Starring:
Saisho, Ishino, Kokuro, Naoya, Yuriko
Date: August 6, 2014
Summary:
Saisho's academy graduation exam.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Saisho Graduation: Surprise!"
Kirigakure: Dammed Arena
Dammed Arena - Floor [Kirigakure]
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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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There were plenty around who thought this was a joke. This young? no way! There were whispers she was the sister of that 7 swordsman. That weird one, the genjutsu user. Why would a genjutsu user have a sword anyways?? The crowd murmured and would sort of cheer when Saisho was called out onto the field. In the middle of the field was a massive catch, it was currently closed and whatever was in it rustled under the massive cloth that was covering it. Ishino was seen up in the bleachers. Watching on with that polite smile and a wiiide range around him that the people didn't sit in.
Saisho was nervous, of that there was no doubt, but she had pushed to have her exam moved up before her 8th birthday. Her teachers thought her nuts. One even asked if it was a joke. Still, she insisted. And so here she was. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself then tried to march out into the arena. Doing her best to look… well, Shinobi-ish? She spied the thing in the middle of the field and nodded, as if to herself.
Saisho looked up at the crowed then… pulling out a scroll, twirled it around and stepped sort of forward and /through/ it and… suddenly was dressed in her full puppet armor. The armor was black and red and sinister looking perhaps. Bone and black silk and a tinted visor. Other than the size and shape one might not even be able to tell that it was even Saisho. Several teachers give a sort of stunned gasp as Saisho displays not only her puppet in full view for the first time, but also a level of mastery with scrolls that no one in the crowd, perhaps other than her adoptive brother or sister in law might have suspected at. Even a few students sit there kind of stunned, but quickly recover and half taunt her, as if they think this is her only trick up her sleeve.
The crowd was uneasy. This was different. Ishino simply looked.. amused. He knew. Of course he knew, Saisho is one of his students. His sister and finally his protege, if such could be considered for the puppeteer. The old man that was always with Ishino would show up, coming over to hold an umbrella over the man as he leaned forward to watch.
The massive cloth was whipped off of the cage. Revealing a massive beast that barely fit within the cage, the metal bars pressing against it on all sides. That front of the cage was cranked upwards by a chain, letting the beast out as a quick jutsu from the proctor, behind the beast, had a lightning prod hit the cage. This just capped the beast off as it'd slowly come out of the cage. It was big. mean. It looked hungry, as it'd eye Saisho in her armor.
The black and red armor may look a tad sinister on Saisho, but at least the tinted visor kept her face concealed as she eyed the creature. She went into a taijutsu fighting stance, again something probably not expected from a puppeteer and certainly not something she displayed in the classroom. She studies the beast, looking for a weak point then… seems unwilling to let it get the first blow she moves forward with a speed that seems rather unreal for a mere student. Maybe mid-level genin or… even a chuunin but not a student. She surges forward, a blade emerging from each arm of her armor, both appearing to be… kaguya bone? She attempts to quick slashing attacks before leaping back to see if her attacks had any real effect.
The beast roared in pain. Those twin blades bit through surprisingly thick fur to draw blood. However, it just seemed all that did was robe the beast off, instead of any true damage. Gathering steam and power, it'd charge at Saisho, seeking to simply.. run her over. If it did feel her go under, that massive weight potentially pressing her flat with its crushing mass, for it to start.. hopping.. jumping up and down where she was at to smash her further into the ground.
Saisho had leapt back and as the thing charges her rather than dodging or trying to block with her armor she makes a hand seal then slaps her hand down on the ground, and a seal barrier forms between her and the beast. Several teachers just… well, stare, as Saisho displays yet another mastery, that of seals. The beast is halted by the barrier, rather suddenly but the barrier only stops the initial charge as the thing rears up and smashes through the barrier and brings its feet down on top of Saisho with a rather loud thud sound.
Rather than get up, still on her back, Saisho extends her right arm and activates some kind of electrical discharge from a tool hidden in the hand of the armor. She tries to blast the thing repeatedly then tries to roll to the side to get back to her feet in preparation of another attack.
Aha! The beast roared in pain and immediately backed off! It seems that Saisho may of found the trick to this little encounter. The same reason the proctor had used lightning to get it started, seems to have stalled the beast. It'd huff, shaking its head, flopping about wildly as it did so. Recovering after a bit, the beast would roar at Saisho again and charge once more. This time it's mouth opened.. and opened.. and opened. Its head cranking back to allow it to attempt to bite her clean in half!
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Naoya glances to one side, and nods lightly towards a spider perched on his shoulder before nodding down towards the arena floor but said not a word. The young teen slips a hand his left hand into his pocket though upon noticing Kokuro, a light smile flashes across his lips along with waving to her some what discreetly. Turning his head back towards the Arena floor at the sound of electrical crackling, the young teen soon finds a seat close to the young girl. 'Do you know that student or did they ask you to come here to make sure there was another junior healer close by?' was asked with a hushed voice.
Saisho had just managed to get to her feet and get herself back into combat stance by the time the thing charged to chomp her. She just barely ducks to the side and takes a running start straight at the wall!! It looks as if she's about to run… dead into the wall, only to leap and land on the wall, sideways? As she does this she starts to run along the wall, around the arena trying to build up some speed and hopefully make the thing dizzy or see if it can turn as fast as she can run. If nothing else it might make a charge hard to pull off. While doing this Saisho starts to throw Kunai at the beastie, only getting one off for the moment as she spent most of her time getting into position. She looks to be trying to find a good opening, testing the thing's weaknesses.
More than a few people look surprised as Saisho runs along the wall. A student with what appears to be tree walking is… rather unusual to say the least.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Kokuro is indeed here, cheering for Saisho and giving frightened but unapproving looks to the people who choose to cheer for the beast itself. She relaxes considerably when she notices Naoya approaching and lifts a hand to wave politely at him. "Greetings Naoya-san. I'm afraid I haven't met her personally…but she's Doihara-san's um…student I think. Or pupil might be a better phrasing…anyways…I wanted to show up to support her…since Doihara-san has faith in us, it's the least I could do to provide lots of faith for other young ones he has faith in…" She does pause and lifts her shoulders up to shrug before she looks back down at the arena below. "I don't know if they'd let me help her recover or not. The medics here are really experienced…they might not want me to get in the way…but if they let me, then I wouldn't mind helping with the wounds once the exam has ended…."
From Dammed Arena - Stands, Naoya extends an arm across to lightly pat the back of his fingers against Kokuro's arm before drawing his hand back towards his lap. "You need to have more confidence in yourself Kokuro-san. Even if you aren't the best, 'when' she defeats that thing, just step down and offer your aid." The young teen kept his voice low, though he pauses from saying anything else once Saisho took to the walls effortlessly to try and reposition herself. "I didn't think most students practiced enough that easily."
The beastie didn't seem to notice the Kunai. Nor.. did it really seem to realize where Saisho went. Ok. So it's dumb. Roaring, it'd charge the wall of the arena that Saisho had ran up, slamming into it head first to make the stands groan and shudder. Quite a few people screamed and moved away. Ishino was more than happy to just stay there, giving a light wave in greeting to the beast. It'd back up, shaking it's head and look around. Belatedly, finally, finding where Saisho had gone to start lumbering her way. Seems she had a small reprieve, the beast wasn't rearing up for a charge yet, but beady eyes were trained on her. She better think fast!
As the beast charges, Saisho preemptively creates a replacement clone, at the base of the wall where the thing is charging, trying to trick it as she dodges to the side and tries to get too powerful electric blasts in, hoping her trick works against the thing. If not, well, it was at least an interesting attempt. She seems to be trying to play on the beast's apparent low intelligence. Most people would wait until the thing was on top of them to use the replacement technique after all.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Kokuro blushes but keeps her eyes trained on the combat below, mumbling faintly, "It is a…serious ceremony…I…do not want to do anything that would put her in danger of not being able to graduate…or…well…get me punished…maybe the next time she is in need, but for now the medics will take care of her extremely well." She nods to herself, sounding confident about that face. She does glances aside at Naoya, "Not most. But you know Doihara-san, he's very thorough about his teaching. He would not have sent her in there until she was more than capable of passing it in leaps and bounds beyond the abilities of other students. If my teachers were half as thorough, I would still be a student to be honest…I think most just, gave up on me once I could prove I could survive in the marshes."
SLAM!!! The beast ran right over the clone, slamming heavily into that wall, it'd stumble, then roar, rolling off to the side. The beast seemed to be getting weaker. The damage was piling up as it'd roll on its back a moment, trying to get rid of that sting. Reorienting, it rushed at Saisho once again, anger still there in its beady eyes as it'd charge at her, seeking to do as it had before, knock her over and then stomp on her more, leaping up and down to beat her into the ground.
Saisho stands her ground this time, not fleeing or dodging. Instead she reverts to the earlier tactic, but this time seems better prepared or maybe the beast is just getting weaker. Either way as she slams her hand down into the floor of the arena and forms the seal barrier between her and the beast this time it holds and it fails to break through, stopping it as firmly as if it ran into the arena wall again. But even as the thing is stopped just in front of her, Saisho is already making another set of seals and pointing her right arm at the beast, and hoping the collision into the seal barrier left it perhaps stunned for a moment or at least the close range would make this work, she unleased a stream of crackling electric discharge from her arm, chakra and sparks flowing under the bone plates that make up her armor, through chakra wires meshed into the spider silk that underlays it as she stands there defiantly, blasting at the beast.
From Dammed Arena - Stands, With a shake of his head, Naoya raises his further away arm and points downwards towards the Arena, smirking at this point as he watches Saisho's form flicker from sight while still leveling jolt after jolt. "You don't have any faith in yourself. You won't be in trouble doing your job and look.." The young teen turns towards Kokuro and nods his head towards the arena floor to add on, "she's all but toying with that beast at this point. You'll be able to tend to her few mess ups like you tended to me." Looking back towards the fight, the young teen rests back into his seat. "At this rate, the match might be over soon."
The beast was indeed stunned. The bolts to the face seeming more to startle it, instead of actually cause it to feel that true pain. It'd back up, shaking its head, then try a new tactic. Instead of charging her head on, the beast would run clean past her! What was it up to? It seems what little bit of cunning it had was coming into play as it'd suddenly flop onto its side, rolling towards her with thudding and shuddering impacts against the ground. Slower, yes, but the beast was still massive and it was trying to roll over her!
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
The crowd has grown so quickly, the excitement almost palpable in the air stirring through citizen and shinobi alike. The littlest Kaguya could feel her own excitement bubbling up inside of her, aquamarine eyes glittering brightly as her smile grows. Yuriko instinctively tightens her grip on her mother's hand as she glances up at the Swordsman. Feeling the shift in her grip, Yuuka glances down at the girl in turn. The small smile is gentle, warm, and upon seeing how excite Yuriko has become she couldn't help the small chuckle.
Releasing the small hand, Yuuka tilts her head to gesture forward, encouraging Yuriko. The girl in turn couldn't help but beam, already taking off down the steps in the stands, easily avoiding bumping into people as she comes to an abrupt stop just at the railing.
Saisho apparently decides to rely on her armor, as she braces herself… and gets rolled right over. This apparently was a bit of a mistake as on the other side after the thing rolls past her, Saisho looks a tad 'crunched' and is a bit slow to get up, but she takes a breath and with a series of hand seals…. wait, what?! Anyone in the stands who had any medic knowledge would recognize those hand seals… Saisho just performed the Light Healing Jutsu, on herself!! As she moves back from the beast and takes new stock of the situation…
There are some murmurs in the crowd at this new display of ability. That… simply can't be right, some mutter, a few thinking perhaps it isn't even Saisho in the armor anymore but someone else entirely. After all they can't see inside the armor. Is she… cheating? A small whisper goes through the crowd suggesting this…
The crowd might not be sure. The beast however, was completely aware and VERY much diplomad off. Having felt it contact, the beast proceeded to get on its feet, crouch and leap, going to land on its side atop Saisho where she had moved back to. Relentless, even if it was dizzy now. Good luck if it actually hits now it seems!
Saisho seemed to decide that was enough of /that/ and rather than rely on her armor she makes the seal signs and forms the seal barrier. Rather than zap though she moves in to slice and dice, the bone blades returning to her arms as she leaps in and at the beast, however… two cuts and then… a shock. Seems she's mixing things up, but… trying to stay in close so the beast can't leap at her again. Less momentum means less risk, in theory, as long as it doesn't roll over her!!
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Kokuro looks over when Naoya points something out about the fight and she quirks her lip in an embarrassed manner. He sure could be stubborn when he wanted to be. She exhales a single sigh and nods slowly at Naoya. "Perhaps you are right…it could not hurt to ask. Perhaps the worst punishment I could receive would be getting turned away…" She pauses and mumbles underneath her breath, "Or a week unclogging the gristle from the blood grates with my bare hands…" She sounds more certain about this outcome than what she intended for Naoya to hear. She looks over at Yuriko rushes over to the railing whereabout her and Naoya are. She smiles faintly and offers a friendly wave before looking aside at Naoya. "How are those wounds healing anyway? I trust everything went well?"
THUMP. THUmp. Thump. The beast rolled right over that seal, not seeming to notice when Saisho came in with slashing blades. She trimmed a few hairs off of it, the fur amazingly resilient to deal with such things. That lightning shot got it to roar in pain, stumbling as it'd stagger away from the chasing puppeteer. Suddenly, it'd plant those front feet and mule kick at the close shinobi, seeking to knock her flying!!
Kick /that/ will you? Instead of Saisho, the thing's hind legs slam into a seal barrier hastily thrown up by Saisho. Just in time but it keeps her from getting hit at all. If anything perhaps it would catch the beast off guard as it apparently expected to hit her and send her flying and hit something as hard as a wall. In either case Saisho had apparently decided that cutting was pointless and switched to pure zapping again. charging up her armor and again unleashing a torrent of electrical discharge at the thing, hitting it from behind as it had tried to mule kick her!
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Naoya shrugs lightly and chimes, "If you get stuck with grates duty I 'guess' I could try practicing water jutsu in the area while you weren't being watched." The smirk on his lips fades for a moment when the beast suddenly rear kicks rather than tumbles over, luckily directly into a translucent barrier. Flicking his amber eyes towards Kokuro, he extends towards her his right arm that had been worse off. The arm was unbandaged, the wound itself was reduced to a mildly swollen lines. "After you treated them I went and rested in the springs for a few hours. They are just fine now, thanks again."
The beast, for those who might see the face, was surprised. Kicking the wall made it tip up.. and over. The bolts of lightning from Saisho would slam into its stomach, what looks relatively weaker than the rest of it as it'd land on its back to flail about. Spasming more than anything really offensive. The creature looked closed to its death throes. Those last bolts having put it into that final desperate actions of a beast.
Saisho wasn't about to give up her advantage. She walked forward and around as she could to try to keep her shocks aimed at the most vulnerable spots, especially the underbelly. The crackle of electricity making a slight ozone smell around the arena as Saisho's suit actually looks to be heating up a bit from this continued use of the discharge. It looks like it was never intended for this kind of prolonged use, but for the moment Saisho continues the assault, perhaps hoping the creature will give out before her suit's ability to discharge like this.
With one last shuddering cry the beast spasmed and finally fell silent, the last twitches more due to lightning than the beast doing anything at all. The proctor watched on for a moment longer before he'd finally call it with a raised hand. "Doihara Saisho is the winner! Final exam results will be posted soon! Congratulations go to the soon to be Genin of Kirigakure!!"
As if to prove to the crowd that it was her, Saisho removes her helmet of the armor, and tucks it under one arm. Her hair is slick with sweat, apparently it got quite hot inside the armor with all that electricity, and her face is red from exertion but she gives the crowd a thumbs up, then waves, before sparing a glance to the beast and finally making her exit from the arena, off to await the results of the exam and perhaps a cold shower.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
The young girl's eyes are glued on the boar-like beast as it actually leaps in the direction of Saisho. Or at least, where it thought the kunoichi was. Yuriko had suspicions though, keeping her eyes trained on the boar and Saisho, but also keeping her senses on the rest of the arena on the off chance that what they're seeing is actually a clone jutsu. You never know. The slashes made though seem real enough, even if they hadn't made it's mark.
Clutching onto the railing still, Yuriko blinks when she sees Kokuro waving in her direction, a smile instinctively touching her mouth before she spots Naoya beside her. Watching curiously for a short moment, the young girl hesitantly lifts a hand to wave back in their direction, though her attention is pulled back to the arena abruptly when the crowd suddenly starts cheering. Yuriko had missed the moment. /The/ moment it seems.
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
Kokuro chuckles quietly and shakes her head to herself, "You'd be taking a big risk if someone caught you trying to make my punishment easier on me…" She stops to inspect the arm offered to her by Naoya and nods her head at him. "That's good. I'm glad you've recovered nicely." She pauses when the victory was achieved then smiles to herself before she starts to clap for the student. It definitely went better than her own ceremony, but she couldn't tell if she still liked the change better. She looks aside at Naoya to ask him, "Would you like to go down to congratulate her while I ask?"
From Dammed Arena - Stands,
While he didn't notice the small girl at first, the out of place wave does catch the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly, the young teen's smile widens a bit and nods towards Yuriko though he quickly becomes distracted at electrical crackles fill the arena. "Doihara Saisho..? Doihara-san's cousin, sister?" Naoya questions for a moment but then shakes his head shortly, soon bringing his hands together, clapping along with the crowd. "As I told you, she was toying with the beast. She broke the toy find and dandy." Turning his head back to Kokuro, he offers her a light nod while standing up to follow after her.
Final Results posted after the exam:
The other day the crowds of Kirigakure were shushed. A stunned silence as the one known as Doihara Saisho went through her exam to become a genin. While most of the teachers had been against it, the proper pressure had been applied to enable her to act and act she did. It was noted that Doihara Ishino, her older brother was in the crowd that watched on as Saisho dealt with a massive beast. The young now genin was quick to show her capabilities, with multiple abilities stacked with one another to enable her to not only face the beast but overcome it in an arena shaking brawl! Ishino was heard commenting that it was quite satisfactory to see the hard work and dedication his sister put into her capabilities come to light. The judges were more than happy to award Doihara the rank of Genin at one of the youngest recorded ages of 7. The newest one within the village of Kirigakure!
