Starring:
Rockpath, Jiro, Keigo, Ayumu, Arika
Date: June 15, 2015
Summary:
The final rounds of the Steel Soul Tournament of the First Bracket. Jiro vs. Keigo
"Steel Soul Tourney - Weary Finish: Jiro vs. Keigo"
Dammed Arena - Floor
Kaguya Mai steps into the ring. The two genin in the first tier had been allowed two days to recover, and now it was time to face off again for the third and final match. "Hougenka Keigo, Genin of Sunagakure. Please step forward." There's a roar of applause when he does, though it quickly quiets so the proctor can continue speaking. "Amaro Jiro, Genin of Sunagakure. Please step forward." There's yet again applause and cheers, both contestants having their share of fans. This was an interesting matchup, after all. "Fight your hardest this match. Give it everything you have. And we shall see who is the stronger." The woman steps back to allow them to fight.
As Keigo stepped into the arena, followed by Ayamakki, he gave a bow to the roaring applause. This is what it was like to be on a stage. And the stage was a full one… so today was going to be a grand day for a Puppet show! Getting into his stance against Jiro one final time, he smiled. "This is it… all the marbles. All or nothing this time. We've seen all the tricks the other has. Let's see which of us prepared better!" With his speech, he'd been charging his Chakra and readying Ayamakki for battle!
COMBAT: Keigo focuses 3444 stamina to turn it into 4000 usable chakra!
RP: Keigo transforms into AYAMAKKI.
Jiro had time to recover, perhaps not completely but more or less so. And he's ready to get this thing done anyways. His friends had already started going back to Suna and he was itching to get home himself! The boy enters the arena, his usual wide grin absent as he simply slips off his cloth and holds it in his hands, at the ready. "Yea', this's it. Then we c'n go 'ome." He just stands there, waiting for the puppet Genin to attack.
Ayumu entrance for once was a normal one. He endured the hustle and bustle of elite and common folk alike just to make sure to avoid any unnecessary entanglements from using his usual means of entering the arena stands. Once seated towards the far back where things were — well, the difference was honestly negligiable, but the further he was away from the truly louth mouthed folks, the better for the Iga's sensitive ears. Speaking of which, a number of these organs as well as a few well placed nose and eyes were scattered about the stadium, merged partially with various surfaces or simply hidden in the shadows. Although his main focus was on the arena, the Iga did not intend to ignore the crowd too!
COMBAT: Jiro focuses 2870 stamina to turn it into 3000 usable chakra!
RP: Jiro transforms into SPAR-II.
Keigo smiles. "Then let's make sure one of us goes home with some epic story to tell! And now… on with the Puppet Show!" The usual starting combo… Kunai, Blade, Blade.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(26) attack from Keigo with a SEAL-BARRIER…24
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 96 damage.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(25) attack from Keigo with a SEAL-BARRIER…24
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 208 damage.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(30) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…37
Arika perks up a bit when she notices an Ayumu. The girl immediately attempts to take perch on the man, grinning widely. "Ayumu-san! Are you here to watch Jiro-kun?" she asks excitedly, likely settling so that she's right in front of the Iga if she can't piggy back him.
Jiro isn't quite as ready as he'd like to think, apparently. Both of his barriers are shattered by the puppet before he can even think of doing anything else! Finally he gets the cloth to flare in front of him and block the last attack, but he's already bleeding. And that poison is back again! The boy just frowns unhappily as he tugs at the cloth, then launches towards Keigo while shooting the cloth out to try and bind him up. The other end flicks up quickly to try and strike high as well.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against LIMB-ENSNARING-CLOTH-RAZORS(19) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…41
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-TAIL(25) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…40
Once again, out comes the Kunai attached to a Chakra String. Using it deftly, he deflects both the incoming attacks perfectly, keeping the Kunai ready to block just in case another attack came at him that could be blocked by it. With that, another severe rush of attacks aimed at Jiro, this time swapping it up. Blade, Blade, Kunai.
"Mah-ee," The Iga murmured as soon as he sensed Arika's presence making a bee line for his own. Although anticipated, Ayumu had held on to the hope that perhaps the little wonder might yet find some other distraction. With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to being Arika's perch. Arika on the other hand would have to settle for his shoulders or something, because she sure as heck wasn't stealing the nice backrest from him. "Alas, dear, Arika-san, my reasons extend beyond that. Perhaps if he were at least ten years older then…" He smiled faintly.
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (2 rounds) and loses 49 health.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(25) attack from Keigo with a SEAL-BARRIER…27
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(27) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…27
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(19) attack from Keigo with a DODGE…15
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 106 damage.
Arika doesn't mind the shoulder! Perch! The girl seems pretty excited about everything, enjoying her new view. "How come you're here, then? I was here cuz I was fighting in the tournament, but now I'm just here to watch Jiro-kun." She eyes the match a moment, then shouts, "Don't go easy on him, Jiro-kun! Get 'im good!"
Jiro doesn't seem to be having the best of luck here! After two consecutive beatings he's already not that happy and perhaps it's throwing him off a bit. Perhaps. His frown deepens as the younger boy is only able to evade two of the three attacks. With that new cut and poison burning through him he jumps towards Keigo, cloth flashing in the air as he whips it out towards the other.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(27) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…29
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(21) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…40
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(31) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…32
Keigo is once again easily able to deflect the attacks at him… he stops and looks at Jiro once more. "Okay… now this time, without passing out, refocus yourself. Your head's not in this right now. Get it in here so I can feel accomplished beating you… or feel good that I lost to a superior opponent." He doesn't attack. He lets his opponent take time to gather themselves.
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (1 rounds) and loses 50 health.
RP: Jiro transforms into SPAR-I.
COMBAT: Jiro focuses 1938 stamina to turn it into 2000 usable chakra!
"A wonder…" Ayumu hums for a moment, then grinned toothily. "No matter. The answer remains unchanged. I am here to observe, and observe so I shall, Arika-san." He says nonchalantly. "And please… not so loud. There's a reason I chose this spot, after all." He says, grin turning into a more sheepish one.
Jiro's hand pushes against one of the wounds as the poison continues to course through him, but at least he's not attack again immediately. And…the other boy is right. Even Jiro knows it. He's just off for some reason. The boy takes a breath, closes his eyes a moment, and focuses himself mentally. When he opens them again he's grinning a little bit at least. "Alrigh'…'m ready!"
Keigo smiles as Jiro smiles at him. "Let's find out, then." Once again, Ayamakki going in for the offense.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(24) attack from Keigo with a SEAL-BARRIER…19
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 238 damage.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(20) attack from Keigo with a DODGE…24
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(25) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…33
Well he was /mostly/ prepared, it just seems that his seals are really failing him today. It was something he'd have to work on. Later of course. For now he'll return to depending on his cloth. Hopping away, then putting up the cloth to shield himself the boy doesn't hesitate before launching at Keigo, whipping the cloth forward again in quick succession.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(25) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…29
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(31) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…34
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(29) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…29
The attacks were once again deflected… but Keigo was smiling after them. "Those didn't suck! Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?" And again, he sends Ayamakki in. But this time, it's just a flurry of blades only! No Kunai this time.
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (2 rounds) and loses 37 health.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(27) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…23
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 172 damage.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(30) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…35
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(27) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…23
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 198 damage.
Jiro is just not in the right state of mind today apparently. He can't the cloth barrier up in time to stop two of the attacks and he's now bleeding from more places while poison continues to spread through his body. Rather painfully! Jiro grits his teeth before moving towards Keigo, cloth spinning in front of him in random movements before he gets close enough to lash out with it in random directions.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-TAIL(33) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…39
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-TAIL(34) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…40
More blocking with the Kunai on a Chakra string, and he pulled Ayamakki back this time, having it fire several Kunai at the Genin all the while.
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (2 rounds) and loses 117 health.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(21) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…43
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(28) attack from Keigo with a STEEL-CLOTH-SHELL…32
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-POISONED-KUNAI(24) attack from Keigo with a DODGE…19
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 120 damage.
RP: Jiro reverts to his normal state.
Jiro just kind of drops after another kunai hits. This isn't going how he'd imagined it at all. Something was wrong and it wasn't just the poison that by now was pretty much just replacing his blood. He pushes back to his feet with a bit of a grunt, the youngster staring at Keigo with a deep frown. "'m…not done…yet…" he says between grit teeth before he runs towards Keigo and lashes out with the cloth again.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(35) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…21
COMBAT: Keigo loses the roll and sustains 288 damage.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(33) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…35
COMBAT: Keigo defends against STEEL-CLOTH-FANG(35) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…38
Keigo got cocky. No two ways about it. He was just casually flicking away the attacks… and that cost him when Jiro seemed to step it up! The hit came… and it hurt. It hurt like hell! He was at his full fighting strength now! It was time to get serious! The first hit hurt, so he quickly whipped his Kunai around faster to deflect the other two coming at him! He sighed in relief. "That was close… your hit there actually hurt like hell! You're back to full strength! Let's see how hard that shell of yours is now that your head's finally in the game!" And now, Ayamakki rushes in for a full assault of blades!
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (1 rounds) and loses 93 health.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(25) attack from Keigo with a SEAL-BARRIER…32
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(23) attack from Keigo with a DODGE…33
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(30) attack from Keigo with a DODGE…25
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 224 damage.
Jiro is tired. After the consecutive beatings and healings his body is simply drained more than it should be. He was told not to fight for another few days yet by the medics but the kids hard headed. As the exhaustion starts to overtake him he drops to his knees, eyes starting to unfocus. "No'…yet…" he mutters, dropping his cloth as he forces himself to stand. He kind of stumbles towards Keigo then, raising his fist to try and punch the other Genin as a last ditch attack.
Keigo uses the flat of the Kunai to defend against the incoming punch, then places his own hand against the other Genin's. "That's enough. Your mind's in it now… but not your body. You let your mind wander for too long in this tournament that you lost all your stamina. You need to take a few minutes to breathe… or if you can't… you need to quit. There's no sense in pushing yourself farther than your body can go." He really hoped this guy would accept this offer… he was low on Chakra himself…
COMBAT Jiro is poisoned (2 rounds) and loses 118 health.
Jiro is exhausted and has very little chakra left, but he's not going to give up. He's either going to drop from throwing punches or from taking more damage that knocks him out. Regardless he isn't done until he's unconscious from one or the other! So another half-hearted punch, and a second, his eyes not even fully focusing still.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(22) attack from Jiro with a PUPPET-BLOCK…20
COMBAT: Keigo loses the roll and sustains 111 damage.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(17) attack from Jiro with a PUPPET-BLOCK…19
Keigo doesn't expect the first punch to come… but is quick enough to get Ayamakki in front of him to stop the second fist from dealing damage. He spits out a little blood from the hit onto the ground next to him and looked at Jiro. "Stop this. If you keep going like this, I'll be forced to end this match… violently… I don't want to do that…" He dug deep inside himself to dredge up what little Chakra he could now… he had very little to spare… but if Jiro attacked again, he'd need enough to defend and then retaliate… even if it was to knock him out, it was enough…
COMBAT: Keigo focuses 905 stamina to turn it into 1000 usable chakra!
"'m not…gonna…give…up…" Jiro says between clenched teeth, each word coming out as he tries to take in enough air to stay standing. There's nothing he can do besides keep moving forward, keep moving towards Keigo, and keep swinging those fists as best as he can. He's not going to give up!
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(18) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…30
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(20) attack from Jiro with a KUGUTSU-WEAPON-BLOCK…28
Keigo blocks both the punches with that Kunai on a String again. He sighed. "Fine… I'm sorry, Jiro." Flicking his fingers again, he caused Ayamakki to make his attack. A single sword swing while Jiro was focused on Keigo himself.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(28) attack from Keigo with a BLOCK…28
COMBAT: Jiro takes 368 partial damage.
Jiro doesn't even seem to care that the puppet is attacking him at this point, the boy just raising an arm to let the creature slash across it as he continues his wavering steps towards Keigo to keep punching. Again and again. The movements almost seem mindless at this point.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(19) attack from Jiro with a TENSE…6
COMBAT: Keigo loses the roll and sustains 233 damage.
COMBAT: Keigo defends against PHYSICAL(25) attack from Jiro with a TENSE…9
COMBAT: Keigo loses the roll and sustains 249 damage.
Keigo braced himself for the punches… no sense in wasting Chakra to defend against the attack when the next attack would likely be the end of it, especially with the poison. He just flicked his fingers again, looking into Jiro's eyes coldly as he had Ayamakki make the final blow.
COMBAT: Jiro defends against PUPPET-BLADES(33) attack from Keigo with a WEAPON-BLOCK…22
COMBAT: Jiro loses the roll and sustains 244 damage.
Jiro starts to pull out a kunai as he stumbles forward in order to deflect part of the puppets blow but only succeeds in getting cut more. The small boy wavers in place for a moment before taking another small step forward, then faceplanting into the dirt right in front of Keigo, bleeding heavily and poison still coursing through his body unchecked.
Keigo looks at the Proctor. "Proctor, the match is over. Get Jiro some medical attention right away!" As he said this, his own body seemed to just collapse in on itself from the sheer drain he'd felt… this was gonna hurt in the morning… he'd pushed himself farther than he'd ever thought he'd want to go… and it was painful, to say the least…
Mai is once again in the arena, narrowing her eyes at Jiro a bit. "Well…" As a fighter, she knows when someone isn't doing their best, and both of them hardly did so. "The winner of this match is Hougenka Keigo." Then she signals for medics to come and heal them, all working to give both boys as much healing as possible. Because dang, that was a lot of attacks, and bodies could only stand so much.
