2895/WMAT AQ1 Dex Alruin vs Shizune Nakamura

WMAT AQ1 Dex Alruin vs Shizune Nakamura
Date of Scene:	24 August 2015
Location:	WMAT Arena - Spinach Wastes
Synopsis:	Dex Alruin pushes himself to the limits in a qualifiers match against Shizune Nakamura!
Cast of Characters:	332, 369
Tinyplot:	WMAT 2015

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Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    It's a pleasant evening in the Spinach Wastes, and Shizune is more than happy to enjoy it! Her previous match with Shin has made the whole thing worth it already, but getting to experience the beautiful scenery on this world is a bonus she'll never get tired of, as is the opportunity to fight even more opponents - including, of course, the young man she's here to do battle with today.

    The martial artist has picked herself a spot on a small hill within the battleground, waiting quietly with arms folded behind her back. A fair few audience members are yelling her way, but aside from an amused little smile, she doesn't respond. She knows she's got both fans and detractors from her previous WMAT showings. There'll be time for interacting with them later.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex... was pretty bummed as he makes his way into the arena. He's bandaged visibly in places, but his battle armor is in place, the crimson fedora and duster blowing slighty as he walks. He draws his bow silently, looking down at the ground as he pulls an arrow from his quiver. He glances up toward his opponent, then rolls his neck a bit as he draws into a firing position. He closes his eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath as he straightens up.

    "Let's just get this over with," he says, "We both know the outcome, but I'm at least gonna make you feel it before I lose."

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    The look Shizune gives Dex is, more than anything else, disappointment. Not at the opponent himself; but rather, as her words demonstrate, at his demeanor going into the fight. Sigh. "Honestly, that's a horrid attitude to come into a fight with. Defeat is assured in the mind long before it's assured in the ring, and even if your opponent will beat you for certain, it's still a learning experience. More practice is never bad."

    Nevertheless, she takes in a slow, deep breath, and adopts a ready stance. "Regardless, I'm coming, Dex. I can only attack in close range, so try to hold your advantage as long as you can." And, true to her word, she launches in towards Dex at a straight run. He's got a free shot, but she doesn't seem willing to let the opportunity last long!

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex smirks a bit. "Hard to hold a mindset outside of the certain outcome, you know. But... I told you... you're not going to forget this!" He leaps back, drawing the string of his bow back and focusing. He can track Shizune's movements toward him, but he's not fast enough to stop her from closing the gap. So...

    He aims to slow her down rather than speed himself up. The first arrow is loosed, sailing toward Shizune's knee, before a flurry of shots follows suit, aiming to tangle and damage her legs and allow him a bit more time not being punched to pieces. "Maybe I'll hold up longer than I did against Shin, but honestly? I doubt it. Might as well work on my disables before I see stars!"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    Well, at least he's not beating himself up over the inevitable loss, Shizune decides. That's a good thing.

    In the martial artist dashes, arms pumping, watching Dex's every movement with an acute eye, waiting until the exact moment he looses his first arrow before turning her next step into a diagonal 'hop' - and springing from there upward, the movement causing her to glide briefly, just high enough over the ground to avoid Dex's arrows. It's a near thing; she's fast, but she's only human, and evading them is the limit of what she can do with pure physicality.

    Nevertheless, it gives Shizune the chance she needs to close in, dropping into what almost seems like a baseball slide; save that it stops just in front of Dex, in just the right spot for a quick snap kick at his midsection.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    The kick, to a normal Elite, might have hurt, sure. But to Dex, it drives every ounce of wind from his lungs and sends him flying back. He lands on his feet, though he totters unsteadily for a good moment. He coughs, a rough sound that brings a bit of red up with it, before he's able to recover himself fully and straighten up. He shakes his head, drawing and nocking another arrow. "Damnit...!" he growls, before he unleashes another onslaught. This one, however, brings with it Bel'thede's holy silver flames. He's tossing accuracy to the wayside, or so it might appear, the spread of arrows seeming random.

    Instead, he is trying to adjust and predict Shizune's movements, placing his arrows where, hopefully, she'll run right into them!

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    Shizune comes up and actually takes a step back or so, giving herself room to work with. She's careful, light on her feet, shifting in a slow circle to watch what Dex does next. She's cautious enough to wait for him to make the first move; and as soon as one of those silver-flame arrows is loosed, the martial artist darts forward, shifts, and dives right in past the projectile, dropping in a quick and low roll to undercut the barrage and close range with Dex again before he can adjust his aim.

    This time, her attack is a simple palm strike, aimed for Dex's chest rather than his abdomen - no knocking the wind out of him, this time.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Nope. Wind stays firmly in tact, but there's an unsettling sound of something not remaining in tact. He's knocked back, eyes going wide as he takes the hit much like a piece of paper taking one of his fire arrows: not well. He sinks to one knee, slamming a fist into the ground. A small yellow bar appears above his head, partly filled and filling a bit more. The number 3 can be seen for a moment next to it, before it seems to almost shimmer away. "D... damn...!" he cries, before pulling himself back to his feet. "I... DAMNIT!" He nocks a set of five arrows onto the string at once, before turning his bow and drawing back. "I can't even hit you... and I can tell you're holding back, just like Shin did! Go full force! It's... it's the only way! HAA!"

    The arrows are loosed, flying in a fan shape in front of him before he breaks into a sprint. Not... not away from Shizune, but toward her? It seems the arrows might be a feint, as he leaps toward the martial artist, swinging his bow like a club toward her!

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    It's a spread of arrows that surprises Shizune indeed; she's expecting some peculiar sort of attack out of it, looking left and right, only to have Dex suddenly charge in and bring his bow down on her head. Trained reflexes bring her arm up in time to halt the blow, though simply doing so stings. It gives her a moment, at least, to address Dex, holding him there for a moment. "I'm going easy because if I end this fight quickly, you won't learn anything except how to nurse bruises. I can still push your limits without absolutely crushing you." Sniff. "Besides, I wouldn't enjoy that either."

    This time, the attack is not a strike, but a pull; Shizune moves inward, taking one of Dex's wrists in one hand and grabbing him at the shoulder with her other. It's a simple maneuver that hooks her leg behind his and then twists, meant to throw off his center of gravity and slam him to the ground.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex shakes his head. The attack has no power behind it, not really anyway, and now he's got nowhere to run. "That's not the point!" he says, "This tournament... I knew I wouldn't make it anywhere, but I needed to test whether I could gain anything from it!" He is driven into the ground, and that odd bar pops up over his head again, filling a little more. It's maybe a fifth of the way full.

    He hits the dirt, head bouncing off the ground and causing his vision to blank out. "The answer," he says, tongue feeling coated in fuzz, "is no." He can taste the blood welling up. "I can't compete. I can't unlock any of my power..." He pushes back to his feet, before grabbing two arrows from his sheath and stabbing out blindly for Shizune. "It was a waste of time...! So end it!"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    The sudden stab of arrows is a surprise; Shizune backpedals slightly, and her instinctive defense actually gets her arm some shallow cuts for her trouble. There's a growing frown on her face. "...Then the most intelligent thing to do would be to walk away. If you refuse to gain any combat experience, if you can't draw out more of your power, if you're going into it with such a fatalistic attitude, then sticking around doesn't accomplish anything but a stay with the med teams. In a tournament like this, no one will think less of you, or anyone else, for throwing in the towel."

    She takes a breath. "But if you're not going to leave the field, I'm going to assume you still want to fight. And if you insist on that..." There's a moment's pause, and then Shizune slides in. It's a smooth, graceful movement. It's an advance and an attack at the same time, a quick move forward that suddenly changes into a side-shift, and during that side-shift she brings her palm up, this time with a strike aimed for Dex's shoulder. It will only just glance off his arm, but it's aimed in just such a way to deliver force at just such an angle as to cause a fair amount of harm, and this time she's augmenting her blow with ki besides.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex snarls. "Don't lecture me. You, who have strength. Don't bother. I have to test this theory, and I'll put my body through whatever hell I have to to do so!" As the next strike comes in, Dex's arm goes from ready to dead in one snap. It hangs to his side as his fedora snaps out of existence, and then his bow drops to the ground and the light around it vanishes as well. There's a scream, but it soon shifts over to a laugh. The bar appears again, filling a little more. "There it is...!" he roars, before he twirls an arrow from his sheath with his good hand. "I have a theory my body learns more through failure than success. Why else would all my abilities be so painful to use?" He steps forward, attempting to stab at Shizune with all the force he can muster. "So, let's see... if it holds water!"

    The arrow in his hand ignites, burning his hand a bit as it races toward Shizune. "Bring it! I won't let up... not til I fall!"

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    "I, who have strength," Shizune agrees, waiting until Dex lunges in - it's a tricky move, and the fire is what gets her this time, a burn on her arm that will leave her smarting for a good while. But she uses it to trap Dex's other arm, holding him so that he can't escape. "That I /worked for/. That I got punched for. That I got thrown on the mat countless times for. I'm good, yes. I'm strong, yes. But I got this way by practicing, by working myself hard each and every day. But if I tossed myself into the fire like you do when I was as new to fighting as you are, I would never have accomplished anything but crippling myself for /life/! I will lecture you if I damn well please, because I've /been/ where you are now, and because if my life's work is going to be teaching people how to fight, I have to start somewhere!"

    And then she turns that into another slam, this time outright shoulderthrowing Dex down to the ground, and not particularly holding herself back. "Certainly, you might learn more from defeat than victory! But asking your opponents to hit you full force? Demanding we make crippling strikes? What are you going to do when someone deals you an injury the Union can't fix? What are you going to do when you permanently hobble yourself and doom your world?" It's an incredibly rare thing to see; Shizune doesn't get worked up easily, but she seems genuinely /upset/ over Dex's self-treatment.

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex's hand drops the arrow on reflex, his arm grabbed by Shizune. He's... He's in pretty bad shape, and now he knows there's no hope. So... he listens. The panic, all of his fire, seems to die away. "How hard do I have to work? How many times do I have to push myself in simulations to get anywhere?" He shakes his head. "I'm a crack shot with a bow, for a normal human. But... normal doesn't help here. I have to be extraordinary! So... I've tried dueling beings stronger than me, only to have my ass saved by the Union. I've tried pushing my sims to their limit, but there's nowhere left to go. So... I tried this. I'm weak, Shizune. Look at me. Even with you holding back..." There's blood on his lips from internal damage. "How can I stand a chance unless I forge myself in the fires of live combat? What... what can I do to not... be... normal?!"

    He's flipped, and the impact breaks ribs, driving the wind from Dex's lungs. He rolls away, grimacing and screaming in pain, before he pushes himself up.

    It's a poor stance at best, and a broken form at worst. He coughs, and a red mist sprays across the air. "I... know you're right..." he says, staggering as he stands. "I... I can't do /this/. But... I had to try it... to be sure." He stumbles forward, shaking his head. "I'm done. I give. You win this one."

Shizune Nakamura (369) has posed:
    When Dex stumbles, Shizune is there to make sure he doesn't fall.

    "You can be patient," she says, carefully supporting him. "Work at it. Day in, day out. Practice everything you're good at. Shore up your weak points. I'm as good as I am because I spend a half an hour every morning, right after waking up, practicing my Tenryuu Taikyokuken. And /then/ I go to dojo for a few hours a day, five days a week. And on top of /that/, I go out and fight alongside fellow Union members, enter tournaments, anything I can to hone my fist. More than that, will come when it comes. And the most important part of all, by far. I rely on my allies. There are plenty of stronger Elites than me out there. They'd hand me my backside on a silver platter if I went out there alone. So I don't go out there alone. Now come on, let's get you to the medics."

Dex Alruin (332) has posed:
    Dex totters, nearly falling on Shizune. He listens to her advice with his eyes closed, nodding slowly in cadence with her words. "I guess... that's all there is to it, huh...?" he chuckles weakly. "I just hope this isn't that breaking point you were talking about, you know? Regardless, I'm... eliminated. I guess it's time to go back to it, once I recover..." He marches forward, head held up as he limps out of the arena with Shizune's support.