Starring:
Date: January 9, 2011
Summary:
Shemri gets a shot at redemption…in her dreams. But while the vision may be unreal, it might just be of some help to Shemri later on.
"First World Ninja Competition - REMatch: Shemri vs. Meruin, Take 2"
Peach Pit Stadium Arena 1 Ring [Kusagakure]
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Arena 1's Ring has grass and dirt as the primary terrain, with a large pond full of water in the north-east corner, trees scattered around to act as cover, as well as boulders of various sizes for the same — or to act as impromptu weapons if necessary. The main unique feature is the intricate line of seals drawn around the edges of the arena. During a match, the seals generate a shimmering energy barrier around the Ring to shield both the combatants and the audience.
*OOC*: 'look stands' to see who's currently watching.
DO NOT LOG OFF HERE. DO NOT IDLE HERE.
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It's dark. A strange sort of dark, not so much a lack of light, but a lack of anything to be lit up. Shemri becomes aware gradually…first of herself, then of a general sense of place. It seems as though she's back in the arena of Peach Pit Stadium, down where the matches take place. But why? She's been eliminated from the tournament, and there doesn't seem to be anybody up in the stands…matter of fact, the stands themselves don't appear in Shemri's awareness, only the fighting ring. She's standing there, on the marker for the start of a match…but whom is she here to face? c.c
That strange darkness, this stuff dreams are made of rushed to the opponent's side of the marker and rose, shaping itself… It grew humanoid, gaining arms that were too long and legs that were too short — this shadowman almost apelike. Abruptly it shifted and part of it seemed to cave in on itself as though it'd been bashed in, and it all twisted in itself. It formed a shape smaller than before, and in proportion.
The queer darkness grew not brighter but lighter until it gained the pallor of the pale skin of a corpse, no blood flowing beneath it. Features found the face, crafting themselves into a child's markings. The eyes, wide as a child's always were, held all of that shadow — an orb of the undefinable holding a spinning swirl of mists garnished with dark blues, purples, and greens.
The silk clothing came in a burst, and there Meruin stood.
…Okay, that's pretty creepy. o.o; But then, there've been other competitors in this tournament with flashy, unnatural entrances, right? Shemri glances at Shiikaa. She wasn't really aware of his presence until just now, but that's nothing too out of the ordinary. "Well, are you ready?" In answer, Shiikaa jumps up into Shemri's arms. "Eh? What are you…" Then something out of the ordinary /does/ happen. Shiikaa nestles into the crook of Shemri's right arm, and…changes somehow. It's hard to say just how it happens…it's not instantaneous, but all Shemri can really tell is that one moment he's a cat, and the next, he's a part of her arm. A long, furry gauntlet of sorts, with sharp claws in the fingertips. Well, that's new…and strange…but not unwelcome. Shemri looks up at Meruin, gives a bow, and settles into a fighting stance. "I am…/we/ are ready."
Meruin's upper body jerked forward as a spider leg twice as long as he was tall shot out of his shoulder-blades. The boy's emotionless face seemed to stare at Shemri as another limb came from his back. They scrabbled and flailed so that it looked as if a spider were attempting to crawl out of his body, and it made it, partially. Four of it's limbs found the outside air before it got stuck and Meruin took control, bringing them down on the ground so that they lifted him.
His long platinum hair threw itself behind him in a long, undulatory wave as a silken sheen of fur spread across his form. His jaw hinted at the growth of fangs and two other pairs of eyes opened on his forehead. Despite them having no pupil, no guiding center, all three eyes gave the feeling of putting the Maneshi under intense scrutinization.
Shemri watches carefully as Meruin prepares for the fight. Looks like he's going to go all-out from the start…which is fine, what better way to have a match? Now they just need a signal to start…anytime now…hey c'mon, what's the hold-up? >.<; There should be a referee right over THERE—"Begin!" Ah, much better.
Shemri curls her newly-augmented hand into a fist and squeezes it tightly. She's itching to give the gauntlet a try, but past experience says that a more technical start to the battle would be wise. So Shemri darts sideways, circling Meruin at a distance. Several carefully-aimed shuriken slice through the air at him, testing his defenses.
Meruin evaded the shuriken thrown his way, the arachnid legs moving him smoothly out of the way, at times, and jerking him from in front of the shuriken's path at others. He came out of the assault unharmed and at the end of it, he raised a hand.
Spiders burst from the silk covering his body, throwing themselves in three separate groups at her. One went directly towards the Maneshi, while the other two approached from opposite sides, seeking to stop her circling.
Hmmm. No luck so far, it seems. Still, fighting at a distance seems to hurt less than fighting up close did last time. X) Noting Meruin's attempt to entrap her, Shemri decides to go for an old trick in pack evasion: go in the direction they least expect! Shemri makes a dash straight at Meruin, bypassing the two side groups of arachnids, then leaps high overhead to avoid the one in front. Twisting around in midair, Shemri releases two shuriken, one down at Meruin, the other up higher in the air. Then, as she lands, she turns around and throws one more, colliding it with the one that had gone up and changing its course to fall toward Meruin.
Meruin's arachnid legs straightened, putting him over the shuriken that flew in his direction, letting it whir past and vanish into the quasi-darkness of the dream. The ring of shuriken on shuriken sounded, and Meruin raised and arm. The pale skin began to get replaced by a sheenless chitin, but the reaction had been too slow, the transformation only partial as it sunk into his skin, the recoil shaking the limb.
There was no reaction from the boy to show he was in pain or duress, and he lashed his arm out in Shemri's direction, a thick strand of rope streaking at she who'd moved closer. He moved to grab her with it as the ground opened up just in front of him. He would attempt to tug her in his direction even as the spiders shot their own webbing to do the same and drag her into their poisonous grasp.
Aha! Here come the webs! Shemri is VERY certain she doesn't want to get caught by that stuff this time. :/ Accordingly, she puts all her strength into a sideways leap, avoiding both the rope from Meruin and the strands from his little friends. Sticking against the trunk of a nearby tree (Was there a tree here before? Sure, must've been), Shemri flings another shuriken with one hand, then makes a sweeping arc with the other—or rather, the arm does so on its own. c.c A gust of wind chakra flies at Meruin in the wake of the shuriken, the eddying currents set to do some slashing of their own. Shemri smirks. "Patience, Shiikaa, you shall have your chance soon enough."
A pair of handseals and the Okumo's arm was covered in a swirling gale of wind, and he brought it up in front of him. The wind deflected the shuriken, but it cut into his shoulder as it flew past. He seemed not to notice as he hind lashed out once more, catching the incoming winds, the ones on his arm negating the wind cutter until both dispersed.
Abruptly, the boy was on the tree above Shemri, his feet using the trunk as though it were the ground. Already, he was spinning, the arachnid legs stemming from his back spinning in assault of the Maneshi.
Wow, this match is going pretty well for Shemri thus far. n.n Of course, things seemed that way the first time too—whuh-oh! o.O; Shemri leans back and manages to avoid the upper legs, but the lower ones smack against her knee. >.<; Well, two can play at this game! :P Shemri's sash snakes out and makes a grab at Meruin's ankle, aiming to disrupt his hold on the tree, while her fist jabs at his ribs. Then the claws spring out from the feline gauntlet and slash at Meruin.
The boy was caught easily by Shemri's swift yank from the sash, dragging him over to her. Her fist lashed out and struck against his ribs, bouncing off and leaving him unharmed. The following claws hit his abdomen and simply scraped off, as though the flesh beneath his slowly waving fur were too hard to penetrate.
Meruin's eyes remained lacking in their emotion as the spider legs pushed him away from the tree and towards Shemri, his jaws opening wide. He went to give her a swift bite along her shoulder as he passed her by. It was less the fangs and more the poison that adorned them — a neurotoxin that would spread throughout her system with a swiftness. It'd reach the brain and render her muscles slack and useless, as a haze of pleasure spread throughout her body, dulling thought.
He went past her towards the ground, shuriken bursting from his fur and streaking towards Shemri to pin her to the tree.
Shemri jerks aside as Meruin makes his attack. She feels a slight prick, but it seems as if he didn't manage to get a good chomp in. Hah! Shemri shoves herself sideways off the tree to avoid the shuriken, handspringing and landing on her…derriere? o.O *THUMP* Oof…that's funny…hmmmmm…ohhhhh welllll…
Yup, Shemri has been inflicted with BORING POSE JUICE. :o Nuttin' going on until the next round.
Meruin settled himself, turning to face Shemri. He raised an arm in her direction and the earth opened up behind her, as though someone had pulled the lever of a trap door. It proved to be filled with spiders, many of them looking mutated and sickly. Their brown coats hold splotches of green as though molding over, and the yellow had the hue of mucous rather than the bright stripes they usually were. Despite what seemed to be decay on this part, their red eyes shown and glowed, all locked on the Maneshi as their chitters and chirps called for her.
Long lines of platinum silk dripped from Meruin's hands and a caustic poison spread along them as they thickened and twined into cords. The emotionless Okumo lifted them… and his arms became a blur, throwing a barrage of swift paced lashes, the poisoned silk burning as it struck with enough force and enough times to roll Shemri into the pit of hungry, sepulchral spiders.
Ohhhh lookie…lots of funny-colored bugs…oh hey, rolling toward them now…what's that causing the rolling, it kinda tickles…maybe more of a burn, actuallyowowOW! >.<; Shemri comes to her senses and finds herself on the precipice of a shallow but very nightmarish little pit. o.O; Fortunately Shiikaa has been at work, maneuvering her arm into grasping the edge of said pit. With a grunt, Shemri heaves herself up and over the trap, rolling to a stop on the other side. Phew, that would've been extremely unpleasant. u.u; Shemri stands up, working the numbness from her limbs. "A very good try. I should have been caught if I were fighting alone."
The Okumo stares at Shemri, still no emotion having yet crossed his face, but a certain sense of hostility came across with the act of staring itself. But soon Meruin's mouth opened to speak, and all that came out were strained hisses and chittering, followed by a few chirps.
Darkness hurled itself from the boy's mouth in the form of spiders and they swarmed at Shemri with an notable swiftness, coming around at her from both sides to bite and overtake her. Meanwhile, the trap door opened fully, the lifted dirt falling back to the earth leaving the shallow hole gaping as numerous thin but tough cords of silk shot out of it, meant to grab Shemri and yank her back to their grasps, not wanting to be thwarted twice.
Shemri rolls her head and stretches her legs. Good, feeling much lighter now. Shemri easily dances around the hungry swarms and the shooting silks, circling Meruin again. She pauses to fling a pair of shuriken his way—or rather, on either side of him. Shemri smirks. "And now, it is my turn to give you a little surprise."
Shemri suddenly clenches a fist and yanks it in to her side. Wires spread on the ground all around lift up and form a fast-closing web (U SEE WHUT I DID THAR?) around Meruin. Shemri darts forward with a loud yell and makes a haymaker swing at Meruin's jaw with all of her and Shiikaa's combined strength.
As the shuriken went to either side of him, it seemed that Meruin had eyes only for Shemri. Yet, when the fist clenched and the wires came in, he reacted, arachnid legs making him leap into the air. Yet, those self-same legs were caught along their lower half, the taught wires pulling them down making Meruin's landing haphazard, the four spider limbs together so that he balanced on one point.
And so… the haymaker hits Meruin straight on, slamming right across his jaw. He flew back so fast he came out of the Maneshi's trap and he flew, then, for a period hanging above the ground. Until it rushed of to meet him. He gouged out a whole in the ground with the force of his passage along the earth, so great was the momentum force on him by Shemri's strike.
A moment, and the Okumo was on his feet. And then on his arachnid's feet. And he seemed to not have been harmed by the blow. Yet and still, he wasn't attacking. He blinked, for the first time. He was dazed.
Shemri blinks too. Whoooo. That worked even better than she'd hoped! n.n Shemri glances at her fur-covered arm. "That was most excellent, Shiikaa. Many thanks." Turning her attention back to her opponent, Shemri dashes to close the distance. She draws four kunai as she runs, distributing them amongst her sash-tails and hands. Arriving within striking range of Meruin, she unleashes a barrage of slashes and stabs. Then the knives wrapped in the sashes rise high overhead and—psych! >9 Shemri's foot snaps out at Meruin's gut.
Meruin seemed to loom as Shemri approached, his expressionless face growing darker and more shaded. The four limbed flurry of strikes was evaded with swift, jerky motions that put him just out of reach of each attack, Meruin's face growing blacker all the while. The last strike was no different, though the Maneshi's shoe brushed against the silk on his abdomen.
By now, the boy's face was nothing but an inky, sheenless darkness, the only facial feature adorning it being the swirling mists of his eyes. A raspy roar came from his mouthless face and he lunged forward at the woman who'd rushed in to him. His arms lashed out in a swift flurry of strikes, the blurred outline of them barely even to be seen, though the lashing webs accompanying them were none too hard to view.
Four attacking spider limbs. Four kunai. What more could you ask for? Shemri maneuvers her blades deftly, halting the scratching legs and cutting the wispy webs. She feels almost automatic, reacting without thought or even fear of failure. Who cares that she's fighting an unexpected, unexplained match? Who cares that there seems to be nothing in the world except her, her opponent, and whatever happens to be needed at the moment for their match? Who cares that the spider kid's face is dissolving into black nothingness? All that matters is the next punch, which Shemri finds an opening for straight into that inky void—
—and rushes up through into the waking world. Shemri blinks blearily, lowering her extended fist into her lap. Gradually, her eyes adjust and take in her rumpled sheets and the rest of the quiet bedroom. Phew…what a dream. Wonder if things would've turned out that way if Shemri /did/ have a rematch with Meruin? Hard to say, it still could've gone either way when the dream ended…and what measure are dreams of how things would turn out in reality, anyway? Especially when they involve weird cat-gauntlets that Shemri can't really use. X)
…Then again…maybe with a little practice…
