[Honō Kojirou]

The Chūnin Exams were drawing nearer. Day by day. Images still lingered in his head from last year… from last time. Dots of black and red in the air, the faint slap of wind in the face, the view of the ceiling drawing closer and closer to him only to shyly scurry away from his eyes, the embrace and spinning world around him that led to a dreamscape… the recovery and aftermath of his duel against Goro, his optimistic nature and the making of a new friend, the embarrassment he hid under his skin and the screams he hid behind smiles… the second chance at life, blitzing lights all around him, booming voices all over, and two formidable opponents to defeat.

Half his body coated in senbon, himself at death’s door but salvaged by a miracle. The embarrassment he hid under his skin, the screams he choked under his smile.

Ahma’s words… it all weighed down on him.

…

"Kojirou…” His mother had noticed that something was off about Kojirou lately – he seemed a bit emotionally… worn out. He was less talkative, instead hyper-focused on testing out his new katana with its crystal-blue blade, seemingly uninterested in the upcoming Chūnin Exams. He had… no intention of participating this time. She knew what had happened to Atagi back then, but to think it’d affect him this much… was her assumption.

But his cousin was going to participate. It was only a matter of time before they encountered each other once more, accompanied by the falling bamboo sticks used for sword practice in the garden. Faint smell of forged iron in the air, and a pleasant heat that their clan adored.

[Honō Saya]

The problem with growing up around someone, Saya knew, was that it was impossible to keep anything hidden from them for very long. Walking down the main corridor of her Uncle’s home, the redhead moved with focused purpose, her stride quick and forceful, honey-yellow gaze sharp and brimming with intent. Things had been odd in the family for weeks now; Kojirou had grown quiet, quieter than normal, his usual introversion shifting to something more melancholic as the Chuunin Exams grew closer. She had known her cousin his entire life, knew that he sometimes had phases where he needed to withdraw from the world and think, but this felt… darker than that. Which was why she was here, on a day where she ought to be guarding the gate with Kumori. To see what was troubling her cousin and help, if she could.

"Hey." She said, her voice soft and warm as she stepped into the garden where they had practiced so many times before, a bamboo shinai in one hand. "You wanna get some real practice in, or are you just gonna stare into the distance?" There was a hint of teasing to her tone, a soft poke between siblings (which they might as well have been, given how they’d been raised), but there was more to it than that- she was concerned, yes, but she also knew her cousin. He wasn’t likely to ask her for help, to bring his worries up unprovoked. He needed something to draw it out… and that meant a bit of teasing, however good-natured it was.

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou… did not like bringing up his own problems. It was mostly because he expected himself to have more pride in his capabilities than that – a member of his clan could definitely be strong enough to keep check of their emotions, right? Or was he… not emotionally strong enough? It certainly felt like something he should’ve been – he’d been a Genin for years, now.

… Saya’s voice made him lift his head up. He couldn’t just mope around all sad, not when his sister was preparing for the Chūnin Exams. She had every reason to be on edge, so what was his excuse? "Oh… hi,” he greeted her, lifting his face up, lifting his spirits up. Saya was family… she meant so much to him. She was his cousin, but she was also much more than that – they both lost precious, precious family long ago. She was arguably… the closest family he had. The most relatable. Like two sides of the same coin, but in a milder sense.

He took a second to realize what she meant, then sheathed his blue crystal katana. Yeah… he could have a bout with her. Maybe that’d ease his nerves a bit – Saya was exemplary, after all. M-Maybe he was just absurd! Maybe he was just paranoid. "I-I wasn’t staring… hnnhh,” he protested poorly, furrowing his eyebrows regardless, "I’m… I’m always ready when you are!” Yeah, like the good-old times… Kojirou was big into swordsmanship, and Saya often helped him with spars in that regard. He could tell that she picked up many of his tricks along the way, like the quick learner she was.

Swiftly grabbing his bamboo shinai, before his eyes was a Chūnin Exams participant. It… made those images return. He was struggling back then, but he made it through the first round. He was proud and happy… but if things ended with Round 2, then it would’ve been alright. Had he… not known what would happen to Atagi, then he probably wouldn’t have feared the Exams as much.

He remembered meeting him at the hospital… how optimistic he was. Kojirou borrowed a lot of his warm-hearted nature from Atagi, after all… but Ahma’s words kept echoing in his mind. He did almost die… twice. Atagi was closer to death, too. They were meant to survive, to become stronger and serve their nation… they wouldn’t be able to do so as corpses. Maybe that was why he had these inner struggles – when was he being a coward, and when was he being reasonable?

Just the image of what could’ve happened… shook him to his very core. Yet he gritted his teeth, sharpened his eyes, and focused. His stance defensive, tight and well-trained. "I’ve learned a few new things since last time. Attack, and see for yourself!”

[Honō Saya]

"You totally were." Saya said, her tone soft and gently teasing as her cousin grabbed his own shinai, some of the darkness behind his eyes lifting as he took a stance, making his typical boast. Some, but not all; whatever was plaguing Kojirou, it ran deep. Deep enough that she would have to do more than simply spar with him to draw it out. She would have to win.

"Oh, I’m sure you have." She said, smiling slightly as she slid her shinai into the space in her obi where Hitsuiken would sit, her left foot shifting back, body coiling like a spring. It was a stance her cousin would know well, Blacklance’s Strike, an iaido form meant to be used while rushing forwards in order to both close the distance and strike in the same motion. She liked using it in their spars, particularly as an opener, as it usually forced her cousin one the defensive, if only for a moment. ”Predictability leads to death,” as Uncle likes to say.

So, when she launched herself forward, uncoiling her body in the usual way, the redhead did something different this time; instead of drawing her shinai in time with her second step, she threw her right hand up and out, smacking aside Koji’s extended shinai before following it up with a rapid, forceful punch to his abdomen. If she hit him, it would likely knock the wind out of his lungs and, perhaps, give her a chance to both draw her own shinai and begin pushing the advantage. If it didn’t…

Well, there was a reason you didn’t usually bring fists to a swordfight.

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kokuyari. He’d have to raise his guards quickly to evade getting hit by that, and he did as planned – his shinai was held up in a diagonal angle, easy to change its angle to accommodate for her shinai’s approach. He’d just have to be fast enough to change its position, in case she changed direction – since it was an Iaijutsu that she performed, he assumed it’d be a sort of horizontal slash and held his shinai vertically to act as a shield.

But when Saya smacked his shinai off track with her bare own, he was dumbfounded. That was a really reckless move! And because of how irregular it was, it caught him off guard too! And her heavy punch landed squarely in his gut, pushing out the air in his lungs from the impact that made his eyes bulge out a little.

What was he doing? He was sparring his cousin, and he was already on the receiving end!

Tightening the grip on his shinai, Kojirou didn’t let the awkward distance between them stop him from sending the pommel straight towards her side. Despite using only one hand, there was a lot of speed behind that pommel strike, a bludgeoning technique he’d used for years.

[Honō Saya]

Were this been a real battle, Saya mused, I would have just won.

Her fist impacted against Kojirou’s gut hard, knocking the breath from her cousin’s frame even as he backpedaled and struck out with a blow of his own; a pommel-strike to the side, a favorite counter of his for when she got in close. There was no way for her to dodge, nothing to do but take the blow as best she could, so that was what the redhead did, twisting to her left and taking the strike on her upper shoulder rather than her side, which deflected some of the blow’s force. Some, but not all- she’d have a nasty bruise in the morning from that.

Even so, she wasn’t gasping for breath like her cousin was, and with the shortened distance between them she had the chance to respond in kind, flicking her shinai out in a draw-cut that had her slamming the length of bamboo up into her cousin’s lower right rib-cage; a killing blow in battle, to be sure, but only if it landed. Give the distance between them and the awkward bent of her blow, it was likely Kojirou would be able to block, or at least deflect, the majority of the attack, but that wasn’t the point. She was taller than her cousin by a good few inches, with a longer reach and, surprisingly, a good bit more weight to throw behind her strikes. He was more skilled, but she held the advantage in raw power, and up close, power mattered a lot more than speed.

"Gotcha."

Honō Kojirou

Combat Info

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu Used:
NAME: Iaido [Quickdraw]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
REQUIREMENT: Sword
DESCRIPTION: Iaido is a style of quickdraw. The secret behind the speed of this quick draw comes from two separate movements. The user will begin with their hands close each one on the opposite side of the tsuba [guard]. The two movements needed to take out the sword in an instant faster than one can raise their guard come from the pulling motion onto the sheath as the user takes out the sword as well as flicking the sword out with their thumb increasing the speed of the pull onto the handle.

SA's:
A Bright Burning Light [Enhanced Chakra Reserves]
Born with abnormally large chakra reserves, Saya is capable of utilizing more jutsu than the average person of her rank, and can continue to use them at a much higher rate, allowing her to fight longer than others of her rank can without running out of chakra.

Seals Are Cool, I Swear! [Fuinjutsu Proficiency]
Having spent much of her time as a Genin learning the intricacies of Fuinjutsu, Saya has a better understanding of how seals interact with chakra than most others of her rank, which has allowed her to implant Fuinjutsu onto an object struck by her blade, so long as she has prepared the technique beforehand. This does not allow a character to bypass any restrictions on a Fuinjutsu, and Saya must concentrate on the Fuinjutsu being used through the blade in order apply it, making it impossible to channel a Fuinjutsu through the blade while concentrating on another jutsu (or use another jutsu while a Fuinjutsu is channeled through it).

Equipment:
Yoton Forged Steel
Forged using a unique blend of Iron Ore that can only be smelted with Yoton Release chakra, Hitsuiken boasts a surprising level of durability for a weapon of its rank, allowing it to shrug off blows that would shatter lesser blades with nary a nick or scratch. Additionally, the blade rarely needs to be sharpened, as its edge is quite hard, though of course it does require polishing and maintenance from time to time (this does not mean it is any sharper than normal).

Chakra Conductive - Fuinjutsu
Created specifically with the users Fuinjutsu prowess in mind, Hitsuiken lives up to its name by enabling whoever wields it to channel fuuinjutsu through it so long as the character has the correlating SA. This allows the wielder to apply said seals to the surface of the next object the blades touches, be it organic or inorganic provided the technique itself can affect said object in the first place. This does not allow a character to bypass any restrictions on a Fuinjutsu, and the user most concentrate on the Fuinjutsu being used throught the blade in order apply it, making it impossible to channle a Fuinjutsu through the blade while concentrating on another jutsu (or use another jutsu while a Fuinjutsu is channeled through the blade).

[Honō Kojirou]

He was gasping more than he wanted to from that surprise attack, which prompted him to dash backwards in order to make more space between him and Saya – this would prove difficult as Saya immediately followed up with a quickdrawing slash, which Kojirou hadn’t time to evade in his current movement. His other choice was to deflect it with his own shinai, but upon doing so as he was used to – simply lining it up as if drawing it out from his own sheath to meet her own – he felt the weight of her strike swipe his shinai upwards! He knew this feeling – he was about to lose his grip on his shinai, and he couldn’t just let her unarm him that easily!

N-Not so… fast!

Following the trajectory of his shinai, he leapt up and committed a backflip in order to heist his weapon back before landing on his feet again. He couldn’t let her follow up with another strike, so the moment his eyes met her again, he lifted his shinai and performed a 3-strike assault that seemed to draw the shape of a star, followed by another consequent 3-strike rush. He intended to push her back with his own offensive capabilities and put her on the defense for a change.

It felt wrong. She'd recognize his style anywhere, but this wasn't as sharp as he'd usually be. Something was clouding his eyes and mind more than he'd admit, and you'd be surprised how stark the effect would be.

[Honō Saya]

Something was off.

Saya knew her cousin’s fighting style better than most; she had trained with him her whole life, after all. He was quick, strong, and light on his feet, requiring her utmost just to stay on the defensive; he’d beaten her more time than she cared to admit, her wins coming not from her skill with a blade but rather her smarts and her willingness to "fight dirty,” as her Uncle put it. But as Kojirou stumbled back, nearly losing his shinai to her attack before he managed to recover, she knew there was something very, very wrong. He’s better than this.

It wasn’t hard to follow Koji’s trajectory in her mind, his body flying over her head as she twisted around, meeting her cousin’s trio of attacks head on, something usually didn’t do. He was better than her, stronger, faster- but in this instance, his attacks were sloppy, lacking their usual crispness and, most crucially, the firm conviction to win that normally marked their bouts. Three strikes rang out, and each was met by its twin, her blows not quite as fast or strong, but flowing from one to the next with practiced precision, allowing her to make up the difference between them and hold her ground.

And then, she saw it. Just as Koji was about to transition into another attack, he stepped back, her left arm bobbing down just a hair too low as she stepped in and, with a forceful "Ha!" thrusted the tip of her shinai right into the side of his chest, the point punching in hard enough to bruise. She followed the thrust up with a slash, stepping into her cousin’s space even as she pulled her blade back and pivoted into a perfect rising diagonal, right to left, that left him almost no room to maneuver and only the slimmest of chances to block.

"You’re distracted."

Honō Kojirou

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou wanted to land that next strike. He wanted it to land as swiftly as he always could, to tell her that he was alright and that she had nothing to worry about. He was just… not really himself today. Not when constantly brought back a year ago, to Ahma’s almost haunting words, her disdain for the current shinobi system, its effects on the younger generation and the outcome of the previous Exams. The fact that… he just couldn’t be cautious. The fact that she, too, could lose not just a limb or two… but her life.

His precious sister.

He was holding her back, definitely. Deep inside, he had that thought – that he was being a burden, a disgrace as a shinobi and a disgrace as a brother. He should just… combat his own, inner, foolish fears and grow more stoic. It was likely what she wanted, after all… at least, he thought so.

Having such an emotional brother must’ve been a pain to her, eh?

The strike to his chest landed heavily, pushing his ribs into his lungs and causing him to cough out as he struggled to brace her next attacks. She immediately called him out, having spotted his uncharacteristic sloppiness that he felt conflicted to answer to. "I-I’m just… I’m… ngh, ashamed… of myself!”

Never did he ever think he’d utter those words, but he couldn't hold back. He had to tell Saya something, and she was kind of pushing him to open up at this rate, so the gate to his heart slowly turned and let light in - and deep inside, he saw shame. Was that what it all boiled down to? Him feeling… shame? Guilt? A sense of accountability over his own, emotional matters? These inner conflicts didn’t suit a pure-hearted boy, and they didn’t suit a convicted Honō.

[Honō Saya]

Saya saw her blow land, felt the force of it reverberate through her arm as it slammed into her cousin, leaving him breathless and terribly open for another blow. If this had been a normal, proper spar she would have followed up with a coup de grace, chopping the neck or battering down his defenses to make him surrender. But this was not a spar, not really- and she had no desire to beat her brother while he was down. Because he was her brother, if not by blood, than at least in heart.

"For what?" She asked, stepping back to give her cousin space to not only catch his breath, but emote; he had always been sensitive, far more in-tune with his emotions than most gave him credit for, but she had never seen him so… broken. Shame crept into his voice, his words hitching in his throat as he spewed the bottled up feelings that had held him down, weakening his spirit and making his strike slower, weaker, and far too sloppy.

"Tell me, Koji. What do you have to be ashamed of? Because from I’m standing, I can’t see a single thing."

Honō Kojirou