[Yuie Junichi]

After his round with Hitsukai he was ferried to visit the medical shinobi. One mild pain killer later and they were setting his broken arm. Hitsukai's break had been relatively clean. That was lucky, because it meant there was less time under the dull agony of the technique dragging the bone back into place. Then the medics set about mending the bone.

Ever since Kenichi first started learning the art of medicine, Junichi had found it almost eerie. It was weird that there were people out there who could just erase an injury like this. The impact of combat on the body, gone. In a way they said forget this pain, and go out and experience it again.

They had him curl his fist and test that his hand was working. There was still an ache up his arm, but they told him both that and the haze of the painkillers should be gone by his next round. So too could he pretend the makibishi up his arm had never existed.

He stumbled out of the medical area and just stood outside for a minute, unsure where to go or what to do. He didn't want to return to Kenichi. His sunny disposition would hurt worse now that he'd failed a second time. He trudged up towards the observer boxes and stopped outside.

Unable to bring himself to enter, he sat down on the ground and curled up, finding himself suddenly wracked by a shaky sob. He was unaware of the changing of the guard - Itsuki's match would be soon, after the arena had been cleaned of the remaining makibishi and the small rivulets of blood.

Yamanaka Itsuki

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

The day was getting late, and soon it would be his turn, and so Itsuki started to wander down to the ready room. He still had a fair bit of time, but it was better to perhaps be away from other people for a little bit to center himself and be ready for what was to come. The feeling of many other chakra signatures around him had become a normal sensation, though he made sure not to keep the sensory skill active until he needed it, it could be overwhelming with such high emotions in the air. Which is why he didn't pick up on the little singularity of sorrow and self-pity until he was practically stumbling over the boy.

Blinking slightly at the sight of the blond Ame-nin from an earlier match, Itsuki wasn't sure if he had ever gotten the boy's name, though there had been a little conversation between them the day before. He knew Mi-chi perhaps? The Uchiha somehow managed to make friends all over the place, so Itsuki wouldn't be surprised at that.

His matches had been pretty... well, disappointing thus far, between a nearly immediate surrender and then the rather nasty smackdown he'd gotten today it was easy to understand why the boy was upset. The question was, should Itsuki do something? He could practically feel Miroru staring at him in expectation, burning a hole through his skull with laser vision if he dared to just walk past such an obvious figure of sorrow.

"Ne, I didn't know you had an armadillo jutsu"

Jokes made everyone feel better, right?

Word Count: 265
Tags: Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

When Itsuki spoke, it made Junichi startle. He looked up, as if he wasn't sure Itsuki was talking directly to him. When it became obvious he was, Junichi scrambled to his feet quickly, pushing up his glasses to try to wipe his eyes. His face flushed with shame at being caught like this. He liked being seen as serious and controlled, something he'd been doing a really, really bad job of so far at the exams.

Itsuki, by contrast, had done a great job in round two and then gotten really lucky in his first fight for round three. He hadn't completed his second round yet, but Junichi imagined he'd probably do well there, too. It seemed the other young boy was a lot more confident, and maybe a lot better prepared. He'd had a very strong presence when Junichi had talked to him before. Energetic, intelligent, positive. Kenichi and him might get along well.

"Uh," he started, voice shaky, despite his best efforts to calm down. He sniffed and took a deep breath, fixing his glasses back on his face. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I hope I wasn't in your way." He rubbed his arm, anxiously. Though his wounds had been patched up, there were still holes in his sleeve where the makibishi had pierced, and stains from the dust of the arena. His auntie was going to have an awful time trying to repair the shirt and wash these out.

"Your next match is soon, right? Good luck..." Hopefully if he talked about Itsuki, he could avoid talking about himself!

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Twitching slightly at the slimy feeling of shame that he could practically taste, Itsuki took in the blond boy for a moment, trying to figure out what was the best and right course of action here. "I didn't stop coz you were in the way, just figured I'd make sure you were alright," he said with a shrug, scraping his tongue slightly with his teeth in an attempt to get rid of the phantom sensation of slick oil on it. His sensory skills were really useful, but at times it could be a real pain in the backside.

Ignoring the mention of his own match, he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a cloth, offering it to Junichi to wipe his face without a word. Sure, they barely knew one another, and they weren't from allied villages but still... well, it wouldn't hurt to have a contact of sorts in Ame... and Miroru would almost certainly scold him for being mean if he didn't.

"You had some rough fights, huh?" he said after a moment, deciding to just rip the bandage off and get it over with. An older Yamanaka might have had a better approach, and he probably could have been more subtle about it if he had more time than he did, but really if he was going to try and help calm the other boy down he was going to have to brute force it a little.

Green eyes glanced towards the ruined sleeve as Junichi rubbed at his arm, taking in the damage without any judgement, "the two heaviest guys in the round, kinda unfair ne?"

Word Count: 273
Tags: Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

Junichi took the offered cloth with a slightly surprised look, balling it in his hand for a second before bringing it up to wipe his face. Itsuki stopped just because he cared, just to be nice. Given many of his other interactions in this part of the exams so far had been scary or painful, it was almost hard to process. He found himself wondering why he couldn't have been put against Itsuki instead. Sure, the boy was competent and probably would've beaten him anyways, but at least he would've given Junichi a fair shot.

Itsuki asked about his rounds, and pointed out how unfair it was. Junichi hesitated for a second, then nodded, slowly. He folded the cloth and rubbed his face with it again.

"Yeah. They're both a lot older than me, too. And... I think I'm the lightest one in the entire exams... And- and I know they did it like that because the real world won't care, and I need to be prepared to fight against that kind of person," he said, shoulders slumping.

"But it just seems unfair that I wasn't put against anyone I had... any shot against so far. I- I really wanted to try against Hotarubi, but he told me he'd tear me apart if I didn't give up, and I can't leave my brother alone, so I..." His voice wavered. 

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

When the Ame boy mentioned himself being perhaps the lightest person in the finals, Itsuki blinked slightly, realising that it may just be true. Looking between them, he realised the blond was shorter than him. It was.... really novel for Itsuki to be larger than someone, he was usually the teeny one around any others, except for Hi-chi, but she was just heckin smol.

"Hmm... honestly, I probably woulda quit against Hotarubi as well," he said after a moment's thought. "That guy wouldn't hesitate to pull me apart, and we saw what he did to pervert-san... I don't think I'd have even tried to fight him, no exam is worth losing limbs over. Even if you can get really good replacements." It wasn't a pleasant thought, that was for sure, and he really didn't know how Pervert-san was going to manage to keep going after having both his arms ripped off, but it certainly set the scale for the injuries of this phase of the exam.

"Listen, if you want some advice, you gotta get out of your head so much and play to your strengths. In both your matches there were moments where I thought you had some sorta neat trick planned out, and then you just kinda... didn't do it, or didn't do it right. We're smaller than most of them, cuter, and will absolutely be underestimated. You gotta use that, fight dirty, fight tricky. We're shinobi, honour is for samurai. What matters is success and survival above all. I dunno how close you paid attention to my fights, but if you watch and see, I always try and make them see me as a little kid. They don't take me as seriously then... makes it easier to get them"

He reached out and tentative patted the other boy on his shoulder. Was he trying to make Junichi feel better, sure. Did he just give away one of his main tricks in this exam? Yep. But Itsuki was thinking long term here, a network of informats wasn't going to build itself, and he was sure that he could get something useful out of Junichi one day.

Also Miroru would be disappointed if he didn't help.

Word Count: 367
Tags: Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

Even just remembering what Hotarubi did to Atagi made Junichi shudder. For any shinobi, the arms were such an important tool. He thought of all the things he'd learned. His chakra control, his ninjutsu, his bukijutsu - even aside from the pain and terror of losing the limb, he'd lose years of progress. And that was the best case scenario. Hotarubi wouldn't have let him walk out of that arena alive.

Then Itsuki began to provide some advice. They were smaller. Cuter... Hearing that was kind of embarrassing. He chalked it up to not wanting to be cute - he was a shinobi, he wasn't supposed to evoke the same feeling as a small woodland animal - but it also made his cheeks kind of warm again. For reasons he totally couldn't explain. He nodded along to Itsuki's explanation, averting those thoughts to contemplate what the other boy was saying.

"I... I've kind of been trying," he admitted, somewhat shamefacedly. "In the first round, I... I knew I was going to give up. But I didn't want to do it right away. I wanted to show I could outsmart him. So I threw the shuriken badly on purpose and tricked Hotarubi into charging me so I could dodge him... But I think it just looked like I got lucky," he sighed, looking up at Itsuki.

"And... and in the last round... when Hitsukai took my hand, I did this attack that weakened him. I wanted the proctors to see me fool him, but he got really mad." And Itsuki had said honor was for samurai, but Junichi felt really bad about it.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Shrugging slightly, Itsuki tugged at one of his forelocks absent mindedly, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to express his ideas most effectively. "You have to commit to it though, you kinda went half-hearted and it wasn't particularly convincing in that fight. I'd suggest trying to practice your misdirection on someone less terrifying than that guy though. He's definitely not 'beginners' material," the Yamanaka advised. Really, watching Junichi in that round had been kinda hard.

"You didn't look lucky, least not to someone like me who can be kinda tricky, you looked kinda like you didn't give it your best go, like being scared of your opponent overwhelmed any strategy," he explained, patting the other boy on the shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, he's heckin' scary, and I don't blame you, but your idea just sorta... fizzled out I think. As for Hitsukai... that guy clearly doesn't think much like a ninja, and while weakening him was a good idea, you prolly shouldn't have let him get close."

Really, what it seemed like to Itsuki was that Junichi needed to get out of his own head, stop self sabotaging, and not let his emotions overwhelm his actions. It was definitely easier said than done of course, but perhaps with a poke in the right direction something might come of it. 

Word Count: 223
Tags: Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

It was disappointing to learn that his misdirection had been even less obvious than he'd first thought. He'd risked a lot to set up that situation where Hotarubi would charge at him, arranging his dodge so he could get out of the way and escape even though Hotarubi had made the promise to kill him if he emerged from the smoke cloud. Maybe he should've forfeited the second he'd stepped foot into the ring after all.

Despite Itsuki's supportive patting, Junichi's shoulders slumped more and he had to wipe his face with the rag again.

"It's- it's not just that he doesn't think like a ninja," Junichi said, sitting upright. "If you fight Hitsukai, be careful. He... It's like..." He didn't even know how to explain it. It had been so strange, so uncanny.

"It wasn't just like he was strong, it was like when I hit him it literally didn't do anything. Like the force never existed at all. It just- my staff just stopped dead against his arm as if I'd never swung it." He could've done something if not for that. His plan could've worked... How was he supposed to know someone would have an ability like that?

"Most of my techniques I know I for close combat... So I could've avoided him more, but wouldn't have been able to do much... And with the makibishi he threw at the start, I didn't have much option to run..." It really felt like he'd been doomed from the start. At least Itsuki wasn't chastising him for his trick on Hitsukai. "I wanted to spring over his head, but because he absorbed all of the momentum from my swing like that, the motion just... ended..."

He was sure from the spectator's box it just looked like he'd done a bad job, but... Trying to put it into words was really frustrating. It was something that could only really be felt, the complete erasure of inertia.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Itsuki frowned at the explanation of Hitsukai's odd ability, that was certainly disconcerting and he could understand why the Ame-nin had been thrown off by that. "I mean, at that point you should prolly just change tactics entirely right? Something's gotta work on him, there's no such thing as a perfect ability..." he mused, tugging on his forelock in thought.

After a few moments, he figured it couldn't hurt to give the other boy something to chew on, "ne, can you keep a secret?" he asked, looking left and right before raising an eyebrow in a conspiratorial fashion. When Junichi likely confirmed he could (Itsuki would continue even if he felt the boy was lying through his sensory skill), he would lean a bit closer to whisper in the blond's ear, "I'm not a bukijutsu user, at all. I'm actually pretty average at it truth be told."

Considering his matches thus far had consisted of him almost exclusively using shurikenjutsu this would likely be a surprise for Junichi. "You just gotta think a bit slantwise to consider new options, that way you might be able to take advantage of whatever openings you can. But you know what they say, fall down seven times, get up eight. I think you have the spirit, so you can do it." With that he clapped the boy on the shoulder before leaning back on his heels with a grin.

"Chin up, ne?"

Word Count: 238
Tags: Yuie Junichi

[Yuie Junichi]

Changing tactics... It was what he'd tried, in honesty. He'd thrown the hot water shuriken at Hitsukai and that had seemed to work. The cutting force had totally disappeared, but the burns had remained. If he had known stronger versions of his clan jutsu, maybe. If he'd come up with some other method... By then, it'd been too late. He was already on the ground in the middle of the makibishi, with nowhere to run without stepping on more.

Itsuki asked if he could keep a secret and Junichi gave him a surprised look, but nodded.

"Of- of course." There was no tremor of a lie in Junichi's chakra signature - he was an earnest and honest kid most of the time. When Itsuki revealed his secret hand - though he'd been fighting as a bukijutsu user for his last couple rounds, he wasn't one at all.

That was surprising. What host of skills did he still have in his arsenal that he could pull off a trick like that? It... Well, it was a little demotivating, in some ways, to know just how far behind he was, but it was encouraging to know someone his age and size could pull off a trick like that successfully.

Itsuki clapped him on the shoulder and Junichi felt a little heat creep to his face for reasons he couldn't interrogate at the moment. Instead he cast his gaze down.

"It's- it's impressive that you could put on an act like that. And... I don't- I don't plan on giving up," because that wasn't an option for him, "so... I'll try to get good at that kind of thing, too." He finally looked up.  

It wasn't the most encouraged a person had ever been, but he didn't look as abjectly miserable, so mission accomplished.

[Yamanaka Itsuki]

Yamanaka Itsuki

Internally wincing as he realised his attempt to prove something to the other boy had backfired, based on the feeling of disappointment he could pick up from the other boy, Itsuki tried to salvage the situation as best as he could. Part of him wanted to try and explain his point a bit more, but bringing it up further could simply make the whole situation worse.

"Hey? As long as you're still alive, you're winning as a shinobi, ne? Doesn't matter what happens here, if you can keep going then you're a winner," he said with a bright grin, trying to impart some level of encouragement in the Ame-nin. "So learn from this exam, and even if it doesn't go well, you'll be better because of it, and if nothing else you made some new friends, ne?"

Deciding that ruffling the boy's hair might be condescending considering their similar age, Itsuki just gave him a cheerful thumbs up and increased his smile.

"I best get to mu match though, good luck, don't give up~" he said at last, not wanting to be disqualified for not showing up. He did hope the other boy managed to get a win, or at least change his mindset enought to not feel quite so miserable.

Good deed done for now, Itsuki flounced off, he had someone to fight after all.

EXIT

---

Word Count: 226
Tags: Yuie Junichi