Starring:
Date: 29th June, 2010
Summary:
The Death Hand Yuurei challenges Eiko and Gin to a spar
"The Death Hand Spar"
Land of Water
Winter in the Land of Water can be harshly cold and unforgiving, and today was one of those days. The two hours since dawn had shown no relief from the deathly cold of the night. A storm had been slowly approaching, the black clouds in the western sky promising even worse weather to come. Ignoring the elements, a young girl in a blue kimono sits cross legged atop one of the wooden poles sticking out of the water. Her kimono is already soaked through with freezing water from the mists, but she doesn't even seem to notice the cold. Her hands have formed the seal of the ram, and she is molding chakra over and over in the basic practice drills used by many new Genin. As a gust of wind picks up it blows her long golden hair out of the bun it was tied in, and still the girl shows no outward reaction.
The storms had indeed forced many inside, but like a few other members of the village Gin had refused to allow it to cow him. Wandering around the village for a while with that strange grin on his face, the Chuunin had taken a turn into the Cold Springs and quietly made his way down into them. The mists immediately played with his senses, and those keen eyes of his were immediately able to drink in the view of the training area. Of course, he immediately notes Eiko's precense and tilts his head to the side. "Curious." He says very quietly, in a whisper tone, before he simply stands still and watches. Of course, at the same time his mind was very wary of his surroundings. Some call it paranoia, others call it simple preparedness. All the while that strange smile never leaves his features.
Once again a gust of wind picks up, whipping Eiko's hair against her face in an extremely distracting manner, but the young Genin refuses to lose her concentration. She performs the chakra molding technique again, and then her subconscious mind picks up on a nearby figure observing her. 'Probably father again,' she thinks, and doesn't open her eyes to check. Doing so would surely earn her even further discipline, and the girl would obviously prefer to avoid that. So instead she changes the handseal, now to the seal of the rat, and repeats the exercise as she centers herself and concentrates. Her focus is so strong that the effects of the biting cold and wind fade into the background as she throws herself entirely into the work of practicing her chakra work. After another few repetitions, her attention is finally caught by a low, distant thunderclap coming from the heavens. 'I sure hope he lets me finish up soon,' she thinks, daring to open her eye just a crack. When she does, she finds that the man entering the area isn't her father, although judging by his appearance he's probably another Kirigakure ninja.
Gin continues to observe Eiko for a few more moments before he runs a hand through his hair and looks around the immediate area again. The Cold Springs were always a place that interested him. How a place like this remained so cold as well as such an active area for training. The mists cling to his form as he starts making the quiet wander about the area one foot in front of the other, his eyes moving to each crag and crevice and possible hiding places in turn before he settles down in front of a selection of wooden poles that often acted like training implements. "Hmph." In a quick, brutally efficient movement, his arm would flick out and hurl a kunai at one of those targets. The motion hits it right at the thinnest point, and the object is buried to the hilt in the target. He smiles before shaking his head, "No… not quite good enough…" He says with a sarcastic tone before he settles back down again.
Tap. tap. Tap. The footsteps head down towards the Cold Springs. Once in vision it was Yuurei. He was not in his usual robed form but instead was seen in full combat attire underneath the robe. A tight fitting black armor with straps noted over his chest to keep the extended nodachi which lays diagnocally on his back in check. The hair was loose, it was long and combed back. It was not ofthen the Death Hand would wander like this, without a robe and such. Perhaps might take this as an offensive gesture, or quite a strange one. Why was he here now? Why was he not concealed in his robe?
As he reaches the bottom of the Cold Springs he reaches over and unclips his Nodachi and holds it in his left hand. A slight stretch is noted as he peers throughout the crowd.
"I hope you do all not bother me interrupting your training here today." He comments walking forward. He had pinpointed a few and had set his goals on them and was not making any sidesteps. Whispers escape others. This one was known to have appeared the last few weeks and just seemed to have appeard. Rumors were that Yuurei was a Death Hand, some just think he is a loon that prefers to wear a mask. However noted, he was one of the few that openly showed themself in public like this. As he arrived Eiko and Gin. He gives a formal bow. "May I join your company, perhaps, also in a little training?"
Being that she isn't entirely certain of the strange ninja that's just arrived, Eiko closes her eyes again and continues concentrating. It isn't long before someone else catches her attention though - another newcomer? And what were so many people doing out here willingly? Eiko presses the questions in her mind aside just before a question is addressed to her, or at least partially to her. "May I join your company…" the voice begins, and this time the Genin can't help but to open her eyes.
Not far from Eiko is one of the scariest sights she'd seen in her life. Of course, she'd heard rumours about this masked man - all kinds of rumours. That he was an assassin, that he liked to kidnap and 'play' with young ninjas, that he was a some kind of psychopath. Regardless of whether these rumours were true or not, they struck fear deep within Eiko, and it was all the girl could do not to fall off the pole on which she was seated. After a second she manages to reply, "Uhh… of course." She had no desire to turn down a man that might be as dangerous as this one. Although she's no longer using any chakra, her hands remain frozen in the seal of the rat, as Eiko has completely forgotten what she was doing and what her instructions were.
Gin wanders to the target and reaches out to slip a finger through the loop that the Kunai has on the back of its business end, pulling the weapon from the wooden pole before his head and eyes slowly slip back toward the entrance. Though his smile lessens into a grin, it never leaves his face as a shadow crosses his features. This was a person he had heard the rumors about, rumors he himself had hoped to confirm within time due to the simple intrique surrounding this figure.
Turning slowly, the Chuunin's weapon disappears in the sleeve of the Haori he practically swims in. Eyes rest for the moment on the impassive emotionless mask that Yuurei wears over his face as he tilts his head to the side. "Interesting notion…" He wonders quietly outloud as a hand moves up to rub at his chin a moment or two. "One would assume that the decision isn't entirely ours since this is a public training area. So in short…" There is a tiny edge of sarcasm to his words, though nothing disrespectful, "I would be more then willing to welcome your company."
Yuurei nods his head and leans down placing his nodachi on the ground, right in the middle of nowhere. He takes a step passes his blade and glances at them. "What I mean is a favorable and honest bout with Shinobi. The rules are simple. Normal rules. I have no intent to kill and I expect the same, but if you feel that you can touch my blade and attempt to wield it. I will release those rules and take it a step forward. That blade is mine, it has tasted a lot of blood. Do not make it touch yours." He comments. What's alarming is that he sounded completely emotionless when saying it.
He clicks his neck and gives both of them a bow. "Ignore the mask, ignore the rumors on myself. Just simply take this as a normal training mission on another. It will depend on you how far you wish to take this. Popular to rumors, they are true. I am a killer. HOWEVER, today, I'm simply here to guage potential of others." Hs nods his head and assumes a stance, tiger stance. "Is this a mutual agreement, then?"
Everything in her mind screams for her to run, but instead Eiko manages to make her legs work and slides off the pole she was sitting on. Her body is coming close to cramping due to the cold and having sat in the same position for a rather lengthy period of time, but she knows that she can't make any excuses now. As her boots touch the ground, a splash of water sprays up from the puddle she's landed in. Of course, the Genin was already drenched so the only sign is the mud that now marrs her wet kimono. The girl takes a standard fighting stance and draws a kunai from her satchel. She realises that she's a little low on chakra since she's been performing those stupid exercises for so long, so Eiko decides she should try to stay at a range and only use her jutsu if absolutely necessary. "Ok… I'm ready," she declares, hoping her voice sounds more resolute than it feels.
Gin smiles at the request for the spar, nodding his head lightly. "I primarilly fight with Kunai and other bladed weaponry…" He states plainly as his hands disappear behind his back, the boy standing with his feet a shoulder-length apart and a smile on his face as he inclines his head forward just enough to have a shadow pass accross his features. "I do hope you do not mind that much…" He states rather plainly before his whole body stills and he seems to tense and relax at the same time.
Yuurei nods his head and forms a few seals in rapid succession, once released a gush of wind follows from the appearance of two clnoes forming next to him. The original nods his head and tilts his head to the side to Eiko. "Just think this as an experimental battle against a stronger enemy. I will not kill you, but if you concede to weakness I will dominate you. This exercise is a simple one. Act as a Shinobi and that's all. Do not back down and remain with tactics.
The three clones draw senbon from their sleeves as they peer at Goh. "My nodachi might be my primary assasination tool but you underestimate me if that was my only skill." They two clones and the original start to circle the two creating a diamond around them. All three drop to on knee, the left hand held in front and the right at the back, senbon in each of their hands. "Thus we start. You are faced with three strong enemies that managed to surround you. Both of you have options to take." He chuckles. "What would be your decision if you know this enemy would kill you with a heartbeat?
Nodding slowly, Eiko takes a deep breath and gauges the masked man. "Not good, Eiko, not good. How did you get yourself into this mess?" the girl mumbles under her breath as turns a slow circle and watches the clones. Without looking around, the Genin says over her shoulder in the direction of her new 'ally', "We can't get caught in the middle like this or we'll get finished before we know what's happened." As the words come out of her mouth Eiko realises that her instincts have begun to kick in and counteract the near paralysing fear. In a smooth motion the girl draws a pair of shuriken from her satchel with her free hand, takes a single running step and jumps upwards. Her hands flutter as she throws the projectiles and her trajectory carries her outwards from the middle of the circle. As she begins to come back down Eiko notices her first mistake - she never tied her hair back into a bun or ponytail, and now it was whipping distractingly at her face. Luckily the kimono was designed for combat, so even if it weren't clinging to her saturated body it still wouldn't hinder the rest of her movements. Just before touching down the Genin's eyes sweep across the battlefield to see how her comrade is faring.
As the motions begun, Gin is watching intently. Very itnently. Anyone who knew his reputation would understand how calculating he was. His lips don't move because he doesn't speak, the words of his ally are heard and he simply doesn't deem a reply needed one bit. As he watches, he notes the motions. 'He is as I am…' And then that grin widens. There is a flicker of motion from him, and he practically disappears from view as he inacts on his own plan.
Even if they were clones, getting rid of them quickly would be the ebst bet in order to figure out which target was the real one. A trio of Kunai are brought out with his left hand as he launches them at all three targets once they line up, hoping to hit both clones and throw off the Death Hand ninja at precisely the same time. He smiles all the while, dashing in a similar fashion to his opponent and preparing himself for the counter attack.
One clone vanished from the volley of attacks after being struck. The last remaining one manages to deflect the attack and land behind the original. Yuurei himnself manges to dodges and literally uses senbon in both hands to deflect the attempted strikes. He nods his head afterwards and the clone steps next to him. "Well then. That was a good attempt. "Indeed. Enemy ninja will watch all your actions, all your mistakes. They will attempt to nice any weakness and any opening." He nods his head and forms several seals. The clone that was left releases towards them and attacks Eiko, the original however remains behind as a newly formed clone leaps forward. It dodges and is left with the original coming to the counter for Gin. He nods his head.
"Feed into the enemy make sure they don't trick you." He leaps towards the direction of the existing clone, whom had drawn more weapons whilst the original just stands with arms crossed over his chest. "It's a matter of tactice. You two are together in this in enemy territory. Will you fight alone or use each other to work together against a threat?"
As her feet touch down, Eiko draws another kunai and gets ready to defend herself. 'It deflected an attack, but I'm sure it's not the real one. So there aren't ordinary clones,' she thinks. The girl throws her kunai at the real Yuurei and immediately starts forming handseals. A second later two plumes of smoke surround the Shirayuki, and when they clear there are three of the girl standing there. The three scatter and each draws a weapon, throwing them towards the real Yuurei.
Gin nods as he looks to Eiko, tilting his head to the side. 'Yes, we will need to work together.' He wonders to himself for a moment as he then places his eyes back onto the target before him. Speaking was out of the question, that was information his opponent could use against them both. The mists… she was a ninjutsu user, that much was obvious. Perhaps he had gotten lucky, and she was a Shirayuki instead. "The mists Genin-chan." He states plainly, before ducking and rolling under the swing of the Clone and cutting at its hamstrings with a shortsword he slips out of a belt.
Slipping it back in he moves insanely fast, nearly disappearing from view as he attempts to bring himself nearer to Eiko in order to promote some more synergy between the two of them. Yuurei had utilized the terrain and the area to keep them seperate, they needed to get together in order to better stage the attack. In order to ensure that the hunter-nin was kept busy while he started his serpentine pattern mad-dash for Eiko, he tosses another well-aimed kunai at the targets left knee. Snapping his other hand out, the keen eye of the young Chuunin sends another flying for the area of Yuurei's heart. Perhaps targeting the vital's would give them a small opening, and an easier way to gauge weaknesses.
Yuurei dodges the attacks however the one from Grin feeds through and clips her shoulder and the last is dodged. He just simply nods his head at that and chuckles from underneath the mask. All the clones had vanished when struck. He doesn't form new ones. A moment to glance at both of them as he bends his knees. He dissapoears in a flick and appears on one of the logs. One set of senbon released towards Eiko. He flicks again appearing on the ground on on knee, the other flicked at Eiko. More senbon. Harmless weapons, but truely aimed with precision.
Seeing Gin move in closer to her, Eiko decides to use the cover and try to surprise the incredible ninja that they're sparring against. Before she can even move however, a senbon is sent hurtling toward her. Even with the pair of clones she'd created, somehow the enemy had known which was the real one. The senbon struck her in the shoulder, where it lodged painfully. For a second the Shirayuki girl could feel her legs weaken, but she gathers her willpower and stays upright without even letting out a scream of pain. Eiko ignores the small trickle of blood that's now running down her arm and grits her teeth. "Ok, I'm going to try and hold him still for a minute," she tells Gin quietly as she passes behind him. Eiko then plants her feet and skids along the wet ground as her hands skilfully form handseals. As she finishes the sequence she raises a hand over her head and summons a powerful wind that sucks dead leaf litter toward a single point. The girl then narrows her eyes and mentally throws the technique without moving her hand - a trick taught to her by her father to confuse enemies. The ninjutsu rushes toward the enemy ninja while letting out a loud sucking sound the entire way.
Gin smiles wider as the senbon flies toward him, the young Chuunin twisting backward and too the side as he dodges it almost effortlessly before recovering with ease and letting Eiko jump over him. As she does her Ninjutsu, the boy rushes to the side in an attempt to force his opponents attention. Afterall he had struck Yuurei once already in this spar. The grin remains, and he doesn't let his confidence get the better of him as he stops running and jersk to the side. His bodies motions are intensely swift, and as he goes he tosses another Kunai aimed for the right hand of Yuurei.
Eiko was denied her attempt at retribution. The body of Yuurei duplicates in a clone, on contact both wind based skills demoslish each other releasing a significant impulse of wind. During this the one senbon in Yuurei's hand is used to thrust back towards her back and deflects Gin's attack. She chuckles tossing that senbon into the ground and forms several seals, glancing at both of them. Three wind clones appear. Two of them move foward, the last remains for several moments starts approaching with Yuurei behind it. "Tactical advantage is always a key. The enemy would want you in a position like this. You are too close. You are open."
He gestures his hand the two clones come moving forward with Kunai in their hands, however on contact they will explode releasing chakra powered wind. The last clone remains in front of Yuurei. "How will you react to this, then?" He asks the two.
"No way!" Eiko exclaims, quickly jumping backwards and preparing to perform another jutsu in case a counter-attack is forthcoming. "I've seen my father use that jutsu… wind clones…" she continues, "And he can make them so fast." All of a sudden one of the wind clones is coming towards her with a kunai. The girl jumps backwards and puts her hands together to perform a replacement, but the clone is simply too fast. The kunai comes forwards and slashes into her shoulder, and the entire clone explodes in a maelstrom of wind chakra. Eiko is thrown backwards and hits one of the poles sticking out at an odd angle, bashing her head painfully. It takes a few seconds for her to get back to her feet, and when she does she's sorry. The world seems to tilt under her and Eiko immediately collapses. Looking down at her body she catches a glimpse of blood coming through gashes in her kimono, but the girl's stubbornness comes to the fore. With a huge amount of willpower the girl manages to regain her balance and get back up. Legs spread wide to help her stay up, she draws a kunai and stares down Yuurei. "Don't…" she starts, but wobbles on her feet, "… I can't." That's all that escapes her lips before Eiko slides back down to the ground, unable to keep her feet any longer, and barely able to remain conscious after the knock on the head.
The strike barely hits the Chuunin as he takes a half-step backwards and twists nearly out of the range of the weapon. He still manages to get struck, the weapon leaving a small trail of blood along his arm as he comes to a halt. His eyes narrow when his partner drops out of the fight and he nods. "Once again I find myself fighting alone." He states rather plainly, his smile seems to widen as he looks slowly up at Yuurei. "Genin-san. Your eyes. Cover them immediately." He states rather directly, his words sounding like an order then anything. His opponent didn't know what he was fully capable of… and it was something he could use as an edge. Dashing ofrward again, he slips to the side and uses the mist to his advantage. He would be a shadow in the cold springs, using his movements and motions to mask attacks as he threw something slightly smaller this time.
Lighter then a kunai, and much more accurate the triplet of Senbon would fly at Yuurei from three different directions. If his eyes were quick enough- which Gin was counting on -he would see the directions and hopefully note the change in tactica that the Chuunin was employing. All the time, Gin's grin was wide. Finnaly, an opponent worthy of his most precious abilities.
As Eiko had yielded herself from the fight, Yuurei had taken measures and the amount of speed. He gripped his weapon and literally dropped it in front of her once kneeled. There were a few moments of time as he whispers. "Keep it safe, wield it the same rules apply. You've done well." He says before flicking further away. One dodge, two dodges. He however manages to gather the surrounding wind to equalize the playing field. The last defense is met with a combination of the wind in the surrounding area. It carries him forward. He glances at Gin, this was a precesive attack. Two senbon are released. One for his left knee, the other for his right shoulder. He pauses waiting to see if one to the neck was needed. He clearly held the last senbon in sight in front of his mask.
Her gaze shifting down to the ground, Eiko feels like her mind is trying to swim through maple syrup. "Oh no…" she mumbles, trying as hard as she can to form thoughts into coherent words. The girl tries to stand again struggling and letting out a loud moan as she feels a headache rising up rapidly. "I think… I've got a concussion…" she says, putting a hand on her head and placing her other hand palm down on the ground.
Gin's smile widens as his opponent squares off with him, and it appears that the boys body barely moves to avoid both strikes launched at him from his opponent. He couldn't be sure that Eiko wasn't looking, but he had to end this now. And he had to end it with his dignity entact. He would have to use something he hadn't used without killing his target in a long time, he would have to use his most precious technique. Those senbon he threw had indeed missed his mark- but that was something he was counting on happening. Something he wanted. Senbon were much better than Kunai for his particular specialty.
With his hands behind his back he manipulates the strands very lightly, tugging them into place from how he had tossed the senbon earlier. Even the technique used by Yuurei to close the distance moved his target right where he wanted them. The motions would be very quick. Hands move out form behind him and the nearly impercptible black strands of hair coated in animal oils would move to entrap his opponent. He had wrapped the poles he ran between with the strands as well, using the terrain for leverage and pulling his opponent right dead center in his trap like a spider catching a fly. If this failed, he didn't know what would work…
Well one must give credit to Gin, the attack was indeed well planned. However the unfortunate event was that there was enough wind in the area from the attacks to still gather at a rapid capacity. Leaping into the sky, the Death Hand was noted. He nods his head and suddenly reapears behind Gin.
"The enemy has avaided your attacks and has stopped behind you. If the enemy has gained tactical advantage and is stronger than you. You might be met with steep competition." He launches one senbon from his left hand, raising his right he pauses for a few moments and releases the last two. They were however pumped with wind energy, 'seemingly' making them faster.
Gin smiles as his eyes close and he feels his opponent behind him, the wires around his ankles erupting, "I have my own devices…" He says simply as the Senbon get wrapped up in the thin strands and the Chuunin himself disappears completely from view to allow his own wires to wrap back around his wrists and ankles rather than break off and disintegrate like they normally did. The sleeves of his haori fall quickly over his hands to cover them up, the boy running a hand through his hair as he nods. "I'll take her there…" He says simply as he looks up at Yuurei, his grin very wide.
"Thankyou for the fight Mask-dono…" He says, being overly formal as he bows lightly at the waist and moves over toward Eiko to help her off her knees, due to the possible concussion he was being extremely careful. The boy's grin never vanished as he would hopefully stand up with her and look back at Yuurei. "I would take it as a kindness if you forget about the techniques you saw… I've gone to great pains to keep it a secret from the Swordsman of this village, just as I am sure you've gone to great lengths to keep your identity a secret." With that, he would wait for a response before turning and helping the Genin along toward the hospital.
Yuurei would not interupt Gin on his attempt to grip Eiko. He himself lands closeby and strabs his sword back on his back and nods. "Do not worry about the incident, however I find it quite sad that you did not give me your name." He lifts his shoulders and makes sure the weapon is in tact. "I would expect you have the same decency."
Gin pauses in his movements, nodding lightly. "A name is just an indentifier…" He says simply, his grin never leaving his face as he looks back at Yuurei. "Yashamaru…" There is a brief pause as he says what is clearly a surname, "Gin…"
