Starring:
Date: November 1, 2010
Summary:
Hayato and Hyuuga dual in the first round of the First World Ninja Competition.
"First World Ninja Competition - Intrepid Skill: Sora vs. Ryuk"
Peach Pit Stadium Arena 1 Ring [Kusagakure]
Sora walks into the arena, rubbing her half bare arms. In any place but Sunagakure she finds it cold and wet, but that's alright. The match will warm her up. And her opponent being from the Hyuuga Clan, as listed in the brackets, will definitely be more than a warm up. She'll see how well she fares against these Konoha nin. As for Megami, her hawk is not riding on her shoulder. But one looking up would see her perched on an empty part of the stand, preening herself absently and waiting for the start of the match. Megami is a falcon larger by far than the normal hawk, given she's of the Hayato Clan, and she has long feathers of white, black, gray and a grayish blue. She glares down at the two combatants with sharp eyes. Technically she's just within the line of seals so she's already in the match. And being at a higher altitude would give her an advantage in diving and waiting from afar.
When at the middle Sora lets out a long, steady breath… and stretches. She doesn't do jumping jacks per se, but she looks as if she's about to go to the gym. Then, she rubs her neck and waits near the proctor. "Let's get this going," she says, grinning. She's been looking forward to this fight no matter the outcome.
Today was the day of the first battle for Ryuk. Here in Kusagakure, things were different than they were normally, in his home village of Konohagakure. More ninjas were here, some of them friends, allies, or enemies. They were all gathered for the tournament, this was his purpose too, so even if he did have enemies here it was considered a purgatory for any political relations.
This was a different kind of confrontation, one that knew could be a friendly match. He was curious about his opponent, Hayato Sora, whom he had never met. As he walks out onto the field, slowly, with head bowed and palms resting together under the sleeves of his kimono, Ryuk could sense the large crowd around him. He could also tell his opponent's energy was high, that she was ready.
He comes to a pause when reaching the middle of the floor, before Sora. His gaze turns up, from her feet to her eyes and he rests his look on her for a moment, passively considering her appearance. He was ready for the match, but he didn't know what kind of surprises would be thrown at him by this girl, so he still had to prepare himself. He bows respectfully, signifying his readiness to start the match as well, and taking a step back, shifting his foot to be prepared to move into a stance.
The proctor is at the center of the arena. She waits for both to say they are ready, then… raising a hand she says, "Let the match begin." She jumps, up and backwards, to a good vantage point to watch the match after having given the signal to start. She will be watching carefully for anything out of the ordinary or any attempt to violate the seals that protect the match participants.
Sora looks Ryuk up and down. He doesn't have any big weapons or huge muscles, but she'd heard his clan was formidable nevertheless. Perhaps they were ninjutsuists? She would find out soon enough. She inclines her head and says, "Let's make this a great fight," just before the proctor says for the match to begin. Sora glances up quickly, and back down to her opponent. Rather than attack she slides into a relaxed stance, hands held slightly up, and just waiting for him to come. But as she waits she slowly turns her energy into useable chakra.
Ryuk keeps a controlled gaze on Sora after the proctor begins the match. He thought this would be a hand to hand taijutsu dual to an extent, and he noticed the band around her wrist with the hawk symbol, and didn't think anything of it. "I hope so as well." He says in a sincere tone. Lowering his body by bending his knees, arms hanging loose before raising a hand seal to gather chakra. He noticed Sora's plan and copied her, he had to be prepared yet. He then brings his palms loosely in front of his chest, to most this would be known as the stance of the gentle fist. In other words it was his clan's famous taijutsu style, and he says "I will show you my juuken stance, Sora-san."
Sora blinks as Ryuk goes into a low-to-the-ground stance. That's not a confrontational stance. Nor is it the traditional stance she's taken. It's one made for dodging and more graceful movement. But with such a build, how can he hope to do anything without brute force. Then, she smiles. "Very well," she says. "Let's see it." Then she'd have three senbon in her hand, one between each knuckle. They can penetrate surprisingly well, and they're much harder to see than the standard kunai and shuriken. She aims it right at his knees. Strong or fast, a taijutsuist needs his knees to move or perform feats of strength. Up in the stands, Megami waits.
Ryuk noticed the senbon in Sora's hand, a ranged taijutsu technique that never ceased to keep an opponent on their toes in the right hands. He only had enough time as the senbon started flying for an evasion at the last second, with a twist of his body but the senbon hits right through his kimono, and he leans out of the way of one but the third was too fast and caught him as he tried to dodge with chakra and speed. He could tell Sora was skilled, and that he couldn't win just like this. The wounds didn't catch his attention, as he continues immediately "Byakugan!" He mutters, and veins form around his eyes. Speeding forth with an open palm raised he targets Sora with a combination of juuken strikes. The first is a palm to the chest and then a strike at eye level and a left to the shoulder.
Sora frowns as Ryuk comes in like a complete weakling. The force of those palm strikes wouldn't even leave a bruise on her. Just to be safe though she leans back to avoid the strike at her chest, but when she comes up he's landing an grazing attack that barely brushes her head. The blow feels…strange and immensely potent. It's all she can do to leap away, giving herself a very largefield of distance between the two. When she lands, she stares at him. Those eyes and those veins. "What /is/ that?" she say. She was barely brushed, and yet her cheek is stinging. "C'mon," she says, beckoning to Ryuk. She grabs a kunai, and throws it in a flat arc at Ryuk. It's then that moments later Megami is diving down from behind to rake at him with her talons and swoop back up. Seems Sora's 'c'mon' was for her falcon to enter the fight. "Let me show you my falcon Megami…she's all the strategy I need."
Ryuk was not a typical taijutsu user that used power to beat someone into a grave, it was as the name of his stance suggested, but that didn't mean it was ineffective. Sora was fast but he managed to land a hit, one that would tell a bit more about who she was up against. He also got a clue about who his opponent or in this case opponents were. When Sora gained a lot of distance, Ryuk was able to take a moment to search the area with his Byakugan and found something unexpectedly, a hawk. With ninja speed he seals for a replacement technique with a nearby piece of brush, but when the hawk started coming in, he noticed it was not fooled by the ninjutsu replacement, animals have a keener sense than humans do. He is clipped by the hawk's talons and keels over from the force only to roll back up into a standing position. "I can see we are coming to know each other a bit better." He says. It was true he did intend to know this ninja better after their battle, but he was also covering the fact that he was using chakra for genjutsu. He had to close the gap before long, least the hawk come diving at him again before he got a chance to do anything. With a burst of chakra a speeds forth for another palm attack, followed by a series of strikes in the juuken style with rapid speed.
If Sora noticed that Ryuk had some strange eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head, she doesn't show it. More likely she just doesn't know. She looks serious, but at the same time almost excited. Overhead, Megami wheels in steady circles, half tilted to provide less of an upwards target. However, the next attack is not in the form of taijutsu. It's genjutsu—and Sora seems to sense it coming. The genjutsu link is dispelled, but Sora doesn't have time to celebrate as Ryuk comes in with more of those soft attacks. She prepares to leap, but his first attack catches her in the side. She grunts as if he'd jabbed her harshly, but by then she's simply flipping up deftly over the attacks. This time before she even lands, Megami comes in to rake his right arm and get out of there. When Sora's feet touches the ground she already has shuriken ready that zip towards Ryuk swiftly. It seems she's keeping her distance.
Ryuk noticed his opponent was using a ranged strategy, it was a disadvantage for him but he had to get over it somehow. He needed to use speed to evade the Hawk this time, and with a burst of chakra he flies across the floor escaping Megami. The shuriken miss except for one that catches him in a leg, not a good place for him to be, but he still had to try his best. Keeping up the momentum he continues with the speed on the offensive, and closes the gap with yet another palm strike to the chest. A third time with the same strategy may not work, but his plan was not the same this time. After the palm strike he shoots another strike at eye level. A hand seal is made with the other hand to strike a tenketsu spot on the lower abdomen in the shadow of his other strikes, aiming to close the chakra point. This battle was surely getting underway, and he hoped his technique would work. As a back up plan he sends genjutsu chakra at Sora to establish a link which would give him the advantage he needed.
Sora surely doesn't want to get hit by those strange strikes, but he is fast enough to close the distance. So she simply draws back again and again in a series of well timed leaps. At least his taijutsu isn't ranged. "You should get some longer attacks," she notes. Unfortunately for her, the genjutsu link hits home and she doesn't notice for now. Rather than call on Megami, Sora draws two kunai and a shuriken. She throws the shuriken hard. But it's in a wide, easily dodgeable arc. She throws the kunai and this time one could tell it'd hardly hit him. However, she so timed it that the shuriken comes around, hits the kunai, and suddenly the weapon's path is diverted to aiming right at his chest rather than at his shoulder. Moments later, Megami dives off her rock in a straight, flat assault aiming to slash up with her talons. If Ryuk however would think to hit the falcon before she got up, Sora is there in a burst of speed for the third attack, aiming to stab him deeply in the leg with her second kunai. It's an amazingly well coordinated attack.
Ryuk could tell she was going to be hard to beat if he didn't give it all his effort, this was the reason he was here in the first place. She managed to escape his juuken stun combo but at least it gave him enough of a distraction to actually set up a genjutsu link with chakra. Then her sharp weapons came in, along with the falcon once again. Megami would be in for a startling when Ryuk starts his jutsu. A hand seal is raised, to balance body and mind, and focus chakra. "Eight Trigrams: Sixty four guardian palms!" blurts out Ryuk, bringing chakra to his palms he brings his arms around him in a sweeping motion. He could pinpoint each of Sora's projectiles even with the tricky path, he made a forcefield around himself with chakra. Sora's move was so perfectly executed that the one was placed directly in his blind spot. Hand she known how to defeat a Hyuuga? The move was supposed to be a perfect defense, and Ryuk was shocked at Sora's expertise. She surely was surprising him during this battle. He still had to dodge Megami like before, even after being hit in his blind spot, and he could tell this duo was giving him the run-around, it was necessary that he had to catch his breath for a moment at least.
Sora looks amazed as Ryuk spins around. What was that? Was it some ninjutsu? It's certainly something made to counter attacks that come from all angles, but it doesn't seem complete. Perhaps he didn't see the attacks coming from behind. Megami swoops past Ryuk just in time to evade the force field, and banks up sharply. Sora presses her lips together. It's hard to tell whether he's getting tired or not, but she knows she banged him up a bit. Well, let's try that one again. This time she throws any number of senbon of all things. This time it's not curving motion, but so exactly flicked that one senbon hits another after the other, builting up momentum that'd take him right in the stomach with absurd penetrating power for a senbon; that and it's /fast/. "You can admit defeat," Sora says. "There's no dishonor in that. But I plan to win this…"
Ryuk was able to take a few breaths and regain energy to continue. He noticed the rain of senbon flying at him from Sora and was not going to be hit this time. When he twists and he releases chakra from his tenketsu points he creates a dome forcefield of spinning chakra around him, to deflect all of the incoming senbon. Coming to a stop he leaves a circle of burnt ground in his wake from the taijutsu ultimate defense, breathing heavily, but steadily and standing with joints loose. By now his opponent might have expected him to speed in for a juuken combo, but she had already asked for a ranged attack. A kunai appears in his hand from the sleeve of his kimono and he launches it Sora with an exploding tag tied onto it, a simple but effective ninja technique.
In response to her comment, he just shakes his head, no. Ryuk was surely not a quitter, and even though she held the match in her favor so far, there was still a possibility that could change, he could see the bright side of things. It was going to be hard but he could use genjutsu to try and overcome his opponent. As she would have to dodge the knife and exploding tag, he started using his ability to alter her state of awerness ever so slightly. The breeze would pick up steadily, dust from the floor would rise, along with the leaves from the brush floating past her vision. The colors around her would become more vibrant, but the sound of the crowd seemed to slip away. When he was ready he spoke the silent command 'Kuppuku!' and if it worked, Sora would feel light-headed and sick to the point of fainting, but only her legs would give out.
Sora uses her momentum to leap sharply away from the knife. But just when she's on her feet, she finds an exploding tag right at her feet. She knows that paper and that sign. Quickly Sora uses her momentum from the first jump to leap back and avoid the blast. She raises her arm to shield from the debris, but she's dodged quite adeptly and is actually looking almost on top of things. But then she swoons. Something is just twisting in her gut and making her feel shivery all over. She falls to her knees, hands planted against the ground. What is…
BONK. Suddenly rather than feeling sick, Sora feels a sudden feathery mass smash into the side of her head with a keening cry. "Gah, stupid bird!" Sora rails, flailing at the air to try and swat Megami, but the hawk has risen back up. Sora rubs her head, trying to gather herself. That was…pretty humiliating. Megami's cries sound a bit like laughter. Sora stands up, shaking her head. "Genjutsu," she mutters, disgusted.
Though he was getting a run for his money, Ryuk wasn't through yet. Now he was sending a few tricks in Sora's path but they were all meant to distract her. When he noticed the genjutsu was effecting her he was on the move, but Megami knocked some sense back into her. It still gave in enough time to close the range between them. He could see her chakra system with Byakugan, he was aiming for the points on her body that would stop chakra flow, with a signature Hyuuga technique. Once she is in his range the jutsu begins, his training brought him to this point where he could move faster than almost any other ninja, whcih was necessary for this technique. Time slows for him as he focuses some of his last energy and looks at Sora. "Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!" Murmurs Ryuk as he starts off with two strikes "2 palms…" Continuing with another set "4 palms…" In the same time it took to launch four strikes he attacks with eight "Eight palms…Sixteen palms…32 palms…" And he continues aiming the last set at chakra points "64 palms!" He wanted to stay on the offensive, and it would be a difficult attack to evade, but now he was really getting out of breath.
Sora looks wary as Ryuk takes a strangely low stance. When he launches forward he's close enough to brush her shirt. She ducks back from the next dodge, barely managing to keep from the increasingly vicious volley. Perhaps if she were another kind of person she'd mock it, but she was fairly aware of his strange strikes. "I am wondering how that works," she says, panting slightly. "But I don't think I'll try to find out firsthand!" The last word is said in a shout as she lunges forward. She's the first one this time in this attack in which she slashes with her kunai in long, vicious arcs. He'd probably know what was coming next as Megami circles and wheels around once, twice, each time aiming to slash him. It'd be attacks of severe blood loss if they hit accurately enough.
Ryuk jumps back and eyes Sora. He was thoroughly impressed at her abilities, she was able to dodge his first set of strikes, when he thought he had her. Now it was his turn to dodge, his plan gone awry and he barely and the breath to do so. He gets out of the way of her kunai but Megami tackles him with its claws, causing him to roll across the floor picking up a cloud of dust. Standing up slowly, he had his gaze locked on Sora and it was pretty obvious he was not going to give up. A hand seal is made and he gathers chakra, a blue flame of chakra surrounding his person. His lips open to say something to Sora "You have impressed me today, very much." He takes a breath in and out, his clothes and face matted with dirt "You beat my strongest, ultimate defense." He says in a soft voice, able to project across the ring, standing loose, almost like he was letting the chakra guide him.
Sora presses her lips together. She doesn't say anything in reply, because there really is nothing to say. Telling him to surrender won't work, and for that she respects him. She's not sure what to say to him about his defense. "Once we both reach the top of the shinobi world," she says after awhile, "perhaps we can see how ultimate our defenses are then." Well, it is time for her to try and end this. She draws a fistful of kunai and throws them. They're followed by an even faster volley of kunai so that they're flying towards Ryuk from every angle, aiming to stab legs, chest, arms, hands, and put an end to this. It's shortly followed by Sora not with another projectile but an attack from above aiming to kick him straight down into the ground.
Ryuk got back up by all means necessary, using chakra control mostly. It was a chance he had to take, but he needed to prove his skill, so he could make one last attack. That was not going to be the case though, as Sora had no intention of getting hit with the juuken attacks, coming at him with another masterfully aimed shot, this time he suspected she knew or was able to figure out where the blindspot is. However he tried the heavenly spin technique causing a swirling dome of chakra to surround him, this was his one goal, all his effort was being used for this jutsu. Even when the senbon hits his head, he keeps spinning, causing Sora to dive right into the spherical wave of chakra being used as a shield, and if she wasn't fast enough on her feet once more she would get hit back by the brunt of the technique. Ryuk's spinning comes to a stop, leaving only puffs of smoke to be seen covering the area. Ryuk had fallen down in the middle of the circle mark from the jutsu on the ground, still steaming with burnt energy. Knocked out, he wasn't getting up at all.
Sora looks amazed as Ryuk stands up. She makes no move to try and beat him back down while he's gathering himself. Reacting to no defense can be as dangerous as reacting to someone with a strong defense, after all. But he looks…bad. "The seals go only so far, Ryuk-san," Sora says. "You should know your limits." As he attacks with that forcefield she evades it one last time. "I really gotta learn a new technique," she mutters, but she'd travelled as much in the air as on her feet, after all. Megami wheels around then and lands on a tree branch, watching the proceedings with golden eyes. Sora frowns before running forward. She aims a punch at his shoulder, a low kick at his knee and then a palm thrust of all things to his chest.
Ryuk had made a move to another spot, crawling on the floor he left a clone where he layed before. He was hurt, and could barely move, but still kept fighting. The knocked out clone poofs! And what is left there besides the false form of Ryuk but an exploding tag, that bursts almost immediately. After the smoke from the blast clears, Ryuk is able to open his lips one more time from the arena floor "Th…Thank..you…Sora-san for teaching me, that I must be able to… rely on…my own abilities." He can't hold on with chakra anymore and the glow fades as he looses conciousness.
Sora sighs as Ryuk manages to execute a clone technique. Well, she has to admit she's a little relieved not to have done any more damage. It's practically kicking a guy while he's down. When the tag comes for her Sora simply reaches down, plucks it up, and throws it away so that it explodes in some random area. She steps back a little too, just to make sure of it. She looks down at Ryuk now unconscious. That was actually a bit spiteful. She says, "I thought this should teach you not to rely on your own abilities or be too proud in your own strength. I don't with mine." She signals for Megami who sails down and lands on her shoulder. Then, she walks out without waiting for the verdict.
The proctor is about to step in to stop it but… things go a bit too far. Before she can call it, the tag is thrown, and Ryuk collapses, and… well, no point in really calling it at this point, now is there?
