The Human-Beast Duo clashes with the All Seeing White Eye
The Chuunin Exams for Shizen Inuzuka and Masami Hyuuga
Masami always knew that the first step is the most difficult one, and there was not a truer statement in her current situation. Taking the first step into the arena was difficult, despite her feeling rather calm. There was a growing feeling inside of her though, one that was a combination of fear and excitement. She looked up and spotted all those people spectating them. Masami then looked around the arena - there was literally nothing to use there. Looking up a bit, the black sky made her feel a bit uncomfortable, so she turned away and made a point to herself not to look at the ceiling. She reached the middle of the arena and stood there, waiting for her match to show up.
It was time, Shisen had to take a deep breath or several to be exact. Arashi stood beside her with her eyes on the girl she was suppose to fight, a low growl building in the back of her throat. "Ok, Ok I can do this..." Shisen told herself, taking a shaky breath into the arena. Her sensei words echoed in her mind, not to let herself be intimidated. That was hard, really hard considering her opponent was a Hyuuga. "So you are Masami Hyuuga," Shisen said.
Masami looked at Shisen. She thought the girl was familiar from somewhere, and upon seeing the ninken that accompanied her, Masami realized that her match is a fellow Konoha Genin." A pleasure to meet you, Shisen Inuzuka." She gave a warm smile with the words as she eyed her opponent. This will be one tought match for her. Any member of the Inuzuka Clan was not to be underestimated - their fighting style was fast paced and ferocious, compared to the Gentle Fist. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and looked at Shisen with another smile." Let´s give it our best shot, Shisen. Let the better one win!" With that, she smile at Shisen and gave her a thumb up.
"Right, a pleasure," Shisen said, the Hyuuga girl was probably planning a way to attack her as she said such things. Arashi curled her lips back, a snarl coming from her throat as she glared at Masami. The ninken understood who she was, the opponent and the threat she posed to them both. It was clear now why she was so calm before, saving her anger and rage for the match. "Agreed," she said, taking several steps back. Bringing a hand up and forming the Seal of Confrontation. Arashi began to pace, eager to begin.
Masami was a bit puzzled by the reaction she received, especially from the ninken. Upon seeing her take a few steps back, she did the same thing and formed the Seal of Confrontation as well. So, this was it. The Chuunin Exams were about to start. Her mind started to think about things like if she was properly prepared, if she trained enough, but Masami silenced them. Right now, there was only Shisen to focus at. Waiting for the match to begin, she closed her eyes.
Almost immediately after Masami formed the seal, was Shisen building up chakra in her hands and feet, she had a plan to stick to. "Arashi stay strong," Shisen said, her pupils more like slints now as her teeth sharpened, her nails more like claws. Without warning, she went for Masami and was taking out a kunai as she did so, Arashi was staying back. Not slowing down, she kept going and waited for Arashi to catch up.
The moment she heard Shisen say something to her ninken, Masami raised her other hand and quickly formed the Ram Seal, activating her Byakugan. A second later, Shisen and Arashi were charging at her, so Masami started to do the same. Though she will not do the first move - she decided to be patient and let Shisen make the first move. The words of Hiron-Sensei rung freshly in her ears about knowing what the enemy can do.
At that moment, Arashi was moving towards Masami in a zig zag pattern, charging right then cutting sharply to the left before Shisen stopped and turned moving the opposite direction of Arashi. Darting past Masami as Shisen took out some more kunai and threw them at Masami as she as well as Arashi made the same pattern they came in. Only keeping one in her hand for the moment, she also took out a shuriken or two as she stopped about fifty feet from Masami. Arashi stopped further away, lowering her head and acting as if she was submitting, but Shisen knew different.
Masami easily avoided the kunai - she could see every single one of them in advance, so it was a lot easier for her to avoid them. Then, she was a bit puzzled when both Shisen and and Arashi stopped moving. She had to get into close range combat in order to be able to do anything, so she kept charging, but her eyes were on full alert - should she register anything suspicious, she was ready to change her approach. A second or two later, she was in leaping distance - so she did just that and was approaching Shisen from above, bringing her right leg up.
Shisen waited, till Masamis leg almost got her before shooting her hand forwards and catching the leg of her opponent, bringing her other hand forwards with kunai in it. Arashi chose that moment to charge forwards and leapt Masami, going for her hands rather than her throat. Knowing that she could get caught in the attack, Shisen let go and did a back flip to put distance between them. Allowing Arashi to go all out for the moment on Masami, growling quite loudly as she came barreling forwards.
Exactly the same mistake that happened agaist Hiron-Sensei happened just now. As she felt her leg being grabbed, she realized that she was in in trouble. At the last second, the hand let go of her leg and she spotted Arashi going for her hands. She made a hand gesture and shout out a Vacuum Palm towards the approaching ninken, hoping to give her at least some time. At the same time, she saw Shisen doing a back flip to gain some distance. Landing somewhat awkwardly, she immediately charged Shisen, this time waiting to get real close to make her move.
When Masami was close enough to Shisen, she did the needed hand seals for the Passing Fang Jutsu and immediately they propelled themselves into the air in a whirlwind like shape as they headed straight for Masami. Shisen was headed at the front while Arashi was aiming for the back of their opponent, hoping that it would pin Masami in both places. Although while spiralling through the air, Shisen was dropping smoke bombs even knowin that they would not hinder the Hyuuga girl. But hindering Masami was not the intention of the smoke bombs, they served another purpose. As they continued to spiral towards Masami at a dangerous speed, she held one shuriken in one hand and another in the other, in the chance that Shisen was close enough to injure the Hyuuga girl.
Seeing a Passing Fang approaching her from forward and behind as well, Masami was sligtly caught off guard by the smoke bombs flying outwards. Even as they exploded, Masami kept her focus on both Shizen and Arashi as they approached from both sides, trying to sandwich her in and hit her from both sides. As she did not know the Heavenly Rotation technique and her Guard one was not sufficient to withstand two Fangs, she did the only thing that came to her mind - she dropped to her knees and went sliding under the approaching attack. Just as she slid under, she lowered her head even more to avoid being caught in the attack passing over her head. As soon as Shisen passed over her, Masami stopped and ran towards the Inuzuka. She had to force her into close quarter combat to fight an even match.
In the midst of the smoke and the two spiraling towards Masami, Shisen had done the hand seals for the Beast Human Clone which was the result of two Shisens coming from the smoke. Both on hands and knees so it was harder to descifer which was the real one and which was Arashi, as Masami charged Shisen she leaped upwards as the other one charged towards Masami at a break neck speed. Landing on her hands and knees quite a bit away from the confrontation was taking place, she began to cirlce around the two, emitting low growls and snarls.
Now facing two Shisen´s instead of one, Masami realized this was her aim all the time - to prevent her from telling them apart. Whatever was the case, Masami felt confident in her abilities of taking on a member of the Inuzuka Clan at hand-to-hand combat and fight on even terms. She ignored the other Shisen that was far away from her and focused on the one currently approaching her. She sent out another Vacuum Palm, making use of the speed of her charge to make it more difficult to avoid. Then, she prepared both her hands for close combat.
As the Vacuum Palm came Shisens way, she darted to the right to try to avoid it and at the same time, the other came charging at Masami but cut sharply to the left, as the two Shisens passed each other they each dropped a smoke bomb from their mouths despite the bitter taste it had left in both their mouths. Concealing them both in smoke once again, the Beast Human Clone Jutsu ended only as Shisen performed to two jutsu back to back, making it appear that three Arashis were charging at Masami rather than just one but only were not illusionary. Upon getting close to Masami, the three Arashis went into Passing Fang at clone range.
As the smoke bombs puffed and created a smoke screen, Masami could see another Arashi popping up. This time, she made sure to remember which one was just created, as her eyes could see perfectly through the smoke. This time, she simply stood frozen at one place as she saw the three of them approach her and started their Passing Fang. Having little time to react, Masami instinctively ducked, but she still felt a scratch or two on her back - she was not quick enough. Gritting her teeth to ignore the sharp, burning sensation, she stood up and turned. She took up the basic Gentle Fist stance, her eyes set on her foe.
It had seemed that Masami had a guess as to who the solid Arashis were and which were not, but that would change as she easily adjusted the plan she had in mind. Growling once, then a second time to alert the Arashi that was not a clone to drop yet another series of smoke bombs from her mouth as Shisen did the same as they fell back after they made some contact with Masami. The illusionary one kept going though and as it did, Shisen decided to make a much needed sacrifice of sorts if the rest were to fall into place later on. This time, she broke out of the transformation jutsu and building up some more chakra in her hands and feet, she prepared to face off with Masami in a close range.
Spotting one Shisen approaching her, Masami did not care whether it was the real one or not, she decided to engage back. Not wanting to make the first move, she took up a more defensive stance, building up a small amount of chakra on the fingertips of her right hand. She could see the remaning two Shisen´s were still at a safe distance, and the one charging was getting closer and closer. Masami waited patiently and when Shisen got close, she thrust her hand forward, going for a stab on the charging girl.
She gritted her teeth, not wanting to get close but knowing she needed to do for some time before falling back, a kunai in both hands as she would try to defend herself from the stab, but failed. Feeling the attack hit her shoulder, she also went for a stab with one of the kunai while the other hand went for Masamis hands. Arashi, still in the form of Shisen, ran at them at her highest speed and snarled, before breaking out of the transformation and charging at Masami, going for her back.
Masami´s spired was lifted by the succesfull stab she made, and even more so as she spotted Shisen grit her teeth. But then she grit her teeth, as her kunai scratched her shoulder, bloodying it in the process. Then, she spotted that she was being attacked from behind. Not really having the time to thank Hiron for their last training, she shifted all her weight on her right leg to remain stable. Just as Shisen transformed back into Arashi, Masami was ready - she leaned forward, adding more pressure into her stab, just as the kunai on her shoulder made a longer cut. She brought her left leg up in a kicking motion, hoping to ward off the attacking ninken.
Just as Masami started to make the kicking motion, Shisen lunged forwards with kunai at the girls chest with an upward motion as Arashi would stop and change her couse of attack, now lunging for the leg that was trying to ward her off. With the focus divided between the two, Shisen through herself forwards in order to hopefully tackle Masami to the ground. Arashi was prepared to jerk her head forwards with the leg of Masami, hopefully knocking her off balance.
She was in a pinch between Shisen and Arashi, which was not good for her. Then, she felt Shisen moving forward, making her lose her balance. Arashi managed to grab her leg with his teeth, and Masami had to react with a series of quick movements - she was not wounded, but she deffinetely felt it. Trying to remain calm, she bended her right knee and gathered momentum, also bringing down her left leg. Then, she used her right leg to push herself from the ground, bringing her left leg up in a much stronger kicking motion. She extended her second hand and grabbed Shisen at her second shoulder, but failed to fully avoid the kunai swung at her chest - it made a cut on her cheek. Ignoring the pain, Masami continued in her move.
With being successfull in catching her leg, she jerked her head back and forth much like she was trying to tear it from her body while further trying to make Masami lose balance. As Shisen swiped again upwards diagnally hopping to cut across from the already existing cut she put on her and as she was grabbed, she gritted her teeth, dropping the kunai in her right hand, she reached and grabbed Masamis hand, also abandoning the cutting motion to stab at Masami and her hand. Arashi let go of her leg, thrusting herself upwards towards Masamis arm.
Masami felt a relief when Arashi let go of her leg - she can never let that happen again in this match. Masami was already in the air when Arashi started to charge at him, and she decided for a danerous move. In a split second, she ceased the stabbing motion and tried to let go of Shisen´s arm, but that would not happen. So she tried to use it against her - she yanked hard and as she was above Shisen, she built up some chakra and slammed her palm down hard on her back. Using her second hand, she quickly coated it in chakra and made a lashing strike at the charging Arashi.
Crying out in pain as Masami slammed her hand on her back, Shisen let go of Masami and tried to refocus her efforts on another point of Masami as Arashi growled, she stopped her charge at Masami went running towards Shisen. The ninken concerned for the well being of her partner, but Shisen shook her head at the ninken and Arashi growled before charging back at Masami with fresh and new rage. Shisen took a deep breath, trying to forget about her back but it was not easy. Finally, she ran forwards and got another kunai out of her pouch, prepared to swipe at her again.
Masami landed on her feet, doing a sommersault backwards. As she landed, she could see that both Arashi and Shisen were charging. She took a deep breath. She survived a live combat situation, and she would use som of that experience. She molded chakra again, and decided that she will engage the two of them at close ranges. But this time, she will utilize the full capabilities of the Gentle Fist style. She started to charge towards the duo and as they were getting close, she droppend int a sliding motion, awaiting their reaction.
At the last possible minute, Shisen performed the needed hand signals for Passing Fang, both her and Arashi started spiralling directly at Masami, Shisen released several shuriken and kunai into the air, as she kept hold of two kunai that would later be used to impale Masami. Right before Arashi had the chance to make contact with Masami, Shisen let out a sharp whistle and she barreled into the ground before spiralling back into the air and away from Masami. Shisen had also stopped, her teeth gritted as her back was throbbing from the pain, she was also a good distance away now. Still gritting her teeth, she began sending chakra to her hands and feet again, once again taking a feral appearance.
She realized the mistake she made as soon as she spotted the flurry of weapons heading from the once again spinning Shisen and Arashi. This was not good - she was the target of two Fangs and several weapons. Most of them would be flying widely away from her, but some reached her, leaving several scratches and cuts on her hands. Gritting her teeth, she decided to ignore the pain the small weapons caused. Deciding to apply some general mechanics, she moulded a large amount of chakra - just as she did when walking on water or running on trees. The chakra acted like a glue and her body yanked into a standing position - she felt some pain from her ankle, but gritting her teeth, she leaped from the ground. This way, she was out of the largest danger and landed some distance behind Shisen. Her breath quicker than before, she spotted the charging Shisen.Her apperance was out of normal again. She kept her chakra moulded for the Gentle Fist usage.
Following Masami through the air with her eyes, she did not waste any time in charging at her at what seemed like an impossible speed as Arashi also came charging at her, a deep growl errupting from her mouth as the ninken got closer and closer. Wincing as the pain in her back hindered some of her movement, she tried to ignore it as much as possible and with Arashi now mere seconds away from colliding with Masami, Shisen held the kunai at ready and facing forwards. Once she was only a step away, she leapt upwards and made herself spin before doing the needed hand signals for Passing Fang again, making her and Arashi spiral towards Masami at a dangerously close range for everyone.
She spotted another series of seals weaved by Shisen, and she made it her top priority to prevent her from using the technique again. Even though it was not that hard to evade, it was unpleasant to deal with ,especially when she used it together with Arashi. She moulded chakra precisely at her fingertips, as she wanted to land another hit. So she used a jump as a gap closer on Shisen, and brough her right leg up, deciding to bring it down on her hard. And she will immediately try and connect with some hand movements as well.
Seeing her leg coming her way, Shisen decided it was time to stop the spiralling at the intensity that she was currently spiralling with and let some of the momentum carry her towards Masami at a less dangerous pace, she maunevered herself so that she was facing up instead of down, her hand shooting up as she was slow enough to move it and grabbed her leg. The remaining momentum went towards her turning herself in the direction of Arashi so that Masami would hopefully be sent that way as the ninken was now out of the spiralling motion and was coming charging at Masami at a moderate and exhausted pace due to multiple uses of Passing Fang.
Masami spotted both Shisen´s position and a charging Arashi towards her. She was surprised by Shisen grabbing her leg and as she was not prepared for it, Masami was now flying towards Arashi. Seeing the closing ninken at her back, Masami bended her back even more, so she was now facing Arashi. She moulded chakra in her right palm, and using her Palm Bottom tecnique, she struck at Arashi, being extra careful not to cause the ninken too much pain by her strike.
Arashi took the hit hard, yelping loudly she fell to the ground with another cry of pain as her she whimpered before falling silent, unconscious. Shisen suddenly alarmed by the change, stopped and stood stalk still from the shock of her ninken unmoving. She needed Arashi to be ok, she shook her head as now angry with Masami for doing that to her ninken. She walked forwards, at a seemingly calm pace until she a few steps from Masami. "Give me a chance to move her before you try to attack me, please?" Shisen asked, her voice shook from both anger and dispair at the sight of her wounded ninken.
Masami landed, satisfied with how her attack turned out. She spotted the ninken unmoving and a visibly shocked Shisen standing before her. Masami was a bit puzzled by what followed next - Shisen slowly approached her with a request that moved Masami a bit. Her shocked vocie was proof enough of how much she cared for her ninken. So she stood up, placed her left hand behind her back and extended her right hand in a fighting stance." I struck with the intent to stun, not to hurt. He should be okay. But ... seeing how much you care for each other ..." Masami nodded, but stayed on her guard.
Bowing her head in thanks, she walked over to Arashi and picked her up gently, with a deep breath she walked over to the side of the arena and laid her down as gently as possible. "I wont stop until I have to... I promise..." Shisen murmured to the motionless Arashi before turning to walk back towards Masami. Her resolve for winning was renewed, a stronger need to win the match filled her and she glared at Masami. "Alright, I hope you realized what you did," Shisen said, before picking up a couple kunai from the ground and then charging at Masami with both kunai facing her.
Masami nodded at Shisen´s statement.She tried to keep as calm as she could. The sight of a charging Shisen returned Masami into the reality of the match they were fighting now." I did what had to be done. I am more sorry for what I am about to do, Shisen." That being said, she started to run towards her, building up chakra on her fingertips. She was decided to end the move as soon as she can. So as both charged, Masami waited for the last moment to try sliding once again.
Noticing the way she was being charged at, she decided to back track and try to draw out whatever attack Masami had in store for her, doing some back flips she landed a good few feet away and set off a series of smoke bombs as she did. From training with one of her team mates, Ezuri Hyuuga, she knew that the smoke would not hinder the eyes of the Hyuuga girl. But as the arena filled with smoke, she would dart around and collect as many kunai and shuriken as she could while it still lingered. Setting off a few more smoke bombs, she found one that had managed to cut Masami from before, lifting it up to her nose she took in the scent. No longer needing her eyes, she would track Masamis movements by her scent.
Masami saw everything in perfect detail. She calmyl stood up as Shisen was darting around the arena, She calmly stood up carefully tracked her movements. The smoke did nothing to hinder Masami. Deciding that it was useless to chase after Shisen, and making sure that she had enough breath, she calmly stood there, placing her left hand behind her back, her right hand before her. She just stood there, closely watching Shisen gathering weapons. Also noticing that she smelled a kunai that managed to cut her, she was getting prepared.
Shisen knew very little of the use of Masamis Kekei Genkai, but what she did know was just enough to give her an idea of how to handle the rest of the match. She did not waste anymore time, instead she went directly for Masami with a very a clear goal in mind. Approaching the Hyuuga girl, she would point both kunai in her hands outwards and up, waiting till she was a mere step away, to swipe towards Masamis face.
Shisen was heading straight towards Masami, who remaiend as calm as she could. Masami ducked when Shisen was a few steps away and moulded a large amount of chakra into her palm. Just as Shisen wanted to finish the match, so did Masami. So, ducking and when she felt the moment was right, she thrusted her palm upwards, releasing all the stored chakra.
She knew that Masami would duck, just like she did all the times prior to this point in the match, that was she wanted to happen. She thrusted her hands downward, releasing the kunai in her hands as they flew towards Masami as Shisen continued to as she send several more kunai down towards Masami at the same speed as the first two. Charging back towards Masami as she did not stop her charge, she would hold a shuriken in each hand, getting hit by some of the chakra.
Masami decided that what was enough is enough. She did not let up in her efforts and did her best to avoid the weapons hurled at her, taking a scratch or two in the process. Upon taking a scratch on her cheek, she landed on one of her hands to keep a low profile. Using this position, she gathered as much momentum in her legs as she could and leapt towards Shisen. Using her hands as she approached, she fixed them on the ground and started to durn, bringing her right leg down in a kicking motion.
Shisen reacted as swiftly as her low energy would allow her to do, bringing both arms up to her torso in a defensive manner to ward off the kick before swinging her left and down to cut across her leg sharply. She would then use her other hand to reach for her foot while in a swipping motion with the other shuriken, taking a deep breath. She would take a step back, putting some distance between before propelling herself forwards in a spinning movement while both shuriken were openned fully and her elbows pointed out.
As soon as she spotted Shisen intending to cut at her leg, Masami pushed herself away using her remaining leg, she pushed herself away from her foe using that leg. The match was getting way too drawn out, but Masami decided to remain patient. Pushing herself away with her hands, she took another few steps backwards, away from Shisen. Just as she was charging, Masami was taking a few more steps back, minding the distance between her, the Inuzuka girl and the wall of the arena.
Not stopping her charge, she would hold out the shuriken and switch them to one hand while the other, would remain empty for now. Getting a step away, she reached with her empty hand at Masamis and grabbed it sharply, yanking her forwards as she did so. With some of her remaining energy, she thrusted her other hand directly at Masmis eyes knowing that it was low shot but she was desparate and would do what she had to. Swiping her leg under Masamis as she did so to knock her off balance.
The moment she saw Shisen going for her eyes was the moment she decided that enough was enough. She used her free hand to deflect the blow aimed at her eyes, and as Shisen was still holding her other hand, she decided to use this against her. As it was pointed towards Shisen, she gathered some chakra into her hand a fired a point blank Vacuum Palm.
She had two options, well three actually, she could either still hold onto Masami still and take the Vacuum Palm, let go and take some of it or forfeit. Shisen did not like any of her options, but she did have one last trick up her sleeve. Although there was no time to utilize her trick, she took the full force of the Vacuum alm and gritted her teeth from the intensity of the pain. Instead of just holding onto the hand, she was now clinging to it , with her nails digging into the skin. She was about to pull out her paper bomb, but as it entered plain sight there was a loud snarl from a now conscious ninken, who looked out raged. Shisen stopped, she had not thought what she was about to do through and realized how reckless it was. Letting go of the paper bomb, she let it fall to the ground and realeased Masami from her grasp. "Enough," Shisen said.
She gritter her teeth as the nails dug themselves deep into her skin. She could see that her Vacuum Palm hit, but Shisen refused to give up. Then, a quick turn of events took place - Arashi regained consciousness and snarled towards them. Masami had no idea what this mean, but as a precaution, she placed her middle and index finger on Shisen´s hand, prepared to inflict as much damage as she possibly could. Then, she was surprised when her hand was let go and Shisen spoke up. Masami stood there, shocked by the events and trying to catch her breath. Her body, surprised and shocked, shut out everything - except of Shisen standing next to her.
She did not want to say anything, a wide range of emotions flashed across her face but settled on dissapointment. Turning, she walked towards Arashi and gently picked her up although the ninken did not wish to be picked up and growled. Once that was done, she turned back towards Masami and met her eyes. "Take your win and leave us be," Shisen said, her voice dry and hoarse with emotion. Her shoulders shook with pain and the weight of Arashi in her arms was a lot to handle, especially when she felt like she had dissapointed those in her team.
Masami was now catching her breath, as fast as she could. Suddenly, every scratch, bide and other attacks she suffered returned to her in full force. The pain was intense, and it was with the last of her mental strenght that she managed to get over what she just witnessed." I would ... hardly call this a victory ... Shise. Were you ... actually thinking about blowing that bomb up ... at that range? Was that win worth that much to you?"
When she thought about it, it wasnt winning that she thought was worth it and at the moment, anything worked. "No... I made a promise... The promise would have been though. I suppose you can thank Arashi for changing my mind," Shisen said, shifting her weight to the less injured one. She was shaking from everything that happened, the pain, the emotions and what Masami was saying now.
" And you should thank Arashi for the fact that both of us are alive right now ..." Masami replied, her breath calming down a bit, but her mind was still in turmoil." I think both of us failed to see the real purpose of the exams ... winning is not all that matters. I am sad ... you thought about that. Should Arashi be unconsciouss ... both of us could be dead. Think about ... think about what is really worth that ... Shisen ... " Masami was unsure why she was sad after she won, but she was sad." It is a hollow victory for me ... Shisen ..." After that, she turned and headed out of the arena.
Shisen said nothing, had Arashi not been hit then she would have went at it differently and as Masami said earlier, she did what she had to. Turning on her heals unsteadly, she walked out of the arena. "Next time, Arashi, next time" Shisen murmured to the unhappy ninken. Arashi simply barked and laid still as she was carried to the infimary. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a white blurr and had to smile as a certain small white ninken came running from the crowds to walk with them.