Chunin Exam: Kizaru V. Suzume

Spoiler:

Kizaru sat nervously waiting for his match to be called. He was wearing his least ruined clothes, some faded black jean pants and a white and grey hooded sweatshirt. He would usually have his shinobi headband wrapped around his right arm, however he had recently had his stolen. The incident with Calin still fresh in his memory, the ache in his legs still very real. He wished he had more time to recover and bounce back after the attack, but this wasnt time to complain. He had to get stronger and this was just another opportunity to improve!

At least that's what he told himself, but he couldnt shake the nerves. He would be in front of a huge crowd, including the Hokage no less, and he was unsure in his skills.

The puppeteer's overthinking was cut short when he heard his name called to enter the ring. He looked down at the two heavy cases in which Alucard and Rake were kept. He knew he needed a better way of transporting his puppets, but he hadn't come up with anything better in time. Kizaru knelt down and took one case in each hand before standing up, and heading out.

The arena had a sandy ground and what looked like a moat, complete with water, surrounding the circular fighting area. Overall it looked like he would have roughly 80 meters of fighting area with not much cover save for a few scattered trees.

Kizaru came through the doors and crossed a small bridge over the moat. He could see the same entrance setup across the arena from him. Once inside the fighting area he walked to about 10 meters from the center of the arena and set down his puppet cases. He would then kneel down and open both cases so he could be ready to begin whenever.

(WC 308)

Checking her calendar, Suzume confirmed that today was indeed the day. She ate a good breakfast, changed into her trade mark purple hoodie and grey cargo pants, put on her boots and tied them more cautiously than usual, then headed to the arena from her cave. 

The idle chat of the arena woke Suzume up a bit more once she stepped in. Despite having this match marked for a while as well as specially preparing a few days leading up to the event, it dawned on her just then - upon seeing the spectators and proctors, that this indeed was the chunin exams. And she was taking it. Today, right now.

Here it goes...for once...

Although this match wasn't much to the spectators around her, it would be the determining factor for her to reach a milestone. One that she'd almost given up on, from all the missed opportunities. 

It'll be done with before I know it...

Instead of allowing worry and fear to consume her, the chunin-in-hoping instead created a cool aura over her. She pushed away anything that could ruin it, especially the memories of having to watch her own teammate kill their opponent (a recent acquaintance of hers at the time) in the first exams she spectated. Yep, this was the same place that happened...yet...well...nothing. The most Suzume could do was ensure this match wouldn't be a repeat of that. Come to think of it, maybe that's why she didn't bother so much with getting into any exams in the first place...but currently, that didn't matter. By being in the midst of the arena (about an equal distance apart from the center  as her opponent more so), facing her opponent, and readying herself to move in any which way, it was her time. Continuing to be a genin wasn't working out for her. 

(WC: 305)

It wasnt long before Kizaru's opponent Suzume also entered the ring. She walked up stopping about 20 meters from the puppeteer. Her outfit was not dissimilar to his own and her eyes betrayed the fact that she too was nervous, though less so than Kizaru.

The proctor gave the go ahead to begin and Kizaru wasted no time connecting his Chakra threads to both of his puppets. They rose from their respective cases and stood on either side of the boy controlling them. This would be the first time he showed off his art and the results of his training. All he had to do was not mess up.

He decided to start off strong, having Rake run forward until it were directly between the two shinobi. There he would hold the puppet an inch or so from the ground and activate the cannon on Rake's chest which would begin spewing out sticky black tar in front of it. The tar would land about 5 meters in front of Suzume and quickly start spreading (75 speed). At maximum size the pool of tar would be 20 meters in diameter and stop 5 meters in front of Kizaru and would reach 5 meters behind Suzume. Regardless if she were stuck or not he would continue his assault with Rake by having it hover over the tar towards her and swipe with its claws (75 sharpness) aiming for the girl's right leg.

This whole time he would Keep Alucard close to him defensively. He held the puppet only about a meter away from himself but held it facing towards his opponent, ready to react.

(WC 272)
(TWC 580)

All actions performed at full speed/strength
-5 AP for chakra threads
-40 AP for Oozing Tar

280-45=235 AP remaining

Once the call to begin the fight was made, Suzume would cast the hidden mist technique at full speed and range as Kizaru brought out his puppets. She wasn't having it with those puppets. The last time she dealt with someone who used puppets wasn't a fond memory, and it was very much so a fact that the girl was glad they were gone. Nothing like an unsettling throwback to shake things up a bit...

Never mind that, no need for distractions (again). She glared at him, and moved 6 meters further away from him at full speed. As her mist thickened and Kizaru's vision obstructed, she used hiding like a mole technique to evade any attack those puppets did. 3 meters below the surface, Suzume moved at full speed towards Kizaru. Once in 15 meters of his suspected location, she formed two haze clones. One was 3 meters in front of him, the other 3 meters behind.

(WC: 157, -10 AP for hidden mist, -20 AP for hiding like a mole, -15 AP for two haze clones....420-45=275 AP remaining)

Kizaru saw the mist forming the moment Suzume formed the seal. She lept back, putting more distance between them before he lost sight of her. Foregoing his original plan he would hold both puppets close to himself, about half a meter from him, on his left and right. Alucard faced in towards Kizaru while Rake faced out, ready to pounce should something come close enough.

He would hold his ground where he stood. The fight was basically 3 vs 1 he thought. In close quarters she wouldnt be able to dodge his puppets easily. He wanted to feel confident about his position but he had no idea what Suzume might come at him with. He was nervous and scared but the voice of that monster, Calin Uesugi, barking at him for showing even a hint of weakness. This wasn't life or death like back then, but he still couldnt afford to let his guard down. A loss here would only go to prove that he was as weak as Calin said. He didn't want to be helpless anymore. He needed to prove to himself that he has what it takes to survive in this world.

(WC 195)
(TWC 775)

Refunding the AP for oozing tar as it was timelined out: +40 = 275 AP

-5 ap for thread upkeep

275 - 5 = 270 AP remaining

Before emerging from the ground, Suzume continued the hidden mist technique. However, she lessened the density so that silhouettes could be seen. She formed two more haze clones, placing them at equal distances around Kizaru. After a moment, she launched her self from beneath him with an immaterial sword, directing it for his left foot. With a power of 30, the sword sliced through his sole, into some tarsals - including the talus, continuing up the tibilias anterior. Instead of taking out his whole leg, Suzume chose to pull her sword away (probably cutting up some tendons and such along the way) and joined her clones in the mist, now thickening it again. This hadn't been the first time she'd seen so much blood, but it reminded her too much of those first exams she watched. Except, this time she was in her former team mate's position...

This is what shinobi sometimes have to do...

If it weren't for the mist, anyone watching the match would see the panic in her. It wasn't something she understood, either. What difference was it now, when she had seen it before? Other than it being someone of the same village, and herself performing the attack... had it been an enemy ninja from some other place, would that make the difference to her? If her opponent somehow managed to still put up the fight, she wasn't sure if that was something she could do again. At such a rate, she was questioning if the chunin status she had once longed for was really something she wanted to take up.

What kind of a ninja has such composure as this...

After some deep breaths, she would manage to stiffen up. She slightly cleared up her mist to view what the status of Kizaru had become. 

(WC: 299, -5 AP for hidden mist upkeep, -20 AP for addition and upkeep of haze clones, -10 for Immaterial Swords; 275-35= 240 AP remaining)

Kizaru couldn't see through the mist and his nerves were getting to him. His opponent could be anywhere just waiting to strike. As he waited for something to react to, the fog started to clear. Not totally but enough for him to notice 4 figures standing around him. He was surrounded.

It was obvious to him that Suzume was surrounding him with clones to throw him off, and it was working. He had no idea which one of them was the real one or how he should attack. He needed to think of something fast. He tugged the strings controlling Rake and launched the puppet's head at the figure on his right. The block of wood would pass through the haze clone and in that moment Kizaru knew he messed up, not that there was actually a correct answer here. While he was focusing on the clones Suzume made her move. She cut up from the ground straight into Kizaru's foot and leg. The pain was excruciating, especially considering his legs were already sore from the recent transplant and short recovery period. Through the pain he frantically tried to react but she was already gone and the mist was already thickening.

Kizaru whipped his head from side to side, only adrenaline keeping him standing at this point, looking for Suzume. He hoped he could end this quickly and still have a shot, but that was not the case. The blood gushing from his leg was steady and showed no signs of letting up. His skin became paler than it usually was and his head felt light. He was losing too much blood. Desperate to keep fighting he swung his arms around having both of his puppets flail in the mist to no avail.

As the mist began to clear a little Suzume the spectators in the stadium would see young Kizaru laying in a puddle of his own blood. Conciousness quickly fading.

He had failed, miserably.

(EXIT)
(WC 326)
(TWC 1101)

Claiming 5 chakra
Learning Hiding like a mole

(Ooc: good fight. Wish I was more prepared, but I had fun!)

As her fog dissipated, she'd see that Kizaru was in no condition to continue the battle. Which would mean she'd won. A victory for sure, when she hadn't participated in any real battle before. However, Suzume couldn't shake away that there was potential that her opponent would never heal from that injury. 

Kizaru's blood loss lead him to also loose consciousness. She'd leave the arena once she saw he was taken care of, probably to the hospital. Maybe she'd stop by and visit him, if he was allowed visitors under his condition.


(EXIT)
(WC: 92)


(Oof: Same! Maybe we can do another thread in the hospital for CD or something like that?)

Approved gj you two