Description: A slow hour at Strolheim Castle finds Ayame and Roland crossing paths once again. Having recently secured himself a mentor perfect for his approach to fighting, Roland takes the opportunity to show off by provoking Ayame into a fight. Things don't go much better for him than the last time they exchanged blows, however. Just what is it going to take for him to catch up with the tricky girl?
Strolheim castle. When Ayame pictured what a castle might be like, it wasn't this. She expected priceless trinkets, gems, and artifacts on display; jeweled fixtures in the bedrooms just waiting to be pried free of faucet handles. Thoughts of coming home wealthy just from the 'freebies' alone filled her mind when she was randomly drafted in to fill in for a participant gone missing. Whoever this Skullomania guy was, she was just glad that she was going to take his place at the world famous Strolheim Castle - a free ticket to an all-you-can-loot smorgasbord of valuables, she figured.
It turns out, Strolheim was a lot more austere than she had anticipated. Lots of stone. Lots of old plants and iron fixtures. Oh, sure, there were priceless tapestries and gigantic portraits lining the walls. Undoubtedly worth a fortune. But she can't exactly stuff one of those down her blouse and she was hesitant to attempt a larger scale heist at a castle packed with some of the most dangerous people in the world.
The end result is that she's bored stiff. Sitting outside on a vine entangled bench, elbow on her knee, chin propped up in her hand, the girl drums the fingers of her other hand against her leg. Without any real money to call her own, she's at the mercy of the tournament transportation offers, which amounts to little more than the trip out and the trip home. Which means for the most part, she's been stuck at the castle for well over a week since she landed the winning blows for the unlikely team of Robert and Todoh.
A week without any hijinks. Any fights. Any arguments. Little by little, her chin slips along her hand, but she's too indifferent to care, eyelids growing heavy, will to live being drained... Eventually her elbow slips off her knee and she slumps forward, arms dangling down, her long hair draped over her face and legs as if she just died of boredom right there on that bench. "...this sucks."
Strolheim castle. When Roland pictured what a castle might be like, it wasn't this. Antique paintings, serene busts with jeweled eyes, tapestries hanging from the walls woven from silk and gold. Really, Roland had very similar thoughts to Ayame in that regard, when he swindled himself into a last minute position. All he saw was strong stone, old fortifications, and things that he might be able to drag halfway across the front yard towards the gate before Krauser descended upon him like the hammer of the gods. To make matters worse, half of the fighters here are monsters. There's no good or evil when a person can kick him in half regardless! He had the fortune of being kept on a bed until he opted to not die. What grand medical treatment, having to recover of his own will and drive to live. With luck, he had that in spades. As such he wasn't able to observe any fights thereafter, and only now has begun to move around sufficiently to become an annoyance once again.
Yet he managed to pinpoint Ayame from behind, pressing his back to a wall. Oh, right. She was here. Did he do anything that might make her want to kill him? Just the restaurant, but she's supposed to have no memory or something. Yeah, he had smiled at her then, but there wasn't any monetary benefit to a vacant girl with a ton of enemies. Besides, she wasn't even fun!!
But he creeps along on all fours, remarkably quiet. Now and then he pauses, making sure to shift himself directly behind, as much as can be managed within the architecture of the surroundings. The last few meters he's not even breathing, body tense as he struggles to create no rasp of leather or crunch of grass. Arms splay behind, looming in a solemn manner. Before he belts out, as loud as he can...
"HELLO, AYAME!!"
She doesn't so much as stir as Roland approaches. Oh, sure, she's listening for approaches. She knows well enough that she's got enemies in the castle, though there's some question as to whether Aranha or Zach would start anything here since she sure as hell couldn't provoke them into stepping outside the rules in the sanctioned fight. At this point, maybe one of them will just ambush her and put her out of her misery. But Roland's quiet enough to not really go noticed. And, all in all, she's not paying sharp attention either.
The shout isn't very stealthy though. "AH!" Starting off the bench forward, but already having been folded forward in a state of abject apathy, the girl tumbles ungracefully off the bench into a seated position on the ground with a thud. There's only one way to respond to this, however, and that's to bare teeth! Twin butterfly knives are in her hands in an instant as she kicks up and spins around to face...
"Roland?!" Her surprsed expression is replaced with a scowl as she freezes for a moment, almost definitely trying to decide between laughing this off or leaping over the bench to gut him. "Wow, the standards here must be lower than I thought." she continues, relaxing a degree, "Not only are that Aranha guy and some explosive Zach fellow walking around here, but they let you in too? Jeez."
Blades still drawn, she folds her arms, tapping her foot. "That's right. You were the guy that got plastered by that Vega fellow from like one attack..." she muses, doing a quick inspection from head to toe. "Guess he didn't finish the job too good though. Seem to have recovered all right."
There's absolutely no reaction to the scowl and prepared weapons, Roland just crossing his arms before his chest. He looks to raise his brows however, lips pursing in a very pleased manner. "Well, you got your fight back! I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I had hoped to get a head over you while you floundered..." Ever so compassionate. His empathy knows no limits. But he managed to get her to start off on the wrong foot, and the best method to engage her is to keep that sustained. Digging within his jacket, he pulls out a broad white photo, glancing at it before similarly procuring a pen. "Could you sign this?" he offers, holding both out. It's an only slightly askance upskirt shot. "My photo series is becoming pretty popular."
And he's carefully keeping the bench interposed. That extra step before being kicked in the face is important, after all. "The big chin dude? Wow, that's a pretty stupid name. I don't think he wanted to kill me is all. He had ten times the force needed to do that. I guess I'm lucky to be such a gnat I'm not worth it. Hell of a headache, though." Dismissed casually. He still has nightmares of that. For someone who always flees for his life, being exposed to a force able to snuff him out like a candle with a leisurely gesture is... alarming. "And I finally got a mentor!!" He puffs out his chest at this, obviously proud. "I probably already surpassed you! I'm his STAR PUPIL! He's why I'm still here... on your team, actually!" One could hope it's Robert. Then again, one could not know Roland in the slightest.
"Oh, yeah, that's way behind me, missed your chance," the girl replies with a dismissive wave of her hand regarding getting her fight back. Rearmed with each and every one of her tools of destruction and back into fighting regularly, she's even figured out some new tricks in recent months. She remains tense, however, all that pent up energy at having had nothing interesting to do for days combined with the natural agitator Roland leaves her on the edge, seeming ready to pounce in an instant.
As he digs into his jacket, she tenses even more, arms unfolding, as if getting ready to defend herself from whatever terror awaits within the man's infinite pockets. Instead he produces a photo and a pen and holds them out and Ayame appears to be disarmed at being asked to sign something. She isn't exactly a fighter with anything resembling /fans/. At least, not the usual types. But when her sharp eyes come to rest on the image itself, her expression shifts to being puzzled for a moment.
Those legs, that skirt, that- "Hey, how did you-" She cuts herself off, her entire demeanor shifting, the tension seeming to bleed away, her arms lowering to her sides. The knife in her right hand gets flicked closed and slipped into its sheath hidden in her widest belt. "Well, well. Seems you're quite the sniper photographer... maybe you should consider a career change - better at this than you are fighting." Her tone is more easy going now, almost teasing instead of hostile.
She starts to step forward, flicking the left knife closed and sheathing it as well, looking like she has every intent of signing the photograph. But as he continues, she pauses. A mentor? Here? She looks unconvinced at first until he declares that his newfound inspiration was on the very team she was drafted into. That... narrows the possibilities down to two.
The idea that it could be Todoh is dismissed almost immediately. No one could possibly be proud of learning from that guy. His performance in the fight was nothing shy of dreadfully embarrassing, clumsy, and accidental in nature, as he kept trying to sleep more than fight right in the midst of his round. Learning from him should be a shame not something to be proud of. "Really now." the strawberry-blonde muses. Robert seemed like a young man of some discerning tastes, which makes it hard to believe that Roland would be picked up by him. On the /other/ hand, the desperation the Kyokugen Dojo has for getting students is not exactly a well kept secret either.
Now she's curious. But figuring out who Roland's mentor is only barely matters to her compared to...
Taking a step forward, she plants her left foot on the bench, showing a potentially distracting amount of thigh. "Well, good for you. I never took you for the Kyokugen type." She somehow manages to not even smirk. Her tone continues to be cordial, right up to when both of her hands snap out, attempting to seize hold of Roland's right wrist with a tight enough grip to let her lean back and twist to the side, pulling him right over the back of it and slamming him down onto his back on the stone ground, while trying to slip the displayed photograph out of his hand at the same time. She knows better than to assume it's the only copy, but that doesn't keep the gesture from being a symbolic one all the same!
COMBATSYS: Ayame has started a fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Roland has joined the fight here in the center.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|
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Roland 0|-------|-------
COMBATSYS: Roland has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Roland
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Roland with Quick Throw.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Roland
"Well, glad I could help!" Roland offers cheerfully in regards to her issue in the past, despite the fact he didn't do anything in the slightest. Beyond maybe confirm she used to be a terrible person. That's always good to know, isn't it? Of course he can easily tell that Ayame is a coiled spring, and has nothing else to leap at but him. That's why he has the bench between, see! In this circumstance, it's a very conscious poking of the proverbial snake. Tedium is not his friend, a restless roamer at heart!
"Did you forget? Our little adventure which ended in me leaving you with a big restaurant bill? You were climbing a pipe... mmm, couldn't of asked for a better angle!" The photo is held up and he turns it left and right, as if admiring a work of art. When she actually looks as if she might sign it, he just smirks and flicks it towards her, and tosses the pen as well. She might tear it up, in which case he's got copies. But she might actually sign it, which is more then a little amusing. Unaware of the very real fact that Todoh is a laughable excuse of a human being, he nods his head eagerly. "I'm wrapping my head around a key principal in the fighting style. I should master it soon! My chi endurance is already through the roof!" He manages a flex, which might have the potential to be impressive if not obscured in his oversized and heavy trenchcoat. Then he makes a grimace. "Kyokugen?! That useless--No!! Todoh-ryuu Kobotjutsu!"
Yet her attack comes languid and smooth. He starts to pull backwards, but is skidded along the ground without any purchase. A grunt of surprise as he goes end over end, tumbling over the bench and crashing on his back, limbs askew. "Hrrgh!! Goddamn son of a..." One hand smacks into the ground, and he lurches upwards. Sweeping up one leg in the motion, aiming to thunk her right between the legs something good. In order to better faciliate an awkward flip over one shoulder, to send her sprawling right on the ground as well!!
COMBATSYS: Ayame dodges Roland's Coyote Ugly.
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Ayame 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Roland
Ayame is lying. This shouldn't come as a surprise. She hasn't regained her memories. She just acts like it. And now, armed with months of history, careful research into how she used to fight, reviewing all of her SNF videos, as well as any that /contained/ people she fought or fought alongside in her SNF videos, she's a lot more convincing than she used to be. Of course, some details still escape her. Like where he got those photos. "Right." had been her dismissive response to his elaborate explanation of where they came from. Her mind isn't on that, anyway, it's on throwing him to the ground. As demonstrated when he's sent crashing to the ground.
His clarification right before she snagged him makes her pause. Almost to her detriment as he's quick on the retaliation. His foot sweeps up and the girl snaps out of her brief shock to press down on his toe, using it for added leverage as she leaps into a forward flip over him to land behind the man, "Hey!" she snaps, having read at least the initial intent of the attack. By the time she lands, it's not even clear where the pen or photograph ended up, because neither are in sight.
She doesn't even try to strike him back at all, instead shaking her head, her left hand going to rest at her waist, "You have got to be kidding me. /That/ guy? He's ridiculous! All he did was stumble around and bumble into his opponent. The only reason that ursine guy didn't beat him faster is that he had no idea if gramps was conscious half the time!!"
She shakes her head, her right hand moving up to brush her long hair back over her shoulder, "On second thought, that sounds about right. You've found the perfect instructor. Some old guy who is so bad at what he does, no one can even tell if he's fighting!" She's already moving as she speaks, however, sprinting forward in a direct line. A soft 'clack' hints of those butterfly knives being readied, their glinting blades briefly visible.
Her direct line becomes less transparent when she gets three steps away and spins into a quick whirlwind of strikes to his right side. She's moving fast, but she isn't aiming to carve him too deeply, more interested in doing a number on that coat of his. It's an expedition to find out how many hidden pockets she can slice open if she gets her way. Any extra damage done to the man beneath the coat will just be a bonus!
COMBATSYS: Roland fails to interrupt Medium Strike from Ayame with Three Card Monte.
- Unbelievable Failure! -
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Ayame 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Roland
Roland slithers aside, rolling his injured shoulder a bit with a grunt. Her mild statement of surprise at where he aimed only earns a smirk. Which manages to confirm his intentions, if nothing else. The lost photo isn't anything surprising; he's got it on a digital camera. Infinite copies. But her newfound attitude seems to have worked, as he's giving no sign of being suspicious about her. Ruse success! Although he does interject in order to defend Todoh, somewhat. "Hey! If he coulda done better, that means Todoh-sama's mind game worked! Don't underestimate him, I've markedly improved under his study!" Actually he doesn't seem to be any different, but Ayame won't remember any of her fights with him, so it's something of a moot point.
When she begins to advance on him, Roland decides to come out flying. Rippling across him is emerald energy, body going loose and fluid. Shifting to the balls of his feet, the man rockets forward, the hiss of steel coming as two long blades erupt from his forearms, each leaving scorching tendrils of fire behind. But his timing couldn't of been worse. She had just lashed up towards him in the motion, and he literally drove himself into it. What should of been an aesthetic damage instead slips past his unarmored coat, sinking remarkably deep into the front of his stomach.
"Hrrk...!!" he hisses out, like a lightswitch his chi infusion turning off as he stumbles past, grasping his stomach while doubled over. "Y-you stabbed me!!" The tone is remarkably accusing, even if it's probably not as frantic as it should be. Had he gotten slapped unexpected instead, it's probably sound much the same. "You bitch!!"
The girl slides to a stop, coming out of her spin, dust lingering as her feet regain traction and she ends up facing back toward Roland after that brief but painful encounter between the two of them. Holding her two knives up, the girl blinks. Her left blade is clean, not even having managed to touch Roland as he sped at her unexpectedly. Her right blade, on the other hand, bears evidence of the deep strike he suffered for his charge. Flicking the right knife off to the side a couple of times to get loose blood droplets off, she shakes her head, "Did not. You ran into my knife!"
She exhales softly, one eyebrow quirked, digesting what Roland is asserting about his newfound training. "Or is that part of this new Todoh-ryuu style of yours? Thinking back, Todoh did fight similarly... To about the same great results." She flicks her knives closed again, slipping them into her sheaths, making a mental note to clean the right one later on when this little lesson teaching is over.
"But if it's chi endurance you're working on, it's only fair that we see how you're doing on that defense of yours, hm?" Her left hand drops down to the pouch affixed to one of her tighter belts, drawing out her collapsed metal staff. A hydraulic hiss heralds the expansion to its full, six foot of titanium length, as she twirls the longer ranged weapon at her side.
By the third twirl, the entire length of it is churning with a rose colored energy as dust gets whipped up into a bit of a cloud from the furious motion. "Exam time." she smirks, leaning forward into a rapid sprint toward Roland, her weapon tucked under her right shoulder at first. When she gets into range, however, she whips into a full body'd spin, bringing the long weapon up over her head as part of the motion.
Three quick strikes, each one promising a small explosion of chi should they connect with anything solid, as she aims for Roland's right knee, left elbow, and finishes with a swift, sweeping, horizontal strike aimed for his neck with enough power to possibly bowl him over. It would be with graceful balance that the teenager whirls out of the combination, lingering particles of that light red chi drifting down from the path her weapon followed throughout the motion.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Roland with Requiem For Fallen Blossoms.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Roland
One of Roland's own hands comes back from the deep wound on his stomach, smearing the crimson between his fingers. Really, he seems more annoyed then anything else, as if this was some kind of personal slight. "I'm sure lots of murderers claim that!!" he grumbles out, resuming a loose and somewhat effective stance. Both arms are held before him, as he spends so much time trying to remember how to poise himself that he's more distracted then he might of been otherwise. "Shut up!" Damn, she's got him on the verbal defensive. All his early efforts, wasted. He looks prepared enough for her sudden rush, for all the good it does. A lunge backwards gets him popped right in the knee, yelping in pain. The blow to the elbow at least was armored, and he was flailing for a defense before the last one lands much more devastating; he had not managed any defense, unless being sent bonelessly sideways to crumple on the ground and roll away counts.
What the hell is going on... she's way stronger then he remembers!! And he's actually made progress for once! This is humbling, and it's very hard to humble Roland. A sour vision of himself lounging with beer while she was about to perform extremely paced training flashes before him. How many months did she continue that while he just lounged around? "Tch..." Trembling he rolls over and pushes up to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth before spitting aside. His hat is pulled off, and he pulls a thin cord which erupts out a vicious blade. Before hurling it out, the air whistling as the weighted improvised projectile attempts to slam into her, as much force as lacerating force!! He's going to go down kicking and screaming, if nothing else!
COMBATSYS: Ayame reflects Blackjack from Roland with Midsummer Fantasy.
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Ayame 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Roland
The girl spins out of the whirlwind of titanium and rose colored chi. The signiture technique of her father's, though she can't remember the man or the hours of lessons of repetative practice at the family shrine in which she learned it. By the time she comes to a stop, feet regaining traction, the girl is facing back toward Roland with an entirely unrepetant smirk. Her staff rests against her left shoulder at an angle, craddled in place with her left hand, as if she's not even really got the mind to defend herself at this point. Risidual chi from the combination lingers in the air, drifting down from the points of impact like breeze carried blossoms.
She can tell she's getting under his skin. What he expected to be a remarkable display of how far he's coming in the... days? Weeks at best? since becoming Todoh's student is becoming anything but that. "Tell me," she muses, her right hand extending, fingers outstretched before she draws it back in as if pulling something toward her. The lingering chi rushes back in to her hand, forming a small sphere over her palm. Waste not, want not after all.
She watches as he slides his hat off. She's seen what that can do. Or, she has. Problem is, she can't really remember their first fight in the forest a half year ago either. A token of surrender...? Nah. "Does your newfound inspiration for chi endurance teach you angular momentum?" The man sends the bladed hat spinning out for her and Ayame's grin becomes even more predatory as she waves her right hand slightly, the sphere of chi reshaped into a shimmering discus of crimson, its surface covered with modern era runes - equations, vectors, derivatives thereof. She's just showing off now. "Or anything about precision?"
The hat spins into the barrier as Ayame spins back away from it, allowing it to push the barrier back... Only the bladed weapon seems to be caught now, for as the barrier moves, it moves with it, and by the time the girl finishes spinning all the way around and slamming her right hand forward, she ends up launching the projectile screaming back toward its owner even faster now.
The lingering chi trails it for a while but drops off well before the hat could possibly hit him, drifting as falling particles before vanishing all together. Ayame's right hand goes back to resting at her hip, her staff still resting against her left shoulder.
COMBATSYS: Ayame successfully hits Roland with Reflected Blackjack.
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Ayame 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Roland
Well, Roland is many things, and being patient and dedicated is not one of them. He needs instant gratification, or he becomes lazy and shirks things. Although he's certain his form has improved since the last time they fought, she's simply outmaneuvering him completely. A clear cut above. Infuriating, really! What kind of rival gets so easily slapped around! "I failed math!" is proudly declared, before his assault is ricocheted right back towards him. Feet slither backwards, and he begins to bring up a forearm before it strikes him in the left side of the chest. Two steps back follow, letting out a sharp hiss of pain. Testament to the strength of his hat, it's actually wedged sufficiently deep that it simply remains embedded. "T-Tchhh..." Grasping it, he pulls it out with a wet thunk, flicking a splatter of blood droplets upon the ground and plopping it back on his head. "...I give." is grumbled out, teeth grit in the obvious outrage of this admission. He's not one to give up, but he's a realist. Besides, it'll make it less pleasurable to deny Ayame the last brutal blows to pummel him into submission. "You got me this time!!"
COMBATSYS: Roland takes no action.
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Ayame 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Roland
Another solid hit. Ayame doesn't even blink, studying Roland, watching how he moves, observing how having his hat used against him takes the wind right out of his sails, learning more and more about the odd man. He might feel a hint of self-consciousness at the detatched, clinical way the strawberry-blonde watches him. Right up to where he pulls his hat out and puts it back on his head without even cleaning it entirely. Every detail noted, all part of her ongoing propensity to intricately profile everyone she runs into, hoping to know their weaknesses and points of vulnerability just in case a need arises.
He grumbles that he gives and Ayame stands up straight, tossing her staff up into a lazy arc over her head. By the time it comes back down to be caught in her right hand, it's collapsed back down to a small half-foot long tube which she shoves into her belt pouch. She doesn't say a word. Nothing about Todoh. Nothing about his training. Nothing even about those photos he must be showing around.
Untouched, she brushes her skirt idly before turning around. "Thanks, needed to get that out of my system." she remarks, turning away and waving her hand over her shoulder. "This place is boring. I should find some other chumps to beat up. I bet they won't be as fun as you though. Keep practicing Roland!"
COMBATSYS: Ayame takes no action.
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Ayame 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Roland
There's not a lot of hints to find about Roland, other then clear indications of an inferiority complex where the girl is defined. Beyond that, every nuance seems to be muddied waters, some small things so utterly contrasting he's either a complete idiot, or very good at keeping his cards close to his chest. As for him, he's less good at picking up on subtle manipulation when it comes to playing people like an instrument. He's the fast talker, the seat of the pants planner, and he's disturbingly good at that. Although his face was tense, eyes narrowed in obvious anticipation of judgement. When that doesn't come, and she turns to leave so nonchalantly, he strokes at his chin. "...Are you SURE you got your memory back?" he offers, with a grunt. "Fine! Say you are bored then leave me! I'm glad I'm so amusing for company!!" He just waves his hand towards her back, turning to march off while wincing as his fingers probe his wounds. She better not of stabbed him too bad... the last thing he wants is to survive BLEEDING TO DEATH through raw willpower as well!!
COMBATSYS: Roland has left the fight here.
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Ayame 0/-------/---====|
COMBATSYS: Ayame has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:55:57 12/31/2008 by Ayame, and last modified on 19:22:48 01/20/2009.