In Battle or in Life, Leave em in Stitches (Jav)

[Mr. Bobbin]

Roger always liked the rooftops at night. They were quiet. It was one of the few times he could be outside without feeling uncomfortable, having to deal with all those people walking on the streets, shouting and generally being human. On a particularly large roof, he did what he normally did when he had nothing better to do: needlepoint.

His sewing needle moved up and down with mechanical precision, slowly creating an intricate pattern on the canvas out of stitched cloth. In fact, he was just finishing the fine touches on his pattern, a length of ivy creeping along a brick wall. He had been at this for hours, days even. Not all at once, of course. He was far too busy with actual work for that.

Suddenly, he pulled himself from his work and stared out into the distance. He could have sworn he heard something. "Excuse me. Is there anybody there?"

[JAVIER SANTANA]

(OOC: Remember to always describe the surroundings, lol.)

Rooftop to rooftop, Javier leaped through the city like curious George. The only difference was that monkey did not smoke and he wore yellow, and Javier was no pussy.

Slowing his speed, he started taking it easy, and at the same time being a lot quieter. He was on the prowl. 8 Meters from him was Bobbin, however Javier was behind him and located in the shadows at an elevated position. He was on a rooftop right next to Bobbin, and had a clear shot to get the drop on him.

Dropping from the roof, he cascaded down in front of Bobbin only 2 meters away, drawing his sword in the drawing action. He would wait for the man to look behind him before striking.

[Mr. Bobbin]

He heard the sound of metal rasping. The kind of soft grating that typically comes from swords coming out of sheaths. Slowly, purposefully, Roger turned around, taking a moment to place his sewing needle firmly in the canvas before putting his work down. "Why would you do that, sir?" Absently, he opened a pouch on his hip, pulling out a few more needles. "Drawing a sword on a man of the Navy is a serious offense. Besides which, it's just not a smart thing to do." He stacked his tools between his fingers, in such a way that one was pointed outwards and the rest were ready to be deployed quickly.

He stood still, a pair of needles sticking out from his fingers, watching and waiting for the stranger to make the first move. "I'm only going to warn you once. This is ill-advised; put down your weapon immediately." He could see in his mind's eye which were appropriate places to aim for first. If all went well, he could wrap this fight up and still have a few needles left over to start a new project.

[JAVIER SANTANA]

Javier stared at his foe, marking his stance and the distance between them. Three meters. His range was 10 meters, and his plan was simple. As the man rambled on, Javier stuck, taking advantage of the distraction.

Lunging forth into a spring, he came with his standard Tsurugi pulled back and ready to slash at the last moment, aiming for the chest. At 1 meter's distance he randomly initiated speed burst, which played off of his major haste. Shooting forth at a blinding speed, he figured that his foe would be timing to counter or dodge based on his initial speed. Thus, the sudden burst of intense speed would leave his foe behind in reaction time, allowing Javier to deal a powerful blow to the Marines chest.

Haste and Accuracy Majors played out here in a large factor. His positioning also aided him, as he was not directly charging his foe, but somewhat to the right of him by only a few inches, so that if the man somehow managed to react much quicker than initially suspected, he would be able to push farther off to the side and effectively dodge his opponent.

[Mr. Bobbin]

If the sight of an opponent charging in his direction fazed him, he certainly did not show it. He knew right off the bat that the opponent might try something and, furthermore, that he was at a considerable disadvantage when it came to effective range. And so, he relied on his standby tactic; close the gap between them and keep it closed. Of course, when the pirate decided to put on a sudden burst of speed, that threw a slight wrench in his plan.

He tried to get in as close as possible, raising up an arm to catch the sword at the hilt. He suffered for it; his arm was not strong enough to deflect it entirely, and he was cut at the shoulder lightly. The flash of pain on his face was probably the most extreme change in expression he had experienced all morning, but he was not about to let that interrupt his plans. He could tell that his opponent wanted to put some distance between them, in direct contrast to Roger's strategy. It went without saying that the Marine was going to try and prevent that.

He rushed forward, lowering his right arm, and then raising it under Javier's. His intention was to hook the opponent's sword arm in the crook of his elbow and, with a twist, force their flank open. There, Roger's free hand would plunge downward, planting the needles between his fingers at key points along Javier's shoulder and side. He would work with mechanical, surgical precision, potentially getting in two, three or even four hits, depending on how long it took Javier to break Roger's grapple. In the meanwhile, Roger would be out of range of the offending sword, at least as long as it was in Javier's sword arm and entangled in his.