[Yuie Junichi]

Now that his fight with Hotarubi had passed and he had had time to recollect himself, Junichi felt... not confident, but certainly less afraid.

The second shinobi he was to fight was announced - Yasuraka Hitsukai, the follower of Bishamon he had observed in his battle against Azarea. That fight had ended relatively quickly, so Junichi hadn't had much chance to learn about what Hitsukai's abilities were, aside from him being relatively fast, and apparently weighing almost thirty times as much as Junichi did.

Though he was intimidated by the man's relative size and the fact that, at his age, he was definitely much more experienced than Junichi, Junichi still found himself hopeful. Hitsukai seemed like a respectful combatant, someone Junichi could try to show his skills against without getting completely torn apart even if he felt it was unlikely that he'd win. Hitsukai had lost his first round, too, so he'd probably be looking to prove himself here as well.

---

Junichi's entrance music played over the speakers as he entered the arena for the second time. Though he still looked plenty anxious, he at least didn't look like he'd flee from the arena the moment he had the opportunity.

When he made it to his made and was faced opposite Hitsukai, Junichi gave a more formal martial arts greeting than the frantic one he'd provided in his first fight - bowing deep to show his respect and saying,

"Thank you for this match. Please show me what you can do."

Then he would straighten and, when the match formally began, pull his staff from his back, anticipating that Hitsukai's first move would be to close distance between them.

Yasuraka Hitsukai

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

Watching Junichi enter into the arena shortly after Hitsukai had entered, the clean-shaven and freshly dressed monk watched with nearly unblinking eyes as he weighed his opponent. The younger man across from him seemed more interested in showcasing his skills than actually winning his match, at least given how his fight had gone against Hotarubi earlier. Still, Hitsukai also understood he should not underestimate the boy as he seemed to have had some means of weakening Sadako in his previous fight. By no means did he understand how the ability worked or even if it would work the same way on him, but he had at least seen how Sadako had become more sluggish through out the fight.

As Junishi bowed to him, requesting Hitsukai show what he could do; the monk returned the bow without taking his eyes off his opponent. He admired the respect the younger boy was showing, but at the same time he had no intention of underestimating the kid given his hesitation had cost him the last match.

As soon as the match began and his opponent pulled out a staff, Hitsukai did indeed begin to close the distance, but before actually reaching his opponent Hitsukai's hands quickly dipped into the pockets sewn into his robes. Producing four smokebombs from the pockets, he quickly tossed them forward and toward his opponent. The moment they went off, Hitsukai pivoted and began to run in a circular pattern around his opponent. Once more the monks hands went into his pockets over and over, pulling and tossing handful after handful of makibishi into the smoke as he attempted to take a lap around his opponent's position.

While he could have simply rushed the boy, he had no idea how he had seemed to sap the strength of Sadako. Setting of the makibishi would hopefully make it more difficult for his opponent to move from his position easily while Hitsukai could redirect the kinetic force of the makibishi if they tried to pierce his own feet. A prime example of denying ground for his opponent to use that he could still use himself, similar to what Azarea had done to him in his previous match.

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[Yuie Junichi]

As the fight began, Hitsukai moved in. But, rather than attack directly, he threw down a smoke bomb, obscuring Junichi's vision.

Soon enough, a jingling sound followed as something metal hit the ground. Junichi thought he could guess at the sound. Almost to confirm, he tried to step forward and then quickly stepped back when he felt his shoe touch one of the small, spiky traps on the ground.

Makibishi? Why would a close-range fighter make the ground around Junichi less navigable? Unless he was planning to come from above? Or... Junichi thought of the last round, the way Hitsukai marched through the sticky syrup. Maybe he planned to walk right over the Makibishi somehow? Could someone do that with tree walking?

Either way, because he couldn't see the makibishi around him for the smoke, Junichi was stuck in place for the timebeing, a sitting duck.

Still, maybe he could make it tricky to approach, too. If this guy was good with things that were sticky or pointy, maybe he wouldn't handle slippery surfaces quite as well.

Hooking the staff in the crook of his arm, Junichi forged a few hand seals, then took a deep breath and exhaled a jet of soapy water, spinning in a circle around himself to make the close area slick. He couldn't see through the smoke so his aim wouldn't be precise, and the slippery surface would be patchy, but as long as he got decent coverage, he would be satisfied.

Then he'd get his hands around his staff again and begin to channel a small amount of chakra around it. The small barrier of chakra took on a pale white glow, which would be just barely visible through the dense smoke. He didn't really think about how it'd pinpoint his location as he pulled it up to brace defensively, primarily looking to guard his face to avoid a direct blow.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu used:
NAME: Jōton: Sekkentama (Cleansing Release: Soap Bullet)
CHAKRA COST: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu, Kekkei Tōta
ELEMENT: Jōton
DESCRIPTION:
The user expels a jet of soapy bubbles towards an opponent or surface, washing anything it touches until it is pristine, shiny and very smooth. If this hits a human target, everything that the soap touched becomes slippery, as if it were a varnished surface, making it much harder to grip weapons and the like. An inexperienced user (say, someone without a bukijutsu specialization) will likely drop the weapons, but someone with training should have trained for this possibility.

NAME:Tsuki no kagayaki [ Lunar Glow]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low (Continuous)
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: None
TRIGGER:
DESCRIPTION:
The user channels chakra around their staff, creating a hard shell of energy around it to reenforce their weapon. This jutsu casts a pale white light, turning the staff into a faintly glowing rod. The field covers the staff and protects it from being burned or cut. The field is strong enough to block steel blades and is hard enough that it makes the strikes of the staff harder and able to dent or ding metal. The light produced by this chakra field leaves a faintly glowing behind the staff as it is swung, leaving a small afterimage of the staff that can be disorienting to foes.

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

With a cloud of smoke hopefully preventing his opponent from directly targeting him with any jutsu and the makibishi ideally preventing an easy escape from the smoke; Hitsukai began to move towards where his opponent had last been. The first step would have proved an unfortunate one for most as his left foot came into contact with one of his own Makibishi, but it was an easy enough task to redirect the pinpoint of kinetic energy in his body and out into the ground through his other leg.

Continuing on, Hitsukai almost had a moment of thinking it was easy sailing from that point on, only for humility to rear its head and attempt to remind him of how distasteful such pride was. One second he was running forward and the next thing he knew his foot was sliding forward as if he had hit ice. With his left foot having already been lifted, all Hitsukai could do was try to balance himself on his right foot, but such a task was difficult given the sudden increase in weight he felt now that he could no longer redirect the force the weights exert since he had lost solid footing.

Hitsukai's body began to fall backwards and desperately the monk put his arms out, his left hand slamming into pain while his right connected to solid and non-slippery ground a heartbeat later. The moment he felt the solid ground, he began to use Bishamon's gift once again as well as the *Heavenly Pose technique to prevent himself from fully falling onto what was sure to be more Makibishi under his back.

With as much speed as he could muster while still being deliberate in his movements, Hitsukai moved his feet in the smoke to find solid ground before pushing himself off with his right hand to stand once again. He spent a further moment to pull the Makibishi from his left hand that had partially pierced through his hand before he had managed to find solid ground and embrace Bishamon's gift once more.

Hitsukai did not fully understand what sort of trick was at play here, but he at least understood the risk posed. Whatever it was had made him slide and without at least one part of him being in contact with a solid surface meant he could not effectively use Lord Bishamon's gift, combine that with the heavy weights which could suddenly change his center of gravity and the makibishi he had littered the field with and it was a moderately dangerous situation to be in.

With a deep breath, Hitsukai moved forward once more, understanding that he did not have time to sit and evaluate everything; he simply had to push through the situation as best he could. Moving forward, this time Hitsukai took to sliding his feet along the ground. By ensuring one foot stayed on solid ground while using the other to probe forward, the monk could always make use of the earlier used Heavenly Pose technique to prevent himself from sliding whenever he found a patch of slippery ground. Still, while it was a method to move forward, it was undoubtedly a slower one and the smoke was not meant to last forever. He could only hope to close the distance soon and that his opponent would not have means of directly attacking him until then.

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[Yuie Junichi]

Junichi could almost hear his heartbeat in his ears as he waited for Hitsukai's approach. When there was the sudden sound of the man slipping and falling, Junichi jumped, startled. His plan had worked! ...If only he could see where Hitsukai was to make proper use of the opening. As it was, Junichi was still thoroughly stuck in place unless he wanted to risk going over the makibishi himself, which seemed like a very painful and bad idea.

Soon enough Junichi heard the sound of Hitsukai shuffling forward, makibishi jingling across the ground as Hitsukai had to carefully pick his way forward. The closer he got, the fewer soapy splotches there would be, so navigation would become easier for the monk as he drew near his opponent, allowing him to not have to move as carefully and regain his speed.

The smoke was finally starting to clear, so Junichi could vaguely see Hitsukai now. That meant that Hitsukai would be able to see Junichi very clearly, too, given the glow coming from his staff.

Using this minimal information, Junichi tried to make a play. Rather than stepping forward into the minefield of makibishi, he jabbed his staff forward into it, quickly vaulting himself into the air over Hitsukai's head. He would try to perform a spin in the air to attack from above. Hopefully he could keep the momentum going and use a block from Hitsukai to launch over to the other side of the makibishi.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu used:

NAME: Ryū Tobikomu [Dragon Dive]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:

The user will vault themselves into the air using their polearm and then unleash a powerful blow from above. This technique is used to disorient and surprise foes as well as overpower them as it strikes with all of the user’s body weight and momentum from the spin they perform in the air in order to strike with the spear that was touching the ground moments before.

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

Having closed the distance between himself, Hitsukai finally found himself within range to attack his opponent. Junichi however was a bit quicker to make use of the opportunity that the renewed visibility brought, Hitsukai watching as the younger genin used his pole to vault up and into the air. Deciding not to launch his own assault and instead rely on a counterattack, Hitsukai merely turned to keep an eye on the younger man's voyage into the air with Junichi's follow up attack coming almost immediately afterwards.

Instinctively Hitsukai raised a hand in what seemed an attempt to protect his head or face which the blow was likely to be aimed at. The reality was that Hitsukai's main goal was to try and catch the staff as it came towards him, his eyes watching for the brightest point of the glow as it approached through the smoke. Assuming he managed to catch the blow in his hand within time, he would make use of the *Heavenly Grasp technique to ensure that the staff would not escape his grip while simultaneously absorbing all the kinetic energy from the strike; this energy then would be channeled into his right hand which shot up to crash against the staff as Hitsukai attempted to drive the staff into Junichi's airborne body and hopefully continue to drive the younger genin's body into the ground as if he were the head of some great hammer.

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[Yuie Junichi]

Junichi was prepared for Hitsukai to block the strike or grab his staff. What he wasn't prepared for was the fact that Hitsukai didn't give. Not even a little. It was as if all the force Junichi had put into the staff didn't exist to Hitsukai. Instead it was redirected, seemingly effortlessly, the staff pushed up into his stomach and knocking the wind out of him. Then Hitsukai attempted to use the staff to throw him to the ground.

Doing the only thing he could think of, Junichi released his staff halfway through the arc, hoping, somehow, that he could get thrown further away that way.

It didn't stop him from hitting the ground, though.

He twisted in the air, trying to make sure he didn't land on his head or right on his back. On his right side, his shoulder, arm, and torso crashed to the floor. The makibishi littered everywhere burrowed into the skin, stabbing deep from the force of the drop. It hurt. He'd been sliced with a knife before, but this was worse than that, sharp starbursts of pain all along his side.

A pained noise wrenched its way out of his throat.

Without sitting up, he forged shaky hands into hand seals - he wouldn't be able to safely get up and try to escape the radius of these makibishi if he didn't get himself some space.

So he tried to spit a series of steaming hot water shurikens at Hitsukai, hoping forcing the monk to dodge would give himself some room to move. Provided Hitsukai didn't close the distance before Junichi could complete the seals, at least.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Joton: Yakedo Ke [Cleanse Release: Scalding Water Shuriken]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu
ELEMENT: Joton
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:

Like it's parent technique, Suiton: Mizu Shuriken the user creates 10 shurikens made out of water. This water is infused with Joton chakra and is hot enough to give a second-degree burn on contact with skin. Clothing will block the hot water from touching the skin for a few moments, but will quickly get soaked and start to burn the skin. Unlike its parent technique, these shurikens are shot from the mouth instead of having to be thrown. These water shurikens have the same cutting power as their metal counterparts.

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

While the younger genin had attempted to let go of the staff and use the force to jump away, Hitsukai thankfully had either been quick enough with his counter attack or it had been so unexpected that Junichi failed to get away. The sound of the boy's cry of pain filled Hitsukai with an immediate wave of pride at having managed to get a good hit in on the boy, only for an immediate wave of disgust to wash over him at feeling such pride due to another's suffering. Still, even though he was somewhat disgusted at himself, he had not intention of just letting Junichi go either.

Seeing the younger man rendering handseals for some unknown technique, Hitsukai found himself at something of a crossroads, whether to push his assault and hope he could survive whatever attack was coming or to abandon his assault for the moment and prioritize his safety. With the moment's pause as he struggled to make a decision, some of the scalding shuriken launched forward and Hitsukai was forced to react. Rather than attack or make distance, the monk opted for something of an in between option. Hitsukai bent at his knee, going backwards as if to fall on his back. While he was quick, he was not so quick as to come out unscathed with three of the scalding shuriken slamming into his chest. While the force of the blow was immediately absorbed, the boiling water quickly soaked into the cloth of his robes and began to burn at his skin where his weighted plates were not present.

With a stifled cry of pain, Hitsukai did his best to keep focus on the task at hand. Falling backwards, the monk made use of the *Heavenly Pose technique to keep his back from fully connecting with the ground, the monk now in a seemingly awkward position with his feet planted firmly on the ground, but the rest of his body otherwise hanging from the staff he still clutched as some of the kinetic force of his weights trying to pull him all the way to the ground was transferred through the staff that laid atop Junichi.

He knew he could not stay this way however. Had Junichi been on his back, then perhaps Hitsukai could have remained and simply kept his opponent pinned to win the match, but since the younger man was on his side he would likely still have the capability to see and as such attack him if he remained. With a grimace in part due to pain and in part at what he was about to do next. Hitsukai redirected all of the kinetic energy of his weights through the staff in an attempt to put more pressure on Junichi, but more importantly to break the staff. As soon as the wood splintered from the force applies, the monk made use of his newly freed right hand to slap at the ground, using the *Rising Slap technique to quickly right himself and in a quick turn brought his left hand down towards Junichi with an *Iron Chop aimed at the younger man's shoulder facing the sky.

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[Yuie Junichi]

Some of his scalding shuriken managed to hit, and by the sound Hitsukai made it sounded like they hurt. So he wasn't resistant to everything. Maybe if Junichi had focused on elemental strikes from the beginning, maybe if he'd -

He didn't have much time to contemplate other things he should've done. Hitsukai tilted his body at an unreasonable angle, managing to dodge the last of the shuriken. The staff he'd taken from Junichi pinned the boy to the ground - not completely, but enough that Junichi couldn't comfortably roll or scramble away. Not that he'd have that option anyways, with the makibishi still on the ground. He was so close to the edge of the makibishi, but not close enough.

So far through the fight, Hitsukai hadn't moved or seemed like a man who weighed an unreasonable amount. Junichi could feel it now, though, for a split second. The pressure on his staff suddenly became unbearable. Surely it would've pulverized him if the staff didn't break under the pressure first, snapping apart like a twig.

Junichi was winded, in pain, and trapped. Even though Junichi tried to sit up, Hitsukai was already rising from the ground, coming in with another strike.

With little room to dodge, the best he could hope to do was try to block. He raised his arms to do so. As the chop came into contact with his arm, he felt the crunch more than he heard it.

He grit his teeth to try to muffle the yell that ripped out of him, but it didn't do much. As he folded forward and held his arm, he couldn't tell himself much besides come on, don't cry in front of a stadium full of people. What kind of shinobi are you?

He could try to retaliate, but he knew the truth. He'd already lost this match. Anything else he tried to do would just be delaying it. And the worse he got beat up here, the more the medical shinobi would have to rush to patch him up, the worse off he'd be in the third match.

But he was so angry at himself. Why didn't he let Sadako win? She could've done something.

With his unbroken, makibishi-ridden arm, he reached out for Hitsukai. Hitsukai seemed like a nice person. He hoped that Hitsukai would be kind and think, just for a second, that Junichi was just a scared, hurt kid reaching for help.

If he managed to touch Hitsukai's hand or arm, he'd send out a pulse of Jōton chakra. Just like he did to Sadako.

It didn't really matter if the plan succeeded or not, though. Either way, he'd say, voice ragged,

"You win... I forfeit."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Jōton: Iante (Cleansing Release: Relaxation Hands)
CHAKRA COST: Moderate
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu, Kekkei Tōta
ELEMENT: Jōton
DESCRIPTION:

A jutsu with practical in and out of combat uses, Relaxation Hands is one of the more prized Yuie Joton techniques. What it does is allow the user to output a moderate amount of Joton Chakra through their hands, relaxing the muscles of whatever they're touching. Out of combat, this is really good for preventing people from locking up while treating them, being the best message therapist in town... But in coombat, if the user can actually get their hands on a target, it could cause their legs to give out, or their hands to go slack and drop weapons. The main limitation of this is it requires palm-to-skin contact with whoever the user is trying to relax.

[Yasuraka Hitsukai]

Hitsukai felt the bone break under his blow, the sensation of the arm suddenly giving ground as it snapped combined with the grisly crunch that accompanied muffled slightly by Hitsukai's hearing protection. In the heart beat after the blow had landed with bone splintering, Hitsukai had already raised his arm as he prepared to deliver another chop, but upon seeing Junichi nurse his broken arm and reach a hand outwards it became apparent that he was beaten; confirmed in short order by the boy's own words.

With a small frown, Hitsukai reached his hand out to take hold of Junichi's outstretched one, intending to pull the younger man to his feet only for Hitsukai to suddenly lose all strength in his hand as some strange sensation went through his arm. As a matter of instinct, Hitsukai shifted his right shoulder back to pull it away from Junichi. His left hand however also moved on instinct, shooting outwards to grasp hold of the younger man's outstretched arm by the forearm to keep the kid from falling back onto the makibishi below him, although possibly aggravating the ones already in his arm in the process.

With his mind processing what happened, a flurry of thoughts went through his head. Had he been injured more severely earlier in the match? Had he exhausted himself more than he had realized? After a few moments of consideration, it became clear that the feeling had occurred the moment he had grabbed the boy's hand and begun to pull him up. Upon this realization there was admittedly a flood of rage. The nerve of the child to attack him after he had forfeited, the pettiness of trying to sabotage his next fight with whatever Junichi had done to his arm. The rage passed quickly though and shifted instead into a cold judgement.


Letting go of Junichi's arm Hitsukai spoke, his voice in no way trying to keep others from hearing. "How disgraceful. Attacking after forfeiting and hoping no one would notice. So this is how warriors of Amegakure conduct themselves. This is how you respect even your own allies rules for these exams. Pathetic." The final word was emphasized with Hitsukai's head shaking side to side and a look which was a mix of disdain, pity and regret.

Hitsukai did not wait for a response. While he may hear it leaving, he had not intention of turning this into an argument or debate. He sincerely doubted that Junichi would receive any punishment given the closeness of their two villages and lack of visible proof that the act had been committed, but he had said his piece to the boy and that was enough for now. The only thing on his mind now was making his way to the medics to see if they could restore strength and sensation to his arm and tend to the burns on his chest.

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Yuie Junichi]

It worked. Junichi was almost surprised of it himself. Hitsukai almost dropped him, then grabbed him again, digging the makibishi further in by accident, making Junichi grit his teeth.

He didn't want to look up, didn't want to see the look on Hitsukai's face while he processed it, but he forced himself to and watched the judgement settle there. Junichi felt a pit in his stomach.

It was a petty thing to do. It was a mean thing to do. He regretted it, but it was something that couldn't be undone. Some part of him would rather be judged than looked down on, and he knew it was so easy to look down on him. In his selfishness he had just thought, I want someone to see that I can be useful in some way. Even if I'm not a good fighter, I can read people, and I can exploit them. Please tell me I deserve to be here. 

Hitsukai made his disappointment plain. If Junichi were a ruthless and calculating shinobi like many of the others here maybe he could play it cool, or be smug, or feign ignorance. That wasn't the kind of shinobi Junichi wanted to be. Instead he had no choice but to remain the pathetic one he also didn't want to be.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he said, voice still tearful, as he turned to start to carefully pick his way through the makibishi, back towards his own exit from the arena. The pain was throbbing up both arms and he needed treatment.

What almost hurt worse was having to contend with his own failure. Hitsukai would never think his underhanded trick was clever, and in a real fight he would've died before he could ever pull it off because no one has sympathy for a coward, and no one will tell him he deserves to be here until it's true.