[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Once more, and for the last time, Hoshi found himself stepping into Kagamino no Shi's arena. While his first fight had ended in his favor, his second had ended with his defeat but that was the least of his worries. The Ame genin angrily stomped out towards the center doing his best to ignore the nagging reminder in his mind that his custom outfit was now horribly scarred! Sure he had done his best to get it fixed up, but with only a day to work with the patchwork left quite a bit to be desired.

Hoshi did his best to turn his attention back to the matter at hand, staring down his opponent with some residual frustration on his face but a more curious expression slowly taking hold.

"You're a Kirigakure genin too? All three of my fights have been against you misty people..."

He quickly noted that at the very least, Taru wasn't carrying any sort of big, pointy instruments of death, which was a relief, though the bow and arrows gave him some pause. Hoshi settled into an elegant sort of pose as he waited for the fight to begin, doing his best to cast aside his concern over his outfit and dreading over what sort of combatant Taru was.

"Let's just make this a good show, okay?"

At the end of the day, that was what mattered to the world's greatest dancer! And he hoped that Taru wasn't going to use that pesky, audience-blocking mist jutsu.

Suzuki Taru

[Suzuki Taru]

The final fight was here, the last day of this great event. The final performance that would determine the results of these exams. Taru's first two fights had ended in something of a loss (though her second was technically a draw on the books). Though she felt that she had shown off her abilities to a sufficient degree, it'd still be nice to come away with at least one win from these events.

Today, Taru's fight was the first of the day. She'd gone a little later in all the others, had more time to prepare, but today she was fresh. Her notes from the previous rounds were in her mind. Her opponent that she was summoned to the ring with was an interesting one - flashy, a performer of some kind. He had a strong spirit. She hadn't had the chance to meet him before the fight, which made him the second she was first meeting in the ring.

"I hope I can make myself the most memorable, then," Taru said, beaming at him brightly. He seemed like someone capable of being a good sport. She was lucky she hadn't ended up against anyone looking for bloodshed.

"Let's both show off all our skills and wow the audience." That seemed like what he liked to do, based on his other showings. 

She gave him a bow.

Time to close the distance. When the start of the round was officially announced, she dashed forward, trying to get in close to him to start, opening with a simple kick.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

In a self-fulling way, Taru's own words conveniently made herself the most memorable of Hoshi's opponents. She didn't have the strange stoic yet rage-filled expression that Asuna wore nor the openly angry disposition that Kasumi had. Instead, Taru happily agreed to give the audience a good show and even gave a respectful bow before the fight officially began. He hastily mirrored the bow before returning to his original pose, genuinely grinning for the first time during this third round of the exams.

The Ame genin held his elegant pose up until the last possible moment, spinning away from the simple kick while attempting to focus his chakra into Taru's nervous system. It was the same opening move he had attempted with Asuna, and he similarly followed his genjutsu by trying to dart away and stay out of close quarters combat. He was still wary of that bow Taru carried, but Hoshi very much would rather take his chances with the arrows than any sneaky up-close tricks.

Even as Hoshi attempted to zig-zag away from his opponent, he formed a pair of handseals, boar then tiger. His hand speed left much to be desired, and there was a fairly good chance that Taru would have easily noted them if she had chosen to continue looking at Hoshi.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu Used:
NAME: Hidari Butai to Migi Butai [Stage Left and Stage Right]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
HANDSEALS: None
TRIGGER: Visual - Witnessing user do a spin
DESCRIPTION:
Upon seeing the user do a spin, the target's sight will be reversed for 2 rotations. While disorienting, this jutsu only affects sight, meaning that while the target may see things as if though they were mirrored, they will still feel and hear things as normal.

[Suzuki Taru]

Twirling out of the way of her strike, Hoshi planted an image Taru would not yet be aware of. He was light on his feet, quick. She kept her eye on him and spotted the hand seals, but seeing seals and predicting or understanding their effect was a very different beast.

"Ah?" She exclaimed, taken by a sudden dizziness as her vision switched sides. The room appeared now in mirror image, the proctor no longer standing where they had been before. She tried to follow after Hoshi, but saw a different leg move than she felt, and was properly disoriented.

She stopped, rooting herself in place for a moment as she tried to get back to her senses.

This was - it must be a genjutsu unless it were some kind of ninjutsu? It was hurting her brain to think around, but she wasn't sure yet if she wanted to risk wasting her chakra on an escape attempt. What if she was wrong?

Scrambling for her bow with awkward movement, she raised it. Firing off a normal shot like this wasn't going to be possible, but if she concentrated really hard, maybe she could take aim even under these conditions.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Ichitama no Jutsu [One Shot Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
A simple, direct, and efficient technique. The user readies a bow and arrow, sacrificing rate of fire to provide a more accurate (though not necessarily stronger) shot instead. This technique helps firing a bow mitigate other obstacles as well such as high winds or heavy rain. The focus required on this technique means it is prone to disruption, and leaves the user vulnerable in melee. It also requires them to remain stationary for its use in order to minimize the amount of factors that need to be calculated per shot.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

The dancer from Amegakure successfully managed to enact his genjutsu on Taru, darting away before also successfully forming his next hand seals. When Hoshi noticed that his opponent wasn't pursuing him he skidded to a halt, gathering his chakra to perform another genjutsu. He was just about to break into a dance when Taru made a move for her bow, sending a jolt of panic up Hoshi's throat.

He was critically indecisive for a crucial moment, frozen in place as Taru took aim. At the last possible moment, Hoshi decided to just go with his original instinct, starting up a fast paced, jerky dance. He hoped his rapid movements combined with his initial genjutsu would be enough to avoid being struck by the arrow, but his hesitation ended up leading only leading to pain. Searing pain erupted in Hoshi's upper arm, on the opposite side of the injury he sustained in his last fight. Yet again, the Ame genin forced himself to not look at his newly acquired injury, fighting back tears as he pushed himself through the burning to continue his dance.

To anyone watching, the dance would show off a number of feline movements complete with hands and fingers curled into 'paws,' culminating in a final pose with a prominently arched back. If Taru observed this dance she would be freed from the effects of Hoshi's previous genjutsu and instead put under the effects of the fresher technique.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Tora no Odori [Dance of the Tiger]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
HANDSEALS: 2 - I/Boar, Tora/Tiger
TRIGGER: Visual - Witnessing user's dance
DESCRIPTION:
After performing the handseals, the user will perform a fast-paced, jerky dance. Those that witness the dance will be caught in the genjutsu. This genjutsu causes the target to perceive all beings they saw as humans before as tigers instead. Even human speech becomes tiger growls and roars. Lasts 2 posts.

[Suzuki Taru]

Given that she'd been aiming at him and watching for her blow to land (he looked so sad about the injury, it almost made her feel guilty!), she didn't have much time to look away before the completion of his interesting dance. Again her vision shifted, almost swimming as a new reality took hold.

She looked confused and disoriented for a moment as the combatant before her took the form of a tiger. Not only him, but the entire stadium. In a sudden wave, every single one of them now appeared as tigers, their noises a chorus of growls. Taru looked around at them with wide eyes, thoroughly confused.

The young shinobi wasn't a Koketsu, so he couldn't have any tiger familiars, let alone this many. And no additional help was allowed or he'd have been expelled, so these couldn't be summons. That meant this definitely was another genjutsu, right?

"This is cool! I'm friends with two tigers!" She informed Hoshi, like he might be interested to know that. Of course, she couldn't see what he was doing or planning on while everything was like this... It would make gauging an attack on him pretty hard, too. She didn't want to run up at him and waste chakra attacking the air. He wasn't as big as a tiger at all.

Maybe it was time for her to show off her own genjutsu, then? She only knew one, but she'd been saving it for the final fight.

Taru clapped her hands into the snake seal.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu - [Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: N/A
TRIGGER: Handseal (Sight)
DESCRIPTION:

Activated by the user seeing a handseal, the illusion begins with the user being quickly obscured by some material natural to the location and disappearing from sight once it clears. This material could be leaves, sand, water, etc. A somewhat slower burning technique, it is still quite effective as this is a genjutsu that reveals the fears that dwell inside people's hearts. Everyone has an image of the one thing they wouldn't want to ever see. This genjutsu is a technique that draws forth such an image from within the heart and has one mistake it for reality. First, an imaginary circle of leaves will spin around and envelop the target, falling away shortly after. After a short period, the illusion will begin. This is to make the illusion more convincing, since the user will likely have moved before the illusion sets in. If the mental image is a gruesome one, the shock will be accordingly great. [2 rotations max from start to finish]

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Hoshi was surprised that he managed to get his entire dance off, though he had suffered an arrow for it. He had the sense that his genjutsu had taken hold but Taru also gave verbal confirmation. As excited as Hoshi was that she had appreciated his dance, her reaction was a bit suspicious and he was immediately on guard. Even as she put away her bow to form a clapping handseal, Hoshi's eyes were trained intensely on her movements, not considering even for a moment that she was attempting to put him under a genjutsu.

There was a gust of dirt and debris that blew around Hoshi, and for some reason Hoshi couldn't quite figure out it seemed that his focus on Taru dissipated. Instead his gaze was drawn to the rows and rows of audience members, nothing but disappointment in their expressions as they silently stood up from their seats and left. Hoshi spun around in confusion as they made their exits, dashing away from Taru's direction as he tried to piece together why nobody was paying attention to him anymore?! The lights in the audience section turned out as the arena was fully vacated, an eerie silence as Hoshi found himself battling a feeling of desolation and abandonment, how could a star shine if there was nobody there to perceive it?

Just when Hoshi was prepared to lie down and give up, something finally clicked in the genin's mind, an immediate feeling of foolishness taking over as Hoshi turned back to face Taru's last known location. His hands slapped themselves together to form a simple tiger seal, a wave of chakra washing over his own body as he freed himself from Taru's genjutsu.

"You know some genjutsu too! You really had me for a second there..."

Of course, unless Taru also released herself from her genjutsu, Hoshi's words would only be registered as tiger growls and roaring.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kai [Release]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low- High Depending on the rank of the genjutsu
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:
Kai is a technique invented to counteract the targeting of Genjutsu, working by halting one's chakra flow with a hand seal before drastically increasing the rate of chakra flow within oneself, forcing the opposing chakra out of the body. This can also be used on another person by manually forcing a surge of chakra into their body through direct contact, breaking them of their mesmerized state. One's skill to break an illusion depends on their skill and understanding of Genjutsu, as some may prove too powerful to escape by conventional means.

[Suzuki Taru]

From the frantic way Hoshi was, presumably, moving given the image of the tiger in front of her moving around anxiously, it seemed that her genjutsu had taken! This was a good opportunity for her to take a moment to release herself from her own illusion. This one didn't seem particularly harmful or anything, but it really was getting in the way. She wanted to have an opportunity to show off her skills instead of trying to play around the whole tiger thing, even if she thought she might be able to do it.

Forming another hand seal, she used her chakra to force Hoshi's chakra from her body, lifting the veil of the genjutsu with some exertion. Her kai wasn't especially strong, so she was lucky that this was one she could actually push off.

She grinned at Hoshi's words, putting her hands on her hips.

"I tried to study a bit of everything." She wasn't specialized in anything and focused on all trades. It was a weakness in some ways, but it also helped her to be very unexpected in a fight if her opponent never knew what was coming. "I saved it for this final fight!"

That was her only one, so she couldn't be trying that again, however.

Taru formed another three hand seals, creating two illusory clones to either side of herself. Then she tried to move in again, wanting to make up some space between herself and Hoshi.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kai [Release]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low- High Depending on the rank of the genjutsu
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:

Kai is a technique invented to counteract the targeting of Genjutsu, working by halting one's chakra flow with a hand seal before drastically increasing the rate of chakra flow within oneself, forcing the opposing chakra out of the body. This can also be used on another person by manually forcing a surge of chakra into their body through direct contact, breaking them of their mesmerized state. One's skill to break an illusion depends on their skill and understanding of Genjutsu, as some may prove too powerful to escape by conventional means.

NAME: Bunshin no Jutsu [Clone Technique]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:

After performing the necessary hand seals, the user can create a handful of intangible clones to confuse the enemy. They do not contain solid mass, have no shadows and do not interact with the surrounding environment, making them somewhat easy to distinguish from the real person.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

As Hoshi calmed himself from the genjutsu he just only freed himself from he realized that Taru had done the same with his. Without fearing coursing through his veins the burning pain from the arrow still lodged in his arm returned, though it was a bit dulled due to the somewhat fun and exciting nature of the fight.

"A bit of everything? Huh."

The idea of studying a bit of everything perplexed the young dancer, genjutsu was the best after all, but he shook away his personal thoughts to focus on Taru's next move, yet again looking directly at his opponent as she formed a set of three hand seals. Hoshi figured it was time to use one of his other tricks, pulling out his folding fan and flicking it open with a flourish. He was just about to try using another genjutsu when he was surprised by the sudden appearance of two more Taru's. Hoshi instinctively leaped away from the approaching trio, swinging his fan with a hard gust of fuuton chakra. In this case Hoshi wanted to kick up some dirt into his opponent's eyes but swirl of dust also helped confirm that the other two Taru's weren't solid clones. Unfortunately the wind wasn't exactly strong enough to actually push away anybody and Hoshi found himself uncomfortably close to his opponent.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fūsajin no Jutsu [Dust Wind Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
REQUIREMENTS: Giant Fan / Other
DESCRIPTION:
The user uses their Giant Folding Fan to generate a gust of wind that layers the surrounding area in a blast of sand. This layer of sand that accumulates on the nearby trees makes it difficult for others to get a good footing. The initial gust can also temporarily blind opponents by lodging sand in their eyes. Or even creating a minor sand covering to hide your position to escape/hide.

[Suzuki Taru]

As Taru approached, Hoshi lifted his fan and flung dirt and dust into her eyes with the use of a fuuton technique. She yelped, bringing her hands up to her face to rub at her eyes, her clones mirroring the movement even though they had not also been affected by the technique. Ow! That wasn't a very severe injury or anything, but anything in the eyes always really hurt. That really sucked.

Though she couldn't see for the moment, she decided that she still wanted to make use of the proximity. She'd just have to be more general with her attack than she would prefer.

Forming three hand seals, she would create water, forming it into a whip. Lashing forward with it, she struck out in a wide arc, trying to whip Hoshi with it if she was able to. She kept the motion broad to give herself the best shot. That meant it would probably hurt less than a direct hit if she did manage to land the blow, but it would hopefully still be effective.

After making that move, she would bring her hands back to her face and use whatever suiton might be left over to flush her eyes out. Hoshi was doing a great job making it hard for her to see properly in this fight!

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Name:Mizu no Muchi - [Whip of Water]
Rank:D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low / Very Low Secondary for electrocution
Type:Ninjutsu
Element:Suiton
HANDSEALS: 3
Description:

Mizu no Muchi is a Ninjutsu that utilizes water to create a whip. The ninja can also send an electric current through the whip to electrocute their opponent, but this is only possible if the user can utilize the raiton element as well.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Once again, Hoshi found himself on edge as Taru formed another set of three handseals. While he did try to use the opportunity to back away from his opponent, there was still more than enough time for the Kiri genin to finish her preparations before striking out with a whip of water.

"Hey!"

Hoshi cried out almost instinctively as the suiton struck him, it didn't really injure him as much as he might have first thought it would but the whip still caused plenty of pain as it both slapped against his body and agitated the arrow still in his arm. As Taru cleared the dirt from her eyes Hoshi made sure to be well within her line of sight, folding fan discarded and a single handseal formed before he clapped thrice, the first being much louder than the following two.

"I've seen how you fight, let's see how you dance!"

With his chakra reserves feeling mostly depleted, the dancer hoped he could close out the fight with this final genjutsu, elegantly drawing a kunai into his hand and gracefully stepping forward to attempt to close out the fight in close quarters.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Warutsu o Shimashou [Let's Waltz]

RANK: C

CHAKRA USAGE: Low

CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu

HANDSEALS: 1 - U/Hare

TRIGGER: Sound - Three consecutive claps from the user, the first of which is louder than the following two.

DESCRIPTION:
After the user forms the handseal and the target hears the trigger, for the next three rotations, the target will feel an unbearable weight on their feet every third step they take, essentially causing them to stomp their foot every third step.

[Suzuki Taru]

This must have been another genjutsu! Taru never knew what to expect with these. This one didn't seem to distort her sight in any way. No tigers or mixed up directions, just a lingering sense of unease as she waited for the effect to sink in. She took a few steps forward towards him, and on the third step she felt a sudden crushing weight, like she was doing one of her weight-training exercises. It made her stomp down hard on the ground on her step, almost hurting her knee with the impact of it. Yowch!

That was going to make it pretty impossible to run. Hoshi had a kunai and was hopefully intending to engage in a fight now that Taru's mobility was severely restricted. Maybe she could try to hold her ground and counter from here, then?

Her first move was to pull a kunai of her own, holding it out in front of her. With a flick of her wrist, she would attempt to throw it at Hoshi. Then she would clap her hands together and increase the size of the kunai. She had used this trick in both her previous matches, so he might see it coming, but it was still worth a shot to see if she could get anything in without moving from her current place.

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Hoshi closed the distance with his kunai in hand, somewhat unconsciously stepping in a 3 step pattern of his own as he envisioned the same type of movement from Taru. While he had watched the other fights, he had been much more interested in their spectacle, not quite paying attention or caring to understand the ins and outs of other genin's techniques.

When the kunai came his way the dancer instinctively swung his own kunai to bat it away, only to be surprised when it suddenly grew in size! He still managed to time his parry to send Taru's enlarged kunai off course, but the shock and weight of the impact sent his own bladed weapon careening out of his hand as well. Because he was now right up in front of Taru, Hoshi figured it wouldn't be too wise to try and bother with drawing another kunai, stepping in with a somewhat sideways movement to try and strike with a basic palm thrust aimed for his opponent's face, utilizing his non-injured arm of course.

Hit or miss, Hoshi took a deep breath to draw air into his lungs, a pause in his offense that could easily be exploited, before expelling the air laced with fuuton chakra also aimted for Taru's face.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Fūton: Karyu [Wind Release: Stream]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
DESCRIPTION:
A basic Fūton no Jutsu that a Shinobi uses to blow a powerful stream of wind from their mouth. The technique is mostly used to change directions in mid-air. In this case, the strength of the stream is powerful enough to move the source body at high speeds. On the ground, it can be used to blow up a cloud of dust, masking the caster's movements. It can also be used offensively to stagger an opponent's movement.

[Suzuki Taru]

She disarmed him at least. He moved in for a physical attack and responding to those is really where her style shined. With a solid hop, she jumped up, using her hand to balance herself on Hoshi's arm for a brief second while she countered with her own punch, right to the top of his head. She was already expecting an unfriendly landing because of the genjutsu, but then Hoshi blew on her with another gust of wind.

It sent her falling backwards and while she tried to catch herself, that third-step drop really screwed up her balance. When she stamped down on her third stumble, she tipped over backwards and fell right to the ground.

"It's like the worst weight training ever," she complained, dizzy from her place in the dust. She was used to fighting while dealing with weight, but this was way too much! She didn't want to waste more of her chakra on kai-ing again, but it meant she had to be very considerate of how she continued. She stood up.

The knock-back from Hoshi's attack had sent her a little away, but not crazy far. Moving closer to him again, she decided to use the stamp to her advantage - for her next technique, she needed to stomp anyways!

She brought her hands up into a seal and as her foot landed on the ground, a thin wall of water was formed in front of her, generated from her heavy stomp. She dug in her pocket and tossed a handful of senbon in. Now she could see Hoshi dance!

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Mogura Tataki [Whack-a-mole]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:

When being attacked by a fist or kick, preferably fist, the user will hop up and place one hand on the attacking limb, balancing themselves on it while using the other hand to come down and slap or punch the foe in the top of the head before they hop off.

NAME: Suiton: Senbon Wayaku [Water Release: Senbon Fiasco]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Suiton
DESCRIPTION:

The user will stomp their foot on the ground while preforming a single handseal. Using Suiton Chakra they will manipulate water to create a thin wall of high pressurized water where they step. The user will then throw their senbon towards the enemy. As the senbon pass through the wall, the user will manipulate the water to change their trajectory. The senbon will shift slightly as the pressurized water forces them through like a pitching machine making them travel fast enough to pierce stone. This wall of water lasts for about ten seconds after which it will fall.