Round 1
The Setting:
Deep within the forests of Nerima, in a clear area, a crowd had gathered. They weren't here in the woods to get in touch with nature... no, they were gathered there to watch a good old martial arts showdown. It was time for the 24th annual Nerima Amateur Martial Arts Showdown to begin, and a great many people had made the hike out to this remote location for the opening match.
Many of the people gathered were rather annoyed that the events were not taking place within the more civilized areas of the Nerima district. The event's staff, however, had faced a lot of trouble for the property damage done by the competitors in the last tournament, so a location out in the middle of nowhere was likely to ease their expenses. The strange setting did not deter the food vendors at all, and each one of them had set up their booths as usual to sell to the people who had come all this way to see a fight.
The roped off area where the fight was going to take place was little more than a fair sized clearing in the midst of the thick forest. Most of the area was just grass, with a few shrubs here and there. The only outstanding feature was a small river running through the clearing. Most people would find this non-outstanding, but for those with working knowledge of Jusenkyo curses, it was something to be concerned about indeed.
One such person, Matoko Hibiki, looked out at the area which was roped off, and grumbled to herself, "There's always gotta be water, doesn't there? Well, it doesn't matter... Unless the person I'm fighting knows about my curse and throws me in on purpose, I should be prepared..." She looked down at the heavy umbrella she was carrying with her, which she had used many times before to keep splashing water off of her in the middle of a fight.
She thought about this tournament she had entered herself into... Her best friend Reijin had told her it would be a great chance to test all of their training against skilled opponents. Of course, there was also the slightly important grand prize of a trip to China for the winner... Maybe they'd let her take along Reijin as well so they could both be cured. Matoko did one last check to make sure she had all the weapons she needed before walking off to warm up and stretch out before she would be called to fight.
At the other end of the crowd, Chen Zheng was making his way onto the scene. He wanted to get here sooner, before the mob had arrived, so he could scope out the battlefield. He had always been one to fight better than his opponents if he knew the layout of the battlefield like the back of his hand. Unfortunately, it had taken him so long to find this out of the way place that he almost didn't make it in time for his match at all.
He thought to himself, "To think! I was almost knocked out of this tournament because I didn't make it here on time. Oh well... I don't think anyone important is going to be competing in this tournament. I don't need to be worrying about trivial stuff when no one will really be able to challenge me here anyways." After deciding he really didn't need to do a thorough scoping out of the field, he decided to at least take a glance. He walked by, and froze when he saw the river running right through the middle of where he was going to fight.
He growled, "No one said anything about water!" He shook his head as he tried to calm himself down... He'd faced a lot tougher situations than this, but if by some fluke he was to fall into the water... "No, it doesn't matter. No one knows about Jusenkyo curses, and most people don't try to just throw their opponents into the water when you can throw them into the ground instead." Feeling sufficiently calmed down, he went over to get ready for the fight.
A few minutes later, the event's announcer took to his place, and said over the speakers, "Welcome, everybody, to the 24th annual Nerima Amateur Martial Arts Showdown! We've got an exciting match lined up for you folks today, so everyone get to your seats!" The people who had been milling around quickly moved over to the bleachers that had been set up so they wouldn't miss the match's opening moments.
Once everyone had settled in, the announcer went on, "Introducing the first of our fighters...The young man who fights with his fists, and his frisbee, master of the Art of the Disk, it's Chen Zheng!" The crowd cheered as Chen walked onto the field, although for some strange reason he was staying very clear of the water. He had his frisbee with him, twirling it around on one of his fingers idly as he moved to the center of the clearing.
The announcer continued, "And next, the girl who can cook a mean Okonomiyaki and serve it to her opponents nice and hot, it's Matoko Hibiki!" Matoko took to the field, and the crowd again cheered. She was dressed in what she usually fought in, a tan, tank-top tunic with a white border on the bottom edge that travels up the side seams, belted at the waist with loose, dark blue pants that are tapered at the ankle. Slung over her shoulder was her bandolier of throwing knives, and in her hands she held her large, heavy umbrella.
The two combattants met near the middle of the field, and nodded to one another. Chen thought to himself, "How sweet... After I beat her, I'm sure she'll be devistated. I'll be there to console her, and she'll just have to fall for me... I mean, who could resist?" He chuckled to himself as he thought this.
Matoko raised one of her eyebrows, "Is something funny? Do you think I won't be a challenge cause I'm a girl?"
Chen shook his head, "Oh no, it's not that at all. I wish you luck, in fact..."
The young Hibiki thought to herself that the guy was acting rather strangely. Shaking her head, she dropped into her fighting stance. Whatever it was that he was thinking, it didn't matter.
Chen took his stance as well, and the two waited for the signal to begin to be given.
Comments:
Spanner
The poll to determine relative strengths was apparently a very good idea - these two fighters are VERY well-balanced, almost to the point where I simply can't determine a victor. But in the end, what we have is a Ranma-like fighter (Chen) vs a Ryoga-like fighter (Matoko). Speed and variety vs strength and endurance. And, like most Ranma/Ryoga battles, I think this fight is going to go to speed and variety. It'll be a pretty grueling fight, however, as Chen won't be taking advantage of Matoko's weak spot (he won't use cheap shots like taunting Matoko's family, and he has a crush on Matoko's mom anyway), and neither of them are going to want to get close to the water (Chen's biggest weak spot). But in the end, Chen will win by wearing Matoko down.
Jarvis
Despite his Kuno-esque habit of gloating and praising himself, Chen has a sh#t-load of attacks, not just limited to his frisbee. On the other hand, Matoko's got vast martial arts talent(after all, her pops is Ryoga and mom is Ukyo) and is versed in both her parents sytles of fighting, which can be hard for an opponent to adjust to. This is definitely going to a great match, but i'm going to side with Matoko on this one because she's got a more obscure fighting style that i dont think Chen will be able to adapt to in time before she layeth the smacketh down upon his candyass!! (sorry, i just had to use that line) Score one for the lost girl.
Hitman25
Chen should come out on top. As tough as Matako is, Chen already beat her father. Chen also seems to have a psychological edge during this fight, being older, more mature, and more studious and all.
Arcanine10
Hmm... well, we have a Ryouga-class fighter (Matoko) versus a possibly Ranma-class fighter (Chen). While that may seem a pretty easy descision, it's all that not that cut and dry. Ranma and Ryouga are a lot closer in skill than a lot of fans admit. Ryouga's come close to beating Ranma a number of times, and if circumstances had been slightly different, I beleive that in nearly any one of their conflicts, Ryouga could have won. It is only Ranma's incredible adaptiblilty (along with his hero-status) that allows him to consistently beat Ryouga, and since neither of these factors apply in Chen vs. Matoko, it could actually be a closer battle than many might think. Now to actually figure out what's gonna happen. ^_^ First off, they both have a curse, and obviously have good reason to be nervous about it. BUUT, if it comes down to a "battle of the cursed forms," as this fight seems to be indicating is a strong possiblity, then Matoko certainly has the advantage! But if either one of them changes and the other doesn't, then the unchanged will definitely win, as niether fighter is good at competing with their cursed form. Anyway, the cursed form scenario goes to Matoko, unless she changes and Chen does not. Uhm, special attacks! Well, Chen has got a gigantic varity of moves (suprising he can remember them all!) so he's very versatile compared to Matoko who has four moves. But - and I'm going to take some license here - it's probably likely as with anything else, that in martial arts, there are two philosophies, that of the specialist and the generalist. Chen is the generalist, with a buttload of cool, useful moves: something for every situation. Motoko is the specialist, who has a few "favorite things" that she's mastered, but they are somewhat more limited in their uses. The conflict comes, and since Chen has so many to moves practise with, and assuming he practises about as much as Makoto, Mokoto will have the more powerful moves, even if they aren't likely to be as useful in as mnay situations. Chen's many attacks would be nice for a surprise attack, though. Motoko: "How many moves does this guy HAVE?!?!" Other advantages... well, let's look at their personlities. Chen is an Egotist, and it seems like it's probably bigger than Ranma's. Yet, Ranma himself has shown that this doesn't have to be a factor. But it could be a factor for Chen. He's not Ranma after all. Also, Chen seems to have the same type of drive to win that Ranma has, so this is probably somewhat of an advantage for him. How about Matoko? Well, she's not too likely to be able to go into hyper-berserk mode, or be able use her ultimate technique, as Chen is very unlikely to insult the Hibikis or Saotomes: he doesn't even know them, does he? Geez, I've written this far and I still haven't really decided. ^_^ I guess, though that I'll pick Mokoto because of the setting. A water-based arena like this with the cursed forms being an almost certain possiblity certainly favor her over Chen. ^_^
[Note: My goodness... This has to be the longest comment I've ever gotten ^_^]
The Fight:
The two fighters stared at one another waiting for the starting mark to be given. As soon as it was, Matoko took off in a flash, rushing directly at Chen. Much to her surprise, however, Chen was running backwards at nearly the same speed she was charging. Matoko grumbled to herself, thinking, "So much for the 5 second victory. Time to close up the gap." She pulled several of the carving knives off of her bandolier, and threw them at her fleeing opponent.
Chen sidestepped and skirted back and forth to get out of the projectiles' way, but in doing so, he lost speed and Matoko was able to close up the gap. He smiled to himself, and just as the young Hibiki was bringing back her fist to punch the now very close Chen in the face, he leapt high into the air.
Matoko, who was still running to close the distance, overshot where Chen had been before he jumped. The frisbee player twisted himself around in the air, and smirked, thinking to himself, "This is going to be way too easy." He threw his frisbee down in a hammer throw right at the ground in front of the young Hibiki. Matoko stopped her run, of course, having long ago realized that her opponent was up in the air behind her, but she didn't see the frisbee coming down until it was already touching the ground.
The frisbee bounced off the ground very lightly, despite the fact that it had been thrown so fast, but its effect on the dirt below was still very powerful. From the point of impact, cracks stretched out through the ground around and underneath Matoko. She said under her breath, "With a frisbee?" right before the ground erupted in explosion.
Chen was very smart when it came to math, and he knew the forces that his frisbee blasts would give off. Estimating where such a blast would throw his opponent, he landed on the ground and immediately started to run toward where he believed Matoko would be amidst the kicked up cloud of dirt. The crowds gathered held their breath as he ran toward the cloud, not knowing what would happen when the both fighters were concealed from view.
Just as Chen entered the dust, however, he was thrown out of it much quicker than he came in. He landed on the ground, on his back, clutching one of his shoulders in pain. He looked up to Matoko now that the dirt had started to settle back down to the ground, and saw that she was standing there confidently, holding her red bamboo umbrella.
The young man said, "You should have been flat on your back, or at least barely on your feet... How...?"
Matoko replied nonchalantly, not really wanting to give too much information away, "You used the wrong technique on me."
Chen narrowed his eyes. He thought, "She learned that attack the way its supposed to be done... Meaning, it won't hurt her very much at all. It's time to change my strategy." The young Chinese man hopped back to his feet, shaking his hurt shoulder a bit. Matoko tightened her grip on the umbrella, waiting for his move.
In a flash of movement it came. Chen shouted, "Hidden Blow 175! Take this!" He threw 6 frisbees out as quickly as possible, each one of them in a different direction. Each one of them arced around in the air, and started heading toward the young Hibiki. They had been thrown in such a way that to dodge one would put the victim directly in the path of another. Matoko wasn't sure how much it would hurt to get hit by one of the things, but it was best not to find out. She reached up and pulled several of the bandannas off of her head, and started spinning them around. Her father had taught her a move very similar to the one she was the intended victim of.
Matoko threw out her bandannas, and each one met one of the frisbees in air and deflected it from its path. As soon as she had let go of her projectiles, however, she heard her opponent shout, "Hidden Blow 176!" Chen brought back his arm, one frisbee in his hands, and prepared to throw it Canadian Forehand style.
Matoko thought, "I should have expected a follow up..." The frisbee left Chen's hands with incredible velocity, and seemed to dissapear. The young Hibiki shouted, "It's just a piece of plastic... You'll need to try harder than that." Steeling herself, she stretched out her hands and clamped her fingers down in front of her, just where she expected the projectile to be. It was there, alright, but she had underestimated how much power there had been behind it. She was incredibly strong, however, and she fought back against the frisbee, which was pushing her back. Her feet dug into the ground as she slid back, digging grooves in the ground as her shoes moved back through the ground. After fighting it and fighting it, she finally stopped the spin of the disc in her hands, and then tossed it aside. Her hands were feeling rather sore after stopping such a quickly spinning object, but other than that, she had been unscathed.
Her eyes went wide, however, as she heard Chen immediately shout, "Tsien Shou Po!" He was charging straight at his opponent, flaring with his building up ki. If this wasn't the final stage of his attack, the audience wasn't sure what was.
Matoko thought, "No way! A second follow up?" Instead of going into panic, however, she pulled some more knives off of her bandolier, and threw them at the quickly charging fellow. As his ki was build up so much, however, he was able to quickly swat away the incoming knives like they were nothing. In a last ditch, Matoko shouted, "Noodle Lariat!" After saying this, she threw out a bundle of noodles aimed at Chen, trying to wrap him in them.
His eyes went a little wide as he saw the attack coming in... After all, a noddle strike was pretty unorthodox. Thinking quickly, however, he grabbed the noddles up in his hands and shoved them all right into his mouth. With the energy he had been building up for his attack, he quickly chewed and swallowed the food, negating the attack. The young Hibiki saw that her attacked had failed, and started to backpedal, but it was too late. He ran past her in a flash of light, and came to a stop some distance away.
She stood still for a second before the full force of the blows set in. Each one of Chen's quick strikes had connected with a pressure point on her body, causing her a great deal of pain. If she hadn't been such a hardy fighter, it probably would have put her out of the fight then and there. Struggling a bit, she turned around and faced her opponent.
Chen turned around too, feeling rather drained from his attack. He also felt the impact of one very strong punch that Matoko had managed to get in during the quick exchange. All the energy he wasted dealing with those noodles slowed him down enough to allow his opponent an opportunity. He thought to himself, "She held up very well under that attack... I'll have to finish her off with a move that she just won't be able to endure."
He turned around and pulled another one of his frisbees out. He shouted, "Crying Heaven!" He charged in and leapt high into the air, before throwing another one of his projectiles down in a hammer throw. The disk began to glow with the electric energy that had built up on it as it headed toward its target. Matoko threw one of her knives at it, knocking it off course and into the ground, harmlessly.
Matoko thought, "Unless he goes through a riddiculous number of follow up attacks like before, there's no way he can hit me with one of those stupid disks. He might know the Bakusai Tenketsu attack, but if he only can do it with his frisbees, he probably doesn't have anywhere near the endurance I have. I've got to get in close."
Chen sized up the situation, pondering, "If she can't see the attack coming in, she won't be able to stop it with her own projectiles. I need the perfect smoke screen..." He smiled to himself, and then readied another frisbee. He threw it out, telling, "Bao Shi Dien Xue!" The disc was thrown veritcally, and it tapped lightly on the ground some distance in front of Matoko. After going back up into the air, it again fell down and gently tapped the ground before bouncing up yet again. The young Hibiki could see that it was designed to create a long line of breaking point blasts coming right toward her.
She thought, "He knows that won't put me out of the fight... Another stupid set up." She started charging right toward Chen. The first of the breaking point blasts had exploded, and the others soon followed, heading in a straight line for the now charging Matoko.
Chen could no longer see her, but that meant she couldn't see him. He produced another disk, and prepared his Crying Heavens attack. No matter how much endurance a person had, it couldn't protect them very well against an electric shock. He threw the disk into the cloud, right where he had seen the young Hibiki charging at him moments ago. "She thinks the attack will leave her unscathed... but she's got another thing coming!" Just then, Chen's senses warned him of something coming in at him from the side. He turned, and saw the open red umbrella flying through the air like a buzz-saw toward him. He jumped out of the way just in time, as the 'bladed' edge of the umbrella cut through the ground he had been standing on.
He head a voice from in front of him, "A victim of your own stupid tricks!" It was Matoko, jumping right toward where he was dodging to. Before he could react, she visciously kicked him right under his chin, sending him through the air and onto his back for a very hard landing. He groaned as he lay there, in quite a bit of pain, and Matoko picked him up by his shirt. She said, "Nothing personal, but I have a curse to get rid of." She reared back her head, and slammed her forehead into his very hard, sending him out of consciousness.
He slumped to the ground as she released her hold, and the announcer said, "The winner by knockout, it's Matoko Hibiki! What a spectacular finish, ladies and gentlemen!" The crowd started to cheer, not expecting a match with so many flashy moves so early on in the tournament. Matoko bowed, accepting the applause. She was very thankful that the battle hadn't taken her anywhere near that river in the middle of the field, unaware that it might have ended the match much sooner in her favor.
The Results:
Matoko Hibiki: 11
Chen Zheng: 4
Hm... Pretty good turn out for the first match of the new tournament. This one started out very even, but Matoko ran away with it in the end. I was suspicious of a lot of the votes that came in, and some of them were obviously from the same person and were disqualified. See my rant on the main tourney page about this... It sucks, but I don't think it would have effected the outcome anyway.