WMAT B1 Cowboy Courier vs. Satsuki Kiryuin

WMAT B1 Cowboy Courier vs. Satsuki Kiryuin
Date of Scene:	24 June 2014
Location:	Papaya Island - Stadium
Synopsis:	First-Round World Martial Arts Tournament match between Satsuki Kiryuin and Courier Six.
Thanks to:	Yuri Stinson, for excellent commentary
Cast of Characters:	32, 106, 430
Tinyplot:	WMAT

---

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
It's a busy, bustling afternoon on Papaya Island, and nowhere is busier than the World Martial Arts Tournament stadium. A dozen media choppers and hover vehicles are circling, crowds are buying vendor food en masse and filtering into their seats, and ringside reporters from numerous different worlds are talking into cameras and crystals and any number of odd technological capture devices.

There is a certain tension in the air. It's the first match of last year's B-bracket champion, and his opponent is the daughter of one of the sponsors. The crowd is abuzz with anticipation.

Johnny's opponent is nowhere to be seen just yet.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
Here it is. Johnny shifts a bit, adjusting his duster a little bit as he steps up and onto the field. Behind him in the grassy area sit his entire crew, with most of the folks working at the Mojave Express getting front row seats somewhere close. No pressure.
Quite a spectacle here in the stadium today as he carefully adjusts his gear. His riot helmet is still under his arm as he lifts up a hand to wave at the crowd, pulling a massive cheer out of the audience. There's plenty of New Vegas swag out on sale and in the crowds tonight, that's for sure. A fight under the lights for the glory of New Vegas. God, what a thing.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
Yuri Stinson is sitting in a hot hair balloon that has been painted with a chibi-anime Yuri. He is leaning over the edge. He's wearing one of those hats people wear to sip beer, but instead it has two massive jugs of moonshine. He speaks into a microphone, "The Cowboy Courier has arrived in the arena! All that we're waiting for now is his opponent." Slurp slurp slurp.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
And... where is his opponent?

Just as the murmur of the crowd starts to get uncertain, a noise from above grows louder. One of the helicopters has peeled away from the media cloud, turning to fly straight in towards the arena and descending until it becomes easy to see that's no broadcast chopper at all. It's larger, boxier, a small cargo helicopter with a REVOCS logo on the side.

It banks around as it arrives over the arena, turning itself until the rear hatch is towards the ring... and then the hatch swings itself down slowly, becoming a ramp, and a bright, shining light spills out of the helicopter's cargo space.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting... Cowboy Courier."

Out onto the ramp steps Satsuki Kiryuin, radiant in both the figurative and literal senses; confidence and a shining light both shine forth from the young lady, who plants her sword on the ramp and rests her hands on it for the moment.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
That gets the older fellow to brighten up a bit as his opponent arrives. Hell, he's not going to begrudge the young lady a fancy ass entrance, now is he? Though, he chuckles at the name she delivers to him. Christ, Swank, you come up with the dumbest crap.
"Howdy. And it wasn't much of a wait. I've been held up in much worse, I can assure you." The easy drawl in his voice evens out a bit as he looks up at the light and over towards the Samurai Schoolgirl. "For the record, I ain't here to take you down any pegs. Just here havin' a good time and representing the fine people of the Mojave."

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
Yuri leans over the railing of his hot air balloon, "Alright you guys! Make this a good fight and I want to see the two of you put on a good show for the crowd!" He pauses a moment, "WMAT Trivia, this is the second time that the Cowboy Courier has fought an eligible bachelorette in the opening round. And I do have to say, his opponent is looking quite radiant today."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
"Ego doesn't enter into this contest on either side, then," Satsuki replies, her voice carrying well over the sound of the helicopter; either from speakers or a natural projection, she can make herself heard quite nicely. "This tournament is a stage on which to test myself. That my first test would be last year's champion..." Her lips curl into a smile. "It's certainly an interesting twist of fate."

And then she leaps.

The sheath of her blade held in her left hand, the Queen of Honnouji simply jumps straight off the helicopter's ramp, going into a straight free-fall towards the tournament grounds. But no sooner has she leapt than her right arm goes to her left bicep, and snaps in three switches on the blue band there.

Blue stars shine. Crimson radiates from her bicep down her clothes. A net of black and red Life Fibers radiates outward. Fire and fabric roar as a beast, only to be restrained by tight straps. White and blue attire takes shape. Pulls tight. Towering shoulders erupt, eyes open.

"LIFE FIBER OVERRIDE!"
"KAMUI JUNKETSU!"

By the time her feet slam into the ring's surface, Satsuki is transformed. Bakuzan's sheath is cast aside carelessly, the blade held in her right hand. Her entire manner is calm - the stillness before the storm. "Come at me with all your skill, if you please."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
Johnny lets out a low whistle at both the transformation and the nature of the outfit and... and most of all the stern and imposing look she's giving him. A grin. Wait, what? Yup, definately a grin that vanishes as he puts the blank, expressionless riot helmet on, the red lenses of the armored headpiece flashing to light. His voice crackles through the external speaker on the front.

"Girl, I ain't intended to do a damn thing else."

The Courier's quickly loping backwards along the ring's surface, those red lenses going bright as he draws a heavy, retro-tech looking Plasma Rifle from under that duster, levelling it at his shoulder and letting lose a peppering series of bolts. Time to test the Nature of the Girl.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"Wowsers, folks! Satsuki transforms into a scandalous new fashion ensemble! If this is what Revocs sells, remind me to order a few outfits for FIA. Still, she looks steeled and prepared for a battle," He laughs slightly and then says, "But the Courier isn't too off guard by this transformation. A moment of admiration and then he opens with a hard volley."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
The very instant Courier pulls the trigger, his opponent is in motion. And she is /fast/. That outfit enhances everything about her well into the superhuman. Her blade whips up, snapping back and forth impossibly fast, outright parrying several of the plasma bolts as she rushes in. But enough of them are fired with enough precision to slip even her guard, and one catches her cleanly across the abdomen, scorching the skin; far less than bare skin should by all rights be burned by plasma weaponry, but still more than a little problematic.

More problematic, however, is the fact that Satsuki is practically in the cowboy's face already. She's not quite in reach just yet. But that doesn't stop her from whipping Bakuzan diagonally in a downward slash, and unleashing a single, cutting shockwave.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
At least it's not goddamn fire. Johnny's had enough of that bullshit to last a lifetime. Still, the wind slash catches Johnny just as he's reloading the rifle, blasting one of the microfusion cells apart nearly in his grasp. He snarls through the helmet's speaker, and blesses his lucky stars for decent armor and the fact that it was a depleted cell.
Still, he's got a girl up in his grill who can apparently take plamsa shots to bare flesh and not have too much trouble. Good. Those red lenses focus out, and Johnny plants a foot on Satsuki's belly, shoving at her to try and empty out the rest of another clip of plasma at her. Everyone wants to get up in his face, damn.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
Yuri stands up in his hot air balloon and leans over the edge, watching the blade parry several bolts, "Oh! Satsuki takes a mean couple bolts that hit her! But what should vaporize only scorches. I guess these clothes are risque, but not riSKY!" He chortles gently, "She fires back with a heavy shockwave slash that rattles the Courier's teeth a bit! Luckily New Vegas has a great dental plan, and the only solution he has to this right now is MORE PLASMA!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
The shove is well-timed enough that even with her strength, Satsuki is pushed off-balance, a success that surprises her enough to allow another plasma bolt through - this time it clips her left thigh, burning Junketsu's fabric and the skin underneath. "Interesting indeed," she murmurs, whipping Junketsu up, only to bring it left-right-left in a rapid series of slashes, displaying more of that incredible speed and unleashing more of those blade shockwaves.

But the first one was just a warm-up. These aren't bars of smashing force. The shockwaves are more refined, more narrow. They cut with almost as much sharpness as Bakuzan itself.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
And Johnny's growling quietly though the whole of it, the heavy ablative riot armor soaking up most of what would have sliced a normal foe in two. That plasma rifle is, however, neither armored nor tanky at all, and one of the slaces finally beats the snot out of the weapon, the energy cells going dead and shorting out impressively.
Johnny's helmet crackles, his voice coming out. "Damn girl, you are sure hard on the equipment. Let's try something else, shall we?"

He drops the busted shards of the rifle, and draws a long black staff from out of wherever it is he holds all his crap. Maybe that Pipboy of his. A breath in that helmet, and the end of the staff comes to life, a massive, electric purple blade of energy splitting forth out of the end of it. The Courier twirls the Protonic Inversion Axe to face Satsuki, and steps in once twice, trying to use his superior reach to score a hit on the spry and underdressed lady.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"More of those plasma bolts firing from his handgun! Satsuki is finding that those sting her quite a good deal! But she doesn't seem upset, just slightly impressed." He leans some more over the railing, "She fires a barrage of those shockwaves at the Courier, these ones a bit more slicey than the last. And boy do they look pretty painful. The Courier switches out weapons, his rifle broken. He gets out a really wicked lookin energy axe and swings heavily!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
An energy blade. This is different. So he intends to face her directly on her own turf, so to speak - in melee range. Wordlessly, Satsuki steps into the clash, bringing Bakuzan up to neatly parry the first strike... only to get surprised by the second, taking a direct slice down the chest. Not deep, but deep enough to hurt, to add to her growing list of injuries. She takes a step back and gives Courier a wary look-over, considering his stance, his physical attitude, with a much more critical swordswoman's eye.

"So there's more to the cowboy than guns," she observes. There's a certain vibrance to her voice that wasn't there before. The prospect seems to be waking her up, so to speak.

And then she takes a step and lunges in, lowering her shoulder as if cocking to bring her sword up in a brutal slice... but instead, she shoulders herself right into the Courier's arms, attempting to shove them aside with her own weight, and only /then/ deliver a single, fast slash with Bakuzan.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
If you're looking for a swordsman or axeman with finesse and fine technical, dueling form, you're not going to find that in Johnny. This is a lumberman's stance, the stance of a person who uses the axe on things much larger than Satsuki. But he's strong, very strong. Not quick enough to get his defense back in as she steps close though, that slash clipping him right through his armor and splashing blood all over the stadium.
The helmet crackles. "Didn't nobody tell you? I'm a science cowboy." There's a grin in his voice though, as that axe comes in and around to trap Satsuki and Junketsu close, twisting her against the shaft to attempt to align her body the wrong direction as he moves to get away.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"Satsuki seems to really be getting into this fight! Her movements and swordplay are that of a true warrior! She's matching blow for blow! But the cowboy isn't going to give an inch in this battle! Some fancy handwork with that axe he's holding." Yuri says simply, but excitedly.

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
At least Johnny's blood won't be alone on the arena floor. When he pulls away from the grapple, Satsuki's joins it, adding a deep cut on her left torso to complement the burn on the right. It's easily the deepest wound he's inflicted so far, and the set of the Council President's face gives away that she's feeling it even through the enhanced pain tolerance and toughness granted by her uniform.

And yet she's smiling.

In she rushes, waiting until he's only just turned to face her before unleashing a direct, forceful onslaught. Three slashes, fast and accurate, and then a fourth that turns out to be a feint. Instead, she lets out a booming, "HAAAAA!" and the sheer force of the kiai itself becomes a shockwave strong enough to blast a grown man clear off his feet, shattering the arena tile around herself and the cowboy.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
One.
Two.
Three.

Johnny swats at all three attacks, the flickering hateful purple blade of that axe trying to blunt the lot of them before he's blown right the hell on his ass by the last KIAI. There's the force he remembers from last year, the sort of madcap over the top destruction he's used to from this damn foolish place.
But he's not about to give up just yet, no sir.
He rolls forward and out of the rubble, coming up to his feet dragging the blade of that axe into the rubble behind him. Is his arm broken? The Axe comes around for a wide, haymaker of a swing, Johnny's right hand gripping the very end of the handle a-

And that hand with the Pipboy flashes out of the darkness of that duster, a massive 12.7mm pistol BARKING a retort at Satsuki. The red lenses flicker as the Courier plants shot after shot at Satsuki's center of mass, unloading the clip.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
Yuri slaps his hands down on the rim of the basket in his air balloon, "Wow! These two aren't pulling any punches! Every attack is a doozy, every swing is a shudderer! Satsuki uses those amazing sword techniques to swing a series of powerful slashes! She follows this up with some ki-powered baulder-ass-whopping powers! An the Courier really feels the sting of those moves! But that man is built tough and not gonna buckle under just some fancy sword work! He's drawing down with a powerful axe and pistol combo. What raw physicality!"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
And Satsuki's feint is answered with a feint in return. Her eyes widen, Bakuzan ready to intercept the axe only for the true attack to turn out to be an entirely too-large pistol. Her defense is last-second and sloppy, managing to cut the first two bullets cleanly in half, but the inhuman movement itself taxes her body hard enough to exacerbate the wounds she already has. And with the next two shots, her blade isn't even fast enough to manage that.

She just manages to divert the third from going straight through her, instead glancing off the flat of her blade and biting deep into her right bicep, and the last one? It manages to go right through that huge shoulder pauldron and out the other side, bringing with it a splatter of blood and a hiss of pain.

Anyone watching very, very carefully, may see just the faintest, briefest shudder, not from Satsuki, but from her outfit. It could very easily be missed, and almost be imagined even if it is spotted. Almost.

Nevertheless, the Queen of Honnouji is not done and not backing down. In a whirling movement, Satsuki whips her leg up, and then drives it straight down into the arena floor, an axe kick hard enough to shatter stone and knock a large chunk of it up into the air in front of her. Then comes a spinning side kick, with enough force to absolutely powder the chunk of arena, creating a cloud of dust that billows out right at the Courier. And with that for cover, Satsuki charges right in, going for a single low slash - aimed for one of Johnny's thighs, trying to destabilize his stance and reduce the strength he can bring to bear.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
Johnny sees the attack coming in, knows she's going for something more than just the stone, but the problem is he can't tank both at once. He drops the pistol to get a firm grip on his weapon, and the axe comes up and around to homerun swing the piece of the arena with the business end. But that leas his leg open, which makes it entirely understandable that he cries out in pain when the slice cracks open the armor down there, spraying more blood into the arena. He lets out a cry of pain, filtered into a blat of noise by the speaker on his gas mask...

And then something clicks nearby to Satsuki's head. It's that Pipboy of his. There's a little ping of energy, of noise, of math, of data and statistics and calculations. It's been computing.
And just as fast as Satsuki's been moving, Johnny's whole body shifts and moves, like he's being dragged by wires into exactly the right position.

He swats at the Queen's face with the butt of the Axe, attemtping to stun her, before taking three downward swing, his body aiming directly into her predicted dodges.

What a cheat.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"Satsuki is caught out by that axe-pistol feint combo! She splits the lethal shot in half, but the act of doing so has exacerbated her wounds! A common problem with superhuman abilities used by normal people!" Yuri educates the audience, "But she's coming back in with her own heavy slash, trying to take the Courier's legs out from under him. The Courier can feel the pain on it, but he doesn't want to give up. Like they say in Vegas 'If the chips are down, double or nothing!'. And he aims a bit of a combo with that axe." Yuri pauses, "Incidentally, speaking of doubling up, the Ultra-Luxe on the New Vegas strip would like you to know they've now added over a dozen new worlds currency to their already massive catalogue of accepted money sources. The Ultra-Luxe, for luxury from all worlds and a unique taste in elegance that you will always remember."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
For a moment. For just a brief, breathless moment. Satsuki moves at the very limits of the speed that Junketsu can give her. Her body cries out at the sheer strain. But she moves. She brings Bakuzan up. She parries the smack to her face and then cleanly blocks the axe swing. Her wounds, just starting to bleed a bit more slowly, begin to pour forth red again. That cost her. But it prevented a much worse injury.

And it leaves the two of them face-to-face. And Satsuki with one hand free.

When Satsuki punches, she punches for the center of mass. And the force is enough to create a cone-shaped crater in the arena, even if Johnny happens to be between her fist and the area behind him.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
Johnny has never had that happen before. She's fully dodged a V.A.T.S barrage at close range. The moment only stuns him long enough to drop his axe to the stadium floor. He's going to need his hands free to-
And then he's face to face with the Queen, the Samurai, the Lady of REVOCS, and that gas mask is implacable.
He can feel the force of the blow rock his chest and he staggers back, a hand dipping into his duster. His bag of tricks still hasn't run out, possible won't ever run out. The Courier is a Man of Science, and Science has so many magical fields. Like Hydraulics.

Johnny's gas mask crackles, and he lets out a warm, happy murmur. "Pretty lady, it's an honor to fight you."

And then that hand comes back out, a massive Power Fist on the end. And he sets his feet, launching a single, massive straight jab at Satsuki, aiming to blast her right back across the arena. "HHHHHHYYAAAAAAA!"

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"Satsuki is looking tired, but not ready to pack it in yet! She blocks the axe, but doesn't look too comfortable doing so. Still, she comes in to try to swing a few punches the Courier's way!" He pauses a moment, "But the Courier manages to take those shots like a champ. Square in the chest and rocked back a bit. He wants to punch back! With that big ol' fist, no less!"

Yuri sighs a bit, "Both of them are such a mess by now! Luckily, they can stop off at the Revocs booth right after the match and replace their mussed up clothes with the latest in Revocs fashion. Whether you're looking for elegant evening wear or rugged clothes for the workaholic, Revocs has you covered."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
And then Johnny manages to take the full strength of her fist, or deflect it, or /something/ - she isn't sure what just happened, and the naked surprise on her face at Johnny's ability to negate concrete-shattering force is no small thing. "What-?!"

And then she receives a punch of her own, right to the center of mass. Hard enough to crack ribs, even through her Kamui. Hard enough to knock her clear across the arena, into a tumbling slide from which she only recovers with a fair degree of effort. There is a moment where she has to simply breathe, to gather herself. But then she forces herself straight, lifting Bakuzan up in that one-handed grip and pointing it at the Cowboy from across the arena.

"And you have been a splendid opponent as well, Cowboy Courier."

She slings the weapon around behind herself, holding it low and away, with her injured left shoulder forward. "But I believe it's time we brought this match to an end." Satsuki's foot shifts, and the stone cracks beneath that blue high heel. And in the next moment, she's pushing off, arena shattering under her feet with sheer strength. She hurls herself towards Johnny, not even charging any more so much as lunging with the kind of strength that can tear apart buildings, throwing herself like a projectile and bringing Bakuzan up, over and down with a booming kiai and all the strength Junketsu can grant her one-armed slash. Even avoiding the edge of Bakuzan itself is no guarantee, the immense power behind the strike bringing with it a positively crushing collateral shockwave. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
If there's ever been a lady in Johnny's life, it's been Lady Luck, the one gal who's ver let him down. But Lady Luck is pressing her time thin with Johnny tonight. From botched VATS to the fact he drew against the strongest person he's probably ever fought in this damn tournament to the sheer audacity of Satsuki's Indomitable Will.

But Luck Is Still With The Courier, as he manages to roll an armored shoulder into the brunt of the blade attack from the Kamui-empowered Queen of High School. The weapon, thankfully, does not break. Johnny nearly does though, his whole body wracked with the impact of getting stomped on by the Missle that is Junketsu. And ever and still the emotionless eyes of that riot mask look up at Satsuki in the base of that strike, her energy still echoing into the arena, and he SHIFTS.

His hand lashes out to try and snag at that long black hair, his fist trying to hurl her into the arena floor and deck her once more with that Power Fist.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
"That heavy blow lands upon Satsuki and you can feel the impact even up here in the commentator's balloon! A bone-breaking blow from the courier! And while that would be the end of most people, Satsuki gets right back up and presses her assault. That massive blade comes up to land a DEVASTATING hit on the Courier. BUT LIKE A CHASTE GIRL ON A FIRST DATE HE REFUSES TO GO DOWN! He lashes out, trying to just grab his opponent and pummel her out with that fist."

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
For a second time, Satsuki is utterly shocked by the Courier's sheer grit. The arena around them shatters, and yet Johnny remains unbowed. This time, there is only the shocked expression.

And then she finds herself slammed hard onto the arena floor, an impact made all the worse by the injuries she's already suffered - especially those ribs. When she hits, blood is coughed up. But before that fist can come down towards her again, Satsuki turns. Her left arm whips up, catching the powerfist barehanded, or at least as barehanded as she can be while wearing Junketsu. With all her strength, she plants her right foot and pushes, shoving herself up to her feet againt through sheer brute strength, and in the same motion first pushes the Courier's fist back, then shoves it hard to the side, putting it out of the way.

The forward motion leaves no room for her to bring Bakuzan to bear. He's inside her reach. But she has a much simpler weapon she can still use to hit Johnny with, putting all that Kamui-enhanced strength behind it.

It's called 'her forehead'.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
Finally, there's a cracking noise from the Courier's body, more specifically that helmet, as one of the red lenses smashes open, leaving a very surprised looking Johnny staggering to stand. The speaker on his gas mask is busted, but now that there's a hole in that helmet, Satsuki can hear him directly again. "Heh. Ow." And then he's slumping over to roll to his back, waving at whoever will see, mostly Satsuki. "Done done done call... call somebody ow jesus ow."

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
Yuri is clapping heavily as he hovers overhead in the hot air balloon, "What a finish, what a finish! Satsuki, battered and bruised, uses her head to defeat her opponent! Literally. A mighty headbutt brings the Cowboy Courier down for the count and calling for the towel to be thrown in! What an amazing display of grit, determination, and combat prowess on both their parts! Still, in the end, it will be SATSUKI KIRYUIN who advances to Round 2"

Satsuki Kiryuin (430) has posed:
And with blood streaming down from her forehead as well, Satsuki forces herself to stand up straight, regarding Johnny with a calm expression despite the injuries all over. "That was a splendid duel," she declares simply. "It has been a long time since someone has pressed me so." She sweeps Bakuzan around herself in a flourish and then turns, striding away across the arena...

Towards Bakuzan's discarded sheath, lying there untouched among the rubble.

High overhead, that helicopter swoops in again, moving in to collect the Queen of Honnouji and bear her back to her kingdom.