[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Why exactly Mitsuki had been chosen for this excursion, she didn’t rightly know; Kyuumu-sensei told her something about developing leadership skills, learning how to make decisions for herself and for others while in the thick of battle. That made sense, she supposed, but she didn’t feel like she was leadership material. Not that it mattered, in the end. She was Adjutor Heiress, first daughter of her family, and she needed to learn to lead whether she liked it or not. Perhaps that was why. Her equipment had been swapped out for the rubber tools she had once used in the academy, a very long time ago. She clutched a training spear in her hands, same as the kind the five Ashigaru soldiers flanking her held: they too were kitted out with blunted arms and cheap armor, a ragtag group of young novices with barely more than a pinch of experience between them. At least Mitsuki had tasted blood on her teeth; she wondered if these Ashigaru had ever taken a life at all. They were in the forests north of Konohagakure. The air was thick and damp with the lingering spirit of summer, though the leaves on the heavy boughs overhead were already turning vibrant shades of orange and gold, the portent of autumn. Her opponent was elsewhere in the woods, out of her sight: they began on opposite ends of a lightly demarcated training zone, with a Konoha mednin escorting her opponent to his end, and Kyuumu-sensei escorting Mitsuki to hers. A piece of paper in Kyuumu-sensei’s hand tore of its own volition. He nodded to her, the signal to start, and flashed an encouraging smile. She was hesitant, but the five Ashigaru were looking at her expectantly, and so she squared her shoulders and steeled her gaze. "Forward,” she said softly. "Keep low and quiet. We want the element of surprise on our side.”

Haruno Seiji -- 316

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

BEAST BAD. HUMAN ALSO BAD?
YEP

A gruff voice, matched only in timbre by a tremolo of uncertainty, broke through the tree line. "The perimeter is secure, Seiji." A young man nodded, his identity obvious for the pink mane that curled down over his shoulders, and he beckoned for the soldier to join him in the center of a clearing just big enough to fit the six of them. In one hand, the young man, Seiji, held a traditional ashigaru full faced helm, to match the attire he and the others wore. In his other hand was a long slender stick he was using to draw out simple battle plans. His voice was strangly calm and reassuring, as though he had no fear in his heart. But of course, why would he? He was one of the shinobi leading the small squad of soldiers. With their weapons replaced with rubber facsimiles, the only real threat to him would be a serious assault from his direct opponent. The ashigaru, on the other hand, were none to keen to continue their storied collection of bruises and battle scars from these "mock" battles. But still, they all knew why they were here. Seiji had drawn a very rough map of the forest and its basic trails, though they'd already long since wandered off the main path, and was tracing a route in the dirt. Nothing fancy; O was the good guys, X was the target. They didn't know one another's positions, save for the very start, but it would likely stray, as theirs had, from any major landmarks. "What do you guys think?" He circled a wide area in the air above the map, indicating the deeper wilds to their north. After a few soldiers offered their suggestions, a compromise was met and they set off toward their foes. Seiji made sure to tuck his hair into his rudimentary breastplate before donning the helmet that should serve ample cover and help him blend into his peers. Each one of them had a designated role and Seiji himself was merely the "navigator". The veteran amongst them was their shot caller, though battle plans had been laid out by Seiji before hand and would more serve as extensions of his own voice. There was also two designated ranged units that were equipped with rubber-tipped arrows that formed a double wide fourth rank. Everything else was a traditional line formation, to dissuade encircling tactics. Point was their scout, second was the most competent medic and melee combatant, aside from Seiji who stuck to the middle, and their most vocal unit headed up the rear.

shitai mitsuki -- 200+

LAIKA OF THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Though she hoped to gain the element of surprise, Mitsuki had no way of knowing that she was operating at a severe disadvantage—her leadership was shoddy at best, with no clear designated roles nor strategies in place. She was too focused on the immediacy of their task, and unthinking as to the broader implications of a group exercise. She hadn’t even thought to don the Ashigaru’s armor, and her sensei had given her no advice. Her mistakes were her own to make. The result was visible confusion as the Ashigaru made a loose semi-circle formation with Mitsuki at its head, and their lone archer at its rear. They were quiet as they made their way through the densest brush the forest had to offer—Mitsuki thought it would offer the most cover, and allow them to set up for an ambush should their foes stumble into their path. Finding a defensible position was harder. She was uncertain about every potential ambush site, finding flaw with each one and pressing the party onwards. The result, in the end, was that she eventually felt as though she was running out of time, and settled for scrambling her units to haphazardly begin setting up a simple rope trap to string the enemy up by their feet. What she hadn’t considered was that her pale hair would be markedly visible even through the brush, obvious amidst the moving suits of rudimentary Ashigaru armor.

Haruno Seiji -- 238

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

BEAST BAD. HUMAN ALSO BAD?
YEP

While chaos reigned over in Mitsuki's unit, an equally as problematic order controlled Seiji's. The young man was operating mostly off of what he'd learned at the academy and putting these battlefield tactics into practice was entirely new to him. Those basic strategies he'd studied years ago also made few mention of cooperation with standard soldiers. So while they marched on, there was a lot of opportunity to take advantage of their routine, assuming one had studied from the same basic strategic manuals. By all rights, Mitsuki should have. But the thought never really crossed Seiji's mind. He was much more focused on leading the units and keeping the group cohesion at a maximum. But, while that was an area that the young man shined, he also had a clear opportunity for growth and was soaking in every piece of new info he could. No intel was as stark as the shock of silver locks that danced some distance away, contrasting against a frame of lush green. Seiji made brief eye contact with the scout who concured the same conclusion. The chances that this was actually his shinobi opponent were slim, on account of the fact that any halfway decently trained shinobi would know the value of concealmeant; disguise, but at the very least this was the unit they were after. It seemed as though they were setting something up, perhaps a camp, but they'd mostly halted. Maybe this was meant to be an ambush? Seiji wouldn't give them a chance. He gestured for the archers to aim for one or two of the ashigaru as the young man himself, along with the scout and melee specialist near him, set up a loose defensive line before the near side of the brush. With a snap of his wrist, two arrows let loose.

shitai mitsuki -- 200+

LAIKA OF THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Mitsuki’s fear that they had run out of time was correct: before her squad was able to finish laying their trap, all hell broke loose. Two arrows flew into their midst, striking one of the Ashigaru with its blunted rubber tip in the throat; they did as the practice battle demanded and fell to the ground, playing dead, out of commission for the rest of the skirmish. Another was struck in the chest, though the arrow bounced off the soldier’s breastplate. It would be sore in the morning, undoubtedly, but for now it was technically not yet a fatal wound. "The enemy is here!” Mitsuki called, though the rest of the Ashigaru had of course already been alerted to their foe’s presence. Cohesive thought was quickly flying out the window, Mitsuki’s uncertainty feeding on itself as planning pivoted into action. Her faint memories of the books on tactics she’d read when she was ten years old grew dimmer by the second, and not for the first time, she wondered why she’d been placed back on active duty at all. She realized too late that she had not discussed tactics with her squad beforehand, and would now half to rely on relaying her orders verbally—with the enemy right there to hear it. How had they found her squad, anyway? They had been so careful to sneak through dense cover, what was it that she had overlooked? "Scatter and surround!” With that brief, vague order, Mitsuki slipped into instinct; the only thing she felt like she was halfway competent at. She would engage in hand-to-hand combat. It was difficult to tell which of the Ashigaru were the shinobi commander, a fact that lit a bulb in the back of her mind as to what her critical mistake had been. But the damage was done. For now, she formed a handseal and flash-stepped behind one of the archers, striking an elbow towards a pressure point on the back of the soldier’s head—attempting to put her anatomy studies to use. Her remaining four soldiers, left without direct guidance, did as they were told and scattered. The archer took cover behind a tree and fired at the defensive line, while the other three scattered into the brush, attempting to take cover against the remaining archer and circle around to the back of the enemy’s defensive line.

Haruno Seiji -- 391

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

BEAST BAD. HUMAN ALSO BAD?
YEP

While it obviously wasn't a strategy with a lot of forethought, given the ad hoc commands following their skirmish's beginning, instinct always had the element of unpredictability that made countering difficult. To meet the aggression head on was to forfeit any advantage and to play purely defensive was to wait for destruction. Instead, Seiji's unit lashed out as much as they could without breaking formation. The shinobi opponent had already broken their back ranks with a shunshin past the forward guard and was laying waste to their ranged support. After a quick headcount, Seiji was surprised to see that the shinobi was indeed the one who wore no uniform. In a way, maybe such a blatant oversight could count as subterfuge? At the very least it had tripped Seiji up and now he was operating a tick behind. And, as he turned to glance at the carnage behind him, he saw that their number advantage had been erased as well. Luckily they still had their formation. Seiji muttered under his breath to the two at his side to maintain a defensive hold before rushing back to meet his Kumogakure counterpart. The archer crumpled, curling into Mitsuki as he fell, completely unable to withstand the pointed strike. From the rear a voice called to maintain ranged pressure, the veteran shot caller, who rushed up to offer support with a spear, keeping it aimed at Mitsuki. From her flank, Seiji appeared, and offered no hesitation, utilizing his step method to close the gap quickly before going for a firm grapple. He would attempt to wrap his arms around Mitsuki's shoulders and lock her head with interlocked fingers behind her neck. He didn't attempt to strike her, however, merely focused on subduing her long enough for the ashigaru that was closing the distance with his spear to strike true. Meanwhile the ranged ashigaru would divert their attention to Mitsuki as well, shooting at her head in order to catch her if she attempted to flee upward but with a soft enough draw so as to still hit if she didn't, or wasn't able to, flee. The melee defensive line would hold their advantage and watch the encircling opponents to avoid getting trapped. Though, the pair was clearly nervous about the resolution of whatever was going on behind them, the Mitsuki dilemma. They made their stance clear by jabbing outward toward the circling sharks with their weapons, alert despite their uncertainty.

shitai mitsuki -- 200+

LAIKA OF THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

The archer fell at Mitsuki’s feet. She turned, bringing her hands up to begin forming another handseal to take out the other ranged opponent—but before she could, one of the armored enemy soldiers had suddenly appeared at her flank, and was locking her in a grapple. She struggled and thrashed, but found to her surprise that her opponent was just as strong as she was, if not stronger. This must be Haruno Seiji, then. She couldn’t tell the difference between him and the rest of his Ashigaru, and in that realization she came to terms with the second of her critical mistakes. Seiji locked her arms in place while one Ashigaru advanced with a spear. Mitsuki’s own ranged support was attempting to provide covering fire, but to no avail; Seiji’s defensive line was sturdy, and the other three of Mitsuki’s Ashigaru were busy pressing their own offense against that line. Mitsuki was on her own. Her first instinct was to bite, but as she twisted her neck to try to latch her pointed canines onto Seiji’s arm, the angle was too awkward; her teeth scraped harmlessly against his skin. Instead, as the Ashigaru drew closer, she fell forward, throwing all of her slight weight to the ground in an attempt to knock Seiji off-balance. If she was able to throw him into the path of his ally’s spear, all the better, but her main goal was to escape his grapple. She didn’t even see the enemy’s arrow as it flew; she was too focused on the chaos immediately in front of her.

Haruno Seiji -- 262

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

BEAST BAD. HUMAN ALSO BAD?
YEP

Maybe your average genin would be able to dodge the spear, taking the arrow in stride and following up with a diminished attack. And maybe they could favor the melee strike, hoping for a glancing blow in recoiling from the projectile. But to avoid both, especially when she was unaware of the arrow, would probably be impossible. And then with her being grappled, despite her pitiful attempts to sink her fangs into her captor, Seiji was counting on her taking both. He held firm in his grapple, forsaking the defensive line to ensure his unit took out their priority target. Something something stick to the mission blah blah. He would wait for either or both of the weapons locked on Mitsuki's position to find purchase before he would drive a knee into the back of her leg and force her off balance and to the ground. He could feel the difference in strength, though it wasn't that substantial, beneath his grasp, and felt confident as he moved to drop her that he could do so, whether the girl played out her injuries or not. As soon as he got the opportunity he would speak to her, driving a knee into her back from on top of her if he managed to take her down. "Nice, that was fun!" A genuine warmth in his voice. "Do you mind just surrendering though? Either just you or your unit. I don't really want to rough up all the locals if I can help it." Despite the severe force with which Seiji had executed his movements, there was still a very clear resistance, especially if he was able to assume such a controlling position, that would only leave Mitsuki with some minor bruising if anything. At the front of the skirmish, the defensive line had mostly been taken out, but not without taking some casualties of their own. The three offensive units and Seiji's two defenders had each lost one and now it was a standoff between one remaining defender and two attackers pushing the advantage. A forgone conclusion. As for the archers, the enemy was far enough away and in a guarded enough position that neither Seiji, nor any of his units, were all too worried, though Seiji's own archer did begin supplying some suppressing fire. The spearman who was with the two shinobi simply punctuated Seiji's request for resolution by placing a rubber spearhead against Mitsuki's upper back. note: seiji used talk no jutsu

shitai mitsuki -- 200+

LAIKA OF THQ

[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Her gambit failed. The angle was too difficult for her teeth to reach Seiji’s flesh; her weight was too slight to knock him off-balance; she wasn’t strong enough to withstand the knee that drove into her back and the rubber-tipped arrow that struck her in the chest and the spearhead that bluntly drove against her unarmored stomach. She wheezed, all breath knocked from her at once, and was driven to the ground. Mitsuki struggled uselessly as she tried to catch her breath, but Seiji had her firmly pinned. She twisted her head, cheek smushed against soft earth and decaying leaves, trying to assess the state of her Ashigaru. One of hers and one of Seiji’s had fallen. The archers were presumably keeping each other occupied; though it seemed that her own melee combatants would win the bout against Seiji’s defensive line, that still left only two Ashigaru at most against the enemy shinobi and what seemed like a veteran soldier. That was assuming her squad suffered no more casualties. She was frustrated, her mistakes now clear in her mind’s eye, but she was mollified by Seiji’s seemingly genuine kindness. The taste of defeat was not so bitter as it otherwise might have been. "Kumogakure surrenders,” she said, exhaling heavily. "You’re very good at this, Haruno-kun.” As she laid in the dirt she focused on the flow of chakra within her blood: manipulating the flow to the bruises on her shoulder, back, and chest, healing those minor injuries. This, at least, could be something of a learning exercise; she mentally mapped the torn muscle fibers and broken capillaries, tying the instinct that her kekkei genkai relied on to the more formal medical education she had been pursuing as of late. "I should have disguised myself as one of the Ashigaru and spent more time preparing tactics before setting out,” she said: thoughtful, a clinical examination of her own poor performance. "But I think there must have been more mistakes that I made. I’ve never done an exercise like this before. It was a little overwhelming.”

Haruno Seiji -- 344

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

[attr="class","jscroll"]It took no time at all for Seiji to feel that the circumstances of his position behind Mitsuki, while briefly appropriate, were waning in necessity, and he promptly moved back. What was not an instant realization was that he'd won, and; after a quick scan of his position, quite handily at that. The after-action report would be easy to draft at least. As was his nature, the young Haruno deflected any attempt at complement toward his peers. In reality, he'd mostly served a reserve offense role in the skirmish, a promise of capable execution without much utility. "Well, I'm only as good as the soldiers around me." He spoke through a smile, helping one of the Kumogakure ashigaru up. "You did fine, we just got the jump on you." He nodded along as Mitsuki recounted her errors. It wasn't as though Seiji hadn't made plenty of his own. Honestly, his strategy of taking a headlong approach toward his opponent's position only worked out because his troops met a scattered foe. If Mitsuki had time to lay her ambush proper, Seiji would probably have lost, if only for the quick end of all of his troops. Besides that, Seiji didn't have any real tactics planned; just formations. And, though he wouldn't say it directly to Mitsuki in fear of wounding her pride, most of his battle strategy was pretty elementary stuff straight from the academy's curriculum. The young man couldn't speak to each and every topic taught in the Land of Lightning, but he trusted that as allies they would share at least the bulk of the more introductory combat courses. "I think, you realizing your mistakes and planning to fix them already puts you ahead of most." Said grandpa, but it was something he truly believed. If Mitsuki took everything from this battle to heart and chose to grow from her shortcomings, Seiji would struggle to offer any meaningful resistance against her should they fight again. "But let's not let this be the last time we test our skills against one another, yeah?" He was beaming, excited not only at the prospect of further training, but of making a new friend. As he spoke, he was gathering his own troops and helping the Kumo ashigaru wherever he could while tending to the battlefield. It was the outdoors, but that was no reason to leave a place worse than one found it. [attr="class","jimg"]

[attr="class","newtag"]

shitai mitsuki

J.

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[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Seiji let her up quickly enough, which Mitsuki appreciated. As she sat up and began dusting herself off, Seiji might have noticed that her skin was surprisingly unblemished despite the blows she’d taken; she looked as though she’d gotten through the entire bout unscathed. Once she was presentable, or something close enough to it, Mitsuki went to help the Konoha Ashigaru she’d knocked down. She was tentative in her movements, the mark of someone inexperienced in giving these kinds of practical exams, but she went through the motions of checking the soldier for a concussion and assessing the damage of her strike as though she were going down a checklist: rote memorization delivered picture-perfect, too focused on getting it perfect to worry about her less-than-stellar bedside manner. She made a soft noise of discontent at Seiji’s assertion that she did fine; however sincerely he meant it, it rang untrue to her ears. Just fine had never been good enough regardless. "I’m in Konohagakure for about three more weeks,” she said, moving along to check on her own "fallen” Ashigaru. "I’ve been borrowed out to the medcorps while some paperwork gets sorted back home. I’m sure I’ll have some time if you would like to train again.” Mitsuki was wholly focused on the task at hand. She didn’t know any medical ninjutsu that she could use on another, not yet, but her burgeoning studies would help her practice some basic first aid. Blood dripped from a scratch on a soldier's cheek. It smelled like iron, and Mitsuki could taste it in the hinge of her jaw. "Will you be coming to Akazaya for the chuunin exams this winter?” she asked, without turning to look at Seiji. "I would imagine you’re qualified.”

Haruno Seiji -- 290

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

[attr="class","jscroll"]The pair moved in tandem, gathering discarded weaponry and tending to the light bruises and scrapes sustained by the ashigaru volunteers. Before long, everything was packed back up, including the rudimentary beginnings of Mitsuki's ambush. The prospect of further exercise with the cloud nin was interesting. As he'd already come to terms with, change a few details about their skirmish; and minor ones at that, and it could have been a landslide victory in the opposite direction. Some might see that as an opportunity to back out, quit while they were ahead, but Seiji knew that, for him at least, the most crucial learning was done from the bottom of the podium, not the top. At the very least, he offered her sentiments an approving hum. As far as medical prowess, Seiji was no savant either. Luckily, any meaningful acumen would be unnecessary given the light roughing up put on display by all participants. Down the road, he hoped he'd have a chance to fight Mitsuki one-on-one, and forgo the gentle touch demanded by civilian combatants. That, single combat, was an area Seiji was definitely lacking in; particularly in combatting and responding to lethal force. He almost never employed it, and obviously killing intent was rare among ally and foe alike, but it would be essential to his growth as a shinobi. And speaking of which, Mitsuki brought up the progress of his career; his plans. "The Exams." He started, his tone maybe overly dramatic but carrying a sincere thoughtfulness perhaps uncharacteristic of his fellow leaf nin. "It's been scary lately, hasn't it? Or, maybe it always is." Or maybe he was just soft; the possibility didn't elude him. However, the last few exams all seemed to hold such high value for bloodthirst, placing it on chief display, parading that aforementioned killing intent before all and saying 'yes prospects, this is how you must behave to win here. Or, if you'd rather, die kindly and weak.' His taste buds curled against a vile imaginary taste. He did plan on attending, but his heart was maybe not all in it; he wasn't sure. He'd attended the previous exams, in the Land of Earth, and some of the genin participants there had made him question if his goal of being some 'holier-than-thou, compassionate shinobi' was a farce. Could someone like that exist in the system that surrounded them? He didn't know. He might never know. But he had to at least try to find out. The silence that grew too long broke. "I'm going, yes." He clarified, "I intend to go." For now, before he got too sappy, fashioned a soapbox from dirt and rock, and pontificated some grand idea of the way people should be, he changed the subject. The day was still long and Seiji figured they could make better use of it training than chatting, or worse: returning home still brimming with potential energy. Assuming the ashigaru were game, he'd offer, "Would you care for a round two?"

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[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

In the end the damage to both her Ashigaru and Seiji’s was minimal. Once she had finished diagnostics, she took the time to administer first aid, compressing bruises, bandaging open wounds, and offering simple pain relievers to any of the ten who might have needed it. As she worked, she was rendered mute in their conversation, uncertain as to how she could weigh in on the scariness or lack thereof of the exams. She’d never participated before, had never even been a spectator; she only knew rumors and gossip, the stories that had been trickling through the rank-and-file when Mitsuki had resumed active service, months after the Kuwana exam’s conclusion. Most of them were terrifying: lost limbs, one-hit-knockouts, a relatively good-natured race quickly devolving into a bloodbath. The stories were as stomach-turning as they were enticing, and Mitsuki didn’t know what to make of that. But she had no desire to reveal her own secrets, so she only said: "I’ll see you there, then.” After bandaging a mild scratch on the final Ashigaru’s arm, she finally turned to look at Seiji. Before agreeing, she looked ‘round at her team, who were all still in good shape: though less than enthusiastic, all consented to Seiji’s proposal, so Mitsuki nodded her assent. "Same starting areas?” she asked, and if Seiji agreed, she and her team would break off to get to their positions. The key difference: this time, once she was out of eye and earshot, she solicited her team for their opinions on what they had done wrong and what they should do different, which were eagerly—in some cases aggressively—supplied. She nodded thoughtfully as she listened, careful to conceal her hurt feelings as criticism was piled atop her shoulders; and once they had reached their starting position, she weaved the necessary handseals for a transformation jutsu. Her figure became taller, denser, more masculine: instead of her form-fitting bodysuit she was clad in the standard Ashigaru armor, and from beneath her helmet peeked the barest hint of pink, a tell-tale sign that might allow her to slip behind enemy lines disguised as her primary opponent.

Haruno Seiji -- 353

LAIKA OF THQ

[Haruno Seiji]

[attr="class","jscroll"]With both parties taking something away from their successes and losses, they would continue on for a few hours longer. The duo made a conscious effort to strengthen their areas of expertise while doing their best to acknowledge and attempt to shirk their more glaring flaws. Their initial rematch was a complete 180, with Seiji entirely unable to find Mitsuki and his forces being briefly dumbfounded by a pair of armor-clad pink-haired warriors. From there, Seiji made it very clear what he would look like and would use a copycat transformation technique in order to blend in but stay distinct enough for his forces to recognize an imposter. Of course, this strategy would be countered in turn and, before the day was done, each primary combatant would have racked up a healthy sum of wins and a bounty of experience. And before long it was time to part. The day only promised as many hours as it would take to return safely to Konoha and they had to turn in their mission report. Seiji approached his rival for the day, his form now sporting far more bruises and stains from being pushed around not just by Mitsuki but by some of the ashigaru who grew in confidence along with them. "I think I'm going to have to call it." He smiled, brushing some dirt from his chin. And, as he mentioned wrapping up for the day, an audible sigh of relief could be heard from the collective ashigaru. Some commanders may have chided their soldiers for such, but Seiji was just as tired as they were. "You ready to head back?"

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[shitai mitsuki]

WE'RE LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS THEMSELVES

Mitsuki’s gambit would only work once, something she failed to anticipate—attempting the disguise a second time caused her forces to be routed immediately, a learning experience that she carried with her into the bout after. Still, her victory had fortified her courage, shoring up her confidence in a way that she’d desperately needed. Subsequent losses were easier to bear once she’d been assured that, at least on this day, with this mission partner, some failures did not make her a failure. That kind of security was a rare experience, one that she relished as the hours whittled by and they engaged in bout after bout. Experimentation came more easily, her ideas and strategies stepping off the beaten path of textbook and routine with the knowledge that trying something new would be a learning experience whether she won or lost. In between each round Mitsuki checked over each of the ten ashigaru with the same precision and caution as the first time: everyone, herself included, was gathering more bumps and bruises over the course of the day. It was a good exercise in field treatment for her; after the third or fourth round she was starting to run low on supplies, and had to improvise with bits of cloth and ration out her antiseptic and painkillers appropriately. It was surprisingly engaging—she found herself looking forward to the periods of medical treatment than the actual fighting, though Seiji was a fun opponent in his own right. By the time Seiji called it Mitsuki was absolutely exhausted, though visually she looked virtually untouched—she’d been healing herself over the course of the day, getting valuable practice with her understanding of her own anatomy and keeping herself in fighting shape. Her chakra reserves were running painfully low, however, something that would warrant more caution out in the field. "Definitely,” she replied, offering a small smile. The relief amongst her own team was palpable—everyone was at their limit, it seemed. "That was… oddly fun.” As poor as her start had felt, in the end it had genuinely been an enjoyable day, and even though her bones ached from how tired she was, she still found herself enjoying the walk back: the greenery, the crisp autumn air, and above all else the company. [fin.]

Haruno Seiji -- 381

LAIKA OF THQ