[takeda sadako]

Stupid. They stepped onto the scales, everything lit up, and the puzzle was solved. They would've been done a month ages ago if they hadn't been so stupid.

Sadako moved into the next room along with the group, careful to not let that psycho Taki genin too close at her back--she didn't doubt that he would stab her in it if he had half the chance--and took a quick look around. They were the last group in, obviously, all of the rest of the groups having finished long before they did. And they were barely there longer than a minute before the next stage started, and names started getting called.

A one-on-one elimination round. Two genin were chosen at a time to go into the next room to duke it out; a couple of minutes passed, and then the next pair were called. Sadako took the opportunity to stretch, breathe, try to vent some of the winding tension and frustration that wound up her shoulders and locked her muscles up tight. But as the minutes slipped by and more and more of the remaining genin were called forward, she ground her teeth harder.

Eventually, the Taki genin got called--vice one of the guys from Kusa. Good riddance. If she never had to see that asshole again it'd be too soon.

(The fight was a nightmare. Atagi didn't stand a chance; barely more than a few minutes blitzed by before Sadako was standing in the observation area with a dismembered arm in her hands. Her front was bloody. Her hands were bloody. At some point, the arm was taken from her, but who took it or where it went, she didn't really know. )

A few more minutes, then:

"Yuie Junichi!"

Sadako, mechanical, obligatory, stepped over to clap him on the shoulder. She left a bloody handprint on his shirt, but didn't seem to realize. "Knock 'em dead, kid," she started to say, before--

"versus Takeda Sadako!"

she froze in place.

Sadako yanked her hand back, teeth gritted, and slunk into the ring.

She was tired, sore; it had been a long race. Mentally, she was exhausted, still reeling from getting screamed down by an eight hundred pound stone teenager in a locked room with no escape route; the image of an arm in her hands seared into her eyes. Her head hurt. Her jaw hurt. Her blood had been jackrabbiting through her veins since that boy's arm had first shapeshifted and never quite got back to normal.

Now she had to beat down Junichi, or fail.

Again.

(Flash-frozen in her memory: the subway, Junichi slinging his staff around, the sound of crumpling flesh and cracking bone as the kid killed a man to save her life.)

Moonlight shone from the opening above the arena, cascading softly over dirt and stone as Sadako took up her position on the far side of the chalked-in lines. She didn't say anything; her expression was flat, falling into its natural resting scowl. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, rolled her head, shook out her arms. 

She couldn't quit. Not now, when she was so close to the end. 

(But he--Hotarubi--was moving on to the next round. If she won, what if she had to face him?)

(What if Junichi won, and had to face him?) 

Her training weights stayed on, same as they had all day.  

battle theme

[Yuie Junichi]

In the end, the puzzle really was that simple. If everyone had listened to him the first time they probably would've been one of the first groups done, but instead they were the last, filtering in late right on the edge of elimination. Given no time to wind down and reset after the marathon-into-puzzle, it was now time for one-on-one battles, something Junichi was dreading more than anything else.

That dread grew with each name called, the breath held in his lungs until a new name finished the pair, only for the process to start again. By the time several fights had played out he found himself internally begging to get it over with so he could stop being so anxious.

When his name was finally called, it did not relieve his anxiety. When Sadako clapped his shoulder he almost reached up to squeeze her hand on instinct, but by the time he did she'd already pulled it away. It took him a second to parse the reason. Her name had been called, too.

Junichi's head swirled, mind racing as he stared after her, her retreating back as she made way to the Arena.

Was this... part of the test? They'd been working together this whole time; were the proctors forcing them to prove they could stand to fight each other? That they could function without each other?

He followed into the Arena, too, limbs feeling leaden. They couldn't both win, couldn't both advance. Would that cause tension back home, on their team? Should he give up? But after their performance in the last round he didn't really want to do that for himself or for her. As he took his mark, he regarded her with a certain fear, and he realized it was because-

He could actually win this. She could, too. They were on fairly even ground. But there was a shot. He'd spent so much time imagining all the horrible, embarrassing ways that he could lose that he'd never even contemplated a world where he could win, and that was terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, he gave Sadako a bow like the beginning of a proper spar. If they had to fight, he was going to give her the respect of taking her deadly seriously.

Good luck," he said, earnestly, before standing up straight and holding up his staff. Would she take the first move or wait on him? History said she was impulsive.

[takeda sadako]

For half a second Sadako thought Junichi was going to forfeit--he just stared at her like a baffled, blinded doe.

Good thing he didn't; she'd have beat his ass for the insult.

It was rare that she deigned to give more of a brief, sharp upnod at the start of a bout. When Junichi bowed, Sadako's mouth thinned.

"Don't hold back," she said, flat.

She rolled her shoulders, and returned the bow.

History said she was impulsive, and if it had been anyone else, her arrogance might have sent her rushing in to start throwing hits. But Junichi was quick on his feet, that staff hit hard, and he was miles more adept with ninjutsu than her. She had to get in close, but she couldn't afford to take risks.

She shook her wrist, the bells on her bracelet tinkling softly as she molded chakra at the forefront of her mind. To Junichi's eyes, two clones would materialize on Sadako's flanks, and all three girls would adjust their stance. Weight heavy on the back foot, front foot light, hands up and palms loose at the chest.

And then she waited.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Naru Kane: Kakashi [Ringing Bells: Scarecrow]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: To Use: Low | To Maintain: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
TRIGGER: Auditory [bells ringing]
DESCRIPTION:
The bushin technique creates clones. This technique attempts to do much the same, without actually needing to create clones. Instead, it causes the victim to hallucinate and see multiple images of the user, each with a swaying bell hanging from their waist. These images are not independent clones, and simply do the exact motions of the user. Because it will be difficult to tell the real one apart from the illusions, the user can take advantage of this and attack the target without much trouble.

[Yuie Junichi]

The jingle of bells - a genjutsu? Or, no, a clone technique. The vision of Sadako split triple, two clones to either side. She'd naturally had to learn it in the academy, but she could also know a more advanced clone technique. He would have to be careful and treat them like genuine threats until proven otherwise. If it was three against one, his odds would significantly plummet.

She wasn't moving in, so she was waiting for him to strike first. Was he brave enough to strike first? He had to be. That was okay. Being on the offensive was better, right? He took a deep breath.

Channeling chakra around his staff, the end of it began to glow with a cold white light. He spun it in his grip and made a dash towards Sadako. If he took a wide swing with it from the base of the other side, he could try a sweeping blow across all three clones. Maybe that could help him identify which was the right one. Or, at the very least, it would put all three on the defensive?

That was his goal with his approach - flip the staff around and swing it in a big arc, seeing if it could connect with any of the three, or at the very least make them dodge.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu used:

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.

[takeda sadako]

White light glowed from the end of Junichi’s staff. He had used a similar technique on the subway, she thought, but she couldn’t exactly remember what it did—the memory was more or less a blur, with only a few moments preserved in her mind, crystalline and precise.

He initiated, closing the gap. He was quick; quicker than she’d expected, though she probably shouldn’t have been surprised, since he liked that damn staff so much. He swung it in a wide arc, trying to hit her—and presumably the illusory copies of herself she’d conjured on either side.

Sadako twisted in place, avoiding the end of Junichi’s staff by a razor-thin margin—but the strike only missed the real Sadako, and passed right through one of her genjutsu clones.

The Sadako-copies on her flanks performed her exact movements at the exact same time; landing hard on her back heel, sweeping her front leg to the side and back to assume a lower stance. They grabbed shuriken from their belts and tossed them—the center Sadako’s aiming for center mass, albeit not with any real skill or finesse. Even if the illusory jig was up, she just needed to make him flinch.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x1)
- Very low

NAME: Kuikkurōtēshon [Quick Rotation]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0

DESCRIPTION:
Utilizing chakra in the feet, ankles and legs specifically. It is a small amount of energy, but used precisely on reflexes and timing. This technique is gauged this way. When timed, the user can twist themselves abruptly out of the way of an attack. Like a speedy side-step, but a rotation of one's body to the side. A spin-move. This is only attacks in an immediate vicinity(three meters) anything else is too big an attack. Usually Taijutsu, but sometimes this technique is effective against close-range ninjutsu.

[Yuie Junichi]

As he swung, all three Sadakos dodged in unison, perfectly mirrored movements in a way that was almost uncanny, though he was too focused on his own strike to really make much of that information in the moment. The most important thing to note was that the staff passed right through one of the clones, the one to Sadako's left, his right. That was one down, and he only had two to worry about aiming his strikes towards.

At least in theory. In practice, it was really hard to avoid flinching even when an illusory attack was thrown at you. Drawing his hands together, he was forced to abandon his steady grip on his staff, hooking one arm around it to keep it in the crook of his elbow so he could use both hands to forge two hand seals.

Exhaling a burst of steam from his mouth, he was able to block the shuriken aiming straight for him, the pressure of the mist causing it to stall out and fall. The other shuriken went wide, missing him entirely - was that Sadako also an illusion, then? If that was the case, maybe his options for his next strike were narrowed.

For now, though, having to take the defensive there put him on the back foot and left him open for a strike, given his unsteady hold on his staff.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Joton: Yasashī Kiri [Cleanse Release: Gentle Mist]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Joton
HANDSEALS: 2
DESCRIPTION:

The most basic of the Joton steam techniques. After performing the hand seals the user blows out a small amount of steam from their mouth. The steam produced has enough pressure to block thrown weapons but doesn't reach very far. An opponent hit at point blank range may suffer first-degree burns, but this technique is mostly used as a defense.

[takeda sadako]

Two handseals and a burst of steam came from Junichi’s mouth, stopping the one real shuriken sent Junichi’s way in its tracks. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been hoping it would land in some capacity—she had an intense desire to land the first hit of the match—but she had at least succeeded in her main objective: throwing him off balance.

It was quick thinking on his part, though. Even as her lip curled with irritation, a brief burst of pride flickered through her chest.

From her lowered stance Sadako pushed off hard from her back foot, taking a brief running start to close the gap before leaping up to swing a solid roundhouse kick towards Junichi’s head. Her remaining genjutsu clone acted in tandem, though its lack of tangibility and independent motion would only become more and more obvious as it copied Sadako’s exact movements, leaping into the air to kick at exactly nothing.

The kick was definitely nothing close to a lethal or even truly dangerous strike, if it connected at all—and Sadako’s lack of midair maneuverability would leave her vulnerable until she was back on the ground. She just had to hope she was fast enough.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x2)
- Very low
- Very low

NAME: Dainamikku Entori - [Dynamic Entry]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
DESCRIPTION:
After utilizing a distraction, such as throwing a kunai, the user will perform a jump kick into their opponent's face from their blind spot.

[Yuie Junichi]

Given that Junichi was busy with blocking that kunai strike, he didn't have appropriate time to respond to the roundhouse kick that Sadako followed up with. She was slightly quicker on her feet and had better reaction time than him regardless, so even if he'd had appropriate time to move he may not have been able to dodge regardless. The kick landed solidly, knocking him off balance backwards and causing him to hit the ground, hard.

The impact made him dizzy, almost seeing stars. Something requiring careful aim wouldn't work right now, while he was still regathering his bearings, and from the ground using his staff wouldn't net him the best results. Instead, he opted to reach for his belt and grabbed a few shuriken. Quickly forming another three hand seals with the blades pressed close to his palm, he formed a deluge of steam arrowheads, firing them off in succession at Sadako.

Hiding within three of the arrowheads would be the real shuriken he'd grasped, creating an additional layer of damage if one of those were to strike her.

Using this attack as cover, he would attempt to right himself, aiming to get back on his feet and get his staff back firmly in hand. Given the opportunity, he would try to get back at a mid-range distance, so that he could take another swing at her with his staff.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Joton: Mushi Yajiri [Cleanse Release: Steaming Arrowheads]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Joton
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:

After performing the necessary hand seals, the user either expels a series of small blasts of steam in the shape of arrowheads or creates them from an existing source of steam. Each one of these arrowheads is about the size of a kunai. These are fired in succession and such numbers that it makes it difficult to dodge by simple means. They are light in form and so they can even be used to hide shuriken within them without being disturbed. On contact with an opponent, this steam can cause second-degree burns.

[takeda sadako]

Her foot connected with Junichi’s face, sending him straight to the ground. Sadako followed the kick through, landing squarely on the balls of her feet and pulling her hands up in a defensive stance as she took stock of what she’d done.

Junichi was far from out of the fight, and there was no time to congratulate herself for landing the first strike; he was already forming handseals, and the devil only knew what the hell he was conjuring up.

Two options, then: play it safe and keep her distance, or go loud and try to stay up the kid’s ass. If it were anyone else she might have been more careful, but Junichi was much more effective at midrange than Sadako could ever hope to be, which meant her only shot at winning the match involved doing her damnedest to stay right in his space. The less room he had to use that staff, the better off she’d be.

Three arrowheads, pop-pop-pop, right at her. The clone was useless, then; she ditched the genjutsu, not wanting to waste any more chakra than she needed to, and lunged forward to close the cap as Junichi was trying to right himself. A twisting motion got her out of the way of the first arrowhead, but her reckless maneuver to keep close meant she ran straight into the second two, steam bursting white-hot against her skin, a searing pain like shimmering hot oil bursting out from the pan.

Not just burns, either—she felt the cold slice of metal, one shuriken slicing the meat of her bicep and the other lodging itself into her shoulder. It fucking hurt.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Sadako gritted her teeth, and pushed the feeling aside: it was just a minor inconvenience, nothing more. She could deal with it later.

If she succeeded in keeping her preferred melee distance, she’d go for the oldest trick in her book: sand, straight into Junichi’s eyes, coupled with a swift and brutal kick to his shin. Though it was likely she’d take a whack from his staff for her efforts.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x2)
- Very low
- Very low
- Very low

NAME: Pokettosando [Pocket Sand]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
REQUIREMENT: Sand or other Loose Granules
DESCRIPTION:
Sand or other granular objects are kept in the pockets for use in self-defense. If a person using pocket sand is in a confrontation, they can draw the sand from their pockets and use it to temporarily blind or distract their opponent.

[Yuie Junichi]

Two of the shuriken landed, a relief, as it allowed him to start catching up on damage. His head still hurt and he was pretty sure his jaw was going to bruise, but he didn't want to let it set him behind. Being on the back foot in a fight was a bad idea, and he needed to - to keep pace.

When Sadako closed distance again and reached into her pocket, he tried to brace himself. Despite having seen this trick before, he wasn't ready for it. He was expecting another weapon or something, not a face-full of sand.

Junichi had spent pretty much his entire short life cursing the fact he needed glasses, given the areas where his skills lied, but in this one situation it turned out to be almost helpful. The sand couldn't directly strike him in the eyes, avoiding the pain usually associated with such an attack. However, the sand did thoroughly coat his glasses and obscure his vision pretty much completely, creating a new complication for him to deal with! That was going to take hours to clean off!

He couldn't see at all, so he was going to have to fight mostly blind. In that way, Sadako closing in for melee distance was almost a blessing. She kicked his shin and he doubled over, but reached out to grasp at her arm. All he needed was brief contact with bare skin and he could send out a pulse of chakra - a technique he'd practiced for exactly this kind of situation.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kanashibari no Jutsu [Body Paralysis Technique]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION:

Kanashibari no Jutsu is an advanced Ninjutsu technique used to temporarily bind an individual or animal by stunning them with one's own chakra after making physical contact. This technique is a single and time coordinated burst that must result in the user striking out and making contact with the target. A success will result in the target person frozen in place for no longer than a moment, the user can either take the opportunity to attack or to retreat. Someone with superior strength can overcome the bind of the jutsu, and so does pain.

[takeda sadako]

The sand connected.

With his glasses.

"Fuck,” Sadako swore under her breath. This was the second fucking time she had made this dipshit mistake—first trying to throw sand into a guy’s full-coverage face mask, and now Junichi’s glasses, even though she knew full well that he was a fuckin’ four-eyes and had been for as long as she’d known him. But they were just part of him, same as he had blonde hair and a stupid little waistcoat.

Still, it kind of worked, with his vision obscured even if his eyes were protected. Her kick connected. Junichi doubled over, reaching out to latch onto her arm. On instinct, she reached out to meet him, grasping his forearm--smearing Atagi's blood onto his skin--to help him keep his balance, stay upright. She didn’t even think about it. He was her teammate, right?

Stupid.

A pulse of chakra sent shockwaves through her system, locking her in place; Sadako gritted her teeth, trying to fight through the temporary paralysis, trying through sheer force of will to keep within melee reach of Junichi. But she was locked in, at least for a moment, enough time for Junichi to make more distance or prepare an attack.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x2)
- Very low
- Very low
- Very low

[Yuie Junichi]

Sadako caught him. Leaned right into the touch, trying to support him. He flashed with guilt even as the chakra connected. In trying to be kind she'd fallen right into his attack.

She was strong. Much stronger than him. This brief stun wouldn't last. She'd be moving again in a millisecond, possibly even in time to counter. His mind raced with possibilities on how to capitalize on the narrow opening. He didn't want to hurt her, not after she'd tried to help him.

It would take a bit of chakra and he might regret the investment, if next round was as intense. But this was a good shot, and with his vision obscured he wasn't sure what else he could do.

Gripping the arm already in his grasp with both hands, he channeled his soap release chakra through her. The relaxation hands technique, designed first for massage, it had been adapted for battlefield use. To counter physical and weapons experts, mostly, but generally to put an opponent out of commission. It should relax Sadako's muscles, possibly drop her without making her bleed more. It wouldn't necessarily stop her from retaliating first.

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.

[takeda sadako]

The paralysis lasted for only a second before Sadako was able to force her way through it, jaw clenched with the effort of forcing her muscles to move in spite of the protest of her exhausted, assaulted chakra network. She clenched onto Junichi's arm with a white-knuckled grip, digging her nails into his blood-slicked skin to force him to stay close, and wound up her other hand to put as much torque into an uppercut to his solar plexus as she possibly could.

But she wasn't fast enough.

The shock to her chakra network had slowed her down just enough. Instead of running away, like she assumed he would with the time he'd given himself, Junichi put his other hand on her arm, and another shock went through her system--but not paralysis, like it had before. This time, all of the tension wound up through her shoulders and back, her clenched muscles and gritted teeth, just... melted away. Her legs gave out from under her, sending her to her knees. She had the instinct of taking a cheap shot, punching Junichi right in the crotch, but the movement of her arm was slow, sluggish, like all of her hard-won musculature had just gone to sleep. All of her speed, her strength: gone in an instant.

Sadako lifted her chin, glaring at her teammate as if to say: Take the shot.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x2)
- Very low
- Very low
- Very low

[Yuie Junichi]

It worked. Her muscles went slack and she fell down to her knees in front of him, the soap chakra working its magic to totally relax her. He was relieved that he'd managed it right, that he'd pulled it off. Still, just because he relaxed her didn't mean she had given in. Didn't mean that the fight was necessarily over.

She looked up at him with this stony face. Sadako wasn't the kind of person who was going to give up or back down, even when she was in a bad position, even when she might not be able to fight back with all her strength. She was stubborn. There was all this spirit in her gaze. He wondered partially if she was doubting him, too. If she thought he might not have the fortitude himself to go through with it. She was almost right. He felt guilty. Part of him really, really wanted to give up here.

Then he looked over at the spectator box - over his glasses, so everything was a smear of vague shapes - and among the small crowd that remained he saw the figure of Hotarubi. He couldn't see him smiling, but he could feel it. If they had to go head to head in the next round, if Sadako had to go against him... He'd probably try to crush her before she could even open her mouth to forfeit, right?

He wouldn't ask Sadako to forfeit. He knew she wouldn't. She had too much pride, and she was probably worrying about the same thing anyways. She wanted the respect of a proper knockout. She wanted to lose for real instead of having to concede, she wanted him to treat her like a real opponent.

Alright. Deep breath. One quick motion. He knew how to do this without cracking her skull. Don't feel guilty. She'd do the same. Right? Don't feel guilty. Don't feel guilty. Don't feel guilty.

Junichi pulled up his staff and whacked her with it, hard.

[takeda sadako]

Junichi hesitated, looking at her--at least, she thought he was looking at her. She couldn't see his eyes through the dirt on his lenses.

He was giving her ample time to react, pausing as long as he did. But try as she might, legs shaking with the effort, she couldn't get her muscles to cooperate. They wouldn't flex, wouldn't tense, wouldn't do any of the things she needed them to do for her to be able to stand up or throw a punch or even perform the basic act of making a hand sign. She was well and truly beaten--Junichi just had to end it.

She wouldn't forfeit. Couldn't. Part of it was her pride, yeah, not wanting the utter humiliation of saying the words out loud; she had earned the basic respect of being beaten in truth, and if he had asked her to surrender then she would've knocked him senseless for the insult. But another part of it was a challenge to see if he could go through with it. If he could commit. If he didn't end this fight here, the proper way, then what chance did he stand in the next round? Against someone who was truly out to hurt him, kill him?

He looked over his glasses up at the contestant box, but Sadako just kept her gaze on him, her mouth flattening into a thin line.

He looked back at her, and pulled his staff up in a quick motion before everything went black.

battle theme

SPOILER: Click to show

FATIGUE METER: TIRED. 60% CAPACITY
CHAKRA CONSUMPTION:
- Low + Very low drain (x2)
- Very low
- Very low
- Very low