Description: What could be the start of a good relationship with missions and Hokutomaru goes sour, and a closed door in his life remains closed! Malin, meanwhile, beats up a kid. What's not to like?
Malin hates India.
It's not like she's racist or anything, but the heat is oppressive, and it's been getting to her. Especially in this black NESTS gear. It's just, so not cool. Though the fabric has been designed with the temperature in mind, maybe it is some sort of psychological thing. Malin feels trapped. She's forced to stay in this lame facility in the middle of freakin' nowhere, where she can't even get a decent beef ramen. It's like torture. She should totally sue.
Oh wait, yeah, that's not an option.
The facility itself is on the edge of Delhi, disguised as a warehouse. The irony of the situation does not escape Malin. She'd been trying to break into somewhere just like this when they'd sprung their little trap on her, and now she was guarding it from people looking to do exactly the same thing. Still. She'd bide her time, do her job, and not kick up too much of a stink. Sooner or later, she'd be able to figure a way out of this. At least it does give her time to think.
Yup. Lots and lots of time to think. In other words, it is boring as hell. Yawn-o-rama.
The leaf ninja's grand quest was given to him, so he should do his best to find it!
Except, Hokutomaru didn't have the foggiest idea of WHERE the group he was supposed to infiltrate was located. Nor did he know what he was supposed to learn. Nor did he have any clue where to start looking! So Hokutomaru jumped on the first plane in Japan, the first exit, to start. Clearly if he just starts with #1 and worked his way up, he'd find out, exactly, where to go! He just needs to follow the numbers.
In Delhi there was a whole lot of places to look - but Hokutomaru didn't notice anything really suspicious in all of them. Houses or normal buildings - except one. Kept under close watch. No one ever went there! /AHA/! That sounds exactly like a place where you would go to find things out!
After, of course, he fattened up with a massive Indian meal. He was satiated.
With his deduction leading him on, and not his stomach, the boy made a quite a /crafty approach/. With his red cape/scarf flowing, the ninja ... runs right up to the front door!
"Hey! This is where it's hidden, isn't it?!" The wide grin on the boy, as he approaches, explains it all! He finally found what he's looking for!
Maybe!
Malin is jerked awake by one of the guards, which catches her by surprise. She really shouldn't be drifting off on the job. Probably. Not that it seems to have mattered. The place hasn't exploded during her momentary lapse of concentration, instead, her attention is directed to the monitor, and she sighs. "You guys need me to do everything, don't you?" She mutters. "Look at him. He's just a little kid. Probably thinks it is halloween or something."
Either way, the next moment, Malin is dropping down behind Hokutomaru. Quite how she got there so quickly and quietly is something that would be a matter of debate for ages. Almost as much as how she manages to hide her variety of weapons inside a near-skintight black NESTS operative outfit. But such things are not the province of mere mortal minds to dwell on, for that way lays madness. Madness!
"Hey kid." She says, by way of introduction, as she straightens herself up. "You don't want to be here any more. Go play superhero somewhere else, alright?"
No overtly threatening moves yet, at least. She's not even visibly armed! If anything, she just sounds bored. She didn't want to have to beat up some random kid for poking around some random base. But she got the feeling she was going to have to.
As Hokutomaru grabs the door, something falls behind him! It's a surprise attack! How could he have been so foolish, it's all over! The ninja's wide eyes turn to face Malin as she lands behind him, the boy letting go of the door and tilting his head at her as she explains, carefully, that he should go somewhere else.
"Ehhhh? Okay! Just as soon as I find out what's in here! OH! You probably know how to get inside!" The boy remarks, Hokutomaru still grinning, entirely unsure of what trouble he may have got himself into.
Hokutomaru then stands, looking at Malin and then the door, and then Malin - and then the door. "Huh."
"It's not opening."
Scratching his head, Hokutomaru turns again to Malin, a slight bit disappointed in her. She doesn't even know how to open the door. "I thought you knew how to open the door..." He states, shrugging. But it doesn't seem like the girl might. Which is why a big ass stick is pulled out, pointing towards the door!
"But that's okay! I'll open it up for both of us! You might want to get back, okay?!" Hokutomaru is grinning like a retard. Precisely what Malin may think of the boy right before the stick begins to light on fire.
Well. Malin certainly hadn't seen that coming.
As Hokutomaru makes a fool of himself, Malin is just getting more and more depressed. This is one poor kid, and now she's going to have to beat the snot out of him. She was probably going to have to do it anyway, but when the stick is lit on fire, her options become rather minimal. After all, she can't let him burn a hole through the door and damage NESTs property. And, being able to do that, probably meant he had some skill as a fighter.
When Hokutomaru looks at her, and explains his plan, the girl shakes her head. And suddenly, she's a blur of movement. Ridiculously fast when she needs to be, and what's worse, she's got a long, curved dagger in one hand. A knife which she aims to use for a dual purpose. The first being to cut a nasty gash across Hokutomaru's side, and the second being to put it between herself and him, raising it in a guard as she stands in front of the door.
"Kid. You ain't getting in anywhere." She'll say, regardless of whether her unprovoked attack is successful or not. "Just get out of here, will you? There's nothing in there that you want to see, Superman."
COMBATSYS: Malin has started a fight here.
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Malin 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Hokutomaru has joined the fight here.
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Malin 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hokutomaru
COMBATSYS: Malin successfully hits Hokutomaru with Suzume Bachi.
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Malin 0/-------/------=|=------\-------\0 Hokutomaru
The stick is brought backwards, burning, as Hokutomaru goes to lunge towards the door - swinging it around, straight to the do-SCHWING. The knife slides easily against Hokutomaru, gashing the side of his gi. Hokutomaru's lunge forwards is halted by the appearance of the girl, now infront of him - and with a blood covered knife!
Oh. It's his.
"Ow ow ow!" Hokutomaru cries, staggering backwards, the staff/stick no longer burning brightly. "That was pretty low of you!" Oh, all the people he has met - why were they never as trustworthy as he has thought them to be! But at least the leaf ninja is... and everyone else, except for the old guy and this girl!
But she does mention /something/. He's not getting in - and there's nothing that he wants to see. "Hah!" Hokutomaru declares. "I'm sure you're lying now! Now I'm sure what I'm looking for is right behind you!" The ninja kid declares without any pause.
And with even less of a pause, is currently skidding along the ground to slam right into Malin! To knock her right off her feet!
COMBATSYS: Malin blocks Hokutomaru's Sliding Kick.
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Malin 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Hokutomaru
Malin moves in a strict and practiced motion. The girl doesn't want his foot going through that door. So she drops to one knee, turns her blade flat, and braces. Hokutomaru's foot hits the steel, but she doesn't flinch, she holds strong. This kid is really starting to piss her off, though. Who is he, and why is he being so stubborn? Most people just run off crying after they get cut. Clearly Hokutomaru hasn't been cut enough.
"Alright, Superman, if you are going to make me do this, lets do it." She mutters, and, without waiting for so much as a whisper from the ninja, she's suddenly jumping up. An athletic feat if there ever was one, springing from her crouched position.
At the apex of her flight, the knife flashes out of her grip, and aims to bury itself in Hokutomaru's shoulder. Some, who haven't seen Malin fight before, would say that this is silly, just giving your opponent your weapon like that. But it sure doesn't seem to bother her, as she tries to draw his attention to her, and away from the facility.
COMBATSYS: Malin successfully hits Hokutomaru with Thrown Weapon.
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Malin 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hokutomaru
The knife flashes out, slamming hard into Hokutomaru's shoulder! But it's not like he actually /uses/ such weapons! So it's totally okay to throw a knife at him! It hurts - enough for Hokutomaru to crash to the ground, grasping it and throwing it away as he sits up."
"Wow, you're pretty good with those knives!" It certainly keeps stringing Hokutomaru along with all of those assaults - but he doesn't seem to be giving up any! Rotating the arm that gets stuck with the knife. It's pained, certainly... buuuuut!
"I'm not just going to give up because you've got a lead on me!"
The grin he has keeps on goin, as Hokutomaru leaps to the air - kicking off the nearby fence, both arms swung backwards, a very telltale forwards strike! He intends to smash her right against the ground!
She's kind of larger though!
COMBATSYS: Malin dodges Hokutomaru's Strong Punch.
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Malin 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Hokutomaru
Malin's speed is what really gives her the edge. She's used it to keep people far outside her league on their toes, and as Hokutomaru comes in to smash her, she demonstrates it absolutely. Turning to the side, the blow sails past where she had been mere milliseconds before, and as she turns, she's got something else in her hands. "Kid." She says, with a smirk.
"Malin is the best there is, and don't you forget it."
The girl is coming forwards with that shocking speed, both hands gripping steel tubes which end in vicious points. If Hokutomaru isn't very quick on his feet indeed, she's going to drive them into his back, and with them, unleash enough electric force to stun an elephant.
BZZZZAP!
COMBATSYS: Hokutomaru fails to counter Electric Prod EX from Malin with Rakka-zan.
-* WILD HIT! *-
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Malin 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hokutomaru
Landing hard against the ground, Hokutomaru's direct and forceful strike ends with him landing hard. Crashing against the ground. He has missed her! A complete and total miss! Clearly, the ninjas will be very, very sad towards his failure! Disappointed even!
"Nyeeeea!" Hokutomaru states, grasping the door's handle. "I said I'll get by, and that's exactly what I'll-" Oh no, an assault! AN ASSAULT! Hokutomaru twists about, the staff coming forwards and - the steel tubes slam stright into his back - and he's pressed up against a metal door!
"AIIIYYYIIIIAAAAAAA!" The cry is loud and painful, but he /doesn't let go of the door/.
Though he falls to the ground, his grip on the door handle /doesn't let go/.
"Th.. That's all?" He hacks, pulling himself up, just barely, as he moves to get back to his feet. He coughs, and a little black smoke comes out as well. But he grins. As much as he possibly /can/ grin.
Malin lets the tubes drop, and takes a step backwards as Hokutomaru... smolders. The fact the boy was standing at all was a testament to his skill, but it isn't as though she's going to take it any easier on him just because of that. She has a job to do, and she's pretty happy not being dead because she didn't do it good enough.
"Look kid. You're pretty tough, alright? You got some game. I can respect that. Malin doesn't /want/ to put you down any more." As she says this, the girl is drawing a yoyo from her pocket. Casually starting to play with it, letting it go down, and up. Down, and up. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
"But if you don't get your hand offa that door, and march yourself out of here, I'm going to have to put you down, and then you'll be really sorry. I promise. Malin's honor. The only thing behind that door, is a whole mess of stuff that doesn't matter to nobody except me."
She's lying, of course, but she's usually lying. She's at least trying to talk him down again. The last thing she needs on her conscience is beating down this brat.
COMBATSYS: Malin takes no action.
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Malin 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Hokutomaru
It's really quite the situation to be in! Hokutomaru has a choice between the door, or apparently, his life! But Hokutomaru was given a mission - and he, honestly, cannot just get rid of the mission! He'd just fail it - and if it's important, it's always hard to get to ... and if he just backs off now, where we he back out from next?!
It's really just a whole lot of domino's.
"So you're Malin? I said I wanted to know what's behind that door." He repeats, nodding. "Because it's important that I don't fail finding it! The leaf ninja gave me an important task of finding something, somewhere!" Hokutomaru declares, hand not letting go of the door!
So as silly as it is, he sure as heck ... doesn't seem to want to let go! What /does/ happen is Hokutomaru kicks off the wall, staff swinging wide towards Malin as he kicks off one side of the door, swinging with his one free hand, as he ends up on the other side of the door!
Not inside, just ... on th eother side of the door. Now he's got a challenge! And he accepts!
"So there's no way I'm backing down!"
COMBATSYS: Malin dodges Hokutomaru's Kuuten Keri.
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Malin 0/-------/--=====|=======\==-----\1 Hokutomaru
Malin turns to the side again as Hokutomaru leaps at her. She admires the boy's tenacity, she has to give him that much. But, she'd tried her hardest to let him walk away, and he wasn't doing it. The girl lets her yoyo buzz down once more as the young ninja sails past her, almost a repeat of the previous time, except, this time, she's playing with a toy. Not exactly the most dangerous thing in the world, right?
Wrong.
Malin's hand flies out, and the yoyo goes with it. Chasing after the ninja, it doesn't seem too bad at first. Except that blades spring from the side of the 'toy', and turn it into a mini-buzzsaw, which aims to slash, rip, rend and tear at Hokutomaru's mid-section.
"Kid. I'm telling you. It's dull in there. Just my stuff. You know. Nothing important."
COMBATSYS: Hokutomaru interrupts Onigumo from Malin with Chou Hissatsu Tatsumaki.
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Malin 1/------=/=======|==-----\-------\0 Hokutomaru
Sailing past - check! Grasping the door for a second to maintain contact - check! Getting assaulted by a glorified toy?
CHECK!
The yoyo buzzes out after Hokutomaru, the boy's eyes opening wide as the mini-buzzsaw slashes, rips, tears and - "Chou Hissatsu Tatsumaki!" The boy cries out, as he dives, holding a scroll, .. towards it?
The yoyo is grasped by the winds that /suddenly/ appear out of no-where, pulled around and away from Hokutomaru ( though they still nicely graze him ) and ... so is Malin! The force of the winds erupts outwards, spiralling faster and somehow sharper, the wind chi whipping and pulling the girl around back and forth! Before, possibly, tossing her off somewhere. Like against the building.
And Hokutomaru would then notice... he is not near the door anymore.
And Malin just may be.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I didn't mean to leave the door!!!" He calls out. Looking around to make sure there is /no door near him/. And then he sighs! Hanging his head. Until he points at the door, and Malin! However weakly. "I guess you win then, but I'll be sure to tell the leaf ninja that something suspicious is going on here! Incase it might have something to do with it!"
Oh, he hurts. He's very, very pained - but he can't ... just show it, y'know? Beyond the obvious ways, like the blood, the bruises - the still smoking body (lightly smoked). Sniff sniff.
His stomach rumbles.. "Guess I'm kinda hungry too."
Log created on 15:38:29 12/12/2010 by Hokutomaru, and last modified on 18:13:46 12/17/2010.