Starring:
Rockpath (as Mai), Rise, Sousa
Date: May 25, 2015
Summary:
A genin faces off against the First Kazekage and rocks the expectations of such a match.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Steel Soul Tourney - Rank Isn't Everything: Rise vs. Sousa"
Dammed Arena - Floor [Kirigakure]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaguya Mai steps forward as another match comes to an end, declaring a Shirayuki as the winner against a puppeteer. "Next up… Shirokiri Rise, Genin of Kumogakure, and Kokoroe Sousa, First Kazekage." The Kaguya waits for the two to come down before telling them the rules, which are hopefully standard by now. "I won't step in until someone is about to die. Do your best and don't destroy the arena like ano Baka Sasaki…" Then she steps back to allow the two to fight.
In her wake, even the most seemingly indomitable of Kirigakure's inhabitants began to reconsider following along the same path. Since awakening in the hospital and discovering the alterations made without her consent, "Cho" could not keep the "other's" rage from being kindled. Ren, having expected such a scenario to come about, made certain not to be around when the she finally awoke. In place of the greeting longed for, the dandy of Kumogakure left her with one of Hiru's special customes and a brief letter regarding her upcoming match. One that fortunately happened to be the same day!
So she accepted the obvious attempt at a different outlet, spoke barely a few words to anyone along the way, radiated such a concentrated level of hate and anger that the weak instinctively got the heck out of her way well before or passed on the spot, and entered the arena with both her fist clenched and eyes all but focused solely in the direction her opponent was to arrive from. That is right. She left her last match a broken thing, and returned to arena virtually flawless thanks to an unknown benefactor.
RP: Rise joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
COMBAT: Rise focuses 1743 stamina to turn it into 1800 usable chakra!
RP: Sousa joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
One simply cannot be a figure of high repute visiting an allied village for a tournament without being expected to participate, it seems. Not that Sousa failed to anticipate that being the case. Ah well, actually being in the fight should provide data that could not be observed from the stands. Sousa walks calmly to his mark in the arena, wearing his usual garb minus the cloak. He gives a bow, followed by a bemused look at his opponent. "My my, you've made quite a recovery, Shirokiri-san. You must have had excellent medical attention." Sousa's chakra flares, not violently, but formidably. "I believe the crowd would be more entertained if you made the first move, Shirokiri-san."
COMBAT: Sousa focuses 9357 stamina to turn it into 12599 usable chakra!
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
If there were any expectations of the girl calming after Sousa's chakra flairs, those expectations are met with disappointment. Rise stood her ground with teeth gritted now openly. Action are her words, and they are as loud as the clothing she wore upon her back. From her one and truly only sleeve, the sound of clicks are followed by a kunai slipping into her hand. It is gone a second later, and allowed to come within a foot of the Kazekage's form before the long, raven-haired woman becomes a living blur. One swift sweeping kick is immediatly followed by devastating punch to the abdomen should the monk fail to react in time.
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with SHARP-II with a roll of: 36
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with LEAF-GALE with a roll of: 46
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with POWER-PHYSICAL with a roll of: 38
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against SHARP-II(36) attack from Rise with a FLOWING-AVERSION…34
COMBAT: Sousa loses the roll and sustains 324 damage.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against LEAF-GALE(46) attack from Rise with a FLOWING-AVERSION…44
COMBAT: Sousa loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against POWER-PHYSICAL(38) attack from Rise with a TENSE…9
COMBAT: Sousa loses the roll and sustains 826 damage.
COMBAT: There are no more attacks for you to defend against.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Rise Excellent Condition Fine
RP: Sousa Good Condition Fine
Sousa reaches up to slant the flying kunai away with his palm, but he catches the edge rather than the side-surface, drawing a cut on his hand. The next moment, he feels his legs swept away, then a mighty impact against his solar plexus. Sousa rolls sideways across the arena, allowing the momentum to bleed gradually into the ground. Once sufficiently slowed, he puts out and arm and levers his remaining momentum into an upward twist and regains his feet.
That hurt, no mistake. But you don't get to be a Kage if you can't take some hurt.
"Very impressive," Sousa remarks. "I see that I can ill afford to hold back." Sousa takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. The next moment, an odd sensation-that-isn't-a-sensation flares in Rise's brain, followed by the distinct sound of Kaguya bone bullets peppering the ground RIGHT BEHIND HER. 8O
RP: Sousa transforms into MEDITATIVE-TRANCE.
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with BRAIN-BUZZER with a roll of: 39
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with TREADMILL-ILLUSION with a roll of: 33
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with TREADMILL-ILLUSION with a roll of: 49
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
COMBAT: Rise defends against BRAIN-BUZZER(39) attack from Sousa with a WILL-BREAK…27
COMBAT: Rise loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Rise defends against TREADMILL-ILLUSION(33) attack from Sousa with a TENSE…17
COMBAT: Rise loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Sousa drains stamina from Rise
COMBAT: Rise defends against TREADMILL-ILLUSION(49) attack from Sousa with a WILL-BREAK…25
COMBAT: Rise loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Sousa drains stamina from Rise
«KEN» Rise eyes…
«KEN» Rise says, "Ah.. gen+seal"
«KEN» Rise could've sworn it was sta originally… grr. X|
«OOC» Sousa says, "Might have been. Things have changed, and are in the process of changing still."
The scent of blood and the feeling of bones begining to give under the pressure of her blow did little to appease the enraged woman. But nevertheless, it was a start in the right direction. Seeing the fashion in which Sousa recovered prompted Rise to instinctively take on a more solid defensive stance in preparation for an attack. The follow-up, on the other hand… She couldn't quite understand. Not at first, at least, which unfortunately costs her.
Without even thinking, Rise flinches at the sound of bone bullets behind her, and turned to regard the source of the threat. In the next moment, she is on… a treadmill? Once it began moving she just could not stop running in place, though her will struggled against the crazy concept until it finally ended. Even after the tiring and pointless trek, Rise's aura of rage begins to condense until it visibly surrounded the girl. While encased in the ill-feeling electric blue shell, the woman snatches up several shuriken and lets them fly wide far too wide to have any hope of hitting Sousa.
But being the calculating sort, Sousa might read their path and where she intent on making more of a show of her anger with angry, drawn out shouts and a telegraphed punch and kick.
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 38
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with POWER-PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 44
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with TRICKY-SHARP-THROW with a roll of: 39
«KEN» Rise snerks.
«KEN» Rise says, "Always nice to see power outroll tricky"
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against PHYSICAL-II(38) attack from Rise with a MEMORY-ILLUSION…74
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against POWER-PHYSICAL-II(44) attack from Rise with a MEMORY-ILLUSION…54
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against TRICKY-SHARP-THROW(39) attack from Rise with a MEMORY-ILLUSION…60
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
«KEN» Rise says, "And I forgot to tf"
«KEN» Rise says, "Frack"
«KEN» Rise says, "Aw well. z.z"
Tsiro has reconnected.
«KEN» Rise o/
«WOLF» Tsiro says, "you still in the tourney Rise?"
«KEN» Rise nods.
«KEN» Rise got Shuuren's magical touch.
«KEN» Rise is also vewy, vewy sarged about it ICly.
«WOLF» Tsiro says, "nice."
Sousa doesn't appear to have moved, still standing there with his eyes closed. Does he think he still has Rise under a mental lockdown? :o *WHOOSH* Nope, all of her angry attacks hit empty air. He was just projecting onto her mind that he was still in the last place she saw him. "I quite understand that genjutsu is likely not your forte," Sousa remarks from some distance off to the side. "Still, have you not even learned the basic breaking technique? The lack of such leaves a quite glaring hole in your defenses." Next Rise experiences the sensation that gravity just got a whole lot more demanding.
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with MAXIMUM-G-ILLUSION with a roll of: 51
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with MAXIMUM-G-ILLUSION with a roll of: 33
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
COMBAT: Rise defends against MAXIMUM-G-ILLUSION(51) attack from Sousa with a SELF-INFLICT-II…54
COMBAT: Rise wins the roll.
«KEN» Rise says, "I am sorely tempted to — ah frack it, I'm going for it. 8)"
COMBAT: Rise defends against MAXIMUM-G-ILLUSION(33) attack from Sousa with a WILL-BREAK…36
COMBAT: Rise wins the roll.
RP: Rise transforms into RAPID-MOVEMENT-MODE.
«OOC» Sousa says, "BTW, would you care to set loss conditions so we don't beat each other dangerously close to death (not to mention keep the scene going longer than needed)? I would say the first to go under Average Condition or Fatigued loses."
«KEN» Rise says, "Feels largely to your advantage.. but sure. |S"
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Rise Excellent Condition Fine
RP: Sousa Good Condition Fine
After meeting nothing but air, Rise rubs at her eyes furiously as if to dislodge contaminants from them. She stops mid-brush as Sousa speaks, and for awhile remained completely frozen in place. Even once the attack begins, her arm never falters. Behind the curtain her sleeve provided, Rise chewed bit deep enough to draw blood from recently healed lips, and focused most of her will on pain alone. Inevitably, it begins to flag, but not without Shirokiri managing to ultimately shrug off the attempt to shock and crush her with gravity.
"Shut… up." She growls out. And with that said, Sousa would come under a similar attack. The first being the crushing weight of gravity itself, followed by the her presence demanding that he kneeled before her hand has finished even falling away from her face.
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with ABUNDANT-BURDEN with a roll of: 39
«KEN» Rise says, "Just can't get over 30s.."
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with SUBMISSION-AURA with a roll of: 39
«KEN» Rise headdesks.
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against ABUNDANT-BURDEN(39) attack from Rise with a GENJUTSU-KAI…52
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against SUBMISSION-AURA(39) attack from Rise with a GENJUTSU-KAI…50
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
Sousa clasps his hands together in the familiar seal of release, denying the hold of Rise's genjutsu attempts. "Ah, you do have some grasp of genjutsu. Fascinating. Not a particularly useful strategy, though." Sousa pulls a small ball of paper tags from his pouch. "The audience came to observe a fight, so I suppose I shall give them something a little more visceral before we proceed in earnest." Sousa tosses the ball, which disperses into a cloud of draining tags around Rise.
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with KNOCKOUT-STORM with a roll of: 65
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
COMBAT: Rise defends against KNOCKOUT-STORM(65) attack from Sousa with a MOONSAULT…55
COMBAT: Rise loses the roll and sustains 1193 damage.
COMBAT: Sousa drains chakra from Rise
COMBAT: Sousa drains stamina from Rise
«KEN» Rise says, "Oww"
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Rise Good Condition Fine
RP: Sousa Good Condition Fine
«KEN» Rise says, "And so much for the one plan. z.z"
A blood vessel visibly throbbed as Sousa — as far as Rise was concerned — continued to mock her with his smug attitude! Blinded by growing rage, Rise took a step forward thoughtless, ignoring the threat the pitched ball presented until it the tags dispersed. Heterochromatic eyes widen at the sight, then are sealed shut almost immediately after as the tags began to ignite. Reflex led to her leaping away curled up into a defensive ball, but the explosion still catches her.
She ground rolling and smoking a little until momentum died down enough to regain her footing. "Why don't you just—SHUT UP ALREADY!?!" She yelled sweeping her arms away near the end, and revealing the surge of chakra meant a transformation taking place. Rise wastes not even a second more in attempt to bull rush the ex-Kage, and punch him in the one place every man instinctively shield. It isn't a faint, and short of a giant mountain of metal standing between her and the Kage, the woman's blow wouldn't be stopped easily.
Once hopefully brought down to her level, Rise would immediately grab him by the throat, crush it, and then slam him right into the ground hard enough to leave an imprint!
RP: Rise transforms into GATE-OF-LIMIT.
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with SKYSCRAPER with a roll of: 61
«KEN» Rise z.z;
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
«KEN» Rise says, "All bluster"
COMBAT: Sousa defends against SKYSCRAPER(61) attack from Rise with a RIDE-THE-LIGHTNING…69
COMBAT: Sousa wins the roll.
COMBAT: There are no more attacks for you to defend against.
From Dammed Arena - Stands, «VOID» Hanpa notes briefly. "Will Break was altered probably… a couple weeks ago. to Gen Seal instead of Sta. Apparently was suppossed to be that for some time"
«KEN» Rise says, "So belated. :P"
*SNAP!* Sousa disappears from his spot with a discharge of electricity. "My apologies," he remarks. "I do enjoy verbal analysis. But, as you request it, I shall endeavor to be silent about it from here onward." Sousa runs through some handseals. This next part…could be highly unpleasant for Rise.
COMBAT: Sousa attacks Rise with PSYCHOTROPIC-DRUG-ILLUSION with a roll of: 56
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
«KEN» Rise says, "Heh"
«KEN» Rise is starting to feel as if Sousa is the only one that wants to make sure folks know its an illusion. X)
COMBAT: Rise defends against PSYCHOTROPIC-DRUG-ILLUSION(56) attack from Sousa with a SELF-INFLICT-II…62
COMBAT: Rise wins the roll.
Rise turned, shaking her head and blinking alot in a somewhat futile attempt to get rid of the spots in her vision. "You… wh — Don't just-…" The flustered genin quickly abandons the endeavor as seals are formed. With her body tearing itself slowly apart and blood boiling, the illusion does not maintain a grip on the girl for long at all. However, a rerun of the glimpse plays on in the back of her mind, teasing the girl.
She willed through it, and slid her foot about as if to unleash an upward kick. But from a distance? How would that — And then, it is brought up, literally kicking up a storm with a life of its own. As soon as the head fully forms, the dragon of dust and wind dives at Sousa, seeking to devour the man whole.
COMBAT: Rise attacks Sousa with LEAF-DRAGON-GOD with a roll of: 125
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
COMBAT: Rise attacks you with LEAF-DRAGON-GOD and rolls a 125. Action?
«OOC» Mai whisteles
«KEN» Rise still loses. XD
«KEN» Rise says, "Hit average first… dang nabit!"
«KEN» Rise says, "Stupid health tick.."
«OOC» Mai says, "You could have asked for some healing »"
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Rise Average Condition Fine
RP: Sousa Good Condition Fine
«KEN» Rise is talking about from her tf. :P
«KEN» Rise entered at full health.
«OOC» Sousa says, "I said /past/ that."
«KEN» Rise says, "Oh!"
«KEN» Rise whews~
«OOC» Sousa says, "I'm rather surprised your stamina still shows as Fine, though. All this time that's what I've been aiming at mainly, and you're using these high-level techniques, yet I'm closer to beating you on HP. X) Probably partly because you didn't focus that much."
«KEN» Rise still fracked up, if only because being recently healed hadn't been quite played up properly. )|a
«KEN» Rise says, "And indeed, the lack of focus helped. :P"
RP: Sousa transforms into MIND-RUSH.
COMBAT: Sousa defends against LEAF-DRAGON-GOD(125) attack from Rise with a WALL-SUMMON…74
COMBAT: Sousa loses the roll and sustains 1875 damage.
COMBAT: There are no more attacks for you to defend against.
RP: Name: Condition: Stamina:
RP: Rise Average Condition Fine
RP: Sousa Several Wounds Fine [STUNNED]
«OOC» Sousa says, "Seems that did it."
«KEN» Rise says, "No a-rank non-inexpensives? :o"
«OOC» Sousa says, "Well, Ride the Lightning is, but it doesn't roll from my buffed stats. Frankly I was just hoping the damage reduction would save me."
«OOC» Sousa says, "Ah, but your attack has Piercing."
«OOC» Sousa says, "Should've looked more closely."
«OOC» Sousa says, "Out of curiousity…"
RPCOMBAT: You don't have enough stamina.
«OOC» Sousa says, "Hmm, not letting me try +rpdefends. Ah well."
«WOLF» Tsiro says, "so who won?"
«KEN» Rise has based on the bet.
«KEN» Rise says, "not bet"
«KEN» Rise says, "agreement? X)"
Ah, now that is quite impressive. Sousa wonders briefly, while putting a hand down to the ground, whether the draconian shape is an artifact of the user's expression or simply the coincidental form which the technique happens to take. A wall poofs into being in front of Sousa, but apparently the dragon's thoughts on walls run along the lines of 'LOLWUT'. It plows through the brick and mortar like a gingerbread house and scoops Sousa up.
Sousa notes quite a few interesting things while being tossed and sliced inside the whirlwind. He notes that the energy for this phenomenon is much too large and, more importantly, lasting to have originated from a single kick, by all familiar standards…maybe she's maintaining it with a subtle but powerful vibration? He notes that it's very difficult to breath within this maelstrom, which could become problematic depending on how long it lasts. Most importantly, he notes that he's starting to take more damage than this contest is worth. e.e Unfortunately, note two also means it's rather impossible to speak. Hrm. Well, Sousa is few things if not resourceful. A chibi!Sousa materializes in the referee Mai's vision. ~Pardon me, would you be so kind as to communicate my surrender?~ n.n;
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
«KEN» Rise lets the ref pose first.
«OOC» Sousa cheats a little to speed up the scene finish. x)
«KEN» Rise says, "Z'all good."
RP: Mai joins the roleplay.
«KEN» Rise also figured. X)
«OOC» Mai gestures for the turn. »;;
«KEN» Rise says, "To break the stun? c.c;"
«OOC» Mai says, "Hai."
«KEN» Rise says, "Ya cutting my wind!? D:<"
COMBAT: Rise finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Sousa's turn.
COMBAT: Sousa finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Mai's turn.
«OOC» Mai says, "Mhm"
COMBAT: Mai attacks Sousa with YANK with a roll of: 40
«KEN» Rise was gonna put him down.. grudgingly. ._.
Mai blinks a bit when the Chibi Sousa appears next to her. Well, that was unexpected… The woman simply nods and disappears, relying on pure speed to bring her between the two. "This match is over," she states simply. "The winner is Shirokiri Rise, Genin of Kumogakure." A cheer rings out among those in the stands, the crowd both amazed that a genin, if Rise could truly be called that, had bested a former Kage and outraged (depending on which side they were on). Mai turns to Sousa, then, considering him for a moment. Should Rise launch an attack, Mai would attempt to take it before yanking Sousa back to reality and the ground, if he went airborne.
COMBAT: Mai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Rise's turn.
COMBAT: Rise heals Rise for 715 with LESSER REGENERATION.
«OOC» Mai sighs. Is never going to be able to fight with Mai.
«KEN» Rise says, "You fought the Mizukage at the begining. :<"
«OOC» Mai did! :D
Subtle vibrations and more! There was a reason it was consider the ultimate taijutsu technique, though a certain clan or three might disagree. Simple seeming shifts in stance and even sweeping gestures gave the dragon its aliveness. Sadly, the referee saw a need to end it all.
"What!?" She barks, but her voice by comparison is lost on the wind. The next thing she knows the roar of the crowd floods the arena, dismantling her doubts about Mai's declaration. Growling gutturally, Rise looks back and forth from the suspended Sousa's distant form and Mai several times, arms gradually shaking from the remaining pent of aggression.
After the passing of a small eternity within the Shirokiri, Rise pulls her legs close together, and allows her hands to gradually lower to her sides. Sousa's descent would remain a rough one. But in time, the winds do die down enough for the man to escape the vortex or simply await for a rough landing. By that time, the gates have been sealed, as well as the worst of the wounds suffered from explosion. Rise glowers at the Kazekage, and seemed still on the verge of attacking at any moment!
But ultimately, she spun on her heel and walked away, tapping her sides as she considered other victims for her wrath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kaguya Mai steps forward as another match comes to an end, declaring a Shirayuki as the winner against a puppeteer. "Next up… Shirokiri Rise, Genin of Kumogakure, and Kokoroe Sousa, First Kazekage." The Kaguya waits for the two to come down before telling them the rules, which are hopefully standard by now. "I won't step in until someone is about to die. Do your best and don't destroy the arena like ano Baka Sasaki…" Then she steps back to allow the two to fight.
In her wake, even the most seemingly indomitable of Kirigakure's inhabitants began to reconsider following along the same path. Since awakening in the hospital and discovering the alterations made without her consent, "Cho" could not keep the "other's" rage from being kindled. Ren, having expected such a scenario to come about, made certain not to be around when the she finally awoke. In place of the greeting longed for, the dandy of Kumogakure left her with one of Hiru's special customes and a brief letter regarding her upcoming match. One that fortunately happened to be the same day!
So she accepted the obvious attempt at a different outlet, spoke barely a few words to anyone along the way, radiated such a concentrated level of hate and anger that the weak instinctively got the heck out of her way well before or passed on the spot, and entered the arena with both her fist clenched and eyes all but focused solely in the direction her opponent was to arrive from. That is right. She left her last match a broken thing, and returned to arena virtually flawless thanks to an unknown benefactor.
One simply cannot be a figure of high repute visiting an allied village for a tournament without being expected to participate, it seems. Not that Sousa failed to anticipate that being the case. Ah well, actually being in the fight should provide data that could not be observed from the stands. Sousa walks calmly to his mark in the arena, wearing his usual garb minus the cloak. He gives a bow, followed by a bemused look at his opponent. "My my, you've made quite a recovery, Shirokiri-san. You must have had excellent medical attention." Sousa's chakra flares, not violently, but formidably. "I believe the crowd would be more entertained if you made the first move, Shirokiri-san."
If there were any expectations of the girl calming after Sousa's chakra flairs, those expectations are met with disappointment. Rise stood her ground with teeth gritted now openly. Action are her words, and they are as loud as the clothing she wore upon her back. From her one and truly only sleeve, the sound of clicks are followed by a kunai slipping into her hand. It is gone a second later, and allowed to come within a foot of the Kazekage's form before the long, raven-haired woman becomes a living blur. One swift sweeping kick is immediatly followed by devastating punch to the abdomen should the monk fail to react in time.
Sousa reaches up to slant the flying kunai away with his palm, but he catches the edge rather than the side-surface, drawing a cut on his hand. The next moment, he feels his legs swept away, then a mighty impact against his solar plexus. Sousa rolls sideways across the arena, allowing the momentum to bleed gradually into the ground. Once sufficiently slowed, he puts out and arm and levers his remaining momentum into an upward twist and regains his feet.
That hurt, no mistake. But you don't get to be a Kage if you can't take some hurt.
"Very impressive," Sousa remarks. "I see that I can ill afford to hold back." Sousa takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. The next moment, an odd sensation-that-isn't-a-sensation flares in Rise's brain, followed by the distinct sound of Kaguya bone bullets peppering the ground RIGHT BEHIND HER. 8O
The scent of blood and the feeling of bones begining to give under the pressure of her blow did little to appease the enraged woman. But nevertheless, it was a start in the right direction. Seeing the fashion in which Sousa recovered prompted Rise to instinctively take on a more solid defensive stance in preparation for an attack. The follow-up, on the other hand… She couldn't quite understand. Not at first, at least, which unfortunately costs her.
Without even thinking, Rise flinches at the sound of bone bullets behind her, and turned to regard the source of the threat. In the next moment, she is on… a treadmill? Once it began moving she just could not stop running in place, though her will struggled against the crazy concept until it finally ended. Even after the tiring and pointless trek, Rise's aura of rage begins to condense until it visibly surrounded the girl. While encased in the ill-feeling electric blue shell, the woman snatches up several shuriken and lets them fly wide far too wide to have any hope of hitting Sousa.
But being the calculating sort, Sousa might read their path and where she intent on making more of a show of her anger with angry, drawn out shouts and a telegraphed punch and kick.
Sousa doesn't appear to have moved, still standing there with his eyes closed. Does he think he still has Rise under a mental lockdown? :o *WHOOSH* Nope, all of her angry attacks hit empty air. He was just projecting onto her mind that he was still in the last place she saw him. "I quite understand that genjutsu is likely not your forte," Sousa remarks from some distance off to the side. "Still, have you not even learned the basic breaking technique? The lack of such leaves a quite glaring hole in your defenses." Next Rise experiences the sensation that gravity just got a whole lot more demanding.
After meeting nothing but air, Rise rubs at her eyes furiously as if to dislodge contaminants from them. She stops mid-brush as Sousa speaks, and for awhile remained completely frozen in place. Even once the attack begins, her arm never falters. Behind the curtain her sleeve provided, Rise chewed bit deep enough to draw blood from recently healed lips, and focused most of her will on pain alone. Inevitably, it begins to flag, but not without Shirokiri managing to ultimately shrug off the attempt to shock and crush her with gravity.
"Shut… up." She growls out. And with that said, Sousa would come under a similar attack. The first being the crushing weight of gravity itself, followed by the her presence demanding that he kneeled before her hand has finished even falling away from her face.
Sousa clasps his hands together in the familiar seal of release, denying the hold of Rise's genjutsu attempts. "Ah, you do have some grasp of genjutsu. Fascinating. Not a particularly useful strategy, though." Sousa pulls a small ball of paper tags from his pouch. "The audience came to observe a fight, so I suppose I shall give them something a little more visceral before we proceed in earnest." Sousa tosses the ball, which disperses into a cloud of draining tags around Rise.
A blood vessel visibly throbbed as Sousa — as far as Rise was concerned — continued to mock her with his smug attitude! Blinded by growing rage, Rise took a step forward thoughtless, ignoring the threat the pitched ball presented until it the tags dispersed. Heterochromatic eyes widen at the sight, then are sealed shut almost immediately after as the tags began to ignite. Reflex led to her leaping away curled up into a defensive ball, but the explosion still catches her.
She ground rolling and smoking a little until momentum died down enough to regain her footing. "Why don't you just—SHUT UP ALREADY!?!" She yelled sweeping her arms away near the end, and revealing the surge of chakra meant a transformation taking place. Rise wastes not even a second more in attempt to bull rush the ex-Kage, and punch him in the one place every man instinctively shield. It isn't a faint, and short of a giant mountain of metal standing between her and the Kage, the woman's blow wouldn't be stopped easily.
Once hopefully brought down to her level, Rise would immediately grab him by the throat, crush it, and then slam him right into the ground hard enough to leave an imprint!
*SNAP!* Sousa disappears from his spot with a discharge of electricity. "My apologies," he remarks. "I do enjoy verbal analysis. But, as you request it, I shall endeavor to be silent about it from here onward." Sousa runs through some handseals. This next part…could be highly unpleasant for Rise.
Rise turned, shaking her head and blinking alot in a somewhat futile attempt to get rid of the spots in her vision. "You… wh — Don't just-…" The flustered genin quickly abandons the endeavor as seals are formed. With her body tearing itself slowly apart and blood boiling, the illusion does not maintain a grip on the girl for long at all. However, a rerun of the glimpse plays on in the back of her mind, teasing the girl.
She willed through it, and slid her foot about as if to unleash an upward kick. But from a distance? How would that — And then, it is brought up, literally kicking up a storm with a life of its own. As soon as the head fully forms, the dragon of dust and wind dives at Sousa, seeking to devour the man whole.
Ah, now that is quite impressive. Sousa wonders briefly, while putting a hand down to the ground, whether the draconian shape is an artifact of the user's expression or simply the coincidental form which the technique happens to take. A wall poofs into being in front of Sousa, but apparently the dragon's thoughts on walls run along the lines of 'LOLWUT'. It plows through the brick and mortar like a gingerbread house and scoops Sousa up.
Sousa notes quite a few interesting things while being tossed and sliced inside the whirlwind. He notes that the energy for this phenomenon is much too large and, more importantly, lasting to have originated from a single kick, by all familiar standards…maybe she's maintaining it with a subtle but powerful vibration? He notes that it's very difficult to breath within this maelstrom, which could become problematic depending on how long it lasts. Most importantly, he notes that he's starting to take more damage than this contest is worth. e.e Unfortunately, note two also means it's rather impossible to speak. Hrm. Well, Sousa is few things if not resourceful. A chibi!Sousa materializes in the referee Mai's vision. ~Pardon me, would you be so kind as to communicate my surrender?~ n.n;
Mai blinks a bit when the Chibi Sousa appears next to her. Well, that was unexpected… The woman simply nods and disappears, relying on pure speed to bring her between the two. "This match is over," she states simply. "The winner is Shirokiri Rise, Genin of Kumogakure." A cheer rings out among those in the stands, the crowd both amazed that a genin, if Rise could truly be called that, had bested a former Kage and outraged (depending on which side they were on). Mai turns to Sousa, then, considering him for a moment. Should Rise launch an attack, Mai would attempt to take it before yanking Sousa back to reality and the ground, if he went airborne.
Subtle vibrations and more! There was a reason it was consider the ultimate taijutsu technique, though a certain clan or three might disagree. Simple seeming shifts in stance and even sweeping gestures gave the dragon its aliveness. Sadly, the referee saw a need to end it all.
"What!?" She barks, but her voice by comparison is lost on the wind. The next thing she knows the roar of the crowd floods the arena, dismantling her doubts about Mai's declaration. Growling gutturally, Rise looks back and forth from the suspended Sousa's distant form and Mai several times, arms gradually shaking from the remaining pent of aggression.
After the passing of a small eternity within the Shirokiri, Rise pulls her legs close together, and allows her hands to gradually lower to her sides. Sousa's descent would remain a rough one. But in time, the winds do die down enough for the man to escape the vortex or simply await for a rough landing. By that time, the gates have been sealed, as well as the worst of the wounds suffered from explosion. Rise glowers at the Kazekage, and seemed still on the verge of attacking at any moment!
But ultimately, she spun on her heel and walked away, tapping her sides as she considered other victims for her wrath.
