2011-04-02 - Crouching Kitty Hidden Dragon

The mission to investigate Crest had proven a failure, something that had certainly left a damper on both Sinya and the SuiKyosha's XO, Yu Zhi Wu. For the most part, the catgirl hadn't been seen aboard the battleship for a few days. Ling and the hangar crew had plenty of assigned work to do to further their training, but it was still odd that her office had been left unoccupied. Rumor has it that she'd locked herself away in her quarters at the Raven's Nest, doing research on cybernetics. Then, of course, there was the escaped cybernetic hand that caused havoc at the marketplace. Apparently, she's at least kept herself busy.

It is one of the mechanic's first days back on the SuiKyosha in almost a week. She hasn't actually been on-board since the day she made use of the guest quarters. One might expect her to be hard at work in the hangar, but her place is conspicuously empty still. Actually, a good number of the crew don't seem at their posts, and it would become all to clear to Xiang all too quickly why. Someone had started quite a spectacle in one of the battleship's training rooms, enough to draw the attention of quite a few of the hangar crew as well as the ship's guards.

Standing in the middle of a wide open practice circle stands the catgirl, dressed in a loose fitting shirt and pair of slacks. Opposite her is one of the larger of the SuiKyosha's warriors - a muscle-bound martial artist with his hair drawn back into a tight knot behind his head. Certainly, this would be a totally mismatched fight, right? "You really think one of your kind can stand up to the warriors of the SuiKyosha? You beastmen are more deluded than you think." He laughs darkly, cracking his knuckles.

Sinya, on the other hand, seems fairly calm, her hand holding a small metal cylinder that looks similar to the one used by her guymelef. "Let me be the one to remind you that /you/ started this fight, human. I'll just be the one to end it." With a click, the cylinder extends into a staff nearly as tall as the catgirl who wields it.

"Oooh, kitty has a stick. I'm afraid. You see me trembling?" A few of the other guards laugh, but the hangar crew in attendance, including Ling, seem shaken. They actually knew the catgirl and obviously were not on the side of their fellow crewman.

"You should be. One last chance. Apologise and we can both walk away from this." Sinya places the staff down onto the ground, her green eyes serious even as the warrior raises his fists. He rubs at his nose once, and then starts forward, throwing a few kicks and punches towards Sinya as she moves back, evading each blow that comes her way with her usual cat-like speed.

Earlier SuiKyosha - Yu Zhi Wu's Quarters

When things go awry on the ship, Xiang is usually the first to know about it. Whilst his means are a secret to Xiang, his XO knew exactly why. After all, not only had her Captain confided in her - she also experienced the same thing. That was the fact that he SuiKyosha to some extends was a telepathical conduit and entity of its own. It shared its experiences with its captain; whether he wanted to know them or not.

At the time that things were going bad, Xiang had in fact been in the room with his XO, Yu Zhi Wu. She had not been coming out of her room enough, and the Captain had finally decided that it was time that she manned up and told him what was truly going on. Of course, due to the kind of relationship they shared, it didn't take too long for the captain to learn of the recent mission against Crest - or rather, its purposes. And with that, the reason why Yu was so upset.

"Hrrrm?" Xiang looked up at the ceiling of Yu's room, as if listening to something. "What is she saying?" Yu knew to recognize this tell-tale sign that the SuiKyosha was telling the Emperor something. "Seems miss Leland is back." The man claims with a warm voice. "Oh... oooooh." Yu, reading into something there wasn't at the time grins. Xiang picks up on this. "No, like like that. It seems that some of our crew are making trouble." He gets up immediately from the bed on which he had been sitting. Yu pulls the blankets up close against her chest and looks around for her clothing. "Want me to come?" -- "No, it's fine." The captain replies and pats the blankets. "You stay here, Yu."

Now SuiKyosha - The Dojo

The captain steps into the Dojo calmly, hands hidden in his sleeves. Due to his silent entry, nobody seems to have realized that he has entered. And that is how he wanted it to be. Quietly staring at the big man going after Sinya, but not stepping in. This was her fight, it would be dishonorable to step in right now. Besides, he remembered the motions he'd see her make when she had been within the GuyMelef. Even those who use complex control-mechanisms didn't do the things she did; he believes in her.

As the fight begins, sound erupts from those watching. While at times things might have seemed tense between Sinya and the hangar crew, it seems that they still see her as 'one of their own'. With the room fairly evenly split between supporters on both sides, there is a constant flow of sound. Ling seems the most vehiment, cheering loudly for his mentor even as the warriors try to drown him out with their own shouts of encouragement.

Sinya, on the other hand, seems to hold her own. As she steps back, the staff is spun about her moving it as if it were a part of her own body. With a quick motion, she knocks back two of the punches, and then flips backwards, landing in a crouch as the staff moves around her body as if it were attached somehow. The speed of the motions, the practice, makes it all too clear that she isn't just some mechanic, or some wild beast.

No, the motions are those of someone finely trained and practiced in their art. So much so that her abilities seem to outshine those of her Kyoshan opponent. After blocking a few more blows, her staff spins out and catches him neatly behind the ankle, knocking him forward onto his knees before it retaliates in the other direction, a hard blow striking him in the stomach.

"Oof." The warrior lets out a breath of air, and then growls as he looks up at her. With one hand, he grabs for the staff, trying to wrench it from the girl's grasp. Rather than fight strength on strength, she simply steps up onto his shoulders, bringing the staff hard into the warrior's nose as she steps neatly down his back. Blood pools down onto the mats as the warrior turns, moving to face her, smearing it across his face as he clenches his fists. Even before he can manage to throw another punch, the staff impacts his stomach again, and then a well-timed kick to his chest sends the warrior toppling.

The room quiets as Sinya holds the staff to the downed warrior's neck, her eyes fierce. "Yield." She commands, to which he snorts to himself, "I'll never yield to a beastman." She holds the staff there for a moment, and then removes it. Honor or no, it's clear that the catgirl isn't about to take a life over something like this. "You dishonor yourself." She swings the staff around herself, and then plunges it back into the ground before looking at the other warriors. "Anyone else care to test me?" There is silence in the room.

During the entire bout between Sinya and the SuiKyoshan, the Emperor manages to remain within the shadows of the Dojo, unseen by others. His eyes follow Sinya's movements, but also manage to take in those of her opponent. He sees the flaws in that man's technique easily, and whilst harder to detect; Xiang also manages to see some slight errors within those of Sinya's. Some unnecessary movements - though in the end, her skill was undeniable. And when the fight comes to an end and the warrior refuses to 'yield' to Sinya, the 'beastman', he notices the strange aura within the room. At least a good half of the crowd suddenly are growing angry. He can sense it. Not a killing intent. But something... similar.

And when silence is brought after Sinya's last words, it is Xiang himself who finally breaks the silence. He claps slowly and breaks out from the crowd, stepping into sight. Of course, it cannot be helped that people immediately turn their eyes towards their Emperor. He stop clapping. People are too stunned to clap at this point, seeing their Captain within their midst. They still aren't used to him showing up out of nowhere constantly - though in part that was because he didn't do it /that/ often. After all, he didn't want people to start fear doing 'bad things'. He let people have their anger and their mistakes. They were after all, human. Not making mistake would be detrimental to their development.

"Bravo." Xiang claims, in a single and well-meaning word, before turning his eyes upon the SuiKyoshan. "Feng Lu --" apparently' the warrior's name, "-- miss Leland is as much part of this crew as you are. She is part of our family. Also, you must understand that a person, Beastman, human, android - you name it - prove their weight and true self through their actions. Not through what parents gave birth to them." He didn't feel a need to reprise the constant 'she is not of Lord Genome', for the crew all knew this by now. Perhaps Sinya was not aware of it, but when she was not on the ship, or in the hangar, the people talked of her. Rumors, jealousy, liking. Some of the wives of the men at the hangar were mostly the ones jealous.

"Miss Leland." A pause. "I believe the man has learned his lesson. Will you forgive him for his transgression?" As if the man had not been dishonorable enough, now the man had to bear the guilt of his very own Captain appologizing for him. Feng Lu looks around for a while, confused, staring at the men who glanced at him... and he suddenly gets to his knees and bows before miss Leland. There's a point where even a man like him will give in to the pressure.

The catgirl's mouth opens as if she were about to say something more to the men surrounding her, but whatever sound was meant to come gets cut off as the silence is punctuated by that slow clapping. Her head turns, ears perking towards the sound as she steps back, the staff sheathing itself once more into the cylinder at her grasp. The confusion on her face is evident, although she'd long ago come to an understanding that Xiang Yuan could appear out of nowhere.

Rather than arguing his words, or trying to say any of her own, she simply stands there, arms at her side, chest heaving slightly from the exertion of the battle as her gaze rests firmly on the ship's captain. Some seem ashamed of their actions, while most of the hangar crew have their heads held proudly. Sinya herself, simply is unreadable in that moment, her tail lightly twitching.

"Captain." When he finishes his speech, she inclines her head politely, holding a hand to her chest. Normally she wouldn't go through such formalities, but she is in front of quite a few of the crew, so it only seems proper. Then, her eyes turn to Feng Lu, taking in his actions. Her ears fold backwards, inwardly sure that the warrior is only doing this to appease his Emporer and not because he felt any real respect for her. The hatred of beastmen runs deep for some, even if she is clearly not of the Spiral lands. "Mmm." Sinya nods her head once, stepping back. "I apologise for the disturbance."

"There is no need to appologize." The Emperor replies, raising a hand to 'stop' her from appologizing any further. "This man --" He points at Feng Lu with his left hand, "-- dishonored you. You were in your right to defend your honor. That is how it goes on this ship." The man who had lost keeps his head low. Xiang turns about to face the man. "You may leave now, and contemplate your actions." Taking this chance to leave, Feng crawls up to his legs and bows deeply one more towards the emperor, before turning about and leaving - head down. It was not like Xiang didn't know that this man had likely /not/ learned his lesson. But he wanted to try and show his crew that he had faith in them.

The Emperor then turns about and gives Sinya a good look-over, like he'd done quite a few times now. However, he focussed on her 'muscles' and 'joints' rather than the rest of her. "Are you sure you are capable of accepting another opponent in your current state?" He noticed that she was indeed a bit tired. But... "No, in fact, /I/ am sure you could take on another opponent, please accept my appologies." That was, for even letting out that for a moment he has assumed otherwise. A hand goes to his chin and he rubs that spot as if he had a beard of sorts. A behavior he'd picked up from his master.

"Then, to let you blow off some further steam --" Her earshaving been folded back, and something about her general presence, made him feel like she might benefit from such an action, "-- why don't you have a spar with me?" He turns towards Ling, and gives the young one a thorough look. Another man then quickly taps on Ling's shoulder and hands him a bamboo staff that had been hanging on the wall, and then points at the Emperor. "Go ahead." Ling was to give him the weapon, obviously.

There is a soft undertone of a growl that rumbles up from Sinya's chest, something that is unusual as she normally represses most of the natural sounds that would come from one of her kind. As much as Xiang may be willing to allow second chances, it is all too clear that she holds no great trust for the warrior. He /will/ be a problem in the future, she's sure of it. Her fur bristles even as her eyes follow his motion all the way to the exit of the dojo.

She steps towards Xiang, looking at him with a serious expression, "You know very well that this won't end here." Her voice, kept low, isn't meant to reach the ears of the others. It is his comment about her accepting another opponent that has her stepping back with a confused tilt of her head. One ear goes up, the other sideways as she looks at Xiang as if he had two particularly interesting heads. "What? Another opponent?"

The catgirl blinks as she looks from Xiang to Ling, and then back again, almost searching the younger man for some sign of what exactly this means. Afterall, the captain did tend to be a bit stone-faced and hard to read, and perhaps that is why Sinya had chosen her protege to be someone far more open. The boy simply shrugs, and then looks a bit puzzled as he is handed the staff to take out to the Emporer. Quietly, he walks out, dropping to one knee before offering it up to Xiang.

Sinya, on the other hand, simply steps back once more, her hand flicking outwards to extend her own staff. "If you wish. I would be honored." It seems that she's picked up some of the way of speaking of those on the ship, at least when in such formal situations as this. She knows all too well that these are the type of moments that will form lasting impressions of her on the crew, and she wants them to be /good/ ones to overshadow any of that lingering distrust of beastmen.

"It will all work out in due time." The Emperor whispered back, his lips barely moving as he spoke; making it almost impossible for the rest of the crew to realize that the two were talking to eachother. Like this was some kind of great secret that required the utmost of care and handling. "Well." His voice picks up again. "You asked if there was anyone else who cared to test you. I wish to take you up on your opportunity." And, as Sinya had guessed, this was indeed one of those things that could form a lasting impression on the crew - if done right. Xiang knew what he was doing.

When Ling finally approaches. The Emperor turns towards the young man and bows his own head as a sign of 'thanks', and lays one hand on the boy's shoulder for a moment. "Thank you, young sir." He states in a manner expected from royalty, and then lowers that same hand so he can take the weapon into both of his hands. "You may return to the rest." And he turns around, straightening his posture, and planting the butt of the staff onto the ground, so that he stands tall right next to the cylindrical weapon.

He closes his eyes for a moment, concentrating. It'd been a long time since he'd truly sparred against a trained opponent like Sinya, and a staff-weapon was actually not within his element. But still, he believed he had more training as a general martial artist, and a semblance of 'age' was also on his side. But of course, with her being a 'beastman', Sinya had a certain suppleness to her body. A certain... dexterity that he could not reach.

"To you the first strike." Yet, with all of this in concideration, the Emperor will let her have the first move. And he remains standing, strong like an unmoving rock, waiting for her first blow. "And do not hold back."

While this may be someone she considers a friend, Sinya's eyes are just as serious as when she had fought Feng Lu. There is an almost feral nature to those eyes, one echoed in the strange posture that seems more wild than anything that fits into a traditional martial art. The staff spins in her fingers almost as if it were an extension of her arm.

Her eyes only briefly linger on Ling as the staff is passed from her student to the Emporer. When he returns to the group of other hangar staff, there is a certain awed look to them. Perhaps, this is the first time they had seen him as someone worthy of respect? Intentional or not, it seems Ling is slowly earning his place as future hangar manger on the SuiKyosha.

As for Sinya, she takes her staff and holds it across her waist, both hands gripping it as she bows her head respectfully, eyes towards the floor. In many martial arts, it is taught never to lower your eyes to your opponent, but only to bow this way to a master. This is nowhere like the match between her and Feng Lu. Only when he gives her the first strike does she lift her head. With a nod, she draws the staff back across herself, "If you insist."

The staff begins to move again, quick motions of her hand flipping it between one hand and the other as she moves forward. It is graceful, almost like a dance as her feet move along with the motion, closing the distance before she strikes out with it, aiming for a blow that would normally strike against his chest. "Th'ya." She snarls with the blow, teeth clenched in focused concentration.

In response to Sinya's respectful nod, Xiang too bows his head lightly. Whilst he wished to tell her not to bow so deeply before him, before the current 'audience', such a thing would disrupt their vision of him as their leader - as a master. He patiently remains standing as Sinya comes for him, slowing his breathing, adjusting it, lowering his balance point by breathing through his stomach and widening his stance slightly. However, when the girl strikes towards him, the Emperor doesn't block.

The side of the staff strikes straight to his chest and suddenly feels like it just hit a rock! Just a fraction of a second after the staff makes contact, the man breathes out, and tosses the staff slightly upwards whilst still keeping his hand around it and brings it slightly towards the let after which he suddenly kicks the low side of it, sending it into a rapid spin with the capability to knock the staff out of her hand if she wasn't holding onto it well enough. What Xiang lacks if pure speed, he makes up for in strength, durability, and some technique.

Not halting after spinning the staff, he himself turns about once, bringing the staff low into a sweep - however, not one to strike only half way towards his opponent, he steps in and grabs it with both hands so he can guide it upwards. So that if it was merely jumped over, it would hit the inside of the right leg and possibly send his opponent topling.

It's hard to tell exactly what had happened, but as Sinya tries to move back to avoid the sweep towards her legs, she leaps upward, swinging her staff towards Xiang. Unfortunately, it never gets that far as that upward motion catches her heel and sends her spiraling down towards the mats, landing hard on her back. Stunned, the catgirl seems motionless, if only for a few seconds before she coughs. The blow had certainly come at an unexpected time and knocked the wind out of her. Reaching for her chest, Sinya takes a deep breath, and then forces herself to move.

If nothing else, she didn't want to seem weak in front of so many others. So, while she puts on a brave face, it would probably be clear to Xiang that she having some trouble recovering from it. Rolling sideways, she lands in a crouch and then pushes to her feet, spinning her staff in front of her as she seems to switch into a more defensive posture. Mostly, it's true intent is to give her time to get air back into her lungs.

But there isn't time to simply stay on the defensive. She steps forward, shifting her balance across her feet as she moves around to try to get a better angle on Xiang. It seems, at least from this initial exchange, that his skill far outshines her own, but perhaps that isn't surprising to most. Swinging the staff forward, she seems about to make another blow towards his chest, but at the last moment the girl crouches, letting the staff slip to grasp it just at the edge with her palm. With the extended reach, she tries to catch him in the back of the legs and return the favor he gave her by offering him a trip to the floor.

When Xiang catches Sinya with that incredibly lucky sweep, there is a sudden feeling of dread that overcomes him. 'Lucky' in something like Martial Arts could be devastating, but also dangerous for the opponent's health. People had died in Martial Arts due to 'lucky hits', like strikes to the nose or throat when the opponent made a wrong move. It was something he always was afraid of. With his master, he didn't have to deal with it much, since the old man had known what he was doing to near perfection. He himself however, as well as this cat-girl, were not true masters. He spins the staff around, backing off as well and keeps the staff under his arm like a nunchuck for a good moment.

His gaze would, to the audience, look like one that is sizing up his opponent. And that is indeed the mask he was putting on. But underneath that, he was checking just exactly how Sinya was holding her body after that blow. If she was favoring one side of her body, or if she was keeping her arms too close to her chest after that strike. And indeed, he can tell that this girl is having trouble recovering. When she finally puts up a defesive wall by twirling, not to be disrespectful, he makes a few quick jabs at her, but lets them be caught within the whirlwind. It's the least he could do to let he remain to look strong. Perhaps she might find it disrespectful of him however, to suddenly not go full out, but... he couldn't help it. Something within his -- heart? -- didn't let him.

But when she finally steps forwards again, he steps back so she may move onto her offensive. But instead of looking at her movements, he is staring her right in the eyes. Almost like he is trying to get some kind of... read out of her. The suddenly, something disturbing! To the outsiders, it would looks just like he 'knew' what she was going to do, or 'saw' something. But in truth, it was different. Xiang seems confused when 'it' happens, but doesn't let that hamper his movements. He crouches down, suddenly wielding the staff with but one hand, and then uses his elbow to strengthen his hold on the staff to force her strike up and over him. He manages just barely, as Sinya's strike grazes his hair, and he could hear the air's displacement passing over him clearly.

The man wonders, what 'it' had been he'd 'heard' within his mind. For some reason, it had seemed as if he had heard Sinya's thoughts, like he'd truly 'read' her. However, he knew that this was an impossibility. He as not a telepath himself. So what had it been? Of course, he was still in a spar, he couldn't truly dedicate his mind to this conundrum. Instead, keeping his lowered posture, he begins slamming the staff flat on the floor in front of him. Step forward, slam to the opposite side. Step forward, slam the staff on the other side, each aimed only lightly away from Sinya. And using this forwards movement, he tries to trick Sinya, because when he finally strikes, it is actually quite simple. He suddenly moves out of his crouch and grabs the staff, and tries to... well... basically body-check her with the staff.

While the adrenaline of the battle is pumping in her veins, it's hard to tell just how much damage that initial strike had done. She doesn't have time to think or feel, or really even realize just how bad it had been other than the fact that her breath is coming in short pants rather than controlled breaths. It almost doesn't seem as if she can take a full breath, which probably isn't a good sign. Even so, she fights on, blocking those few weaker blows with ease, but there is a flash of appreciation in her eyes, knowing full well that in that moment he had been easy on her.

What happens next, though, seems just as confusing to her as it does to him. There is that split second where their eyes meet and something seems to pass between them. Not only does her blow miss by only a hair (literally), as he returns to counter attack, she steps only slightly out of the way, so that the staff touches the loose fabric of her shirt without actually striking the skin beneath. There is that moment where she's standing ever so close to him, close enough that he might feel that quickness of breath and the fast beat of her heart. It almost seems like a dance, two beings knowing exactly where each strike will land and moving instinctively just enough.

Then, it passes. The strange feeling dissipates and Sinya leaps backwards, landing once more in one of those feral crouches. Her tail lashes behind her, the fur puffed up and her ears slicked back. The contrast in fighting styles with the same weapon is vast, with Sinya favoring more wild, flashy techniques and Xiang seeming far more reserved. It isn't that dissimilar to how they interact off the battlefield.

Touching her staff to the ground, Sinya uses it as a vaulting pole and pulls herself forward, closing the distance quickly before, she swings the staff out, trying to catch it across his back as she spins, stepping around him in a spinning pattern that seems to match the constant flow of her staff.

This time, without that connection, it seems like Sinya manages to catch the Emperor a little bit more off guard. Or rather, thanks to her quick movements, she simply out-maneuvers him. But, whilst the staff strikes him across the back, and resounds loudly through the dojo to make a few people cringe, it does not in fact force the man even a single step forwards. Like some kind of rock, he just remains standing, and that is impressive in its own right. With the staff in both hands however, this means that from this position, and with her now behind her, at least he has a large variety of options on how to approach a counterattack. But first to turn about.

The man suddenly jumps - backwards - unnaturally high for a human, and attempts to land straight behind where he 'felt' that Sinya as. His staff remains aimed towards the floor during the entire backflip, as are his eyes, following Sinya's staff to ensure any retaliationary strikes would not strike any vital areas. And only when he lands does he make an attempt at finally striking for the cat-girl.

"Tse-SHIAAA!" The man suddenly calls out, his voice suddenly commanding. And some of the men standing directly behind Sinya, and had by accident made eye-contact with he man at that very time, suddenly tumble backwards. Those Martial Artists with enough experience, learned to express a sense of 'killing intent' onto others. An effect that can be felt by even the most normal of person. An 'intent' can sometimes be felt. Like when a person is staring at you, and your body suddenly jerks back, as if it wanted to defend itself, even though nothing happened. It was that kind of 'nature' behind his gaze all of the sudden.

And with that gaze, that 'intent to strike' so strong, the man steps forwards and unleashes a machine-gun like barrage towards Sinya, aimed directly at her gut. Not her chest, for somewhat obvious reason, but her gut. And amidst that surprisingly rapid volley of strikes, as if he were wielding a biljard cue, he hides a sudden sweep up-then-down aimed for Sinya's right shoulder.

While Sinya's defenses are quite formidable, and she seems able to ward off the worst of the attacks, a few seem to slip through her guard. She winces, taking the full on force of a few of the jabs to her stomach. The catgirl, unlike the martial artists of the SuiKyosha doesn't have as strong muscles or hard physique. She grits her teeth, forcing herself not to cry out or show any signs of the pain that flares in her eyes. Those green eyes meet Xiang's for a moment, the moment she sees that same intense look in his eyes.

And then the blow comes down on her shoulder, knocking the girl to her knees. This seems to be enough to make Ling step forward, trying to come to his mentor's aid, but the others put out a hand to stop him. This was her battle to be won or lost, and it is clear that Sinya is still fighting through the worst of it. Still on her knees, she takes her staff and shoves it right between Xiang's legs. Rather than trying to strike upward at his crotch, as one might expect, she swings the staff sideways, grabbing it with her other hand and then rolls backwards, pulling the staff with her as she attempts to yank his leg right out from under him.

It is only natural for Xiang to catch that pain within that split second that their gazes meet with one-another. As much as Xiang kept up a solid mask at all times, and seemed not to show emotions to others, that did not mean he could not read them. Quite the opposite in fact. And he feels for her. This is somewhat strange to him. That isn't to say he doesn't feel some sort of emotion towards those he has sparred against. It is more that there is a much stronger emotion present. Guilt? Did he feel guilty for hitting this feline? He backs off sightly, and that very moment, he suddenly feels a strange sensation.

Falling. He was... actually falling! What do you do when falling again? This doesn't happen often to Xiang, who had been trained to stand as steady as a rock. Oh yes, catch your fall, roll backwards! So he does exactly that, he rolls backwards and lets go of his staff only a moment, laying it to the floor so he has both his hands available to break his fall, and then quickly reaches out to the weapon. He grabs a hold of the end, and then remaining low, he sweeps around and simply tries to whip it against the side of Sinya's body. Simple. But effective if it would hit. But he couldn't think of something better. At the moment, his concentration was broken, still startled that he had, in fact, actually fallen.

The Captain's fall certainly has a few of those watching looking at each other speculatively. No one could remember a time when they had ever seen someone bring Xiang Yuan down. As much as Sinya may have taken the worst of a few very strong blows, she did seem to still have some skill in catching the man off-guard. The moment he is no longer in reaching distance, she plants one foot down, rolling herself sideways just in time for his staff to sail up over her head. There is a glance upwards, the staff having grazed her ears.

Then, as her eyes narrow, Sinya pushes back up onto her feet where she can swing her staff more freely. To an outsider's eyes, she might seem fully recovered, but there are tiny signs here and there pointing to the opposite. Her teeth stay clenched even as she moves forward, turning the staff around her waist and then over one shoulder before striking out with a series of quick blows, aiming each one to try testing the Xiang's defenses.

The first half of the strikes manages to hit Xiang, touching his shoulders and chest event in his current lowered position, and he is actually using his hand to tap away any strike that gets too close to his face, but finally when one of those tiny bits of weakness shows, a strike that just isn't as fast as the others, he catches the chance. He strikes forward with his own staff towards her knees, then pulls back and plants the staff only a few inches before her and pushes his feet as hard as he can, using the staff to vault.

Not, however, waiting for himself to land, the vault turn into a spin, the staff at full length spinning with him and going for Sinya's back, trying to knock her forwards to the ground. And if he succeeded, he'd quickly spin about and set the edge of the staff to her neck. Of course, that was all a matter of success.

No matter how good one might be, there are always small openings even in the most skilled of opponents. Sinya seems to have a few of these, and only winces faintly as the staff strikes against her shins. It could have been much worse, certainly, if she hadn't already been prepared for such a thing. As he vaults over her, the catgirl's eyes follow the path even as she drops into a sliding dive to pull herself away from the reach of his staff. She isn't quite out of this match /just/ yet.

Quickly rising to her feet, the catgirl tilts her head slightly, then lets the staff spin around her chest and back again before she starts moving around Xiang. Her motions are smooth, fluid, almost as if they were a dance. But to be a real dance, there is always two partners of equal skill needed to make it beautiful and in this case, quite powerful as well. Her staff moves into and out of his defenses, feet shifting and moving as she presses the attack and feints, draws back, and then comes in again. The battle had progressed from something that seemed so one-sided into something far closer. To something almost as if they were two synchronized entities, moving in harmony.

However, no matter how smooth the interactions, the shifting of blows, the truth is clear. Neither were abot to give up, and the attacks, as graceful as they might be, are powerful, seeking any chance they can to slip under Xiang's guard.

When Sinya's attacks begin to gather harmony, synchronizing with Xiang's own movements -- perhaps due to the previous experience, perhaps due to her own experience as a martial artist, or perhaps even due to having watched the Emperor for longer enough -- the Emperor steps right into this same harmony. His staff begin to spin more fluidly as he sets up an ultimate barrier around himself and begins to watch Sinya with incredible focus.

For a good minute, all the room is filled with are the clicks and clacks of wood striking metal and vice-versa, leaving the entire crowd in absolute awe. But even the Emperor of not perfect. His master had told him many times, do not let yourself enter an opponent's rhythm. And he quickly remembered that lesson as Sinya's Rhymth had subtle changes to them suddenly and began breaking through the whirling barrier of steps and strikes, tapping against his chest, his shoulder, and even striking his right leg at one point. Hoping to use this, he lets his staff sweep a bit longer, trying to knock the staff down towards the ground so that the girl would be unbalanced, but doesn't manage to find quite the way to do it, and only ends up knocking away her attack in those occassions.

There is a moment where his mask even breaks, where he shows a slight bit of frustration, before he reaffirms that look on his face and finally finds a place out of Sinya's rhymth and begins one of his own. With strong sweeps, he begins to draw a flat infinity sign within the air, whilst step-jumping forth and changing the angle sightly with each step, trying to force Sinya back and towards the wall. The crew of course would move out of the way.

When the movements seem timed so perfectly, to match just right, there is almost a small smile that forms on Sinya's lips. The focus, the concentration, the relaying of motion between them is enough of a challenge not only to her skill, but also to her heart as well. It is to the point that she almost forgets that this is competition. That is, until he starts to shift his rhythm, and that seems to shake her resolve.

Her back, her side, the aches start to sneak up on her as she's forced on the defensive, slowing her motions and making it harder and harder to ward off the attacks as they come. Her tail feels the wall long before the rest of her body gets there, but backed into a corner, she has no choice but to try to ward off the onslaught. One strike is glanced away, but as she moves to catch the next one, it slides off of her staff and strikes her hard against that same shoulder, knocking her a second time to her knees.

This time, there is no getting up as her back is nearly pressed against the wall. She simply closes her eyes, feeling as his staff comes to rest against her neck. Her head bows, "I yield." Her chest still heaves, breaths a bit faster than they should be. The truth is, she hadn't had a chance to really catch her breath after being knocked to the floor.

The moment that staff holds against her neck, Xiang's face is... incredibly close to hers. Whilst she had closed her eyes, Xiang had still been pressing forwards, using thinner strikes by grasping the staff much further to the front. It was also this that allowed him to stop at her neck so easily. He just... hangs there for a while, almost stunned at the proximity between the two. The crowd is staring as well, but most of them concider this to just be the Martial Artists resting, or doing their honor-thing or what-not. After all, whilst some of those present are actual SuiKyoshan martial artists, many of them are just regular clueless crewmembers.

Xiang then finally, and abruptly, pulls back, takes a few steps away from Sinya, then deeply bows towards her, holding the staff low along his waist. "You are an admirable opponent, miss Leland. I have not had to truly try this hard since sparring with my master. I wish to thank you for letting me have the pleasure of sparring with me. I am honored." He bows slightly deeper now, which gets a few odd looks from the regular crew.

Slowly, Sinya's eyes open, her nose twitching at him being quite so close. She blinks just once, then looks away, unable to hold the eyecontact. Perhaps that is one of the worst parts of things, being still unable to look someone in the eyes for very long. As he steps back, she slowly gets to her feet and raises her head, regarding the Captain with a respectful, if not blank expression. The truth is, with the fighting over, she's starting to feel the worst of the pain from the blows and letting them see that wouldn't be a good idea just now.

When he bows, she does the same, "You would do your master proud, Xiang Yuan." She once more uses his full name, but it is done respectfully. There is an odd tone to her voice, though, as if she were keeping herself under tight control. "Thank you for doing me the honor. I see there is still a lot for me to learn." With that, she raises her head, snapping her wrist so the staff retreats once more into a small cylinder which she tucks into a bag at her waist.

The catgirl's eyes shift towards the hangar crew, looking at them with a serious expression. "Okay guys, show is over. Everyone back to work now." There is a moment of mulling about before they turn to go. It's Ling who lingers behind, stepping up to Sinya, "You alright, boss?" He asks, under his breath. "I'm fine, Ling. Go on. You've got work to do, too. I'll catch up in a few." The boy nods, and then ushers the rest of his people out of the dojo.

As she turns to follow them, Sinya casts a glance over her shoulder at Xiang. The look in her eyes is hard to read, and lasts only a moment before she steps into the hallway. Oddly enough, though, she doesn't go towards the hangar. Instead, the catgirl starts walking towards one of the inner hallways, away from where the others might be heading.