[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Despite his blindness, from his vantage point Shosuke was able to sense how everything was playing out in front of him. It seemed to be quite the bind that the pair were in - Mitsuki, someone who clearly thrived on fighting against flesh and blood opponents, was struggling against someone without any blood to drain, all the while Risi was getting absolutely dominated by the figure unwilling to budge. He was still unable to work out just why the clone was being so much more aggressive with Risi than the other was with Mitsuki, but that didn't matter now.

What mattered more, however, was the way that Shosuke could feel it when Mitsuki's rib cracked from the strike. Even when not going full speed, it was often hard to remember just how dangerous these tools of his actually were. Still, Mitsuki seemed to be handling that injury better than he would have expected. She almost seemed to shrug it off despite how disabling it really should have been.

It was in the moment of him wincing at the injury that his own clone had just inflicted that Mitsuki decided to change the field of battle up. Using the battle between Risi and his other clone as a momentary injunction, she turned and began chasing at him, moving to strike him in the head. Sho, for his part, whipped his head to the side, allowing the strike to go straight past him, revealing just how much he was able to see even with his eyes as damaged as they were.

"What do you think you're doing, Mitsuki?" Sho asked, his hands already forming together to create new handsigns, preparing to fight back should she insist on continuing down this path. "I appreciate creativity as the next person, but this isn't going to complete your objective. I told you to fight the clone, not me."

Should she continue to try and force this confrontation, Sho would give her exactly what she wanted - or, at least, he would acknowledge her threat by weaving his hands together, a series of vines pouring off of his body the moment he finished his handsigns, aiming to wrap and blind her to keep her from attacking him directly any further. For now, the vines would view Risi as a non-combatant, keeping the fight going between Risi and his violent attacker.

For Risi's part, the young shinobi manifested some sort of crow from the depths of his ninjutsu. It was indeed a clever technique - distracting the clone with a secondary attacker whilst preparing his own assault. However, Risi would quickly learn just how different these things were from regular clones.

The talons and beak of the bird sunk into the flesh of the clone, but instead of drawing forth blood the bird would find its claws stuck within the wood, leaving peeling strands of wooden sinew as if from the bark of a tree where the blood should have come out.

Of course, the macabre sight of the clone's face stuck to the bird's claws would likely be quite nauseating to see, as for the moment the clone let go of the scythe and completely ignored Risi, aiming to rip the bird out of his face and destroy it, taking care of the immediate threat before returning to the field.

It was this moment of hesitation that allowed Risi to withdraw the scythe from the clone, now able to get somewhat of a clean shot. At least, if he was willing to leave his bird companion to its gruesome fate.

591 words | risi shitai mitsuki

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 6/9

Jutsus Used
NAME: Budō o sasu [Strangling Vines]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Mokuton
HANDSEALS: 6
DECRIPTION:
Once the shinobi completes the handseals vines grow up from the ground within thirty feet winding their way up trees or ledges to drape down and spreading over the likes of a building in a lattice like pattern. From then on the plants will appear to simply be normal dormant vines, but will attempt to entangle and strangle anyone that touches them or comes within their reach of five feet who is not their original caster or designated by their caster. This justu was often left behind as a trap by the Senju or cast over their homes or outposts to prevent intrusion.

[shitai mitsuki]

Risi was far too occupied with his own situation to assist in Mitsuki’s gambit—she had not quite realized how severe his bout was—and in the brief moment between the wind-up of her punch and the whiffing of it, she realized abruptly that she had, in fact, failed. She tried to persist in spite of this, seeing it as her only way forward. She followed up with an attempted kick that was quickly and mercilessly countered with vines that broke through the ground and held her tightly in place. The compression on her chest elicited a soft noise of pain—the only indication she’d yet to give that her cracked rib was affecting her at all. Though in truth it was hurting her terribly, the pain was compartmentalized; she’d suffered this and worse, in much less friendly scenarios. Her breaths rattled and stuttering, Mitsuki lifted her chin, a stubborn air of pride and tightly-held nobility about her as she said, somewhat pained and breathless: "Then I forfeit. If you will not permit the use of creative tactics, then I have no interest in or ability to continue fruitless combat against a creature that I simply do not yet have the skillset to engage with. Were this a real-world scenario, I would have retreated for reinforcements as soon as I understood what I was up against.” Her eyes slid over to where Risi was still locked in vicious combat. "Your clone is afflicted with genjutsu," she said. "That is why it's acting so aggressively, I would assume."

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 251

LAIKA OF THQ

[risi]

♔

Risi had very little chakra remaining, after such a powerful Genjutsu that had been cast on the clone in the first place, though that Genjutsu was now ended. He was at least able to free his scythe, but he knows that leaving his summon to the clone would likely end the life of his clone, which he wasn't ready to lose. With a focus of chakra, he sends the Yatagarasu home from within the wood clone's grip. The resulting puff of smoke would have been enough to confuse and distract anyone that actually had working eyes, though Risi was himself unaware that Shosuke, and therefore his clones, did not require eyesight in order to be effective. Regardless, he drapes the scythe across his arms just long enough to perform the single handseal for another technique, this one creating a buffered barrier between his feet and the ground so that his movements would not be heard while the plume of smoke would hopefully hide his movements.

He slips away from the combat to where Mitsuki herself seems to be in some trouble thanks to the vines, and he rapidly uses the sharp hooked blade of his scythe to try and sever the vines as they draw taut around his own teammate. The dark-haired Genin is hoping that with his movements, he's able to avoid instantly alerting the wood clone to his presence and leaving it still somewhat confused from the change in his movements. With his chakra focused to the bottoms of his feet, there would also be no footsteps for the clone to keep track of his movements, or so he hoped.

At the very least, he was hoping to free up his teammate from being caught, his scythe now ready to help fight back the two clones together. His chakra is running low, but with some focus, Risi is at least capable of keeping the chakra barrier active, his breathing slowing as he keeps the chakra expenditure as thin as he can while letting the jutsu do its job.

"J-jeez, take it a little easy, won'tcha? I don't think there's lots of people that can make clones this tough!"

coded by pinn @ thq

359 words Yamamoto Shosuke shitai mitsuki D-rank EXP training: 6/8

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It was a little disappointing, but when Mitsuki said that she forfeited, she would immediately feel the vines wrapped around her person loosening and sloughing off, falling down to the ground where they continued to writhe around like angry snakes. It was a strange sensation to be sure, the feeling of animate plant-life moving around her ankles, but since she had surrendered her part of the fight there really was no point in continuing the duel.

The problem was, with Risi charging around the side and launching an unannounced attack on the vines, he would quickly find his scythe slashing across Mitsuki's bare skin, giving Mitsuki but a moment to defend herself or risk getting sliced up by the blade of her erstwhile companion.

Should she attempt to rejoin the fight, the clone would intercede and ensure that it cut off any attempt at helping Risi out that she attempted to do, but if she didn't then Sho would simply approach her casually, giving her a look that was somewhat hard to read. It wasn't disapproval or disappointment, but there was a little bit of a look like an audience unthrilled with an anticlimactic conclusion to a play.

"I'm sure you already know this Mitsuki but in life, you're not always going to be in a position of power. In fact, this entire exercise was supposed to make you come to terms with a situation where there was seemingly no winning.

Sometimes, as part of your life as a shinobi, you will be stuck following orders that don't make sense or make your life infinitely harder, but just ignoring them or countermanding them could get you in a lot of trouble."

Sho had never had this sort of problem himself, being a stickler for the rules and someone who went out of his way to help people whenever he could, but he knew hotheads from the academy who had gotten benched or even got pulled out of the field entirely because they couldn't follow orders.

It was sometimes hard to remember when one was dealing with the usually minimal amount of organizational oversight but they were soldiers for the village, that meant rank had a lot of impact on their day to day life.

Regardless, the remaining clone that had been discombobulated by the cloud of smoke in his face began hunting around, looking for Risi. Risi's tactic was uncomfortably effective, though not for the reason he had thought - sound was nothing, Sho's hearing was just as strong as any other shinobi's, he just needed to maintain contact with the ground in order to sense where things were. But that was just it, with the platform hovering just off the ground Risi was effectively invisible to him, leaving him completely unable to fight back.

The moment Sho realised what Risi was doing, his hands moved up in the universal sign of surrender.

"Okay, I have to admit, THAT was tactical AND you didn't break any commands doing it. Good job, Risi, I think that's fair to say a passing grade. Thinking outside of the box is all well and good, but sometimes the box needs to stay on."

Like a heart-monitor flatlining, Sho cut off the remaining chakra to his clones, causing them to stop moving, becoming wooden statues. Unlike regular clones, they didn't dissipate into smoke, instead seeming to simply deactivate, showing one of the more impressive powers of Mokuton - their sheer presence in reality, unlike a fuuton burst or a katon flame.

584 words | @open

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 7/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

Risi came to her rescue right as Shosuke released his technique; if Risi’s skill with the weapon had been sloppier, or Mitsuki’s reflexes not quite so sharp, the training session might have ended in a bloody tragedy. As things stood, the blade of the scythe scraped against the skin of her arm as she jerked out of the way, stumbling over the receding vines and just barely catching herself from falling. Skin and tissue parted, but Mitsuki didn’t bleed as freely as another person might have; it was just a red gash, eerily cold, as if the scythe had cut into the flesh of a corpse. She made no effort to re-engage in the fight; it was already done, her part in it forfeit. Shosuke lectured her and Mitsuki’s jaw was clenched so tightly that she feared the two men would hear her teeth grinding into dust. As if she had ever held a position of power—as if she didn’t understand acutely what it meant to be put at a disadvantage—as if she hadn’t been weighed down with orders she didn’t understand, that seemed designed to make her suffer for no reason other than to prove a point, for all her life— Mitsuki released her jaw. Her expression shuttered—cool neutrality folded into perfect refinement and seasoned with a dash of disdain. The gash on her arm began healing itself, layers of tissue knitting themselves back together until only a thin slice of new skin remained as evidence that she had been injured at all. "Kyuumu-san, you fought admirably,” she said, perfectly polite—not a hint of attitude or distress to be found in her tone. The mask was in place. "I look forward to working with you more in the future. Yamamoto-sensei, thank you for the lesson. Is there anything else you would like to teach us today?”

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 311

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[risi]

♔

The young man frowns at the suggestion that they might receive orders that don't seem to make sense to them, and that acting outside of those orders would get them in trouble. Regardless of whether or not the orders make sense, Risi can't believe that there would be orders where following them should result in the failure of the mission or death. While orders should be followed where it's possible, he knows better than to follow orders that are counterproductive to the success of the mission or the survival of those near him. Regardless of Shosuke's own feelings on the matter, Risi isn't buying the explanation. He does feel bad that he'd managed to cause some damage to Mitsuki, but he's a bit confused at the fact that she doesn't seem to bleed that much at all, and that the wound on her arm seems to disappear before his very eyes, as quick as his eyes are.

He blinks when both Shosuke and Mitsuki congratulate him on his success in this mission simply by using one of the simpler Kyuumu techniques. He leans the scythe over his feminine shoulder so he can free up a hand to scratch the back of his head and run his fingers through his luxurious long black hair, causing it to flare out to a gust and blow around him as it gets carried by the breeze. His face betrays his confusion for only a moment before he returns to his aloof, rather ditzy self, smiling as he bends over in a bow, holding his hat and his scythe in opposite hands, outstretched like a bowing thespian.

"Thank you, one and all.~ You may heap your praises on me as you please.~"

He still felt a little uncomfortable inwardly with the praise he was receiving for what he felt was actually rather poor performance, but he still had more he needed to learn. He looks back over at the clones he'd previously been fighting against, seeing them halt in all movement and become statuesque. No, not just statuesque; there's no breathing going on, showing that they had completely stopped and become actual statues. It was a little unnerving, if he was honest with himself, but neither Mitsuki nor Shosuke seem particularly bothered by it as he is, so he drops the thought for himself as he disengages the technique that allows him to walk on a slight barrier under his feet, one of the many techniques of the Kyuumu's infiltration jutsu.

coded by pinn @ thq

416 words Yamamoto Shosuke shitai mitsuki 7/8

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

It was indeed fortunate that Risi was as skilled with a scythe as he was. Shitai or not, there was only so much medical ninjutsu could do. Trained as he was in the art, there were limits to even his abilities, and considering the sharpness of that blade, it seemed like it was indeed possible it could cause something he would be unable to undo. Not to mention the pre-existing difficulty of operating on a Shitai with their altered biology and all...

As it was, the gash laid upon the girl was only surface level, and he could sense with his blindsense that it wasn't even bleeding properly. Of course not - with the slowed heartbeat of the Shitai clan, there was little need to worry about this kind of minor flesh wound, the blood would congeal long before any real amount of it was shed. Even so, just to be sure, Sho paused to give her flesh time to heal before moving on.

In the time he spent waiting, he could sense the tension in the bodies of the genin - the irritation at what he was saying, the pointing out of the inadequacies and difficulties of following certain orders, of the need to remain true to certain orders regardless of if they made one's life more difficult or not. For what it was worth, he agreed with them - it was a stupid way that things ran, but it was how things ran nonetheless. He wished it wasn't so, but there was little one could do about it at this point.

If he had to be the bearer of bad news, if that meant they were annoyed at him, then that was just how things were. Better they learn sooner rather than later.

What was more, he could also sense just how uncomfortable Risi was with receiving the compliments. Though he was no psychic, he could recognise the alteration of the heartbeat, the changing of the posture, the way he held himself, the scratching of the head. It all seemed to add up to a picture of discomfort.

Both, it seemed, were lying through their teeth.

"Risi, if you don't feel comfortable, you don't have to put a brave face on." Sho said, turning to the boy. "I understand where you're coming from, I find it hard to take praise myself. That being said, whatever you may think of your own abilities, you processed the weakness of an enemy and executed upon it.

Were there things you could do better? Yes, that genjutsu clearly shouldn't be used when there's more than one opponent. But remember to find accomplishments where you can, even if there's more you can learn from. Its important to acknowledge when you succeed, just as much as it is to learn from your failures."

Turning to Mitsuki, he added "As for you? Don't grind your teeth. I know you Shitai can regenerate from fleshwounds, but I don't know if your teeth factor into that. I know you're frustrated, its an unpleasant lesson to learn, but such is the life of a Shinobi. There are many unpleasant lessons you'll have to come to grips with, even if you've already learned them, again and again.

If there is one thing I could leave both of you with... Though Risi called this life of ours an escape? The truth of it is that its a hard, painful, and sometimes unsatisfying life. It becomes all the harder if you don't have people you can rely on, who you can be honest to. Going forwards, I want both of you to try being more honest to each other; not everyone has my abilities after all."

616 words | @open

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 8/9
Jutsus Used: None

[shitai mitsuki]

For someone who had been raised in such a fastidious environment, where appearances were everything and a pristine mask needed to be in place at all times—to have it ripped away and her inner thoughts examined as casually as one would read a book was a violation of the highest order. Mitsuki’s jaw unclenched automatically as Shosuke admonished her for grinding her teeth, but even her deadened heartbeat picked up the pace at the sudden rush of anger and fear that overtook her so quickly that she felt dizzy. She felt as she did at home: that every twitch of her muscle and slightest change of expression was being scrutinized, punished if necessary, that there was no safety to be found even in the refuge of her own mind. If there were lessons she learned from this exercise, they were these: that her efforts were lacking, her skills were unrefined, her teammate was operating at a higher level than her despite their similarity in age and experience, and Yamamoto Shosuke was not a man to be trusted. She needed to leave. Bowing once more, Mitsuki murmured, "Thank you for your insights, Yamamoto-sensei. I will keep them in mind. Kyuumu-san, I hope to train with you again soon. I’m afraid I have an appointment to keep, so I must be going. Be well.” She turned quickly, and she left. It was inelegant and crass, but Mitsuki had no time to waste on further niceties; panic was already starting to claw up her throat, her eyes burning with the tell-tale warning of tears that she would not be able to prevent from shedding. She needed complete and utter privacy, and she needed it quickly, without any eyes weighing heavy on the wealth of her inadequacies. [exit.]

Yamamoto Shosuke risi -- 294

LAIKA OF THQ

[risi]

♔

Frowning a bit, he can see that Mitsuki clearly did not have fun with the sparring training they'd just received, although he felt he'd learned quite a bit about how to effectively use Genjutsu and his scythe in conjunction. He'd have to make sure and remember how to use illusion techniques with better targeting capabilities when he uses it against multiple opponents. Then again, he's not sure what exactly Mitsuki was meant to learn from this training, except that they were expected to follow orders that hindered the mission, even if the orders didn't make sense to them. That didn't exactly fill the ravenette with confidence in the lesson, much less in the orders they might receive from their Raikage, if Yamamoto felt this was a lesson they needed to learn.

Yamamoto also suggests that he and his teammates be more honest with each other, and Risi manages to hide away his real feelings behind his pretty face, a mask to keep his real thoughts from being easily ascertainable.

What does he know about honesty? Being too honest gets you killed.

And part of wearing a mask is voicing the exact opposite of what one is really thinking, so...

"Yes, thank you for the lesson Yamamoto-sensei!~ And I can't wait to train with you again, Mitsuki."

He even gives Yamamoto a big smile, although now that he's looking rather closely at the other man, he's not sure those eyes can actually see him. Regardless, a mask isn't just for the person you're facing directly, it's for everyone else, too. With Mitsuki walking off in what is clearly frustration, he feels that now it would be a bit awkward if he stuck around, so he gives Yamamoto a bit of a goofy salute before jauntily turning and walking off back towards his own home, hoping to unwind with his boyfriend after such a harrowing spar.

coded by pinn @ thq

314 words Yamamoto Shosuke shitai mitsuki 8/8

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Shosuke could, of course, not actually read minds. He was no Yamanaka, he wasn’t some two-bit psychic. Everything that he was able to tell came from simple observation – looking at how they held their body, the way their hearts functioned, the subtle shifting in their body language. If they thought he was good at it, they should have met his grandfather. Or, hell, Eri was better at it than he was, he had only unlocked it recently after all.

However, the fact that she believed he could read minds resulted in an elevated heart-beat was an obvious tell. She could maintain a prim, proper face on the surface, but her displeasure was so obvious it might as well have been yelled at top volume.

He supposed it made sense – The Shitai, from his experience, were greatly secretive people. It was somewhat necessitated by their Kekkei Genkai, but their culture revolved around subtlety and discretion, at least it appeared as such to an outsider. Thus, someone who was able to see through their visage of politeness could be considered to be their natural enemy – a direct threat to their techniques.

Even so, Sho had to admit he wasn’t pleased with this particular outcome. He may not have been their team leader, but he was standing in as such for the time being. He couldn’t work with a team that at least half of seemed to hate his guts. He wasn’t the best at confrontation, but even he knew this was an untenable position.

Still, calling her on it now was just liable to make things worse. He would have to find some way of making up with her later, preferably when they were alone and were able to communicate without fear of having a third party observer looking at the two of them. On the same team or not, some things needed to remain private.

Turning to the other genin, he shot the man an embarrassed little smile, still now trying to somehow find a peaceful conclusion to this whole thing. As he wandered off, Shosuke merely called after him.

"Oh, if you see Yamatsu, let him know I’ll be rooting for him in the coming exams!”

He felt like speaking to Risi right now was liable to cause problems, but he could at least reference a shared acquaintance, someone they both cared about. Perhaps that would forge a bridge between the groups…

[EXIT THREAD]

407 words | @open

SPOILER: Click to show

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