Description: Having finished his fight in the previous round, Frei heads into Luqiao to collect his thoughts. He unexpectedly runs into a stranger new to Taizhou. The sage is impressed by the young fighter's resolve... even more so after Antoine asks for a match and more than proves the strength of that resolve in battle.
The last thing Frei remembered was firing off one last attempt to deal a blow to Hotaru Futaba, and a look at his partner Nahid. After that, things go a little dark. By the time he wasn't just a dazed body lying on the floor of the Sanctum lobby, everyone had gone... presumably to deal with their own problems. The fight was close, but something tells him that he and Nahid didn't win. For a moment, as the red-haired fighter pulls himself off the lobby floor and tries to stand upright, he wonders what Hotaru and Kurenai will wish for. The schoolgirl with the bokken, probably something frivolous. He hopes that Hotaru will be more circumspect about it. Hopefully once this is all over, he'll get to ask her.
Briefly, he considers heading inside to shower and change clothes, perhaps sleep off the headache he has, but instead, he turns to walk out the doors, which slide shut with the barely-audible hiss of compressed air behind him as he leaves. Turning back, Frei looks over this technological marvel that the tournament holders have constructed, compared to the desolation that surrounds it, and not for the first time is he filled with something approaching real anger. He's not easy to infuriate, Frei is; relatively calm by nature, he tends to take things in his stride. But one of the things he came to Taizhou to ascertain in the first place was if the great and terrible cost of creating it was worth it.
Increasingly, he feels that it is not.
From Sanctum, Frei turns and walks for some time. A sky that was honey-gold with the colors of sundown when he left is now the velvet dark blue of nighttime. Overhead, and with much of the light pollution of the region knocked out, the tiny silver pinpricks that are the stars seem to compete with the dark clouds and flashes of the freak weather raging overhead, reflected through the translucent lattices of the crystal pathways in the sky. Briefly, the sage walks while observing the heavens, barely even looking where he's going, until he brings himself to a stop and looks around when a terrible feeling swells in the pit of his stomach.
He looks down to find the entrance to the subway, and the normally bright green eyes dull with the memories it evokes. Memories of all the pain and suffering felt in Taizhou, psychically projected into his mind... a thousand, a million reminders of the terrible cost of all of this.
What a day. The travels through the world had brought up a great deal of promise for the hopeful young man. This is his home country, after all. However, he is to explore the world of all of the ongoing adventures. Oddly enough, the adventure lead him to Taizhou, where there has been some sort of commotion going on. Admittedly, he did not expect to find himself in what would be a desolate area. He had seen the people and the shape that they have been in. It was actually disheartening to see.
Nevertheless, the wayward travele had to continue his journey. He has to. Despite of what he has seen, he would continue his travels. The technology that he has seen in this place is nothing like what he seen before. It indicates that something is going on here. Sometimes, it leaves that lingering desire to explore and discover more.
Emerging from the subway entrance is a young man in a worn wushu outfit. One thing significant other than the duffelbag are his pair of Nike Shox. Hefting it over his shoulder, Antoine stares ahead to see.. a monk?
His eyes widen briefly, but then he smiles faintly, "Yo."
Things not on Frei's 'expected to see' list: someone coming OUT of that subway. It shows, in that even though Antoine gives a perfectly cordial greeting, Frei seems to do nothing more than blink at him in surprise for a moment, wondering what he might have seen... until it occurs to him that, just maybe, his -- and for sure, Nahid's -- efforts may have cleansed the subway terminal of whatever dark presence was down there. Or perhaps, it may be that the only darkness that Frei found down there was darkness he brought with him.
Either way, the realization seems to snap him out of something, and he laughs a little nervously, rubbing his hand across the back of his head for a second. "Sorry, sorry... hi there." There's a brief moment where the chi sage takes it all in... the dress is somewhere between street kid and kung fu, the sneakers and haircut combining with the red belt and kung fu pants to give a very strange impression indeed of this young man. But perhaps the most important thing, Frei decides, is that he's smiling. It's been a long time since he saw a genuine smile on the face of a stranger in Taizhou, and it warms his heart to see one.
However, there is a teensy little question: what is he DOING here? Frei brings his hands up and holds them in front of him, arms wide and palms out; after a second it becomes obvious that he's stretching, his eyes squinted briefly shut during the process, and he even gives a little exaggerated 'ngh!' of effort when he does so. Opening one eye, he trains it on Antoine, putting a hand on his hip. "Don't think I've seen you on the Sanctum feeds... are you here for the tournament? Or did you live in Taizhou, before all this..." He pauses, looking around and waving his hand in a circular motion, before finishing, "...all this *this*?"
The reaction that the stranger confuses Antoine. He cannot help but to quirk an eyebrow, lifting a hand up to wave at his direction, "Yo. Wake up." And hat is when Frei snaps out of is. When he finally stirs to life, Antoine finally nods in greting towards the stranger. "Are you okay?" There is a concerned look towards the older man, the martial artist is waking over towards him. The impression of the stranger is pretty strange, but here is an eye that is kept on Frei. Not because he is seen as a threat, but an actual potential for something.
"Sanctum feeds?" Antoine inquires with a tone that suggests confusion. "There is a tournament going on here?" He furrows his eyebrow, looking around, "This is a strange area to hold a tournament." He shuts his eyes, "....I am actually further south from here. Our temple..." His eyes narrow as he looks away, "Was disbanned for reasons." The sifu's death. "I am traveling on my own, seeking to perfect our tradition." He looks up at Frei, "What exactly is going on here?"
Now there's a couple of questions that are going to take some time to answer, and Frei's reaction shows it. He tilts his head a little, when Antoine asks if he's okay and describes his own situation, then can't help but smile in a rueful sort of way once Antoine asks what exactly is going on here. Shaking his head with a sigh, Frei takes a step or two backward and half turns, checking to see if the park bench he thought was there really IS. Finding it to be right where he remembered leaving it, the redhead sits down with exaggerated care, as if he expected the thing to snap into twigs the second he got off his feet. "I'm alright," he says at last, looking back up at Antoine with a faint smile. "A little... hmm. I had an, uh... an encounter down in that subway. It's been on my mind, that's all."
A beat passes, and then Frei leans backward, folding his hands in his lap and spreading his feet a bit, trying to make himself comfortable. "You seem a little, uh..." He pauses, squinting a moment, attempting to think of how to phrase the sentence he WANTS to say. Eventually, he starts over. "You don't seem Chinese by birth, but you were training here? I mean, I am... WAS... the same way. Born and raised in Japan, but I trained in China for a long time, until..." Until you left for home, and when you came back your master was dead. Shaking his head, Frei doesn't finish the story, and from the halting tones of Antoine's version, doesn't think the wandering martial artist will mind. "Well, let's just say, I understand how you feel."
But no amount of stalling can forestall the real question for long, and Frei shakes his head somewhat. "There IS a tournament here, but it's not... uh... *normal*." Chi-empowered security measures that tried to filet him? Ghosts in the sewers? Empowered Alma freaking out in the ruins of a hospital? Yeah, not 'normal'. "It's being run by a ninja clan, or so I gather."
The concern is still there for the serious young martial artist. "...I should have some herbs that may help if you need it." He considers. "Sifu taught me a few things to help rejuvinate the mind." He stops briefly, looking to see the man when he finally speaks out to him again. He tilts his head over, looking back at the subway. An eyebrow lifts up, "Huh... Yeah, I had went there to see if it was operational. It look like it wasn't." He lifts his shoulders with a shrug.
A smile is drawn on his face as Frei is rather perplex of his ethnicity and attire, "I get that a bit. I was originally from the US but..." He smiles, "I was brought here as a second chance in life. I have been here for eight years now." Blink. Antoine furrows his eyebrow for a moment. A hand rests over his forehead. Has it really been that long since he bee around? Looks like it. A glance is given towards Frei, a silent nod of understanding is noted. The situation between the two are similar.
"Not a normal tournament..." He furrows his eyebrow, "A ninja clan? What is the purpose of this tournamen?" He furrows his eyebrow, hefting the duffelbag up to adjust it.
"Haha... that's the ten thousand dollar question, my lad," Frei says in return, the 'my lad' in bizarre contention with how comparatively young the redhead looks... outwardly, he doesn't seem older than his late teens despite being almost 30. Still, something about this situation makes him feel even older than *that* in practice. It's barely been a few weeks but Frei feels like he's been in the ruins of Taizhou forever, and perhaps the worst part is that he hasn't really found what he was looking for. Unlike many here, he's not looking for the 'answers' of the tournament... but he is searching for a 'reason'... why did all of this happen? Does Frei need to help it to finish, or stop it before it's too late?
In response, though, he waves a hand in the distance, the direction he had been walking from before Antoine showed. In the battered skyline, even at this range, the pure white facade of the Sanctum building stands out like a sore thumb. "I don't really know the purpose of the tournament, to be honest," Frei says quietly, turning back to look at Antoine. "Somebody -- somebody related to Seishirou Ryouhara, if you've heard of him -- did all of this." He doesn't say what 'this' is; he doesn't feel like he has to say it, either. The destruction and desolation, the irreparable damage to Taizhou. "To prepare for something. Now they're calling it 'Nirvana' and I guess the tournament is a test to see who's most worthy of being part of their new world, or something like that."
He's being evasive, and Antoine might or might not pick up on it. The truth is that Ayame's words to him the last few times they've met have made it clear what exactly the point of this place is: to 'change the world.' The staff-wielding thief had said that Ryouhara was going to remake the world, and that great sacrifice might be required. That she hoped her wish might be granted if she won this tournament. At first, he'd thought Antoine had been led here by a similar promise... after all, he appears to be a young fighter with dreams of his own.
After what seems like a much, much too lengthy pause, Frei shakes his head and looks back at Antoine. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're serious about your second chance, I'd leave this place. There's something dangerous going on here, under the surface..."
"I see..." The young fighter notes. He doesn't have any real reaction about being called a lad. His eyes do watch the monk, mostly to see if he is still in good health. On the other hand, he is curious about his fighting abilities. There is a bit of information. Seishirou Ryouhara. He is responsible for what happened here? Looking at this entire surroundings, he can see the desolate presence of the place. In response, hiseyes narrow and the fists tightens. "... How cruel." He narrows his eyes "Nirvana..." A new world?
Hrm, so his path had lead him here.
His head lifts up towards, "...I see." The man will admit, all of this is strange to take in. The surroundings are desolate and the people are suffering out of poverty. This tournament is supposed to bring people together for some new world. What is this new world exactly?
And then Frei makes a suggestion. His eyes shut as his expression becomes serious, "I appreciate the sentiment. However... the reason I was given a second chance was because I was ignorant of the world and I desired to grow out of that ignorance." He looks directly at Frei now, "I have been given tools to help me survive. If I leave here, I will be left ignorant of what is going on here. ...That would be similar to leaving the people behind when there is a small chance that I can do something about it."
t"I cannot allow myself to leave and remain ignorant. That second chance will he utilized in this manner. Besides, I seek to perfect my tradition."
Now to the point, "You are a fighter..."
To emphasize what he is looking for, Antoine releases the duffelbag, letting it drop towards the ground.
COMBATSYS: Antoine has started a fight here.
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Antoine 0/-------/-------|
Hm.
For a moment, as Antoine's dufflebag drops to the ground, Frei studies the young African-American for a moment. Though much of it is unspoken, the chi sage does feel some sort of... distant bond with this individual, perhaps if only because of their shared history. But then the young fighter says something quite interesting, and it surprises Frei a little bit to hear it. 'If I leave here, I will be left ignorant of what is going on... that would be similar to leaving the people behind.'
Yeah... that much is true, isn't it? Shutting his eyes, Frei lowers his head a bit as he shakes it from side to side, smiling a tiny bit. When he looks back up, it's to give Antoine an expression of... well, approval, for lack of a better word. "Well... I don't know that I'd want to see you get hurt, but I think the worst crime is to purposefully make yourself ignorant and turn a blind eye. So."
He turns a bit, reaching down to the park bench and picking up a cloth-wrapped bundle, which he proceeds to unwrap. Inside is a wooden sword, which Frei solemnly slips into his back belt loops, like a samurai sheathing his weapon before a battle, the white cloth drifting to the ground forgotten afterward.
He turns back to Antoine with a nod, getting into a fighting stance, his hand hovering slightly over the carved 'hilt' of the woode blade. "Well. My name's Frei... it's nice to meet you. I'd like to see these tools you're going to use to pierce the veil."
COMBATSYS: Frei has joined the fight here.
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Frei 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Antoine
There is that approval. Not only that, but Frei understands the reason for Antoine not backing down. As such, Antoine offers Frei a smile before the mask of the seriousness returns once more. Maintaining that seriousness the youthful fighter is mentally preparing himself. He brings his feet together, his right fist slamming towards the opened left palm. With a slight bow, he introduces himself, "Antoine. Pleased to meet you.."
The fighter steps his right foot forward, bringing both arms up in a guarding position. Studying the samurai's stance, the young man notes it with a nod. Interesting.
Antoine takes the charge, moving in towards Frei's vicinity. He steps forward by lunging off of the ground with two snap kicks towards the stomach. However, they are actually just the opening for the main strike.
He steps his right leg forward, shooting off with his left arm. The fist tightens and shifts invertedly, aiming to plant the fist towards Frei's floating ribs. "Yaa!"
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Frei with Strong Punch.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Antoine
There's that Chinese-style bow, sword-in-sheath. Seeing Antoine do it, Frei is reminded painfully of Kentou, who he hasn't seen in some time... the fact that he just fought Hotaru a little while ago doesn't help either, as it was the kenpo fighter who brought Frei and Kentou together as teacher and student in the first place. But the similarities between Kentou -- all youthful energy and exuberant innocence -- and Antoine end right there. The fighter standing opposite him has gone through his share of trouble, Frei observes, and it shows on his face. This is someone who's still young and inexperienced, but tempered.
Green eyes track Antoine as he starts to move, gauging the path of his movement and foretell where the punch is intended to land. Squinting a little, Frei attempts to slide out of the way, conserving his movements, but Antoine's assault is a little too quick for that, and the strike lands home, causing him to stumble backwards a step or two, clutching his stomach. It doesn't help that Hotaru struck him quite hard there a few times a few hours ago, but despite all that, Frei smiles at Antoine. "Not bad, not bad."
He judges his opponent a second more, then nods at Antoine as a signal that things are about to start back up. There's nothing fancy to what comes next; Frei plants his foot once he gets in close, does a quick spin, and then turns the end of that spin -- seemingly doing nothing -- into an upward drawing slash across Antoine's chest.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Antoine with Feinting Draw.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0 Antoine
The impact against Frei is a signal for Antoine to back up into his fighting stance. Frei is noted when he offers a brief compliment towards his movements. Antoine nods his head with a smile, then he brings both of hands back up. He watches for his opponent's maneuver, taking a quick step back while he brings the sword out with the quick spin. Antoine lifts his hands up, attempting to guard against the wooden sword's impact.
Unfortunately, it strikes through the defenses and against his arms. He was not prepared enough. As such, Antoine grimaces and he takes several steps back with a wince. "Nice swordsmanship." He notes. As he wiggles his arms to loosen them up, Antoine quickly shifts stance and he springs towards Frei, swinging his back leg out to lead forward. As the foot is extended out, the chi manifests along his legs in the form of the crackling lightning. With the inward crescent kick slamming towards Frei's form, he will slam the foot to the ground as the new leading side while his right hand moves to the right side.
COMBATSYS: Frei interrupts Crossing the Bridge from Antoine with Shunrai.
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Frei 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Antoine
It must just be something about the style, that as Frei steps back from that drawing slash that he steps to the side and slowly slides his weapon back into the makeshift 'scabbard' of his belt loops. Nice swordsmanship? Well... a compliment is a compliment, though it embarrasses Frei a little bit to hear it. Some inner sense of modesty keeps him from simply accepting it on face value, but he does try to at least take the praise with grace. "I had very, very dedicated teachers," he says at last, thinking of his mother for a moment. "Your form is very good, though." And even as that's said, Antoine makes another leap at him, driving forward with an attack crackling with lightning.
Frei grimaces, a little bit; the air is already chi-saturated and the redhead is already feeling a little sick from it, his attunement to the flow of that semi-supernatural power being fine indeed. But he can't let that get in the way of this match, if only because it seems very important to Antoine... and in his own way, Frei would like to encourage this youth to continue on a path that disdains ignorance and champions the weak.
Like Frei himself perhaps should have been doing all along.
Flexing his fingers, Frei doesn't jump back; he dives right into the attack, letting Antoine's chi-infused kick slam right into him. However, before the attack can go any further, the sage wraps his hands around Antoine's extended kicking leg, and focuses his will. Against all logic, the lightning chi Antoine had threaded into his attack suddenly reverses 'polarity', serving Frei's ends rather than Antoine's as the former shoves the young fighter off-balance, letting the shocking redirected energy do the dirty work.
As the foot comes down towards Frei, Antoine is taken by surprise when Frei not only dives into the attack but manages to knock him off balance. The foot does make a nice impact on Frei, but the force loses itself when the sage wraps his hands around the leg. That chi is directed back at Antoine; both eyes widen as a scream of pain roars out. "Gaaahh!" He lands on the ground for further impact of a thud. The body twitches a bit.
After the shocking surge runs course along his body, grunts and he brings both of his legs up and rolls himself back up to his feet. He gurnts briefly, then he nods at Frei. That caught him by surprise. However, he will not let that bring him down. He is moving owards Frei, lunging forward to come forth with a side kick towards his stomach, then he twists his body to launch a round house kick.
The main attack, however, is both hands reaching out towards Frei. Should he get his hands on Frei's collar, he is going to pull Frei back in a double roll and then his leg will launch Frei backwards.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Frei with Spinning the Loom.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Antoine
It's a very tricky maneuver, one that takes Frei entirely by surprise. He's so busy looking at the various kicks and footwork that by the time he's wound himself around those, he's got nothing left to evade Antoine's grabbing hands once they come in, and after a series of back rolls and one well-placed skyward thrust, Frei goes sailing through the air, only righting himself at just the last second to slam into the ground in a crouch, hand down on the ground. He winces as he stands back up. That stung a little bit!
"You know," he says to Antoine, getting back into stance and shaking his head a little to clear it, "what fighting style is that?" He's genuinely curious, at this point... it's clearly some variant on kung fu, or possibly wing chun, if Antoine was studying in China all this time. "I mean, it must be pretty special if you came here all the way from the States to learn it."
He circles his opponent a little bit more, trying to read him. Chi techniques, strikes, throws... it seems like a pretty well-balanced style, actually. Not much at all like Frei's, which depends quite thoroughly on a solid defense and precisely-chosen times to strike when the opportunity arises. Ducking forward, Frei tries something a little fancy; he attempts to grab Antoine's right arm as he passes, planting his foot if he gets a grip, then effectively rolling the younger fighter across his back before letting go of his arm and sending him sailing across the sidewalk.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Antoine with Strong Throw.
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Frei 0/-------/--=====|=======\====---\1 Antoine
% "Chongquan. It is a wushu style that focuses on directness and technique. Similar to the hard style of Japanese's karate." Antoine notes, "...Actually, didn't go to China to learn it." He pauses, seeking to clarify, "I was brought to China." Essentialy, he did not travel on his own vicinity. He can recall waking up in the boat. It felt like that he was going into the Underworld through Charon. That was a strange experience to wake up to.
Yet, the fight is on.
As Frei attempts something fancy, Antoine had attempted to brush his hand away to keep him from grabbing it. However, Frei moved too quick. Antoine's arm is grabbed as Frei passes htrugh, then he is rolled across the back for a shoulder toss. As he sails across the air, he lands right on his back in the most harsh manner; a loud thud roars and the ground cracks the earth.
He grimaces, staring towards the sky. It looks strange from where he stands. But, it is no time to stay on ground. Antoine immediately lifts both legs up and he rolls himself towards his feet. After getting up, Antoine steps towards Frei, quick to close the distance between himself and Frei.
He shots forward with his right palm to strike at the solar plex, and then he shifts his weight to the right as his leg launches him off of the ground. The left fist drives upward, aiming to catch Frei along the chin and bring him into the air with him.
COMBATSYS: Antoine successfully hits Frei with Heaven Descends to Earth EX.
- Power hit! -
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Frei 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Antoine
Didn't come to China on his own? That statement seems a little cryptic, and Frei regards Antoine with a curious gaze once it's been said, trying to puzzle out what that meant. He was brought here... well, maybe the master of the school found him somewhere? In a weird way, he can't help but laugh as he smiles at Antoine. "Something special... a male Kaguya-hime, maybe?" he offers, though somehow he suspects the Japanese mythological reference is probably lost on the chongquan-using American.
Perhaps Frei should have been paying more attention to the fight and less to the vagaries of Antoine's background, however, as the young fighter crosses the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye. Taken by surprise, Frei hastily attempts to shift his arms into place to block that first strike, but instead he ends up putting them in a very awkward position, so that Antoine's strike to his solar plexus not only strikes clean, but twists Frei's wrist a bit before the second, considerably more powerful, blow sends the redhead off his feet to land on his back a few feet away.
It takes a second for him to get up, and Frei seems geuninely impressed by that. "Wow... argh, I'm gonna feel that tomorrow," the chi sage says with a rueful smile, rubbing his chin. Whatever they were teaching him in this place he was studying, Antoine learned damn well. Frei doesn't think of himself as an amazing fighter or anything, but Antoine's landed some impressive hits indeed despite the experience gap.
"Doing good so far," he says to his opponent, grinning a little. "But it never pays to get cocky. Ready?" After a second or so to find out if he is, Frei charges Antoine, one hand held down at his side, a swirling mass of wind chi spiralling around his palm. When he gets close, Frei thrusts it forward, the compressed mini-storm suddenly being dispersed all at once, the force of the wind crushing the concrete at their feet and looking to send Antoine flying.
COMBATSYS: Frei successfully hits Antoine with Reiki.
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Frei 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Antoine
Perhaps it is cryptic. However, to Antoine, it is what it is. As such, Antoine had been prepred to deal with that. There is a faint smile that draws on his face, "I suppose you can say something like that, but... less of being found in a stalk of bamboo and... that second chance of life... sifu was responsible for it." The American Chongquan artist is knowledgeable in some lores.
After creating an impact against Frei, Antoine nods towards Frei. "...To let overconfidence breeds arrogance.. and they suffer the worst fall." Antoine notes that. When Frei comes forth with that mini-storm of the wind, Antoine steps forward and brings both of his hands in front of him to shield him against the blow. Unfortunately, the force proved to be too powerful for him. As the body struggles, he grits his teeth in th midst of it as his body is showing signs of tiredness. And then, he is swept away into the air, slammed against his back with a harsh thud. "Egh!"
He grimaces, slowly getting back to his feet. Lightning surges through him as he takes a few steps forward. He takes a deep breath and he channels the lightning to swirl in his grasp. Steping his right leg back, both hands are together to his right side as he draws more of the lightning chi. As he finally amps himself up, the lightning surges around his body. "Shhhh...."
With a single step forward, the wind tears the ground with rip of the earth as he drives himself towards Frei. The right hand extends out, the palm shooting out to break through all of the defenses and make his pointed strike at Frei's abdomen. "--SHOUUUUU!!!"
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Antoine's Perfect Storm.
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Frei 1/-----==/=======|===----\-------\0 Antoine
"'Sifu', huh... you really were raised in China, weren't you?" Frei responds, but there's a note of gentle teasing in his voice when he says it. Someone who trained in Japan would probably say 'sensei' or 'shishou' instead... and in basically any other country on Earth, they'd just say 'master.' But Frei can hear the tones of great respect that Antoine has for the man he called 'sifu' just in that word alone, and again, he's struck with an upswelling of affection for this young man. Found in the woods, brought in and raised as his own. "My teacher... well, he didn't find me in LITERAL bamboo, but maybe he found me in the metaphorical kind."
You're not going to learn anything more here, he'd said. You have to go and actually put this stuff to use. You've got to go home and see it through. Words that were the last Frei and his teacher shared, and words that turned out to be more true than the speaker would ever know.
He can't take it easy on this kid, because to do that would be insulting... not just to Antoine personally, but to the master who trained him. So when that palm strike comes in, carrying a typhoon of chi behind it, Frei sets both feet and braces himself. The palm strike slams into Frei's guard with enough force to crack the sidewalk, but the sword-sage is a master of the defensive arts, particularly standing his ground. The force of the blow sends stinging pain through his arms, the stormy chi knifing at his body, but in the end Frei remains unbowed.
"Lemme pay that technique back with one I learned from two very different masters," Frei says quietly, putting a hand on the 'hilt' of his bokken. Chi begins to swirl around the sword like an aura, a purple-black color that chills the air around it. Pure yin chi, the energy of death, but an energy that's bound up in the cycle of life. "Ougi... Ashura Ressenjin!" From a standing start, Frei then launches into a series of flowing, interconnected drawing slashes with the chi-empowered wooden sword, one after another, driving toward Antoine viciously before one final, wide horizontal slash brings the entire combination to a close.
COMBATSYS: Antoine endures Frei's Ashura Ressenjin.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|=======\==-----\1 Antoine
As the battle is drawing near an end, Antoine is appearing more tired as he goes. THere is a great deal of respect for Frei. Not only in terms of his style, but personally. "...What is your style, if I may ask?" Since he threw his cards down, it is only fair for Frei to throw down his. However, the palm strikes the arms, which leaves Frei to continue the fight.
But Antoine is not going to go down without a fight. His body is begging to collapse, Antoine has no desire to fall quite yet. Lunging straight into the sword's path, Antoine meets head on with the chi-empowered wooden sword. His body is caught between lashings before the wide horizontal slash catches him.
His body is taking the beating, but he immediately stomps his foot to the ground to -stand- his ground. Both hands lace forward to strike at Frei's chest, seeking to send him sprawling back... Before Antoine prepares to fall to a knee.
COMBATSYS: Antoine can no longer fight.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Frei blocks Antoine's Immovable Mountain.
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Frei 0/-------/------=|
For the final time in this battle, two powerful forces collide with enough of an impact that shakes the world around it. Blinking in surprise at Antoine's persistence, and needing a way to deal with the speeding bullet of a martial artist leaping his way for one final attack, Frei doesn't put the bokken away, but instead grits his teeth and infuses heavy, earthen chi into the blade and, holding it horizontally, puts it in the path of the twin palm strike. Without that benefit, it's pretty clear that Antoine's attack would have splintered the wood something fearsome; as it is, there's a resounding *WHAM!* noise as fist meets force, and Frei grits his teeth as the impact rings through his whole body, burning muscles... even deflecting that attack takes its own toll.
But then it appears Antoine is spent, and Frei takes a step back so the younger fighter can rest; stepping to the side, he retrieves the white cloth that was previously wrapped around the wooden sword and slowly begins the process of binding it up again. "It's, uh... a very personal thing." Sword wrapped, Frei sits down on the ground to be eye level with Antoine.
"When I was your age all my mother wanted me to do was learn swordplay... that's the family style I was using. But I wanted something different, so I just started... wandering. I found my previous teacher here in China, and he taught me all about chi energy. That's really my specialty, but..." And here, Frei pauses. How many things led him to where he is now? His brother's murderous rampage, his being experimented on with BLECE, the Artemis Engine powered by clones of himself, losing his ability to use chi... all of them reminders that you can't throw away the past. If you want to be a whole person, you need to merge the past and the present.
"Over time I realized that I couldn't turn my back on that. So... I found a way to make them work together." Here, he stands up, dusts off his hands, and then holds one hand out to Antoine to help him up. "I think you have the potential to do great things someday, Antoine, because... well. Because you could have turned your back on a lot of things, and decided not to. It was an honor to fight you."
He looks at Frei for several moments, listening to his tale. So, it is a blend of some things. A smile is creeping over on his face as he regards Frei. "...At least you've learned that. Nevertheless, you have a facinating style." The offered hand is taken, then Antoine is lifted up to his feet. "As it was with you, Frei." He smiles, "...While I am here.. I will be doing what I can. ...While seeking to perfect my style. Since I am here, I will make my travels... a learning process." He lifts his head up, staring at the bleak sky.
"...And try to see what we can do to restore that."
Log created on 22:14:36 05/31/2010 by Frei, and last modified on 22:02:24 06/01/2010.