Kunou vs. Shinnosuke
The Setting:
"Oh my, hello Kuno."
He ignores Kasumi's greeting and places himself in front of Akane. "Such a perilous journey. Surely you dare not go alone. I, Tatawaki Kuno, shall offer my services. Akane Tendo, allow me to accompany thee!"
After giving him one of her trademark disgusted looks, she kicks him intothe stratosphere.
Still Kuno will not be put off. Certain that his fair Akane will need his undeniable skill and protection with all the dangers of the Higo forest, he decides to follow her.
After stumbling, and dragging himself out of a number of monster traps, he comes upon the house belonging to Shinnosuke and his grandfather. Putting his ear to the door he is shocked to hear a short shriek come from inside.
Akane! Fearing the worst he busts through the door with his bokken. All three occupants whirl their heads around at the intrusion. Before the dust can clear Shinnosuke's grandfather exclaims, "Another monster! Quick, Shinn-boy!"
Kuno ignores the insult, unable to take his eyes off the vision before him. That of his fair Akane in Shinnosuke's arms.
"I say, you cretin, unhand her!"
Akane can't believe her eyes, she turns bright red.
"Such an injustice shall not go unpunished! I, Tatawaki Kuno, shall fight for the honor of my beloved."
Akane can feel her temper slip another notch. How dare he follow her! "Kuno!! Honestly!! I was just about to cook lunch when I slipped trying to reach one of the pots. Shinnosuke caught me, that's all!"
Kuno raised his bokken and pointed it at Shinnosuke. "Do not try and defend this vile creature. How dare he put his hands upon thee. I shall smite him where he stands."
Setting Akane down gently, Shinnosuke reached for his push broom. "I see I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."
They both step outside and square off, each bracing their weapons in front of them, while an exasperated Akane, and a tear gushing grandfather look on.
Commentary:
Wade Tritschler
Well, it is a tough choice, especially as we don't see much from Shin-boy, but I'll
side with him because in the little he did show
at least he was Ranma's equal. Kuno is below Ranma's level.
DarthJo
I must admit that these two are my favorite characters but I must go with Shinnosuke. They both posses skill but Shinnosuke has the slight advantage because of his training in the Ryugenzawa Forest fighting those ridiculously huge but cute animals. Go Shinnosuke (that is if he remembers who his oponent is), and Kunou fight with honor.
Spanner
This one's a tough call, largely because we have little idea of how well Shinnosuke fights against a human opponent. All we've seen is that one near-match against Ranma, in which they exchanged one set of blows before Shinnosuke succumbed to his old injuries and Akane broke up the fight. Well, I suppose the fact that Shin-boy WAS still standing after one blow puts him one up on a number of Ranma's fights with Kunou... Eh, I guess I'll have to say that Kunou would win this one. He's had a lot more experience fighting against powerful martial artists (though poorly, granted), and Shinnosuke's really only been fighting huge animals, which, while powerful, tend to lack finesse. If Kunou can bring himself to take his opponent seriously before Shin-boy knocks him out, he should be able to pull off a victory. Somehow, I doubt this will endear him to Akane...
HexxJo
Considering that Shinnosuke uses a broom and Kuno uses a bokken, you'd think Kuno would have it in the bag. I mean, how many martial arts are based off broom combat? Unfortunately for Kuno, there is one, and Shinnosuke knows it. I feel sorry for Kuno, seeing how his honor is going to be crushed my a broom handle. If the guy was a real samurai like he wants us to believe, he'd commit seppuku the instant he realized his fate. Luckily for us, he isn't, so we'll get to see this idiotic bloke make a complete fool of himself for our enjoyment. You have to like a guy for that.
Chris
Tough choice, but Kunou's ego will get in the way (especially with the "Fair Akane Tendo" present.) I think Shinnosuke is a little quicker thus giving him an edge. Since both of them would fall for the traps, I can could see a draw happening, too.
Pax
Because Kunou has only one thing on his mind AKANE......... I am sure he will win because of his thick-headed state!!
The Fight:
Both combatants stood for a moment longer, sizing each other up. Kuno eyed Shinnosuke's
weapon with smug indifference. He gave a contemptuous laugh.
"Surely you do not think to suggest that you can defeat the great Tatawaki Kuno, the
Blue Thunder of Furinkian high, with a mere push broom!"
Shinnosuke felt anger rise inside him at the comment. He would show this stranger what it
meant to come up against him and his trusty weapon.
"This broom has helped me keep the town safe from the creatures who dwell here. I
figure it's good enough to beat one more dumb animal into submission."
Shinnosuke watched as his comment hit the mark and Kuno's face went red with anger.
"For such an insult you shall pay!"
With that Kuno charged his opponent, bokken raised, ready to strike. He brought it down
with force, anger fueling his movements. It clashed loudly against the handle of the broom
as Shinnosuke brought it up to defend. They held this stance
for a few moments, each straining to crush his opponent, until with a loud cry they
separated, landing a few feet from one another.
"Indeed you are quick, but I, Tatawaki Kuno, am quicker. Prepare yourself!"
Kuno began thrusting his bokken in a rhythm, picking up a steady speed that soon turned
into a blur of what looked like several bokkens attacking all at once. The wind sheer
alone was enough to drive Shinnosuke back. He brought up his arm
to shield his eyes from all the swirling dust the wind was creating, all the while trying
to avoid being struck. He heard a crack off to his right and turned in time to see one of
the trees split and keel over with the mounting air pressure. Kuno kept a steady pace,
increasing his speed while he advanced on his opponent.
"Shin-boy!" his grandfather wailed breaking into another gale of sobs.
"Don't leave your poor old grandpa!"
"Shinnosuke!" It was Akane's voice calling him. There was fear in it. He heard
it clearly even over the wind. It fueled his determination and he conjured up his
own speed, leaping high into the air and projecting himself over the head of the
unsuspecting Kuno, landing deftly behind him.
Kuno, suddenly noticing that his opponent was no longer there brought his attack to an
abrupt halt. He looked around confused, until he felt a light tap on his right shoulder.
He whirled around and came face to face with bewildered
Shinnosuke. Shinnosuke was frowning, as if trying to remember something. He hated it when
he suddenly forgot things.
"Excuse me, but who are you? And why are you attacking me?" From behind him both
Akane and his grandfather did the infamous face fault.
"Do not trifle with me. I shall not fall for your petty trickery evil one. In the
name of the fair Akane Tendo I shall smite thee!"
Kuno once again charged his opponent, bokken ready to strike. Shinnosuke responded and met
his attack blow for blow, their wooden weapons resounding loudly off one another. As Kuno
brought his bokken up for another blow, Shinnosuke used his speed to get in a good jab to
the ribs. Kuno grunted, swinging low to defend a second hit. He continued his offensive
strike, forcing Shinnosuke to take a step back. Encouraged by this he stepped up his
attack, getting in a few good jabs of his own. Shinnosuke had no time to think about the
pain as he was busy trying to defend as many blows as he could.
Shinnosuke knew he'd have to do something soon, otherwise his opponent would simply wear
him down. He couldn't take the defensive stance forever. With this in mind he once again
launched himself into the air. As he came down he envisioned Kuno as one of the many
overgrown animals he fought off every single day. Before Kuno knew what was happening
Shinnosuke was battering away at him with a speed that was barely human.
When he finally stopped Akane saw that Kuno stood frozen, still holding his bokken in mid
air. She watched as he slowly toppled backward in an unconscious heap, never losing
the grip of his weapon. She ran to where Shinnosuke stood
over his opponent.
"Shinnosuke, are you alright?" she asked.
He nodded, giving her a bright smile, as he slung his push broom over his right shoulder.
"Shin-boy!! You did it!" his grandfather exclaimed, rushing up to him.
Shinnosuke turned to look at him, confused.
"Do I know you?"
The Results:
Shinnosuke: 21
Tatewaki Kunou: 11
My eternal thanks go to Lisa for writing this battle! If anyone else would like to try their hand at it, you're all more than welcome to do so. Thanks again to everyone who voted, and a special thanks to everyone who left their comments ^_^