Starring:
Miu, Takeshi, Ogosokamaru, Jon, Daisuke, Yuzuna, Kasuya
Date: December 7, 2012
Summary:
A legendary cup match between an ambassador from Kumogakure and Kirigakure's most reckless senior citizen.
"Second Promotion Exams - Stubborn Old Coot: Takeshi vs. Jon"
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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A few battles out of the way, the not so sturdy dam managed to keep together simply because of the magical work of barriers. Also thanks to the basic appearance of the Arena, nothing really looked all too different. The crowd was anxiously waiting for the next set of warriors, hoping for some impressively powerful or bizarre techniques. Maybe even a nice combination of two, though there was a bit of a hold up. The proctor had been called away and the back up proctor had fallen ill. Then the back up's back up suffered an injury that left him hospitalized… which led to them dragging someone slightly random.
…multiple tournaments amongst many types of affiliations and ranks, it is something that one shouldn't miss. Especially with this third Legendary Cup, anyone from anywhere! This is what brought Miu out of the comforts of her home, believing she should be around to show some support for her home village! Yet with just one foot in the arena's doors, someone somehow had suddenly decided that she would be a perfect back up proctor. She had fancy eyes, was hopefully wise with old age, and someone who was not from either side of the competition. Not being one to deny such a request, Miu was ushered up to the referee's platform with one guard at her back.
Miu inhales deep after being given hasty instructions and a piece of paper with even hastier notes. "Mmm, right…" A quick glance is given to the note before it is handed off to the guard and she takes a bit of time to light up her pipe with a spark and a few puffs. "Ahem. Ladies and sa-" Miu pauses, "Gentlemen!" She pauses once more, partially waiting for people to stop talking but, mostly considering how much effort to put into this proctoring job since she was barely getting paid.
A bit of thought put in and she decides to just do a base job with this. "Saito Jon and Kaguya Takeshi, please enter." Miu then peers down at the ring below, waiting for the two to do just such.
The legendary cup, the tournament to end all tournaments…Or something like that, that's what Takeshi was told, but he's just here for the booze, entertainment and bloody battling. So where was he? Oh right, hobbling in. When his name goes out, it takes awhile for the little figure to make his way out onto the field, using his cane and taking one slow step after the other. That's right, it's just a small, old man.
Eventually he reaches somewhere near the center and stops, breathing out, "Gettin' Old."
A quiet figure steps into the stands. Ogosokamaru was walking slowly, probably still sore from his bout yesterday with Tsun. His attire had changed to whatever he could find, which was a pair of dark pants, a black sleeveless shirt, and a thick red scarf that he had wrapped over his shoulders with the long loose ends hanging over his back. It wasn't the warmest of attires, but the cool air that was able to get to his back calmed the rest of the sting from his skin from where his opponent burned him. The medical team did a wonderful job of patching him up and minimizing the scarring, but some would still be there, along with patches over his shoulders where icicles from the sky had pierced him, and on the back of his hand where he had cut himself to get out of a genjutsu. For now he stays quiet with a long drawn stare down into the arena from the edge of the wall. He looked pooped, but he was interested in seeing what possible future opponents were capable of.
Well, here it is. An international slugfest starring top ninja from all over, fighting it out in the ring before a frenzied crowd looking for thrills and danger…all in the name of peace. Ironic, huh? But, Jon believes in its potential to improve things, at least compared to not having any such event, so he's come all the way out from Kumogakure to participate. Somebody has to represent the Land of Lightning, right? Demonstrate to everyone else that Kumo shinobi are civil, and willing to negotiate with others, and capable of handing out a beating if crossed. :P
Jon walks out into the gravelly space where his match is scheduled to take place. Scruvo eyes the dam warily. "Can't feel safe for a blinkin' second wi' that wibbly-lookin' wall threatenin' t'give way any second." Jon chuckles. "Maybe that's exactly why they put their fighting arena here, to spook out those who aren't used to it. Anyway, it's held for years now, it's not likely to burst during this match. Better get to the stands now, Scruvo." Scruvo nods and flaps off. "A'right, just try an' keep away from th'wall wi' any big bangs, right?" :P
Jon steps up to his designated starting mark. He's not much for expression either way usually, but he tries to keep a courteous, even friendly smile on his face, and bows low to his opponent. "It's an honor to face you, Kaguya-dono." Jon gathers up his chakra and flips open a gateway in his brain, preparing for the official start of the match.
"Riiiiight." Miu looks down to the hobbling old man, she can only assume this is an act and just takes a small drag as she waits for the second one to come along. "Jiro." She glances over her shoulder to the branch guard, "Is that Kaguya Takeshi?" The guard looks to the note and then up to Miu with a silent nod. "Hmm…" Jon then strolls in, a bit more ideal in what Miu would look for in a fighter. Her fingers steeple and she speaks in a low voice, "Mmm, this should be interesting…"
Once the two had greeted each other and what not, Miu decides to raise her voice. "Okay, you two know the rules! You have ten seconds remaining before I begin the match." An tag is tossed into the air and begins to sizzle. "When this tag goes off, you may begin." It continues in its slow decent, getting halfway down the proctor's wall before letting out a loud bang with no impressive explosion to follow.
"Begin!"
Takeshi remains unmoving at the other end away from Jon, shrugging at the mention of the wall. "It's fine. The wall will hold, it has for this long through much worse tournaments." That's really all he offers in relation to the wall, seemingly unworried by the state of the wall in any way. The older jounin points his cane at Jon, "So, you're the opponent? I would bow, but I can't bend that much anymore. Pleasure."
The other opponent goes all DBZ super saiyan, Takeshi however does not, simply waiting on the opponent to start. "Hmm. I think I left my tea on."
Jon straightens up and observes his opponent as the tag floats downward. Well, he doesn't seem especially on edge. Probably for the better, Jon would rather not start off fighting one of those bloodthirsty types Kirigakure has a reputation for, things could get out of hand. Still, mustn't underestimate him.
*BANG!* Jon darts toward Takeshi as though the tag were the signal for a race to start. He pulls a kunai and hurls it, a simple, straightforward attack. OR IS IT!? Regardless of the effect of the kunai itself, wires spring out from under the wrapping on its handle in an attempt to entangle Takeshi! OR DO THEY!?!?!? Sorry for the overdramatization, it's just that the wires aren't real, they're a little genjutsu trick from Jon. X) Real or not, if Takeshi is caught he's in trouble, because Jon is coming in hot with a mighty overhead swing of his metal rod! >)
"Y'bet y'pinfeathahs it'll be interestin'." Scruvo has apparently decided to perch on the railings right beside Miu. "Jonny-boy 'as more tricks up 'is sleeve than a compulsive card cheatah. Say, 'ow'd a pretty lady like y'self get t'be drafted as th'referee? Don't take this th'wrong way, but wouldn't y'talents be bettah used as a cheerleadah?" ;)
Takeshi continues to remain in position, watching as the other jounin moves forward to strike at him with a blad, but it moves past him, he moved slightly, the blade catching only air. However, he appears to fall into a trap, the chain wrapping around his arms and the punch sliding him backwards.
The old man straightens himself and laughs, "That was a good trick." Then a shrug as he throws the cane away, "Okay, I'm ready." The old man shrugs and begins stretching out, going from crouched over old man to straight standing old man in no time, the cracking bones audible as the ground around him is pushed in by some pressure. A final twist of his neck and he's ready to go, waiting on Jon. "I just wanted to see."
Jon watches the old man quietly as he recovers from the blow. Looks like he's finally getting serious. Probably would be a good idea to keep distance for a bit and observe just what this senior shinobi is best at. With that strategy in mind, Jon grabs several kunai with tags on them from his pouch and hurls them at Takeshi's feet. This should give Jon an idea how Takeshi responds to threats! The tags explode, showering gravel all over. And when the dust clears…everything might look sort of gritty to Takeshi too. c.c Not just the ground of the arena, but the stands, the crowds in them, even the sky has taken on a grey hue. "It was tough, watching the old guy struggle like this," says Jon's voice from seemingly nowhere. "Nobody expects you to be at the top of your game forever, but he'd hung in there, and he lasted longer than most. Sooner or later, though, if you don't cash in your chips, somebody'll do it for you. I couldn't imagine retiring either, so I had to wonder if someday that old man would be me." Not only does Jon's voice seem to be coming from somewhere other than himself, Jon doesn't appear to be a part of this image anymore! The genjutsu masks his location simply by presenting a world that doesn't include him.
"It's 'ard to tell wot exactly Jonny-boy's doin' when y'watch 'im fight from the outside," Scruvo explains to Miu. "'E uses a lot of 'ead-muckin' skills. I've seen 'im trick a serial killah into sneakin' into a jail cell t'stab a pillow before."
The guard with Miu almost swats the bird away but, seeing it was with the ninja down below and it didn't necessarily seem to be a threat after activating Byakugan, he settles down and Miu just carries on casual conversation. "Hmm? I believe I'm very much beyond cheerleading years." She smirks, kiseru dangling between her clenched teeth. "As for being the ref? Ah… I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Smoke rolls out and her hand comes up to hold the end of the pipe as she thinks. "Not that I'm complaining." Giggling, Miu gives that thought a dismissive wave. "Though, things are making a bit of sense how he just stood around for that attack. Genjutsu-ist you say?" Miu leans forward, sticking out a finger to ruffle Scruvo's chest feathers if he didn't run off. "I'm surprised you're up here and not helping. Such a tough looking bird being left behind, perhaps… it wouldn't be too fair with both of you down there?" Miu grins, of course paying attention to the match still… maybe! "Mmm.." Veins swell along the side of her face, inspecting the a slight flux of Takeshi's chakra.
Takeshi is not amused, each explosion finding itself short of the intended target by some quick turn and twist in his step. The tags simply create a colorful array of explosions across the battlefield but fail to find their target, the elderly gentleman in the tournament, who is now somewhere off to the side away from the tag field and grumbling to himself about oates. Then the world goes grey, well that's fairly obvious, but he can't quite pinpoint the source, so who knows what's coming next.
The only thing the old man can do is wait.
Primary skill area appears to be taijutsu. Noted. Probably best to keep distance as much as possible, then. Jon tosses a kunai with a tag attached in a high arc over Takeshi's head. "I'm sure it was always hanging over him…" Jon hurls a shuriken after the kunai, and the audible clank as it alters the kunai's trajectory begins to dissolve the illusionary world just before the knife drops point-first toward Takeshi. "…the knowledge that his end was coming closer every day." Jon clasps his hands together in a seal. *BOOM!*
Scruvo tilts his head back enjoyably while Miu skritches his feathers. "Oh, 'e does a bit o' everythin', really. 'Ead-muckin's just a favorite option o' his 'cause it means less people get 'urt and most baddies ain't much good at fightin' against it. 'Ow's about you? Bet you could muck wi' a few 'eads wi'out needin' any o' that chakra nonsense, eh?" ;)
Takeshi waits patiently for the genjutsuist to reappear and he does in an explosive and sharp way, much to the genjutsuist's dismay however, It might as well have been used to attack the wall of the dam, the elder kaguya not moving much from the assault, now having found his quarry. "Hmm. Does this make it my turn? Not one for the dramatic." That's all he says as he walks forward and then disappears from view.
A blink later he's in front of Jon reaching out towards his stomach to slam a palm into it, if it hits, it's time for the hyuuga copycat technique. Otherwise, well, that was anticlimatic.
Ogosokamaru narrows his eyes at the attack that Takeshi just performed. He was probably one of the few people in the arena right now, or probably anywhere, that could at least pick out how that attack went, much less pick out individual strikes through the whole thing. Whether or not he saw every single one was up for debate, but he knows what he sees, and he takes that into consideration for maybe his own use of a sword for something like that… a hundred sword slashes in a mere moment. He pondered the possibility of that type of attack and the damage it could cause.
Miu gives a slow nod, "Always nice when you ask for someone to be captured alive and they come in in decent condition. Can't tell you how often its been in the past that someone should be captured alive but, come back at a point where they can't even breathe properly, let alone talk." Her hand continues to idly work. "This old man is sturdier than I thought… but, the way he's going. Doesn't matter how tough you are if you sit around eating hits like that." Miu leans forward, hoping that Takeshi does something impressive reeeeal soon or else she's going to have to call it. "Hmm, what's this?" Her eyes lower into a squint, veins twitching a bit as he blinks out of view.
Daisuke had come to watch the second match in the legendary cup expecting legendary things, but so far the fight has been fairly simple. Not that it was bad, sometimes a good tactical fight is a good learning experience. He was just comparing it to the last one in the arena with explosions and crazy stunts. Being a manga fanatic, he enjoyed those things the most. But after the old man finally moved, it was clear that he had just been holding back, or perhaps can only move every few rounds. Either way, Daisuke quietly sips his tea, reflecting on life.
Scruvo peers down at the action. "Well, like I said, it's 'ard t'tell wot's really goin' on when Jonny-boy does 'is 'ead-muckin' stuff, maybe 'e's just got the old chap so wrapped up in lala-land 'e doesn't know which way is — CRIKEY!" Jon managed to get his rod out and catch an odd blow here and there with it, but he can't keep up with the pummeling Takeshi is handing out. x.x It ends with him being blasted back into the nearest wall. Scruvo sweatdrops. "Please tell me that ain't part o' th'dam." c.c;
Jon grunts and pushes himself off the wall. Phew…so, the old guy really does have some business being in this tournament after all. Still, Jon's had worse, believe it or not, and while it was certainly a jarring blow, it wasn't nearly enough to put him out of the match. Jon does a few handseals. "Sorry to keep picking at your weak point…" The illusion of being strapped to a chair in a dark room crashes against Takeshi's consciousness. "…but that's how a guy like me gets the upper hand against someone with your kind of singular focus."
The raven full tail draping the crown of her head sways lightly back and forth as the kunoichi takes the steps parting through the stands, her pale opalescent eyes quickly scanning for a free seat. Or at least one that isn't near some drunk Kiri shinobi that are a little bit too into the festivities. Yuzuna lightly tucks a few stray locks away from her forehead to tuck behind her ear, pausing at the railing before finally finding a free seat. The corner of her lips tugs subtly, barely enough to be noticed as she slips herself onto the seat.
Ogosokamaru looks at who all was in the stands now, and the girl with the ponytail and pale eyes catches his attention. He had seen her before, but it was before a certain change in his appearance so she definitely wouldn't recognize him at this moment. He returns to watching the fight with some interest, but it's more of a waiting game to see what kind of tricks other than genjutsu this guy uses, or vice versa with the old haggard from Kiri using something other than that wind technique or taijutsu.
Kasuya makes her way into the stands, and when she looks over the edge she's pleased to see she hasn't missed the match. And from the look of the terrain…the opponents…hmm, no epic struggle has been going on here. Though that lack of footprints on Jon's part does suggest he was standing still. Kasuya would scan the bleachers and find some more familiar faces. She strides over to Ogo and sits down without a word. There seems to be a lot of attendance on Takeshi's behalf, but of course that would be so for Kiri. "Huh…I guess Kumo nin are only noisy at home," she murmurs. Where are the cheers on his behalf, or maybe just the shouted insults at taking this long. Then she'd go to the edge of the stands, cup her hands to her mouth, and shouts, "GO JON-KUN! YOU CAN BEAT THAT OLD FOOL!" Then she'd sit beside Ogo.
One thing about genjutsu in a combat spectacle was it wasn't the most exciting. Daisuke can only assume what the opponent of the old man was doing, really, but it seemed to work on him nonetheless and this tournament seemed to be a pull all stops in order to win after the last fight. "Carry on, then." Daisuke calls from the stands, hoping the match picks up a bit with some kind of neat trick or spectacle.
Takeshi nods at him, "Singular focus? Oh you're wrong, I've not a singular focus, I just tend to gravitate towards one position to make you think I've one weakness or path." Then a shrug, "But enough talk." Then he's in an interrogation room again. Oh, well, this reminds him of Konohagakure. So that's what happened, it was an illusion. Of course it was! Not that the old man can do anything about it.
Ogo looks at Kasuya when she sits down, gets up, yells, then sits down again. Ogo had a reason to be quiet. He might still be sore and/or in pain from his fight. Which he was definitely feeling it one way or another. He looks back to the two fighting, which from Jon's end didn't seem like much, but that was the way of Genjutsu.. non-spectator friendly. "No matter what, Kumogakure will have representation in the finals of this tournament," he states dryly.
It seems like the match is first taking off, though it was hard to tell what the opponents were doing right off hand. Yuzuna pulls her powder lavender eyes away from the match long enough to glance at the crowd, trying to see if she recognizes anyone. No one from Konoha in any case. It looked as if the majority of the people were from Kirigakure. This was the place to be after all.
Kasuya watches the match with more interest than most, and for her most part Jon. "He's good," she says after awhile. She looks at Ogo and says, "Hmm that they will. And if I win, the final match will be two people standing around staring at one another. That ought to fill the stands." She gives a slight smirk, but it quickly fades. She looks almost troubled. "Besides a few stray wanderers searching for glory…the only two nations to enter the Legendary Cup are Kumogakure and Kirigakure." Then she sighs and says, "Only one of the Seven entered. I think this one is a Clan Head or elder or something. He should've learned from his mistakes and come up with some good defenses against illusions."
Daisuke looks around the audience as he sips his tea, spotting few familiar faces. One he does spot is Yuzuna, to which he gives a polite wave before returning to his tea, mmmm earl grey, hot. Either way, his eyes return to the arena below to await what this Jon was going to do next now that he seemingly had Takeshi locked down.
Within the illusionary room, a cone of bright light switches on from directly above Takeshi. Jon walks around from behind the chair. "Enough talk, you say? Sorry to disappoint you, talking is precisely what this situation is good for." Jon stands in front of Takeshi and clasps his hands behind his back. "But, seeing as this is a tournament for spectators rather than a situation where I actually want to get information out of you, I suppose I'll keep this brief. You're quite a scary old man when you want to be, my compliments on that strike just now. I'm not sure why you were holding back so much at the start. But, I'm pretty sure I've got a clear advantage here. So the question becomes, how much longer do you want this match to go on?" Jon draws his rod and grips it tightly. "Your call."
*WHAP!* *WHAP!*
Two hard strikes of the rod later, the dark room and the chair are gone, although Jon is still standing there. "So what's it gonna be?"
Yuzuna blinks her pale eyes with some surprise when a pair of golden yellow eyes look back at her, the young man with white hair a sharp contrast to her own lifting a hand to wave in her direction. Her soft lips part lightly, but after a moment she lifts a hand to silently wave back.
Takeshi suddenly feels the rod crack upon him, the last hit sending him out of the chair and backwards onto his back, There's a grunt from the old man, "Oh, well. Hate this genjutsu crap." Still, the old man isn't down just yet, pushing himself back up and straightening out his back, "You'd think you were trying to win or something." There's a period of time where the old man seems to snooze then wakes up with a start, "Oh right, right. Match."
A step forward and then there's nothing, until the old man appears in front of Jon, arm extended to slam a palm into his stomach before disappearing. The delayed force hit coming in next as clones surround the other jounin now. The old man shrugs his shoulders, "Too old for this."
Daisuke blinks from the stands, wondering if he just saw the old man fall asleep in the middle of battle. He rubs his eyes, perhaps feeling a bit tired, and tries to pay more attention so he doesn't miss little gems like that again.
Yuzuna blinks her pale eyes with some surprise when a pair of emerald green eyes look back at her, the young man with vibrant red hair a sharp contrast to her own lifting a hand to wave in her direction. Her soft lips part lightly, but after a moment she lifts a hand to silently wave back. He was Senju if she remembered correctly, though it had been awhile since she last seen him. The Hyuuga girl presses her lips together lightly as she returns her attention to the match.
Miu doesn't look too concerned about the condition of Takeshi, perhaps the woman was truly wise and knew that Takeshi can be pushed farther. Wait no, that wasn't true, she just didn't mind accidentally letting a Kiri ninja die. "Hmm…" A quick glance is given to the dam but, the Mist ninja was at least wise enough to protect that with a barrier so it was holding true. The question was now, how well either of these two were holding up. Another long drag as all she was doing for the past duration of the fight was smoking and thinking…
Damaging blows going this way and that, she finally speaks up once more. "You know, my fine, feathered friend?" Miu frowns slightly. "I don't know how this became a sport I'd figure it'd be for the glory but your companion seems rather, eh about the whole thing as if he's doing this as his duty while the other one… I believe he fell asleep for a short while earlier." Miu just shakes her head, "Looks like people signed up just to get beaten. Although I've… heard of such things from… others." Miu's eyelids shift to a squint. "Not at this intensity, usually not between two men!"
Then Miu does that girlish giggle once more, slipping away from her actual age. Unlike Takeshi who seemed to be embracing it.
Gah! Stubborn old coot! >.<; Jon gives a twist to his rod, causing it to extend to full length, and flicks it sideways to deflect Takeshi's strike — but it still just barely slips past. Jon staggers backwards, and suddenly finds himself dogpiled by fire clones. x.x After they pop like napalm balloons, Jon dives forward and rolls to extinguish the majority of the burning. He comes up near Takeshi and spins around with a swift swing of his rod, then strikes the end of it against the ground. Similar rods seem to spring up from the gravel all around, and even form a lattice above to make the cage complete. Of course, Jon's still inside the illusionary confines, so Takeshi still has a chance to get in some more hits.
Scruvo nods sagely. "Oh aye, Jonny-boy ain't 'eah fer fun at all, though I think 'e'll 'ave a little if 'e goes up against th'right kind of opponent. Th'kind wot ain't out t'win at any cost, an' treats this as a friendly competition, y'know." Scruvo cringes at the fire clone incident. "Oh corks, th'missus 'ates it when 'e comes 'ome smellin' of smoke. Usually 'appens when 'e's been doin' a stakeout in some dive, though." c.c
Takeshi has been beaten or something, all can rejoice. The old man who gets cut up and then stuffed into a jail cell is finally sleeping. Someone better fetch his cane, he'll need that as soon as he wakes up and goes back home.
"Mmm? What a shame, I wouldn't mind that smell at all! Well, I suppose it depends, fire chakra smoke isn't necessarily one of the better smelling things. "Oop there goes another blow. That looked like it hurt a bit…" Once again the old man was asleep or, unconscious. Miu stares silently for a moment but, he does not suddenly pop back up, in fact his vitals seem to slow. "Hmm… I think he did it. Wait…" She looks around noticing the crowd was everywhere but next to her. She had… sort of become a spectator and not so much a proctor.
She looks over to her guard and speaks while rising to her feet. "Hmm, take care of that for me?" With that the guard steps forward and yells out, his voice cracking a bit when he does so, probably not used to being vocal. "THE WINNER IS, SAITO J-i-ON!" Face going a deep shade of red, he turns about and goes to follow Miu out of the arena.
She didn't expect Jon to be the type to keep beating on the man and saw the medics coming in through the ground, so she raises her hand to Scruvo. "I'm sure I'll see you around. I need a drink, all this proctoring has tired me out."
Jon backs out of the illusionary cage, prepared to defend himself against any further assaults…but it looks as if none are coming. }:| Then somebody up in the stands announces his victory…though he's pretty sure that's not the same voice that started the match. c.c Some kind of trick to make him drop his guard? Doesn't seem likely this old man could've cast a convincing genjutsu. Well, the medics scramble out to take care of Takeshi, so Jon finally relaxes, although he keeps an eye out as he heads back off the field. Kind of an odd end to that match. c.c
Scruvo raises a wing in salute as Miu leaves. "Always a pleasure talkin' wi' a pretty lass! Let me know if y'need any 'elp findin' a decent lad!" Scruvo dives off the railing and swoops down to rejoin Jon.
