls along the sandy shore. Whirling toward him, Hotaru's expression remains bright, "Frei! It's good to see you. So you're one of our opponents." the girl chirps, "And who've you got along for-" Her voice fades slowly as her eyes shift to the grinning midget Frei got stuck with. "..."
Taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly, the girl shakes her head, the look she gives the monk one of utmost, abject pitty. To have such a fate... and to think, the one weekend Jiro is free of Choi is the one she's out of town?
The fighters brought together, for better or for worse, the cameras in place, and the officials and public outside the cordoned area, it seems things are ready to get rolling. "All right, I'm looking forward to fighting along with you," Hotaru grins at Marisol before shifting her attention to focus on her opponents. It's time.
She's off to a bit of a slow start initially as she bolts toward Frei, picking her long time friend as her first target to exchange blows with, the girl drops into a low crouch from a half-yard away, arms out at her sides before she sweeps in and forward, rising up into a right handed palm strike gunning straight for his center of gravity. An opening shot as she works her way into the speed of the fight!
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has started a fight here on the left meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Frei
COMBATSYS: Choi has joined the fight here.
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Choi 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Frei
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marisol has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Marisol 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Frei
"TELL me about it," the half-Spaniard girl replies, eyes rolling upwards toward the blue skies overhead. "I'm very glad they didn't put me in the Alps again this week. That cold was a pain in the ass to overcome." It didn't help that one of the fighters there used ice chi; that was like adding insult to injury! But she had fun. And now she has the prospect of getting a weekend on the beaches of Hawaii! Her perseverance clearly paid off.
Lifting a hand, the redhead absently rubs the back of her red mane, gray eyes drifting back onto the cheerful Futaba girl before she herself grins. Really--she didn't think her personality would mesh well with someone as ...well, NICE as Hotaru, but so far she hasn't scared her off. That's definitely a good sign! "That dress is adorable, by the way," she offers, sporting a friendly smile. "Let's just hope it doesn't get messed up in the fight." She prays none of their opponents use weapons.
Boy will she be mistaken.
However, when she mentions the belt the girl blushes, clearly disarmed before she coughs lightly and glances aside. "E-er, thank you," she replies, sounding less confident and a whole lot more sheepish, evident by the tiny grin on her face. Inwardly, though, she doesn't really like having it. Her reasons for 'taking' it were pretty petty when she thinks on it...but then again, it was TENMA KIRYUU. That jerk!
She begins to speak, but she's cut short as Frei arrives and speaks to the Futaba girl. She quietly offers a wave before she looks elsewhere - specifically for his teammate. Who is it going to be..?
Is that a dwarf? And does it have claws? And why is it looking at the two girls like that..?
"G-good luck, Futaba," the half-Spaniard offers. It would appear the girl's eyes go back onto Frei, as the SNF coordinators give the go-ahead, but Hotaru beats her to it. Marisol frowns lightly. Hey, don't make her fight this tiny weirdo alone..!
Shaking her head, the redhead grits her teeth and finds her resolve. "Okay, Short-Round!" the girl barks, thrusting her finger toward Choi. "Let's get to it!"
She starts out carefully - cautiously, even. Charging Choi, she coils a fist tightly as she sails forward, attempting to deliver a downward angled punch to the top of his head. Why? Well, because he's kind of short. Duh. "HYAAAGH!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Medium Punch.
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Marisol 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Frei
Well, things are off to a ringing start, aren't they? Hotaru doesn't waste any time blowing right into the fray (and the Frei), as he might have expected... and even as Marisol glances his way, his return expression is one of hopeless what-can-you-do mixed with sympathy. He's fought Choi before, and understands exactly what Marisol is in for. He wouldn't wish it on anyone. "It's been... interesting," he says to Hotaru as she starts her attack run, locking her Futaba-foils in attack position. Setting his foot back a bit, he gets into stance himself, taking a deep breath. This is going to be very difficult, especially since...
Well, that's a statement for another time. Deciding that he doesn't really want to try dodging all over the place in the movement-hindering sand, he instead braces for the worst and hopes to use Hotaru suddenly being in close quarters to his advantage. Sadly, things don't work out quite like he'd hoped. Why? Because his playing dead all day means his side is somewhat sunburned from laying on his back the whole time, and when Hotaru punches it, well... it stings more than he expected it to, ruining his chances to get in close and react before she can dance nimbly out of the way. Instead he spends that time hissing in pain, unexpectedly.
Gonna be one of those fights.
But he's not daunted, for the moment. Instead he tries to stand up a little straight. "Let's see... if I can do this," he says carefully, flexing the fingers on his right hand. "And see if Chun-Li was right." Kicking off the sand, he dives for Hotaru, looking to grab her by the shoulder and simply shove *downward*, to meet his knee as it rises toward her stomach. A fairly basic sort of attack... but lacking in the young sage's typical use of chi even in the most basic strikes, which might be considered odd by some observers.
COMBATSYS: Marisol successfully hits Choi with Light Punch.
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Marisol 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Frei
Yes, the fight began. But without Choi, it seemed. The Korean was grinning at Marisol (rumored to be much like a Jiro with a set of ovaries (which meant she was a more masculine than anything Jiro could even hope to be (which in turn could possibly explain why Hotaru and her worked so well together (So maybe Choi should begin informing and advising Jiro on the sudden change of playing fields his ex-girlfriend has been doing (which will have to end with Choi taking the Interpol Agent to a strip club))) for reasons that have since the beginning of the asides been forgotten.
Oh right. Choi was grinning because he finally found his Spanish female. A red head too! The little man was busy fiddling with the camera. Made difficult by the claws, he worked hard anyways. The price of his fetishes may have been steep, but was well worth the price. He lined up the bounding bouncing babe. Each ripple was taken in by the lens. "Hold steady, toots!" The midget cried, making no sudden movements. Finally, as she reached THAT perfect size, he pushed the button.
*CLICK*
*WHAM*
The Korean's camera was sent flying, and with it, the Korean. Choi collided in the sand, nose bleeding profusely. Did she? Yes she did. She just drew blood. The little man staggered up, looking at his camera. Broken. Choi turned back over to Marisol. He took a long blade of his claw, and scraped the blood off his lip. Letting loose his tongue, he licks it off. And grins. Oh that grin. And then, he speaks slow... delicately... and softly.
"Feisty..." It began.
"Just how I like it!"
Choi let loose a howl as he charged forward, a cloud of dust throwing up in the air as he ripped over the sands. He started on his feet and claws, but ended through the air. Curled into a tight ball, the little man was trying to toss himself right into the feisty ginger. Using his claws to keep traction, it seemed he was going to make up for lost distance on the woman.
Since distance of course was the LAST thing you want great amounts of with Choi.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Combo Throw.
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Marisol 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Frei
"Thanks," Hotaru whispers in response to Marisol's bid of luck and compliment on her sleeveless, airy summer dress. "And, if you haven't dealt with /him/ before," she continues nodding toward Choi, "Be careful with that one," she adds. How can she even begin to explain just what Marisol should be careful of without having her cheeks blush a bit red? "I can't even begin to imagine," the smaller fighter responds to Frei next with a short shake of her head. Frei and Choi? Poor guy. Her dress flowing easily around her, doing nothing to constrict her fluid motions as she draws back from the quick palm strike. "You spoke with Chun-Li recently?" the girl asks, interest piqued. Her busy schedule had kept her from catching the match when it aired. She'll see the reruns eventually.
Blue eyes study the man carefully. He doesn't fight exactly the same as she had come to know over the course of a year. But then again, either does she. People grow, fighters learn new techniques, new approaches to age old problems. It's an ongoing cycle at this stage of life - experience something new, grow and adjust for it, move on to the next experience. And right now, he gives her something entirely new to watch out for. Detecting he intends to get a hold of her, what she can't figure out is where the next burst of chi is going to come from. She is about to simply hold her ground, try to put her flexiblity to use in slipping free, but suspicious of the change in approach on Frei's part, she decides to skip back out of complete range instead, sand flying up from where she leaps.
Landing a couple yards back, she spares a glance to her side to check on how Marisol is handling the eager Korean. "She's a friend of mine - if you..." the girl shakes her head, not having time to finish her dire threat about Choi's future well being should he, well, BE HIMSELF all over her partner. Instead the girl goes back on the offense, speeding for Frei and taking to the air in a steep arc, she flips forward into a right-knee first dive targeting the monk's shoulder as a point of impact. If she connects, she follows up with an immediate swift kick from her left leg before backflipping away to buy a bit of distance from him!
COMBATSYS: Marisol blocks Choi's Hien Zan.
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Marisol 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Frei
Be careful with Choi, Hotaru advises. "Th-thanks," is Marisol's uneasy reply, her eyes drifting back onto the short Korean man. Just how bad can he really be..?
Later, it's likely she'll regret asking herself that question. But for now? She's gonna punch him.
'Hold steady.' The remark draws a puzzled look on the girl's face midway, gray eyes clearly confused as she charges the infamous Choi. But when a glint of sunlight catches off the lens and gives better form to precisely what he's holding, her face just gets all the more annoyed. He's going to take a PICTURE of her? While she's getting ready to PUNCH him??
Smacking the tiny Korean on the head, the girl lets her teeth bare, full lips pulling back in an obvious expression of disgust. "Don't call me toots, gramps!" the girl snaps, pointing a finger immediately at Choi as he begins to get up. Thank god the camera is busted at least. But...wait, is he ...licking his own blood?
"Ew, that is just gross," Marisol replies.
'Feisty,' he says. The girl's face goes pale with uneasiness. Is he some kind of predator?
No, she doesn't want to know the answer to that question she decides, shaking her head dismissively a few times. And then he has to go and prove he is, in fact, some kind of predator. Sexual predator, anyway.
He charges, sand and grit kicking up as he flies at her like a little ball of Korean man, claws flashing about. Her response is a simple drawing up of her arms, both forearms shielding her body from harm as he inevitably collides with her. Impact draws a light grunt from the half-Spaniard girl, gray eyes widening before she tries to capitalize on the brief and - sadly - close proximity she has with the man.
Drawing a fist tightly, the redhead swings it deeply, aimed for Choi's stomach. If it connects she'll try to snare him by his hat and drive his face into her crooked knee before she lets go and swings a leg up high, delivering an odd and clearly unorthodox vertical kick to send Choi flying.
Somewhere in there she's glad she chose to wear khaki shorts and not a khaki skirt.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Rengeki Shuu.
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Marisol 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
He hadn't expected to actually make contact with her, but sadly the foreknowledge doesn't do much good for Frei in the long run, defensively speaking. He pulls back, bringing his hands up to defend himself if he has to. He's already taking long, slow breaths... and he shouldn't be, all things considered. There's no way that attack could have exhausted him, and while Hotaru hit him she didn't hit him THAT hard. Perhaps it's just the heat? "We had a Neo League fight," he explains to Hotaru, tracking her movements with his gaze for a moment before sparing a glance over to Choi and Marisol, and grimacing at the call of 'just how I like it'.
"That lacks sincerity," Frei says in a mutter, turning back to Hotaru, "for someone who's been tracking every girl on this beach like a bloodhound for the past 5 hours."
And then Miss Futaba is in the air, flipping at him, doing all sorts of nasty things in order to deal him a mighty blow! And deal one she does; the young sage decides against trying to fend off such a complex attack and instead decides to just try and... hop out of the way. The problem with that is that Frei's footspeed can only be described as Fail++, and not in any way up to getting away from Hotaru's strike, which sends him stumbling back a number of steps in the sand. "We talked about a few things, is all," he adds, watching Hotaru carefully but not actually attacking. It's going to be rough, and he's already considerably behind... but the surprisingly determined look on his face says he's got something to prove, or maybe something to uncover, before he's done here today.
COMBATSYS: Frei focuses on his next action.
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Marisol 0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
COMBATSYS: Marisol successfully hits Choi with Chain Reaction.
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Marisol 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
As Choi bounces off Marisol, it is like he doesn't have a care in the world. Rather, he was going to do what he does best: be a predator. Yes, Marisol has it right. Choi is a predator. He is on the hunt. Looking for his kill. And he is hungry like the wolf. Unlike Duran Duran, however, the little man lacks ANY popular backing. So as he shoots up, the feisty red head reaches for him. The little man squiggles. He wiggles. He breaks form the roll just to get out of her reach. But in the end, Marisol manages to snatch Choi, instead of the other way around.
As he is pulled down to Marisol's knee, Choi missed his sex on the beach.
The Korean leaves the combo in an airborne fashion, sailing through the air awkwardly. His enter body shudders, especially his hammock. It threatens Marisol, as it does the rest of the fighters. However, Taiwanese craftsmanship holds true, and nothing escapes from the little man.
Instead, the little man refocuses his efforts. His face was looking less and less kissable and more and more like a meat pie. Blood was streaking his face, pouring over his frowning face. "Okay, OKAY! Babe, if you need me to get ROUGH! Then I'll get rough!" The little man howls, spinning through the air as he fell down. Aiming straight for Marisol, he whirled like a football, sticking his claws far outward as he approached the earth... and her position. He was having a lot of difficult focusing on her, sadly. Thanks to all the blood, his claws were being held out wide, making it difficult to get a precise strike as he fell upon her...
Landing back in the sand, feet digging in a little to gain her immediate traction at the expensive of not being quite so mobile, Hotaru doesn't take her eyes off Frei. Something seems a little off with the chi sage though she's slow to jump to conclusions as to why. She nods slightly as to his answer regarding his opportunity to speak with Chun-Li, mouth curling into a quiet smile, "Really? Chun-Li is a remarkable martial artist," the pig-tailed fighter notes, holding her ground as she isn't forced to defend herself quite yet. "I had the honor to fight her a couple months ago."
That spoken, the girl stands up and approaches Frei a couple of steps before she starts to circle around him, hands raised to defensive positions, blue eyes focusing on him intently. It takes a feat of effort to tune out Choi's catcalls and noises, and she joins the countless millions who are glad that /thus/ far this fight, the threats of a repeat of what happened the last time he appeared on camera with Hotaru hasn't happened...
Circling Frei, finding it a bit harder to keep her footing in the sand than she's used to, "Something's on your mind," she notes after making a quarter circle. The stance has two purposes - To focus all her attention toward the center of the circle, Frei, and to center her own attention internally as she maintains that precise control. She completes half the circle, sapphire blue eyes still focused on him before she finally makes her move.
In the girl darts, leaning hard into forward speed but not at the expensive of overcommitting. She'll come to a sliding stop right before she would have potentially collided with him, both hands snapping out, one going for his wrist, the other for the front of his shirt as she applies a quick shove backward to endanger his balance then finishes by pulling him forward, using leverage on his arm to twist the monk to the sand with a disruptive slam.
COMBATSYS: Marisol fails to interrupt Houkou Tenkan from Choi with Snap Wind.
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Marisol 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Choi
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Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
There is something so very wrong about Choi Bounge.
Though sent flying, the girl looks more annoyed than anything else. She makes the mistake of glancing upwards, as he soars freely and that's when gray eyes spy him just barely contained in his garments. Her face flushes of color, eyes widening before she just looks AWAY, a mix of horror and disgust on her face. Good god--why was he allowed to wear THAT?
A glance is spared - a perfect distraction if any from Choi as he hits the sand - toward Hotaru and Frei, the redhead idly observing both fighters. But seconds after her gaze fixes on the Kenpo fighter the tiny Korean pipes up, and instantly a disgusted look crawls over Marisol's face. Turning slowly, she regards Choi, eyeing him uncertainly as he offers to fight rough. "That's...okay really," she insists. But he chooses instead to do so, anyway!
He comes flying forwards, and the girl shifts her weight, a fist clenching tightly at her hip. She waits, readying herself to punch him before he can lay a hand on her. But just as her fist goes toward his head, Choi's claws beat her to the punch, no pun intended. Struck, the claws shred the front of her light-weight hoodie and cutting flesh beneath, her expression a horrified one as she stumbles back.
Then she looks pretty pissed.
"Who brings CLAWS to a beach fight!? Are you TRYING to break the rating!?" Fortunately, her hoodie is still relatively in-tact and her bikini top underneath in one piece. "What's WRONG with you!?"
COMBATSYS: Frei just-defends Hotaru's Quick Throw!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
Something on his mind? "That... is quite true," he admits, as Hotaru makes that statement. He does indeed have something on his mind.
Of course, the skilled kenpoist makes other matters more pressing than explaining what's boiling in his brain at the moment. On the upside, fighting Hotaru requires considerable focus... perhaps enough that he's able to block out the battle of the century between Pervertzilla and Marisol, at least long enough to get things done. When Hotaru snaps her grab for his wrist, Frei actually lets her get it... but before she can do the same to the front of his shirt, he twists and inverts that grip so that he is *also* gripping her wrist, like a pair of tango dancers. It's not enough to do anything offensively to Hotaru, but it is enough for Frei to not only avoid the rest of the attack, but also get better footing to yank his arm away, dropping back into stance a few feet away.
Taking a deep breath, he regards his fellow YFCC colleague closely for a moment, recalling a time when he fought her using, of all things, a pair of halibut as impromptu nunchaku. Worse than claws? Well, they're blunt but getting the smell out takes time. "It's... I'm testing myself a bit, little by little. About a lot of things, right now." Sparing a glance to Marisol and Choi for a second, Frei seems to notice for the first time what his teammate is wearing, and though he is legendarily hard to shock... one eyebrow twitches violently. The rest of the face, impassive... but that one eyebrow looks like Frei stuck a fork in a toaster. Unbidden, he starts muttering under his breath, "Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the mind-killer..."
Turning back to Hotaru, he shakes his head. "Anyhow. I'll tell you the same thing I told Chun-Li when I fought her, I guess... forgive me if I say or do anything stupid. It's not meant out of disrespect." And with that he gets in motion, driving forward at Hotaru. In fact, he appears to mirror her previous attack: grabbing for her wrist. However, if he can keep the grip the end result is different; twisting the girl in an armbar, his other hand suddenly sparks with purple-blue lightning, which he then drives into the small of Hotaru's back before letting go.
How could Choi Bounge be so wrong when what he does feels so right?
This question probably bounces off of Choi when he dives down at Marisol, cleaving his way towards her... well, to her bikini top. The punch doesn't even reach him. As Marisol steps back, the midget splashes off the sand, sending up a shower of the thick grains around him. The Korean stands upright again, a horrible look of pleasure glowing over his face, Choi's tongue even slips free from his mouth, dangling suggestively before his slurps it right back in.
Gyrating his little midget hips with far more animation than is rating safe, the midget squeals out another cackle. "KYA HA HEEEEEE! Oh, babe, you are just beautiful." Seeing that Frei is eyeing him, the Korean stops his gyrating to wave back at his partner. He also catches sight of Hotaru, and gives her a quick double-thrust to greet her. Choi remembered the last time he wore a thong in her presence! Sadly, the leopard print work didn't survive the assault on Zaki. Focusing back on his opponent, the Korean gave a limp-wrist flick towards the red-head. "And don't get your sweet-scented panties in a bunch, toots. There is nothing wrong with me! I mean... what's wrong with liking...." And then, with little warning, the Korean lets loose a high-pitched scream.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"
The midget continues to howl at the top of his lungs as he gallops forward, and leaps. Spreading his legs far apart, he cartwheels through the air. Claws out, he attempts to use Marisol like a horse, pushing off her shoulders with his claws. And through the air, he continues his overly long scream.
"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBIES!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Shunrai.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Frei
Her wrist caught, Hotaru doesn't get the grip she was looking for, and when he steps back she lets him go rather than potentially stepping right into a second stage of his defense. Drawing back, the young fighter tenses up, standing straight, turning to the side, one shoulder toward Frei, arms raised again to the level of her face as she keeps her focus on him. He speaks about testing himself and she just gives him a slight nod of acknowledgement. It's a good practice and one she's made an emphasis in her own life.
As he apologizes however, she arcs an eyebrow just slightly, "All right..." she starts, "Depends on what you say though," she adds after a moment. She spies him coming in to get a grip back on her, her right hand, forward further, snagged before he tries to twist it into position and leave her open to a follow up attack. But she slips free just before he gets the lock, her left hand coming up to catch his other hand just before it would have established contact. "If you sound too crazy, I'll have to get worr-" The rest of what she had to say is drown out by the loud cry from Frei's partner.
Blinking for a moment, she decides to get distance from Frei. She's going to help her partner deal with the little freakshow before things get any worse. At least, that's her thoughts as she pushes back with her hand and brings her knee up swiftly, attempting to force the monk backward along the sand so that she can better check on Marisol's situation. If she gets an opening, the girl follows up with a swift snap kick aimed for his side, her dress allowing for all the freedom of movement she needs to try and keep moving at full speed. "KYA!"
COMBATSYS: Marisol endures Choi's Power Strike.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Frei
Oh. My. GOD.
That's an apt description of the horrified look on Marisol's face, as Choi snaps a tongue out of his mouth and dangles it in her direction. The look remains frozen on her face, as he actually MOVES HIS HIPS and cackles, his compliment (?) falling upon deaf ears as she takes a hesitant step back. She doesn't even know what to think anymore - this guy is just... There are no words to describe Choi Bounge.
Awkwardly - no thanks to Choi's cackling - the girl lifts her arms to her chest, hugging her shredded hoodie cautiously as she eyes the tiny man gyrate his hips in Hotaru's direction. She turns her head, eyeing her teammate briefly with that still-horrified look. And then he goes and mentions her panties.
Marisol's face grows red in embarrassment and anger.
"Why do I have the misfortune of being stuck fighting YOU!?" the girl exclaims, as Choi offers his shrill and perverse battlecry. He leaps and claws, those nasty things digging into her shoulder as he pushes off of her--but she doesn't bend or yield. If anything, the half-Spaniard will try to punch Choi out of the air as he sails overhead with a swift uppercut. To the NUTS.
"HRAAAAAGH!!"
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Medium Kick from Hotaru with Reiki EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Frei
It's like the screech of a thousand bats. When Choi shouts, even though he's *looking* at Hotaru, Frei visibly winces, as if someone were dragging their fingers across a chalkboard, at the shout. When Choi finally finishes, the young sage just sighs, shaking his head sadly and gripping his temple with one hand, as if he has a tremendous headache... and unlike Marisol and Hotaru, he's not even FIGHTING Choi. "I like girls alright," he says, in a murmur that's probably only audible to Hotaru, "but I'm glad that liking boys too spared me having to grow up to be *that guy*."
What? He kissed Alma on pay-per-view once.
But then Hotaru is bringing the fight to him, and he laughs at her statement. "What's 'too crazy' for me? I mean, I've done some crazy things before, you have to admi--" But then, knee, and he's got to focus. Without much mobility in the sand, Frei stands his ground, letting his arms fall to his side... and the sudden pale gold-green glow at his fingertips might be Hotaru's first clue that he's got something aggressive in mind, defensively... but by the time her knee slams into his stomach, it's too late. Even as he sharply exhales from the first strike, the second is forestalled as Frei snaps his hands forward and presses *down* on Hotaru's knee, driving it toward the ground and effectively 'ducking' past her, slamming his hands right into the sand. The resulting burst of concussive earth chi effectively hits the other YFCC fighter at point-blank range in a towering pillar of exploding sand, obscuring both from view.
When the 'dust' settles, Frei is standing, and rubbing his tummy with a wince. That stung! But he doesn't look happy, considering. "I'm doing it *wrong*," he says, half in frustration and half in resignation. "I'm just not doing it right at all."
COMBATSYS: Choi full-parries Marisol's Medium Punch!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-======|=======\==-----\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Frei
Choi finishes his boobie cry, causing everyone... well, to be uncomfortable. ESPECIALLY Marisol, it seemed. As he finished his flip in in the air, the red haired lass was shooting up furiously after him. And she had the most noble and important of reasons: to destroy the source of all his vileness. Her reaction was dangerously swift. Choi could only catch what she was doing as the deadly uppercut closed in on his vital organs. Choi's crotch was in mortal peril. And as the fist closed right in the heart of the hammock, the midget does the only thing he can do.
Choi shoves it aside.
No, I do not want to get into the details with what.
No.
The Korean pushes her hand and arm aside, letting her over-extend herself. As he shoots back down, the midget grimaces. Darn, looked like the furniture slipped from the his room. He would need to adjust that quickly. But there was no time! So he did the only thing he could on such short notice.
Pursing his lips in a kiss, the midget made a cute smooching sound as closed in uncomfortably close to the Spaniard. "Hiiiii~" He cooed. And then, Choi began to flatten his claws out like helicopter blades. Spinning rapidly, the midget shoots right back in the air, sucking in some sand as the azure coils of energy wind around him and his claws. Choi rises higher and higher, trying to bring in Marisol... to probably try and cut the REST of her clothing to ribbons.
Poor Marisol. I bet she already forgot about her wonderful weekend with Hotaru.
Her knee comes up, striking as she had intended, but without the kind of force she was hoping to deliver to knock him back preemptively. Her foot driven down to the sand, the girl starts to tilt forward right up until Frei slams his hands into the sand and creates a blast of chi strong enough to cover the girl in an explosion of sand and drive her off her feet to the shore with a surprised gasp. Landing on her back with a grunt, she quickly sits up, slipping her feet beneath her and rising to her feet as fine sand pours down off her back, off her shoulders, and out of her hair. "Felt awfully effective for doing it wrong," she grunts, shifting her attention from Frei entirely at that point to glare toward Choi.
Regrettably, the only way to contend with the little menace is to look at him. "Ugh..." And for a moment she regrets planning on shifting focus to him. But she can't in good faith leave her partner and new friend to deal with Choi all by herself. Gritting her teeth, the girl sprints, leaning forward as she cross the distance between her and Choi as quickly as possible. She might be too late to put a stop to his spinning blades as he tears toward Marisol, but she's going to take a shot at him all the same.
Leaping into a spin through the air, her right foot snaps out in an attempt to deliver a jarring kick to the side of his head as she tries to buy Marisol some breathing room. "You're disgusting!!" Missing would require her simply to come to a landing a few feet too far, sliding to a stop in the soft sand. Not the most sporting change in focus, but girl viewers around the world will understand. The other half? Probably praying for as little screen time with Choi on it as possible.
COMBATSYS: Marisol blocks Choi's Tatsumaki Shippuu Zan EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Frei
Though Marisol's fist flies with incredible fury at Choi's bits, it doesn't hit as intended--instead, he somehow redirects her arm and causes the girl to stumble forward as he lands back on the sand. Threatening to buckle forward, the girl instead plants her feet and whips her arms out, catching her balance before she glares up, an angry look on her tanned features.
"You little troll!!" the girl barks, thrusting a finger down and toward Choi as he puckers up. "Why aren't you in prison?! Argh, and get the hell out of my face--!!"
But before she can really finish yelling at the tiny Korean, he's suddenly attempting to fly at her like some tiny perverted helicopter covered in chi. She blinks once, her expression baffled before she draws her shoulders inward and draws her arms up to block her chest. He flies upwards, claws raking along her forearms, her clothing - thankfully - spared.
Yes, her weekend has been shot.
But she doesn't forget - not when Hotaru is coming to save her...sort of. Offering a too-relieved look as the Kenpo girl kicks into action, Marisol steps back and breathes heavily, shoulders sagging before she calls out with a 'thank you!' For now, though, the redhead's stays back, letting her eyes focus on the overall picture. The perverted Korean kept making her lose focus, a bad thing. But a little breather and attention later, the girl already seems a bit less furious.
"Dirty old man..!"
Sort of.
COMBATSYS: Marisol focuses on her next action.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Frei
Shaking his head, Frei glances down at the ground for a moment at Hotaru's rejoinder. She has a point, but... he DID warn her that he was going to sound a little crazy. "Not like that," he says, grimacing a little, though his eyes are still off her for the time being. "It's not being able to fight, it's more that..." He looks up, prepared to add a little to the sentence after judging Hotaru's reaction, and discovers she is... not here. In fact she's rampaging across the turf to give Choi a what-foring right in the noggin.
In spite of himself, he cracks a smile. "Wondered how long before she cracked. She's too nice."
Of course, he can't just let that go, and while the smart thing might be to turn and attack Marisol... something in the young sage says to him that after dealing with Choi all this time, she deserves a break. Instead, he hikes up his shorts a bit and takes off after Hotaru at a dead run... though he does stop to turn, wave, and smile at Marisol, his "Nice to meet you Miss O'Connellllllll..." dopplering back to her as he dashes by.
Hoping that some pressure on her might keep Choi from feeling too doubleteamed, he simply attempts to drive in close and, as she tries to boot Choi in the head, ducks to a stop right next to her and tries to scythe her feet out from under her with a low, spinning kick to the back of the legs. Again, however, the strike lacks any sort of visible chi effect; unusual, for Frei, to be sure.
And in his defense, he DOES say to Choi, amidst all this attacking: "To be fair, you are kind of disgusting to women right now."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Choi with Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/=======|=======\=======\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Frei
%Darn. As Choi floats up in the air, he sexy-growls in frustration. So much for removing clothing! The Korean found it very unfortunate that he was unable to take advantage of the situation. The only good thing to come from it is a suit-adjustment. No rating breaks here!
As he slows his spin in a shower of sand, the midget begins to land towards the ground. However, he is interrupted by Jiro's girlfriend. The solid strike in the skull spikes Choi right in the sand. His hat is sent flying in a shower of photograph, scattering in the ocean breeze over the beach. Choi just lies there for a moment. Yes, his head hurt. But that wasn't the most painful thing.
Disgusting?
Dirty Old Man?
Choi's feelings were becoming very hurt. Being a bald midget, his self-esteem was already fragile. The only thing that helped his ego become nice and huge was cutting things. And so far, that worked. But now even his teammate (And a first-hand expert on sexy males) was calling him disgusting! Tears welled up behind his glasses. Why didn't everyone love Choi and his sexy outfit? Was it his sunburn?
The pile of sadness began to sob softly. And then, from the depths of the depression, a scream erupted. "NO!" He roared, exploding up in the air in a cloud of sand. "I am NOT disgusting! You all..." Choi looked down at Hotaru as he fell, teeth bared like a mad dog. "No.... YOU!" Pointing both claws, he dived down at the poofy-pant princess. "You... just... HAVE TERRIBLE TASTE IN MEN!" And with that, the Korean shimmered from sight...
And as Frei went for his sneak attack, Choi unleashed from the darkness giant black slashes in the air, six in total, all attempting to rend Hotaru asunder in his rage. Behind Hotaru, Choi shimmered back in sight, landing on all fours as he peered over his shoulder, investigating the damage he had done...
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Frei's Light Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Hotaru parries Choi's Shakushi!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///////////////////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Frei
Hotaru's intervention ends up serving to bail her partner out after all. Marisol bunkers down against the whirlwind of spinning claws long enough for the other teen to kick Choi to the dirt, sliding to a stop as she lands a split second later, her yellow summer dress swirling easily about her form. She flashes Marisol a quick, wordless grin that speaks to understanding exactly how rough the red-head has had it thus far, but her attention snaps to Frei qucikly.
Spinning around to face him, the girl kicks off the sand, escaping his low sweep, coming down to a quick landing two yards to the side at an angle that allows her to face Choi and Frei at the same time to prepare for whatever might come next. She searches Frei for a moment, but she isn't in a position to say anything else concerning whatever it is that seems to be bothering him. A sound comes from the crumpled little Bounge and the young fighter glances toward him next.
Is he... crying? Brow furrowing, Hotaru actually relaxes for a brief moment rather than charging in to give him a follow up kick to punt him even further away. "A-ah, if you need to stop, it's okay," she states just before his roar echoes out across the beach, making himself the absolute focus of attention now. Sand obscures his presence at first and the only reason she thinks to glance up is because he continues to speak as he bears down on her.
She knew engaging the clawed fighter ran the risk of ruining the nice yellow dress she had picked out while touring with Marisol whereas dealing with Frei was entirely less likely to chance that. The only solution is to just be faster than the opposition and not be in the way - a feat she accomplishes in that instant as the now hatless Korean speeds through the position she was in the sand an instant before. He would have probably realized that his claws sliced neither cloth nor skin as he begins to look over his shoulder...
"You're the last person in the world to lecture anyone on /good taste/!" Hotaru exclaims. A swoosh of movement to the side might warn him of the pig-tailed combant aiming to blindside him, her right arm alive with an aura of vibant blue as it swings forward, fingers extending, unleashing a projectile to go flying across the distance between him and her. "YA!"
Glaring at the Korean criminal, Marisol seems contented in watching as Hotaru delivers unto him a painful kick. That ought to teach him to be less a pervert, she hopes. But, oh, the chances of that being likely were slim to none. Sighing in response, the redhead absently tips her head to one side, eyes slowly drawing shut.
At least until someone says her name. Blinking, the girl turns her head and watches as Frei zips past, the wave noted before she, confused, lifts a hand and offers an uncertain wave. "H...hi," is the only response she can manage, thoroughly distracted in that brief moment. A swift shake of her head easily remedies that, gray eyes turning back onto the fight.
That's when she sees it all. Choi, sobbing in anger, unleashing his wrath on the Kenpo girl, while Frei comes in to deliver a kick. Tilting her head slowly, the half-Spaniard girl THEN observes as Hotaru nimbly avoids it altogether, swiftly counterattacking the tiny, sobbing Korean, who totally deserves all the kicks and punches he can get.
Again, the redhead shakes her head. "Maybe if you weren't so damn dirty you wouldn't get called bad names!?" Marisol calls to Choi, arms folded over her chest as she loudly harrumphs. Yes, she has all the proof she needs in that shredded up hoodie of hers. With a light grunt the half-Spaniard kicks back into action, jogging in just after Hotaru slings chi at the tiny man. Drawing in close, the redhead attempts to deliver a twofold strike, opening with a straight punch, followed by a swift cross. Should either connect the redhead's body twists, fists suddenly flaring up with yellow chi before she attempts to drive both fists into the man's sunburnt chest, a nasty burst of chi exploding on impact.
"You need to be NEUTERED!" She tried and failed to do it herself. Woe.
Even if he missed, Frei had hoped his kick might serve as a suitable distraction... but as he stands up and gets ready to examine the consequences, he has a front row seat to see Hotaru not only quite deftly evade Choi's furious assault, but also to see Marisol run right at him as well. A part of him wants to leap forward, try to take some of that heat for the tiny Korean... and another part of him, even knowing that there's no way he can take on Hotaru *and* Marisol together, that wouldn't mind seeing him get ground into a fine powder.
It is perhaps that last impulse that makes him observe, in a sort of wistful tone even as the two incensed ladies bring the fight to Choi, "That might sound more sincere if you hadn't just tried to slice her dress off." You'll notice, however, that he doesn't refute that he might have poor taste in men.
Either way, he can't just let Choi get pasted... or rather, he CAN but he'd better make sure that he's got a headstart on defending himself once the smoke clears either way. Deciding to hang back a bit, he shifts his focus to Marisol for a moment, almost lazily bringing up his hand. In a burst of blue-white light, the air around Miss O'Connell suddenly grows very, very chill. Welcome in the summer heat, perhaps, but the chill *also* portends a storm of ice shards from every direction looking to pelt her with frosty chi.
And to prove he's not a complete bastard, he says to Choi, offhandedly: "Good luck."
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Choi with Hakki Shou EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Marisol successfully hits Choi with El Matador.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Marisol 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Frei
Choi's eyes go wide as Hotaru responds with a blast of energy... which take him hard in the face. Irony. And then, more irony. As Choi spasms in pain, the light in his eyes leave him. The little man begins to black out...
Until Marisol grabs the midget to have HER way with him
Choi is quickly awaken not by the punch and the cross, but by the shots of Chi blowing through his chest. The little man hoots in pain, swinging his arms around wildly. And more wildly. In fact, it is safe to say the Choi simply goes crazy in Marisol's hands. His claws swing wildly through the air, attempting to cleave apart the only thing that is keeping Choi bound in this world: girlie bits. As Frei ups his ice storm, Choi ups his mad strikes. He begins to spin, writhe, and even roll up in a ball. His last strike aims in the last clear thought in his mind as his body enters shock.... Right at Marisol's bikini top. The midget unleashes his last swing of the claw right along the center...
COMBATSYS: Choi has reached second wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marisol 1/-------/=======|=------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Frei
And suddenly, his hammock springs to life
Drawing her hand back from unleashing that swift chi ball Choi's way, Hotaru is witness to the Korean getting blasted away by the concussive force her powerful chiball is capable of delivering. With Marisol closing in on him to dish out additional punishment, it seems to the girl that the old man is well and truly done for. Which means she can shift her attention back to the young man she had started against when the match began. She shakes her head, scowling a little. It seems awful to get put in a match with the likes of Choi, but at least she isn't stuck having to /work/ with him... Another wince on Frei's behalf crosses her features before she is forced back into action by the ebb and flow of the match.
She senses the build up of chi coming from his direction - that faint tingling that warns chi sensitive fighters to incoming energy attacks like that. She isn't intune enough to know just what the nature of his attack is going to be, but she can tell just by positioning that it isn't aimed her way. Darting forward as Marisol is forced to deal with finishing off Choi, Hotaru sweeps in low, arms out at her sides, managing to shift posture with the barest loss in forward momentum.
It isn't in time to spare Marisol the thrashing attentions of Choi or the chilling bombardmant of ice from Frei. But it's the best the speedy Kenpo artist can do on the spur of the moment. A leap into the air has her spinning into a pair of windmilling palm strikes, one from each hand.
But they serve more as feints to conceal the real intent for the moment the girl lands, she's already leaning forward hard, slamming her right hand out, heel of palm first, toward Frei's center of gravity. Her left hand slams out in the opposite direction, providing critical counterbalance as she lends leg and torso strength to drive all the power she can into one of her more effective techniques. "HAAH!"
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Marisol with Hatsuyuki.
- Power hit! -
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////// ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|=------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Marisol interrupts Hou'ou Kyaku from Choi with Snap Wind.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Marisol 1/=======/=======|====---\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Frei
There, that should do it.
Wait, what?
It would seem Marisol and Hotaru's joint anti-pervert efforts are in vain. Though thoroughly pasted by both young women, the tiny terror has enough fight in him to get right back up and keep ON fighting. It draws a horrified expression over her tanned features, gray eyes wide before she lightly scowls. "D-damn it, old man," she grouses, a hand curling into a fist. "Why won't you just stay DOWN?!" Because fighting a perverted old man with claws is just wrong.
Distracted, the girl doesn't realize what's going on until the last minute. Before she can properly react she's being bombarded by a storm of ice, shards cutting over bare skin and piercing flesh, sending her stumbling backwards and hissing in pain. Scowling, the girl eyes Frei briefly- -before her vision is suddenly fielled with Choi flying right at her, claws flashing as he spins.
"Oh fu--" BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. A yacht horn blows off the shore. "--that!"
Reeling back, the half-Spaniard girl ignores the melting shards poking out of her arms, readying herself. And when Choi gets close enough her fist shoots out, driving straight into his face before she switches up, her other hand reeling upwards to deliver an uppercut to the man's jaw. "HANDS OFF!!"
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Soushou Shin.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > // ]
Marisol 1/--=====/=======|====---\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-----==/=======|=======\=====--\1 Frei
Apparently the chi sage has blown all his defensive mojo... that, or the Choi and Marisol show is more distracting than it has any right to be. Either way, he senses Hotaru heading back his way too little, too late; he tries to get a forearm into the way of that pinwheeling strike but is not nearly fast enough; it strikes him dead-center in his side and sends him sprawling face-first onto the sand. Groaning, he slowly gets up and wipes sand from his face and front, turning back just in time to see Marisol belt Choi a good one... but somehow the perverse midget is still standing. Mysterious, since he had thought all the fight got drained right out of Choi shortly beforehand.
However, with his 'partner' and Hotaru's back in their deadly dance, he has time to keep his earlier conversation with his YFCC colleague going. "I'm already slipping back into bad habits," he says, in a resigned tone that could, in a more florid way, be called forlorn. "I do alright when I can wave my hands around and get all sorts of shiny special effects, but without them..." He shrugs, trailing off as he drops back into stance, regarding Hotaru carefully. He adopts a faint smile for a moment, then shakes his head. "And I was trying really hard to prove her right."
But he can't sit on his backside forever. Deciding that he'd rather not risk anything showy with a highly mobile fighter like Hotaru, Frei simply tries to duck in and pop her one in the nose. Simple, chiless, effective... hopefully it will prove to be all three.
Bare Skin. Piercing flesh? Energy flowed back into Choi as the fist made contact with his jaw. But it was too late. Marisol was... too cute. Too feisty. Just too sexy to keep a man down (unfortunately a loaded statement.) Yes. The one thing that bring Choi back into this world are the very things that got him into this mess:
Marisol's breasts.
However, all that hornivation (a hybrid of motivation and horny) may be for naught, as Choi is knocked backward for another loop. But not for long. The midget immediately springs back, blood dripping over his naked head. "Heeeeee.... Haaaaaa... I don't think so. I think I will put..." The midget charged forward, his eyes on Marisol's chest. He rolled into a ball, and rolled... rolled... and rolled right short of between the Red Head's legs.
And with that, he explodes from the roll, claws pinpointed, aiming straight for her bowels.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Hotaru with Quick Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Marisol 1/--=====/=======|==-----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Frei
Hotaru doesn't push the attack after knocking Frei down, rather drawing back, regaining her balance, and standing up straight as he collects himself. He speaks of bad habits and she looks a little surprised. Is this a reference to something from his past she doesn't know about? "You think it's wrong to use your chi?" she asks point blank, sounding just a bit bewildered. "It is what you've learned on your own. It's your right to use it," she finishes with a faint grin. "I'm not sure what you're aiming to prove... since I don't know the particulars of your conversation. But I hope you find what you're looking for."
And with that? She's going to help her partner again. Only having veered away from Choi because she thought he was out of the fight, Hotaru isn't going to leave Marisol to suffer his company in solitude. Her decision made, the Kenpo artist starts to dart forward, only to not slip around Frei at a wide enough angle to keep him from catching up in with his ducking approach and smack her straight in the nose. It sends her reeling a little, shaking her head, her eyes watering as her hand comes up to check her nose to make sure it isn't bleeding while chiding herself for being careless.
But the pause is only for an instant. No girl should ever be abandoned to face the old pervert alone! Sprinting forward, Hotaru gets in close to Choi without giving him any kind of warning that she's intending to pry him away from the red-head again. Both hands snap out to try and snare Choi by the shoulders. If she gets a tight hold, the girl will whip him around, intending to send him sliding into the sand on his back, leaving her between him and Marisol as a result!
COMBATSYS: Marisol blocks Choi's Geketsu Tsuki.
[ \\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Marisol 1/-======/=======|===----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Frei
Looking no better off than Choi, Marisol breathes heavily in exhaustion, shoulders rising and falling as she just shoots daggers at the perverted Korean man. For now, Hotaru and Frei have been more or less shut out of her mind, her entire focus fixed on the likes of Choi - and for good reason! He was a threat to her well-being, what with the grabby claw hands and the hornivation and all. The half-Spaniard girl was not going to stand for it any longer!
Shaking her head as Choi springs back up, the girl looks considerable flustered and frustrated as he speaks. "N-no, whatever it is, no!" the redhead barks back, her arms cutting through the air to emphasize her point. "Just stop it right th--!"
But it's too late.
Again he moves, rolling along the ground before he springs upwards at her from the ground. But she's ready--dropping her arms she shields her bowels from his offending appendages, claws cutting and scraping her arms up before she gives a grunt and shoves forward, trying to send the tiny terror tumbling away.
That's when Hotaru comes to her rescue--again. Exhaling in relief, the girl just sags her shoulders and hangs her head to one side, eyes drawing shut in exhaustion. She needs a moment now, to catch her breath and try to get composed. Fighting that perverted little Choi is a difficult battle in patience and sanity.
"I knew this trip had to be too good to be true..."
COMBATSYS: Marisol gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\======-\1 Frei
To his possible credit, Frei winces a bit when he actually feels his fist *connect* with Hotaru. He'd actually expected her to nimbly dart away, so his somewhat brawler-y aim for the face strikes him as a bit mean, now that he's actually done it. After all, it's not like she's an attacking *shark*. There are other weak points! "Not 'wrong', but..." And here, moreso than his fighting without chi, is the real strangeness from Frei this fight: he actually looks embarassed, which for someone with very little shame isn't exactly common. On the plus side, the rush of color to his freckled cheeks is actually viewed as 'sort of cute' by the bikini-clad girls on the beach, watching, who cheer for him. Poor Choi.
"It's more that... I don't want to be a one-dimensional fighter," he says at last, grimacing at the words which he 'knows' to be true and which are not pleasant to hear out loud. He glances down at his empty palm, shaking his head. "If that's all there is to me, then I don't... nn." He trails off, noticing in fact that Hotaru has rambled off to give Choi what for AGAIN. He winces a little, but is feeling more than a little tired, himself; he does much the same as Marisol, taking a moment or two to collect himself and take a deep breath. Hopefully the agile Korean can handle an attacking Hotaru on his own. Unable to help it, he glances to the other redhead in the fight and asks, in a disturbingly earnest tone, "Should I feel bad about this?"
COMBATSYS: Frei gains composure.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Choi with Quick Throw.
Glancing Blow
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Frei
Choi attempts to drive his blades deep into Marisol. Unfortunately, his efforts are pushed aside. There simply would be no chance for that... this time. Choi rises up, opening his claws wide. The initial energy was draining from him, but he had a chance to swipe. Then, he feels himself scooped up... and hurled.
Choi lands in the sand, and feels the burn... and the warmth. The midget trembles... and pushes himself up. He stares at Hotaru, before falling on his claws. Propping himself up on all fours, he crawls awkwardly... and leaps. He tries to focus on anything, something that would help keep his mind off the woozy pain... He lets loose a feeble swipe against Hotaru's face... her pretty face...
Choi suddenly fantasizes about Tenshou Ranki.
COMBATSYS: Choi has reached third wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|====---\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/---====/=======|=======\=====--\1 Frei
It works.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru interrupts Quick Strike from Choi with En Bi Kyaku EX.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Marisol 1/---====/=======|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-======/=======|=======\=====--\1 Frei
Hotaru might have considered the punch to the nose atypical for Frei's style of fighting, but she definitely doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. Her eyes clear quickly as she darts in, getting a hold of Choi, and chucks him backward away from Marisol, moving to position herself between him and her partner. Marisol has been subjected to enough of /him/, the Kenpo artist has decided firmly. She'll keep knocking him down until he's out of the fight if she has any control over that!
Not to say that she isn't well aware of what Frei has been speaking, his words considered in the back of her mind as she carefully watches the clawed opponent. Her stance tenses up as Hotaru literally turns her back toward Choi, planting her right hand on her left knee, looking at him over her shoulder. It may seem as if she's trying to move on to other matters and just watching to make sure he's not coming back for more, but that back-turned posture of hers proves to be a very effective setup as he comes leaping at her again, his claw sweeping in to scrape her face.
She isn't in time to stop him all together, and he does end up getting a shallow set of marks along her cheek as the girl spins into action suddenly. He may be dreaming of her rather distinctive, well known ultimate attack, but what he gets right now is anything but that. Whipping out of her stance with an incredible amount of speed, she ends up delivering one hell of a sweeping mule kick, her leg a literal blur as it smashes into Choi with a fair amount of force. "KYA!" the Kenpo artist exclaims, completing the spin to end up facing him directly now, eyes following his trajectory, her mouth curled into a faint frown.
Her balance restored, she spares a glance toward Frei as she catches her breath, "One-dimensional?" She huffs, resting her hands against her knees for a moment, "Interesting perspective from the one man I've ever met that can send snow, fire, lightning, and shockwaves my way..." She grins, leaning her head to the side slightly, giving him a half-shrug. Fighting the young man has never presented her with a one-dimensional opponent. That he fears otherwise comes as a surprise to the young fighter.
And all the while, amidst the Choi-perversion and conversation between two familiar associates, Marisol O'Connell stands, looking tired and a bit confused. Breathing heavily, the half-Spaniard is desperate to catch her breath and let her body dull the aching she's feeling all over. The shards of ice chi left a nasty mark around her arms and legs, but fortunately the blood has already begun to staunch itself. That's a relief, she tells herself.
Eventually, her gaze wanders. First it settles on Choi and Hotaru, a disgusted look on her face as he - despite being beaten down YET again - rises like a zombie to assault poor Hotaru. Fortunately the girl is quick to shut down the tiny Korean, earning her a loud sigh of relief. Thank god. With hope, the horror of Choi Bounge is over.
With HOPE.
But her gray eyes wander, peering toward the lone Frei as he speaks to Hotaru. For the entirety of the fight Marisol's focus has been on Choi. But now, with him looking so lonely and Hotaru with her hands full, she can't just stand by idly and let her teammate do all the work. At her side, a fist slowly clenches, fingers curled tightly. Hm.
Her fist ignites with the chi Frei seems to be worried about, dandelion-yellow flames licking up her arms as she grins to herself. Her feet move along sand, bare feet carrying her forward...before she breaks into a sudden and almost blinding sprint, a blur of motion before she's suddenly trying to get very much into Frei's grill with a flaming hook to his face. But, should it land, it won't be just one; no, the girl fires off three consecutive hooks before she swings a fist upwards into a fiery uppercut. From there, she'll grab the monk by his collar and drive her cranium into his face before shoving back and dropping low, the flames roaring more than before as she suddenly unleashes a mighty uppercut right into the monk's jaw with a loud, guttural cry that sounds more like a roar.
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Marisol's Cloud Nine.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ]
Marisol 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\1 Frei
Green eyes widen a bit at Hotaru's statement. He hadn't really thought of it that way, perhaps because to him the things she says are comfortable and familiar to him. Ask Hotaru about the different ways she can kick or throw you, or Marisol about the many different ways she can punch, or Choi about his panty collection (please don't)... to him it always felt like 'one skill'. It is something to think about, a humbling statement even, and a rueful smile spreads across Frei's face at that. "It might not be as easy as all that," he says quietly. "But thank you for saying that. I mean it."
That he delivers such a schmaltzy line to Hotaru *as she kicks his partner in the jaw* ruins the effect, somewhat.
Of course, he didn't expect Marisol to stay idle all this time, and his gaze flickers to her now and then. Thus he's prepared when she charges him with a real whale of an attack, something the young sage can sense in his marrow well before she gets to him. Deciding that now is probably a good time to put up his best effort, Frei clenches his fists and -- one-dimensional or not -- lets a hazy gold-green-brown glow fade into being. The clash of energies when Marisol swings her first punch is enormous, dandelion yellow sparks mixed with flickers of earth tones as Frei, face contorted in concentration, slams his palm into every blow, slowly eating away at the impact before he ducks back from the final headbutt, breathing heavily. He's going to feel that in the morning... but he's also suddenly glad he was able to muster his guard.
He'd normally have a witty rejoinder, but breathlessly he simply lashes into the attack, hopefully before Marisol can escape. Ducking forward he looks to grip her arm; if he can do that, he plants his feet and effectively pinwheels her into the air, arms windmilling Geese-style as Marisol's body goes straight up... and that glow from his defense reaches a fever pitch. Should this all go without a hitch, on Marisol's way down Frei throws his hands *up*, looking to blast her away with a burst of concussive force from his hands.
Choi is in deep trouble. While images of Hotaru performing her super attack rush through his mind, the strong kick negating his offense shuts him down. Choi is running out of dirty thoughts. At this point, his loser torso is commanding most of the action. And said bits send sensory information.
Marisol has hope. She also is in a position where her clothing may be destroyed. And she is a red head. Red heads are fun! Choi grunts, standing up in a very... interesting fashion. Choi kinda looks like a swollen eggplant right now. The midget begins to spin around and around. I would say Piroette, but at his point, he sort of shuffles in a circle until he picks up the speed to truly whirl. And whirl. And whirl.
Choi side steps towards Marisol, the sand around him ebbing and flowing around him. Blue streaks of energy begin to dance around the midget as he spins more and more. Finally, the blue consumes Choi, who lets the storm take him away. The tornado gets larger and larger, whipping up sand and energy in a giant whirlwind. It drifts towards the Red Head, attempting to suck her in... while Choi struggles to think of anything... worth staying awake for.
Choi thinks of a banana.
COMBATSYS: Choi has reached fourth wind!
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////// ]
Hotaru 1/-======/=======|=======\-------\0 Frei
Bananas apparently arouse Choi back into consciousness.
Hotaru dips her head in acknowledement toward Frei as he responds, but otherwise stays quiet. He has Marisol to contend with anyway. The girl hangs back, keep an eye out for rabid Choi's not staying down when they're supposed to. The young man draws upon that very chi of which they just spoke to strengthen his defenses against the powerful assault Marisol dishes out and Hotaru just shakes her head slowly. Interesting, she ponders, that he thinks that way of his own skill. She looked to him for inspiration when it came to coming up with more creative ways of defending herself in fights after all.
Frei weathers the attack and goes to strike back against the red-headed boxer and Hotaru takes in a deep breath. She needs to keep fighting to see this bout through. Concentrating for a moment on her next attack she completely misses the fact that Choi is back in motion against impossible odds, slipping around her to go after Marisol. For in that same moment the girl is speeding toward Frei, ready to use the strongest hitting attack she's got to see where it takes this grueling shoreside match.
As she darts into position, she's already sliding into a low crouch, arms at her sides, an incredible surge in power demonstrated in the explosion of blue, vibrant chi all around her body as the girl aims to deliver one of the hardest hitting flip kicks she can muster to Frei, launching into the rising attack with incredible speed. "Ten-shou..." And at that moment, it becomes clear that Frei may end up getting hit by the very attack that inspired Choi to keep on fighting.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Ten-shou Ranki.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marisol 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\=====--\1 Frei
The chi-laced flip kick packs enough of a punch to carry a fighter of Frei's stature into the air with the rising martial artist. Ascending along with him, driven upward by momentum and the force of her vibrant energy. At the apex of Hotaru's arc, she corrects her trajectory, turning it into a dive back into Frei. "Ranki!"
A dive that ends with the two of them down in the sand once more, the smaller fighter kneeling on the monk, hands pressed into his chest, teeth gritted as she concentrates to draw all the energy in at once that she can muster. A sphere of blue, churning energy builds up around the duo until Hotaru can control it no longer and allows it to collapse back in on her.
Arms serving as funnels, she channels all that chi directly into Frei's chest, the resultant invisible blastwave driving sand up out from around the two as the Kenpo artist exhales and starts to push herself back up to standing as quickly as she can, mind already trying to make sense of the unkillable menace that is Choi!
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Marisol with Shindou.
[ \\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Marisol 0/-------/---====|-------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\=======\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Marisol endures Choi's Shin! Tatsumaki Shinkuu Zan.
[ \ < > /// ]
Marisol 1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0 Choi
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\=======\1 Frei
Things are looking bad for Marisol O'Connell, what with her attack having not landed completely, and Choi suddenly leaping back up yet AGAIN despite all odds. And now? Now she's drawn mad aggro somehow, leaving the half-Spaniard girl looking a little confused and conflicted. There's Frei, then there's Choi, both with their sights set on the half-Spaniard. What's she to do??
Snagged by Frei she's thrown upwards before she's blasted away by chi, skidding along the ground before she hops up and offers a fierce shake of her head. Narrowing her eyes, the girl's lips pull into a sneer--but her thoughts are distracted when Choi suddenly whirls with energy before he tornados near her, sand, debris and chi suffocating. But she doesn't move. Instead, she weathers the proverbial storm. And when he lands and struggles to stay awake...
Marisol is suddenly there, attempting to deliver four hook punches, one after the other before she'll recoil back, an arm raised and incredibly tense. Focusing on it, she lets muscles tense and flex, her strength pooling before she'll throw herself forward, fist first, right into the center of Choi's face. Because he's short.
And when all is said and done, Marisol faceplants into the sand, tired and out like a light. God/damn/.
COMBATSYS: Marisol can no longer fight.
[ \\\ < > ////// ]
Choi 0/-------/-------|=======\=======\1 Frei
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|
Well then.
It took a lot more energy than Frei thought it might to fend off Marisol, and he's still cooling down from hurling her away when he notices Hotaru's chi building, senses her rushing toward him. To his credit, he turns to try and fend her off faster than he might, normally... but fatigued and battered as he is, it's still a lost cause. The two fighters go down, and then in a 10x bigger replay of a previous clash between the two, the world is full of the sand exploding upward from the point of impact. In the end Frei's left on his back in a sand *crater*. If Hotaru had fiery chi, it'd probably be GLASS.
He shouldn't be able to get up. But somehow, *somehow*, he manages it. Slowly but surely, he yanks himself standing, glancing at Hotaru with a faint smile. "First time... you've used that on me, I think..." he says, coughing. "In retrospect... kinda glad of that. Ow." His shakes his head, as if to clear it, and then gets back into stance. Okay. Gotta make this work somehow. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Marisol go down, and Choi... well, somehow he's still on his feet. It doesn't make sense. Turning back to Hotaru, he says with some humor, "Apparently we're Team Just Won't Die right now."
Hotaru's the only person left on the field, and so Frei decides to go for the gusto. Ducking forward at her -- though slowed by pain -- he glows with a fiery red before suddenly stopping, then scything a spinning kick right at her shoulders. However, the red glow becomes a 'Frei' of living flame, which has its OWN opinions on angle of attack, the fire 'clone' ducking low to sweep at her feet instead!
COMBATSYS: Marisol successfully hits Choi with Atom Smasher.
*KNOCKED AWAY*
[ < > ////// ]
Choi 0/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Frei
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|
Choi imagines the banana. The lush fruit, the delicate scent. Choi loves the banana, and the banana loves him. Choi peels the banana that lives in his head. One skin. Two. Skin. Th. Re. eeeeee. Sk. In.
Ba. Nan. A.
And then, the first hook punch hits. Then the second. Choi is jarred back into the physical reality. Then third and fourth strike him. Still spinning about in his own Tornado, Choi looks numbly at the final punch... which knocks him clear of the now-disappating Tornado.
And yet Choi still spins. Or flips, depending how you look at it. The little man rolls head over heels, flying through the air. But he looks over to where Hotaru is. Yes, he is like a cockroach. But he still had some wits about him. Still flipping through the air, the midget aims his body right where he might strike the woman. With one last flip, he aims the back of his foot right at Hotaru's body, trying to catch her before he hits the ground...
COMBATSYS: Choi can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Frei
Where he collapses, finally unconscious. Thankfully, the hammock has survived the fight for another day.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru dodges Choi's Toorima Geri.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\=------\1 Frei
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Kagerou.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1 Frei
Hotaru springs back to land on her feet, exhaling softly. This fight is really testing her long term endurance, and it isn't about to be over either. Lessons in pacing, harsh training under the tutaledge of Ryo-sensei, and just all around better experience as a fighter seems to be paying off as the girl is weary but not exhausted. It isn't enough to keep Frei down though. The girl looks a little surprised at first, but that expression shifts into a grin. She's impressed. He notes that it's the first time he's been hit by the most punishing technique the young fighter can muster and the girl just shakes her head a little.
She waits for a moment, giving him time to make the next move, not quite sure how much fight he has left in him. This match has already defied all kinds of expectations several times over in that regard. Pacing her breathing, she actually laughs lightly as he remarks on the name of the odd duo's team. So he's noticed that too, has he. She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can do so, a Choi comes flying at her, foot aiming to strike her in the back hard. Ducking down and slipping to the side, she avoids him entirely, content to let him land somewhere in hopes that he doesn't manage to get off the ground /again/.
"I don't know what keeps /him/ fighting, but I know you're good at hanging in there." She recalls briefly prior SNFs... that went quite a while with just the two of them in action. The chi sage swoops in, demonstrating that mastery over energy of the elemental sort as he does so. The kick aimed for her shoulder is blocked with said shoulder. But she has to sweep low, crouching, arms interesting the firey image that attempts to slip an attack in as well.
Always impressed with the fine level of chi control Frei can muster, the girl shakes her head, slipping from her crouch into her low stance once again, arms out at her sides. A breath is taken in, wordless, the girl focusing her strength to keep on going in spite the length of the match. "This'll be a fight to remember," she states softly beneath her breath, perhaps just loud enough to be heard.
And with that declaration, she springs into action, another quick hop, an aerial spin, and then two windmilling strikes aimed toward his chest with enough force to perhaps knock Frei back down again. This time she lands back in the same stance she lifted off from - no final palm strike to be delivered like her similar attack earlier on.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru successfully hits Frei with Enryuu Banda.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /// ]
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Frei
That gets a slightly ragged laugh from Frei, who is certainly 'hanging in there' but... by how much is anyone's guess, for sure. "Are you sure you WANT to remember this?" he asks, spinning away from his kick and dropping into a forward stance, hands on his knees. He feels like he just ran 10 marathons in a row and it's only sheer bloody-mindedness keeping him in the game at this point, and even that can only hold out so long. Glancing to his right, he sees Marisol and Choi both unconscious on the sand, and shakes his head, turning back to Hotaru. "Just me and you, I guess..."
The truth is, however, that he doesn't have anything left in him when Hotaru comes back in to attack. He starts to move to deflect it, but fatigue and pain have slowed his reactions far too much, and she is far too swift a fighter, for that to be effective. The pair of windmilling strikes don't hurt quite as much as he'd feared, but even a little it is enough in his condition. Stumbling back a few steps, he puts a hand to his chest and coughs again. That stung.
Shaking his head, he glances back at Hotaru, and smiles a little. "I could never get away with saying this while... the pervert was still awake. But you showed me yours, so... here's mine." Holding both hands out, palms up, he gathers two spheres of brilliant energy: one a luminescent white, the other a swirling purple-black. Slamming the two together, they become a marbling white and black aura swirling around his body, the edges tinged with prismatic colors like a prism, the force of it literally lifting him a bit off the ground. He takes a deep breath, and then fires forward at Hotaru with all the speed he can muster, skimming the ground before spinning and throwing both palms out at her, the aura of chi becoming a massive invisible shockwave not unlike the one she dealt to him before. She threw her best attack at him, well... he can respond in kind.
He then, however, promptly drops to the sand and passes out. Too much for this country boy.
COMBATSYS: Frei can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Hotaru blocks Frei's Samsara.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Hotaru 0/-------/-======|
Landing in her same low stance, Hotaru holds position for a moment, watching to see what transpires. The heat of the beach is getting to her. What was paradise an hour ago feels like a steaming hellpit right about now. All they need is some lavaflows pouring into the ocean to complete the image. His words provoke a short laughter from the girl, but she doens't relax her guard as she shifts back to standing upright. She knows Frei has learned new techniques - some of which she got to see in action against his brother. This is one of them. And she isn't really sure how to even cope with it at first glance.
The two opposite colored spheres surge to life in his palms only to be driven together in a display of remarkable chi finese. While she had never come right out and admitted it, the girl had always envied the young man's precise control. The concussive force she can create with her chi may pack a mean punch, but it lacks the graceful beauty of Frei's techniques. And right now, as he brings those two spheres together, she's left having to defend against that very power.
Everything falls silent to the girl, eyes focused on that energy he brings to bear as Frei charges toward her with incredible speed. He gets in close, swinging both hands forward, forcing that energy toward her, dishing out a shockwave of force the likes of which she hasn't had to face down in a long while. Sand blasted into the air about her, the smaller fighter bunkers down, bringing her arms up, closing her eyes to keep the grains out. Fending off an attack like that takes more than just endurance, however. It takes a control over aura capable of fighting back. And while she won't claim to be a master in that area either, the girl does have some prowess in energy defenses.
A painful gasp is followed by a breath as she digs her feet into the sand only to be forced back a few yards, leaving two ruts in the path of her slipping. But when the sandstorm settles, her pig-tails rest, and her dress falls into place, the young Kenpo artist has managed to stay standing. An exhale heralds her need to breath again, sand falling off her as she stumbles forward and catches herself with her hands on her knees, panting for air. The pain in her arms, the ache in her bdoy in fighting off so many attacks, nearly leaves her wobbling to her knees, but the intrepid fighter manages to stay standing. "Yeah," she grins, glancing back toward the fallen Frei then over to the side, eyes coming to rest on the red-headed girl from Spain, a girl she not only respects but thinks she could be friends with all thanks to this crazy weekend. "Definitely worth remebering." Of Choi, the less contemplated the better.
COMBATSYS: Hotaru has ended the fight here.
Log created on 22:18:49 09/20/2008 by Frei, and last modified on 07:00:40 09/25/2008.