[Yamamoto Shosuke]

The Chuunin Exams were always a busy time in a village, whether or not said village was the one hosting them. Genin had to struggle to get trained to be able to enter and pass them, older shinobi got pressganged into helping the kids train, and merchants and other travelers got ready to head out to try and flog their wares at the new meeting.

It was a wonderful event if looked at in the right state of mind, but unfortunately there were also complications that inevitably arose from that time of business and productivity. There weren't always enough people to fill every role, sometimes things that were considered "less important" got lost in the shuffle, and those who weren't actively attending the exams could end up getting neglected.

Such was the case with Genin Team 1. With Eri taking up more and more responsibility in her relationship with the Raikage, her previous position as the leader of Team 1 had wound up going empty and there currently weren't enough people to fill it. But the kids still needed someone to train them, someone to be able to keep them to a high standard, and someone who would be able to look after them if something went wrong.

Thus was Shosuke brought in to fill the void. He was not their official team leader, and he was only being paid a little bit extra for this admittedly more advanced role, but since he had yet to receive marching orders as part of the Chuunin Ops team, there really was nothing else that he should be doing instead. Thus was he essentially pressganged into the position.

Though, now that Shosuke thought about it, he didn't actually remember ever having an actual leader when he was part of this team. Sure, in the paperwork Eri had been in charge, but the two had never met under the auspices that she was his commanding officer. The only time they had met was when it was to do with family business or his disability, nothing that was actually registered as "village business". He had once been paired together with Hana in order to do a mission, but that had only happened once. It had gotten to the point that he was wondering if they had simply forgotten about them.

Sho swore that, even if he was only a temp, he would be a better leader than Eri was. If nothing else, he would at least teach the kids something, give them something to digest as they continued their journey towards Chuunin and eventually to full fledged Jounin themselves.

This autumnal morning, Sho had summoned the group to one of the many training grounds of Kumogakure. He had arrived earlier than the allotted time, wearing his Kumo flak jacket and the thick-rimmed black sunglasses that had come to define his look as of late. The instructions had been simple, to wear something that they could easily train in and not something that they cared about getting dirty.

Now he just had to wonder if they would actually turn up.

523 words | @genin Team 1

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 1/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Missions and duties in Nohara no Kuni and Hi no Kuni had brought Mitsuki abroad—something she had been terribly anxious about at first, but now that she was back home in Kumogakure, she thought that perhaps getting some distance had been good for her. With just her and her escort, much of the journey had been solitary, and her escort had been content to largely leave her to her own devices; and elsewhere in the world there was little explaining that she had to do, no assumptions made about her personage based purely on her family name. In Kusagakure, Shitai Mitsuki was just another Kumogakure genin, and there was little else that she needed to explain about herself. The downside, of course, was that now she was unsure what, if anything, she needed to explain about herself. Team one was still lacking a formal leader—positions were being shuffled around, and the chaos of preparing for the chuunin exams had the whole village working doubletime. Mitsuki did not begrudge this, and appreciated that other shinobi were willing to step up to provide education and mentorship, but it also left her in an awkward position of uncertainty: who was Yamamoto Shosuke? Who was Mitsuki to Yamamoto Shosuke? Kyuumu Risi: another unknown. This would be her first time meeting the man, though she was relieved to know that she was not the only adult still at the rank of genin, and thought perhaps that they could share some commonality in that regard. Autumn was in full swing, though the heat of direct sunlight worked well to warm the chill of Mitsuki’s blood. She arrived at the reserved training ground exactly ten minutes prior to the scheduled time and was surprised to see a young man there, his eyes obscured by the pitch-dark sunglasses popular amongst many of Kumogakure’s inhabitants. She might have assumed that this was her teammate, but the flak jacket betrayed his rank, and so Mitsuki tentatively approached with a polite smile and a short bow. "Yamamoto-sensei,” she greeted. "I am Shitai Mitsuki. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” There was an odd, airy formality to her tone: the mark of someone who fell back on politesse in times of social anxiety. "May I ask what the plan is for our training today?”

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 385

LAIKA OF THQ

[risi]

Risi doesn't care much about the composition of the team, as he was working in this regard primarily for the Inshi family of the Kyuumu clan, though he had recently learned to rather dislike that particular family in the way that they constantly pushed him to more and more advanced Genjutsu, despite his older age making the usage of chakra much more difficult for him. He was called a "late bloomer", but in actuality, the Inshi had not planned for him to become a ninja until after the Great Plague had caused Kumogakure to become more suspicious of the clan. Risi couldn't really blame Kumogakure, but he could certainly blame the strange, introverted clan that had trained him to be a spy first, and a ninja second.

When he shows up to the training field, he seems to have taken the order of wearing something that he didn't mind getting dirty very seriously, because his clothing was very simple, in the form of a grungy black t-shirt he hadn't worn for a few years emblazoned with a sharp white skull. Or rather, the skull would have been sharp and bright if it wasn't so faded and worn. Risi was without his formal hat, and so his Kumogakure headband was worn loosely around his neck. Instead of his usual skirt, he was wearing simple tight black shorts, and a pair of hi-top sneakers on his feet. He'd still brought along his scythe, though he held it somewhat loosely as he flips his long, straight black hair over his shoulder, his face looking far more feminine than what one might expect for a nineteen year old man. His body was also quite slender, certainly not looking so much like he was expertly trained in the use of his scythe.

The other two were already there: a recent Chuunin graduate that was now taking on the role of their team leader due to the seniority of his position, as well as a white-haired kunoichi, neither of whom he'd ever met before. Despite his misgivings about meeting new people, his pre-shinobi training kicks in automatically, and he gives them both a little smile as he approaches, apparently being the last member of their team to show up.

"Well hey there, team! I hope I don't sweat too much, I honestly still kinda like this fit..."

His mannerisms and his tone of voice were rather more... modern and friendly than what one might expect from a member of the Kyuumu clan, particularly someone from the Inshi family. He twiddles his fingers in Sho's direction, then whispers out of the side of his mouth to his apparent teammate.

"D'ya think he can actually see out of those things?"

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Well, to say that this was unexpected would be rather under-egging the pudding.

Judging on the description that he was dealing with a bunch of genin, he had rather imagined people fresh out of the Academy. Someone Miroru's age at the very most. What he had not been expecting was for the first person to turn up to be older than he was. Bright white hair done up in a fancy style and a face that could, and almost certainly did, turn heads when she passed. So, this was Shitai Mitsuki, huh?

"Likewise, Mitsuki, but please don't call me Senpai. Technically speaking, I haven't earned that title yet. Think of me more as an upperclassman who just so happens to be covering for whoever will end up actually leading you two."

Sho couldn't help it, there was something about being called Sensei that made him feel at once genuinely happy and yet deeply uncomfortable. It felt like he hadn't earned that title yet, like he still had a long way to go before other people should be calling him that. At least it was vaguely appropriate in this case, compared to when Atagi called him sensei for no earthly fathomable reason. Even so, probably better to go without, at least for now.

For just a brief moment, he wondered if this was how Lady Kizumi felt whenever she was given official airs and graces. 'Course, in Kizumi's case she'd actually earned them with service towards the village, but he could definitely feel, at least a little, what it must be like to be given that sort of respect when you didn't ask for it.

Next was the other person to come in - Risi themselves. For a moment, Sho looked at them with a vague look of confusion written on his face. What were they wearing? Were it not for the fact that his blind-sense gave him all sorts of frankly unwanted physiological information about those he was dealing with, he likely would have mistaken them for a girl. They certainly had the voice of one.

Honestly, if Sho had met them under different auspices, it might have been hard not to find himself being attracted to them. He had always had a thing for softer men, but something about the role of assuming the position of leader, even temporarily, made such an idea feel ugly. It was like what he felt towards Atagi in a way - the aesthetic was there, but the situation was disagreeable.

Clearing his throat a little, he attempted to restore a little order in the situation.

"Right, well, its good to see both of you. Now, normally a genin team is supposed to comprise of three people, but even when I was part of Team 1 we didn't have full numbers. Point being, we've got everyone here who needs to be here.

Let's start this pretty simply - I know both of your names, but nothing beyond that. Tell me a little of what you're good at, what you're not good at, and why you became a shinobi. Based on that, I figure I'll be able to draft up some sort of suitable training plan. At least for today."

532 words | shitai mitsuki risi

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 2/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Mitsuki was too well-bred to double-take at Risi’s arrival; the only sign of her surprise was a slow blink as she took in the other genin’s appearance. He was an attractive man with delicate features, enough that Mitsuki might have mistaken him for a woman had she not known better. His scythe was imposing. She wondered how he took care of his hair. Glancing down at herself, she thought dimly that her bodysuit made her rather overdressed in comparison, and wondered if she would need to go shopping for more casual clothing soon. To Shosuke’s request to forgo the honorific, Mitsuki only nodded, but there was a vague flattening of her mouth that indicated her displeasure: there and then gone, in a fraction of a moment. Risi’s whispered question only earned a light shrug. The glasses were certainly dark, so dark that she couldn’t see the shape of Shosuke’s eyes behind them, but there was nothing about his behavior that indicated to Mitsuki that he couldn’t see. What was more telling was the camaraderie with which Risi whispered the question: he was rather more friendly that what Mitsuki had grown to expect from the Kyuumu’s ranks, and she felt ashamed for making assumptions about what kind of person he would be. Shosuke answered Mitsuki’s questions, both spoken and unspoken: he did not yet have a plan for today, and he didn’t seem to know about her… situation. That was for the best, perhaps. She would prefer to keep it that way with as many people as possible, and if her luck held firm, it would never be an issue again. "I have a small amount of skill with my clan’s style of medical ninjutsu,” Mitsuki said: professional, rote, like she was reading off a script. "My primary field of study is close combat. I prefer speed over strength and have access to—ah, natural weapons.” Why she became a shinobi might have been a harder question, if she didn’t already have an answer prepared: the same one that had been drilled into her head since birth. "Being a shinobi is my duty to my family and village,” she said, lifting her chin. "It is my heritage and birthright.”

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 367

LAIKA OF THQ

[risi]

Risi thought it somewhat odd that their temporary sensei had only been told of their names and not something of their capabilities, but perhaps this was a spur-of-the-moment thing for him, too. Granted, any information on them likely wouldn't include their reasons for becoming shinobi, so that question makes sense. He lets Mitsuki answer first, and he almost cringes, but inwardly, at the sound of her response, making it sound like she was reading off a script from memory rather than really feeling it. If he'd responded like that, the Inshi family would have tanned his hide for poor attempts at deception. Not that tanning was very difficult for a young man as fair-skinned as he is. In any case, Risi waits for Mitsuki to give her answers before he gives his own, starting off by doing a deft little twirl of his scythe with one hand. While it might have been a good show, making the light dance off the razor-sharp blade of the weapon as it whistles through the air, Risi wasn't really putting any strength behind it.

"What do I specialize in? What a silly question, I would think it's obvious!"

Then Risi drops the head of his scythe to the ground, halting its twirl harmlessly and then pressing his cheek against it as he leans over, looking at Sho intensely with his bright red eyes, a playful smile on his lips before he actually answers the question. At least this time, his answer isn't in jest like the previous suggestion might have been.

"I'm an expert in Genjutsu of course! As for why I became a shinobi, it's to get away from my boring family of the Inshi. They're always so uptight."

In reality, his answer was only a half-lie, because Risi had, indeed, been somewhat overjoyed at the idea of becoming a ninja, despite how hard it had made his life temporarily, because it would actually get him away from the Inshi family. However, the full answer was still a secret to everyone but the Inshi family and Risi himself, and divulging it would likely result in death, from one party or the other. He tilts his head as Shosuke suggests that he's using this information for a training plan, raising one eyebrow in a minor show of contempt.

"I don't think knowing why we became shinobi in the first place is really going to help you come up with a training plan, is it?"

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Though it was only minute, Sho was able to discern the way that Mitsuki's face soured, the way that her heartbeat changed. For some reason, the idea that he didn't enjoy honorifics didn't sit right with her. Perhaps it was something to do with her clan?

Sho wasn't immediately familiar with the Shitai, at least not on a personal level. He'd met a few during his time working within the hospital, but they had always been a rather sulky, self-important bunch. They had seemed rather reticent to bond and fraternize with other members of the village. He supposed that might tie into why she dislikes the idea of informality, especially with an "outsider". Perhaps if he had but been another member of her clan, she might have taken that informality as the sign of friendliness it was supposed to be.

Still, that was something to be addressed later. What came first was the answer to his questions. So, Mitsuki had a bit of experience with medical jutsu and some all purpose ninjutsu, and Risi was a full on genjutsu-specialist huh? Tsk, and here Sho was without Kai. If he'd but had that, he might have been able to help them develop their skillset. As it was, he was going to have to find a way to act around that.

"You'd be wrong there, Risi; What made you become a Shinobi in the first place is often a key look into what you will specialize in or what you would like to focus on. I became a Shinobi because I wanted to protect people, because I wanted to keep others safe. As such, a lot of my work specializes in protection, in minimizing casualties and healing those who are already hurt.

You want to get away from your family, so I figure you'd be far more into more radical and unique jutsu compared to the stuffy old traditional stuff that Mitsuki might enjoy because she's more tied to history and honour. It may not be a blueprint to know how to teach both of you, but it does give me ideas. For example..."

Sho paused, his hands coming together in a flurry of handsigns. Within but a moment, a pair of wooden pillars popped up behind him, each quickly refining themselves down to a mirror image of Shosuke, and but a second later even the wood was gone, replaced with what appeared to be a perfect flesh and blood simulacrum.

"Mitsuki - You specialize in ninjutsu and medical techniques. But in order to be able to treat someone, you're going to need to fight off the immediate threat so your treatment can go uninterrupted. Trust me, I've done much the same in the field. I once had to fight off an entire band of human traffickers before I could treat their abductees.

As for you, Risi, your genjutsu is all well and good but the truth is that some people will be immune to your tricks, or will be able to dismiss them with a simple application of Kai. You can't just rely on illusion or trickery, you need to properly implement other forms of attack as well.

For your first lesson, I want to analyse your strengths and weaknesses fully. So, I will be giving you each a clone to fight. If you can cause them to dissipate? You will be considered to have passed. Understood?"

565 words | shitai mitsuki risi

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 3/9

Jutsus Used
NAME: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu [Wood Clone Technique]*
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Mokuton
HANDSEALS: 3
DECRIPTION:
A clone that is created by altering the user's own cells with chakra to create vegetation. Possessing more endurance than the normal shadow clones. the doppelgangers are more resilient to damage. The clones have the ability to travel far distances from the user and are able to communicate with the original albeit the can only pass reconnaissance or simple messages with more complex thoughts and strategies depriving them from their full combat potential. The clones can be as simple in function as a wooden dummy for use in the Body Replacement Technique.

This makes this technique extremely convenient and a perfect clone technique that only the most powerful and fully developed dōjutsu will able to see through. By directly touching the wood clone with their hand, the user can absorb the information it gathered or change the shape of the clone. Because clone is made up of the user's own cells.

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Though Mitsuki was ignorant to this fact, she would be deeply uncomfortable were she made aware of the full extent of Shosuke’s environmental awareness: her heartbeat was so slow and her blood ran so cold that only someone with Shosuke’s caliber of medical training would be able to detect that she was not, in fact, medically dead. In her ignorance she was able to maintain a certain degree of comfort, thinking that the worst of her secrets were safe. Stuffy old traditional stuff. It took enormous restraint for her to keep her expression neutral, but she did; she even refrained from correcting Shosuke on the nature of her specializations, preferring to keep her cards close to her chest. Ninjutsu was something she still struggled with; she’d not spent much time practicing her control over her raiton nature, and the techniques she’d mastered thus far were mostly taijutsu, overwhelmingly physical in nature. She glanced sidelong at Risi, trying to get a gauge for how her teammate was approaching their initial challenge; at the same time she was doing some mental calculus, trying to figure out how this chuunin med-nin had access to wood release of all things. Some distant cousin of the Senju, maybe. Inclining her head in acceptance of the challenge presented to them, Mitsuki took up a basic defensive stance, light on her feet and hands loose in front of her chest, preparing to react to whatever offensive onslaught the wood clones unleashed. In her periphery she attempted to keep track of the clone facing Risi; if there was anything she could do to help him in his own bout, she would.

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 273

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- mitsuki used bonus action: patient defense
- keeping vaguely aware of risi's clone in case he needs help. #teamwork

[risi]

Risi's mouth forms a tight little line when Shosuke calls him "wrong", but it's mostly a show: internally, Risi cares very little if his more social-facing personality is called out for being incorrect on an assumption. But it's good to keep up appearances, and people tend to focus on the facial expressions of the other person rather than what they're actually like. The explanation that Shosuke gives to them both makes sense, clearly showing that this medical ninja had put some thought into their training, or at least this assessment prior to actual training. If he's too smart, that could be dangerous for the Kyuumu ninja, but he can rely on his spy training a bit to put a bit of a decoy between them; he was still very good at that.

The look of exasperation leaves his face, however, when the medical ninja creates a pair of clones of himself, and from wood rather than from any other material. While Risi was a newcomer to an understanding of the ninja world, creating clones from wood wasn't very common, to his understanding. And this seemed to be true, judging by the confusion on Mitsuki's face while watching the clones change rapidly from looking like wood to gaining an appearance matching Shosuke's. But he also realizes that Shosuke had misunderstood Mitsuki's statements about her skill in close combat, stating that she was skilled in Ninjutsu. And, with their assessment seeming to begin soon, he has a plan of making use of this misunderstanding to their benefit. Instead of immediately coming close to his own designated Wood Clone, he quickly side-steps over to be a bit closer to Mitsuki and digs the blade of the scythe a short distance into the ground, ensuring that it won't drop while leaving his hands free, which is important for his next action; he presses his hands to Mitsuki's ears, using them to muffle any chance of her hearing what he says next as he gives the trio near them a cheeky smile.

"Well, if you're going to assess us, then I want you to watch me."

The Genjutsu takes an immense amount of chakra to activate, but now Risi needs to immediately regain tempo; with any luck, he's managed to capture the full attention of all three of the shinobi in front of him while hopefully leaving Mitsuki outside of the effect of the Genjutsu, and leaving her free to hopefully hit the Wood Clones with a surprise attack. He removes his hands from Mitsuki's head and leaps back, jerking the scythe from the ground and holding it in front of him with both hands, the blade pointed forwards in a threatening stance that he hops will give the Wood Clones pause.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Yami Vijon [Darkness Vision]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: High, Medium [Continuous Cost]
CLASSIFICATION: Genjutsu
TRIGGER: Audio - "I want you to watch me"
DESCRIPTION:
This is a specifically almost counter-productive technique. The trigger for the technique is the user saying the phrase "I want you to watch me."

When the target sees this, they will actually begin to focus in on the user almost exclusively, over a 2 post period losing any form of peripheral vision or "danger sense"

This serves two purposes. One of them is for the user to be able to utilize their environment to a much higher advantage than their enemies, and secondly, allows them to work with allies.

The counterproductive part of this technique is that as a result of the tunnel vision, the targets become reflexively stronger at fighting the user due to them being able to focus solely on them.

This lasts for as long as the active cost is paid or the technique ends.

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Shosuke had indeed noticed the way that the girl's heart was almost painfully slow. Were she a clanless shinobi, he would have worried that she was on the edge of her heart not working at all, but there was clearly something about it that made it seem almost... well, not normal, but acceptable? As said, Sho knew very little about the Shitai but there were many clans who had such strange abnormalities in their bio-signs.

After all, some clans didn't have hearts at all, like those folks with the lightning-body. No wonder it was so hard in this modern day and age to be a medic to Shinobis, any and every one of them could have something unique that made them especially difficult.

Even so, Shosuke's clones stood opposite their opponents, each one preparing for a fight in a different way. The one opposite Itsuki just stretched and cracked its knuckles, the idea of this being a physical fight becoming more and more obvious by the moment. In a way, he felt bad for her - She wouldn't be punching flesh and blood but wood and wicker. Though one's hand hurting after a punch was normal, she might just break her hand if she wasn't careful.

The other one, the one opposite Risi, stood against him, preparing for whatever came next. What he was not prepared for, however, was the genjutsu the boy used. Though Sho knew his own vulnerability to genjutsu, not yet having learned kai, he had hoped the other boy would refrain from using it. Still, he supposed he hadn't expressly told the boy no, so it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong. Not that Sho realised he was doing anything wrong in the first place, his eyes staring impassively at the two from afar.

The clone in question, however, was unable to focus on anything other than Risi. He had felt something like this before, when he had fought Shigure. There was an almost zen-like focus, his sightless eyes narrowing at the opponent and getting ready to give it everything. For some reason, it felt like this just got so much more serious.

"And, go!"

As if released by some metaphorical bell, both clones shot across the field. The first started somewhat simple for Itsuki, moving to give her a somewhat-pulled punch to the chest. The one facing against Risi, however, was taking it significantly more seriously than the others, dashing in and moving to bring a strike down against the boy's head, risking sending him down into the dirt. Each strike was like being hit with a baseball bat, the fist created out of dense wood. Even Sho was concerned about the sudden violence shown by his clone, considering for a moment calling it back.

It seemed Risi had misunderstood their own technique - the genjutsu was a singular target, so only the clone against him was affected. However, the clone seemed to indeed be solely interested in him, unable to look elsewhere but for his new target.

502 words | shitai mitsuki risi

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 4/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Risi suddenly drew close to Mitsuki, covering her ears with delicate (well-manicured!) fingers. The faintest tinge of pink stained her cheeks, but she quickly caught up to what was happening and why—she was not particularly adept or familiar with genjutsu, but she was a sharp young woman, and could put the pieces together well enough. Whatever the intent of the genjutsu was, Mitsuki was not entirely sure, but it sent her mind spinning with possibilities… if Risi were capable of inflicting genjutsu on multiple targets at the same time, then she would need some method of protecting herself from those genjutsu in order to take advantage of the strategic opening he provided for them. Simple in theory, harder in execution… but with her quickly-improving understanding of medical ninjutsu, perhaps there was something that could be done internally to the body in order to protect it from different kinds of genjutsu triggers? Before she had time to follow this train of thought further, Shosuke announced the beginning of their bout, and Mitsuki was forced to focus, taking up a light-footed defensive stance. The clone she was facing approached her quickly and aimed a punch to her chest; Mitsuki moved her arm to intercept the punch, attempting to push it off-trajectory and create an opening for her own offensive. She winced, however, when her forearm met the clone’s limb—it was solid wood, sturdy and strong, not pliable and meaty in the way of flesh and bone. Still, she was no stranger to facing off against training dummies, and bloodied knuckles and sore hands were just part of the trade. With an opening created, Mitsuki would pivot into the clone’s space, closing the remaining distance to slug the clone with a hefty punch to the gut… though it was unlikely it would have its intended effect on the wooden creation, and would probably just leave her knuckles bruised for her effort.

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 318

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

- mitsuki briefly nerds out about medical ninjutsu
- uses the Divert taijutsu to defend against her clone's attack
- follows up with a counterattack w/ the Hungry taijutsu


NAME: Ukaisuru [Divert]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A.
REQUIREMENT:
DESCRIPTION: When confronted by a physical attack such as a punch or kick from an enemy, the user will quickly move their arm to intercept and attempt to divert the attack. If successful this should give the user an opening for a follow-up attack.


NAME: Ueta [Hungry]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A.
REQUIREMENT:
DESCRIPTION: The user quickly pivots into the targets personal space, reeling back an arm and then punching their stomach with a full forced strike. The strength of the punch will wind the target, leaving them breathless and stunned for a moment. If the target is physically weak, this will cause them to heave up the contents of their stomach.

[risi]

Although Risi might have seemed somewhat physically weaker, and probably was, that didn't mean he would be quite so easily defeated by a single strike from the clone, although he was still a bit worried about what that wood might do to his head; he couldn't allow it to hurt his pretty appearance. He snaps up his scythe from the ground, twirling it once before firmly planting the butt of the scythe into the ground and lodging it in place with his foot to brace it, trying to use the curved blade to protect himself from the dropping fist of the wooden clone by trying to fully block the downward strike. As much as Risi would like to have used an additional Genjutsu just to make it that much harder on the clone that was attacking him, the poor Genin wasn't sure if he had the time or the ability to do so, as his skill over Genjutsu, while powerful, wasn't quite to the level of mastery; although the aggression shown towards him by the clone is somewhat dangerous, it could still prove quite useful, so he keeps the Genjutsu active for now. For instance-

With the butt of the scythe having been pushed into the ground a bit by the initial strike, it gives Risi an opportunity to yank it from the ground, causing dirt to jump up towards the face of the clone. While a normal person would probably have been surprised, Risi had his doubts that it would mean much to the clone, which is why he twists the long shaft of the scythe to try to press against the clone's right side hip. With this lever, Risi puts his full weight into trying to shove the wood clone sideways, in an attempt to smash the two clones into one another; with no peripheral vision, the wood clone fighting with Risi probably wouldn't even realize it's in danger of smashing into its compatriot, should the push meet its mark. Of course, the other wood clone would likely have to disengage from his teammate's own spar if he's able to move the one attacking him using all of his body weight. It isn't much, but then all that force would be concentrated into one small area, and right at the hips, the fulcrum point of one's body, which should make it quite difficult to avoid being pushed around.

SPOILER: Click to show

-Yami Vijon [Darkness Vision] continued (Medium upkeep cost, final post with it active)
-using the blade of the scythe to stop the hammer punch
-turning the long haft of the scythe into a lever to push the clone into its brother that's fighting Mitsuki

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

As the pair drew close to one another, Sho was able to feel the way that Mitsuki's heartrate seemed to accelerate. To even compare it to a normal humans would still be overly generous, but it accelerated nonetheless. Was there something between these two? Possible, they did seem to be about the same age so this might not be the first time they'd met. Either way, that was not important, something to consider later rather than dwell on now.

Instead, Sho's focus was more on the strange actions of his clone. He couldn't see inside their heads so he had no way of knowing that one was under a genjutsu, all he was able to tell was that one was acting almost unbelievably violent towards the young genjutsu master. He could put two and two together logically but as of yet there was no proof - what would be gained from a move like this?

The clone, for its part, brought its fist down towards Risi's face, only being blocked at the very last second by the scythe, planted in the ground as it was. A lesser weapon might have snapped in half from the sheer force of the punch, but it seemed to hold strong for now despite a rather ominous sounding crunch from the shaft of the blade. Perhaps best not to put too much strain on it for the rest of the fight or at least until someone was able to take a proper look at it.

Instead, the clone still seemed very intent on coming after Risi, even as he threw up a cloud of dust and dirt from the soil of the training ground. Why risi thought that obfuscating the sight of a blind person would have any real impact on the battle was unclear, but against any other opponent that move might have had merit, clone or no clone. Instead, it moved to continue its onslaught, only to be struck in the side by the scythe the young man was holding.

The scythe was pushed into his side, and yet the clone seemed unbudging, rooted squarely to the floor (no pun intended). The sheer density and weight of the thing was a mighty force in of itself, making it hard to budge without more physical might than Risi seemed capable of possessing. The clone, for its part, grabbed the shaft of the blade, moving to use its superior strength to yank it out of the boy's hands. Not being a taijutsu master, Risi would likely have little way to overpower it, and he would soon find himself without his weapon.

Meanwhile, the other clone was careful to keep all of its options open. As Mitsuki moved in to strike against it, the clone seemed to not react. Indeed, Mitsuki attempted to strike it, finding herself frustrated as there was little movement from the other figure, earning her only bruised hands in the landing of those strikes. They were, after all, punching solid wood, it seemed she would have about as much luck moving the thing as she would have being able to punch a hole in a tree.

The clone, for its part, simply moved away from the other clone, changing up the angle of attack it was coming at Mitsuki with. Though the other clone was blinded by the genjutsu, the clones each possessed Sho's tremorsense, able to see the incoming threat before it even posed itself. Once safely out of danger, it moved to strike back, aiming to strike her in the solar plexus. Despite the heft of the thing, it seemed more than capable of moving at the same pace as regular Sho, not having much trouble orienting itself.

Relying on mere muscle to overcome these things seemed to be a waste of time. They would have to rely on more serious jutsu if they were going to have any hope of overcoming the clones.

653 words | shitai mitsuki risi

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 5/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Catching the events happening in her periphery, Mitsuki had the momentary impulse to go and help Risi; the clone he was fighting seemed much more vicious and focused than its counterpart, and the relatively tame back-and-forth that Mitsuki was engaged in was dialed up to eleven for her teammate. Was that the point of the exercise, perhaps? Was Mitsuki meant to disregard her own target in favor of helping a teammate in need? Before she could get much further with that train of thought she was whalloped with a sturdy punch to the solar plexus; unable to twist out of the way in time, she felt one of her ribs crack as all the air was knocked out of her chest. Wheezing, she staggered back, pressing a hand to her ribs as she struggled to catch her breath. It was clear that her skillset was ill-suited to battling creatures of bark and wood, but she wasn’t sure what other options she had; the small amount of experience she’d had was tailored around subduing and draining opponents. If there was nothing to drain, then there was little recourse for her; she’d yet to master any elemental ninjutsu, and even if she’d had a handle on a few raiton techniques she doubted they would prove useful in the face of this kind of technique. Logically, she thought, the only option then would be to engage the clones’ creator. Distract and occupy him enough, and he might be forced to dismiss his technique. Instead of diving back into melee combat with the wood clone, Mitsuki deftly hopped back, sliding into Risi’s space. "Can you distract him?” she asked, quick and quiet, keeping her voice low to try to avoid Shosuke overhearing her. "I can’t fight something solid like this.” Then she was gone; twisting around in order to place Risi and his opponent as an obstacle between Mitsuki and her opponent, she darted to the side and adjusted her trajectory. Her target now was Shosuke himself: her focus on hand-to-hand combat had made her quick and agile, and she strove to get in close on his flank, pulling her arm back before heaving a heavy blow to the side of his head.

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 369

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Noujishin [Brain Quake]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: N/A.
REQUIREMENT:
DESCRIPTION:

Getting up close and personal, the user will reel back their arm before striking a side of the targets head with with devastating blow. The raw power behind the hit reverberates, sending a shockwave through the targets skull. If it connects properly, this will discombobulate and stun their opponent, leaving them dazed and unblanced. Used by a taijutsu specialist this can give the target a heavy concussion.

[risi]

The technique he'd just used had been somewhat draining for his chakra, and keeping the illusion going on the wood clone hadn't been much easier, with Risi having a hard time just keeping up with the wood clone, since his own physical skills were not much use; he was far more of an intellectual fighter, not so skilled on the physical side of training. Since he wouldn't be able to keep the wood clone from yanking the scythe away once he grabbed it, Risi decided on a completely different approach. When Sho's clone tugged hard to try and wrest the scythe from Risi's grip, Risi simply leaps up to follow the movement of his scythe, attempting to crash his wide hips into the other man's shoulders. Of course, it likely wouldn't topple the clone even if the attack makes contact, but it might at least distract it a little and might even give the young man enough time and confusion to try a different tactic.

Risi actually lets go of his scythe, but is quick to form handseals while he slips between the wood clone and his own scythe, finishing the fifth one in time to try and shove his right hand up against the underside of the wood clone's chin, and although he wouldn't have enough physical strength to make the clone's head tilt upwards, the summoning lines that extend from his hand shows that a physical attack wasn't really his intention.

"Gah! Give up the scythe already, would you?! Help me out, Yatagarasu!~"

With Yatagarasu appearing in a puff of smoke directly in the clone's face, Risi reaches out to grab hold of the shaft of his scythe in both hands, one on either side of where the clone's hand has taken hold of the scythe, and twists it around and around the wood clone's hand to wrest it from the shinobi's grip through leverage rather than brute force. Yatagarasu, for its worth, is busy using its three legs to scratch at the clone's face, neck, and shoulders while Risi moves back. He grunts as Mitsuki shows up near him, and makes a request to distract the real Sho. He's about to respond that he's having a hard enough time trying to distract just the clone when she's off again, using the dark-haired ninja and his clone as an obstacle to try and get to Sho herself.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kuchiyose no Jutsu [Summoning Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 5
DESCRIPTION:

One of the most common and beneficial techniques in the known shinobi world. Simply drawing blood and releasing a mass of chakra from one's extended hand is capable of calling an animal or otherwise to one's location. As a Space-Time Ninjutsu, this technique is capable of instantly displacing an intended summon from wherever they may be to the requested location, though there are obstacles that can prevent this. To use this jutsu, one must first make a contract with whatever they are summoning, living creature or not. Both the size and the stamina of what a shinobi calls upon increases the demand of chakra they must spend to perform the jutsu.

NAME: Yatagarasu
ELEMENT: Doton
TYPE: Crow
SPEC: Taijutsu Sole
RANK: E
APPEARANCE: Barely larger than your average sized crow Yatagarsu has sleek blue black feathers, piercing blue eyes, and three legs. He typically be-jewels himself in various rings and bits of gold that he can find and conducts himself with a strict decorum.

PERSONALITY:

Typically the first summon any crow contractor will call upon Yatagarasu tries his best to make a good first impression. Something that's terribly difficult when you come from a family of debauched lechers, thieves, and drunks. He has a haunty courtier like manner about himself and is good at taking and remember dictation. He usually upholds himself to the highest of decorum, but will let out an outrage squawk if he thinks someone is disrespecting him or his summoner. Yatagarasu considers himself a messenger and while not helpless is far from as good in a fight as his kin. He will typically request payment from his summoner in the form of food, shiny rocks, or bits of jewelry.

ABILITIES:

Tracker
Yatagarsu is an excellent tracker capable of locating his target on the wing. Hunting down even the most stubbornly persistent quarries in order to deliver his messages to them. He's particularly good at remembering names and faces making it easier for him to re-deliver correspondences once he's seen them or if he's been shown a picture of the person he's to track down.