Starring:
Ryo, Usagi, Taiki, Hinotori, Risu, Midori
Date: December 11, 2012
Summary:
Ryo and Usagi are scheduled to fight in the third round of the exams. Usagi tries to prove a point while Ryo seems to fight himself. Both members of the team are still shaken by the loss of Senju Ryuu.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Second Promotion Exams - Like Family: Ryo vs. Usagi"
Dammed Arena
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At the foot of the great march of bones that dams this tall canyon of blue-gray granite, under the shadows of the stands: the Kirigakure arena. Rivulets of water still escape the base of the dam and dampen the gravely bed of the dry river. The length of the canyon is limited by a raised platform at the south end featuring the referee's post and a large display board announcing the details of the match.
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A Chuunin match, one of the Kiri Jounin had a some what bored look on his face as he walks into the arena, from the looks of it he's some kind of kenjutsu type as he has a pair of swords on his back, cross slung. He wanders out, and calls out, "Alright, listen up! We have one of the matches in the first bracket of the Chuunin Exams. The contestants are…" He looks down at a piece of paper he brought in with him. "Uchiha Ryo against… Nara Usagi." He pauses then adds, "Both from the Land of Fire. So… eh, let's give them a good Kiri welcome and wish them both luck." He's saying the words but clearly is not thrilled to have been picked to proctor a match between two from Konohagakure, oh well. He calls out for the two to enter the arena.
Usagi enters the arena first, taking a deep breath. As she does, she offers a bow to the proctor and a nod, coming back up a few moments later as she waits for Ryo. When he appears, she offers a bow to him, as well as a few words. "Konichiwa, Ryo" As she stands back up, she takes a moment to focus some chakra into her system. "If you don't mind my asking, should I expect a fight, or a massacre?" She raises a brow, slipping into a stance but not doing anything at the moment.
Unlike most of those from Konoha, Ryo went into a form of seclusion at the end of the survival examination. Mental chains of guilt still tore into the boy. The dark spots around his eyes were evidence of such. He had not been sleeping well in his self imposed exile. As he heard his name called by the lack luster Kiri Jounin, the young boy took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy for Ryo.
Unsure if he had even wanted to continue with the exam, Ryo stepped out into the open. He did not even look Usagi in the eyes as she offered him a bow. It could have been her that died instead. All because he did not take the threat seriously. "I do not know. Just do your best." The words seem pretty empty hearted. Finally Ryo places his fingers together to build his chakra.
The proctor looks between the two, then shrugs, "Start whenever you feel like…" He offers simply as he moves to one side to watch and observe the match, mostly looking for possible external sources of cheating, as there is little the two themselves can do that would qualify as cheating under Kiri rules.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Taiki watches on from the stands along with his two partners and the set of two guards and their ninken. His expression shows grave concern, and a little sadness. He had had a bad feeling about these exams from the time they were announced, and the death of one of his genin seems to have only confirmed his feelings, at least in one way. Now he faces another nightmare of sorts. His other two genin are fighting each other in this bout, and this is no training spar. The stakes are high, and all he can do is watch from the sidelines. He is thus understandably tense, and all the diplomatic training in the world can't hide it. "Good luck both of you," he says aloud, his voice full of concern. Ryo's change in attitude, coupled with his lack of appearance before now has not gone unnoticed. Instead it just adds to Taiki's worries.
Usagi sighs softly, looking at him with a mixture of concern and sadness. "I don't have a choice in the matter, Ryo…you do" She focuses for several moments as her shadow reaches out, connecting to several more around her in the area, those cast by the aging trees and the bone structures, extending her reach considerably. Once done, her shadow slides towards him quickly from the side, her breathing steady.
Still unable to make eye contact, Ryo shakes his head. You always have a choice. As the shadows come forth, he dashes to the left away from them. His hesitation to move against Usagi could be seen as confliction. Normally he had no issues dealing with a member of his team. It would be a learning lesson, but now things were different. They were more real than ever before. It was no longer playing ninja waiting for war. Finally Ryo places his hands together to form some hand signs. His fingers then curled around his mouth as if he were to perform some firestyle. The crowd would see absolutely nothing. It might appear as a failed jutsu of sorts, however Usagi would feel a very intense heat towards her eyes. He was trying to cause her to close them. If she did or not, he would then attack with a leg sweep.
Usagi brings her shadows up to cover her form, knowing he was doing 'something', but the heat to the eyes was unexpected. She closes them and brings a hand up to shield her eyes, and in that moment, Ryo struck. Her legs come out from under her, but she nonetheless doesn't take this sitting down, even if she did land on her side a bit. She brings a hand up to try and put an explosive tag on his leg, taking a deep breath and kicking at his stomach to push him away as she gets her feet back under her as she waits to see his response. "Ryo, are you alright?"
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Taiki closes his eyes briefly as the conversation ends. He shakes his head, reaching both hands toward his ninken to scratch their ears, with the still bandaged one scratching Shinobu's. "Sibling," Taiki says right of the bat. "This will not be pretty…" He watches Usagi try a shadow bind, only to see Ryo dodge out of the way. Looking toward Nozomi he says, "Remind me to corner Ryo-san later. I knew I should have hunted him down after I heared of Senju-san's death…" As he watches the battle wage on, he's glad it wasn't as bad as he was fearing, but this is just the openning salvo. He was watching Ryo closely, for he knew well what losing someone close to you made you feel. He knew this all to well. "Come on…" It's not clear who he's cheering on.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Midori's seat isn't far down from Taiki's and the little girl glances over at the Chuunin and his nin-dogs. She looks curious, and glances to her father sitting next to her, but his sharingan filled eyes are fixed firmly on the match below. She looks back across to Taiki, considering asking the Konoha-nin who exactly had died. She purses her lips, remaining silent for the moment being and glancing back down to the arena floor.
Ryo lifts his leg over the hand with the tag before stepping back away from the kick. "It does not matter if I am alright. I told you to go home. I was not kidding. If I let you win, you will face someone who will not be soft on you. I risk going back on everything I swore." Yep, there was confliction in Ryo's mind but he seemed to have formed his decision. His hands move up once more and soon he is sending a giant fireball towards Usagi. It was more or less his concept of a warning shot.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Walking up inot the stands, Uchiha Hinotori has finally made it to the exams third round. As he finds a spot near the wall and closest to the arena, the older Uchiha takes a moment to look around the area gazing at everyone trying to see if he knew any of them, before looking to watch the fight. Having heard that Ryo was fighting now, he wanted to see how his former student is doing.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Sitting towards the back of the stands, sits the girl in dark colors, the girl who caused so much grief for those below, Risu. She watches from under her hood, watches and worries about the results. She stays quiet but observes the crowd and the match both, leaning forward slightly as she seemingly winces as Usagi is hit. But she dare not cheer out loud, some how it seems wrong considering everything that happened.
THAT one hurt. Usagi grunts softly as the fireball slams into her, 'and' both the clones she just put down to try and distract him. "Nobody expected me to get this far, Ryo. Not even you" She looks at him with a determined gaze. "Effectiveness is the key to being a shinobi, not just strength. I told Isato that numerous times" She comes back up again as shadows assault him from many directions, trying to bind and lock him down.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Taiki tilts his head at that piece of information. After a moment he starts to channel chakra into his senses, augmenting them all, particularly hearing and smell. "Oookay," Taiki says as he hears Ryo's declaration. Then Usagi is hit, and significantly at that. Taiki winces and shakes his head. "No, this will not be pretty at all. Uncle I wish someone would have told me about that…." He makes a mental note to talk to them /both/ later. He had to give Usagi credit for one thing, tenacity. "She's not the kind to give up…" he murmurs, ignoring the looks he gets from those around him.
Ryo had not expected the fireball to hit. He still kept his head down. "Effectiveness? Is that what you call this?" Ryo asks as the shadow takes hold of him. "You have persisted in combat you are not prepared for, knowing full well you do not stand a chance. Ryuu did the same and look what happened." Ryo closes his eyes as he thinks over his fallen team member. "If you will not make the choice, then I will make it for you. A hospital bed is a lesser evil compared to a grave." Though he was certain his words would not actually change anything, he had hoped maybe they were not a waste of air. It did not matter for the moment as he was paralyzed.
"No….honestly, I'm not expecting to make it past this round, Ryo. Effectiveness is what I'm doing now" Usagi closes her eyes as she walks over, placing tags on him. His chest, his right shoulder, and right wrist. "Negating your right arm will allow me at least to find some respite from your jutsu. If your arm's not in working order, you can't form jutsu, nor use that hand for taijutsu" She steps back a moment later, looking at him. "I continue to fight for those who cannot fight any longer. These fight I fight on the Senju's behalf, so that their deaths can mean something….I will fight for Isato and Ryuu"
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
They are speaking, Hinotori quirks a brow and listens to what he can, though his eyes sees more then what the others would be able to tell. THough they can't see them, they are also hidden by a jutsu. He doesn't know whats transpired possibly something he will need to speak with Ryo about once this match is finished but for now he sits quietly.
As Usagi moves towards him, Ryo manages to catch a weak spot in the shadows. He manages to break away from them. Using his feet, Ryo steps away from the tags each time she moves to place them. "If that is the case then I have no choice. Their fight has ended. I am unwilling to sacrifice you to keep their ideals alive. This is the last warning." Now Ryo's Sharingan turns active.
Usagi raises a brow. "Did he just surrender?" It was a bit of a lighthearted question towards the proctor before she turns towards him again. "I said it before, Ryo. You have a choice. My question is, what will you do with it" She does not attack yet, but nor has she surrendered either. She leans to one side, her shadow still wrapping around her in preparation for defense.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
The thing about Inuzuka senses is that /all/ the user's senses are augmented when they're activated, not just hearing and smell. While they are not close to the occular abilities of the Sharingan or the Byakugan, they are very sharp indeed in their augmented form. In addition, Taiki has fought alongside Uchiha in general, and both Ryo and Naru in specific, to see the subtle signs that they have gotten serious enough to activate their dojutsu. "Oh cousin," Taiki whispers, his hands stopping their scratching long enough to grab the dogs' fur. "Get out of there Usagi… he's serious." He really wishes he could put a stop to this, but he knows better.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Shaking his head a little, Hinotori only watches from where he is. He looks to the proctor to see what they are doing, but neither of the participants have surrender so there isn't much else she could do. Sighing a little bit, Hinotori turns his attention to Taiki, "Could you explain a bit of whats going on Inuzuka-san?" he asks. It's easily seen that Hinotori is an Uchiha, primarily due to the crest he sports on the arm of his shirt. He then looks to the two genin below.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Up in the stands, Risu stands and slowly starts to walk from the upper part of the stands down towards the front of one of the balconies, perhaps just to see better but… she leans forward a bit, watching, worriedly, not saying a word as she waits to see what might happen next.
Even with his eyes at full power, Ryo's mind was not. "Once, death moved to hold me in her grasp. I barely escaped, but her finger tips brushed against me. These eyes are a gift from her to each member of my clan whom escapes her." Ryo then moves in to strike. He aims a punch for the bicep on the right arm before targetting the left. He then aims a kick for her left leg. He was using the same tactic she had just attempted on him with the fire tags.
Usagi grunts softly as the first strike comes in, hitting her right arm even as she moves and her shadows come up to defend her. The left arm comes up and brushes the attack aside with the assistance of her shadow, and she does manage to mitigate the impact on her leg. She shakes her head slowly and says softly. "You didn't answer the question, Ryo. You are not ready, are you" She looks straight into those eyes, knowing full well that genjusu can be used against her right now. Her shadows leap out again with him in close proximity to bind him down, and she simply says. "Answer the question. And you may get your wish"
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Midori gets up the courage to speak to the Chuunin a few seats down from her. "Excuse me, nin-san," she calls out to him, only just loud enough to hear, "What's going on with Uchiha Ryo? You seem to know more than I do, but its looked like he was just messing around down there. And what were you saying about someone dying?" She looks back down to the match below, biting her lip nervously.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
The guards are watching the crowd more than the fight, since Taiki's attention is elsewhere. So long as intentions look peaceful, they will not stop anyone from approaching or talking to him, but they are mindful of all that do. Taiki very briefly glances at the person who is addressing him and seems to let out a small breath. "Hello Uchiha-san, it is good to see you again," he says, even if he's obviously tense. "My team lost a member during the survival exams, as Senju Ryuunosuke-san decided to take on an opponent he could not win against in revenge. He lost his life due to his own stubbornness. It appears that they both hold some self blame for their teammate's death. Unfortunately, it looks like Ryo-san told Usagi-san to leave the second round. She apparently refused, and got the needed scrolls. Now it looks like Ryo-san is trying to remove her from the competition to protect her." He winces as Ryo goes on the offensive, but it's not as bad as he thought it could be, for now. "He's fighting himself as much as he is her. She's trying to make a point."
The shadows attach to Ryo once more, however this time he turns to a puff of flame. Then the boy appears behind the Nara girl. His own eyes are closed. Taiki knew Ryo well. By now he would have ended the fight normally. He had the tools to do it, but he continued to hold back, even while using the Sharingan. "Firestyle: Endan." His hands once more move around before curling around his lips. He spits oil towards Usagi before trying to ignite it with a fireball. He remains silent.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Listening to Taiki and offering a brief smile, "It has been a while Taiki-san." he says then noting the guards. Taking in each of them, then looking back to Taiki as he explains the situation. "Ah I see." he says as he turns to look back down at the fight. He sighs a little bit and understands the situation, "I'm sorry for you and your teams loss." he states as he hears Midori's question but it has been answered all the same. "We will see if Usagi-san is able to get through to him."
Usagi's shadow comes up again, but the oil covers more of her than it does, and while the flames do burn on her body, she only winces and grits her teeth. She doesn't move from where she is for the time being, and then shakes her head slowly. After a few moments, the shadows around her snuff the flames out, giving them nothing to burn as the oil slides onto the blackness of them. She does not turn to face him. "I am sorry that you value our friendship so little, Ryo, that you choose violence to meet your ends….rather than answer a question" She is burned relatively well, but still standing as she starts to walk away from him. "As he said….this fight is over. The round is his, proctor" And she continues to walk off the field, but stops to say. "Come find me when you can do better than that, Ryo" And then continues walking.
The proctor finally stirs, "Nara Usagi has called the match, the winner is Uchiha Ryo." He calls out, "Let's get a cheer for the two fighters." He offers as he claps, trying to encourage some of the Kiri nin watching to do the same. To most observers it was an odd match to be sure. In any case it seems to be over and the proctor makes sure that Usagi is seen off if she has any trouble. Ryo looks like he does not need help.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Taiki winces again as another powerful attack hits Usagi. "Usagi-san has lost this fight," he says as he watches things go on. Inside he's pleading with Usagi to give up. He's holding back, but for how long? "I hope she understands fully what she's doing. He's been far too silent…" He bites off a swear as Usagi forfeits. He then gets up, motioning for his entourage to do the same. "I need to get down there," he says simply as he starts to head out. The fight is over, now he has a job to do.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Midori sighs in relief as Usagi concedes the match, and sits back in her chair. She's glad that the Uchiha won the match, but the boy seems very upset. "I guess its normal to be upset if your teammate's just died," she mutters, and her father looks over at her annoyed. "The strong push on and the weak fall by the wayside. Some day you'll be expected to fight on after the death of a comrade too, Midori-kun," he says seriously, his sharingan fading back into the regular black colour. Midori folds her arms and sighs, still looking down at the arena where Usagi is walking off.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Risu winces as Usagi has to give up and… grumbles as she grips the balcony rail. But then she lets go and storms off, her cloak flaring behind her as she heads out in a flurry looking rather upset.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
He's seen Ryo fight many of times and on many missions, he stands up when Usagi does, "WOuld you like me to come alone as well?" he asks. "Ryo-kun was my student at one point too, if I can be of any help." he says to Taiki as he glances back to the arena for a moment then back to Taiki. He wasn't sure what all he could offer, but he could speak with Ryo at least and get more into whats going on in his head. The fight is over and it's best that it is that no one was too badly injured, he even felt that he might've had to step in as well now.
From Dammed Arena - Stands, Risu heads into Dammed Arena.
Finally as Usagi walks away, Ryo lifts his eyes towards her. This was not an easy fight for the boy. It made it worse that Usagi did not understand. Ryo knew better than to lie to the Nara. After a moment he turns away and moves towards the opposite exit of the arena. Beneath his breath he whispers, "You are safe now Usagi. I will carry Ryuu's burden. He was my responsibility. Just as you are. I may not value your friendship as much as I do your life." He was certain she could not hear him. He had won the match but at what cost?
Usagi stops at his voice. She 'could' still hear him, and she shakes her head. "My safety is my own task and responsibility, Ryo. I knew what I was doing. I still do. I just wish you'd have a little faith in me" And again turns to keep walking.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Taiki glances back long enough to show a rather serious expression on his face. "Hai, that would be good Uchiha-san. I would have my hands full with one of them, as they are both stubborn as mules. I'm more stubborn than they are, but it be a waste of time and energy to prove it." At the last words Taiki leaves very quickly, hoping to catch them before they leave the arena. The guards leave an openning for Hinotori, by Taiki's request.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Hinotori nods his head and sighs a little bit, "This is going to be fun." he states as he easily walks past the others and into formation with Taiki. "So whats with the guards?" he asks as they walk to hurry catch up with the two departing genin. This is going to be tough, he's seen how Naru and Ryo both react to situations, for good or bad and already knowing this, Hinotori starts to feel a headache coming along.
