Starring:
Date: May 11, 2013
Summary:
A regional boxing challenge becomes a showcase of shinobi subtlety.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"A Lesson in Manners"
Harute (a small neutral town)
Kasumi was wandering around the village of Harute in a neutral land. There's a yearly boxing tournament going on. Each country sends in their best fighters. She's tasked with protecting the Land of fire fighter while making winning… easier. Ofcourse, doing it without getting caught. But for her, those things aren't really much of an issue. Her skillset is quite… specific. She's chewing on some sort of root while walking around. Taking in the enviorment while watching her fighter from a small distance. There's very specific instructions not to engage in conflict with other conflicts.
These things can escalate rapidly! The land of wind is fighting the land of earth. And right now, it seem neither side is cheating. The real treat isn't the boxing, but watching for the cheating! Since it - always - happends. It's just the art to do it covertly.
Kasumi spots the next fighter the land of fire is up against. He's from the land of rain.. and there's a shinobi next to him. "Piece of cake.." She whispers while having her fighter sit down on a stool she can watch while walking up to the bar. She took her headband off and is just sitting down next to the fighter, waiting for him to be distracted before dropping a droplet of poison in his sake. Yep, that should do it. The rain Shinobi was watching for any direct assault, and while Kasumi got a quick scan over, he didn't think of her as much of a threat, nor was he looking for such a simple, small move.
"Lets go.." She whispers to her fighter before walking on towards the ring where people are cheering. A 'sudden' gush of wind caused the earth fighter to loose his balance while the wind fighter seemed to be prepared. Using that to go for a knockout combination. The crowd is going nuts! "Next up, land of water against the land of lightning!" Says the announcer, having the ring cleared and waiting for the fighters to get up on stage.
Currently the land of lightning fighter is seated a few steps from the ring. Winged by what seems like a Kumo Jounin and two genin. In a diamond formation, yep they too are expecting a direct assault. Especially now.
Hibiki was told that not many shinobi were needed to ensure the victory of their fighter. However, the Genin has never been strong in stealth, and so he has been assigned as a companion to the much more insidious Ishino, the boy nearly clinging to the other's side - a step behind, a step to the right - as the other leads them both through the gushing crowds and statuesque fighters. A small bulge appears, like an oversized goiter, at the base of Hibiki's neck, but he slaps it hard, and it disappears, leaving the boy as normal as can be usually found. Hibiki leans somewhat closer to Ishino.
"Hibiki wonders if this is entirely necessary, Ishino-sensei. Surely there must exist a better approach to learning than our furtive goals for this tournament."
"Shinobi must be capable in a variety of things, Onkyou-san. Sometimes combat, sometimes not. The key is to know when and where." Ishino looks to him with a smile, the bulge appearing got a raised brow, but was otherwise not commented on. Instead, he'd continue on into the crowd, getting to their own Land of Water fighter. Studying the man a moment, a small nod was given. "How good are you at henging, Onkyou-san?" Focusing himself, Ishino gathered some chakra and out of the spaces that most people ignored, stepped the fighter.. and.. the fighter.. exact copies of the man they were to guard, which promptly stepped up to flank him on either side. With that done, Ishino looks over to Hibiki. "We are here for the meta-game, as it were. It's a very good study of the subtlies that is part of shinobi life. You master this, you may never have to fight a day in your life."
Kasumi sits down and plants her fighter down next to her. She chose a different kind of stealth. None at all. They're just part of the crowd now, and that seemed to work. Until the man with an umbrella approached. His shadow being cast over Kasumi.
"Fighters, enter!" —- "HEY WAIT A MINUTE!" Says the Kumo jounin before pointing towards the Kiri fighter. "There's three of him, HE"S CHEATING!" … Jeez what a crybaby… The judges quickly go through the rulebook and shake their head. "As long as the real fighter enters… this is according to the rules." One of the judges rules. "Bu-" … "That will be that!" … a moment of silence before the Kumo fighter enters the ring, getting cheered on by the crowd.
"Kasumi suddenly turns around at the Shinobi, holding a senbon in her right hand, which now pricks slightly into the shinobi's skin. "Don't worry.." She says, smiling at the man. "It won't take effect until after our fight. But you might die after.." She pouts her lips. "Unless you follow the rules ofcourse!" She smiles at the man. Her coldness regarding poisons borderline koo-koo. She just relaxes and turns around, knowing that the rain shinobi wouldn't risk killing her .. at the risk of losing his antidote. She grins..
It's easy to see one of the two Kumo genin slipped into the crowd, slowly making his way near to the ring. Trying to stay hidden from the kiri nin.
Kumo nin roll(s) Stealth from 10 to 25 and get(s) a 23. - Rolled by: Kasumi
COMBAT: Ishino focuses 5000 stamina to turn it into usable chakra!
RP: Ishino transforms into TWO-PUPPET-CONTROL.
RP: Ishino uses PUPPET-HENGE.
RPCOMBAT: Ishino defends against with a PERCEPTION…25
The three fighters moved in unison, the two duplicates an exact copy of the fighter, down to when he breathed. It was probably even freaking him out a little. Ishino just watched calmly as the Kumo nin tried to say they were cheating, shaking his head as he'd eye the one trying to slip into the crowd. "Onkyou-san? I think.. Hibiki should maybe have a little friendly chat with that one.. think you can handle that without causing too much disturbance?" He'd look to Hibiki a moment, giving a nod to the one trying to slip past, ruining that stealth as the three fighters stepped up to the ring. Of course, only the flesh and blood one stepped in, the other two would slowly circle the ring, watching for potential attempts. So maybe it wasn't as subtle, it however, did throw people off and that was the important part.
COMBAT: Ishino finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hibiki's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Hibiki defends against with a PERCEPTION…27
Hibiki watches carefully the man Ishino points out. Ishino-in-disguise haunts the ring, a ghastly illusion for the Kumo fighter: not only is his opponent fighting him, but his opponent is circling the ring as well, there, constantly looking every time he glances astray, leaving the body open to take punches in bunches from the spooked but feisty Kiri boxer.
Hibiki trails the opposing shinobi, the Kiri boy caught so swiftly in the current of the pursuit that he entirely forgot to henge.
But wasn't there another Kumo Genin, waiting in the wings?
COMBAT: Hibiki finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Kasumi's turn.
Kasumi crosses her arms while the defeated rain nin makes his way out. "This should get interesting.." She muses… Gazing down the ring and at the fighters. Wait a minute… what's that? The other Kumo genin casually has his hand on the ring. The one Hibiki engages is just a distraction. He calmly sits down and grins even at his succesful move. The Kumo fighter has rubber pads under his shoes… now why would he..? She blinks. "Oh Kiri is - not - going to like this one.." She remarks.
"FIGHT!" yells the referee, and the fighters go at eachother. Things are … as expected… pretty even. Though after a few moments the white haired genin makes a set of seals, before putting his hand on the ring. Sending lightning racing through. The material isn't an ideal conducter. But if it would toast the Kiri fighter it wouldn't hit home would it? Anyways, the genin tries to place his hand on the ring, and if he's succesful, the Kiri fighter would suddenly be losing to the Kumo fighter! Who is unaffected due to his rubber shoes.
Perception mark roll(s) Rubber shoes from 10 to 35 and get(s) a 30. - Rolled by: Kasumi
Perception mark roll(s) Lightning genin from 10 to 35 and get(s) a 11. - Rolled by: Kasumi
Speed mark roll(s) To stop or call out genin from 5 to 15 and get(s) a 14. - Rolled by: Kasumi
RPCOMBAT: Ishino defends against with a PERCEPTION…26
RPCOMBAT: Ishino defends against with a PERCEPTION…34
Ishino had the puppets in play, that quiet ticking of Time Keeper invasive, and yet not quite heard by the crowd, instead, it'd be felt. A slight change to the pace of what they did, the chanting almost seemed to be in unison, the crowd following the metronome of that ticking clock. Ishino didn't notice the fighter, he wasn't paying full attention to him, instead he was watching for the other Kumo nin. There had been two and he was going to be ready for it. As the other genin tried to reach for the ring, Ishino narrowed his eyes, one of the fighters outside of the ring paused, and that genin would suddenly feel that urge, desire, demand, plea, beg, cajole, request to kneel. Kneel. KNEEL. Casually, Ishino would walk over to where he was at, nudging him with a toe as the ring around the fight continued by the henged puppets. "Not a good idea. Get up, back up, or it will be a lot worse next time."
RPCOMBAT: Ishino attacks with KUPPUKU…41
COMBAT: Ishino finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hibiki's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Hibiki defends against with a PERCEPTION…28
RPCOMBAT: Hibiki defends against with a PERCEPTION…19
RP: Hibiki makes a Spd roll and got 6.
Hibiki notices not the rubber shoes, distracted by the now flagrant decoy of the first Kumo nin, the Kiri boy catching just the sealing machinations of the other, too slow and gangly to stop him, the failure to have taken note, to have paid attention, to be worthy of the title: shinobi. Dreams and hopes are left for dead if hustle is forgotten.
Hibiki is lurching for the hand-sealing Kumo nin as the other suddenly stops, mid motion. Then Ishino's words dribble down the side of the ring, and Hibiki is aware of what's happening. The Genin glances up into the ring, for onward the fight is raging.
And he sees, by the awareness that he knows he should exhibit, that he himself is standing near one of the posts of the ring, and that the Kumo fighter is currently being backed into that corner. Hibiki takes a step closer to the post, and he kneels down, as if fidgeting with his sandal. A foot shoots from the boy's shoulder, to disturb the post, and the ring, and hopefully cause the Kumo fighter to stumble.
COMBAT: Hibiki focuses 4000 stamina to turn it into usable chakra!
RP: Hibiki transforms into DYOU-II.
RPCOMBAT: Hibiki attacks with PHYSICAL…30
COMBAT: Hibiki finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Kasumi's turn.
Kasumi grins while noticing the gen. "Approved.." She says while giving Ishino a brief lookover. She was facinated by the casualness he envelops in controlling his clones or puppets. It was hard to tell.
The Kumo fighter stumbles after Hibiki's casual move. The Kumo genin didn't even notice! The post shakes and the kumo fighter is defensless for a land of water onslaught… bleeding and beaten down he lays. "HALT!" Yells the ref, counting down and indeed, that's a knockout!
"Next up, land of fire, versus… land of r… what's that?" …..
"Ladies and gentlemen. It appears the land of rain forfeits over excessive bowel movements.." The ref can't contain his chuckle. And Kasumi finds it hilarious as well. "Teacup!" She yells with the rest of the incontent crowd. "See… I told you, easy as pie.." She smiles at the land of fire fighter who gets up as his name gets called. "Land of water, versus land of fire. Fighters, present!" Kasumi follows him to the corner casually, waiting for him to get into it, waving the Kumo team goodbye. "Remember, just as I told you.." Her fighter nods, waiting for land of water to get ready. This was planned, their fighter was winded, while the land of fire fighter was still fresh!
COMBAT: Kasumi finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Ishino's turn.
Ishino hops up into the ring, probably with quite a few catcalls following him. "One moment please Ref. Our guy needs fresh wraps. New fight, no sense going in without a refresh." The other two fighters would also hop into the ring, all three moving over to the actual Kiri fighter, two of them looking like the Kiri fighter, and Ishino in his tux. Getting in close, he'd motion Hibiki to grab the water, letting the fighter take a drink while the two henged puppets keep the ref distracted. Unwrapping the knuckle wraps the man currently had on he'd drop them by the corner of the ring, letting Hibiki get them. With a small scroll pulled out, he'd summon a fresh set, very carefully touching only one part of it, the wrap started in the man's palm and went out and around. With the three of them up there, the Ref was oblivious to what exactly he was doing, and with a minor focus Kasumi would get hit with that desire to kneel as well.. it came out of no where, one of the three fighters looking at her intently. Why? Simple.. if she was distracted by kneeling, she wouldn't see the switch either. It was a carefully laced wrap, contact poison that wouldn't start to effect the other fighter til about halfway through the fight, a mild neurotoxin that would simply slow him down, make him drowsy. The side effects were rather harmless overall, but Ishino was very careful that his fighter didn't touch it, nor did he. A final nod given and the two fighters plus him would nod to the Ref and leave the ring. "Apologies for the delay! He should be ok now Sir. Please continue!"
COMBAT: Ishino attacks Kasumi with KUPPUKU…27
COMBAT: Ishino attacks Kasumi with STEALTH…23
COMBAT: Ishino finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hibiki's turn.
Hibiki follows the visual clues lain by Ishino, providing water for the fighter, and then retrieving the old wraps. The Genin himself didn't notice the switch - he wasn't even looking - instead his eyes were across the ring, on Kasumi. If Hibiki and Ishino were their own teams shinobi, surely in the ring with the fighter from the Land of Fire would also be a shinobi. The Kiri boy slowly coils the wraps, staring blankly forward at Kasumi, as if one could see the glare of a star in the entirety of space. His mind was curling with possibilities, but he desired to remain focused as well, and so his vigilance never wavers from Kasumi.
COMBAT: Hibiki finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Kasumi's turn.
COMBAT: Kasumi defends against KUPPUKU(27) attack from Ishino with a GENJUTSU-PERCEPTION…39
COMBAT: Kasumi wins the roll.
COMBAT: Kasumi defends against STEALTH(23) attack from Ishino with a PERCEPTION…17
COMBAT: Kasumi loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
Kasumi rolls her neck around when suddenly she gets hit by… Her eyes widen while she shoots chakra through her body to deflect the gen, though the momentary distraction was enough to keep her from noticing the switch. Though she wasn't entirely without tricks either. She slips out a senbon so thin it's hard to spot. Worse, it's made of glass, so it breaks and is even harder to spot or proof… she grins before throwing the weapon casually towards Hibiki with the flick of a wrist.
Trying to hide her motions by casually fixing her hair to complete the motion. She knew that if he gets hit he would be hurt by a mild poison, but it's enough to get Ishino worried for her own distraction. Or so she thinks.
When the fighters engage Kasumi gets up and makes a set of seals. "Magen: Kizu.." She whispers, each time her fighter misses it seems like a hit to the Kiri fighter. Though Kasumi quickly notices her own fighter slowing down. She squints her eyes… "What the scone.." She whispers, keeping the gen going….
Kasumi roll(s) Poisoned dart from 20 to 35 and get(s) a 22. - Rolled by: Kasumi
Kasumi roll(s) Wounds from 20 to 35 and get(s) a 32. - Rolled by: Kasumi
Kasumi roll(s) Wounds from 20 to 35 and get(s) a 35. - Rolled by: Kasumi
COMBAT: Kasumi finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Ishino's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Ishino defends against with a PERCEPTION…34
RPCOMBAT: Ishino defends against with a PUPPET-REPLACEMENT…55
That puppet, Time Keeper to be precise, would happen to be close to Hibiki when the dart is thrown. Having spotted the attempt, it'd be a casual finger twitch, the slightest shift in path and the glass needle shattered against wooden form, the puppet not even acting like it noticed. Musing, watching the fight as it drew on, it seems someone was harassing their fighter mentally. Sidelong glance towards Kasumi then, Ishino would step closer to Hibiki. "I'm about to do a big genjutsu on her.. need you to drag her away, say she's ill.. Should clear up this business with our fighter.." Ishino gave a small nod, then had to actually do a couple of hand signs, his back to Kasumi a simple way to avoid it being seen. "Time's Thread…" And so he'd strike again, much much harder this time as Kasumi's own imagination would be used against her, leading her on a merry trail into a future only she could see, a few centuries at a time.
RPCOMBAT: Ishino attacks with TIME'S-THREAD…50
COMBAT: Ishino finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hibiki's turn.
Though Hibiki never saw the needle, he did see the motion, the whip-quick flick of Kasumi's wrist indicating that something that had been done. Or perhaps she was-
The glass whispers as a crinkle into the wooden flesh of Time Keeper. And then, again, Ishino's words dribble along the boxing ring.
Hibiki nods, and steps down from the ring, making a cotton-toed way towards the other corner, to contain Kasumi once Ishino-sensei's jutsu lands.
If it lands.
COMBAT: Hibiki finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Kasumi's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Kasumi defends against with a GENJUTSU-PERCEPTION…38
Kasumi notices the genjutsu, though when she tries to escape she finds she's too late. Suddenly she collapses. Falling onto the ground, merciless to the genin's whims. And her fighter was already doing bad, it wasn't long before the land of water goes for the knockout, and the championship! … Shoot.
