"Fine, but trying to hold back to not crush this guy but give enough force to force the mark out isn't that easy. I'm not that good a pulling punches...and it even less so." Tayuya said to Sakon in reference to herself and her doku before she began to play a new tune as her doki lifted up the club and slammed it back down as Tayuya began the process of trying to beat the curse mark out of Zaku. Whether his body broke before that happened or not remained to be seen but Tayuya simply did what her job was to do. Worst case scenario, she'd blame Sakon for giving the order.
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Azumi simply stared at the Nara-nin as she seemed to keep a neutral expression as she heard the ninja give his apology. After a minute, Azumi simply gave a nod.
"Fair enough, just keep your eyes forward. All things considered I'm just surprised that one of the Nara clan would be dashing through the streets. From what I've heard, your clan isn't none for such...excitement." Azumi said which caused the Nara to rub the back of his head sheepishly though he himself tried to keep the same cool expression Azumi had.
"Yeah, well I wasn't aware it was gonna rain tonight. Came out of nowhere. Kinda a bummer, especially given I don't have an umbrella. The Nara admitted, as he had on reflex stood under Azumi's umbrella to shield himself from the rain. While Azumi, and for that matter that Nara, seemed not comfortable with this close proximity, neither said anything to that effect before the Nara spoke up.
"Takato. Takato Nara. In case you wanted to get a name with a face." Takato said as he introduced himself while Azumi stared at him with an seemingly disinterested expression before she let out a sigh.
"Azumi Noriko. And I say if you want to continue this chat we should find shelter so we can get some...space." Azumi proposed as Takato nodded before the two walked to find some shelter from the rain.
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Tomiko's body seemed to twitch in place, her face seemed disgruntled as it appeared something was wrong; Tomiko seemed uncomfortable and her heart rate began to speed up.
The nurse had been quick to act, as she went in with the intent to stabilize Tomiko while Madoka looked on in concern; she felt so utterly useless right now. All Madoka could do was watch and hope for the best as she wondered what was going on with her friend.
"Tomiko, hang in there. You have to get through this."
Within the mental battle, Kiro had picked the young Tomiko with his electricity as he slammed her against a non-existent wall before he slammed her to the floor toss and then proceeded to toss her away. Tomiko rolled along the floor, as her young and battered body laid on its side; helpless and at the mercy of Kiro. Who looked on with that cold glare as his Sharingan-eyes stared daggers through Tomiko.
"Just accept your fate. Accept your place below those with the talent to thrive in this world and allow yourself a final rest. There's nothing waiting for you but more pain and disappointment. It's pointless to keep going, it's pointless to try and be something beyond what you are, it's pointless to try. Now stay down..." Kiro said as the figure simply stared at Tomiko and waited for the young girl to respond. But between the pain and the shame of everything, she had remained silent...
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"So, how did your match go? It appeared you went through the ringer." Sakura commented on, as she had no way to know if Kenji had won or loss his battle though given his condition going into his match and the way he had been now, in the back of her mind she may have known the answer which mirrored what Kenji said as he rubbed the back of his head and frowned.
"Yeah...I didn't win." Kenji admitted, which had clearly upset him so Sakura placed an arm on his hand as she looked him in the eye.
"I don't mean to make you feel worse. I didn't win my fight either." Sakura added on as Kenji frowned in response to that, though not for the reason Ino presumed.
"If only, if only you didn't take time to nurse me back in the forest. If you had been fully rested, and didn't waste hours on me, you might have advanced." Kenji said as he felt he had let Sakura down. Sakura knew she had to correct this mindset as she used a free hand to direct Kenji's gaze back up to her eyes as he had looked down and away from her.
"Hey, without you I wouldn't have made it through the forest. Don't blame yourself, my opponent had to deal with the same obstacles we all did so no one had an advantage. It just wasn't meant to be. Besides I'll take being part of the "losers club" over leaving a friend on their own when they are in need." Sakura added on, but then Ino let out a sigh as she glanced at the pair with a frown and her arms folded over her chest.
"Oh come on. I didn't even make it to the 3rd Exam prelims and you don't hear me whining about it. So you both came up short, so what? Losing this one exam this one year does not make you both losers. There is always next year and all this means if you have to work that much harder to ensure this doesn't happen again." Ino said, as both Sakura and Kenji had listened to her speech and had to admit she had a fair point. Something Sakura had been quick to comment on as she had gotten over the shock and smiled at her friend.
"Thanks Ino, same goes for you."