[Akira]

Placing down the flak jacket offered to him on his promotion, Hotarubi had been asking the question to himself, as of late, whether it was worth wearing and by that logic: other Shinobi equipment.

The responsibilities of being someone powerful never got old to the Yamakira, as he stared down at the flak jacket. Even when he hadn't imagined he would ever have got there half the time it had actually taken - and if he'd not been comfortable smashing the ego of the Yamakira in himself, that he would have reached it. Shaking it off, he began to stretch.

If it were possible it had felt like his back was constantly sore. That couldn't be right so clearly it was a psychological issue - but in his human form, he could feel the pinch of his back and he winced. Something definitely didn't feel right there.

But there: there was a satisfying click "oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." he would stretch, feeling the pleasing feeling of someone who was waking up in the morning. There were some positives to having humanity. Throwing the flak jacket to the side, it wasn't like he'd came out here for no reason.

He was in Akazaya! Excited at anything, he would need to practice. There were some traits that he could not bring with him, keeping it within the confines of true battle: but here in Kaminari no Kuni? He didn't mind showing off a bit. Folding his arms, rolling his head around his neck and shoulders as the ground rippled like it were water.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori was out and about in Akazaya with her own teammate, Yuri, and wondering if the strangely sweet smell was coming from something that was being cooked in the village or from the younger Genin's cigarette. It smelled good, whatever it was, and the dark-haired Netsu was at least distracted enough by the scent to use it as a distraction. She wasn't sure what she should really be saying to Yuri, who was going to be participating in the Chuunin Exams. It was far too early to wish her luck, that could be done on the day of the exam's starting, and it was too close to the exam time for her to suggest any training; after all, it would be horrible for Yuri to sustain any kind of injury just before the exams start. It was also awkward because, by most metrics, one would expect Midori herself to have signed up for the exams, rather than her much younger teammate.

Midori is a bit surprised when she sees Hotarubi, and remembering how he'd smacked her hard enough to instantly knock her out in their last spar was making her face turn red with barely-contained anger. But contain it she did. It was to be expected that she would have lost that spar, anyway, since he'd outranked her and he had been using pure Taijutsu up to that point rather than relying on his Ninjutsu, while she'd been using a combination of the two. He had literally been holding back for the entire spar, and she'd been giving it her all, and gotten cocky because of it, so her defeat had been only natural. And besides, she'd heard afterwards about what Hotarubi had done in the Chuunin Exams that he'd been part of, and so Midori now knows that she's going to have to control herself and her tongue around him, even if they had previously done multiple missions together. She takes a deep breath and calms herself down enough that her skin returns to its pale color, contrasting quite remarkably with her midnight-black hair and her strikingly green eyes, both of those other colors matching the asymmetric pattern of her catsuit. She'd left her hotel room without her weapon pouch; after all, they likely wouldn't be attacked in Akazaya, as everyone was under the protection of the Raikage and all the proctors as well. Still, she felt a little naked without it. The Takigakure headband hanging loosely around her neck at least shows her allegiance to her village.

"Hm? Hotarubi? What are you doing in Akazaya?"

[Oborozuki Yuri]

Spending the day with Midori was. Nice? Quiet? A little awkward. Their age difference was staggering, so they hadn't a lot of common outside of the team. Inconsiderately, Yuri does chain-smoke through most of it, sucking down two or three by the time afternoon was rolling around. It was cold, despite the sun shining brightly overhead, and a dusting of snow blanketed the village. Even in the bitter chill, Yuri is a furnace - she wears only her school-style sweater and black compression shorts. Though she knew it was safe here, and that the ninja of Kumogakure were working well to protect all of their visitors, Yuri still carries her few items. Namely, the metal bat upon her back.

At some point, as the afternoon turns colder once the sun threatens to fall, one of the two decide to hit the training grounds. Not wanting to deal with crowds, the two genin take to the outskirts. Still sanctioned and protected, but out of the way and low in patrons.

Surprisingly, they find a familiar face in the few training there. Yuri does not fail to notice the way Midori reacts to this vision of Hotarubi - she blinks, tilting her head thoughtfully as she watches her teammate take a steadying breath to try and smooth out the pink in her face. Immediately, Yuri is suspicious of the woman's intentions - especially when she takes to directly approaching him! Oh Gods, more socializing. Yuri lights another cigarette as she strolls up behind Midori.

Face blank, standing next to the taller woman, Yuri raises a hand in a simple gesture. Then it falls, and a cloud of smoke billows off her tongue as she speaks flatly. "Yo."

[Akira]

"Eh?" Hotarubi knew people were passing, and not that it was either of them was busy focused on the ripple of the earth to focus on them as he stared up at the sky with his eyes closed - for him to turn at his name being c alled. Hotarubi was quick for him to notice the two of them, an entrant and a truant. The flash of recognition on his expression as it settled from confusion to monotony. "Hi, Yuri. Midori."

Hotarubi would nod at Yuri and at Midori he would... look down - scanning her. Starting at the bottom of her boot, to her ankle: up her curves. Yellow orbs grazing across her and her form in a way that wouldn't tell as it passed from one side of her hip to the other and her collarbone where the skintight suit seemed to cling to her oh so well; and then toward her eyes, finally. It was apparent, evident, bold, and whatever it may had been in front of Yuri - however awkward it might have been. He was still somewhat sore about the fight he'd had with Midori and hadn't seen her since, irrespective of any form of attraction he felt a little pissed off.

Hotarubi would keep his stance - and a quick pillar would rise, spiraling the flak jacket through the air and swirling like one of those weird tree seeds: for Hotarubi to catch and he would fling it at Midori. "I was promoted." Hotarubi wasn't smirking or grinning like he usually would because below the surface was the simmering bloat of nerves.

Hotarubi, having thrown the flak jacket at the two of them because it was light and not full of equipment- wouldn't make the entire way. In spite of his lack of movement, a pillar would catch it - blunted, catching it through and continuing the momentum toward them, continuing the downard plume as it moved forward and ended at their feet. The pillar disappeared under the material of the flak jacket.

He, Hotarubi, received a message this morning. It had been cryptic, but it had been clear and definitive from their Jonin Hancho. The impulse to tell them was high, but it was best not to steer Yuri, and speaking of which - Yuri -

"Good luck on the exams." And then he would look at Midori. The earth had stopped by that point - and actually, he took a few steps at them, circling once in a three-sixty as his arms would sort of make the 'look at this' expression. "Maybe we can squeeze in one last lesson before they start? Midori you wouldn't mind if we use you, since you aren't in the exams, and all?" He would critically and quite tangentially point out for all of them there, though it had already been a rather obvious affair.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori had seen the Yamakira use his Earth Release enough times that she didn't have much of a reaction to the pillar that launches the flak jacket from the ground towards the two of them, and she starts to move in to intercept the thrown jacket when a second pillar rises to catch the vest and move it to the ground in front of them. Midori herself raises an eyebrow at Hotarubi when he makes such a simple statement at having been promoted. He didn't sound excited or gleeful about it at all, but she just had to make a little remark, at least.

"Y'know, most people have a celebration when they graduate. Particularly with the people who helped them out on the long journey from a previous rank to the new one."

Midori isn't the brightest, but she does notice that instead of answering her question, he just throws out a remark about his promotion, and then redirects to well-wishing for Yuri. This instantly tells the kunoichi that this is not just some official business, but secret official business. That said, she hasn't even a clue about what exactly he's doing there, what kind of mission it might be, and so there's nothing she can really say about her suspicions. And what exactly was he promoted to if he didn't want to have the flak jacket, treating it like it was trash? This should be very important to him, as a significant symbol of his new status within Takigakure, but he was tossing it to the ground and playing catch with it. She wonders for a moment if he's a double-agent of some kind, but she knows what would happen if she called it out loud; her suspicions would be met with death if she was right, and a beating if she was wrong, so holding her tongue, as difficult as it always is for Midori, is a survival skill right now.

The idea of a lesson, remembering what she'd just learned about Hotarubi from studying up on the Chuunin Exams, not that she'd started looking it up because she was worried about her younger teammate, made her even more wary than his apparent disregard for his new rank. But if she were to deny the chance to train, it would raise even more suspicion. Her eyes narrow at Hotarubi, color rising to her cheeks again as she feels intense rage at not being able to call him out on his obvious bullshit, but she accepts his offer.

"Well, I guess we might as well see what we learn from The Butcher... After all, you did pass through the previous Exams all right, huh?"

[Oborozuki Yuri]

Yuri does not fail to notice the way Hotarubi literally checks Midori out from boot to head, like he wasn't even trying to hide the pointed ogling. Yuri also doesn't fail to notice how this does not even really register to Midori. Yuri, on the sidelines, is a little stunned and almost grossed out. Were they into each other?

Hotarubi throws his flak jacket into the gentle palm of his own stone pillars. Yuri blinks, taken out of the weird vibes between them, and watches it sink comfortably to their feet.

"Good luck on the exams." Yuri looks up at him, nodding. Her expression is steely still, even as Hotarubi gestures broadly and he suggests one more lesson. The Oborozuki looks to her teammate not for approval but opinion, but she is already responding for the pair - despite a new blush. Again, Yuri tilts her head, narrows her eyes and eyebrows. Then she looks away, toward the sky, and pulls her cigarette from her mouth. Thick gray fogs around her head, rises up and disspates into the cold air.

Oh yeah. Previous exams.

"Always down to learn," Yuri drawls, and it is genuine despite the blasé tone with which she always speaks. Besides, it wasn't a lie - and though she wouldn't admit it aloud, Hotarubi had made quite the impact on her even through one mission together. All just ways to mold her, Yuri was absorbing perhaps the wrong lessons from Hotarubi; but she was learning the most from him nonetheless. She drags off her cigarette, looking between the two taller shinobi. Instead of asking for clarification, she simply waits for Hotarubi to proceed.

[Akira]

"I found out two days before I came out here. I didn't have any time. Midori." It was truthful and yet the only actual congratulations he'd had was the moments he'd spent with himself - which was rather sad. It was a different experience for him, starting to be where he felt like he should have been. His actual friendship group had always been small, and nobody except for his brother passed by that barrier. His list of trusting people included his brother, Instructor Tadashi and the growing friendship he'd had with Zura and Kunikunosaku. But Midori? No, he hadn't thought of her on his list. She was good. But - her insinuation made him frown.

Put on the spot left him unsure of what to do - but why change anything about what he was already going to perform? It was an opportunity to try out some of the techniques he'd thought about.

And while he wasn't going to bring up the contents of his mind now that his experience had been vilified, as he examined their two responses it had been less than... well. Majority of it was accounting for Midori's face, etched anger contained like he'd seen during their walking in the first mission.

Again - the lesson already wasn't going as he intended given that he could not account for the experiences and reactions of others. But what he'd forgotten was that there was action, and then reaction. He wasn't... entirely surprised that Midori knew about his Chunin experience - but didn't deign it with a response.

Rather than going low, Midori going lower - he was not about to limbo his way into hell. So - the genuine thought came from it. "Atagi. Yes. We spoke a day ago. He's in this exams this year." That had been a confusing resolution for him as well, given that two days before he'd also been drunk out of his mind and fighting what he would later know as 'Oudis'

He scuffed the ground with his feet as he put his hands on his hips, looking down. "You know, if I did these- well. If I were the one to run these exams. It wouldn't be all this skill this, teamwork there. It would be about survival, about power, about being dependable." He trailed off - like it was something he'd checked back in a journal to be retrieved later. "Anyway."

And to Midori - he would state. "Attack me, since you've been itching to do that." Hotarubi would cross his arms and remain entirely still - and he didn't doubt that she wouldn't hesitate very much. Perhaps it was just arrogance at this point: at gaining badass points: but he would walk towards Yuri, now starting to ignore Midori as she attacked. A sweet smell crossed into the air.

"I became a Genin just over a year ago." The man admitted. So, even in spite of becoming a Special Jonin as his Flak jacket's markings would suggest. "I always knew that I was going to be on this path... and now I have to think about more than myself." His tone remained heavy. Even the man they'd both met had usually kept spirits high even if he was more oft than not a bit bland - but even that usual joy seemed drained from his face.

Midori - if she'd so deigned to do it while Hotarubi speak, as any of the attacks she performed an earthen wall as fluid as water itself would rise to protect him as he walked with his arms crossed: completely without handseals.

"The point of any exam is to survive, beyond anything. You're useless to Takigakure so whatever you do, you must come back. Following?" Was the surprising advice that he had. But there was more about power as well that he wanted to share. His lesson for Midori, though? That was just the beginning.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Doton: Furō [Earth: Flow]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium [To Activate], Medium [Continuous]
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Doton
HANDSEALS: 6
REQUIREMENT: Metamorphosis style technique, Maisou no Jutsu [Burial Technique],

DESCRIPTION:
Elevating his Doton prowess to another level and embedding his new sensory abilities into his terraforming, ever-shifting Yamakira metamorphasis, Hotarubi has developed a technique to manipulate earth by his will in a personal range to himself, similar to the Ichibi's automatic sand defense that amalgamates combat experience, reaction time, and Doton manipulation into one package.

When an attack is perceived by Hotarubi, an automatic earth shield of rock and dirt rises to shield him from it. This can happen even if Hotarubi is not looking at an individual, but it is reliant on his ability to sense and perceive an attack (i.e. the vibration of an arrow being notched and let loose) as well as his reaction time - attacks catch him by surprise or individuals who are too fast to perceive will be able to bypass this defense.

The shield itself is not perfect as it is only comprised of rock and earth, but is durable against Shinobi weaponry, buffering explosions and some types of techniques as well as retaining the traditional weakness to Raiton, but if there is no available earth/rock/dirt to protect him, he can use his own body composition - this would also be susceptible to Suiton.

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[Netsu Midori]

As much as Midori wants to - she even takes a step towards him when he orders her to attack him - she does not immediately go for an assault on Hotarubi. As much as she'd like to instantly attack him, she knows that if she does, she's likely going to be beaten down again by his mud fists, and the last thing she wants to do is to be knocked out before the training really even starts. Instead, she crosses her arms and keeps them pinned in place by gripping each of her arms, giving the special jounin a hard glare, but making no drastic or threatening moves. At least, not yet. At least Hotarubi is only speaking for now, so she lets him finish his speech to Yuri, but she does interrupt him near the end.

"'Useless to Takigakure', huh? Did you get so used to talking about yourself that you forgot you were talking to my teammate?"

With an eruption of anger and a sudden rising of the temperature of her left hand, she swings a slap right at Hotarubi's face, activating the Kesshoton in the middle of the movement, but that powerful slap merely collides with the wall of earth that rises up to protect Hotarubi from damage. Of course, the Kesshoton chakra still has a slightly greater impact against the earth wall than a normal strike would ever have, and Midori leaps backwards and away from the special jounin and Yuri as soon as the attack was made. If Hotarubi retaliated, she didn't want Yuri herself being caught in it; after all, she wanted Yuri to come back to Takigakure safe, as well. As she moves backwards, she readies her hands for more combat, though she knows she's a lot less effective without the Hung Gar rings to provide that extra bit of force to her punches.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hotto Surapu [Hot Slap]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: Kesshoton
HANDSEALS: 0
REQUIREMENT: Plasma Form
DESCRIPTION:
After funneling Kesshoton around the hand the user will slap their opponent across the face which detonates into a shockwave of rippling plasma that can knock someone down if delivered with enough force This technique has a low absorption level before breaking apart and gaining the lower absorption adds only a very minor to increase to ripple

[Oborozuki Yuri]

The two have a sorted history, that was for sure. Yuri does not understand any of it, and so she hardly listens in from the sideline. Feeling a bit like a third wheel, she lifts her bat off her back preemptively, but only uses it to lean on. The two's voices murmuring in her ear, the genin looks toward the sky and thinks about the passing day. She wishes she were a cloud, floating by, not phased by earth's gush. Ah well.

Yuri pulls out of it when Hotarubi tells Midori to attack him. Her eyebrow quirks. Why would she have been wanting to hurt him?

Clearly, this was a scourned lover's quarrel. No place for Yuri. She holds her tongue.

The senior ninja starts closing the gap between himself and the Oborozuki, and she hardens just a bit. Standing straight to address his maw, she listens to what he says without trepidation. Turned genin only a year ago? More than himself? Useless? The deeper meaner behind these words - this is what Yuri is calculating in their moment together before Midori takes offense on her comrade's behalf. Yuri would be touched by it if it did not make her feel more like a middle piece in whatever affair they were having already.

Face pointed at Hotarubi, but brown eyes follow Midori. Was this a lecture for Yuri, or a spar for Midori? Yuri's grip on her bat tightens just a bit, but she shows no sign of recoil. Her tone is even. "Following..."

[Akira]

If Midori didn't attack - Hotarubi was going to set next on asking her what she was waiting for, but he would not need to.

She could be angry: Hotarubi would only flick his eyes at her in confirmation like driving a cart to see the dangers around him: just confirmation that the earth was rising. Midori might not have understood what he was getting at. And for that incursion - Hotarubi might've simply fuelled the fire as he ignored her and continued to keep his eyes trained to Yuri.

He would, mildly wince as was human, when specks of rock and dirt blast out the other side and into his face. No minor issue. Midori would simply have to try harder if she wanted to break through it - he had enhanced his proficiency enough for it to ebb and flow, for any of his earthen creations to fall. "All of us are useless if we're dead. My clan have only ever been scoundrels. Dirt of the earth, plunderers and criminals. But they still always came back to support Takigakure no sato - and it was why they were there at the creation of the village." He didn't expect them to understand clan ideology. "You ever step over, or on - or you get crushed under. That was my existence through life, to take what I wanted. I was threatened that if I ever returned to the academy, I would be killed." He was delving a bit.

Backstory: everybody loved backstory. "And I backed off, knowing I couldn't stop them. I spent... over shitty five years in a shitty noodle store. A shitty assistant cook and a shitty man who forced me to perpetually clean because of my earth body. It taught discipline. Disgust... that nobody helped. Nobody cared." Hotarubi had only re joined the academy at 17 - having left early on. And yet, his brother stood by him even though he very well could have stayed as well. Hotarubi shook his head at the bad memories.

"Attack." The Yamakira kept his eyes trained on Yuri - but clearly not aimed at her. And just like before, any attacks would be met with a liquid wall of earth and dirt. "I was useless and now I am not because I learned when to bide my time, and when to strike - and there is a time to be like the Yamakira. Unyielding: unbreakable. Powerful. And there is time to be like water: fluid, and in control." It was hard that he was breaking free from the shackles of his clan ideology: though he believed many of the traits including superiority.

On the other hand, for himself since he was still getting something out of it for himself (as always) he was able to prove how much better he was by not even raising a hand against Midori and being unaffected all the same. "Following?" He asked again, coldly.

If he was going to lead them, he would need to learn how to - and it didn't come by being a Yamakira all the time. And, if anything... power was not always derived from the self, it was derived from the masses as well. That was what Kenji had said.

That made him a true Yamakira. More deserving of it than any other. And that thought by itself fuelled that need for greatness, that desire of ownership.

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori had stopped for a moment after her retreat from what she had assumed would be an immediate retaliation, and now she listened as well while Hotarubi went into a bit of a monologue about his own life. To her, it sounds like whining, but she actually knows the Special Jounin well enough that she figured he had a point. She moves in closer again when he seems more interested in just speaking to Yuri than actually attacking, and although the order for her to attack gets her rage going again, she chooses a different outlet; like the older ninja said, there was a time to be powerful, and a time to be like water. Such as the water in Midori's mouth as she brings it in onto her tongue before pursing her lips and spitting at his face, with a hard puff of explosive force to send the spit out like a jet that simply crashes into the stone wall that rises up to catch it, making the action even more symbolic than it already was. It still takes a whole lot of self-control and a bit of her old contrarian attitude to keep her from willfully attacking at him again. She might be aggressive to a large degree, but she had enough intellect to think for herself.

"I'm a kunoichi, not an attack dog. If you wanna give me orders, you'll have to do it through Etsuko. Our sensei, for the time being."

Midori was giving Hotarubi a harsh glare now, and while she might have wanted her arms crossed while delivering her response to his long-winded speech, she gave him the respect of having her hands on her own hips, leaving both hands open. She wasn't about to disrespect him by leaving herself totally defenseless; while she might say some disrespectful things, and her eyes were definitely full of rage, there was a little green flame of approval for his power and skill in combat. While she didn't think he'd have the same respect for her, even after her success on the mission in the Yamakira graveyard, she figured he'd more than earned hers. And now that she herself had chosen to bide herself back, she was starting to see his point much more clearly, since now she was actually listening to him more closely than before. She was still ready to knock his block off for all this "useless" talk, since Takigakure had obviously seen some use in their training, but she wasn't about to be contrary to him right to his face.

[Oborozuki Yuri]

Hotarubi is nearly unphased by Midori as she attacks, meeting her with pillars and stone without more than a flicker of his eyes. Yuri stares openly, smoke rising in a tendril off the end of the lit cigarette hanging from between her lips. She does not pull from it, listening carefully instead. Her usual dull expression was twisted just a bit, a soft note of either intent or confusion. Somewhere in between.

He divulges a bit, delving a bit into himself, where he's coming from. She can relate, at least in some capacity, enough to draw her in. Midori spits from the sidelines in vain.

Briefly, eyes still locked with Yuri's brown ones, Hotarubi tells Midori to attack with a demanding force in his voice. To Yuri's surprise, she refuses, barking something about orders. Yuri's eyes flicker away from Hotarubi's to Midori, a slight downcast of her eyebrows, and looks back up to him. She notices now how he towers over her, how she has to look up to meet his intense glare. Ignoring Midori, he continues, "I was useless and now I am not because I learned when to bide my time, and when to strike - and there is a time to be like the Yamakira. Unyielding: unbreakable. Powerful. And there is time to be like water: fluid, and in control. Following?"

Heart stuttering, Yuri's throat feels dry. She swallows thickly, nods once slowly, refusing to turn away from his almost unnerving visage. In the moment, she feels an overwhelming sense of something insatiable. Like a growing hunger for purpose. She admires Hotarubi for his. Quickly, she works out what Midori's purpose is; but she deflects it by ceasing her approach, rendering the senior ninja's lecture one without demonstration. It didn't matter. Yuri was-

"Following."

[Akira]

There was an immediate, inextricable need for violence. His forearms and biceps and chest all pursed together lightly while the barrier rose. It did nothing, obviously - and he looked down at the darkened dirt. But - all of the experience of the far worse things he'd endured at his time from the other Yamakira were nothing. This was only harsh because it was new, and he had gotten complacent.

Though of a harder make, he felt tightness in his chest when she was not deferent. A pang of anger: confusion, difficulty. There was a movement - there was rotation down by his ankles, like he was going to face her... but he did not. Leadership needed to be respected. Command did. She was not a Yamakira, and he was not in command, his thoughts told him.

She was a Genin, he told himself. It would do no good. But he hadn't even been an academy student, his memory reminded him of the times himself where ruthlessness were inflicted upon him without mercy: and that ruthlessness kept him going till he re-entered the academy. In some ways, ruthlessness was a mercy on himself.

He continued with his story at Yuri, even when he was finding it tough to keep his cool. Later. He would deal with it later. He couldn't undermine his own point for Yuri - since it was possible to believe multiple things at once. It was conditional: survival was conditional. Two Kumo shinobi would walk by - "use it or lose it!" they would call out. "We are." referencing their training space. Hotarubi would reply monotonously and they carried on.

If he were being honest, he was having a hard time recovering from the insult he'd received from Midori. Like Shosuke: like this missions he'd been undertaking, he was learning more and more that not everything was becoming solvable through violence. The secondary part was that it wasn't like he had prepared a full lesson of teaching. But Yuri was following, Midori was not. So - there was silence, like he was doing a math problem in his head as his eyes and eyebrows did the talking as he put his words in the right orders. "And..." Still working along. Cogs moving in his brain.

He would glance at Midori.

Fucking hell.

theme

"Ruthlessness is mercy on ourselves. I... am increasingly learning that the world is not walked through in black and white - being honest with yourself is the starting point. So whatever it is you face when you're in there, be direct with what you know. What you are capable of: and no more. Ruthlessness is deciding what items you can take, in the worth of taking a life - or trusting another." His voice was gravelly, keeping himself in the picturesque statue position.

But then, a question. "Do you feel ready?"

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[Netsu Midori]

Midori sees some movement of Hotarubi, and tenses her body in preparation for a dodge, since her dodging had been so effective before in their last spar, but then the attack from the Special Jounin doesn't come, and she imperceptibly relaxes a bit. She tenses again when the pair of Kumo shinobi call out to them to either use the training ground or move out, and her neon green eyes flash to them, her eyes wide with wild rage, so wide that it's easy to see the whites of her eyes around the green pools. Here was danger from the Netsu clan member. Hotarubi gives his response, a monotonous one, since he likely doesn't see them as being part of this, but Midori seriously considers beating them both down, as evidenced by the neon glow that her fists are starting to make while she's staring at them.

Then she decides that Etsuko would likely not enjoy a report before her about how her own student had assaulted Kumogakure ninja in the middle of Akazaya, and she visibly calms again, instead giving the pair of Kumo ninja one final glare before she returns her full attention to Hotarubi. Despite her apparently blatant disrespect directed at him, she did seem to believe that Hotarubi deserved respect. It's odd for him to be silent for so long after she'd spit at him, although her spit had obviously been caught by the earth wall that Hotarubi was using as part of his lesson. A lesson on being ruthless, a strange lesson for a time just prior to the Chuunin Exams where they were apparently being warned that a serious assault would not be tolerated. Midori had always been somewhat ruthless, so the lesson is actually lost on her. Then he asks Yuri if she feels ready, and Midori stays silent. Her eyes flicker back to the Kumo ninja, apparently still itching to beat them down and make them apologize to Hotarubi, but he might take that as an insult from her, as though he couldn't fight his own battles and demand his own respect.

[Oborozuki Yuri]

Her flagrant insubordination seems to course anger through Hotarubi - Yuri doesn't need to know how to read people to feel that intense aura of his. But he follows through with his words, and Yuri listens earnestly.

Alas, it seems like Midori deflated some of his aggression. He had been towering, booming, unnerving and strong. "And..." Now he was human again, and Yuri did not feel fear but instead admiration, connection. He was someone she wanted to learn from. The compound elders, Etsuko, Akio - hell, even Midori. All the faces who have tried to teach Yuri something float unremarkably through her skull. Hotarubi, however, knew something the others didn't. Yuri was determined to find out what it was.

Could she be as commanding as him? She doubted it, but it made her heart flutter to think about.

Power.

That's what she was hungry for.

And then he continues, laying out a sentiment Yuri latches onto easily. Choices. Consequences. Passing judgement with ruthless unbias. Separate yourself from what it means to be a shinobi. Her expression is finally hardened, eyebrows pinched and brown eyes blazing dark.

"Do you feel ready?"

Yuri nods once, a soft huff escaping her nose. "I do."

The truth is blurry. At first, she hadn't felt ready - she hadn't even considered participating in the exams until Etsuko thought otherwise of her. Now, as Hotarubi maintains his composure and delivers his speech, Yuri feels like she can do it. Although, it is not for the village - she feels a surge of intense anticipation, she feels a hook of duty; but only for herself. This was about what she could take. This was about how far she could go.

Then she realizes again where they are; the world comes back to her. Just three waterfall ninja gathered in a foreign country. Yuri's eyes flicker to Midori, then around, and she pulls at her cigarette and takes it between her fore and middle finger to exhale a cloud. Carefully, she asks her own question. "Do you think I'm capable of being in control...?" Cigarette at her side, she meets his steely gaze again.