Starring:
Date: December 18, 2013
Summary:
Nariko fights Hiei for her Chuunin Exam
"A Fight to the Last Cut"
Kanayama Hiko Arena - Fighting Ring
A hazy afternoon. Cloud cover coming from down the mountain tops and fizzles out as it hits the tops of buildings in Kumogakure. The arena is no exception. Mists roll over one side of the circular structure, rolling down and over sometimes blocking some of the view from the stands but quickly the low-hanging clouds dissipate and sight is restored to those that may be watching this event.
Publicly, and exhibition match. Rumor had spread that Nariko was up for a promotion, but that was neither here nor there. Being as she was pitted against Hiei, a prominent rising star of the Yotsuki Clan, Ogosokamaru had summoned both of them here today for this.
The proctor stands atop the small mountain within the arena, hands raised to either side as he awaits the participants to enter. Ogosokamaru sits in the special seating for dignitaries should the exams ever come to Kumo, with Lady Yuzuna by his side in the seat next to him, he also invited his advisor, Hiroyasu into that box with him today. But it was informal, the advisor's personal choice for where he would ultimately sit, Ogo would point out to someone who laughed at the idea of a chuunin sitting with them… who was quickly sent to sit in the upper seating after some strict words about Ogo's choices.
Just like every other typical day, today was the day that Nariko would be going against Hiei. She was a little worried, no, that isn't even close to how she feels. She was really worried. The few things that ran through her mind involved "What if I fail? How will I explain that to mom and dad?" and "I can do this. I was trained to do this." She would walk into the arena, looking around at the stands. She had to make Kumo proud, she would make Kumo proud. She had the look of determination on her face, she would give it her all until the end.
Hiei is standing at the edge of the arena waiting for Nariko to arrive. The difference in his appearance than normal is that he is clad in a platinum colored armor. It covers his torso, his arms, and his legs all underneath the white duster that he normally wears. He stands with his arms over his chest and a passive expression on his face. He may look calm and collected on the outside, but inside he was warring with himself. He knew how important this was to his cousin and part of him wants to take it easy on her..so that she would both succeed at her task and he wouldn't cause her any serious harm. However that kind of thinking would get him kicked out of the clan. Even though he's got reservations he knew that if he didn't fight her at full strength, Nariko would never forgive him. He looks up in the stands and spots his parents in attendance as well as Nariko's parents, and their grandfather. He blows out a pent up breath before doing some warm up exercises to loosen his joints.
- Hiroyasu is moving to seat himself, looking down from the premier seating with a keen eye. "I imagine we will be for quite a match, Two Yotsuki Combatants" he muses moving to glance over at Ogosokamaru, before looking back down on the field of play. "I hope he has shored up his genjutsu defense.." he adds before going quiet. -
A towering figure enters the box seats where Ogosokamaru and others are currently seated. The Yotsuki clan head, Raiga, moves to somewhat gracefully seat himself in a chair. If graceful could ever be used for the hulk of a man. A bellowing laugh, "Ahh hahaha! Eh, Raikage, guess they finally took my advice!?" He leans forward putting his hands on the wall in front of him that was flush with the towering wall of the inside of the arena, yelling down to the two on the battlefield, "Can we expect the proposal after this!?" Another booming laugh from him.
Ogosokamaru tries to keep his composure at that, waving a little for the Clan Head to tone it down, but changes his mind. "We'll see, won't we?" Is all he can say trying to keep a laugh from bubbling up. Distraction might be a good test for Nariko, nonetheless. Hence why Ogo didn't immediately shut it down.
When Hiei enters, Raiga gets one last phrase in before he calms and waits with a fist supporting his chin, "Show her what kind of man she can have, Hiei-san!" The laughter settles from the large man after a few moments.
Ogosokamaru gives Hiro a kind greeting, "Hiroyasu-san, good afternoon." Yuzuna delivers her telltale proper bow of the head to him with a similar verbal greeting.
The proctor lowers his arms, and announces to the crowds watching and waiting. "To all who shall see these combatants present, greetings! Yotsuki Nariko, in a match of skill against Yotsuki Hiei!" His military commanding voice echoes through the arena. "To both fighters, good tidings in combat, may honor be yours today! BEGIN!"
Once the command was given to start, the proctor leaps across the arena to the proctor stand, a small parapet cropped out of the stone wall to give a view of the entire arena below the box within which Ogosokamaru, Yuzuna, and Raiga and Hiro were seated.
That jounin that was sent away for comments? Yeah he's grumbling up in the stands, but never the less everyone there is very expectant to watch a good fight.
Nariko looks up to where Ogo and their grandfather talked, hearing the grandfather's laugh made her that much more nervous, it was probably one of those comments about how Nariko loves Hiei, which is wrong. She looks at Hiei and lets out a large sigh. "Let’s do this." She walks forward, and then stops, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them and brings her arms up, clenching a fist and keeping the other hand straight, giving a bow to Hiei. "Good luck Cousin." She gives a smirk to him. Her look of determination still showing on her face.
Hiei winces a little and his cheeks turn crimson when he hears his grandfather hollering up in the stands about him marrying Nariko. Hiei begins to sweat a little…maybe he didn't want to do his best in this contest afterall. "Geez. He's still going on about that." He shakes his head as if to clear it and his expression changes to all business as he stares at Nariko across from him. He dips his head. "Good luck to you as well. Don't hold back against me." He reaches back, his fingers curling around the hilt of his custom katana as he slowly draws it from its sheath. He slides his left leg forwards as he places both hands on the hilt of his blade, moving into the high guard stance. He exhales slowly as he prepares his body for battle.
Nariko nods. "I won't. I'll make sure to not bust your two front teeth." She winks and smirks. Her leg moved off to the side, then looked at him. She ran at him, her arms sizzling with lightning around them. If her eyes could light up they would. As she neared him she would extend an arm towards his chest to punch him, a leg swinging out and trying to knock his balance out from under him.
Hiei rushes forwards when Nariko does, he extends his hand to block her strike, but apparently he didn't know that it was also infused with lightning and he gets a shocking reception from his older cousin. Releasing her fist, he leaps up while backflipping once to dodge her strike. He shakes his hand, as if trying to get the numbness out. "That's a new one." He comments offhandedly before he places his fist down by his waist as it begins to crackle with lightning. He darts forwards as he throws the fist towards her. "Lightning Shotgun!" He opens his hand, palm side out as a blast of lightning shoots for Nariko. He plants his foot and spins off to the side, using his blade to swipe out at the kunoichi.
Nariko smirks at Hiei. "Have to keep you on your toes somehow." As he fires off the bullets she brings her arms up in an "X", still sizzling with lightning around them as she blocks lightning with lightning. Then he comes at her with his sword and she does her best to move quickly out of the way, a cloud shape of her body being slashed as she reappears a few feet away. She moves her feet out to keep her balance steady. She extends an arm out, electricity spitting out from them towards Hiei before she begins to run at him, sending two punches to his chest.
Hiei drops onto his back when Nariko shoots her lightning allowing it to barely miss him and does a kip-up back to his feet just in time to block her strike towards his chest with his off-hand. He twists his body to the side as her second strike whizzes by his chest only barely just missing him. He kicks out at her thigh with his foot before he leaps backwards, performing a handseal before he extends two fingers towards Nariko. "Release: Lightning Arc." Lightning charges at the tip of his forefinger and middle finger before he releases it towards Nariko. The bolt zig-zags in the air as it flies on its course towards her.
Nariko charges her forearm up to block his kick before she tries to move out of the way of his lightning arc. Unfortunately for her she gets hit in the chest with the blast of lightning. She loses her footing a moment and grunts as she falls back slightly. "Dang it." She shakes her head as she gathers herself. She looks to Hiei and eyes him a moment. She didn't like getting hit one bit. She ran back at Hiei, a kick flying out to him before a volley of punches fly at him.
Hiei notices the stare that Nariko gives him and knew it was coming. The only person with a temper worse than his was her. When she began to rush him, he immediately goes into movements that are both designed to get him out of harm’s way and to dazzle and confuse his opponent. He performs a corkscrew flip to dodge the flying kick she sent for him. He is clipped on the chin during her volley of punches and he's unable to quite get back into his dodging rhythm as she slams her fist against him once again, this time sending a small spray of blood spewing out of his mouth. He slides back several feet from her powerful punch and lifts a hand to his mouth. He looks back at Nariko, his white brows furrowing slightly. "So..it's like that." He clenches his jaw and takes a two handed grip with his sword before swinging at Nariko, sending as shockwave of energy towards her before he uses the tips of his fingers to run it along the blade itself. The blade begins to glow a neon blue before Hiei's body simply vanishes as he attacks Nariko using some of the speed he has access to.
Nariko's eyes go wide as she is hit with the sword and is hit against by Hiei. The slice cuts her deep enough on her that she has a trail of blood running down her. Plus her clothes are now destroyed, she doesn't like that. She regains her balance and clenches her fists. "Oh, it'll be much different." She gives him a fierce gaze. She reaches to her side, pulling out her Sasuke Goatchiha pez dispenser. She opens it up and pops a pill in her mouth. She stretches her neck a second and then looks to Hiei. She looks at him in the eye, attempting to make him see a bright light emanating from her. Then she would run at him and throw a heavier punch than normal for his gut, before kneeing him.
The bright light hurt Hiei's eyes, but he slaps himself and manages to close his eyes before the genjutsu could fully affect him. For a moment, he couldn't see her, but his combat instincts told him that an attack was coming, so he leaps forwards, flipping up and over Nariko as she charges him with her attack. When she throws her next attack at him, from her perspective it looked like she scored a hit on him. However, he knee passes right through his body. Hiei waited until the last possible moment to dodge, paying homage to his Reizei sensei as he uses his speed to simply not be where he was supposed to be. Deciding to give Nariko a taste of what he was truly capable of, he flicks his wrist infusing lightning into the blade of his sword. He slashes out at her before moving a few feet away. Then, running towards her again, his body warps from view as he attacks her at high speed. There were some advantages of the grueling training he was subjected to as a genin at the hands of the current Raikage.
Nariko looks at Hiei as he runs at her. She brings up one arm, infusing her forearm with lightning when his sword hits, doing the same with her other arm as she blocks the second attack. She eyes him for a moment as she drops her arms. She was impressed with herself, considering she had gotten a nice souvenir from this fight. She grumbled a moment about how it was harder than normal and then ran at Hiei. She sends another volley of punches his way, her arms still sizzling and crackling as the lightning coursed through her veins.
Hiei had stopped holding back against Nariko. With the exception of calling on the power of the Yotsuki, he was giving her a good fight. He was insanely proud of her. He could remember a time when she couldn't keep up with him hardly at all, and now she was battling him on equal footing. He could hardly believe it when she stopped two of his attacks. He smirks a little as he performs a handseal before gripping his sword again. "Lightning Release: Lighting Strike!" A bolt of lightning lances off the tip of his sword on course for Nariko. He sticks the blade in the ground as he performs another handseal. Small slivers of lightning surround his body and simply hover there. "Ninja Art: Lightning Needles!" With a direction of his hand, the needles fly on course for Nariko.
"Enough!" The proctor yells from his perch above. He leaps down to the floor of the arena nearby the two combatants, ready to subdue if either one wants to continue. Well, there are a few others waiting to help him should he need it.
Ogosokamaru and company in the viewing box stand, and applause begins from them, infectious as it is, for both of the combatants.
The proctor would, if they did stop, usher them side by side, to take both of their wrists and raise one hand each. Crowd cheering ensues.
Nariko is hit by not just one attack, but by both. As she is hit, her legs lose their ability to hold her up and she falls to her knees, her arms falling in front of her. She coughed a moment, some blood falling to the floor. As the proctor calls it, she raises her head as best she can to look up at Hiei and then to the stands. "I don't think I could take one more hit." She is able to get out as she catches her breath and is still slightly coughing. Then her arms give out and she falls on the dirt. "Did I win?" She asks Hiei as she lays there looking a little cut up.
Hiei stops immediately when the proctor calls the fight. He spins his sword in his hand before returning it to its sheath on his back. He allows his hand to be raised before he moves over to where Nariko is and picks her up, cradling her in his arms. He smiles at her question. "I never stood a chance." He presses a kiss to her forehead before saying. "I'm really proud of you. You're going to make an awesome Chuunin." He then gently sets her onto her feet, but keeps his arm around her to keep her steady. "I think we should pay a visit to Hiro and Amani. Get you patched up." He winces. "And get my jaw looked at. I think you might have broken it."
Medical shinobi leave out of the participant entrances to come and check the wounds of both shinobi, less for Hiei and more for Nariko. They would help Hiei (if he allowed) get her from the arena floor to the first aid station just out of sight at the participant preparation area.
Ogosokamaru stays to watch them in the final moments before Hiei is announced the victor of the bout.
"SAY YES, NARIKO-SAN!" Raiga booms down to the floor below, hands cupped around his mouth to needlessly help his voice carry as Hiei kisses her forehead. Ogosokamaru will make a note to see her in the hospital after this.
Nariko smiles when he tells her that he never stood a chance. "Yotsuki forever!" She seems proud of herself, yet quite tired, beads of sweat roll down her forehead as she is set upon her feet. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. Psh, I tried not to hurt your money maker." She looks up at him and gives a tired smile. "Thanks. You were pretty awesome too. Can we get some cake after this?" Then she hears her grandfather and she goes wide eyed. She yells as loud as she can. "NO GRANDPA!" Ugh, always with the marriage.
Hiei dips his head. "We can get cake..and some kebabs too. Fighting always works up an appetite." He winces when he hears Raiga and then looks up to yell back almost in unison with Nariko. "NO GRANDPA!" He shakes his head. "I give him credit for continuing to try to stick us together. He really wants to see us together." He shivers. "Never gonna happen." However he does allow them to help him carry Nariko over to the medical station and he hovers around while they work on her.
Nariko takes a deep breath and then softly tells Hiei "Yey". She has a smile as she is worked on by the medical personnel. "I think I need a new outfit too." She tells herself, knowing it was in pretty bad shape now. She was proud of herself for what she did and seems rather relaxed now that it is over.
