Description: Marz comes to Gedo to snoop around for information. Megane catches on that she's not a Gedo Student, and finding out that she's a fighter as well, attacks her. They fight, talk, and find out they share a similar mindset.
In most circumstances, Marz makes a wonderful tool for infiltration. She can disguise herself with great proficiency, is trained in stealth and infiltration tactics, and tends to act in such a way that the eye... slides off her. She rarely stands out in a crowd. But, in Gedo High, this strategy is not working out too well.
As part of her analysis of potential threats to Shadaloo, it is only natural that the Doll would want to look into Gedo High, that high school of endless spirit and passion. She'd started to fear that these emotions might actually be part of what draws the schools together, and lets them act as such a potent fighting force. Emotions that she, herself, can only feel a vague echo of. There was devotion, yes, and discipline, lodged firmly in her mind. But these are unnatural, and so integral and unchanging that it wouldn't be fair to call them... passion, per se.
She's dressed in an attempt at a school uniform as imagined by someone who has no idea what schools are wearing these days. A long purple skirt, and a plaid shirt, with a 'hello kitty' backpack and a pair of headphones over her ears.
Even so, she sticks out like a sore thumb. Simply because she's so... bland, neutral, in a sea of emotion and tide of fiery spirit. She's walking through the gates trying to look like she belongs here, walking with a purpose. But with none of the furious, second-nature passion that comes so easily to everyone else. It's... embarrassing.
Megane is up in a second story hall, watching the grounds below. Naturally, his eyes are drawn to the new arrival. He can see that he stands out, and he quickly matches her up to the new student list - no, doesn't fit with anyone. Still, she is from an evil organization and coming to scout the school... is not the first conclusion he comes to.
He vaults out of the window, using just a slight puff of wind chi to slow his fall, and rolls when he hits the ground.
He stands up, brushes himself off, and walks towards Marz, until he's within speaking distance. A polite smile is placed on his face. "Excuse me, Miss. What's the name of your friend?" An eyebrow is raised slightly.
Marz looks at Megane as he walks towards her. She'd spotted his move, and, it was showy. Flashy. Clearly the boy was a fighter, the question is whether or not she should be worried yet. Right now, she isn't worried. Although she had been involved in the Southtown Wars, she was supply line. Very few people knew who she was, let alone who she worked for.
"My friend?" The girl repeats, raising an eyebrow curiously, "I'm afraid I don't have any friends here. If you'll excuse me, though, I don't want to be late. I have to figure out where my schedule is." Another minor mistake. Who cared about schedules at Gedo High? Most of the students probably couldn't even say the word.
She starts to walk past Megane, determined to continue on her way and make her way into the school. Apparently not at all concerned about any authority the boy might have to try and stop her. She's hoping to get somewhere based purely on the casual ease in her bearing, acting as though you belonged somewhere long enough sometimes made it true.
...Well, the not caring at all about authority part is a lot like Gedo, if nothing else. "Oh, so you're a new student? I'll walk you to the principal's office to get your schedule." His voice is carefully constructed, but there's a little warmth there. If she is really a new student he wasn't informed of, he gets to look nice. Otherwise, he gets information. There's no real loss here. Maybe he'll end up missing a class? He walks along by her side. "My name is Katsu Nakano, but people around here call me Megane." He brushes a finger against the rim of his glasses, and glances down at her expectantly.
"That won't be necessary." Marz replies, slowing her pace enough that she can hope he gets the hint before they reach the entrance proper. "I collected my schedule in advance. I begin with computer science. You could show me there directly, but I'm sure I can find my way." There's a heartbeat before she continues, her voice still quite neutral, carefully controlled. "You may call me Gertrude." She concludes. Bringing out an old, and very unattractive, code name. Katsu Nakano, aka Megane. Her eyes drift to meet his, cold and, perhaps a little menacing. "I saw your jump." She comments. "It was impressive. Perhaps we can talk about it ... later."
"Pleased to meet you, Gertrude." Megane blinks, and keeps on walking alongside her. "Hmm, that's wierd, I thought you said you needed to find your schedule. Well, as luck would have it, I have some business there, so don't worry about it. You aren't inconveniencing me." He smiles. "There's a paper I need printed out for another class, and I was going to just turn it in a day late, but I suppose I might as turn it in on time." A lie, but it's unlikely the teacher will mind him printing out a document, or even keep that close track. And it certainly seems like something a Gedo Student would say. "You're a little interested in fighting?"
"I meant I needed to find out where the places on my schedule are." Marz explains, continuing along her way, though, she doesn't hold the door open for the young man as she enters the school proper. She's no doubt that such a minor obstacle won't shake him off, though. Despite her inexperience with the school, she seems to know the way to the computer lab. Or at least has a great sense of intuitive direction. "I have a passing interest." She says, quietly, "More of an, observer, than a participant. I have no aptitude with chi, and my physical development is not great."
"Oh, well, just make sure people know that around here. They aren't gonna beat on some total weakling if they know you're a noncombatant. They're rough, but generally a nice bunch." Megane smiles. "Seems you memorized a map of this place, too. You really get prepared for things, don't you?" He's increasingly thinking that she isn't a new student, but he's enjoying this, and in no particular rush to show his hand. Besides, once she knows he knows, she might use different techniques to hide her true objective. Reporter? Stalker of one of the better fighters here, maybe? "So why did you decide on Gedo? It's not a popular choice for people not interested in fighting themselves."
Marz gives a little shrug. "There is no point in not using the available data." She replies, simply, before she seems to, sag a little bit. This was one aspect of her cover that she had prepared for. "I failed to obtain the necessary grades for Justice. I am not Japanese, so Seijyun was out of the question. We do not qualify for financial aid, but my father has many debts, so I could not go to Pacific High. This left Gedo High as the only available option." She pauses in her footsteps. "I do not mean any offense, but I do not wish to be here. It is a matter of necessity."
"Yes, I suppose that's true. It's not the best place for academics, but it's a good place to watch fighting. Might even pick up a few moves too, if you're interested." Megane glances down at Marz. "You don't have to have a perfect body or chi control for a little self-defense knowledge to be useful."
"It can be tough to be a new student here, so I try to go out of my way to help you guys. So... I already knew you were coming here, but...." He pauses, furrowing his eyebrows, then shrugs. "It's a little odd, though, Miss Williams. According to what I was told by staff, you weren't going to get here until last next month. They didn't tell me the details, of course. So I'm just wondering, why are you here so early?" There is no 'Gertrude Williams', of course. He blinks, then raises a hand, moving it up to fidget with the glasses' frame. "I'm sorry, that was a rude question."
"My name isn't Williams." Marz says, levelly. There's really no good way for that to go; if there was a Gertrude Williams, then taking her place would just lead to a cascade of lies. If there wasn't, then she'd be falling into a trap laid for her. She's not moving on any more, though, turning to face Megane more completely.
"I am Gertrude Gruder. I'm surprised there is another Gertrude coming. It is an uncommon name." There's a light shrug at this point, "Do not worry about rudeness, though. I am led to believe that the school has a ... refreshingly direct manner, no?" She looks right into his eyes, through his glasses. Almost seeming to challenge him to make something of it. To call her out on her deception.
Megane laughs. "I'm a little out of place here, it's true." He shakes his head, and looks her straight back in the eyes, then reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder, his eyes narrowing for a split second as he realizes her athletic look isn't just looks. "Look, there's a lot of... perfectly reasonable reasons to be going somewhere that isn't your school during school hours. This is Gedo, we aren't too caught up on rules. The thing that worries me is that you're lying about it."
"Why don't you tell me why you're really here?" He smiles. "I'm not that judgemental, maybe I could help you out."
Marz's hand comes up, and, far faster than a normal person, she turns aside the attempt to lay a hand on her shoulder. Simply because, well, it's rarely a good idea to let a fighter you are uncertain of get a good grip on you, even in the most cordial of circumstances. And this was rapidly shaping up to be... not the most cordial.
"I'm not lying." Marz lies. "I'm going to go to the computer science lab now. Thank you for your help. I do not require any more."
The strange girl turns away, ill-advisedly turning her back on the boy. But in truth, her senses are far sharper than a normal person, and every one of them is focusing on him. Waiting for him to make his move. She's deliberately letting herself seem to misjudge him, to see if his first port of call would be violence... one student she could deal with, an entire school, that, would be a bit more difficult.
COMBATSYS: Megane has started a fight here.
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Megane 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Marz has joined the fight here.
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Marz 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Megane
"You were lying about at least one thing. You have fighting skill." Megane shrugs. "And having fighting skill is reason enough for me to fight you. If you're actually a student here, I promise I'll do any one thing you ask of me once I find out, as way of apology - sometimes, information doesn't pass on or gets lost." He pauses. "However, in the meantime, I'm afraid I'm going to beat the crap out of you."
He's a little hesitant to attack an unarmed girl of unknown precise combat skill with her back turned on him, though. Which is why he steps to one side, pushes himself forwards with a puff of wind energy, spinning on one foot as he lands to the left and in front of her, and aims a kick at her stomach.
COMBATSYS: Marz dodges Megane's Light Kick.
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Marz 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Megane
Marz narrows her eyes, and steps backwards. Apparently, she's gauged the young man's capabilities to within acceptable limits. The kick passes inside a couple of inches of her stomach, but doesn't quite make contacts. The young woman doesn't seem to be in a hurry to settle into any kind of fighting stance, letting her arms hang loose at her side.
"You are making a mistake." She says, quietly. "If you continue to get in my way, I will have to ... remove you. If you stand aside now, I give you my word that I will be gone from this." A moment's hesitation, "School, inside the hour. I will not return."
Suddenly, she's smiling, and it is a horrible, fake smile. "You should be honored! I'm already confirming to you that you are right. Do you want to keep pressing the limits of my fighting ability, and see how right you are?"
COMBATSYS: Marz calculates her next move.
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Marz 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Megane
Megane doesn't really settle into a fighting stance either, raising his hand to push his glasses back into a place with a single finger. "Well, that's a very generous offer, Miss Gruder. But if you want me to back down from a fight, you are going to have to tell me exactly what you are up to, and if it's nothing I object to, I'll accompany you."
"Otherwise, we can fight, and you can draw the attention of the whole school - there is nothing like watching an unknown person fight - and attention, unless I am much mistaken, is the very thing that you were trying to avoid.
He raises his eyes to meet hers, and smiles slightly. "Hmm. You're really looking at all the angles, aren't you, Miss Gruder? If we fight, it's going to be interesting."
COMBATSYS: Megane calculates his next move.
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Marz 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Megane
For a few moments, there is silence. Then, Marz's lip twitches up in the briefest hint of a smile. Something which breaks through her usually stoic demeanor. She can see what he is doing, and it strikes her as highly amusing. This would indeed be an interesting fight.
"You are an unknown variable." Marz states, "This is, an acceptable outcome."
And suddenly, she's closed the distance between herself and the young man. She opens with a single, measured blow. Her fist comes out from her side, and aims to plant itself directly in Megane's solar plexus. The attack is simple, fast, and packs a surprising punch. A move she knows inside out. How he responded, especially given his insight, would be a wonderful baseline to gauge the rest of his talents.
COMBATSYS: Marz successfully hits Megane with Calculated Strike.
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Marz 0/-------/------=|==-----\-------\0 Megane
Megane blinks, and starts to move as Marz moves forwards, angling his body, beginning to swing an arm up - and then it strikes him before he can fully react. He stumbles back a few steps from the punch, and glances over towards a nearby janitorial closet. "Tell me, Miss Gruder, if that is indeed your real name: do you like gambling?" He takes a few rapid steps to reach the closet's door, then raises his hands, circling them, and an array of chi wind-blades slide out from his hands, slicing through the air towards Marz.
COMBATSYS: Marz blocks Megane's Typhoon Execution.
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Marz 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Megane
Marz brings both her arms up, crossing them over her body. The winds slash against her, and she feels a bead of sweat on her brow. This is irritating. She had guessed that Megane was a chi user, but the strength of his power had been underestimated. A mistake she would have to work hard to rectify.
"I am not." She states, as she relaxes her guard. Now, an eerie purple power tickles over her fingers. Glowing around her fist. "I find playing the odds tiresome."
And suddenly, she whips her hand forwards. The attack is a strange one, a glowing ball of purple energy ricochets off the ground, smacks into some nearby lockers, off the wall behind Megane, and then in at the back of his torso. Meanwhile, Marz herself is dancing backwards, trying to put some ground between her and her opponent. Ah, her Psiball... please say it wouldn't let her down this time!
COMBATSYS: Megane dodges Marz's Psiball.
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Marz 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Megane
"So what you're saying is you already count even having this fight as a victory, no matter what the outcome?" Megane throws open the door and leaps into the closet as the Psiball flies past him, so it narrowly misses him on the backswing. He emerges from the closet holding a mop - one of those large mops you use to clean large floors. It's not wet, but still vaguely damp. "I feel much the same way."
He spins it around, then rushes towards her, swinging it around wildly, then turning it around for a flurry of pokes with the handle end.
COMBATSYS: Marz fails to interrupt Random Weapon from Megane with Psi-Ripper.
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Marz 0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0 Megane
As Megane comes out of the closet (hah), Marz steps forwards, her hand again blazing with power. She attempts to cleave straight through the mop, but the angle is slightly off. The handle smashes against her wrist, throws her off, and she is driven back, until she can manage to slide to the side. Bloodied and battered, and a little out of breath on top of it.
"Incorrect." She croaks, cracking her neck. "I have learned not to count these excursions as a simple win or lose fashion. There is only data. For instance, I currently project that you outstrip me in terms of fighting skill, and will most likely bring this fight to conclusion inside the next four exchanges." She straightens, and exhales slowly.
"Based on our relative strengths, I will set that as my measurement for success. If I am beaten sooner, I will consider it a failure, to be built upon and rectified. In some sense, I have already failed. In some sense, I have already succeeded. Nothing is ever completely one or the other."
Megane laughs, and walks close up to her, saying softly, "The way I see it, gaining data is the victory. As long as you an survive and keep gaining data, eventually things will go your way... right?"
"Of course, this is assuming I don't hand you into someone once I beat you up. I'm not sure if I'm fond of someone who wants to gather Gedo data being around here." Even though he's not sure that that's what she's here for, precisely - this could be 'Plan A failed, go on to Plan B', if she thinks anything like him - which is increasingly seeming to be so.
He shrugs, takes a step back, and tosses the mop towards her hands, then swings around, aiming a committed kick at her head.
COMBATSYS: Marz dodges Megane's Strong Kick.
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Marz 0/-------/----===|-------\-------\0 Megane
Marz steps neatly backwards from the attack, and shakes her head slightly. The young woman tucks her hair behind her ear, straightening her headset. It really is a very easy style, she adopts. Mostly because there's no style to it at all. She just, is. She seems to be considering Megane with some genuine intrigue, now, though. This was a boy who possessed something like her mind. He could probably be of great use to Shadaloo, and she had no idea at all what he was doing in a dump like this.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that." She states, focusing on her breathing, recovering from the massive amount she had exerted herself in the first few blows of the fight. "I am curious, however. You seem entirely too intelligent to be amongst these individuals." Wow. Casual burn right there. "Why is it that you are at Gedo High, and not somewhere more fitting to your abilities? You could accomplish great things with a mind so insightful."
COMBATSYS: Marz gains composure.
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Marz 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Megane
"Well, I have my own reasons for being here. You haven't told me yours, though, so I'm hardly likely to tell you mine." Megane is secretly flattered by the compliment/dissing of Gedo in general, but he's hardly going to show that when he's in Gedo. People are watching, after all. "But don't look down on Gedo. Even though this school is limiting what we can do, there's some people here with crazy amounts of potential. My skills here aren't anything that special." He smiles a bit, worried that he may be revealing too much of his hand there. But if she figures it out, or to watch her reaction... this is interesting too. "Someday the people here will do some amazing things. This is just an incubation period."
He's hardly going to let up on her because she's focused on defensive tactics, however. He raises a fist, and blades of wind begin to spin around it, and he forces it to spin wider and wider. He then rushes towards her, blades of wind kicking up behind him, aiming his fist straight at her head.
COMBATSYS: Megane successfully hits Marz with Rush Punch.
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Marz 0/-------/--=====|==-----\-------\0 Megane
Marz makes no response to the comment. Instead, she focuses on trying to get out the way of the incoming punch. She fails, magnificently, and is lifted off her feet by the force of the blow. Crashing head-first into a locker. It takes her a moment to recover. But, she does recover. Not intending to let herself slow down just yet. Certainly, the attack had hurt, but she would be doing Lord Vega a disservice if she didn't give it her all.
"I will take your words into consideration." Is her response, as she aims to close the distance. Her leg comes around hard and fast, aiming to plant against the side of Megane's head in turn. If she can get that blow in, she'll use him as a launchboard to spring into the air, twist, and flip. Hoping to come down in front of the closet he had used for shelter himself, earlier.
COMBATSYS: Megane blocks Marz's Light Kick.
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Marz 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Megane
Megane reaches up, and blocks her foot with his palm - wihch still gives her a surface to bounce off of, of course. He raises an eyebrow as she lands next to the closet. "Flying kicks in a skirt?" He pauses for a moment. "You didn't think Gedo was anything special, but you came here anyway. Perhaps there was another special person you were checking in on?" Maybe that flattery of him was a lie. His eyebrow furrows slightly.
He rushes up towards her, grabs hold of the door handle, opens it slightly, then slides both hands along the edge, and slams it at her hard, trying to send her into the wall.
COMBATSYS: Marz dodges Megane's Huge Random Weapon.
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Marz 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Megane
Marz steps easily to the side, and shakes her head. "I say that most of the people here will not amount to anything." She says, "Talent, alone, is not enough. Potential, is meaningless. You are curious about why I'm here. I'm curious about why you are no longer taking this fight seriously. A delaying tactic?" And suddenly, she's whipping out with her fist. It's really just a quick, probing smack to remind him that this isn't a friendly conversation, though she allows herself to fall back afterwards in a strangely graceful roll.
COMBATSYS: Megane dodges Marz's Quick Punch.
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Marz 0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0 Megane
Megane hurls his head to the side, out of the way of the punch, then follows after her as she rolls back with quick, smalls steps, hands at his sides. "I'm adding additional variables to this fight. I want you to be worrying about everything, constantly, as a weapon I could use against you."
He smiles. "Or maybe I am delaying the end of this fight, just to get more information out of you." With that, he stamps at her prone, if mobile body multiple times, trying to keep her down on the floor.
COMBATSYS: Megane successfully hits Marz with Light Kick.
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Marz 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Megane
Marz is struck several times, but it doesn't keep her down. To her credit, she gets back on her feet, and pushes into a counterattack. Doing her best to reverse the pressure on her opponent, her attack is a flurry of blows, her feet dancing and twirling her around the boy as she kicks out again and again, no one blow is particularly strong, but together, they might amount to a painful combination.
"You are attempting to skew my data." She says, between the kicks. This, actually, pisses her off. "I believe that you are smarter than you first appeared, 'Megane'. I now have no way of knowing the validity of this exchange. How... frustrating."
COMBATSYS: Megane blocks Marz's Fantastic Footwork.
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Marz 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Megane
Megane walks backwards, blocking her flurry of kicks with his palms, then winces, shaking his hands. "Well, perhaps if you were a little more honest with me, I could be a little more honest with you, 'Miss Gruder'. With your intelligence, it's a shame we aren't working together - but you refuse to even let me know what's going on, so that's impossible, isn't it?"
As long as he's skewing her data, he might as well hide the unique parts of his style as much as possible. Which means only repeating what she's seen. He raises his hands in the same semi-circle, and sends a burst of air blades towards Marz.
COMBATSYS: Marz dodges Megane's Typhoon Execution.
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Marz 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Megane
This time, Marz sees it coming, and continues her constant movement to avoid the attack. She decides to try something different. As she comes up, she aims to grasp hold of Megane by the shoulder, and if she can, she'll simply pitch him downwards, putting him on the floor with her standing over him. She seems to be considering him much more seriously, now. Not just as a fighter, but considering his words, too.
"Very well." She states, "I will not saying anything more here. But. If you will consent to allow me to leave, I will consent to an additional meeting on neutral territory in which we can discuss the exact purpose of my visit."
That too-fake smile comes back, all faux-cheer and giddiness. "You can always try and capture me now, if you like! But do you really think that I am working on my own? And do you really think the kind of people who would send me would let you hold me for long?"
COMBATSYS: Megane dodges Marz's Quick Throw.
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Marz 1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Megane
Megane steps out of the way of her shoulder grab, and takes a few steps backwards. "Well, then I'd learn what sort of people they were, now, wouldn't I? From you or from them." He smiles, and it's warm on the outside, but there's a bit of maliciousness hidden in there. "As long as I did it right, I think you'd be in more trouble than I would. And if I let you walk away, I may never see you again."
A pause.
He shakes his head, and says with a straight face, "But I'm going to trust you on this one, because I'm impressed with your level of honesty, and I am, after all, a gambler. I look forward to seeing you again."
Marz straightens once more, letting herself relax, just a little bit. She reaches into her pocket, and produces a small pager. Which she then tosses in Megane's general direction, trusting in his instincts to help him catch it. Another little test, perhaps, or just something to snatch his attention.
"Wear this and watch it carefully. I will contact you when I have received authorization from my superiors. After I have filed my report, however, I have no doubt that they will want me to speak with you."
That said, she turns away from the boy again, and begins to walk away. If left to her own devices, she'll stick to her word, and simply leave the school. Back to whatever strange rock she had crawled out from under.
Megane grabs the pager out of the air, and slides it into his pocket - something that's merely tossed, rather than actively thrown, he definitely has the agility to catch. Superiors... has a vaguely sinister ring to it, assuming it isn't a lie. Well. Too late to worry about that now. He leans against the wall, and watches her leave.
He blinks, realizing someone's gaze is upon him, and looks over to see one of the Gedo students who was watching the fight stare at him with a suspicious look. He raises an eyebrow at his fellow student, and then laughs. "What? She's cute."
Log created on 14:01:55 11/23/2010 by Megane, and last modified on 18:29:20 11/23/2010.