Description: A vacation for Leona turns out to be little more than an ambush. They say Ikari Warriors lead dangerous lives, after all... (Winner: Lin)
The intelligence-gathering resources of the Saturday Night Fights organization are quite scary. One really wonders about just how pervasive and intrusive their information network is. Because how else would they know that Leona Heidern had been persuaded to take some leave--and that she'd decided to go to Las Vegas?
She's got a week of 'vacay', as Ralf put it, and he'd made the arrangements for her. Las Vegas isn't really her kind of -town-, per se... but she is enjoying, in an oblique way, walking around. Fremont Street isn't -exactly- the Strip--but it's close, in content as well as location. The blue hair of the Ikari warrior bounces lightly as she walks, people giving her a pretty clear path even though she doesn't have that typically forbidding look on her face. Go figure. It's like she exudes an -aura- of 'stay away'.
If people could see the man shadowing Leona, they would probably give him plenty of room as well. You'd think all the lights would make it hard to move unseen, but it's not that much of a challenge for a skilled ninja. Avoiding Leona's notice is more difficult than that of the mass of pedestrians, though. Especially given that she knows to be on her guard today, even if not exactly when.
If someone is very lucky, they might notice some brief movements of shadow, often up near the roofline as Leona's stalker continues to follow her. He waits for an opportune moment to strike. He's not very concerned about hurting civilians, but he also doesn't want his opening strike to go to waste by some random tourist getting in the way.
An Ikari Warrior is always on his guard. Or her guard. But such things aren't always perfect, no matter how much training one has. Her battle sense is up, tingling--she knows -someone- is around with violent intentions... but where? Almost without thinking she moves out into the street. Fortunately, there isn't much car traffic--for whatever reason--and so there's a clear are around her when she stops.
She doesn't bother shouting a challenge--she just waits. Her intuition, her sense, tells her that battle is imminent. Surely the cameras are here somewhere--with the way Fremont is lit up, like Tokyo, the neon forest provides all the light anyone could ever need to film. These tourists are about to get the best kind of show.
COMBATSYS: Leona has started a fight here.
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Leona 0/-------/------=|
The slight movement of air, and a soft sound that is nearly lost in the noise of the crowd are the only warnings Leona gets. One moment there's nothing behind her, the next Lin seems to flow right up out of the street. A half-second or so later some pedestrians start to notice him and begin making noise; the lanky ninja is odd enough looking to attract attention even in Vegas, though nobody seems scared just yet.
At that point, however, Lin has already pulled down the mask over the lower half of his face, cheeks bulging slightly for just a moment before he spits a sharp stream of poison mist at Leona. It comes out with enough force to actually be painful just from the impact, though it breaks apart quickly. Of course, the poisonous nature of the mist is the real danger.
COMBATSYS: Lin has joined the fight here.
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Lin 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Leona
COMBATSYS: Leona blocks Lin's Kasumi.
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Lin 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Leona
...there, there... -there-. Leona picks up Lin's movement just as he appears; though she isn't caught flatfooted, the poison mist--something about it brings to mind a certain rudo wrestler who likes to do something very similar--is upon her too fast to avoid; she covers her face with one hand, slashing her other out to dispel some of the mist, and fades back a little bit, so as to not take the rest of the mist in when she has to breathe.
It takes only a moment to dissipate, and, with Leona, a moment is all she needs--to think, to consider. To strategize. Of course, as the crowd breaks into murmurs and points and shouts and forms up a rough oval of people to watch, Leona isn't just standing still.
She's moving. Forward, to meet her enemy, lashing out with a quick, side-on chop to the side of Lin's head--maybe payback for that nasty start-off.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Lin with Quick Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Lin 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Leona
Lin starts casually leaning back, thinking he's seen through Leona's attack. His intent is to let her overreach when she misses, then suddenly whip himself forward to follow up on his own assault. Unfortunately for him, Leona keeps moving to meet his evasion attempts, and he's in a bad position to try to ride the blow. The side of her hand chops into his head, sending him stumbling to one side.
The ninja recovers quickly, though, shifting one foot behind him to steady his balance, then pushing back in toward Leona. His left hand goes up toward her face, not as an attack but just as an attempt to catch her attention while his right hand lances out, fingers held together as he attempts to drive them into the Ikari's stomach.
COMBATSYS: Lin successfully hits Leona with Medium Punch.
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Lin 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Leona
Distraction... successful.
Leona twists her head away from the left hand--and she misses the right completely. The impact folds her slightly, forcing her back another step, but like Lin, she's made of tougher stuff than -that-; she recovers quickly, mirroring Lin's back-stepped pose, and when she lashes out, it's with both hands.
It looks pretty simple--her hands snap outwards, grasping for Lin's head. The intent is, quite simply, to grab him by the sides of the head, twist to her right, and use momentum and inertia against him to hurl him down the street. The ninja can probably tell--there's an undercurrent of enjoyment in the violence, one that doesn't show on her face--her expression is stone-cut, almost dead...
COMBATSYS: Lin blocks Leona's Ordeal Buckler.
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Lin 0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0 Leona
Lin is grabbed by the head, but he doesn't attempt to break free. Instead he allows himself to be twisted about and thrown, then swings his body about in mid-air. He thrusts one hand down at the street, dragging himself to a halt before his feet lightly touch down to the pavement. Rather than get up and head back toward Leona, though, he thrusts his free hand down toward the road.
Lin's hand actually seems to sink into the street, which is odd enough. What's stranger is the glowing arm that suddenly thrusts up out of the ground near Leona, the extending unnaturally as it drives up toward Leona's stomach. Once it hits or misses the arm retreats back into the ground and Lin stands back up, with no signs on the street of any damage.
COMBATSYS: Lin successfully hits Leona with Jato Tsuga.
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Lin 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\1 Leona
Targeting an already-injured area--the sign of a skilled assassin. Leona does quite the same thing, in some fights, though her aim is usually to disable a limb. In any case, the attack proves quite effective; the impact forces air from her lungs, and she stumbles backwards again. Her expression--when she looks up at Lin--is still as lacking in expression as it was before, but there's something in her eyes.. a spark, something. Something with an edge of unpleasantness and raw violence, lurking...
...as she leaps. It's quite a distance to make up, to be certain, but she'll do her best, as she tucks into a ball--and then uses the coiled force of her body to attack with a lunging, flying kick, a brilliant orange glow forming around her striking right foot--the promise of a heavy, powerful blow to be had...
COMBATSYS: Lin parries Leona's Heavy Kick!
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Lin 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Leona
Lin still hasn't said anything, or allowed much in the way of expression to cross his face. This continues to be the case now, despite the dangerous kick coming his way. He just stands there and gazes calmly as Leona flies toward him... right up until he foot actually connects with him. Leona will immediately realizes that something is wrong, when she doesn't feel any resistance under her boot.
The ninja flickers for a moment, and then he's suddenly standing about a foot to the right of where he appeared to be. He's facing Leona, and his right arm is already thrusting out toward her torso again. His arm snaps out in a series of blurring strikes at different angles, so fast it's hard to see where his arm even is. And then he finishes by drawing back for a moment, then thrusting his arm straight forward with all of his strength behind it.
COMBATSYS: Lin successfully hits Leona with Muei Kusashu EX.
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Lin 0/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Leona
Ninjas. This is why Leona hates them. So tricky. So... like her. But she doesn't dwell on that; landing from her failed kick she's already turning to face the ninja--too late--!
The flurry of strikes brings with it blinding pain, and the last strike hurling her along the asphalt, bouncing once and rolling before she pops back up onto her feet.
The fire hasn't dimmed in her eyes--if anything, it's even stronger, really. She comes up in a low, three-point crouch, and she doesn't rise from that. Planting her hand, she uses it as a push-off point--charging forward, her run low, her hair flowing behind her most picturesquely... and as she closes in, she lashes out with her hands, formed into knife-like shapes... actinic blue energy flaring around them, cutting arcs as she passes near--and perhaps by--the ninja.
COMBATSYS: Lin just-defends Leona's Grand Sabre!
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Lin 0/-------/=======|=======\==-----\1 Leona
Lin's arms blur as Leona comes slashing in at him. Leona will feel light impacts on her arms, and Lin's blurring limbs even seem to somehow pass through the energy surrounding Leona without touching it... although that may just be an optical illusion. At any rate, whatever it is that he does, he manages to keep Leona far enough off to avoid having her slice into him.
And then, as Leona passes, Lin reaches out with one of his long arms in an attempt to snare her by the neck and lift her off the ground, gripping tightly enough to restrict her breathing. His other hand, meanwhile, whips out in yet another attempt to drive his fingers into some vulnerable point on Leona's body before he hurls her aside.
COMBATSYS: Leona blocks Lin's Akuzan.
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Lin 1/-------/=======|=======\===----\1 Leona
Leona has no time to contemplate the direction the fight has taken. That will come later. She'll probably retrieve the footage directly and analyze it frame by frame, like an obsessive head coach. Right now, she has to rely on training, experience, and instinct.
Lin's grasp on her neck is successful--but she's already prepared for the possibility, and she manages to deflect that jabbing set of fingers before being thrown, tumbling in midair and landing only slightly roughly on her feet.
Right. She pushes off again, this time flying through the air, turning her body into a low-flying projectile... and aiming to impact Lin at the shoulders. Her intent isn't to tackle him, but to grab him by the shoulders, plant her feet into his stomach--and then flip him backwards, sort of an aerial backflip throw, perhaps inspired a touch by the kind of move that Ken Masters uses.
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Lin with Quick Throw.
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Lin 1/-----==/=======|=======\===----\1 Leona
Lin tries to hop away from Leona's flight, but isn't able to evade her quite in time. She impacts with his body, giving her the opportunity to grab him by the shoulders. If he had a bit more time he might be able to do something, but Leona doesn't delay before driving her feet into his stomach and then sending him flipping away.
Lin doesn't quite manage to recover before hitting the ground, but he only bounces once before managing to flip himself around and land in a crouch. A moment later he springs off the ground, going for an aerial assault this time. His jump gets him some impressive height, giving him the room to bring one leg around in a sweeping kick aimed to crash into Leona's shoulder. The plan is to then use the impact to push off of the Ikari, backflipping away so that Lin can land back on his feet.
COMBATSYS: Lin successfully hits Leona with Hiten Kyaku.
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Lin 1/----===/=======|=======\======-\1 Leona
It's been a fairly long time since Leona was in a real fight--not just sparring with Whip, Ralf, Clark, or Hunter. It's a different mindset, and, as the kick crashes into her shoulder, knocking her well to one side, one she's chastising herself for having let go of, however unintentionally. That sharp edge is not -gone-, but it's certainly dulled. But speaking of edges...
Leona sets herself... and there's a hint of a forward lunge before she disappears. Or seems to. She blurs out--and reappears just a few feet from Lin, still moving forward, full speed, her right hand flaring with -orange- energy as she strikes.
And if she hits, then she'll move even -faster-, criss-crossing Lin's body several times, slashing with both hands, the sound of it like a foley artist's rendition of a katana chopping through armor, ending with a single, powerful double-handed cross-stroke.
COMBATSYS: Lin blocks Leona's Slash Saber.
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Lin 1/--=====/=======|=====--\-------\0 Leona
This time Lin doesn't have the time to play games. His feet touch the ground and Leona is the one vanishing from sight, lunging in toward him at blinding speed. That doesn't mean the ninja has no time to react, though. He manages to follow Leona's movements, keeping his arms up to defend himself. It takes a toll, though, and blood begins to flow from numerous cuts on his arms, some of which look quite deep.
The blood doesn't look quite right, though. It's more of a... greenish purple than the expected red. And despite the fact that he must be in quite a lot of pain, Lin doesn't slow down. He lunges at Leona, leading with a series of blurring strikes from his right arm, dripping with poison blood. He follows up with a series of blurring strikes and kicks, moving too quickly for the bystanders to follow as he comes at Leona from multiple different angles. And finally he follows up with an attempt to drive his hand into Leona hard enough to break the skin, getting his poison right into her bloodstream.
COMBATSYS: Lin successfully hits Leona with Hizoku Ougi Ranbu Dokugi.
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Lin 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1 Leona
The crowd winces; a loud but strangely low 'Oooooh!!' sounds as Leona finds herself battered and poisoned and, finally, stabbed with more poison. Blood blossoms on her clothing, on her body, as she writhes away from the ninja. She can feel the burning in her bloodstream, so different from the harsh burn of the Orochi blood but strangely similar in some respects. And she knows--she's done. But she can't let it go.
It takes all her concentration and the last of her strength--but she leaps up, and forward, raising her right hand high. Her shout, normally composed of a single word, is instead wordless, as she dives down on Lin, right hand glowing orange-white, aiming to slash him on the way down--and then on the way up as she'd leap away from him, the resultant 'v' of energy exploding a moment later...
...and then she collapses, just after landing.
COMBATSYS: Leona can no longer fight.
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Lin 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Leona successfully hits Lin with V-Slasher.
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Lin 0/-------/---====|
Lin might be smiling slightly under the mask, but nobody can see it. He's pretty sure Leona is done, so he's caught a bit by surprise by the amount of fight she still has left in her. He starts to step back, but then Leona is past him and there's a spray of blood rising up from two slashes running across his chest. Luckily there's nobody nearby to get caught in the biohazard aside from Leona, and she's already dealing with the issue.
The ninja puts a hand to his wound, gazing down at the fallen Leona. He stares there for a moment, then suddenly looks up and back over his shoulders. Lin flickers for a moment, and then he's just not there.
A few moments later, Kevin Rian comes pushing through the crowd, looking out of breath and muttering something about terrible traffic. "Leona Heidern! Your opponent's here, so ready or not, here I- ..." He runs down as he sees that most of the crowd isn't really paying him much attention. Then his gaze drops to the blood spattered street and the collapsed Leona. "...What the hell?"
COMBATSYS: Lin has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:59:56 10/20/2012 by Leona, and last modified on 00:48:12 10/25/2012.