Ask to Join Naruto: One's Nindo

[DarkHydraT]

"You've got that right, on both accounts. You already got me to get rid of my shirt and now you've got me pinned. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you had some unresolved issues regarding me." Winking at Tomiko, Mori saw the punch headed his way. There was no shame in letting it hit, it would only be beneficial to his health, he knew that. Yet, maybe because Tomiko infected him, he wanted to continue. Sending his fingers through the motions, the boy vanished in smoke after one last quip. "You've got yourself to blame for my desire to fight." In his place, there was a last molotov that had a lit fuse.

Mori reappeared at the nearest wall of the arena, falling onto his knees as he looked at his leg. The pain was incredible, if he was a lesser person, he'd be impressed by it. Judging by the angle of his leg and how he fell to the ground the moment he stood, that leg was definitely broken. If that bomb didn't work, then there was no way for him to fight back. He knew a losing battle when he saw one, and that was exactly why he didn't want to face Tomiko head-on. It was like fighting a bull, there was no way to win it when charging head first. The least he could do was grant Tomiko the satisfaction to punch his smug face in though.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko's eyes widened as she had no time to respond to the quip, as within a moment Mori had vanished just before she could land the punch and in its place had been a Molotov cocktail. Tomiko had no time to form a jutsu to defend or escape this, all she could do was pull her hands in a guard as one word crossed the mind of the kunoichi.

Shit!

Boom!
​

The cocktail exploded as Tomiko was shot out in a ball of fire, Tomiko screamed out as she rolled on the dirt. She had managed to keep the flames from her face and her gauntlets protected her arms, as everywhere else seemed to be scattered with flames which had only made things worse after the force of the explosion. Tomiko slammed her limbs and rolled her body along the dirt as she aimed to aggressively snuff out the fire before she had been burned to a crisp. She even slammed herself against some debris of rock and slowly the fires petered out from her body but as Tomiko lied down the damage had been done. The kunoichi had some burn marks along her and the force of the point-blank explosion had rocked her with the strong shockwave.

-----​

The crowd looked on, having shifted concerns from the young boy to the girl as momentum seemed to flip and from many POVs it seemed that Mori had landed the decisive shot. Certainly Azumi seemed to think so, as she looked on from the crowd he noted the last sequence of events as Tomiko lied on the ground burned and seemingly beaten as she sighed to herself.

Seems he had one more surprise up his sleeve after all, this match is over...​

-----​

Tomiko panted, she had never felt pain like this. It would be easy enough to call it here, she needed to get these burns treated and Mori had shown he had been more of deserving to advance. There had been no shame in admitting defeat to a worthy rival and friend after all. And yet...

Slam!

-----​

As Azumi had turned to go, perhaps to prepare for her expected match with Mori, she stopped when she had heard some gasps as she turned. Much as Mori had miraculously survived that quake strike, it seemed that the Iwa Kunoichi dug deep to work to a knee as she punched the floor to help her stand up. Azumi had watched these events unphased for the longest time, but this sequence seemed to stir some genuine surprise out of the Ame Kunoichi.

There's....still fight in her?

-----​

Tomiko panted as she worked her way up to her feet. Fresh and visible burn marks along her arm and legs along with some scorched clothing at the end of her shirt was on full display, and yet, in spite of what had been a horrific visual when the kunoichi glanced up at Mori all she had to offer was a smile.

"G-good shot Mori. Guess that serves me right for underestimating your resolve. Believe me, I won't make that mistake again." Tomiko had complimented, of all things which much like Mori's survival earlier had baffled some in the crowed.

Tomiko knew she had to keep fighting, she owed it to herself to push this as far as she could. She owed it to Mori to give him the respect of her absolute best, and with a chance to make one step forward towards her dream she had no quit in her even as she tried to mask the pain that rocked her body. She slammed her gauntlets together as she assumed a boxer's stance and seemed to get set for another round.

"I'm still in this Mori, so give me your best shot!"​

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi smashed her hands against the ground, creating a strong whirlwind that sent her flying in the air and above the big cat's attack. In the air she took out two smoke bombs and threw them towards the cat, aiming not to blind it, but to hide her sisters from it and force it to focus on Asahi.

"You're a terrible cat! Meow!" Asahi landed on her two legs and once again took her fighting stand. "But I will give you the option to join us, in exchange I promise to feed you, brush you, pet you and play with you." Asahi reached into her pouch and took out two cookies. "Here big kitty pspspspspsp."

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori let out a sigh and closed his eyes as he heard his molotov go off. This had to be it, right? Tomiko would be badly injured, be forced to end the match and he'd get to advance. It was cruel, but such was the life of ninja. He wasn't proud of it, but he couldn't not go all out against his old friend. She deserved that much. The boy prepared to say a prayer for her when he heard movement. Mori's eyes shot open as he glanced at Tomiko's burned and battered body

It couldn't be.....she's still going?!

To the shock of the audience and Mori, Tomiko managed to stand up again after basically turning into a human candle. Shaking his head, Mori chuckled. He knew Tomiko was hard to kill, but this was far beyond his wildest expectations. Such willpower, incredible! Maybe she truly can become Tsuchikage...

"Very well, Tomiko. I suppose your drive has affected my own, so thank you for that. I suppose it's true, when you wish upon a star, it doesn't matter who you are. You deserve to be in the next round as much one can, but I am not going to go down quietly. You have given me the fight of my life, so it is only fair that I return the favor." Using his sheated wakizashi, the Iwa-genin got up from the ground, putting all his weight on the non-broken leg. He couldn't show that he was in pain, it would be unfair to Tomiko who had to suffer through something so much worse. Smiling at his friend who still stood strong in spite of her own condition, the boy grabbed the hilt of his wakizashi as a certain fondness began to form itself in his chest.

"Let's end this here, Tomiko. It has been an honor to fight you, but only one of us can advance." Holding the scabbard in front of him, the boy drew his weapon before discarding the scabbard and smiling at Tomiko. "May the best ninja win." It felt cheap to use a sword instead of his fists, but he knew Tomiko would not agree with that. For a second, he considered using tar to ignite his sword, but he had no bombs left and he really did not want to use chakra when he was in this state. Slowly increasing pressure on his broken leg, the boy checked how much weight it could handle before he tried his best to run at Tomiko, slashing at the girl diagonally. He would have no regrets if he lost after this match, he did his best.

 

[jade421]

Yua landed on the ground as soon the section of the field had been covered by her poison spray. It would hang in the air for a solid minute or two before it would eventually fade with the air which granted her some time to move about the veil as she tried to find Tsuki. Yua had no way to know if she managed to get some of the poison in the girl's system, but she operated on the assumption she had some way to counter it to be on the safe side. Yua had kept a staff in one hand and pulled a pair of kunai with the other, kunai laced with the poison off her palms as her goal was to scout Tsuki and try to deliver a strike that'd be able to bypass her defenses and get to work to get poison inside her. But it seemed her foe was more than fine so far in this, as the sound of an explosion near her clued her in to Tsuki's counter attack. Yua began to up the tempo as she ran faster. The explosion missed her but had the effect of blowing some of the poison away which cleared the field, and effect repeated as a second explosion seemed to land just ahead of her which caused her to cartwheel back.

More of the poison had literally been blasted away, and as it had the figure of Yua's outline became clearer for Tsuki, but this worked both ways as Yua soon began to make out what seemed to be a bowl-headed shape ahead of her as she acted accordingly. A third exploison by the side blew away even more of the poison, but no sooner had that shockwave passed than Yua tossed a pair of her poisoned kunai. One aimed for Tsuki's shoulder, the other the side of that bowl outline as she presumed whatever that was had protected her. Yua worked to dash to advance and try to mask herself with what of the poison had remained before it faded completely.

She is clever if nothing else, can't let up here.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Nekomata Fortress (Sept 25 5:35 pm, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

The Skillful Star rose to her feet with a grunt. Bloodied but no worse for wear, she could take a licking and keep on ticking. The chakra in her body circulated rapidly, her body and hair invigorated by its flow.

Sagisō pushed Karui’s hands away gently. “Save your chakra for serious injuries.”

Her eyes swayed over to their opponent; in spite of the smoke, Nekomata’s hulking figure couldn’t be hidden. “He’s strong…we’ll have to get serious.”

Sagisō loosed her hair from its boney confinement, allowing it to fall freely across her back. With nothing to keep it bound, her hair gained significant volume; it shrouded her back and even encroached on her sides, protecting her rear and both flanks. It wasn’t just for defense…

Sagisō’s arms crossed, and her fingers pinched at the strands of hair to her sides. Within seconds strands of hair had woven themselves into shuriken; slower than she’d liked, but this was one of her newer techniques. She wasn’t as adept with it.

Her arms snapped forward; the woven shuriken sent in high arcs through the smoke. Sagisō called into the smoke, “Take cover!” That was for Asahi’s benefit. Moments later, the hair-shuriken detonate—like a spring-trap filled with needles. Each shuriken scattered hair in every direction, creating a high-density shower of needles. The hair-senbon pierced into the concrete walls around them, and naturally, their opponent had also been—

“That tickles hehe…”

The smoke shifted, and quick as lightning, Nekomata lashed out with his tail. Sagisō jumped, avoiding the heavy tail as it smashed into her previous position, reducing what was left of the shattered wall to rubble. She would’ve hoped Karui had dodged as well, but she didn’t have the extra energy to check. Out of the smoke came a second tail! Just as quick as the first, it struck Sagisō from the air and sent her skipping across the ground.

This time, the girl didn't go down. She sprung to her feet almost immediately after landing. There was a trickle of blood leaking from her lips, but she had clearly taken less damage than one might expect. With both supernatural strength and supernatural poofiness, her hair had acted as a literal damage sponge, absorbing the shock from the blow and cushioning her impacts even as she was ragdolled.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko felt her body shake, the sheer pain she had felt was likely overwhelming had she not managed to push past it through adrenaline and sheer force of will. Of course, that had only been able to do so much as this aching pain surged through her being as so much a a step was likely to spread the burning sensation all the more and it had not been pleasant. None the less, she bit her lip and worked to suck it up as Mori seemed to push on even with what seemed to be a badly injured leg, so what excuse had she had to quiet now just cause of a couple burns?

No, Mori deserved better than that. She had to prove she was better than that!

"Hey, I say seeing you now inspires me all the more. Got some real grit there, it's quite admirable and I am happy to hear it. Let's make this a finish to remember~!" Tomiko smiled, as like Mori she had no regrets to what was to come. If she lost, she had given her best shot and had been defeated by a more than worthy opponent. There was nothing else one could ask for, and as Mori drew upon his trusted blade Tomiko had her gauntlets at the ready as she soon had began to advance to her foe and friend. Each step had felt like someone lit matches under her feet, one of her arms the one that lacked much of a sleeve had sever burn marks even by comparison but she had nothing else she'd be able to call upon. A jutsu in her body's state would likely do as much damage to her as it would Mori so she had to go with what she could, and if she trusted one thing it was the gauntlets and those fists they protected.

Tomiko measured the pace she could move at, and has also tried her best to run. Azumi and others in the crowd looked on to what could perhaps be a final exchange, if the state of both competitors had been anything to go by. Tomiko guessed she had one good arm to try to strike with, if she could land a clean punch she might be able to knock Mori out but he came with an equally decisive shot with his sword as the pair closed on each other. Tomiko couldn't block this with a free hand and attack with the other as she tried before, so she either had to commit to an attack or move back to avoid the slash. Tomiko figured she had little reserves left, so gambled that she could land her strike before Mori could. Tomiko put what strength she could into her legs and charged inside Mori's range as she aimed to deliver a knockout uppercut before his sword could make contact with all the strength she had left.

One way or another, the match was likely to be decided in this exchange!​

 

[=Nightshade=]

Karui skirted around behind the massive cat, skimming close to the ground as she undid the tie that held her khopesh at her side, drawing the weapon. She brought it to bear as her free hand formed rapid hand signs. “Wind Style: Wind Scythe Jutsu!” she recited as she whipped her sword in front of her several times, sending three great slashes of wind at the monster cat’s body as she came around its opposite side.

The wind from a slash of claws passed mere centimeters above her head as Karui ducked wildly, and her left foot caught on a raised stone. She skidded, flipping out of the air to regain her balance, and stumbled a few steps as her wings reformed just in time to propel her out of the path of a tail thicker than she’d be able to wrap her arms around. She couldn’t tell if her attack had been effective at all, but right now she had to keep mobile to avoid being struck down by a heavy attack. If she were taken out, there would be no one to heal the others. I am unsure whether I have enough chakra in my entire body to paralyze that cat even if I had prolonged contact with intense focus. I can’t rely on my stingers for this; it’ll take all three of us to even have a chance at beating it.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Every step felt like his last one, like his leg would finally snap and his bones would pierce his skin for all to see. Mori knew that he was being dumb by pushing his body this hard, but Tomiko wasn't stopping either and she was in objectively worse condition than him. Who was he to complain? Tomiko deserved that, he was not going to back down and disrespect her drive to become better.

As Tomiko's fist came close to uppercut him, Mori dodged to the side on a reflex before he fell to the ground, biting his lip and drawing blood as his bone was visibly poking his skin. He wouldn't scream, he couldn't do that right after Tomiko's flesh got burned. It still hurt like a bitch though, he wasn't going to deny that. As he laid on the ground, he tried to slash at Tomiko's leg before using his sword to get up again. It would dull the blade, but he knew that he needed to use it like this. There was no other way to get up fast enough and with as little pain as possible.

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi rolled towards a stone pillar to use as a shield as Sagiso's hair rained down all over the area. She got the sensation the big cat wasn't willing to join their team, which was too sad, But there was no way she was leaving without a cat. Now willing to take down the beast if needed, she placed an explosive tag on the last cookie she had on her pouch, hoping that would do the trick.

"Hey you big fluffy and adorable monster!" Asahi called out as she stepped out of her hiding spot. "I can't believe you're so rude to your guest, meow! Are you like this because you haven't gotten neutered? meow? My mom always said 'If a male is in heat and acting out, throw them in cold water' meow."

She had no idea what she was doing, but her sisters could figure something out, she just needed a sign or something from them so she could attack. In the mean time, she had no other choice but to try and distract the cat. As she looked up at the feline, she joined her hands, making some out of the ordinary hand signals. "Ultimate Hidden Ninjutsu: Bad Kitty!" Asahi grabbed the last remaining cookie from her pouch, covered it in wind chakra and hurled it as fast as possible towards her opponents face.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko groaned out as her punch missed Mori's face and her foe rolled out of harms way. Tomiko never imagined simply missing a punch would hurt this much, but the burns it seemed had been more sever than even she imagined. But she had no room to quit now, for kami's sake Mori was fighting with a piece of bone visible if he could do that Tomiko had to keep pushing.

Tomiko stumbled ahead as Mori tried to go at her legs as Tomiko bit her tongue and jumped to sail over it as she landed with a groan, blood dripped off her lip as she had to distract herself from the seething pain in her legs with some "minor" one of the tongue, and charged at Mori as she tried to deliver a punch to his gut with her "good" arm. Though even if it was the good arm, at best due to the burns she'd be able to throw punches at half force but at this point she just needed to hit Mori with something before her body had completely collapsed on her in a heap.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori got up from the ground, breathing heavily as he spat out some blood that gathered in his mouth after piercing his lip. Wiping his mouth, the boy attempted to counter attack, only for a fist to find its home in his gut. Keeling over, the boy fell onto the ground as tears welled up in his eyes. The punch was not as strong as he knew Tomiko could dish them out, but it still hurt and his broken leg did not help.

Breathing in sharply, the boy let go of his sword and reached into his kunai pouch, throwing three kunai at Tomiko before once again trying to stand up, feeling the sharp edge of his bones piercing his skin. The white of the bone was a stark contrast to the caked dirt on his tanned skin, but he couldn't stop now. They were already visible, so why worry about them? He'd either win or go down after doing all he could. Grabbing his sword and using it as a cane of sorts to stand up, the boy limped before thrusting his sword towards Tomiko.

This fight would end right here, right now!​

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko had felt a sting in her arm, as it seemed even a successful punch had been strenuous but she focused on staying upright as she worked to catch her breath. She had landed the blow but with her strength limited it seemed Mori still had fight, as he fired off some kunai her direction that Tomiko's body had no way to dodge as it was. She used her good arm and gauntlet which deflected one of the kunai, but another grazed her cheek which opened up a cut and another had stuck itself cleanly into the meaty part of her left thigh. Tomiko had to bite her lip to prevent a cry of agony as she knew pulling out the kunai would only cause more problems, so she had left it in as Mori charged again.

With her own mobility shot Tomiko moved with about as much grace as a 3 legged dog as she worked to close in on Mori though had seen her sword thrust. Tomiko once more, had to bet her punch would be faster as she had made one more push and aimed to get within Mori's reach as she reared back and aimed to deliver a punch with as much force as she could produce right for Mori's cheek. Either she'd land the knockout or the sword would cut her down, but it seemed she was as determined to end it here as he had been.

 

[DarkHydraT]

His kunai landed, great. It wasn't enough to take Tomiko down, not that surprising if a bomb didn't do it either, but every little bit helped. He always joked about her being as tough as weeds, but she really was a lot more durable than most people gave her credit for. It was almost insulting, and he knew he wasn't much better.

Mori saw Tomiko's plan of action and decided to go through with his attack. There was no reason to dodge and risk an infection of his leg, both parties were at the end of their rooe after all. As Tomiko's fist connected with his cheek, he thrusted his sword forward one last time before letting go and falling on the ground. His jaw hurt, but didn't feel broken.

"Heh...., guess you're tougher than me........" Mori quipped one last time before the pain became too much and he closed his eyes, barely staying awake as fatigue settled deeply into his skin and bones now that the adrenaline left.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko groaned, she felt the sword nick her side as Mori's strike had managed to land though its impact had been lessened. Likely due to the combination of the fatigue Mori already had felt, along with the fact she just punched him clean in the face. Still, she had to grit this out, even as she felt blood drip to the end of the blade, she had to hope her shot was good enough to end things. She had no idea if she had anything left to give...

Clang!
​

Thankfully, Mori's sword seemed to fall and soon enough her ally had done the same. He passed words of praise to her before his eyes seemed to close as Tomiko, who had felt the urge to collapse herself, struggled and fought to remain standing in spite of everything. The kunoichi panted heavily as blood and sweat dripped as the proctor walked over to the pair amid the destruction around them and passed a glance at each.

The proctor had seemingly seen enough, Mori seemed to be near unconscious and as battered as Tomiko had been she still remained on her feet and had not fallen to a state. It had been clear enough from his view as he soon gestured Tomiko's direction.

"Mori Utamara is unable to continue, the winner of this match...Tomiko Usagi."​

 

[Schrift]

Mori was starting to get excited, there was something about Kenji that made Mori's competitive side rile up. Was it the fact that Kenji was starting to become more annoying or was it because Mori was finally faced with a challenge? As the Kenji tag team weaved around the walls, Mori was surprised to say the least. That was new. He raised both his arms up, stabbing his staff into the ground, before raising them in the directions of both Kenjis. The smoke was not pleasant in his eyes, it was starting to get irritating. As he raised both arms, Ironsand spilt out as it shot up front. Mori formed two walls, small ones but sturdy ones. They were just enough to hold off the twister of claws and fangs that was the Kenjis. For a moment there, Mori was starting to struggle. He could feel the weight of an opponent that was fighting back. His smile disappeared, as he lost himself in thought of what to do. Then it struck him. Struck him so hard he was definitely going to piss his future self off thinking about. As the Iron sand defence he put up was weakening, Mori dropped it, opting to instead go for his staff. As his hands clasped it, he whispered the words "extend" as the staff shot up and took Mori with it. Going up, he swung his legs upwards, flipping in the air before weaving hand signs again. The iron maiden was making its return. Mori had done it, sort of. He wasn't planning on this but it was the best idea he had so far.

When the Kenji with the lightning claw struck the Ironsand it jerked a bit as the base itself was weakened visibly. It wasn't going to bring down the wall but it had made the swallowing mass of metal pause for a moment before it moved again. This time the Ironsand moved back around in a spiral, away from Kenji, both of the walls that the Kenjis had dodged circling around before connecting. Mori aimed his right arm down, as Ironsand rushed from it as it aimed down just in case the spinning Kenjis tried to go upwards they would be met with spikes. He was trying to box them in. Soon that Ironsand formed a dome where Mori had stood, forming it so fast that hopefully it would be able to contain the two kenjis. A dome that had formed to encase the clones. Mori had landed ontop of the dome as he had his staff out and ready. Mori closed his fist slightly. To the outside eye this would've looked like nothing but inside, spikes were starting to slowly close in. Slowly starting to move inwards. Mori had no intention of killing the Kenjis. No no, he wasn't going to do that. He was going to take all three of them out. "C'mon Kenji! I wanna fight you now!", he said as he sat ontop of the dome, staff still tightly gripped. Mori had used up a lot of Ironsand throughout the entire thing, this was going to be interesting.

@Godjacob

 

[Godjacob]

As the two Kenjis in their man-beast twisters charged they seemed to slam into a near pair of walls. Though the violent Taijutsu seemed to only gain speed as it pushed against and aimed to demolish these smaller walls as they crashed through them and charged only to miss the target as Mori seemed to propel himself in the air which seemed to set both the Kenjis for a collision course with one another. However, the pair had heard each other and not lost scent of their target so in their display of agility had curved up and both sailed as if to give chase to Mori in the air. The two Fang of Fang twisters seemed to spin around each other helix as they seemed to combine their strength as it were; the spikes that Mori dropped down got sucked in this formation and had caused some cuts but the two ninja dogs pushed through as they aimed to tear these spike droplets and rushed Mori; they seemed to aim to bulldoze into him at high speeds before the dome could close in on them in what seemed to be a race.

As for the Kenji that had been outside this mess, he heard the sounds of something being formed and moved back within the smoke. He had gotten some useful information as his electricity seemed to pack a punch but it lacked power to remove the wall altogether as soon what seemed to be some kind of formation had been created ahead of him. This posed the problem of cutting the third Kenji from the action, but with the knowledge it had gained from earlier this one who seemed to be able to form hand signs had worked on a new technique as the static electricity he had built up running about supercharged and chakra had began to mix with it. He then extended his clawed hand and stabbed into the side of the dome.

"Lightning Stye: Storm Pulse Jutsu!"
​

Kenji then released the magnified electricity and shot it all out into the dome, as he aimed to strike it with a more potent punch as he wanted to see this iron sand crumble and provide one less obstacle for his allies.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"I would’ve been a finalist but…”

"Your welcome!" Hisato said sticking his thumb up after listening to Furijia's comment.

“This fellow and a Mist buddy of his double-teamed me on day one.”

"And it was a rather good fight, I got to say! You did pretty good. Maybe a rematch some time!" Hisato said.

"That sucks, I wish I could've helped you out,"

"A two v two would have been nice, maybe try put your money where your mouth is, and we can try arrange that at some point! Could be a fun fight" Hisato responded.

"If you want, I can get a couple of licks in for ya."

"Yeah, good luck with that cause it won't be easy, and I definitely plan to get a few good hits in on you as well! Who knows, I might even beat you! Stuff like that happens when people don't pay attention" Hisato said excited. Though Hisato wasn't sure what kind of fighter Taiyo was. With a creepy smirk like that, Hisato wasn't sure if Taiyo would fight dirty or be a fair sportsman about it.

"Hopefully your looking forward to the fight as much as I am!" Hisato said pointing at Taiyo.

"And hopefully you can find a nice comfy seat to watch our fight! It's gonna be good, so you totally won't wanna miss out" Hisato said pointing at Furijia.

 

[sSoul]

Tsuki
Tsuki was admittedly surprised with the result that her counterattack produced, since she didn't anticipate the explosions clearing the smog. While this was still advantageous to her, she was unable to immediately capitalize on this advantage because Yua displayed more initiative on that front. The Suna kunoichi attempted to use the remains of her smoke to cloak her approach, but just as Tsuki's bubble-headed silhouette was visible to Yua, the Yuki-nin was also able to see the outline of her opponent. The visibility extended to the pair of kunai that she had thrown, allowing Tsuki to sidestep away from both of the kunai without suffering serious harm. However, due to the swift motion and the proximity of one of the knives, the Mist-nin lost access to her protection from the smog.

Unfortunate, but it can't be helped. I've stalled long enough, it's time to bring this battle to a conclusion.

Now that Tsuki was out of Yua's immediate attack range, she began prepared her counter. The first step was performing a classic Water style technique: the Wild Water Wave. When executing the jutsu, she kept the stream weak as she aimed it at the ground, not looking to propel herself with the force of a water jet, but rather to simply wet the ground. While she was firing the water from her mouth, she revealed a fourth hand seal. It was meant to resemble a snowflake, and in what she could find regarding her clans history, it was formally called the Dove. The Dove was the Yuki-clans signature hand seal, one that Tsuki refrained from using unless she intended to secure an advantage. Such an occasion arrived, and when Tsuki wove the hand seal, the stream of water quickly dropped the temperature of the water, almost likening it to snowfall. The key difference was, when hitting the ground, it made a solid sheet of ice rather than a fluffy bed of snow. Now, yet another trap had been set for Yua based on a pair of conceivable outcomes: she would either slip on the ice and fall, which would be capitalized by Tsuki stepping on her stomach to immobilize her, or the Suna kunoichi would find a way to stop herself in the middle of her dash, giving Tsuki time to prepare for a counter.

Once again, all paths are advantageous...

 

[kyuukestu]

Village Hidden in the Leaf, Chunin Exams (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Furījia​

"Thank but no thanks," Furījia smiled and declined Taiyo's offer. "It would be unbecoming of me to interfere, I just wanted to air a grievance."

“How confident,” tittered the heiress and she turned to Hisato as she did so, her smile becoming a bit more strained. “But I’m curious. If you still lost your scroll even with a 2 on 1 advantage, what makes you think you’d stand a chance against me in a re-match?”

“What was it you said earlier?” Furījia asked, tilting her head. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?”

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Hisato Gato...

​

"But I’m curious. If you still lost your scroll even with a 2 on 1 advantage"

"I lost my scroll in a two v one match. hardly a secret. It happens. Sometimes you lose. Who cares? Move on. Maybe rematch later on" Hisato said.

"what makes you think you’d stand a chance against me in a re-match?”

"I might be confident, but at least I'm not smug about it. Fighting is fun! Totally cool to rematch. If you don't wanna rematch then you can decline my offer. A bit of a lame decision, but your entitled to your opinion. Even if its a boring one like not wanting to rematch" Hisato said.

“Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?”

"We aren't talking about actual money here? Cause I don't bet money or gamble. You won't be getting a coin from a broke ninja" Hisato said pointed at himself

"I got some rainy day funds tucked away, but that's neither here nor there. I'll accept your challenge though if that's what your trying to make!" Hisato said leaning stepping forward.

 

[SageNeb]

After Raiku successfully took over Shiho's body, he intended to let the body be knocked out using Ramer in order to gain the victory. His summon went over to the Hyuga's vulnerable body and sent a chop to her neck with Raiku releasing the jutsu barely a moment before he would also be knocked out, as their minds were connected.

As Raiku entered his own body again, he watched as the Ramer clone of him caused Shiho to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. After the referee took notice of it, he declared the fight, "Shiho Hyuga is unable to continue, Raiku Uchiha wins!"

The crowd responded with loud applause and disappointment depending on which of the battlers they were rooting for, mostly due to favoritism of one clan or the other. Raiku himself smiled and looked up, finding his family members and mentor using his Sharingan and waving at them.

"Nice job kid," Shisui said, though obviously his student wouldn't be able to hear him.

"I'm so proud of him," Akari cried, while Senshu was nodding while thinking of the fact that his son had to use a technique of another clan to win.

 

[kyuukestu]

Village Hidden in the Leaf, Chunin Exams (Sept 25, Day of the Exams)

Furījia​

“Do you know what ‘smug’ means?” Furījia tilted her head the other way, a startled blink in her eyes. She wasn’t sure if Hisato was intentionally being cheeky or was genuinely oblivious. After quipping ‘your welcome’, as if she were supposed to thank him for eliminating her and telling her she did ‘pretty good’... “You’re a bit of a hypocrite, huh?”

As Hisato stepped forward, Furījia held her ground. Her eyes narrowed, their blues fading to white as the byakugan sprung to life.

“If you wanted a rematch that badly, then congratulations; you’ve got it.”

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Taiyo wasn't expecting Hisato to laugh at his attempt at intimidation, but he quickly shrugged it off while the white haired Shinobi continued to talk. What came to light about his opponent was of great interest to the fiery shinobi, as this information could be very useful in the coming bout. Outside of his happy-go-lucky nature, Hisato seemed to be eager to get into another fight and he seemed to have a healthy competitive spirit. Both were traits that Taiyo resonated with, but what slightly irritated the Leaf-nin was Hisato's remark after bringing up the admittedly fair possibility that the Mist shinobi would triumph in the fight. Even though Taiyo wasn't brought up directly, there was just something...off about someone with Hisato's quirks bringing up the dangers of not paying attention.

I know for a damn fact that this goofy ass, head-in-the-clouds motherfucker isn't tryna give me a lecture about paying attention.

Regardless, Hisato managed to avoid invoking Taiyo's suppressed wrath by expressing an ostensibly sincere desire to enjoy the fight to come.

"Y'know what, I am looking forward to our fight, I hope the best fighter between the two of us comes out on top," As almost a direct counter to the sinister, disingenuous smirk, Taiyo complimented his words with a small smile and a firm thumbs up. However, it seemed that Taiyo wasn't the only one that Hisato managed to irritate. And unlike the aforementioned shinobi, the Hyūga heiress was much less willing to allow the water to flow beneath the bridge. Not only were all of Hisato's comments met with scathing disdain from Furījia, but when the situation began to escalate as the white haired Kiri-nin stepped forward, appearing to attempt to intimidate the kunoichi. Not wanting to be outdone, the heiress simply stood her ground and gave a nonverbal reminder of who she was along with a verbal acceptance of Hisato's offer.

I'm guessing that'd be the Byakugan that Satō told me about once when telling me about the clans in the Leaf...

Okay that was badass and all, but I just wanna draw attention to the fact that Furījia previously insisted that it would be "unbecoming" of her to intervene in a fight but that doesn't seem to a be a concern when it comes to starting a fight..?

Heeding his thoughts, Taiyo looked at Furījia with visible concern, a few steps away from verbalizing the question "Are you sure you want to do this right now?" He had no qualms if her answer was yes, but the only way that the glance would go away is if he got an answer.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

“Do you know what ‘smug’ means?”

"Me? Know what the word smug means? I'm not suuure... It's such a d-d-difficult! Complicated word! I think I might be able to figure it out" Hisato said sarcastically.

“You’re a bit of a hypocrite, huh?”

"Are you a bit upset? Not good for your blood pressure, now is it?" Hisato said.

Despite Hisato stepping forward, his intentions were mostly friendly. Partially jokingly, but also a bit of excitement as the promise of a rematch was thrilling. Hisato's eyes widened and his grin more noticable as he excitedly watched the hyuga ninja's byakugan activate. Hisato briefly remembered seeing those eyes. He remembered fighting the kunoichi with those eyes. Those eyes shocking him as he plunged his blade into her leg. That was a look you don't forget.

“If you wanted a rematch that badly, then congratulations; you’ve got it.”

"Great! Maybe when this exam is over, we can figure out a time and a place! I'm glad you see things my way! and thank you" Hisato said giving a polite elegant bow to show his respect to the Hyuga kunoichi.

"Y'know what, I am looking forward to our fight, I hope the best fighter between the two of us comes out on top,"

"I'm glad you do, and I hope I can prove to be a worthy opponent! When the second round fights begin, I wish you luck!" Hisato held his thumb up at Taiyo.

 

[jade421]

Yua's targets seemed to miss, but the bowl-shape on Tsuki's outline seemed to vanish so she had taken it as a sign she had done something to remove whatever she had to protect her from what was left of the poison fog. The gas if she breathed it in and once it began to take effect, would be a shot to her senses; bringing about disorientation as well as a general agitation around the lungs. Won't be fatal, but it should deliver a severe blow to her ability to get usual circulation going and fight back effectively. Things seemed to look up for the Poison specialist but it seemed her foe's dodge had greater purpose as suddenly she had seen the movement of hands as her foe prepared to strike back which caused Yua's eyes to widen.

No no no no no no no!

Yua attempted to prepare herself for whatever Tsuki had planned as what seemed to be a water release technique fired; which had done little more than wet the area around them. Yua had jumped up just in case anyway as she landed back down on the wet floor. However, this proved to be a simple set up as soon the air had developed a chill and the water below her feet had frozen over and suddenly Yua had been caught flat footed as she slipped a bit on the ice. "Woah woah h-hey!" Yua called out to no one before she slammed her staff down on the ice as she clung to it and tried to use it to stabilize herself. However, this had stopped her momentum dead and now she had been stuck on a slippery field and Tsuki had a chance to strike at her.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Cats are mostly visual and auditory hunters, they don’t have the same sense of smell as a dog… Karui’s mind worked furiously as she wove frantic circles in the air around the massive cat. A chakra scalpel to the ear? Or try to take out the eyes? Two more sword slashes following Asahi’s cookie attack sent an equal number of wind scythes towards Nekomata’s eyes in the hopes that, even if the creature disrupted the wind before it could do any damage, any paw or tail used would momentarily impede its line of sight, giving them an opening.

However small it may be.

Maybe it’d be distracted enough by the cookie to miss the wind scythes— but Karui wasn’t about to kid herself into believing they would be that lucky. She followed up with kunai paper bombs shot off towards the back of the cat’s head, near the ears, hoping to detract more of its senses.

 

[Retro Master]

“Seems like this battle could go either way.”

Kiro commented to himself as he continued to analyze the ongoing battle between Tsuki and Yua. One of the two would be his opponent in the upcoming round, which was one of the reasons he was keeping a close eye on this match. It had been a good decision on his part considering what Yua seemed capable of doing. With the sharingan, while covering his eyes somewhat, Kiro was able to deduce she was using some sort of poison.

Of course, Kiro wasn’t exactly pleased that he found himself using that dojutsu once again in these exams. However, utilizing the sharingan now was much better than having to activate it during the fight while everyone was watching him. Not that he couldn’t see the purple stuff Yua exuded from her body. He just couldn’t confirm exactly what it was without using the sharingan itself. The only other option would be to interact with it, which would very unwise, especially consider what he now knew. Now that Kiro knew all the purple colored stuff the Suna girl released from her body was poison, he wouldn’t have to worry about using the sharingan to discern what it was should they fight.

Tossing another marshmallow into his mouth as he sat on one of the metal railings, Kiro couldn’t help but find their fight entertaining. For everything Yua was throwing at her, from the poisoned staff to the kunai, the Yuki Princess was holding her own. Of course, Kiro expected as much from the girl. He knew how skilled Tsuki was and clearly the forest of death wasn’t the best at weeding out participants to make it to the next round. The Leaf really was pathetic on multiple levels.

Speaking of being pathetic, Kiro shifted his glance to view Raiku. The cowardly Uchiha was currently in a standstill with Shiho. At least, that’s what it seemed like to the untrained eye. Shiho remained completely frozen as Raiku seemed to have placed her in some type of unconscious state. From the murmurings of the crowd, it sounded like Shiho had been caught by the mind transfer jutsu. Admittedly, Kiro didn’t know exactly how the the Hiden of the Yamanaka clan worked, but many citizens of the Leaf knew enough to figure it out. The funniest part was, some were in awe.

“Wow! Raiku might be the next genius of the Uchiha clan. To master a technique such as this...”

Some people, like one of the shinobi in front of him, were praising the young Uchiha for being able to supposedly master the mind transfer technique. Going even as far as to call him a genius. If Raiku was a genius for being able to just straight up copy a Hiden, while he likely received guidance, then the Leaf had low as shit standards. Fortunately, there were enough skeptical folks in the crowd to counteract any further hype Raiku might’ve gotten.

“Eh, he probably just got some help from the Yamanaka clan. There’s not really a way for him to even learn such a technique on his own.”

Just like that, the other shinobi shut his friend down. Hearing that did leave a small little smirk on Kiro’s lips. The ninja was right in this circumstance. However, he was wrong about one thing. Recreating a high level technique from scratch, without any guidance whatsoever, was not impossible. Although it may be imperfect and probably different, that just meant it could be further built upon in a unique way.

In any case, Raiku having to rely on pulling cheap tricks out of his ass to win this fight wasn’t much of a surprise to Kiro. He expected as much from the supposed genius of the Leaf. Kiro almost felt like laughing whenever he thought of Raiku being called a genius and he might’ve done so if there wasn’t marshmallow in his mouth that could cause him to choke. Deactivating his sharingan, he resorted to some snickering instead.

“Crow clones and sharingan genjutsu too it looks like. Like how lame can you get?”

The boy commented after seeing Raiku’s latest action. He had said it aloud, but wasn’t expecting someone to actually respond to him. However, one of the spectators in the crowd turned around after hearing the lame part.

“I mean, that’s basically Itachi’s thing from what I know... Oh, shit! That’s the kid who fought that weirdly dressed girl earlier!”

“Wait, really?!”

Some more heads from the friend group turned around thanks to the exclamation of the first spectator. Of course, they’d just find that he wasn’t lying when they saw Kiro just relaxing behind them. To be honest, Kiro had been expecting some sort of rebuttal to what he said, but this reaction was a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, they only remembered him for fighting the ‘weirdly dressed girl’ as they described her. It was enough of a description for Kiro to get an idea on who they were likely referring too.

“Weirdly dressed girl? Oh, Roulan... or was it Riceball? I don’t even know what her name was. But yeah, um, what’s up?”

To be honest, Kiro just thought the clothing choice of Hasa was different. Even their choice of names were unusual. However, different was just considered weird to some. Clearly it was to this group of friends.

“Riceball? What type of name is that?!”

All of them started laughing when they heard that was one of her possible names. Evidently, no one knew the actual names of the girls from Hasa. The other girl, who supposedly died, entered as ‘Smiley’, so it was likely they found that pretty funny too. At least, before she was burnt to a crisp.

“Damn, she didn’t even tell you huh? Sorry to bother you, though. Just couldn’t help but overhear you. Uhh, I also don’t know who to root for in that fight by the way. I was just hoping for a good fight between the Uchiha and Hyūga...”

By the end of his apology, the spectator spoke a bit more awkwardly. Like he was trying to change the topic. Probably because of his mention of Itachi Uchiha. Kiro didn’t know much besides the name and his status of one of the more dangerous member of the clan. Since Kiro was clearly just another Mist ninja, the spectator probably realized it was best not to spill any more details to him, which was understandable. After all, Kiro could care less about listening to more Uchiha praise.

As for the comment relating to the fight that was made in an attempt to distract him somewhat, Kiro could actually understand the spectator a bit, but for a slightly more personal reason. Even though Kiro wanted the opportunity to pummel Raiku with his own hands, he found himself hoping Shiho had some more fight in her. He’d spent a good few weeks hanging out with the girl, so it would be a shame to see her go down like this against the same guy who left her for dead back then. At the very least, Kiro would like to see the Hyūga fight to the finish if she could.

 

[kyuukestu]

Land of Fire | Nekomata Fortress (Sept 25 5:35 pm, Day of the Exams)

Titled Name: Yan Xia Roulan

True Name: Sagisō Ajisai​

Rank 36 — Heavenly Skillful Star | Yan Qing​

Had his tail split in two or did he originally have two tails to begin with? Sagisō pushed herself to her feet once more, her fingers went to her jaw and came back wet with blood. She glanced into the smoke, catching the glow of Karui’s wings as she buzzed around telegraphing the location of both herself and her attacks within the smoke. The massive cat had no problems intercepting her attacks with sweeps of its equally massive claws. Even the paper bombs exploded against its bristly fur without much fanfare.

“This isn’t working…” Nekomata was too fast, too strong, his senses too acute. He’d been able to shrug off or crush all their individual attacks through brute force and without even breaking a sweat. “New strategy…”

“SKG!” The Skillful Star followed up her call by releasing a volley of water shuriken aimed at Nekomata, knowing her sisters would follow up.

 

[Hecotoro]

Asahi looked towards her sister and nodded at the order given. She rushed towards the big cat, making hand signals and getting ready to prepare her next move. She jumped as high as possible, using a small blast of air to give her a boost towards the height of the big cat. Once she reached the limit of her jump, she held two fingers up to her mouth and sending out a long string of concentrated wind. The air curved around the cat, turning into a full wind like circle around him. It also sucked in Sagiso's water shiruken, having them travel within the wind tunnel circling Nakomata.

Once Asahi had landed on her feet, she scanned the enemy with her Byakugan, looking for the nearest chakra points on his back legs, before rushing ahead. She wasn't an expert on hitting chakra points, but she knew if she hit one point several times she would eventually block it. Hopefully the assist she provided her sister would be good enough to keep the beast busy while she went to work. Her target being the cat's right knee, she lunged forward pulling back her right arm and before aiming a punch in the center of the cat's knee.

At the same time, the wind spinning around Nekomata began shooting the water shurikens at random points, but with improved speed thanks to the speed boost they gained from spinning around in Asahi's wind.

 

[sSoul]

Tsuki
The icy kunoichi restrained a chuckle as she noticed her opponent's attempt to dodge a big attack that ultimately never came. More importantly than Yua possibly embarrassing herself, Yua had lost her balance, which created an opportunity for Tsuki to deliver a decisive blow. However, before she could put any plans into action, she began to cough. Without her protective bubble, Tsuki left herself exposed to the traces of the gas that Yua had spewed out earlier. In conjunction with the coughs, Tsuki's head also began feeling "fuzzy", causing her to nearly loose balance in a manner similar to her opponent. However, given that Tsuki was only inhibited by her own bodily reactions, she was able to stabilize her balance and resume her counterattack. To accommodate her weakened state, the Mist-nin opted to use a familiar yet useful jutsu: Wild Water Wave. After performing the prerequisite hand seals , Tsuki inhaled sharply before spitting out a high pressure blast of water. The attack would have enough force to push Yua to one of the walls of the stadium if she failed to dodge, which seemed likely given the attack's quickly expanding radius and that the Suna kunoichi was already having trouble maintaining her footing. To make matters worse for Tsuki's opponent, the stream was travelling at high speed, further compounding on the difficulty of dodging such an attack.

This is over...

 

[jade421]

Yua saw what Tsuki prepared as she knew she had been in trouble. If she tried to dodge, to move out of the way of what jutsu was to come she'd be more likely to slip on the ice and fall on her face. If she tried to make a hand sign she'd have to move her hands off the staff that provided stability which itself..."the staff!" Light a lightbulb that had gone off Yua seemed to think of an idea as she placed both hands on her staff and worked to pull herself so she stood at the top of the staff. Just as she had, Tsuki fired what seemed to be a powerful stream of water and Yua worked to jump off the end of her staff as she used it as a stand and launched herself in the air. Yua worked to jump over Tsuki's attack as the water would blow the staff she had left behind away towards the wall as she had been airborn. It had not been an ideal position, but she managed to avoid the worst of the attack as she began to descend down and tried to use that to her advantage. She formed hand signs as poison began to take shape by her nails and chakra had helped shaped them to extended claws as she positioned her body and tried to sail down to where Tsuki had stood. "Tameru Art: Poison Claws Jutsu!" Yua's aim was simple as she planned to land beside Tsuki and tried to claw at her with her poisoned claws, this batch of poison like the ends of her staff had a stronger dosage compared to the gas from earlier and the sharpened ends meant if she'd land a clean shot she could cut into Tsuki's skin which would make the poison more effective.

 

[sSoul]

Tsuki
Once again, Yua seemed to match Tsuki's intellectual planning with resourceful escapes by climbing atop her staff and leaping above the watery blast. If the icy kunoichi wasn't busy feeling pain and exhaustion, she would've applauded her opponent for her cunning. Unfortunately, her opponent plunging with poisoned claws meant that there truly was no time for an ovation, that time was being used by Tsuki to dodge the descent and quickly aim a kick just above Yua's hip. The kick was swift and lacked power, if the kick were to hit After coughing once again and shaking the pain away, Tsuki responded with a secret technique of her own. Once again, it had started with a familiar jutsu, this time the Water Whip, and much like the Wild Water Wave, it too received the addition of the Dove hand seal. However, unlike when she froze the ground beforehand, the Yuki's signature hand seal was included before the jutsu was performed rather than during, resulting in a 6 foot(~1.8 meter) long "whip" that was more accurately described as a barbed wire made of ice with a handle. Without skipping a beat, Tsuki aimed to close the distance she had created and wrap the wintry weapon she created around Yua's neck, likely choking the Suna kunoichi if successful. Otherwise, the icy kunoichi might end up scratching her opponent's neck, which would be both advantageous to her bottom line and delightfully ironic considering prior events.

I hope I won't have to do this for long. If she surrenders, I'll release her without hesitation...

 

[DarkHydraT]

As medics rushed to Mori's aid and lifted him out of the arena, the boy was barely aware that he was moving, yet he didn't truly care. The medics grabbed his sword and sheathed it before removing the genin from the premises. The last thing the boy saw before turning the corner was Tomiko, and a smile began to show before he no longer could remain conscious.

Mori awoke to blinding white, beeping sounds and the scent of sterile surfaces. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was fighting Tomiko and -.

This was the hospital, wasn't it?

Looking down at his clothes, he saw that he was in light blue scrubs and his leg was healed. Trying to move his leg, the boy flinched from the pain. It was still sore, but he had to go. He had to be there for Tomiko. Throwing back the covers, he tried to walk before a nurse pushed him back. "You have to stay here for at least 4 hours so we can see if there are any complications after the surgery."

"What? That's nonsense! I am perfectly fit!" Mori cried out, upset at the injustice. "My leg is healed, I should be able to leave now!"

"You sustained a fractured leg, multiple lacerations, blunt force impacts, bruised ribs and you took a soldier pill. You are supposed to rest, not force your body to walk five feet before collapsing. After those four hours, you can leave if you want. It is hospital policy to watch over patients for four hours at minimum, and you better listen ot that if you value your health." As the nurse left, Mori heard them say one last word underneath their breath.

"Shinobi...".

 

[jade421]

Yua tried to slash at Tsuki but it seemed the girl still had been able to fight well enough to avoid her slashes. Tsuki went for a kick to her hip, so Yua jumped back to avoid the strike but as she had she aimed to grace along the leg with one of her extended poisoned claws as she hoped to get a cut on Tsuki and naturally the bit of poison on the tip inside her system. If the poison of these claws had landed a cut, it would work to spread a burning pain at the point of impact and perhaps aim to make her leg a bit numb. Naturally if she limited her mobility a one-legged ninja was easier to beat than one with two good legs. But Yua had to focus on the defense again as Tsuki produced what seemed to be a whip of ice that had a shredded spikes added for good measure, and Yua retracted her claws as she pulled a pair of kunai. Her aim had been to deflect the whip though it proceed to be made of strong stuff as sparks had flown between both kunai and she succeeded mainly in knocking it to a shoulder which caused a deep cut to open up a wound as Yua cried in pain. "Agh!" However, Yua needed to move back as she clutched her shoulder and jumped back as she aimed to move out of the range of the whip but this new technique had been rather unsettling, if it managed to get around her neck the poison specialist would be in trouble.
"This one is good, and her will is not to be underestimated. If just a gash on the shoulder hurts like this, I need to avoid a strike in a more troublesome spot."

 

[Godjacob]

Not too long after Tomiko had been declared the victor, Tomiko fell on her back as she seemed to exhaust what energy she had left in the match, yet even as medics tended to her and even as she laid with her burns and injuries, Tomiko had a cheeky if not tired grin on her face as her day had taken a total 180. She was not expected to even compete, yet she had gotten a chance to show her skills & heart at the 11th hour and managed to buy herself another round in the competition.

Azumi had also taken note of the events, and with the match decided moved along. She had seen a fair share of what Tomiko could do and one thing became clear above all others; this one had no quit to her. If even a friendly battle with an ally had gone to such extremes, than she had a reason to not suspect she'd surrender even if it had been the right move.

Azumi walked away as she had come to a decision: it would take her ensuring this girl physically couldn't get back up to achieve victory, and if that involved a crippling injury or even death to achieve...well, she had not come this far to pull punches on that.

-----
"I swear you ninja find new and alarmingly creative ways to maim each other."

"Ow....should I take it as a compliment?"

"No, you should hold still."
​

Like Mori Tomiko had been taken to the medical bay once the battle had ended, however she had managed to retain conscious which sounded good till one realized that meant she had to be awake as her burns were treated. Naturally the operation had been quite the project; given Tomiko had been covered near head to turn in burns on top of the signs of blunt-force blows she had sustained. Yet amazingly things had gone smoothly enough, medical ninja were miracle workers far as Tomiko had been concerned but just because she respected the field and their work had not made the stinging pain she had felt as she was worked on any less comfortable. Her body had been wrapped in bandages, spots she had been treated as by the end of this Tomiko worried she'd look like a mummy. She had been injected with some fluids which she presumed to be pain killers and of course those glowly hands of healing had hovered over every burn mark in an effort to restore the scorched skin.

"Agh...m-man you guys don't have a lollipop or something I can bite on at least?" Tomiko asked before she bit her lip and groaned a bit in pain while the nurse focused on clearing up the wounds but had heard an audible sigh escape her lips.

"Funny, you combat types are fine blowing each other up but a little treatment has you uneasy." The nurse said, Tomiko had a sheepish sweat dropped as she lifted her arm as instructed while that had been tended to.

"I-it stings..." Tomiko said in a meek defense, before her eyes widened as she realized she needed an update on something. "...hey do you know about the status of Mori? Mori Utamara?" Tomiko asked as she had a trace of audible concern for her friend. The nurse once she finished wrapping around Tomiko's wrist with the medical tape, checked her files before she responded.

"His surgery just finished up, and it seemed to go well. He is getting his rest..." The nurse explained, as Tomiko sighed in relief. After she was tended to she figured she should pay him a visit. She was sure that a little chat is just what he needed to lift the mood that had come from being in a medical... "...as will you when we finish. For least the foreseeable future. If you desire to compete in the next round, you are to remain on this bed until we decide you are cleared to leave." The nurse added on, which caused Tomiko to form a pout as she folded her arms annoyed.

"Oh, that's just great..."

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori crossed his arms as he moped around in his bed. There was nothing wrong with him, atleast there shouldn't be if the medics were compotent. He should be able to walk around now, they needed the beds, no? In an act of rebellion, the boy got out of bed and changed into his clothes before exiting the room via the window. He had to see how Tomiko was doing, he couldn't just lie around whilst his best friend could be in excruciating pain. The medics of Konoha were by no means bad, but he wanted to see how she was doing with his own eyes. Besides, he would return to his room afterwards, so there should be nothing to complain about.

Each step hurt, he wasn't going to deny that, but he wasn't going to let that stop him either. He had to find Tomiko, but he didn't know where she was exactly. Perhaps the burn ward? Forcing himself to act as if he was supposed to be there, the boy entered the burn ward to find his former opponent and friend. How hard could it be?

 

[EnviousWorm]

Ugokasenai Keito, Iwa Genin
​

Invested as he was by the odd, theatrical confrontation happening around the corner from him, Keito's attention was caught by the television hung up in the corner of the room nearest to him; he'd left right as Mori and Tomiko's fight was starting to pick up, but Keito hadn't honestly expected his two Iwa teammates to throw all they could at each other. Hell, he wasn't even quite sure if he'd given his own fight all he could — of course, it felt like he was at the time, but looking back on it now, it was like something had always been holding him back.

His eyes followed Mori and Tomiko with a combination of pride and horror. He was glad to see them fighting all-out, giving the Konoha crowd a site of what their village's major, political rival could do. Still, he had to wonder...why? What was this going to accomplish for any of them, other than the right to maybe die in another fight.

Even before the final exchange had been fought, Keito was rushing toward the medical bay like a worried parent. He pushed as far as he could without using his sakabatou like a cane, until he could feel the stitches in his stomach loosen slightly, and he could feel droplets of blood pool around. His lower body started to shake, weakly. Finally, he resorted to pressing his sheathed sword down against the floor, caning himself the rest of the distance to the medical bay.

By the time he'd arrived, Tomiko's treatment was mostly done, although the genin didn't see any signs of Mori nearby; maybe his wounds had been severe enough that he'd been transported elsewhere first — Keito was fairly certain that had happened to him, too, though he only remembered losing consciousness with a gaping wound in his gut, and waking up to a normal, old, med-bay. Maybe he lost more time than he'd initially though.

"Hey Tsuch'," Keito said with a weak smile on his lips, limping over to her bed-side. "You know, I told Mori to break a leg before his fight but I didn't exactly mean it like that."

 

[Godjacob]

Once Tomiko had been fully bandaged up, it was a period of mandatory rest that followed her. The nurse had left the room for a moment while Tomiko had to wait for the painkillers to kick in which had been a pain in the you know what. Tomiko sighed, least the procedure on her seemed successful enough and the nurse assured she'd be good to go when the next round had began. The pain subsided bit by bit but the boredom had remained a constant new foe to contend with.

Not helped was the concern for Mori.

However her attention shifted as she had gained an unexpected visitor as she glanced and saw Keito, who seemed to return the favor from her earlier visit and had visited her in kind which worked to make the battle-worn Tomiko smile.

"Oh hey Keito! Glad to see you um...I know how it looks but believe me it is not as bad as it seems. I may look like a mummy but am expected to make a full recovery." Tomiko said with a light chuckle as between the casts and the wrapping tape she had appeared to have come out of a car crash but it seemed her spirit was undaunted.

However, her eyes snapped a bit as she decided to ask Keito something.

"Say know anything about Mori? Is he doing okay?"

 

[EnviousWorm]

Ugokasenai Keito, Iwa Genin
​

It pained him more than his own wound, to see a teammate sat helpless in a hospital bed; he could only wonder how Mori felt, seemingly in the worst condition of the three Iwagakure genin. Keito's sorry smile slipped into a discontent frown as he walked closer. He wondered if he should put a hand on her should in reassurance, but worried it would hurt her further. His hands jittered nervously, fingers fiddling around the hilt of his sakabatou, now clutched close to his chest in a nervous grip.

"No, I don't know Mori's condition," he shook his head, worried he couldn't console Tomiko. Instead, Keito tried to smile again, though it faltered at the edges of his lips a bit. "But you and I both know that kid is like rubber. You know, I always have said he's not human. Maybe that's why they're keeping him around in the hospital so long. He's the world's first-ever rubber man."

Not knowing what the hell he was talking about, Keito let out an awkward chuckle and shook his head, as if to apologize wordlessly.

"What a sorry sight we're going to be," he said, his smile fixing itself as he did. "A mummy, a peg-leg and a kid with a hole in his gut."